Joy Unspeakable and Full of Glory!!!!!!/ My Testimony!

                               1 Peter 1:3-8
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various [a]trials, 7 so that the [b]proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which [c]is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and [d]full of glory,

We sing the song and we proclaim the joy but do we really have it? Are they just words to a song or is your life evident of this joy?

Joy is a gift of God. An inward cheerful reflection of the nature of God.
Paul and Silas, were filled with that joy as they sang in that prison as they had been beaten and they were in pain with their backs oozing  and bleeding . It is a joy that catches the attention of the believers and unbelievers alike. It is a joy that makes people that come in contact w/ you or who know you say, I want what they have...It is a joy from our salvation, it is Jesus in our hearts.Obeying Jesus' commands is the key to unlocking that joy.

I grew up in church, was raised to know all about being and living a christian life . But, from teenhood on to some of my young adult life i had strayed from being a christian though I never stopped believing in Jesus and what He did on that cross for me. Then a time came when I was hospitalized for a mini stroke and my mother's pastor came to visit me. I will never forget that man as long as I live... Pastor Mark Walker walked into my hospital room and yes, I will admit the first thing I and every nurse on that floor noticed was that he was to die for gorgeous. But, then I saw it... He had something radiating from him that I couldn't look away from but, I new that I had to have it for myself...He had Joy unspeakable and full of glory.... He glowed with the joy of the Lord. that was the day my life turned around for the good and I am still here today to serve God as long as I live.

A lot of people like to identify themselves as "Christians" by their bumper stickers or the crosses they wear or the artwork they display in their homes, Or by their pious talk, or by the fact that they go to church every sunday. But a clear, distinguishable mark of the faith of Jesus Christ is this joy unspeakable and full of glory that results from a life of obedience to Jesus' comands.

Joy unspeakable and full of glory is ours if we trust Jesus fully, if we prove to be His friends, if we obey His commands. Paul wrote to the romans.....the kingdom of God is not what you eat or drink; it is righteousness, peace and joy of the Holy Spirit.

How many of us "christians" today could live like the early christians... some homeless, some not sure of where their next meal will come from , some beaten and tortured and some even killed because they bore the name christians and yet they still retained  their joy in the Lord. Could you do it? I would like to think I could but, I don't know. To many christians today say and sing  that they have the joy of the Lord, joy unspeakable and full of glory , yet they are depressed, discouraged, angry, worried, miserable, unhappy, etc.  but there is hope for all of us...

Phillipians 4:8 tells us how to retain that joy. How to have a life of joy unspakable and full of glory.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is [a]lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, [b]dwell on these things.

As for me, I plan to keep working on that joy regardless of my situations just as it says in James 1:2.
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.

The Favor of God!!!!!

To me the favor of God is annointing, blessings,  extra and above anything that I could possibly do, grace beyond measure of what I deserve etc.
Webster's dictionary explains favor as: a gracious kindness, a token of one's love, a special priveledge or right granted, preferential treatment, to be treated much better than we could expect. 
So how do we obtain the favor of God? Here are some of the ways listed.
1) by praying.....Job 33:26
He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness.
2) by keeping His commandments......Proverbs 3:1-4
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
3) by seeking and finding God's wisdom........ Proverbs 8:35
For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.
4) by diligently seeking good.....Proverbs 11:27, 12:2
He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.
5) by living righteously ........Proverbs 14:9
Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.
There are more ways but, for the sake of boring you i will just give you these few to start you on your journey.
So why do I want the favor of God? Here is just some of the benefits of being in the favor of God.
1) Our petitions are more likely to be granted .... Esther 7:3
Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: 
2) God will surround us in favor as it were a shield around us......Psalm 5:12
For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
3) We will receive life and joy...... Psalm 30:5
For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
4) Our enemies will not win over us...... Psalm 41:11
By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.
5) God will show us mercy...... Psalm 119:58
I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.
We should all have the desire for and seek for favor in the eyes of God. We will grow in that favor as we live faithfully for Him. 
However, this is not a secret formula to get everything that we want from Him. But. if we draw closer to God , we will come to dwell in His favor. ..Psalm 30:5......
Those who find favor in turn bless those around them..... Genesis 39:3-6
We need to go after the favor of God with 3 things in mind:
1) we need to give total , unconditional surrender unto the Lord.
2) Our lives must reflect absolute purity
3) we need to be kingdom focused, having the mind of Christ....
So do you have the Favor of God? and if not; isn't it something you want to start seeking? As for me, I will be diligently seeking it and working toward all that God desires of me and desires to give to me.

Faith means get out of that boat!

The definition of faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing; or belief that is not based on proof. In Hebrews 11:1 it says that  faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things In not seen.(KJV) . In Matthew 14  :28 and 29  we read the story of how Jesus was walking toward the disciples on water and Peter said, Lord if that's you tell me to come to you on water , so Jesus did and until Peter let his faith waiver he was walking on water to Jesus.
So as humans we all have faith in something but, when it comes to needing to test our faith we tend to let our faith waiver and then we sink into the ocean of our troubles. You may say /// I have no faith or .... I don't have much faith but, that really isn't true... 
We have faith that when we sit in a chair it is going to hold us, we have faith that when someone we love tells us they love us that they really do,  we have faith that when we go to sleep at night we will again awaken in the morning...We have faith in what the doctor's tell us , and that they know what they are doing when they perscribe us medicine..... or here is a big one,,, for you women.... when the doctor tells you you are pregnant you have faith that there really is a child in there , not a goat or a chicken  but a mini you...  and you believe this sight unseen until you have progressed far enough along to get an ultra sound done to actually see the child.  So why do we let our faith waiver when it comes to the words of our Lord and Savior? Why  do you doubt His words that will never fail you yet believe the words of humans who will always fail you?
Jesus says : by His stripes we are healed.... get out of that boat and start having faith that you are healed..... Jesus says we are more than conquers    .... stop running from the enemy and start standing firm against him... Jesus said Greater things than he has done shall we do , so get out of that negative thinking and trust in his words...... God's words have been around  since the beginning of time and not failed  so we need to take that leap of faith and start believing in them and acting on them.... Get out of that boat and go to Jesus on the water, don't look to the right or to the left, just keep your eyes on Jesus and you won't fall.