Rejoice!!!!!!

How did the frown fast go?

Mine went...not so good. I found that I pout and frown a lot, for no reason what so ever, and the majority of the time, without even realizing what I'm doing. People this is not okay. As much as I would love to pass my "moods" off as nothing, they are not nothing, and neither are yours. Philippians  4:4 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" 

I'm pretty sure that says "always", not "sometimes". It's easy to rejoice when everything in our world is great, it's when the going gets tough that that's not so easy. Regardless of when rejoicing is hard or easy, we are called to do it anyway. 

Here are some pretty basic reasons why we have every reason in the world and in the heavenly realms to rejoice...

1. God! God is real, and everything else flows from that. Including our moods. Consider what our moods would be like if God weren't real...deplorable! And we would have good reason for it if that were the case, but it's not!!! He is so real, therefore our rejoicing and joy should be so real.

2. Jesus! We are a saved people, there is nothing in our lives worth our worry. As actual Christians, believers in God, and as his loving followers, we're going to Heaven. Therefore we will be okay, no matter what happens on this earth. That's all because of Jesus!

3. Holy Spirit! We are never alone. We are always accompanied by the Holy Spirit, no matter how big of a mess we are in.

4. We live in the United States of America! We have every material possession we could ever need of ask for. We have the basic needs...clothing, shelter, and food, because we live in this great nation. Plus, being a christian wont get you killed here. I would say that's pretty awesome

5. We have incredible families!

6. We have incredible friends! 

7. We belong to, with out a doubt, the most loving church family in the world!

and I'm going to stop because that's 7, a whole number. But you and I both know that we could go on literally forever.

The point is that yeah, we have allll these reasons to rejoice, but even if we didn't, does God need a reason to ask us to do something? No, He's called us to rejoice always, so lets rejoice with all of our hearts!

Psalms 86: 8-10

Among the gods there in none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.

All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name. 

For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.

Gloria

Jumping for Joy Is Good Exercise

“Since I have my life before me”

By Brooke Bronkowski

I’ll live my life to the fullest. I’ll be happy. I’ll brighten up. I will be more joyful than I have ever been. I will be kind to others. I will loosen up. I will tell others about Christ. I will go on adventures and change the world. I will be bold and not change who I really am. I will have no troubles but instead help others with their troubles.

You see, I’ll be one of those people who live to be history makers at a young age. Oh, I’ll have moments, good and bad, but I will wipe away the bad and only remember the good. In fact that’s all I remember, just good moments, nothing in between, just living my life to the fullest. I’ll be one of those people who go somewhere with a mission, an awesome plan, a world-changing plan, and nothing will hold me back. I’ll set an example for others, I will pray for direction.

I have my life before me. I will give others the joy I have and God will give me more joy. I will do everything God tells me to do. I will follow the footsteps of God. I will do my best!!!

Brooke’s life on earth ended her freshman year of high school at the age of 14. Her impact, however, did not end. Over fifteen hundred people attended her memorial service. Some people read poems she had written about her love for God. Everyone spoke of her example and her joy. (Crazy Love, by Francis Chan)

When I read this I am inspired and wish I lived that way; I imagine you have similar feeling. The thing is, Brooke thought she had much more life to live, just like you and I, but that may not be the case. Since this may not be the case, why don’t we actually follow through with our desire to live more like Brooke? 

This may sound absurd, but I’m inviting you to join me in a frown fast! For the next 2 days (we will start out easy, if you can even call that easy) try to obtain a pleasant expression at all times! When you find your self frowning or feeling cross for any reason, give yourself a little pinch. Believe me, I realize this sounds outlandish but I think it’s worth a try, and I think God deserves this from us. Yes things happen in life, really hard things, but in the grand scheme of life there’s not much reason to have a frowny face. As Christians, we’re going to be okay. Come what may! We’re on our way to our Father, but while we’re here lets give Him the best we can! 

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all of our days. Psalms 90:14

Thank you for visiting the GPS devotional blogspot. I know my invitation is crazy, but we have a crazy awesome God. Let’s give it a go!

Gloria Walker

p.s. this could turn into an opportunity to “consider the dolphin”