LOVE

Don't worry.
I'm not talking about the lovey-dovey, kissy-huggy stuff.
I'm talking about the most powerful, and most awe-inspiring love of all; God's love. And how loving people changes their life, and your life too.

Love changes everything. 
I know so many people(myself included) who probably wouldn't be here today if no one had taken the time to love them. Have you ever been having a terrible day and then someone said something really nice to you, or simply smiled sincerely at you and it completely turned your day around? That's happened to me countless times!
I know that I should be uplifting to everyone I encounter, and some days that's really difficult. But not if you rely on God's strength instead of your own. Sometimes we encounter people that make us think "There's no way God wants me to love this person, cause they treat me like dirt! And I just don't like them..." But when did this become all about ourselves?
We love others because God loved us first, even though we treated Him like dirt. Not noticing Him working in our lives, not listening to Him. He loves us anyways.

When we love someone it changes things. Sometimes you don't even notice it. But when you genuinely love someone, great things are bound to happen. God is Love(1 John 4:16). When we love, God is present. God works THROUGH LOVE. 

1 John 4:7-8

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

1 John 4:12

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.

Christians often forget that they should still love people who aren't believers in Christ. Think of it this way: Who's going to have an open mind to a religion that appears to be a bunch of haters? "Oh look, they hate me! I wanna hang out with them!" Hah, no. That's not how it works. God works through LOVE, not hatred! God ain't no hater! God loves every single one of His creations. Even the ones who don't yet know Him.

1 John 4:20

Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

Yep, that's why you should love people.

All you have to do is love people, and God does the rest. It's so awesome! Loving people isn't that hard! Certainly not when you have God in your heart, since He is love, so you also have love in your heart.

Proverbs 10:12

Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.

We weren't sent here to hate and try to change people into our own little molds of what we think all people should be like. We were made to love. 

To love everyone as they are. 

When you were first saved, were you perfect? Did you have it all together? Heck, I was three when I was first saved and I know I didn't have it all together. I only wanted to be saved so that I could take communion! And I was three. That's another good reason I didn't have it all figured out. 

But we never really have it all figured out. So it's a good thing God loves us! 

Here's a "biblical diss" I came up with, "It's a good thing I love you, since love covers a multitude of sins!" 

Yeaahhh... I know, it's awful! I thought it fit in with this blog post though. And it makes me happy.

1 Peter 4:8

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Anyways, thank you for reading! I really hope you enjoyed this blog post. :) Have a lovely day.

~ Joyously Devoted To Jesus ~

~ Herachio Joy ~

What am I living for?

So my sister sent a letter from Air Force Basic Training.
One of the things she said really made me think.
It went something like this:
"We aren't here on earth for ourselves. As long as we're trying to live only for ourselves, we'll always be unhappy."

This definitely puts things in perspective. What am I living for? Am I living for myself? Or am I living to serve God and to help spread His love to every person who I encounter?

Psalm 37:4 

Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

When we delight in the Lord, He takes care of the rest. Delight in Him, praise Him. Don't worry about anything. God is in control of your needs and even your wants. He knows the desires of your heart better than you do. Leave all that up to Him. It's better in His hands than in ours. We need to focus on God, not ourselves or our own needs. 

 John 13:37

Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for You."

Peter was willing to completely lay down his life for Jesus and follow Him, this is what we should do. Lay down our lives for Jesus. Because Jesus gave His life for us.

The other day I wrote a simple little rhyme:

It matters not what you do,

But what He does through you.

We focus so much on everything we do. We gloat when we do something good, and we pout when we do something bad. When what we should do is humble ourselves and thank God for all that He does. We can't do a thing without God. He is so faithful, He's the reason for every good thing. Even when something bad happens it's cause He let's it, but only for our own good, usually to protect us from something else and to prepare us for the future that He has planned for us. Of course God isn't to blame for the bad things that happen to us. He only allows what we can handle to happen to us. He makes those bad things into something good. And remember, we can do ALL things through Christ. 

We aren't saved by our works. We're saved by Jesus dying for us. We're saved because God loves us so much, He cares for us for eternity. He gives us everything we need. He guides us and teaches us. Be thankful, rejoice! He is ALWAYS there for us. Always protecting us and helping us. 

Let Him work through us. Let Him use us. Be vulnerable to God. Live for Him, not for yourself.

Isaiah 6:8

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"

And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

~ Joyously devoted to Jesus ~

~ Herachio Joy ~

He Is Faithful

Sometimes the people who you thought would ALWAYS be your friend don't stick around.
Unfortunately that's just the way it is. The only One who will always be there is God. Which is great, because He's all we need.
He will love us through every trial. He never leaves, and His love NEVER fails. We can always look to God and He will always help us.

