I was with a friend of mine last night and he reminded me of one of the things the enemy does best. STILL our JOY. The very joy the Lord speaks about and promises us. It almost happened yesterday. So while I am sitting here flying to of all places sin city as they call it a.k.a. Las Vegas I have decided to write this weak about the Joy of the Lord and all the many ways he provides it every day.
Date Line:
May 3rd Saturday, 10:45 on board Air Tran
I woke up about 5am to meet my friend Derek to head out to of all things a community yard sale. He had made a list of things and so did I. First of all we went to a ladies house that was kind enough to let Derek know of the event and she even provided us a way in early. It was a beautiful morning to boot. The adventure started kind of slow and I was wondering if we were going to find anything on our list. He started out by making his first purchase of vintage movies. Then we sort of hit a dry spell. However, that was soon to end and with all do respect to Mel Fisher he it the jackpot. I saw the look in his eye as he firmly planted himself in someone’s garage. Sander, circular saw, tool box, jig saw and assorted other items were being stock piled on the driveway. I added a weed eater and new hose to his pile and before you could say "Scooby Doo where are you" the truck was being loaded. Nice purchase and a blessing to my friend who saved a great deal of money. His FPU group would be proud.
Then the call from David (A friend of Derek's who wanted to do some work in return for some money to help pay his way to a missions trip in Africa) who was ready to go to Derek’s house to mow his yard. But first we stopped by Brian’s house; he had called and blessed me with a book from Dave Ramsey. Wow, I was so touched by his kindness and caring spirit. Derek dropped me off at my car and he went on to pick up David and I met Derek and David, his Dad David, and of course me (David) at Derek’s house. Sorry I couldn’t resist. David’s Dad helped Derek get his lawn mower going while David Jr was beginning to push mow Derek’s lawn and I somehow managed to get the weed eater fired up. So with the help of an extension cord, don’t ask, from the house and the Ole mobile the mower started. David Jr was able to get Derek’s lawn done plus the neighbors while Derek had time to get the things done he wasn’t able to get to in the past. Blessings all over the place.
Also, during all of this our friend Aaron called to tell me about his bible study group he had done with some of the Tampa Yankees he coaches. He was very excited about it and was telling me how he had shared a Nooma that Friday night and how even more players then normal joined his group. Aaron told me that Saturday he had been invited to speak to the University of Tampa baseball team. What a privilege it is to see how God is working in Aaron’s life, and all of my friends. Later that evening a few of us headed out to see the Tampa Yankees win another game.
I went home to finish getting some things done at the house and Derek had called me to see if I wanted to grab a bite prior to the game but I had to decline so Derek and Dick went instead. Dick is another awesome man that God put in my path early on during this awesome walk with Christ. His mentorship was so key to me in my beginning walk with the Lord.
Since Aaron had been kind enough again to get us tickets for the game I called Will and invited him and his wife along for the game. It seems like we never get a chance to spend enough time with Will which is why it is such a blessing to whenever we can.
It had been a great day. All the blessing of the day as earlier mentioned had added up to such an awesome day. I was driving Derek back to his truck and I told him I almost didn’t come because of some phone calls I had received that were disturbing. Even as I was sharing with him some things that were said I could feel the JOY of the day just slipping away. I had just had an awesome day and now the enemy was primed and ready. I pulled up to his truck and after describing the phone call a little deeper, he said LET’S PRAY. He just stopped and began praying and casting out the enemy right then and there. He also included himself in the prayer which spoke to me big time. This awesome man of God I call my friend was all over the enemy. I began to feel the joy of the day return as he spoke boldly against the enemy and just praised the Lord for all things. I felt as if the car had been surrounded by Angels. It was a moment in my walk I will never forget.
The enemy comes to destroy and still our joy. If he was bold enough to tempt Jesus then I assure you none of us will escape his temptations. He can lure us but we don’t have to follow, he can provide the bait but we don’t have to take it, he can set the traps ahead but we can turn and go the other way. It can happen fast and what my friend did is what we all should do, STOP AND PRAY. Derek pointed out what a blessing the weed eater was for him. I just want to remind him what a blessing he is to me and all that the Lord did in my life this past Saturday.
Tomorrow….Day one in Vegas
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