"Be cheerful with joyous celebration..." Philippians 4:4-7 (TPT)

Part of our awareness in this life is for us to be full of joy because we are connected with Jesus and His life within us.  We are in Christ and He is in us, that calls for Joyous celebration for this is nothing that we could do for ourselves, this was a gift of God.  

We are united with Him in ways which are far beyond this natural world. We are connected to Jesus on a head and a heart level which is interconnected with our spirit and the Holy Spirit.  That connection we have with Jesus releases the peace of God in our lives which is part of God’s manifest presence.  

This is where thankfulness and gratefulness are evident for all that God has done on our part to bring wholeness and healing into our lives. 

I for one am  grateful for the love of Jesus who lifts me out of my own fears and doubts to live in Him with the freedom and protection of His strength and might, He will not fail me.

Jesus desires for us to let gentleness be found in everything we are involved with so that Christ may be evident in each and every relationship we encounter that His love may abound.  It has been said many times before, but the reality is very evident, the return of the Lord is very near and we need to be ready in a moment’s notice for when our call to come home is heard we can respond quickly without hesitation.

Our enemy is looking to derail us and have us become preoccupied with matters which are connected to this world and devoid of the life of Christ.  His goal is that we take our eyes off of the prize which is Jesus and become entangled in the affairs of this world so that our focus is on the struggle rather than on Jesus. The enemy literally shoves his way into our lives and robs us of our joy, he wants us to let worry and doubt to fill our minds and crowd out God’s peace so that we are disabled and defeated.   We must remain vigilant to put him in his place and not let him have his way.

The best way to remain victorious is to remain in constant communication with the Lord who responds to us by giving us His faith to overcome the enemy and embody His strength through every temptation that comes to us.  We can approach the Lord with a heart full of assurance that His power will defeat the enemy and we will rise above the Devil's attack with confidence and gratefulness.

The Lord wants to know every detail of our lives which is our confession to Him.  He already knows every detail thoroughly beforehand, but we need to speak it to Him for our benefit and our release, this is the offering we pour out to Him.  There is power in confession, much like there is power in testimony when we share our story with others.  The Lord delights in hearing the details of our lives because we are giving Him the details which He can heal and build upon to make us even stronger in Him.

That strength is actually His peace which goes beyond human understanding, His peace is His presence which fills us with an awareness that He is with us. 
The word “Emanuel” means God with us, we tend to only use this word at Christmastime to reflect on the birth of Jesus, but it is relevant at any time when we need God’s peace and presence in our lives.  God is with us!  And in us!

It is at those times of confessing that the Lord interacts with us to reveal His perspective, and gives us the answers which are necessary for us to move forward.  Our purpose is always to move forward and not simply stay put and stagnant in the same place emotionally and spiritually, we need to grow into the powerful and potent people of God we were meant to be.

Who could ever separate us from the endless love of God’s Anointed One? Absolutely no one! For nothing in the universe has the power to diminish his love toward us. Troubles, pressures, and problems are unable to come between us and heaven’s love. What about persecutions, deprivations, dangers, and death threats? No, for they are all impotent to hinder omnipotent love, yet even in the midst of all these things, we triumph over them all, for God has made us to be more than conquerors, and his demonstrated love is our glorious victory over everything!  Romans 8:35 & 37 (TPT)

May you know the power of the Lord's overcoming strength to be your portion when you are placed in a position of temptation, and may you grow in His strength to be the powerful person of the Lord that rises above every obstacle in your life to be victorious in all things.

Be Blessed;

Stephen Barnett