Being Merciful

Matthew 5:3-10
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

We are blessed. Even when we're mourning or weak. God is blessing us. He blesses through all the good and the bad things that happen.

He's always blessing us.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."So what does is mean to be "Merciful"? The dictionary defines mercy: 1.) Compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power. 2.) A blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion. 3.) Compassionate treatment of those in distress "Works of mercy among the poor."

To be Merciful is to have compassion whether someone deserves it or not. When someone has wronged you, you still care about them, love them and forgive them. 
It's important to be merciful, God knows we need to be shown mercy! Of course, the best way to be shown mercy when you need it is to be merciful when someone else needs to be shown mercy.

It makes sense:
Serve if you want to be served. 
Love if you want to be loved. 
Forgive if you want to be forgiven. 
Be a good friend if you want a good friend. 
Practice what you preach. 

This is something I've had to remember each day. Lately especially. Mercy is one of my spiritual gifts that God granted me. And it makes forgiveness and compassion come naturally most of the time. The problem I've had lately is that I have difficulty tolerating people who show no mercy. 
This is something that God is continues to help me with. I know that I should show mercy to everyone! I'm learning more about mercy with every day. Although life is a trial sometimes, I know that these trials are teaching me things and God has blessing for me through it all. 
The same goes for you. You might be going through a trial, but God is blessing you through it all. Just trust Him. :)

~Joyously Devoted To Jesus~

~Herachio Joy~

Caring, Gentle, and Aware.

I noticed that people don't have to TRY to hurt someone, we can do that without thinking about it. Not just because the people we're hurting are extremely sensitive, but simply because we don't think about how what we say will affect that person.
We might think "I'd sound so cool if I said this." But just end up sounding like an insensitive jerk. That happens when we don't have other people's feelings in mind! Or we might not think at all until after we finish talking.

I think it's important to care about and be aware of how we make others feel.
It can be so easy to hurt someone, but it takes effort to make them feel loved and happy.

Everyone does this. We all have moments where we just forget to think and what we say comes across as hurtful.
Maybe our intention was to help and make things better. Or just to form some kind of understanding. But sometimes our words just come out wrong. Especially to our family and fellow church members.
We're in this together, all part of the body of Christ.
We, of all people, NEED to be understanding of other people's feelings. We need to be careful and try not to drive someone away when they're at their breaking point, we don't know if they're at their breaking point or not.
How do you know what's going on in their life?
Before we say something that could be taken badly we should ask ourselves a few quick questions about what we're about to say:
Is this ENCOURAGING? Is this going to help solve a problem? Do I have a good reason GOOD REASON for saying this? Is this going to make things WORSE or BETTER? Is this FROM GOD?
It's really important to ask God before saying something too!

All in all we are supposed to encourage and uplift one another. There are times where we have to say something that could hurt. But you have to confront with a spirit of gentleness and love.

Ephesians 4:1-2

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."

Proverbs 15:1
"A gentle answer turns away wrath,
    but a harsh word stirs up anger."

Philippians 4:5

 ^"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."

~Herachio Joy~
~Joyously Devoted To Jesus~

Bitterness

A lot of the time we don't even realize when we're being bitter towards someone or about something.
And we don't realize how bad it is to be bitter. It's destructive. But mostly to the one being bitter.
Holding on to bitterness and un-forgiveness hinders our relationships with others and with God.

Ephesians 4:31-32
"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you."

If we want to live up to our full potential in Christ we have to let go of bitterness.
It's vital to how we love others and how we love God. It's like an anchor, it just keeps us in one place and if you're stuck in one place how can you move forward?
Bitterness also leads to a lot of other things; ungratefulness, faithlessness, discontentment, and being unforgiving and unkind.

It's really important to look at yourself and figure out whether or not you've been bitter toward people or even God.
Bitterness is not of God. Which means it's wrong, so we have to let go of it.

~Herachio Joy~
~Joyously Devoted to Jesus~

Let It Go.

Sometimes you realize you need to make a change.
So you take a good long look at your life.
Praying, listening, and hoping to find out what needs to change.

I'm kinda there right now.
God has been showing me that there are some things from the past that I never fully let go of. If they're still giving me nightmares and making me sad then it's time to fully let go.
It's time.
Time to move forward.
Philippians 3:13
"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead."

