Joy Unspeakable!

The following account was recorded on February 23, 2012…..

Today is another gorgeous day in The Grove, as we fondly refer to this little square mile town along the shore. The sun is shining bright in a cloudless sky and the scent of Spring is in the air. It is the kind of day where you feel refreshed and renewed by the crispness of the morning air. It’s a quaint little town with towering Victorians amid tiny cottages, with gardens galore adorning the small yards. I hear the call of the gulls above the lake, trying to snatch a morning catch from one of the other varieties of water fowl. I notice that the daffodils have opened up and are blooming now, as well as a few periwinkles in the gardens along the narrow streets on the older side of town. The buds are beginning to swell on the barren tree branches. It is a glorious day to be alive!

In this post I want to share about the Joy of the Lord. In the book of Nehemiah it states that the joy of the Lord is our strength! It is one of those treasures which I spoke about in my last post, “Treasures Abound!” It is a joy which transcends all those trials in our lives and which goes down deep within the soul and spirit and permeates our entire being. Many wonder how it is that I can be joyful amid all the trials of my life. In the book of James we read, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4 How do we consider it pure joy when facing trials of all kinds? Is there any among us who haven’t experienced trials or loss of some kind? All of us have suffered trials and loss to some degree, for that is the nature of life within a fallen world. I think joy is the last thing we think of in relationship to trial and loss. James tells us to consider facing trials as pure joy, not just joy, but pure joy. How can this be? I many times wondered about this verse when young in the faith, and truthfully, dreaded the thought. It took suffering all that was ahead, for me to understand this perseverance, this patience, this endurance caused by the intense testing of my faith. It is through this testing that we become mature and complete in our faith, lacking nothing. We come to understand just what this completeness is.

I am drawn to Psalm 16. “Preserve me O God, for in You I put my trust.”  Yes, this is where it all begins. It begins by putting our trust in Him. “O my soul, you have said to the LORD, You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.”  We acknowledge our need of Him. We find our delight in Him. He has become personal to us, because we have accepted Him as our Savior, Our Lord. We look to Him at all times, in the good times as well as the bad times. “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh will also rejoice in hope.”  We are mindful of His presence and that He is with us always. He will never leave us, nor forsake us. He has made our hearts glad with a joy which can only come from knowing and being found in Him. We shall not be moved or shaken. We rejoice in hope! “You will show me the path of life; In your presence is fullness of joy; At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” He has shown us that He is the way.  Jesus is the life and in His presence is fullness of joy! In Him are pleasures forevermore. Our joy is found in His abiding presence!

As evening falls on this day in late February , the storm clouds are beginning to move in. It was a beautiful day, but there is dampness setting in as the clouds thicken. I am reminded of the trials within my life and the dampness setting in as the clouds thicken upon my life. My mind is brought to those latter days of Jesus life as recorded in the Gospel according to John. The clouds are thickening and the darkness is drawing in. He is speaking to His disciples His final words here on earth. He teaches them about oneness with Himself through the example of the grapevine. He speaks to them about abiding in Him. I still remember how the Holy Spirit quickened this concept to my heart in the early days of my walk in Him. I would meditate upon what this means, “Abide in Me and I in you.” And, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” The secret of this joy is in experiencing His abiding presence, of being at one with Him; He in us and we in Him. After sharing these things with His disciples He tells them, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” It is through this connecting that we have this joy remaining or abiding in us; by which our joy is made full!

Jesus is preparing to face the cross and leave this world when He speaks these words. He then turns His eyes toward heaven and prays. He prays about a oneness that only comes from being in Him. Many see it as a prayer for unity among those who believe, which it does entail, but it is even more than that. It is a oneness with the Godhead which produces this oneness with one another. Jesus prays, “But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”  Jesus goes on to pray for those of us who would later come to believe. Joy is found in this oneness we have found in Him!

