REJOICE TODAY!

Hey bloggers...

I'm posting from A YEAR IN THE NOW again today...thanks for the good reports from those of you who started going through it again on January 1...it really is blessed...

I don't keep the AYITN blog current (www.ayearinthenow.wordpress.com), but the daily entrees are still posted on the CITN site every day...it's still preferable to have your own copy of the book, though...I haven't heard a weather report for tomorrow, but every time it gets really cold, or it snows a little, people start asking if we're going to have church...so before any of you even think of going there, let me say once again that the answer to that question is always YES! We will have both the 9 and 11 servces tomorrow, and they will both be awesome...so put your thermal underwear on and get here for one or both...good things are happening at CITN, but your visible and manifested support is needed just as much as ever...remember, we didn't get a miracle because we didn't need a miracle...we need you...you are the miracle! See you tomorrow...

"This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24)

Today I will live in the now! I will live in the now because I understand and appreciate the energizing power of rejoicing in the now. Today I joyfully celebrate the present, and all of the possibilities that it presents. I exercise my will — I WILL rejoice, and I WILL be glad in this day! Today I choose to wear the garment of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness. I choose happiness! I choose joy!


Today I will resist the temptation to whine, complain, murmur, grumble, mourn, lament, moan and groan, be depressed, feel sorry for myself, feel down and out, feel dejected, feel discontented, feel oppressed, be sad, or even be in a bad mood. Instead, my merry heart will do me good like a medicine . . . I will glory in my infirmities (for when I am weak, then I am strong) . . . I will count it all joy when I fall into various trials . . . I will leap for joy at persecution . . . the joy of the Lord will be my strength!

Today I will laugh, finding the humor in my current situations. I will recognize what is funny, and I will not hesitate to enjoy it. I will not waste today by living in regret, but with joy I will draw water out of the wells of salvation. I will even find the proper way to appreciate the absurd and the ridiculous. I will let God use the foolish things of the world to confound the wise around me.


Today I will enter the Kingdom by becoming like a little child . . . laughing . . . playing . . . having fun . . . not taking life too seriously. I will make the effort to enjoy my day. I will smile at people. I will be a pleasure to be with. People will enjoy my company today because my joy will be both attractive and infectious. I will be a blessing to others.


Today, for the joy that is set before me, I will endure my cross.
I will know the reality of the resurrection and, therefore, will see no situation as hopeless.
Life will always triumph over death. I will celebrate my life. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead will live big in me today!


Today I will be optimistic. I will see the glass half-full. I will think positively. I will think on those things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of a good report. I will walk in the Mind of Christ. I will be proactive in dealing with the people around me, and with all of their issues. My joyful mind will cause me to think like a winner!


Today I will be thankful to God, and grateful for my life. I will make melody in my heart to the Lord in an attitude of praise and worship. I will be renewed by the refreshing laughter of Christ in my spirit. This is my day that the Lord has made — I will rejoice and be glad in it and, today, I will live in the now!

Father, help me to remember to rejoice today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Rejoice Today!...And Then Some

_______________


Later that day...

Hey bloggers,

As you can see, I have two posts for today. The first one is the John 3:17 pic (currently 16 comments). When you click on it to enlarge it, the images are quite powerful.

The second is the REJOICE! pic (currently 3 comments). I posted it in faith, because I had a feeling about how the service was going to go this morning, and suffice it to say that I wasn't disappointed! Pastor Nancy Courter sent this to me before church this morning...

Hi Bishop,

Here is a picture I took this summer when His Hands went up to Virginia Beach. We were given 3 rooms for 2 nights on the beach while we were there. It goes along with today’s blog.

Pastor Nancy

_____________


Thanks, P. Nancy.


Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

People Who Need People

Before playing this, scroll down to the playlist and pause it...



We laugh when we see other people laughing...we cry when we see other people crying...we yawn, even if we're not tired or sleepy, when we see someone else yawning...it's amazing how connected we all are.

What's that about?




(BTW, I didn't check out all of the videos that this one links to at the end, so if you click on to any of them, do so at your own risk)

Enjoy Your Day!

This picture of Atlanta at night is posted here because of all the testimonies that I heard after the Sunday service of how many of you miraculously escaped harm during Friday night's devastating tornado. I've been downtown 2 or 3 times since then, and I think that with all of the glass that is missing from skyscraper windows, it's absolutely amazing that no one was seriously injured or killed!

