Joy Today

What does it mean, my "walking with Jesus" friend: "to be BLESSED"? In Bible-speak, it basically and wonderfully means: to receive/ to have the favor of the Lord in my life; to have the sense of the Presence of Almighty God WITH me in any and all circumstances. The Bible makes it very clear, from Genesis to Revelation, in all 66 books, that God loves me and desires to bless me. When I KEEP my face to the Lord and my feet walking in the Way of the Lord, I am most blessed. "Blessed is the nation whose God is The Lord; and the people whom He has CHOSEN for His own inheritance...Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him/who show Him awesome respect, upon those who hope in the mercy of the Lord...Our soul looks to the Lord:He is our Help and our Shield. Our heart shall rejoice in Him, BECAUSE we have TRUSTED in His Holy Name."(Psalm 33:12, 18, 20-21) Let's pray for one another, that we choose to walk with the Lord and be blessed, so that we can...

Memorial Day. Time for prayers of thanks for those who have given their lives to defend our freedoms. "We hold THESE truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Our Founding Father's wrote that in the Declaration of Independence in 1776. And Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration, and our third President, wrote: "GOD, who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever." And our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln wrote:"The Bible is the best gift God has given to me. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for the Bible, we could not know right from wrong." W...

Good Sunday morning, my "walking with Jesus" friend. It's the 29th, so let's go to Psalm 29. It opens with two commands, then, gives us the only seven verse sequence in the whole 1,189 chapters of the Bible devoted to describing the Voice of the LORD! "Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His Name; worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thunders: the Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is FULL of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon...the voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh..."(Psalm 29:1-5,&7-8, of 11) Grab your Bible and read all 11 verses. Ask yourself:"What is the MOST important thing about the voice of the Lord?" Yes, you are right, the MOST important thing about th...

When we see a friend who is growing strong in faith, whose life is showing the glow of the light of the love of God, how do we feel, my "walking with Jesus" friend? How did Paul feel as he heard about the well-planted and growing FAITH of the Corinthians? We find out in: 2Corinthians 3:1-4. Brothers and sisters, what does our work among you show? Some people bring letters of recommendation with them. Others may ask you to write letters of recommendation FOR them. But, the ONLY letter of recommendation WE need is you, yourselves! Your lives in Christ have become a letter written in our hearts. Everyone can "read" that letter and see that you have been faithfully taught the Word of God and are living the truth of the Good News of Christ. The Spirit of the Living God has written your testimony in our hearts, and provides our "letter" of recommendation. We do not need to say anything, because your lives of loving care for each other show that the Gospel has b...

Do we sometimes question a person's motives? Yes, my "walking with Jesus" friend, we do...and so did Paul, as he writes: Dear brothers and sisters in the Faith, as you know, from our sincere conduct and preaching when we were with you, our whole desire is that you KNOW the love of God and walk in His salvation. We are not like those "hucksters" - and, sadly, there are many of them - who preach just to make money. Be watchful and discerning of them. Meantime, YOU know that WE preach the message of the Lord with sincerity and with the authority of Christ. For we know that Almighty God, who sent us, is watching us."(2 Corinthians 2:17) "The Lord watches over the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish."(Psalm 1:6) Let us pray for wisdom as we listen to various preachers, asking the Lord for discernment as to the Biblical accuracy of the preaching and as to the sincerity of the messenger. And choose to listen to those whose message and moti...

Good morning, my "walking with Jesus" friend. I think we can agree that we delight to share about our activities, and about spiritual thoughts, understandings and visions with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. So, Paul continues his second letter to the Corinthians with this account: "When we came to the port city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord gave me tremendous opportunities. But I could not rest because my dear brother Titus had not arrived to bring me news about you. So I travelled on to Macedonia to find him. We give thanks to God, Who has made us His own, and leads us to triumph in Christ. Now, wherever we go, God uses us to spread the Good News, like a sweet fragrance. Our lives need to be a sweet fragrance presented by Christ to God. This fragrance is received in a positive way by those who are saved, but in a negative way by those who are still lost in the darkness of sin. Thankfully, we are a life-giving fragrance to those who are sav...

