Joy Today

Our friends listen for news of our doings, right? my "walking with Jesus" friend. Well, Paul takes care to tell his Believing friends in Corinth, how things have been with him. "Beloved brothers and sisters, when we arrived in Macedonia there was no rest for us. Outside, there was conflict from every direction, and inside there was fear. BUT GOD, who gives encouragement to any who are discouraged, gave US encouragement by the arrival of our fellow minister Titus. Yes, his coming was a great JOY, and so was the news he brought us from you. We were greatly encouraged to learn of your loyal love for us, and rejoiced to know that you are looking forward to our next visit." (2 Corinthians 7:5-7) As you and I walk with the Lord, and LET His light shine through us, let us pray that the Lord will encourage others by our faithfulness and by our visiting one another to love and to encourage. To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCO...

On the 29th, my "walking with Jesus" friend, we pause, and lift up our hearts with Psalm 29, wherein we are instructed: "Give unto the Lord, O you mighty, 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 divides the flames of fire...and shakes the wilderness of Kadesh...and in His temple everyone speaks of His glory. The Lord sits upon the flood; yes, the Lord sits king forever. < And our Lord of glory has, amazingly recorded that > He will give strength to His people, God will bless His people with peace."(Psalm 29, selected verses) What will happen when we are careful to LISTEN TO, and obey the Voice of the LORD? LISTEN, and find out! To respond to this text message, reply to this ...

Now Paul has a special request and an expression of gratitude and praise. "Please, open your hearts to us. We have been honest and hard working among you, preaching the LORD Christ with sincere hearts. So, we tell you that you are in our hearts forever...we have the highest confidence in you in the Faith of the Gospel, that you are remaining steadfast. My joy in you is great. Your faith-walk greatly encourages me; in spite of all your troubles, you are keeping the Faith, and that gives me reason to Praise the Lord "(2 Corinthians 7:2-4) Are WE standing steadfast in the Gospel? By our words and deeds are we rejoicing the hearts of those whose hearts are fully committed to the Lord? Let us pray that the Lord will show us how to keep growing in faith and service. 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 tex...

Yes, my "walking with Jesus" friend, we are now "walking" into chapter 7, of 2 Corinthians. Paul writes:"Dear brothers and sisters, because we have these great promises from God recorded in Leviticus and the prophets, let us rejoice and cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile/ make unclean, our body and our spirit. Let us work toward being pure and holy, just as God has called us to be, as His people, to be a Light in the world." (2Corinthians 7:1) We remember that Jesus said:" Let your light so SHINE before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven."(Matthew 5:16) 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 ...

Please, "hang onto your hat," my "walking with Jesus" friend. Now, Paul dramatically quotes some powerful passages from the Old Testament; from Leviticus (1490 B.C.)and from the prophets Isaiah(760 B.C.) and Ezekiel (595 B.C). Why is this EXCITING? Because Paul is connecting God, The only True God, the God of the Hebrew people for more than a thousand years!!!, whose affections, advice, corrections and actions with His people set the pattern for the coming of Jesus Christ to be their Redeemer, and ours! Paul's Old Testament quotations show that GOD is ALWAYS the same, "...yesterday, today and forever."(Hebrews 13:8)Paul writes, " God has said, 'I will live with them and walk among them. I will be their God, and THEY will be my people.'(Leviticus 26:12)'Therefore, says the LORD, come out from among them...Do not touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you '(Isaiah 52:11) And, says the LORD, I will be your Father, and YOU w...

"Our hearts are open to you," Paul wrote to the Corinthians. "I do not want any problem between us, but, if there were to arise any problem between us, it would NOT be for lack of love on our part, it would be because you would have with-held YOUR love from us. Yes, I am talking to you as I would talk to my own children. Keep your hearts open to us. Be cautious! Do NOT team up with any who are unbelievers. Ask yourselves: How can Goodness be a partner with wickedness? How can Light live with darkness? Keep it clear in your heart and mind that Christ is opposed to the devil, so, a Believer should not partner with an unbeliever. There can be no union between the Temple of God and idols. Remember that YOU are the temple of the living God, because His Spirit DWELLS in you since the first moment of your Believing that Jesus Christ IS the only Son of the Living God, He forgives your sins and sets you on the path to right-living now, and Eternal Life to come." My, "w...

