Be of Good Courage

Joshua 1:7-9 "Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. "This Book of the Law shall not depart from you mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to what is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." 

Wow! What an encouragement and exhortation from the Lord! We have the whole counsel of God; everything that we need for life and godliness. We must meditate on the word and have it hidden in our heart. Our lives will prosper and flourish from being with the Lord and walking in His commandments. We will be a reflection of Him, if we don't stray from the word He has given to us. He, throughout scripture, promises us victory. Through our obedience to Him and His word, He promises us good success.

Ask the Lord today to bring to remembrance the things He has taught you. Be of good courage; He's with you wherever you go!

What are we seeking?

But you, o man ( woman) of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. 1 Timothy 6:11.

We, as Christian women, should be fleeing harmful lusts. If we're not careful we'll stray from the faith. The Lord gives us the strength to walk in what He's called us to. He has a different plan for us than the plan that the world is following. People see our lives daily. What are they seeing us pursue? There's so much out there for us to be tempted into following. It's a must that we're walking closely with The Lord. He has set us apart ladies! Let's be different than the world by following Him. 

Romans 12:9 says, "Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good." 

He is good. His word is good. He is calling us to walk in repentance today!

Joy

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You. Psalm 5:11

Joy comes from:  

Loving God

Psalm 5:11 let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.

Being in His presence
Psalm 16:11 You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy

His faithfulness
Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of Salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness..

His Word
Jeremiah 15:16 Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.

Being refreshed in the Lord
Act 8:5-6, 8 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. And there was great joy in that city.

Stony Hearts

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."  Ezekiel 36:26-27

Our heart can be hardened by so many things. The weight of this world, our sinful flesh, and the enemy are coming at us constantly. Many times our heart is hard in areas that we don't even realize. Pray and ask God to show you those areas, then ask Him to soften your heart. He will take our stony hearts and turn them to hearts of flesh! This will enable us to keep His word and walk in His ways. Ladies, we need the strength of The Lord to walk faithfully in this world. He will refresh us and help us to be doers of His word, but we have to cry out to Him and give Him our stony hearts. Remember, He is faithful even when we are not. Give The Lord you heart and allow Him to transform you! Walk in His grace and forgiveness each day pressing on to what lies ahead!

Fragrance

For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 
2 Corinthians 2:15

How we live our lives as Christian women impact all those around us. Each of us has a different group of people we can reach for the Lord. Each person we come in contact with is counting on us as believers to be in right relationship with God. What we put into our lives is what eventually comes out. We can sow to the flesh and reap corruption or sow to the Spirit and reap everlasting life.
When we look at our lives and how we are walking with Jesus daily, does it reflect Jesus to those around us? Are we giving off the fragrance of Jesus to those among us to be saved? 

Thoughts of God

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD... 
Jeremiah 29:11-14a

When we know the thoughts our God thinks about us, which are peace and not evil, our hearts respond in a totally different way. When we know and understand the love God has for us, we won't approach Him in a way that is full of guilt and condemnation. His thoughts toward us are Peace (freedom from disturbance or agitation). The next three verses shows us what our hearts will do and how God responds to us when we know what God is like.

Our hearts                                                         God

1. We will call on God                           1. God will listen

2.  We will pray to God                         2. God will listen

3. We will seek God and find Him          3. God promises us we will find Him

Jesus loves you so much and desires all of your heart not just part of it. Give yourself away to Him today!!!!



                                                         

Memories of God's Hand in your life!

Joshua 4:21-24 Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What are these stones?' then you shall let your children know, saying, 'Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land'; "for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, "that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever."

 The children of Israel got to see the Lord do many miracles as they walked with Him. His hand was upon them through the parting of the Red Sea, when they were crossing over into the promise land through the Jordan on dry ground. As you look back on your life recently and in the past you can see the hand of God all over your life. 

1. Take time today to remember how the Lord has touched your life. 

2. Tell people how He has touched your life. Just like the children of Israel were to tell their children what the stones signified.