It is after praying this prayer for oneness that Jesus enters the Garden of Gethsemane. He is sorrowful and deeply distressed at those things which lie ahead. He prays, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matt.26:36) Jesus surrendered all to the Father’s will. It was the ultimate sacrifice. All for us that we might have this unspeakable, inexpressible fullness of joy, for it is only through His death and resurrection that it is possible. It is only by this that the Holy Spirit has been imparted and indwells us. Glory to His Name! May it be an example to us in our losses, sorrows and trials to say as Jesus said, “not as I will, but as You will” knowing that the testing of our faith will have its perfect work in us. We will be complete, lacking nothing, for we have gained Him.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him, and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” 1 Peter1:8

May you abide in Him and experience this Joy Unspeakable..... today and everyday!!!

Treasures Abound!

It was a dark and dreary day in the Grove yesterday. The sky was gray with the threat of a coming shower. I was out walking and there was a light drizzle hitting against my face as I was deep in thought contemplating those things that our Lord is impressing upon my heart, those things he is teaching me. It brings me much joy to be able to share these things with you.

The thing that He has been impressing on me is “Treasures abound!” The other day while walking along the water’s edge, I was impressed by the abundance of shells left behind after the high tide.  I love to go shelling after a big storm and I was thinking that the shells are like treasures left behind. It made me think about the storms which pass through our lives. None of us are immune from these storms; they are just a part of life. It doesn’t matter who you are. The Scriptures teach that it “rains on the just and the unjust alike.” The blessing being, that after the storm….treasures always abound! The treasures which abound are all those things we have in Him, all those things which remain after the storm is past! We may not have seen them while the waters were churning, but once the tide has receded, we are awestruck by the beauty left behind.

The following is a letter which I had written to a friend concerning our reflections on life. We both had suffered so much loss after some severe storms of life. All those things we had held dear were being stripped from us. We were reevaluating our lives and our purpose for living in the midst of these losses. I had lost my husband to cancer while my oldest child was still a teenager, suffered health issues, had finished homeschooling, was jobless and was on the verge of homelessness. My friend was wrapping up homeschooling and had been battling cancer. This letter was in response to yet another operation removing more of her physical body and her pain at all the losses in her life, plus her questions concerning what was left after the storm:

 “Hello My Dear Friend!

I have been waiting for this opportunity to sit and write to you. I'm sorry it has taken so long. You are always in my heart and prayers. My prayers are especially with you in these most recent health struggles. You are being stripped of your physical self over time and this is painful. The enemy knows where to strike where it hurts the most. I remember the days of sitting in my living room with our Bible study friends, talking about our purpose and mission in life. We all had such a strong sense of mission in raising our children and such joy in the births of the new additions. I can sense and understand your pain, as that which was a symbol of all we held dear is being stripped away in such a painful manner. I think the Lord is speaking to your heart about all He wants to work in you as a result. He does work all things together for good and His mercies are new every morning. The enemy has come to kill and destroy, but Jesus has come that we might have life and have it more abundantly!!

On Friday I was walking around the North side of town. I love to walk around the empty tent colony, the Auditorium and Thornley Chapel, watching the leaves change color and watching all the many variety of birds eating the seeds all about. I was struck with thoughts of days gone by. I heard the giggles and laughs of our children in the park in my memory. I looked at the old trees and the leaves and remembered our children jumping in the leaves and climbing around the base of the old tree outside the Tabernacle. It seemed like only yesterday. Just as quickly, my thoughts turned to the present and I thought of my own life. I was thinking about something I heard on TV concerning what others have accomplished in science, politics and other careers. I realized that in the eyes of many I am a failure, because of where I am now and because I haven't achieved any great things in the eyes of the world. I was feeling bad about it all, thinking that for me, the most important thing in my life right now is knowing the Lord and walking with Him. Later that evening I opened my Bible. It opened right up to Jeremiah 9. My eyes hit upon notes in my Bible and the heading, "The Measure of Success".....it read.... “By the world's standards, success is usually measured by three criteria: wisdom, power and wealth. The "successful" communicate insights that influence others (wisdom), gain strategic advantage over others (power), or accumulate and control resources (wealth). Yet God asserts here that these attainments hold no weight with Him and that true success is measured by our knowledge of Him. (v 24)” 

                 “This is what the Lord says:

                   ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom

                    Or the strong man boast of his strength

                    Or the rich man boast of his riches

                 But let him who boasts boast about this:

