Rejoice & Be Glad

Blessed are the poor in spirit {realize their need for God}, for theirs is

the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is

the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you 

Because of Me.

Rejoice & Be Glad

because great is your reward in heaven, 

for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

Matthew 5:3-12

[acts 5:41]

"The apostles left the Sanhedrin, 

rejoicing 

because they had been counted worthy 

of suffering disgrace 

for the Name." 

{Acts 5:41 NIV}

Read Acts 5:17-42

The apostles [apostles are those sent by someone else to be a messenger] were going out in Jesus' Name performing many miracles and sharing the 'full message of new life.' It says in The Word that the high priest & his associates were filled with jealousy and put them in the public jail. However, during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors to the jail, brought them out and told them to, "Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life." People have been trying to stop the full message of The Gospel since the beginning, but it continues to spread. The apostles obeyed the angel of the Lord and went into the temple courts and taught the people. Later the apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin [the supreme Jewish court] to be questioned. They reminded the apostles that they had been given strict orders to NOT teach in Jesus' name. Peter and the other apostles told them, "we MUST obey God rather than men! (these apostles were messengers sent on a mission by God, not by men) The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead -- whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given those who obey Him." 

They wanted to kill the apostles after hearing this truth.

But Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, advised them to "Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, IT WILL FAIL. BUT if it is from GOD, you will NOT be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves FIGHTING AGAINST GOD." 

He persuaded them to let the apostles go after they had flogged [punishment by repeated lashes or blows of a whip or rod]. They ordered them again to not speak in the name of Jesus. 

"The apostles left the Sanhedrin, 

rejoicing 

because they had been counted worthy 

of suffering disgrace 

for the Name." 

{Acts 5:41 NIV}

It then says that day after day they were in the temple courts and went house to house teaching and proclaiming the good news that JESUS IS THE CHRIST.

WOW. There is so much to take away from these Holy Scriptures.

1. God's purposes will never fail.

2. The apostles rejoiced because they were counted worthy to suffer disgrace for His Namesake -- if we are ever disgraced publicly because of representing Jesus' Name, it is an honor. God counts us worthy to carry His Son's Name.

3. We are always to obey God before men.

4. We are messengers sent by God on PURPOSE.

5. Jesus Christ is GOOD NEWS!

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You so much for Your Word and Your promises. Thank You Lord that you trust us with Your Word to go out and be messengers for Your purposes and for Your namesake. 
I love You.

In Jesus Name

Amen

[irrevocable]

Every detail of your life is ordained by God. 

This morning I was listening to a podcast from women leaders across the nation. One of the speakers mentioned her life verse, Ephesians 4:1.

{Ephesians 4:1}

4 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

She mentioned that in it's original language the word, "called," actually means, "invited."

God invites us to our roles/calling. 

It is God who invites us! 

God doesn't make a mistake with His invitation. 

He knows what He is doing. 

Walk out your calling!

We cannot control what the people around us say or do, but we can control what WE do. Don't let others rob your joy, peace or the calling God has given YOU! 

With all of this being said I am reminded of a verse in Romans 11.

^{{Romans 11:29}}

²⁹ For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Irrevocable means not able to be changed, reversed, or recovered; final. 

xoxo

{shauna nicole}

My Heavenly Father,

I thank You for each person that read this post. I pray Lord that You would stir up the God given passions and desires within them and that they would change the world around them for YOUR glory! 

In Jesus' Name

Amen

I was dead, now I am alive! I was lost but now I am found!

Every time we let Nole (our Toy Fox Terrier) out, Stitch (our cat), thinks he needs to walk outside with him. This morning Stitch in his usual fashion walked out with Nole, but he came in before our pup. I turned my back to do something in the house for just a minute and when I returned to check on Nole, he was no where to be found. I called Nole's name and there was no Nole. I was in PJ's, barefoot walking all around our yard and the neighbor yards searching all over for Nole ...and still, there was no Nole.

I began to think crazy thoughts, "what if a huge bird swooped down and got him?!" I kept searching for him, determined to find him. I was in our backyard when some movement caught my eye. I saw Nole. He was behind a fence looking at me. I ran over to him, pulled him under the fence and held him in my arms. I didn't care that he had muddy little paws, I was thankful he was okay and that I had found him.

Now, as I am blogging with Nole in my lap,  the story of the prodigal {a person who leaves home and behaves in such a way, but later makes a repentant return} son comes to my mind.

If you have never read this story in the bible it is found in Luke 15. I'll recap-

The tax collectors and sinners were listening to Jesus speak, which led to some complaints from the Pharisees {a member of an ancient Jewish sect, distinguished by strict observance of the traditional and written law, and commonly held to have pretensions to superior sanctity} and scribes.