Forgetting what's behind us.
Reaching forward to what is ahead.

Sounds pretty impossible. Well;

Philippians 4:13
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
ALL things.
So that means; with God's strength, NOT my strength, I can forget the past and move forward to everything that God has for me.
So can you.
:) So, let go.
Give it to God, see what He does with it. :)

~Herachio Joy~
~Joyously Devoted To Jesus~

Be A Risk Taker.

This is a lesson I've been learning in my life lately, enjoy!

Playing it safe isn't always the best way to play it. Sometimes God challenges us to do something we've never thought of. Well, God sees a bigger picture than what we see. All we can REALLY see is what's happening NOW. Sometimes despite of our fears of the bad that COULD happen, we have to step out of our comfort zone and take a risk. There's a bigger chance that something amazing will happen, and it's guaranteed to be for the best if God told you to step out and do it.

Our life, as we're following Jesus, won't always be easy. But we'll never be alone.
We might be afraid of what others will think, but if God says "YES" Nobody can say "NO".

We need to walk in obedience to our God.

Trust Him. Step out in faith. God will reward you for your obedience to Him.

And don't be afraid, fear is NEVER from God! And why would you want to listen to something that wasn't from God? We have NOTHING to fear because we have GOD. <3

"For God gave us a spirit NOT of fear but of POWER and LOVE and SELF-CONTROL." 

~ 2 Timothy 1:7

Here's an example of obedience, risk taking, and stepping out in faith from the bible:
 
Hebrews 11:8-10

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God."

I want to be like Abraham!

~Herachio Joy~
~Joyously Devoted To Jesus~

P.S. I got a Tumblr! Check it out! http://joyouslydevoted.tumblr.com/

HE Knows The Heart. We Forgive Because HE Forgives.

People always look at other people's lives and think that they're doing things their own way, and not God's way. We have to catch ourselves and remember that only God knows their heart!

1 Samuel 16:7

"But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
This verse is referring to appearances, the point is still that people judge others off of physical appearances, and how their situation looks outwardly. While God looks at the heart.
Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that God knows everyone's heart, but we only know what we see and hear. We judge everything off of what we have learned in this world. But there's so much more to everything! There are many sides of stories, many things that God knows, that God is planning, and that God has under control. We forget that sometimes! We don't know what God knows, we only get a glimpse of all there is, we get that glimpse from reading the bible. Everything else we find out when we arrive in heaven!
Proverbs 16:9

"The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps."

When we trust God with our lives, He guides us. He brings us to where we need to be, when we need to be there!

Luke 6:36-37 

"Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;"
Wow, so many of us Christians think we have to condemn everyone who's doing something wrong. But that isn't what we're here for. Jesus came to save us, not to condemn us, He loves us.  We should love others like God loved us, and forgive others like He forgave us!  

John 3:17

 "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
He saved us through Him! If He did that for us, why not forgive and love and pray for everyone who has hurt us. It's the best way to REALLY show them what God did for them. It helps them to understand better and leads them to beginning their own journey with Christ.
Matthew 5:44
"But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,"
It may be really difficult to do. But when we let go, and know that God loves them even though they hurt you, and just forgive them; it makes it so much better. We don't have to hold on to the anger, or the pain. Anything they put you through, God can take the pain away.

Forgiveness heals. 

~Herachio Joy~
~Joyously devoted to Jesus~

God is in control & His plan is the best.

Sometimes we make these specific plans for our life and then they change abruptly and we are angered or frustrated. We forget that God has really good reasons for the things that happen. We forget to hand our lives over to Him; instead we plan out our life the way we think it should be. 

There is no special formula for every life, the only "formula" is to trust and love God! God knows what to do with our lives. Father knows best!

Proverbs 19:21

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

The bible holds the truth; we must remember that God has things under control and whatever happens God has it. Even if it isn't the typical Christian plan that you had all written down and ready. God is always unlocking new doors, doors to a plan immeasurably better than ours!

There is so much more for you. You have to remember our mind cannot possibly fathom what God has in store for us if we keep trusting Him. He has your hand, and He's guiding you when you simply trust Him.

Romans 8:28-30

  "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified."