That is a comforting fact, especially when you are suddenly smacked in the face with the realization that not all of your "Faithful Friends" are even friends at all. Maybe this has never happened to you or maybe it has. Consider yourself lucky if it hasn't happened to you, but most likely it has. It's a painful experience, sometimes the truth REALLY does hurt.

But no matter how much it hurts, if you're dear friend decides to leave you, you can't force them to stay, and it's probably better if they leave. Why would you want to be with someone who doesn't want you to be with them?

There is a reason for the changes that take place in life. Everything unfolds in the way it does because there is a bigger plan behind it. God let's things happen for a GOOD reason. Have faith. He's not going to let the devil do something bad in your life if you can't handle it. Neither satan or you know what the outcome will be, but God does know what the outcome is and He has it all under control.

Numbers 23:19 

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

Yup, God always fulfills His promises. He's good. Really good. He'll NEVER say that He's going to do something and then not do it. He will NEVER abandon you or forsake you. Don't depend on people more than you depend on God because He won't fail, and people will fail. You can't expect people to always stick around. Sometimes God has somewhere else for them to be. That's okay. Leave it in God's hands. Not everyone needs to be your friend. God is all we need, and the rest comes after Him, given by Him. 

Deuteronomy 4:31 

For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.

Seek God first. Seek Him most. He's always there, just look to Him. He will provide all that you need. 

He will always be there. Even when no one else is there, He is still there. We can always expect God to be with us. But we can't always expect people to. That's why our relationship with God is the most important relationship to invest in. 

Isaiah 54:10

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

-Herachio Joy-

-Joyously Devoted To Jesus-

Fearless and New

Hey ya'll.

Life is definitely an adventure. It's a wacky, beautiful, messy mix of ups and downs, smiles and frowns, fars and nears, and laughter and tears.
It can be so difficult to remember that our lives are in God's hands and not our own. He's got it all figured out and if we aren't listening to Him then we aren't doing the right thing for ourselves or others.

God made us and He has a plan for us, it's gonna be wild, it's gonna be great, it's gonna be full of Him(paraphrasing a song, Come Away-Jesus Culture).

I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.

Isaiah 46:4

There are blessings that God is just waiting to pour out on you. All you need to do is ask for them. 

Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Matthew 7:7

See? It's just that simple! God loves us SO MUCH and He's SO good to us. He will never forsake you! And He'll always be there to provide whatever it is that you need.

Lesson Learned:

It can be painful to let God close a door in your life. But it only makes it more painful if you put your foot in the door. Don't fear that door closing and don't fear entering a new door. Fear is destructive and is never from God. Trust Him. He's going to lead you to something far more AMAZING. You've just got to follow Him and don't look back on your past. 

"God never consults your past to determine your future."

Pastor John Hagee

Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.

Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.

You will forget the shame of your youth

and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

Isaiah 54:4

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

2 Timothy 1:7

God has a beautiful, amazing, wonderful future in store for you. That's right, YOU. Believe it. Embrace His glorious blessings. Go with HIM. He'll never leave your side. He'll always look after you and take care of you. Just let Him. Even if He needs you to close some doors to continue your journey. Don't stick your foot in the door, let it close and see where God takes you.

-Joyously Devoted to Jesus-

-Herachio Joy-

His love - In action!

Hey everyone!

A lot of this post will be things I learned from Jesus Culture and a message from church.

We spend so much of our time and energy picking out what other people are doing wrong. Since we waste all of our time doing that, we don't have much time left to really show God's love to people. It's about time we start demonstrating Christianity the way we should!

First of all, no one is going to be motivated by fear. Motivation from fear is TEMPORARY and kinda worthless. I mean, God didn't give us a heart of fear so it's time people quit using fear when they should be using LOVE. Love is an ETERNAL motivator(credited to: Scott Thompson).

There's WAY more to a person than their past sins and mistakes. We should love people no matter what they've done in the past, that's what God does. Jesus paid for EVERYTHING they did. Why can't we think of them how God thinks of them? That's what we should aim to do. We're letting Satan drag us down to his level when we start saying or thinking awful things about other people because of their mistakes. All sins are equally wrong. And Jesus died for every single one of them.

We need to look at the potential of every person and EXPECT GREAT THINGS. Don't expect people to fail. That's destructive. The last thing we need is more destroyed people in this world.

Remember, "Bitterness is the poison I drink to get back at you." It's hurting ourselves(and others) to be bitter.

Start putting God's love into action. Show it to whoever you encounter. Treat people how you want to be treated! Especially if you're having a bad day. When you rise above your own circumstances AMAZING things happen!

Now go change someone's day. No, change someone's LIFE. 

~Joyously Devoted To Jesus~

~Herachio Joy~

This Is The Future.

Hello All.