                    That he understands and knows me,

                  That I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,

                     justice and righteousness

                          on the earth,

                     for in these I delight.’”      Jeremiah 9:24

Seek the Lord. He desires that we understand and know Him above all else. This is what matters. I read the paper that you wrote on the darkness (coming through the window), which is how the enemy comes and seeks to destroy. Funny that it also states in that same chapter in Jeremiah, "For death has come through our windows, Has entered our palaces, To kill off the children- no longer to be outside! And the young men- no longer on the streets." vs. 21. We find our Life and Light through the knowledge of Him who is the Life and the Light. Darkness can't dwell where He is. We need to grow in the knowledge of Him. After my husband passed away I wrote, "Walk by Faith....Not Sight" and stated how raising physical children was giving way to raising spiritual children. I think this is true for you as well, in whatever form it takes, art, writing or whatever expression He leads you in. Our success isn't measured according to earthly standards.”

Yes, “true success is measured by our knowledge of Him”. Just as treasures are revealed on the seashore after the storm, so are treasures revealed after the storms in our lives. All the riches we have in Christ are made known. It tells us in 2 Corinthians 4 that we have this treasure in earthen vessels, referring to within us. All of these treasures come through the “knowledge of Him”, through establishing and nurturing a relationship with Jesus. The Apostle Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians was that the Father of glory would give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, that the eyes of their understanding would be enlightened; that they would know what the hope of His calling is and that they would know the riches of the glory of His inheritance. These are things which can not be taken from us. Paul stated that he counted all those successes of the flesh as loss, for the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord.

In Philippians chapter 4, Paul writes "for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."  Paul writes this from prison, having been imprisoned for his faith in Jesus. His prison letters are full of hope and joy. We also can have this hope and joy in the midst of our storms, our trials. Let us walk forward in newness of life with an eternal perspective always before us, knowing that “He who began a good work in me will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus” and that …… “Treasures Abound” in Him! 

Glorious Things To Come

I awoke the other day with a struggle going on in my mind about the Lord's purpose and how it would be so nice if the Lord would just put everything in black and white for us. My mind was drifting to a car ride the night before, when the full moon was rising over the horizon. It looked like a huge orange ball and the craters were so prominent on it’s surface that it was an awe-inspiring sight! I was headed home and riding over the Navesink River and the reflection off the water was bringing back so many memories of the ways in which the Lord has spoken to me over the years while gazing at the full moon. It was reminding me of many times, especially the night a friend and I had referred to as an "All the glorious things to come" night, when wispy clouds were passing over the moon. We were out on a warm summer evening on Ocean Pathway, not far from the tent I was living in for the summer. The moon was full and bright on that night also and there were fast moving clouds going out to sea. Our thoughts had been toward the scriptures we had been studying and upon the Lord’s will for our lives. We were sitting on a bench and gazing upward toward the moon. The clouds were forming shapes as they passed the full moon and we were calling out what we saw.  I still remember how full of the Holy Spirit I felt that night and the things He spoke to my heart concerning life in general, as well as personal. We had been searching for a sign and direction on things to come and had found our answers.  The Lord can speak to our hearts and days later we are asking questions again and we ask once again for a sign of some kind. Why do we always go back to looking for signs, something which we can see? We have this need to grasp and take hold of something solid which we can feel and which we can see with our eyes. Walking by faith, not sight is a far better way! When we get right down to it....Faith is stronger than sight!

We need to trust what the Word of God has to say. We need to look to the scriptures and trust in His promises! People have always sought after “a sign” since the very beginning of time. Throughout the Bible we read of those who sought for God to give them a sign. Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for asking for a sign which is recorded in the book of Matthew. He said that an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but that it wouldn’t be given. Why did He say this? Was it because asking for a sign was evil?  It was because they had been given many signs…many signs which pointed to Jesus and who He was, yet they chose not to believe. He proceeded to tell them that the only sign which would be given was the sign of Jonah. He then predicted His death and resurrection. He said that a greater than Jonah is here. He has given us something far better than a sign. He has given us Himself!! We find everything for which we seek in Him.