"This Man receives sinners AND eats with them."

SO...Jesus told them some parables {stories}.

{side note} [these parables are some of my favorites because I feel like I can relate to the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son]

Jesus tells a story about the lost sheep.

Luke 15:4-7

⁴ “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. ⁶ When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

He then tells the story about the lost coin.

Luke 15:8-10

⁸ “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins^[a] and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’¹⁰ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

Finally, He tells the story about the lost son.

Luke 15:11-32

¹¹ To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

¹³ “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. ¹⁴ About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. ¹⁵ He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶ The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
¹⁷ “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! ¹⁸ I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, ¹⁹ and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’
²⁰ “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. ²¹ His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.^[b]’
²² “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. ²³ And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, ²⁶ and he asked one of the servants what was going on.²⁷ ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
²⁸ “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him,²⁹ but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. ³⁰ Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
³¹ “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. ³² We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

Okay, so maybe that wasn't a recap...that was basically the entire chapter, but it is so good! 

I am so thankful that I serve a God that is willing to come into our mess and pull us out to rescue us. Just like I wasn't afraid to pull Nole out from under that fence with mud all over his paws, Jesus doesn't mind finding us a little dirty. I ran from God for YEARS but when I came back to him he picked me up right where I was and turned my mess into His message of grace and compassion. I am so thankful that I serve a God that loves me no matter where I may be in life, but he loves me so much that He doesn't want me to stay there. God wants us to continue to run the race set before us.

Hebrews 12:1
[ God’s Discipline Proves His Love ] 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 

God gives us free will.  Just like the prodigal son chose to squander away everything he owned, we can choose to do the same; but, that's not what He wants for us. He doesn't wish for anyone to perish.

2 Peter 3:9

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁹ The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

If you feel you are too far gone for God to save you, you're wrong. 

Repent{realize your need to turn from the direction you've been going, ask God for forgiveness and receive}. 

God is waiting to give you your own, 

"I was dead, now I am alive! I was lost but now I am found!" story...receive it.

Dear Heavenly Father, 

I thank You for this day. I thank You for Your goodness. I praise You for coming after me when I thought I least deserved to be sought after. I love You Father and thank You that what You do for one man You will do for the next, because you are no respecter of person. Lord, I pray many would come running to You just as the son did in the story You told so many years ago. 

We thank You for Your grace.

I love You. 

In Jesus' Name

Amen

Who do you say that I am?

Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, 

Who do  people say that  the Son of Man is?

And they answered, 

Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

He said to them, 

But who do you {yourselves} say that I am?

Simon Peter replied, 

You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Then Jesus answered him,

Blessed {happy, fortunate, and to be envied} are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood {men} have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter {Greek, Petros --a large piece of rock}, and on this rock {Greek, petra -- a huge rock like Gibraltar} I will build My church, and the gates of Hades {the powers of the infernal region} shall not overpower it {or be strong to its detriments or hold out against it}. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind {declare to be improper and unlawful} on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose  {declare lawful} on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.

Jesus already knew who He was. He was secure in His identity even when those around Him had no idea who He really was. Peter had a revelation of who Jesus was. Peter recognized Him as "the Christ, the Son of the living God." After Peter declared who Jesus was, Jesus gave Peter a new name, new identity, & new purpose. 

In a similar manner when we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that He rose from the grave on the third day (Romans 10:9-10) --we also are given a new identity. 

God uses US.

God gives us a NEW name whenever we are saved.

As His children we have purpose.

Our purpose now? 

To advance HIS Kingdom as His sons & daughters by loving Him outrageously and loving others with all that's within us.

But.

There is an enemy that would love to distract you from your new identity and purpose in Christ. He would love to tear you down, make you question who you are and especially make you question the purposes and plans that He has for you. 

Don't let him.

People doubt. People say mean things. People hurt.

But. 

Let's follow Jesus' example --when people questioned who he was and oftentimes mislabeled Him--He continued to walk in all the authority that God, His Father, had given Him to accomplish all that was in front of Him every single day.

People won't always recognize the potential in you, but that's OKAY because God, the one that put those purposes in your heart, is the one that can make them come into fruition.

Be steadfast. Be consistent. Be faithful.

God is for you!

You are hidden in Christ. 

Keep the faith.

"..being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completionuntil the day of Christ Jesus."

Amen!

{Shauna Nicole}

Dear Heavenly Father,

I pray right now in the name of Jesus over every person that comes across this post. Lord, may the desires and purposes that you have placed within them COME TO LIFE. I pray against the enemy and all of his tactics and schemes. I pray their identity would be found in You and that they would hold tight to that identity and NOT the lies that may have been spoken over them. 

Lead and guide them in Your truth Lord. 

I love you. 

In Jesus' Name, AMEN!