Paul continues to share with the Corinthians the troubles and hardships he and his team endure for the sake of spreading the Gospel. And we are amazed at his persistence. May we, also, be undeterred in our proclamation of the Good News of salvation. "We are honest, but they call us imposters. We are, actually, well-known, but they treat us as unknown. Sometimes we live close to death, but the Lord is keeping us alive. We have been beaten within an inch of our lives. Our hearts ache, but we always have the JOY of the Lord. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet, we have everything, because we have the Lord! Oh dear Corinthian friends, we have spoken honestly with you. Our hearts are open to you."(2 Corinthians 6:8-11) Hearts OPEN to fellow Believers!! Wonderful fact. May our hearts be open to one another in the Lord, always ready to understand, pray and respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit, my friend. To respond to this text message, ...

Good Morning, my "walking with Jesus" friend, in 2nd Corinthians 6:6-8, Paul strongly testifies about his work: "We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord, by the way we act, and so no one can find fault with our ministry. In EVERYTHING we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles, hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, put in jail, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. We have proven ourselves by our purity, understanding, patience, kindness, sincere love and our walk in the Holy Spirit. We have faithfully preached the truth and rejoiced that God works His power through us. God gives us righteousness as our weapon, both to attack the forces of darkness and to provide effective defence. We serve the Lord God Almighty, whether people honor us, or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We just keep preaching The...

"Walking with Jesus," my friend, we now find ourselves in 2 Corinthians 6:1-3. The Apostle Paul writes: "We have been called by God and are partners with Him, so we encourage you to embrace the marvellous message of the Love of of God in Christ. For God has told us: 'At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.' Indeed, God is ready, right now, to help you. Today IS the day of salvation." Every day, we can look to the Lord for His wise instructions for salvation, His lifting us up, His strength to live righteously. "For the Lord will bless those who are righteous, with favor He will compass them about as with a shield."(Psalm 5:12) Be one of the RIGHTEOUS ONES, 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 wa...

Good Morning, my "walking with Jesus" friend, I think we can agree that direct information and instructions are greatly appreciated. So, let's rejoice together on the 20th, in the 20th Psalm, verse 7:"SOME trust in horses, and SOME trust in chariots, but WE will TRUST IN THE NAME OF THE LORD OUR GOD." Believe His love. Trust His Word. Walk in His Light. Be blessed and be a blessing to others, 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 email notification settings . Google LLC 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy Mountain View CA 94043 USA

Let's look UP, my "walking with Jesus" friend. The sky is UP, and the sky "talks." What does it say? Psalm 19, says: "The heavens declare the GLORY of God, yes, the heavens show His handiwork. Day after day utters speech and night after night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. In the heavens, God has set a tabernacle for the sun...The law of the Lord <Who created the Heavens and the earth > is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple...the judgements of the Lord are right... <considering all this, let us pray > Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer."(Psalm 19, selected verses) 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 receiv...

Now, my "walking with Jesus" friend, with the LORD having given us NEW life in Christ, He has now given us a very special responsibility, Paul tells the Corinthian brothers and sisters in the Faith: "And God has now given us the task of reconciling people to Him. We understand that God was/is in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, through repentance, and His Grace, cancelling people's sin debts. This is the wonderful message of reconciliation that God has given to us to tell others. Think of it this way: we are ambassadors for Christ, and God has instructed us to bring this message of reconciliation to you. We urge you, as though Christ Himself were speaking to you: Be reconciled to God! Because, God made Christ, who NEVER sinned, to be the offering to cover our sin, so that WE could be made right with the Holy God, through Christ."(2 Corinthians 5:18-21) So, be UP in your Spirit with great JOY, as you focus on the salvation of God and walk in the Light o...