Are WE excited in our Faith when others begin to share our enthusiasm for the Lord and His Way? Oh yes, for SURE, my "walking with Jesus" friend. So, we can identify with Paul as he writes: Dear brothers and sisters, because of your growing FAITH in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, YOU have become to us, your teachers, a letter written on our hearts by the Spirit of the living God. And we trust, through Christ, that your Faith will continue to increase and grow stronger, that our preaching may continue to bear the fruit of righteousness in your lives, not because we are sufficient, but our sufficiently is of GOD. For it is God who called us to minister the new covenant to you in the Spirit, for the letter of the law kills, but THE SPIRIT GIVES LIFE. (2 Corinthians 2:1-6) So, my friend, let us listen to and live by the Spirit of the living God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, OUR Heavenly Father. To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ...

Hi Bill, So glad that what was sent gave encouragement...am always hoping that the Lord will employ His Word to bless and strengthen..."The eyes of the Lord range to and fro throughout the whole earth seeking to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him..."(2 Chronicles 16:9a)LoveMom YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated that you'd like to receive email notifications for text messages. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please update your email notification settings . Google LLC 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy Mountain View CA 94043 USA

Strong words of faith and encouragement fill Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. We rejoice, my "walking with Jesus" friend, to be blessed by his clear call to walk in Faith. "Yes, my dear brothers and sisters, ALL the promises of God have been fulfilled in Christ. So, we say, "Amen," and give glory to God through Christ. It is Almighty God who gives us, AND YOU, the strength to stand firm in Christ. We rejoice that God has commissioned you, and us, to serve Him, and has given us the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment of everything He desires to give us...Now, we are eager to keep telling you how to put your Faith into practice. We want to be working WITH you so that you will be full of JOY as you continue to stand firm in your Faith."(2 Corinthians 1:20-24) Let's continue to cultivate our Faith, watering it with daily prayer, Bible reading and reaching out to others in the Name of Jesus. To respond to this text message, reply ...

Please, when you think about it, my "walking with Jesus" friend, what makes you GLAD? Does what the Psalmist say makes him glad, make us glad also? Here's Psalm 122:1-6, "I was GLAD when they said unto me, let us go unto the House if the Lord. Our feet shall stand within your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together, to which the people of the Lord go up to give thanks to the Lord, For there are set up thrones of judgement and thrones of the House of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:those who love Jerusalem, the City of Zion and the House of the Lord, shall prosper." Shall WE say, "Amen!" to that, my friend? To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated that you'd like to receive email notifications for text messages. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please update your...

Let's listen to Jesus, "Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you WILL FIND rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light. "( Matthew 11:28-30) Listen. Learn. Live in the Light. Lift others into The Light, my "walking with Jesus" friend. To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated that you'd like to receive email notifications for text messages. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please update your email notification settings . Google LLC 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy Mountain View CA 94043 USA

Do WE very much like to see, and to bless folks we care about? Yes, for SURE, my "walking with Jesus" friend. Well then, when we read 2 Corinthians 1:17-20, we find that we have a lot in common with the Apostle Paul. "Since I was so sure of your understanding and trust, I wanted to give you a double blessing. I wanted to stop and see you on my way to Macedonia, and again on my return trip. Then you could send me on my way to Judea with blessings. My plan has had to change, and you may be asking:'Why?' and thinking, is Paul like people of the world who say, 'Yes,' when they mean, 'No?' Please, listen to me, I am not that sort of person. MY 'Yes' means YES, because of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whose Spirit lives in me, is always clear in his position. He NEVER wavers between yes and no. He is firm. And HE is The One whom Timothy, Silas and I preached to you. Christ is Divine, the Son of God. ALL of the promises of God have been fulfille...