And it’s quite possible that Mykal Riley saved lives by making a shot in a basketball game. With one basket, he could have changed the fate of thousands of people because that night, Alabama was trailing Mississippi State by three points at the end of the game, and Riley hit a three-pointer to tie the ballgame and send it into overtime. Three minutes later, the tornado ripped through that part of the city. If the game hadn't gone into overtime, all those people would have been on the street, headed to their cars at just the wrong time. Amazing how one little thing can affect so much. Something to think about.

Every day on this blog we all give each other a lot to think about. I really appreciate the thoughtfulness and intelligence of all who are a part of this site. Your communication here is a continual breath of fresh air for me. Yesterday my day seemed to be full of encounters with small-minded people (never expect a 16X20 idea to fit into a 3X5 mind!)...so much religious silliness that I had to deal with. I just had to let it go and refuse to be frustrated with the non-visionaries. That's why I enjoy being here with people like you who can "see"...my "deep" needs your "deep".

Anyway, enough about yesterday. I've decided to just fully ENJOY this day, and I want you to enjoy it, too! You know, it’s not what we HAVE but what we ENJOY that constitutes our ABUNDANCE...and I intend to walk in ABUNDANT LIFE today!

ABUNDANCE is not something that we acquire…it is something we tune into...that's why I want to put away pettiness and smallness and anything else that would prevent me from "tuning in" to the treasure hidden in the field of my today...my "now".

For those of you who are a part of CITN or cyber-CITN, I've got a really cool word for you tonight about the I AM, and how the whole concept relates to past-present-future all flowing together.

If you are planning on coming to church tonight, keep your mind open to revelation. And remember that one little thing (like a well-timed 3-pointer) could change history...so stay in the flow!

God is speaking.

The Pursuit of Happiness

Hey bloggers...Happy St. Patrick's Day...

I was going to write a cool post for today, but after we got home from the Safehouse banquet, I had so many calls and e-mails and texts to return that the time got away from me, and now it's too late for me to think clearly and write anything really intelligent. But I want to post something, so I'm going to publish the little piece that I wrote yesterday for my One On One on the CITN site.

BTW, loved the service yesterday...the way Chandra flowed was awesome...great crowd...good things happening...sat next to Ralph Reed last night at the banquet and got to talk politics for an hour...very cool exchange...



In the past I've taught on the difference between joy and happiness. Joy, of course, is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and flows from the inside out; while happiness (or "hap"iness) is the emotional reaction to external events or "haps", and flows from the outside, in.

Hap - an accidental happening; "he recorded all the little haps and mishaps of his life"; chance event, fortuity, accident, stroke - anything that happens suddenly or by chance without an apparent cause; "winning the lottery was a happy accident"

As stated above, a mishap is an unfortunate event. The word perhaps, means, basically "if everything is favorable" or "if the haps line up". In other words, we are "hap"py when good things "hap"pen to us. And happiness is, indeed, a good thing, and is even something that we have the power to create in our lives. The only downside to searching for happiness is that it does have an opposite – unhappiness – or the emotional reaction to mishaps in our lives. That's where joy comes in. Joy is something superior to happiness because it has no opposite. There is no such word as "unjoy"!

The potential for happiness is within your mind, while joy comes from within your spirit. When you stop the chatter of the mind and expel your worries and fears you find out that happiness surfaces from within your thoughts, especially as they are managed through your spirit by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not downplaying the pursuit of happiness. Not only is it one of our "unalienable rights" as Americans, it is something that the Scriptures talk about quite frequently, and is mentioned as being a blessing. Happiness is a good thing…a very good thing, in fact…it is just not the best thing. Happiness under-girded by joy is the optimum. When you are "joy-ful", you are protected from being devastated by the un"hap"iness that comes as a result of the disappointing things that can "hap"pen in your life. The joy of the Lord is your strength because it serves as a kind of insurance policy…it is there at all times, regardless of what "hap"pens, so that you can actually walk in joy, even when you experience un"hap"piness!

But happiness is not something far away and unattainable, and on a deeper level, its manifestation does not have to depend on circumstances, at all. Your mind can be renewed to the place that you are unmoved by what you feel emotionally, and can actually experience joy and happiness, simultaneously! That's what David was talking about when he said, "my cup runs over!".

Happiness can be one of the most important treasures in life if you know how to keep it in perspective. It is within your mind, which means it is in your soul. All you have to do is dig it out and enjoy it.

In fact, there really is no need to search for happiness, or even to create it, for that matter. There is no need to undergo all kinds of external experiences in order to enjoy it. It is always here, deep within your soul, and when your spirit and soul come into alignment, you will find that they flow beautifully together.

Make the decision to BE happy today, and you will be, because you have the joy of the Lord!

Don't worry…be happy!