“And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:27-28

We can trust that the Spirit of God is interceding for us in accordance to the will of God. We can know that He is working all things in our lives according to His purpose when we love Him. He gives us blessed peace and rest!

The sun is shining bright today and signs of Spring are all around. I have been out walking and noticing all the new growth after the barrenness of winter. The daffodils’ buds have formed and the crocuses are blooming. Yes, all signs that Spring will soon arrive. Greater than the signs is the hope of which we have. It is the hope of all the glorious things to come. Jesus offers us this hope of things far greater than we can imagine. He is our hope!

“For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?

 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weakness. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Romans 8:24-26

Let us walk forward in hope by faith!  Let us seek Jesus!!!

Looking to Jesus

Yesterday I was out walking along the shoreline, listening to the waves as they broke and enjoying the smell of the ocean mist. It was peaceful and very quiet, except for the occasional cry of a seagull along the water's edge. My mind was moving like the water currents, back and forth over the events of my life and the lives of those I know; just like the water washing over the rocks before me. Many are going through rough times in this current economy and a lot of people are without jobs and struggling financially. I have many struggles as well and decisions which need to be made. Many times there aren't any answers in sight. We walk ahead hoping to find some answers, but we keep hitting dead ends and roadblocks. Sometimes we become so overwhelmed just by looking at all the problems.

Today is a new day in our Lord Jesus Christ! A day to quiet ourselves in His presence and to know His Love! I'm so glad for those years of illness, when He was all I had to turn to, the times when I learned the practice of drawing away from illness in my body and communing with Him in my spirit. Abiding in Him is such a soothing place to be, amid the struggles of the flesh. He brings health to the soul and instead of causing us to withdraw from reality, He gives us a new grasp on reality, which causes us to cope with those things too difficult for us to bear alone.

I was thinking back to the days when my children were still young. I was swamped with the everyday problems that can plague a wife and mother. I was so overwhelmed at some points. After all, there were all those things to attend to...cleaning, laundry, cooking and dishes. I was a homeschooling Mom, so there were lessons and teaching to do as well, plus all the other activities involved in child-rearing. Any of you who have raised a family can relate. Even though you loved what you were doing, there were some days that you could have pulled your hair out. Some of you may be in that stage of life right now. Others of us are now in new stages, but struggles and problems plague us all and are ever with us. It doesn't matter what our vocation is or what our path may be. It's all in where our focus lies.

As I was reminiscing about those earlier, overwhelming days, I mused within myself about a story a friend and I shared many times. We still always joke and laugh about it. It is the story of "I Will Not Look". One day I was so overwhelmed with everything that needed to be done, that I couldn't deal with a pile of clutter upon the floor of a child's room. I had to pass through that room to get to another room. Every time I needed to pass through, I would repeat to myself, "I will not look...I will not look...I will not look." I kept my eyes straight ahead to the goal and walked right through the clutter. Throughout the years since then, when one of us is overwhelmed, we reminisce about that time and say, "I will not look.". 

The whole key to keeping above that despair is having hope. The eternal perspective is ever before my eyes. It's that "I will not look" mentality. It isn't that we want to escape reality or that we don't face the reality, but we are looking to the higher reality....Our Savior Jesus Christ. If we keep looking at the details...all that mess strewn all over the place...we become so totally overwhelmed and full of despair. We need to look at it in the light of His reality. We need to come to Him and then we can look at it. Jesus tells us, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Be absorbed in Him and then look at those things which overwhelm you. Always keep things within that eternal perspective, with your eyes toward the goal. Look at the circumstances in the light of His Word and what the scriptures promise to those who believe in Him. In the First Epistle of Peter, in chapter 5, we read "casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." I was looking at that word for "care" in the Greek, "merimna", meiro means "to divide", and noos means "the mind" so the word would denote those things which would divide our mind (such as worries, distractions, burdens and anxieties). We are exhorted to cast those things upon Him, because He cares about us and doesn't want us to bear this load in our own strength, but to allow Him to hold it for us. Oh, what a relief!! What a release!!!!  May this be your experience this day! I'm looking at the next verse, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." vs. 8. It is very interesting that this follows, "casting all your care". I think I'm seeing some connections here. Can you? The next verse says to resist the enemy, steadfast in the faith. It goes on to say that our Lord is a God of grace and that after we suffer a while, He will perfect, establish, strengthen and settle us. How awesome is that!!!!! Oh, to hide ourselves in His Word and to know Him better. 

