Tag: Jesus

Supernatural Joy

Claire's Prayer

Did you ever sing the song “𝗥𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀,” in a round?  We sang it on the bus going to Youth Camp, half the bus would start in the verse, when they got to the chorus the other half would join them from the beginning.  If it worked out right the verse and the chorus would flow together in glorious harmony but more often, we would get out of sync with each other and the result would be muddled and messy.  Laughter would bubble up and we would chuckle with amusement, sometimes that laughter would be uncontainable, and we couldn’t stop.  A good belly laugh – how does that scripture go?   “𝑨 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔.” Proverbs 17:22. Laughter, joy, and gladness, are good for you, but depression and sadness drain your strength.

On the night before Jesus went to the cross, we find Him praying to the Father, on a night when his disciples slept and Judas was about to betray Him, the Savior of the World takes a moment to pray for us!  In John 17:13 he prays this; “𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅, 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.” That they may have the full measure of my joy within them.  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝗷𝗼𝘆!

Joy!  But not just any joy, Jesus’ joy, not a worldly joy but a supernatural joy, and not just a drop but a full measure!  A cup that runs over.  A cup that never runs dry.  That’s what Jesus asks for you!  It’s not the first time Jesus has talked about joy; “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑴𝒚 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍.” John 15:11.  It does seem that your joy is important to Jesus.

You see, joy is the mark of a Follower of Christ, a fruit of the Holy Spirit, a sign that differentiates the believer from the unbeliever.  Even in the face of adversity and persecution there can be joy because it is supernatural joy, Jesus’ joy.  Psalm 126:2 says, “𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒋𝒐𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.” When the world saw the laughter and joy upon the people of Israel, they exclaimed that the LORD had done great things for them!  They could see that there was something different about God’s people, they laughed in the face of adversity, sang for joy in the middle of oppression!

Today if joy is not your portion, if you find yourself in oppression, full of anxiety or depressed ask the LORD to fill you with HIS joy, not the joy of the world but supernatural joy.  Ask Him to fill your mouth with laughter and cause praise to spring forth.  “𝑹𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆!” Phil 4:4

Peace That Surpasses Understanding

Claire's Prayer

Fall. One of the most stunning times of the year. The trees are awash in gold, red, orange, and yellow. A time that brings back to my remembrance the scripture from Isaiah 55:12; “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆; 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔.” Almost as though the trees are rejoicing, their glory bringing glory to Almighty God!

With all the beauty that ushers us into a new season I am reminded too that this time can be so hard for many. A season where there is little joy and no peace. As the days get shorter peace can be elusive. And yet, doesn’t God’s Word tell us that we can have peace? “𝑩𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅; 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔.” (Phil 4:6-7) We all know this scripture, in fact Amazon released data stating this is the most highlighted passage of scripture in the Kindle Bible!

I don’t need to point out the obvious, that we need to pray about everything, raising our voices in thanksgiving to the God of the Universe, to the One who deserves all our thanks, I know you know that. But there is something in this scripture that speaks loudly to me. “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈.” As we pray and seek the LORD with thanksgiving, 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱, releasing our questions to Him and giving up our need to understand it all, acknowledging that we don’t need to understand, just trust. Then peace will rise above and surpass our need to understand and guard our hearts and minds! Herein lies the secret to peace during this busy season, 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱.

My prayer for you as we dive into this holiday season is that you would be able to trust, find God’s peace, and with that peace would come joy, overwhelming thanksgiving, that you would be like the trees of the field clapping their hands in praise to our Beautiful Savior, Jesus Christ!

Who is God to You?

Claire's Prayer

Questions.  We all have so many of them.  Would you believe that in 2022, 12 million people asked Google the question Who Am I?  Coming in at 1st place was What to Watch with a staggering 109 million searches! As we journey through life with our Abba Father at our side, the question we need to ask Him is 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮? This dear friend, is the real question, the important one. 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮? Ultimately it does not matter who we are, it matters who God is! Who do you believe God is? What do you believe God can do?

Matthew 16:13-20 tells us a very interesting story, one that was pivotal for Peter. Jesus asked, “𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒂𝒎?” and Peter answered Him, “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑮𝒐𝒅.”  Peter knew that Jesus was the Messiah, the one they had all been longing for. I find Jesus’ reply astonishing, “𝑩𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑺𝒊𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝑩𝒂𝒓–𝑱𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒉, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑴𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝑷𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝑴𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒕. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒚𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏.”

Peter knew who Jesus was. It was revealed to him by the Father. But for one moment look at the blessing that came with that revelation. He was given the keys to the kingdom of heaven, the ability to bind and loose, and the very church itself was built upon Peter! An imperfect man who denied Jesus three times, even after this revelation. Incredible authority was given to him.

This question too, is pivotal for us and it is in the secret place, that place of intimacy that the answer will be revealed. It is when we come away with the LORD that we discover who He is! 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂? Today is a beautiful day to establish that question in your heart.

𝗛𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀.  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗺𝗲𝗴𝗮, 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱.  𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹.  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝗲.  𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵.  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗔𝗺.