Yes, my "walking with Jesus"friend, Paul continues to defend himself in his second letter to the Corinthians. "We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have been sincere and honest in all our dealings. We have depended on the grace and wisdom of God, not on our own earthly wisdom. This is how we have conducted ourselves with you and with everyone. My letters have been straightforward. There is nothing "between the lines" and nothing you can not understand. I hope some day you will fully understand us, even if you do not fully understand us now. Then, on the Day when our Lord Jesus comes back again, you will be proud of us, as we are proud of you."(2 Corinthians 1:12-14) Completely honest and sincere in ALL their dealings, and with EVERYONE! That's a remarkable God-honoring record! Can that be said of you? Of me? YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated that you'd like to receive email not...

Yes, my "walking with Jesus"friend, Paul continues to defend himself in his second letter to the Corinthians. "We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have been sincere and honest in all our dealings. We have depended on the grace and wisdom of God, not on our own earthly wisdom. This is how we have conducted ourselves with you and with everyone. My letters have been straightforward. There is nothing "between the lines" and nothing you can not understand. I hope some day you will fully understand us, even if you do not fully understand us now. Then, on the Day when our Lord Jesus comes back again, you will be proud of us, as we are proud of you."(2 Corinthians 1:12-14) Completely honest and sincere in ALL their dealings, and with EVERYONE! That's a remarkable God-honoring record! Can that be said of you? Of me? To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email wa...

We have mighty and victorious affirmations to give us confidence and strengthen us. They are in Psalm 18:46, 16b & 19: "The LORD lives! And blessed be my ROCK and let the God of my salvation be exalted. He sent from Above, He drew me out of many waters...He brought me forth also into a large place; He rescued me BECAUSE He delighted in me." Let's rejoice and live so that the Lord will be delighted in us, my "walking with Jesus" friend. To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated that you'd like to receive email notifications for text messages. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please update your email notification settings . Google LLC 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy Mountain View CA 94043 USA

Connect to Heaven, my "walking with Jesus" friend. With BELIEVING prayer we are enabled to "connect to Heaven," as Paul explains in 2Corinthians 1:8-11, "Dear brothers and sisters, I think you ought to know about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected that we would die. But we did not die, and as a result, we learned to not to rely on ourselves, but on God, who can raise the dead. And GOD did deliver us from mortal danger. And we are confident that He will continue to deliver us. He will rescue us because YOU ARE helping by PRAYING for us. As a result, many will give thanks to God because so MANY people's prayers for our safety have been answered." Wow! Let's keep up our praying for one another, and for our persecuted brothers and sisters all over the world. "...the BELIEVING prayer of a righteous man has great effect....

Good Morning my "walking with Jesus" friend. Have you or I ever needed comfort? Would the comfort of the Lord be helpful now? Let us be thankful for Paul's counsel in 2Corinthians 1:3-7. "All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and our God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles, so that WE can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. You can be SURE that: the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will bless us with comfort through Christ. So, when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your benefit and salvation! For, when God comforts us, it is so we, in turn, can be a comfort and encouragement to you. THEN you will be enabled patiently to endure the same things that we suffer. We are confident that, as you share in suffering, that you will also share in the comfort of the Lord." Because of His great love for us, the Lord giv...

Are you attached? What are you attached to? Yes, my "walking with Jesus" friend, God wants to know. Here's why God wants to know: it's because He sent His Son to save us from wrong/ hurtful/ dangerous attachments and give us NEW life through Jesus. Think of a vine. A healthy, vigorous vine growing strong and producing good fruit. Now, let's picture ourselves as branches in that excellent vine. Firmly attached to the vine, we will bear much fruit, which is what our Heavenly Father desires for us! Therefore, let us rejoice exceedingly in the message of The Son of God, Jesus Christ, in John 15:5. Jesus says:" I am the vine. YOU are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit. For without Me, you can do nothing." Keep us fastened to You, Jesus, enabled to produce much "fruit" for building Your Kingdom on earth. To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This em...

