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Month: June 2023

Approved

Approved

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I was at the store one day, and I used one of those express lanes that you check your own groceries out, and I finished my purchase, paid for my items with my card and proceeded to my car. When I got to my car, one of the employees came running out after me, and told me that I hadn’t paid for my items. 

I told her that the machine had said approved, but she said it still showed I owed money. I went back in and sure enough, it said approved, but there wasn’t enough money on my card, so it bounced back. Who knew? I always thought that if there was no money on the card, it would say so. I guess not…..sigh. I added the needed cash, paid again for real this time and left.

All of this made me think about how we are always “approved” with God. We can never run low with Him. Our bank account is always full. 

We sometimes have to deal with a lot in our day to day living, and our spirits can take a beating from trying so hard to do what is right. But when we give our lives to Jesus Christ, God justifies us. That means that our relationship with Jesus makes us right with God. 

We don’t have to worry about doing anything. It is already done. God loves us just as we are.

That means that we can stop worrying about the things we can do nothing about…especially when it comes to other people. We sometimes worry so much about what others think that we lose focus of what God thinks. That their opinion of us means more than God’s opinion of us. And nothing should be that extreme. God’s opinion is the only one that really counts anyway, right?

So, whenever that little credit card reader says approved…first make sure your transaction actually went through…lol.

…And then give God a little thank you.

Until next time…

Be blessed

This Joy I Have

This Joy I Have

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I remember not too long ago I went to visit some patients at a local rehab center, and for some reason that night it felt different than it had on previous visits. It seemed like everyone we visited was so full of the love of the Lord that it was almost overwhelming. They couldn’t wait to talk about how much they loved Him and trusted Him. 

The best part was that they didn’t feel like their current circumstances meant that they were being punished for anything. Sometimes we feel like God is not pleased with us so He takes it out on us. That is so far from the truth. And the people in the rehab center that day knew it. They knew that they could still have the joy of the Lord in the midst of what they were going through. They didn’t doubt that God was in control, and that what they were experiencing was His all-encompassing, all-consuming, all-powerful grace.

It brings me joy just thinking about God’s goodness and how His grace is so amazing. And the really awesome part is that we can’t do anything to deserve it, or to get more of it. God just gives it to us brand new every morning. The word says that we are blessed in the city and in the country (Deuteronomy 28:3). We are blessed going out and coming in (Deuteronomy 28:6). God covers us no matter where we are, and He never has, or ever will turn His back on us. Amen.

The joy of the Lord says that even when you have a hard time feeling His presence, you can be assured that He is always there. That’s His promise. I love knowing that because you and I mess up…sometimes big time, we can still have joy knowing that trouble won’t last always. Nothing we do will ever stop how He feels about us. He delights in us, and He looks forward to blessing us. And we will always be the apple of His eye. Praise God!

Until next time…

Be blessed