Why does the Apostle Paul work SO hard? Well, my "walking with Jesus" friend, he tells the Corinthians why in his second letter to them. And WE get to know why as we read:"It is because we have this solemn fear of the Lord/ this awesome respect for Who God IS and what He requires, that we work so hard, preach and teach all the time, risk our lives to spread the Gospel. God knows that we are sincere, and you, our brothers and sisters in the Faith, you know our sincerity also. Are we trying to pay ourselves on the back? Certainly not! Actually, we are giving you reasons to be proud of us and our sincere approach, so you can consider wisely those who present a showy ministry, rather than having a sincere heart before God...Whatever WE do, it is because the love of Christ controls us."(2 Corinthians 5:11-14) Are WE controlled and directed by "the love of Christ"?Why not LET the love of CHRIST, the Son of God, our Savior, be the power that controls us? To resp...

How shall we walk, my "walking with Jesus" friend? Paul writes: "Because we have been given the guarantee of the Holy Spirit, we walk/ live with the inner confidence that as long as we are in our human body, we are not yet at home with the Lord. Yes, we walk/ live, by FAITH, not by sight: we walk by the Word of the LORD, not by the things of the world, for we have learned Christ!...May our goal always be to please Christ...For we must all, ultimately, stand before Christ to be judged. And we will be given rewards, according to whatever good or evil we will have done while living in our human body. That, my brothers and sisters, is something we should keep in mind as we make decisions." (2 Corinthians 5:6-10) 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 receiv...

Brothers and sisters, my fellow Believers in Christ Jesus, we rejoice and have full confidence in the plan of God for His people: For we KNOW that when this earthly tent that we live in is taken down, when we die and leave our present body, we will have a home in Heaven, and we will be given an eternal body, made for us by God Himself. Yes, we grow weary in our present bodies, and we look forward to the day when God will put on our Heavenly bodies, like new clothing. For we will not be spirits without bodies. God has prepared Heavenly bodies for us. And, as a guarantee, He has given us His Holy Spirit, to guide, correct, instruct and inspire us here and now. Rejoice in this knowledge, beloved brothers and sisters. Let your life glow with love for the Lord, gratitude for His wonderful plans for us, and kindness toward one another. (2 Corinthians 5:-7) Bless the Lord, my "walking with Jesus" friend. To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOU...

To rightly handle and triumph over what is temporary, we need an eternal perspective. And THAT, my "walking with Jesus" friend, is what Paul gives the Corinthians, and us, in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: "Confident of the glory of God, we never give up. Even though our bodies are growing old, our Spirits are being renewed by the power of God, every day! Our perspective is that our present troubles are quite small, and will not last very long. Yet, because the Lord enables us to be steadfast in proclaiming the promise through Christ of Eternal Life, today's troubles will lead to immeasurably great glory that will last FOREVER! Because this is true, we do not focus on today's troubles, instead, we look forward to what God has promised. We KNOW that the troubles will soon be over, but the JOYS of Everlasting Life will be forever." Almighty God, we praise Your Holy Name. Help us always to have an Eternal perspective, so that we overcome present troubles by keeping ou...

Considering ALL that Christ has done for you, brothers and sisters, I call on you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. This is a very reasonable request, for all that Christ Jesus has done for you. And do not let the world/the culture squeeze you into it's shape. Resist that. Instead, be TRANSFORMED! How? By the renewing of your mind/renewed back to the God-focused mind our Creator intended. THEN, your life walk will please the Lord and draw others into the Kingdom of God. (see Romans 12:1-2) Focus on Jesus, my friend, "Be strong in the LORD, and in the power of His might, put on the Whole Armor of God..."(Ephesians 6:10-11a) 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 em...

The stark truth of his situation is now set forth by Paul to the Corinthians:"Because we are serving Jesus and preaching the Gospel boldly, we are under constant threat of death. The life of Jesus will be declared if we die. Yes, we live in the face of the threat of death, but we continue to stand firm, and so we have been able to bring you the message of salvation and Eternal Life. So it is worth the risk and the danger. We continue to preach because we have been given the same kind of faith the Psalmist had when he said:'I BELIEVE IN GOD, AND SO I SPEAK.'(Psalm 116:10)We KNOW that the same God who raised from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ will also raise us with Jesus and present us to Himself, along with all of you, our Believing brothers and sisters. All this is for your benefit. And, as the grace of God brings more and more people to faith in Christ, there will be greater and greater thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory."(2 Corinthians 4:11-15...