Hang onto your hat, my "walking with Jesus" friend, here comes the strong wind of Paul's declarations in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians. His opening "shot" is strong:"Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ <How? > By THE WILL OF GOD, < and I am not alone in this he says adding > with Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is in Corinth, with all the saints which are in the region of Achaia. We send you Grace and Peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort."(2 Corinthians 1:1-3) clearly, Paul was 100%SURE that his position and work and associations were all directed "by the will of GOD." As a result, he operated boldly, with courage and confidence. Are WE tuned to hear God make His will clear for US? Do WE then, like Paul, follow/act in harmony with the will of God? To respond to this text message, re...

Thanking you, again, for the amazing and very beautiful Mothers'Day flowers. Can you tell that all four lily buds have now fully opened! They are so beautiful. Such a generous blessing you have provided. Sending love to each and all, Mom/GrandmaEllen To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated that you'd like to receive email notifications for text messages. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please update your email notification settings . Google LLC 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy Mountain View CA 94043 USA

YOU are special and unique to the Lord, my "walking with Jesus" friend. A VERY clear evidence of that is the fact that the man of God, the Apostle Paul, takes SUCH great care to mention fellow brothers and sisters in Christ BY NAME in his letters. See how he concludes his first letter to the Corinthians in chapter 16:19-24. "The churches here in the province of Asia greet you heartily in the Lord, along with Aquila and Priscilla, and all the brethren who gather in their home for church meetings. We say to you, greet each other in Christian love. In fact, here is my greeting written in my own handwriting. I declare to you that if any man does not know the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be "Anathema."[under the wrath of God] But, let all who Know the Lord Jesus Christ, say, "Maranatha!" [ Come quickly, Lord.] Now my blessing: May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Sending my love to you all in Christ." Thank You, Lord, for encouraging our...

It has been said, my "walking with Jesus" friend, that "Attitude is everything." Well, guiding Believers in right attitudes, concerns the Apostle Paul as he winds down his 1st letter to the Corinthians. In chapter 16, verses 15-18, he writes:"You know that Stephanas and his household were the first ones in Macedonia, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and now, they are devoting their lives in service to other Believers. I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, to respect them fully, along with others who are serving with great devotion. I am glad that Stephanas, Fortunately, and Achaius came here. They have been a wonderful encouragement to me. You must give proper honor to all who serve so well." In how many ways, my friend, can we express our appreciation today to those whose doings bless us? To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated th...

Good Morning, my "walking with Jesus" friend, before we go back to Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, since it's the 10th, let's praise the Lord with a passage from the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John. We face: a statement of fact, with a promise, then, a warning about motives, followed by a declaration of amazing assurance, in John 10:9-11, Jesus said: "I am the door of the sheep fold, by Me, if any man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture. But, be watchful, the thief comes with the motives to steal, kill and destroy <be sure to keep the thief out, and remember > I, the Good Shepherd, am come so you may have Life, and have it MORE ABUNDANTLY." Be watchful, my friend, and be careful to follow the Good Shepherd/ to walk in His footsteps and be blessed with His abundance of Spirit. To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sen...

Yes, please, my "walking with Jesus" friend, we would like a WHOLE cookie, a WHOLE slice, a WHOLE cup full. And what about our WHOLE heart? Psalm 9, says:"I will praise You, O Lord, with my WHOLE heart, and tell of all Your marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You. I will sing praises to Your Name, O Most High. When my enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at Your Presence...I will rejoice in Your salvation."(Psalm 9:1-3&14b) and Jesus said:"Let your light so SHINE before men that they may see your good works and give glory to God."(Matthew 5:16) Praying that you and the Lord will make this a shiny day for Jesus, to the glory of God, our Heavenly Father. To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated that you'd like to receive email notifications for text messages. If you don't want to receive such emails in...

Thank you. Thank you. The photos came through! So delighted to get a quick look at the recognition of strong accomplishment! Congratulations to Sharon...and Aaron! And thank you, again, for sending the photos YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated that you'd like to receive email notifications for text messages. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please update your email notification settings . Google LLC 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy Mountain View CA 94043 USA