Yes, I quoted an Owl City song in the title of this post... I like Owl City.
And the song has a lot of truth in it. You're not alone, and the future is right now. Stop waiting for something else to happen for you to be motivated or something. Right now is the time to act and do whatever it is you've dreamed of. At least start working toward it.
Those are just a few thoughts that have been going through my head lately. THERE"S NO BETTER TIME THAN RIGHT NOW TO BEGIN. To begin doing whatever it is that you KNOW you need to do!
Of course, this doesn't apply to everything... But many things like getting a career, letting go of the past, cleaning your room, working out, breaking a bad habit, getting better grades, and having a better attitude.
I know it's cliche but attitude REALLY is everything. Our reactions to difficult situations reflect who we really are. How you behave should reflect your beliefs. If you believe that violence is wrong you aren't gonna go around beating people up, right? Because the point of believing that is to make a statement and hopefully with how you are behaving you can get more people to believe what you believe.
Today is the day to start. TODAY. Today you can look out at the dark, rainy day and say "This is beautiful." Because, well, IT IS! Rain grows things, rain brings rainbows, rain makes it better. RAIN IS BEAUTIFUL.

Life is learning to dance in the rain. Not mope around singing "Rain, rain, go away." Enjoy it. Next thing you know you could be stranded in a desert dreaming of that rain. Don't take those tough times in life for granted. They're helping you GROW. They are sustaining you. Ups and downs just mean you're alive. It's all going to work out wonderfully. Just TRUST. <3

-Joyously Devoted To Jesus-

-Herachio Joy-

It's a whole new year!

Hey guys, did you miss me?!
I missed writing on here. It's one of my favorite things to do. One of my New Years Resolutions is to write a blog post AT LEAST once a month. :) I'll try my best.

I'm so psyched for this year! Last year there was a lot of good and a lot of bad. But looking back, it was a great year for growing. I've grown a lot this year. I've learned a lot about myself, about my friends, about my family, about the world, and about God. Many things changed, some of it hurt, and some of it didn't. I know that all in all, last year was a huge step toward growing up and knowing my purpose.

God works ALL things together for the good of those who love Him(Romans 8:28). :) That is something I've had to keep in mind all year. All of these things, whether they're a trial or a triumph, it is being worked together for good. It's a beautiful mess. It's a joyful trial and triumph. It's all filled with joy no matter how difficult, or how different from what I WANTED. Maybe some of it isn't what I wanted, but it's what I NEEDED. I'm sure you can all relate to that. God's plan is often different from our own. It's unexpected, it's mysterious.

I wrote this poem, it's about me, God, and all of us. I just wanted to write a poem describing some of what God has been doing in me, some of the things I've learned over the past year/years. Enjoy!

Poem: Who I am because of You.

I have struggled through hardships, as everyone has. 

 I know God still loves me, no matter what anyone says. 

I have mastered the art of dancing in the rain. 

 I can see through the eyes of those who are in pain.

I can look back and honestly say that I have no regrets.

 I've been ransomed with blood, Jesus paid ALL my debts.

You made us all different, with a purpose in mind.

 You made us with passions, traits, and gifts we have yet to find.

You forgive countless times and help us through it all.

 You pick us up all of the many times that we fall.

You make it all better if I give it all to You, 

 And somehow You make every day brand new.

I can only be completely sure of You.

  I know You will always see me through. 

If we love God, He truly does work things together for our good. Even when it seems like it isn't for our good, it is. If it's God's work, it'll turn out great. And when something awful happens and it feels like the sky is falling, give it all to God. He'll turn it into something absolutely beautiful. 

~Joyously Devoted To Jesus~

~Herachio Joy~

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

The Pot Is Calling The Kettle Black

People are always judging what others do and say. 
In my opinion you really shouldn't judge or criticize unless it's helpful.

Ask yourself: Is it my business what they do with their life?
Or do you just feel that they're doing things wrong and you should interfere.
Don't get me wrong, you could be right for interfering, it could very well be your business. But you should be sure it is before saying anything.


If you aren't their parent(or something like that) then you don't have as much say in what they do.
If you're a friend, be a friend, encourage them and love them or else they'll never change for the better. The more you discourage someone the worse they'll get.

Also check your intentions before jumping out and telling people what's right or wrong, if your intentions are not honorable or if they're selfish, then the outcome will be bad.

In my experience if you don't love someone you can't help them.

Maybe you should make sure that you're right about the circumstances first before jumping on that high horse of yours(I know you have one, everyone does!) and telling them how awful they are.
You don't always know what's going on, no one does.
But if you're sure, confront them with a spirit of gentleness, never respond with anger or harsh words because that will only hurt, not help.
Don't ever tell someone that God doesn't love them since they are doing something wrong, God ALWAYS loves EVERYONE.
Hate the sin, not the sinner.

When everyone was disappointing Him, God sent His only Son to save us. Now ask yourself: Do I really think He did that out of hatred?

_Herachio Joy