Look up!
Through it all, keep your eyes on Jesus! I do believe this is the best advice I can give to myself and those around me.
When we do that, we will be looking at the One who has all the answers. Look up, not around! When we look up we are looking toward the heavens, but when we look down or around, we are looking only at the carnal world. Earthly carnal things change, but heavenly things always remain the same; they never change! Looking up and to the light of Jesus Christ, we will have joy and strength. Nehemiah 8:10 … Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Everyone who calls himself a Christian should have the joy of the Lord because his or her strength comes from that joy. We need to read the scriptures about joy and apply them to our life.
We live in a very sinful, sick world, but when we have Jesus in our life, we are to tell others about where our hope, joy, and peace come from -- His name is Jesus. He came to make a way (the only way!) for all people to have eternal life. We simply must believe and trust in Jesus Christ who died to pay for our sins. Our purpose is to tell others that they too can have hope, joy, and peace of mind.
The joy comes because we have life eternal with the Creator of the world and we are saved from our sin because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. The early disciples had extreme hardships. Nevertheless, Paul wrote in Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Paul calls our purpose a race and we need to finish it with joy, just like Paul and the other disciples did.
I feel sorry for those who turn their back on the Gospel of Jesus Christ because time is running out! For those of us who know Heaven is our home, let us enjoy the journey, even in hard or devastating times. Joy comes when we know our Lord is with us, and He will see us through.
1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.
Recent Dear Judy Posts
How do I get rid of all this anxiety this time of year? At times I feel so much pressure and confusion, it takes my breath away.
I go to church, and I also listen to services online. It seems to me there is a trend toward thinking that hell is not real. Is this true? Is there a real hell?
That is a question often asked by new believers. The Bible is very clear about this. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
I am somewhat of a new believer. I struggle with who I am and my past HUGE mistakes. How do I get beyond all of this?
Recent Food For Thought Articles
This article is titled Food for Thought so why don’t we give some thought to our walk with the Lord as we close this year out. What have we learned from this year? What things do we want to change and not take into the coming year?
We need to rise in gratefulness and thanksgiving to our Lord and Savior. We need to praise Him more than we ever have. Like no other time has it been more important that we be in our manual for success, the Bible. We need to know for a fact that if we should die today, we are going to heaven. Heaven and Hell are real,
The Holy Spirit has been speaking to me about prayer. We must give thought to how Jesus told his disciples to pray.
So many horrible things are happening in our world today—children and adults gunned down in the middle of prayer, lives being destroyed by wars, famines, floods, fires, absolute madness– and if we allow ourselves to focus totally on these things, fear can totally take over and then we will become victims instead of a v