Let us look to Jesus....the author and finisher of our faith!!

I Shall Not Want

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." How many times have we heard or read these words? They have been woven into the very fabric of our spiritual lives over the years. If you went to Sunday School as a child, Psalm 23, was most likely the first Psalm that you learned. You probably even memorized it! You have carried it with you your whole life. You've heard it at almost every funeral that you've attended. You've stuck that little card, with the words written on it, in your Bible or on your refrigerator. How many devotionals have you read on this Psalm or books in which it is expounded upon? A zillion times, I'm sure. And even if you didn't attend a Sunday School or grow up religious, I'm sure that you are familiar with this Psalm as well. The problem with an all so familiar passage is that we become almost numb to it. We fly right past it when reading the scriptures or kind of tune it out during a message we are listening to, waiting for the next point. Can anyone relate to what I am saying?

Last week I was just going about my day, doing the usual things which needed doing. I wasn't really thinking about anything spiritual, just focusing on the task at hand. Suddenly, out of the blue, the words, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." popped into my head. I just kind of pushed it out of my mind and continued on." Again I heard, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." This time it got my attention. It pierced my soul and went deep into my spirit. The Lord is my Shepherd for sure, but not wanting? Well, my life has been full of wants lately and lots of needs. I had been thinking a lot about these very things. The Holy Spirit was just poured out in me at that moment. The peace of the Lord flooded the very depths of my being. Yes, despite all the needs and wants in our lives....We shall not want, for the Lord is our Shepherd. He is everything we need. He leads us, He restores us, He is with us in the tough times, He removes fear, He comforts us, He prepares for us, He fills us with His Holy Spirit until we are overflowing with His presence. His mercy and goodness follow us all the days of our lives, always there and ready to catch us. Best of all...We will dwell with Him forever. I dwell in His presence day by day. Don't you just love how His words are always fresh and new, no matter how often you have heard them before? In Him all things are made new and His mercies are new every morning!



The scriptures are never outdated and are forever new in our hearts. The Holy Spirit quickens them to our hearts, which means, takes a verse or section of scripture and makes it alive for us personally. How are the scriptures made new? Through Jesus, who is the the very Word of God, dwelling in those of us who believe. The gospel of John says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God." also "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Just take a moment to think about how truly awesome this is.

I have shared in a past post about my beginnings in this faith in Jesus and about my life-long health struggles and weaknesses, which have kept me near to Him. It was while in my early twenties that the Lord led me to spend some summers in Ocean Grove. I was young in my new found life in Jesus, desiring to learn of Him and  to grow in Him and to share what I had discovered. What better place than in this Camp Meeting ground, dating back to the 1800's, where great preachers and teachers of the past have spoken, where many of the great hymns of the faith were penned. I was invited to spend some summers in Tent City. It was here under a canvas on summer evenings, in the shadow of the Great Auditorium, that I penned many of my early lessons in Him. The other day I was strolling through the deserted Tent City on a mild winter day. The sidewalks were  empty except for the occasional dog walker passing by, the tents stored away until summer. I was remembering all the Lord had taught me there and that which He is still speaking and teaching. I have been through a lot since those days long gone....yet His Word abides forever. Seasons come and seasons go, as do the seasons of our lives, but some things never change. Our God is faithful and His grace is sufficient.

Through these most recent years of hardship and trial, I have learned a very valuable lesson concerning, "for My strength is made perfect in weakness." He has taught me that our strength is in Him. Our weaknesses cause us to draw upon His strength. It is in our infirmities that the power of Christ rests upon us. We can say with the Apostle Paul, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." It is when we are weak in and of ourselves that we are strong in Jesus. He is our sufficiency...our strength. Let us boast in Him alone!

I just looked down and there on a bookmark stuck in my Bible are the words, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want."