What excites you?

I have had a theme lately with my devotions. Mostly about serving God with our all, serving the Body with joy and enthusiasm. And being genuinely excited about our Heavenly Father with sincere zeal and excitement. 
This being said I understand totally the daily factors that come into play with our emotions. I understand that our physical bodies at times  do not cooperate with our desires. 
As I have read my devotions everyday and prayed, I have been thinking about this. How do I react when I hear about the great things the Lord is doing?  How do I react during worship, or during church? Am I more excited about something I see on TV?  Or am I more excited about something else in my life than I am during worship?
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2:9‬ ‭HCSB‬‬
This scripture spoke to me strongly. How do I act, how do I respond? Do I have that zeal and enthusiasm? Do my actions reflect Who is Lord in my life? They should! 
Folks, we are chosen by God.  We are His children. Let's show that excitement. No matter what we are doing in life, nothing is more deserving of our excitement, zeal, enthusiasm, and passion than our Lord Jesus. 
When we get to church let's come in ready to lay it all down, and worship God with everything that is within us.  Let's lay aside the weeks highs and lows. If we can be excited about "stuff" that filled our week, then we certainly should have much more to offer to our Lord, who was crucified for you and me, who sacrificed His all, so that we can have a life filled with His love. 
Be encouraged people.  Jesus knows our weaknesses, He knows our strengths.  He is always there with arms opened wide for us. It is never too late to show Him our joy and excitement we have for Him.  

Are you alone?

As many of you know I have spent the last 4 weeks recovering from complications of surgery. This is not something you plan for. Or maybe you have been dealing with another sort of crisis in your life. Either way, we are never prepared for those things.  Or at least we don't think we are. So how do we respond or handle these sudden difficulties?
When I was in the hospital I asked God to use me to encourage someone else.  How would He use me, I had no idea. But I wanted to remain open and available to Him. I would intercede for others as they came to mind.  I tried to keep a positive attitude, especially to the hospital staff.  I felt myself feeling "grumpy" one day. I asked God to help me with that because I did not want to be grumpy to anyone else.
So I began to think about this and try to prepare myself mentally and emotionally so when someone entered my room they would feel the love of God was present. And that I would have words of encouragement to give out. I knew I had to be there, so I figured I may as well be useful.
Is it easy to have a positive attitude when you are facing a crisis? Absolutely not! Do we have an attitude of faith, knowing God is right there with us? Not always! So how did I do it?
There are a couple of verses in Ephesians 1:15-16 -For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. These verses speak life, hope, and love to me.  Not only do I know that our Lord Jesus is always by my side, I know that the Body of Christ is praying for me. That is where I get my strength. And that also encourages me to continually pray for others.  Because of that attitude of prayer and thanksgiving, I can keep that attitude of faith, I can stay positive and encourage others.
It is so important to remember this. Not just for myself, but for the others around me. We all need those gentle reminders and encouragement. No matter what your crisis is, it is important to you. Therefore it is important to God. And since it is important to God, then we as believers are to stay in that place of thanksgiving for those in your life.  That will, in turn, encourage those struggling.
That is a huge part of what Christianity is all about.  Sharing the love of Christ with those in need. Letting them know, they are not alone.
When we are struggling but are firm about sharing that love with others, we soon find out how encouraged we feel. By giving out, our Lord Jesus meets us in our time of need.
I pray these words encourage you all.  My heart is to share the truths I have learned  through my own trials. Be blessed my friends.
You are not alone!

Who is your supplier?

I am now out of the hospital after a 2 week stay.  During that time one has a lot of time to think and ponder things.  It would be very easy to get discouraged. It would be very easy to lose sight of Who is in charge. It would be very easy to lose faith.  I, by no means am a superwoman. I can just as easily get as discouraged as the next. But I fight very hard not to. I do not want to give up or give the enemy room to move in.
While I was doing a devotional one morning, Philippians 1:19 came up. “For I am well assured and indeed know that through your prayers and a bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) this will turn out for my preservation (for the spiritual health and welfare of my own soul) and avail toward the saving work of the Gospel.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1:19‬ ‭AMP
This spoke strongly to me. Who am I trusting for my supply?  Where does my supply come from? Jesus!  He is our wealthy Benefactor.  Do we even tell Jesus what is on our mind, what concerns we might have? Do we ask Him to fill our void?  He likes to hear from us.  He wants to have a conversation with us. He doesn't want it to be a one sided conversation. He would like to share with us what He has in mind for us. It may totally surprise us. And it may not be all about us.  He may desire to use us in our present situation to reach someone else.  That's right, while laying in a hospital bed, Jesus may want to use you.
That morning, as I prayed, I asked Jesus to take care of me. But I also asked Him to use me for His glory. Did I know His plan, and how this would happen, no.  But I know what the Word of God says. He is my supplier, and He will use me to glorify Himself, and reach others. That is a loving God, who cares about our every situation and loves all of us beyond measure.
The next time you are facing a difficult situation in your life, take a moment to talk with Jesus, listen to what He has to say, and trust Him to be your supplier. He will not disappoint.