Demonstrating what it REALLY means to BE: "Strong in the Lord and in the power of HIS might," here, my "Walking with Jesus"friend, is what he writes in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10, "Continuing in the work to which God has called us: to preach Christ, we are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed or broken. We are often perplexed, but we never give up and will never quit. Although we are sometimes hunted down, still our faithful God sticks with us. We get knocked down, but we always get up and keep going. As we think about all this, we realize that, through suffering, we share in the sacrificial death of Jesus, so that, in fact, the life of our Risen Savior may be seen in us and draw many to salvation. Suffering has the purpose to draw us closer to our Heavenly Father, and learn to triumph OVER troubles." We are advised, and promised: "Be of good courage and God will strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord." (Psalm 31:24) S...

Making it clear what focus Paul and his fellow evangelists have is his next intention as he continues in the 2nd letter to the Corinthians, chapter 4, verses 5-7:"We do not go around perching about ourselves, we preach Christ Jesus, the Lord. The only thing we say about ourselves is that we come as servants because of what Christ has done for us. Because God, who commanded the light to SHINE out of darkness, has shine in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We have this precious treasure: this light and power that now shine in us, in the perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies, so that everyone can see that the glorious power working in us is from GOD, and is not our own." And now, we focus on the FACT, my "walking with Jesus" friend, that:" GOD has not given us a spirit of fear, GOD has given us a spirit of power and of Love and of a Sound Mind."(2 Timothy 1:7) Let's focus our deci...

Love, Mom 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

Wonderful. Perfect time. So excited to see you and have time together! Are you flying into Twin Falls? Do you want me to meet you? 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

We notice, my "walking with Jesus" friend, that Paul is eager to have the Corinthian brothers and sisters REALLY understand things. He writes: "If the Gospel that we preach is veiled to anyone/is strange to any one, be aware that it's a sign that their soul is perishing. Satan, the Prince of this world, the evil one, has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. They can not see the glorious light of the Good News. Sadly, they do not understand the message we preach about the glory of Christ, who IS the exact likeness of God." Oh my friend, we praise God that He has opened OUR eyes to see, to spiritually see, the glorious Gospel of Christ: God is Holy. He desires that we be near Him in this life and live with Him forever after this life. But, bring holy, God can not look upon our sin/ our wrong- doing. How to "erase" our sin? God sent His sinless Son to "pay" for our sins "and redeem us from all iniquity..."(Titus 2:14) When w...

Defending himself is one of the main reasons why Paul wrote 2 Corinthians. We can certainly tell that, my "walking with Jesus" friend, by what he writes as we start into chapter 4. "And so, since God in His mercy has called us to preach the Gospel, and gives us strength, we never give up. We are careful in our words and actions. We reject all shameful or underhanded methods. We are straightforward. We tell the truth before God. Everyone who looks at us and hears us honestly can tell that we speak the truth of GOD!" My friend, as we share the Good News of salvation and New Life through Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, are WE careful to be straightforward and clear? Shall we pray for wisdom in communicating the Gospel, so that the Spirit of the Living God shines in all we say and do! 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 r...

Life is a combination of sunshine and rain, as we know, my "walking with Jesus" friend. The sunshine wins out when we walk with Jesus, Who IS the Light of the world. In 2 Corinthians 3:17, Paul reaffirms the truth that:" Where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is liberty." Liberty from sin and sorrow, BECAUSE, we know the Lord, through Christ, and are enabled to SEE the sun shinning THROUGH the rain/ able to see God with us and at work through any and all circumstances. We are not "stuck" in circumstances. God enables us to overcome circumstances and walk straight with him. By the resurrection power of God through Christ, "we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of God. As we LET the Spirit of God work in us more and more, we become more and more able to reflect the glory of God," wrote Paul. (2 Corinthians 3:18) Shall we praise God for His Word and walk in the Light of His Spirit!!!? To respond to this text message, reply to this email ...