You are so precious to God; He loves when you love Him! Of course, nothing could make God love you less, and nothing can make Him love you more. But I mean He's always up there in heaven loving everyone all the time even when they don't love Him! So when His kids love Him too, it must be wonderful. I mean, He's not human, so we can't really compare His reactions to our own reactions and He probably doesn't have emotions(we'll understand that better when we meet Him, I guess!).  But imagine loving so many people and having so many of them not really care about you, or not know you exist. It's sad to think about! That's why it's so wonderful when people truly love God, it melts my heart(it's rather silly, but true). So for those who love God things work together for good. That's awesome, right? That is such an amazing passage from the bible though. I really enjoy reading it over. God's love for us is incredible.

Proverbs 16:3 

"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and He will establish your plans." 

So, when we commit whatever we do to God, He establishes our plans! One of the definitions of the word "establish" is to initiate or bring about. Another definition is speaking of plants and it is to take root and grow. I really like those definitions, especially the second one. Once you have committed to God everything you do; He takes your plans, plants them, they take root, and GROW! 

I just thought that was really cool. And I had to share it. :D

I hope you enjoyed reading this, I enjoyed writing it! 
Proverbs 8:17

"I love all who love me. Those who search will surely find me."

~Herachio Joy~
~Joyously devoted to Jesus~

For HE Has Been GOOD To Me.

God wants me to be so devoted to Him, that it doesn't matter what the world defines me as. It only matters what He defines me as, He created me, and He knows my heart like no other.

If He wants me to let go of things that are distracting me from Him, I'll do it. Because I know He has a plan better than my plan can ever be.

He loves me more than I can imagine, so why wouldn't I let Him be in complete control?

When you really, truly love someone, you want the best that they can get in their life. You want them to be completely happy with their situation. God really, truly loves me & you & everyone! So obviously, He wants the best for us all! He knows what will make us happy in the long run, we don't know that! 

That's why I've decided to give Him complete control. I want my life to be a living sacrifice, meant only to please God.

God knows infinitely better than I do, so why not let Him be in complete control? He can only make things better.

~ Matthew 16:25 ~

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will find it. 

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
I'm done trying to control my life and basing what I do off of the world, the world shouldn't affect me and my choices. Only God should affect my choices.
This is just what I've been learning lately, I hope you liked reading it.<3

Psalm 13:5-6
"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation. 
I will sing the LORD’s praise, for He has been good to me." 

~Herachio Joy~
-Joyously devoted to Jesus-

GOD = ALWAYS RIGHT!

Sometimes you only hear negatives from the people around you.

The people who live with you, the people you love most, the people you grew up with.

Sometimes it seems like they only have bad things to say. As if - to them - anything you do or say has to be picked apart and criticized, and of course, they only tell you what's WRONG with it.

But hey don't let that stop you from doing what you know is right. Don't let it stop you from doing what God has called you to do. You can't give up when someone disagrees. Even if they keep on saying things that are hurtful, you can't give up! 

Maybe it's just doubts in your head. Those doubts("I'm not good enough to do this." "Someone else will do it, but I can't." "It's just not important"etc...) aren't from God, that's almost always Satan trying to find a way to stop what God has for you.

I know I've said this before, I'm just saying it again cause it's what I felt I should share today!

People's disapproval is not what should make your choices. What God says you need to do is what you need to do. 

2 Timothy 3:12-14 says:

"In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,"

No matter what, there's always going to be someone who disagrees. There will always be someone saying "Stop." And "You're wrong." Of course, the people who are godly and wise may be right sometimes. I think you'll know if what you're doing isn't for the right reasons though. But when someone who isn't chasing after God tells you that you're wrong to chase after God, they're wrong! 

That was a pretty obvious statement. However, sometimes people can be quite profound and say things that are right even if their lifestyle isn't exactly godly, of course, them saying something against God and the truth, obviously WON'T be right.

To know if what someone says is true; you just have to ask God, or look in a bible. Just search for answers in the right places. Someone older and wiser often has more answers than you'd expect(especially if you're a teenager and - like myself - you often think you know just about all the answers.;) ).

Remember:

"The Lord will fight for you: You need only be still." Exodus 14:4

~Herachio Joy~

~Joyously devoted to Jesus~

Positiveness, Happiness, Helpfulness, Love, & Forgiveness.

Holding on to anger hurts you and the person who you're angry at. But it hurts you more.

I don't know if anyone else gets this; but when I'm angry I get dizzy, shaken, and feel sick and weak.

