#Joy in the Lord

[walkswithmyfather]

Philippians 3:7-11 (NIV). [7] “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. [8] What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ [9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. [10] I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11] and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”

John 17:3 (NLT). “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”

“The Privilege of Knowing God” by In Touch Ministries:

“Nothing else brings the joy and contentment we find in a personal relationship with God.”

“Regardless of how many people we meet or how many wonderful things we do in our lifetime, the greatest privilege of all is to know God. Nothing else can bring the joy and contentment we yearn for. And yet we frequently chase after worldly acceptance because we forget the treasure of truly knowing the living God.

Oftentimes people say a salvation prayer and remain satisfied with this first step. If they’re asked, “Do you know God?” most will say they do. But there’s a vast difference between knowing facts about God and personally relating to Him. Believers should continually be growing closer to the Father—always learning more about who He is and what He considers important.

When people go through life depending on themselves, they never really know God—He will reveal Himself to a heart that is honest and transparent, not one that’s full of pride and arrogance. It is in our brokenness and helplessness that we discover who the Lord is.

Do you have a genuine hunger in your heart to know God? If so, ask Him, “Who are You? What are You like?” Then open yourself to God, not for His sake—He already knows you perfectly—but for your own sake (John 17:3). By spending time with your Father, you’ll discover you are privileged indeed.”

[Photo thanks to Toa Heftiba at Unsplash]

[yeslordmyking]

Psalm 104:33-34 — Today's Verse for Monday, January 6, 2025

[nathan-r-dooley]

Psalm 4 | Trusting God in Times of Distress

The Verses A Plea for Mercy“Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness!You have relieved me in my distress;Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.” A Rebuke to the Unrighteous“You sons of man, how long will my honor be turned into shame?How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah“But know that the Lord has set apart the godly person for Himself;The Lord hears when I…

[bvthomas]

Signs of a Derailed or Backslidden Christian: Recognizing the Signs of Straying from God's Grace

A Christian can indeed fail to live in the fullness of God’s grace, and there are several signs described in Scripture that indicate a person may be in a backslidden or derailed state. While someone may still identify as a believer, their life may not align with the way God intends for His followers to live. The Bible warns that it is possible to stray from God’s path, even while still outwardly…

[helpfromheaven]

Finding the Joy We Had When We First Believed: A Devotional

Hosea 2:14-15 “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. 15 There I will give her back her vineyards,and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. Life gets so busy that we often can’t find joy in our lives. We rise from our beds already…

[shellem15]

"If the gods become mortal, there will inevitably be at least 20 random dudes claiming to be the mortal incarnation of the Dawnfather at any given time." Yes. And one of them will be Asmodeus.

[moanaraynesage-music]

Eric Ludy - He is (The Names of God) – (Return of Majesty Trilogy)

[gracefuldisasters]

a lil bit of merry and pip

(was going to draw more scenes based off the book, but I drew the last pic first, and then immediately went back to drawing baby hobbits)

[thefugitivesaint]

"it's the dancing that kept them going" Maintaining joy in your life as an act of resistance is the kind of motto more on the Left should embrace. "...joy serves as a healing balm that sustains both the people and the struggles inherent in revolutionary times." In the words of Audre Lorde from her 1978 piece 'The Uses of the Erotic': "In order to perpetuate itself, every oppression must corrupt or distort those various sources of power within the culture of the oppressed that can provide energy for change.” In other words, fight the good fight but don't omit having fun in the process. That's not being glib. You have to remind yourself what you're fighting for while providing for yourself (and the ones you love) the "energy" necessary "for change." It's a sentiment found in the work of the anarchist Emma Goldman, an expression that has been reduced to a paraphrase, "If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution." She wrote in her autobiography 'Living My Life' about an incident where she was pulled aside and chastised for dancing: "At the dances I was one of the most untiring and gayest. One evening a cousin of Sasha, a young boy, took me aside. With a grave face, as if he was about to announce the death of a dear comrade, he whispered to me that it did not behoove an agitator to dance. Certainly not with such reckless abandon, anyway. It was undignified for one who was on the way to become a force in the anarchist movement. My frivolity would only hurt the cause. I grew furious at the impudent interference of the boy. I told him to mind his own business. I was tired of having the Cause constantly thrown into my face. I did not believe that a Cause which stood for a beautiful ideal, for anarchism, for release and freedom from convention and prejudice, should demand the denial of life and joy. I insisted that our Cause could not expect me to become a nun and that the movement would not be turned into a cloister. If it meant, that I did not want it.

'I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody's right to beautiful, radiant things.' Anarchism meant that to me, and I would live it in spite of the whole world - prisons, persecutions, everything. Yes, even in spite of the condemnation of my own closest comrades I would live my beautiful ideal." Back to Lorde, "In the way my body stretches to music and opens into response, hearkening to its deepest rhythms, so every level upon which I sense also opens to the erotically satisfying experience, whether it is dancing, building a bookcase, writing a poem, examining an idea. That self-connection shared is a measure of the joy which I know myself to be capable of feeling, a reminder of my capacity for feeling. And that deep and irreplaceable knowledge of my capacity for joy comes to demand from all of my life that it be lived within the knowledge that such satisfaction is possible, and does not have to be called marriage, nor god, nor an afterlife." .... "In touch with the erotic, I become less willing to accept powerlessness, or those other supplied states of being which are not native to me, such as resignation, despair, self-effacement, depression, self-denial."

[walkswithmyfather]

Psalm 16:7-11 (NLT‬). “I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”

“A Joyful Heart” By In Touch Ministries:

“No matter what is happening around us, we can rejoice in our Father's presence.”

“Are you happy? Your answer likely depends on what’s happening in your life right now. If things are going well, your health is good, and you have strong relationships, you may say, “Yes, I’m content.” The problem is that happiness is a fleeting emotion. When conditions change for the worse, it scurries out the door. But joy doesn’t.

Even though happiness and joy are often thought of as synonymous, they are actually quite different. Happiness is temporary because it’s based on our external circumstances, but joy can be a constant state—something that’s present no matter what’s going on in our life. That’s because joy is the result of God’s presence within us. It’s an internal condition that is unaffected by life’s difficulties.

David was able to say his heart was glad (Ps. 16:9) because he had discovered the key to walking in a constant state of joy, despite hardship. And we can do the same. By fixing our eyes on our Father (John 15:9-11), we can have peace and a glad heart no matter what. When we spend time with Him, experiencing His presence and goodness in our life, we will be able to walk through each day with His unsurpassable joy in our heart.”

[Photo thanks to Anubhav Saxena at Unsplash]

[yeslordmyking]

Philippians 4:4 — Today's Verse for Friday, April 4, 2025

[demaparbat-hp]

Character design for Katara in Soundless.

[paintedcrows]

Black and White Period Piece Old Lady Boring Movie BillStan >>>>>>>>>>

[tervaneula]

NQK x LOTR by katterv

The fam helps April with her school assignment: a re-enactment of a famous movie scene. It gets pretty emotional pretty fast.

IT'S FINALLY DONE, YIPPEE!! I did promise I'd finish this little story no matter how long it took :')

[sylenth-l]

Mood