Our Savior Weeps

Claire's Prayer

There are times when the ache in your heart threatens to overwhelm you, when your heart literally feels pain because of a grief so great or a burden too deep.  The only way to relieve that pressure that presses deep into your soul is to weep.  To cry great heaving sobs, oceans of tears, and then perhaps, but only perhaps, there is some sense of respite.   So many people tell me that they feel great after a ‘good cry,’ but I don’t.  I feel terrible, my head aches, and my eyes are red and irritated, and I’m an ugly crier, a hot mess.

Right there in the middle of a victory celebration, where palm fronds were waved, and thousands cried out “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:9) the King of Kings, riding on the back of a young colt looked out over Jerusalem and literally began to sob. “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:41-42)

My heart hurt when I read this verse, knowing that my Savior was so overcome with sorrow during this short celebration.  This was not simply a few tears that stained Jesus cheeks but the Greek tells us this was mourning, sobbing, or wailing aloud!  The grief that hit Jesus’ heart as he looked at Jerusalem caused His shoulders to shake as he began to cry. 

The future loss of His beloved city was almost too much to bear.  This should have been “their day!”  “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day…”.  Not only were there 300 prophecies about the Messiah but this was such an important day that it had been prophesied by Daniel 483 years before!  It was a day that Israel could and should have recognized. 

Sir Robert Anderson, the former head of Scotland Yard, calculated in his book, The Coming Prince, that Jesus’ triumphal entry was exactly 483 years after Daniel spoke of it in Daniel 9:25. Incredible!  The day Zechariah predicted, the day Daniel spoke of, was such an important day, and it could have been “their day.” 

No wonder our precious Savior’s shoulders shook with grief, no wonder a sob escaped his throat, as He contemplated the future of His chosen people.  The signs were all there but they didn’t see Him, they didn’t recognize their Messiah!

Is today “your day?”  Your appointed time, the day in which you need to acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied about countless times in the scriptures?  A day created for you from the beginning of time.  A day that will bring you peace, freedom, and joy in Christ, the beginning of a journey with the King!

The Christmas Star

Claire's Prayer

Last night we climbed up a small hill near our home and waited with great anticipation as the sun set in glorious golden colours.  I held my breath as the sky became deep blue, would we see the Christmas Star?  We missed it on the 21st as it had been cloudy but tonight was a crisp, clear, night and stars were beginning to twinkle. 

Suddenly, there above the horizon, the Christmas Star appeared, bright, beautiful, glorious!  “There it is!” I shouted in excitement. A magnificent gift from above!  As I stood and took in its sparkling edges, I thought to myself, am I gazing at the very same star that the Wise Men followed so many years ago, and I smiled to myself, wrapped up in the warm glow of His love.  In a year filled with so many difficulties the God who spoke the planets into existence, the God who sprinkled the heavens with a trillion sparkling lights, gave us this miraculous gift of the Christmas Star.  A reminder that He. Is. Coming.  An invitation to seek out the newborn King!

It all reminded me of a sticker I had once seen on a car – ‘Wise men still seek Him!’  So many of us know and love the story of the wise men and have watched many a Christmas nativity play and perhaps have even acted in one!  This may be our frame of reference but something wonderful jumped out at me when studying those Wise Men.

Matthew 2 tells us that the Magi, who saw the star, travelled a considerable distance to Jerusalem to seek out the King of the Jews.  Once in Jerusalem, they enquired of King Herod, the chief priests and scribes, all who knew and studied the scriptures, where the Christ was to be born.  These incredible scholars of the Word of God immediately quoted Micah 5:2; “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.”   The Christ will be born in Bethlehem of Judea.  Interestingly these learned men, scholars of the scriptures, chose not to seek out the Messiah, the Saviour, even though he was born only 5 miles away! They knew the scriptures well, but were not changed by them.

In contrast the wise men headed off to Bethlehem and Matthew 2:10 tells us; “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.”  From this we can deduce that the star had not been visible during the whole of their travels.  The star had appeared many months before guiding the Magi to the general area, it then appeared again in Jerusalem leading them to the King.  These Wise Men heard the Word of God and they acted upon it.  In faith they travelled on to Bethlehem and were overjoyed when they saw the star again.  The wise men stood on the scriptures, sought the Christ, and found Him!

So, this Christmas, the question that remains is – will you seek Him?  Will you take the time to stand on faith, believe that God’s Word is true and seek the Newborn King?  Knowing that this King will not forever be newborn, but is in fact your Saviour, your Redeemer, the one who came to draw you to Himself because He cares for you!  Knowing that this tiny baby came to earth to go to the cross, taking on your sin and mine, because He loves you!  Wise Men still Seek Him!

Tonight, another clear night, I am going to climb my hill again and watch the sun set in all its splendour and marvel at this year’s gift of the Christmas Star, perhaps I’ll imagine I’m a wise man and in faith I will set off into the unknown, knowing that if I seek Him – I will find Him!