You. are. here. Where is that?

Choose joy!

Listen along here:  https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/1f0af40c/whereareyou-wh...

It isn't always easy to figure out how to get where you want to go in life. 

Behind the wheel of a car, we have navigation systems of various kinds,

but they all require one thing: knowing 'where you are', your starting point.

So, you plug in your position and then the address to which you are heading.

Now that will preach.

HERE'S WHERE I AM -->

THERE IS WHERE I WANT TO GO.

'Where Am I?' In my journal, I began answering the question as honestly as I know how, starting with my current state of being and season, endeavoring to live fully the purpose for which God has created me.  "Where are You, my friend?"      *i invite you to think for a moment* *I invite you to put pen to paper to answer*

On our quest for  "JOY", let's stop to consider where we find ourselves... 

Segue - have you ever noticed that most folks prefer to read the New Testament than the Old Testament?  I've heard such thoughts as, 'I just don't get it ... strange names, violence, turf wars, harsh judgment, all manner of things I can't relate to.' All true. In all candor, for most of my life, I have shared that opinion.  

But then ... I stepped a little closer, trying to make sense of Old with New, wanting to tie some five dozen exact prophecies of the Messiah with their fulfillment in Jesus Christ, and somehow understand the divine orchestration of such a thing.  Some 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Micah prophesied he would be born in the town of Joseph's ancestry.  (Remember, what took the beloved couple to Bethlehem was the call to register for the census.  Bethlehem, which had known prominence as the City of David, was just a hamlet, a mere village by the time Jesus' tiny infant eyes opened and then adjusted to the light of it. What a blessed notion to consider--our Lord Jesus, a babe in arms)  

And well standing on that hillside in Bethlehem, looking out at the shepherd's fields where the angels made the announcement of the Savior's birth?! Oh man, the Bible--and the truth of it--comes alive!

And then, when I stood atop Mount Carmel in Israel and imagined the prophets of Ba'al coming up the hillside, while Elijah stood his ground and called on the God of Israel to rain down fire1... I thought, 'yeah, sign me up! I want to know this God, too! Not just the God of the Gospels, not just Jesus and things I can make sense of, but this wild, unpredictable, sometimes dangerous God!'  

You. are. here.  In the space of time and eternity, you were born at a time where you are in possession of both the Old and New Testaments, the inspired words of God, who created us for relationship with him.  You serve the God of the entire story, who is outside of time and eternity, and yet longs for closeness with you; his Word says so. That is staggeringly awesome. (yes, I know that was super superlative)

As Paul wrote, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right."2

How I love my Bible!

The Bible alone contains the answers to the all-important questions of: 

->How did I get here?  

->What is the meaning of life ... that is to say, do I have a purpose?  

->Where am I going?  After purpose, then what?  Like really,  is there life after death?  

->If there is a Heaven, then  how do I get there?

I hope I have whet your appetite for getting answers to these questions, because we live in the epoch where all answers are in print for us to read and understand truth, and then be able to articulate it to others.

Yes,  You. are. here.  You have the Word of God should you care to apprehend and then live in that truth.  Having the answers to these questions provides the inner peace which gives us the space to experience and live in contentment and joy.

Truly, as Nehemiah said, so I believe with all my heart, 

    The joy of the Lord is my strength.3  

And like David sang, I know in God's presence, I find joy.4

You are Here... pursuing God, I pray.

In his presence, experiencing joy daily.

Listen to the end, please. love this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhLM_powap8. I would sweep the floors.

Choose joy,

Christine

 PastorWoman.net

1 - 1 Kings 18.20-40

2 - 2 Timothy 3.16

3 - Nehemiah 8.10 b

4 - Psalm 16.11