However, I try very hard to not be angered(like most people). I don't know why that happens when I'm angry, all I know is that it isn't for me, it's just not healthy!

Maybe you get angry when someone does something that's clearly WRONG. And you say "It's okay for me to be angry at them, cause they're doing bad stuff!" 

Maybe. In my mind anger is this terrible thing that holds people back from their full potential. They could help people to be happier and better, but they're just so angry that they can't do it!

People get to a point in anger where it almost turns into hate, they hate what someone did so much that they begin to hate the person because what they did was just "so terrible." Hey, maybe it was terrible! But everyone does bad stuff and God always forgives, He always loves. You can forgive others because God forgave you. Isn't that wonderful? I love that. We CAN FORGIVE, we're privileged(see Note at the end of post)! As followers of Christ we get to show the world what God did/does, by forgiving!

That was kind of a rabbit trail, I'm not sure where I'm going with this.

The point is, anger must be let go of before you can do what God wants you to do. 

And we can't be easily angered, as Christians we're here to love, to show God's love. 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

So clearly, we can't be easily angered or people will just be like "Those Christians are just so angry, blah."

Anger isn't exactly an attractive quality, people don't want to be around anger unless they're consumed in it.
I mean really, have you ever thought "They look so angry, I wanna hang out with them, like, forever." I hope not, that'd be amusing though. The thing is, positiveness is so much more helpful than negativeness. Just like Happiness is better than sadness, and Love is better than hate! Those are the things that are most powerful, those are the things that can help people.
Anger, hate, sadness, and negativity are weeds that spread and hurt people. Never withhold forgiveness. Let go of all your anger and be free to love, help, and forgive!

I hope that came out making sense.

Anyways, keep being awesome. <3

Happy Easter Sunday!

Note: When I said "We CAN FORGIVE! We're privileged!" I didn't mean to imply that ONLY Christians have the ability to forgive. I just meant as a Christian, you have all the more reason to forgive. You should WANT to forgive! I just wanted to clarify that. :)
Thank you so much for reading.

~Herachio Joy~

~Joyously devoted to Jesus~

This & That

Sorry that it's been a while since I've posted!
Lately I'm realizing more and more how important it is to have supportive friends and to support friends.

Ephesians 4:29-32 "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you"

That verse is great, it really explains how you should treat your friends and everyone, really. I'm trying harder to live like that now. I want to be an encouragement to those around me. I want to be uplifting and helpful. It's a good goal to have!
I'm still learning, but maybe someday I'll be good at using my gifts for good.
The other day I was required to write an essay about my spiritual gifts. It was challenging, but really awesome! I learned a lot about myself in the process, I think every Christian should learn what their spiritual gifts are and be sure that they are putting them into action as God intended them to be(Romans 12:6-8).
http://www.spiritualgiftstest.com/ I highly recommend this test(it's free & good!), it helped me to understand what my spiritual gifts are. I think it's quite accurate! 
So you should check it out.
Thanks for reading!

~Herachio Joy~

March Motivation!

I've begun reading two new books: Authentic Beauty By Leslie Ludy, and Breaking Free By Beth Moore(Thanks to my friend for gifting it to me:).
They are wonderful! I've been reading them to start my day lately. They put me in a good mood to face life and its trials.

I noticed today that whenever I have something big and frightening to do, I put it off and do all these other things that I frequently put off until later on. Suddenly all of those things are so appealing! 

Have you ever had that happen to you? Where you're told to do something difficult and then you begin working hard at every other difficult thing, just to avoid the other difficult thing? I am constantly asking myself: "Why don't I just do it? Putting it off just makes it even more difficult!"
It's like watching a sink slowly fill with water until it runs over and begins to flood the house. I can easily just walk over and turn it off, yet I sit here and watch it flood the house. I watch as the damage increases and it gets more difficult to fix. I should just hop up and fix everything before it's destroyed! But for some reason I'm scared to. 

2 Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
That fearfulness isn't from God. Why am I letting it get the best of me? 

Lately these things have been on my mind: Becoming motivated to succeed, letting go of the past, moving on to the future, and acting on what God has put in me.

I want to break free! To break free of all the silly little things that are holding me back from my true potential and all that God has for me!
Will you join me?It's going to be absolutely amazing.
On my way to complete freedom.
~ Herachio Joy