Jeff Reynolds One desire: Jesus Shines "Brighter Than The Sun."

I've been overwhelmed over the last few days with the beauty, power, glory and grace, character and love of Jesus.

The love that....

Loved me when we were enemies.

Loved me before I even existed - before the foundations of the world.

Loved me through the sacrifice and surrender of the CROSS.

Loved me in the glory and new life of the Resurrection even when I don't get it or perceive it's freedom and power.

Loved me in the powerful rest of sitting down at the right hand of the Father in the Ascension.
His love is steadfast.

Wow. We are loved.

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,^a we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure." I John 3:1-3

I don't know if there is anything better than the revelation and experience of the Love of Jesus Christ.

When it overwhelms body, soul, mind, and spirit, there is nothing that compares in all the earth.

Such times are amazing.

So why are they intermittent? Or seemingly absent in times of trouble, hindrance, difficulty and spirit war?

Paul encourages us in Romans 5:1-6 to recognize the activating realities of the Kingdom of God.

By faith we have obtained peace with God. Peace with God. Peace with God. Rest. Settled and welcome relationship. Open arms. A warm and welcome reception. With God. The God that shaped the universe and set the stars in place. Remarkable.

By faith we have access to God. Continued. Every present. The open doors of abiding. The presence of Jesus with us always and every moment. We are not orphans or abandoned at any moment. Access. Total. Complete. In the Fullness of Jesus Christ and his perfect work for us in the Cross, through new life in the Resurrection and through rest and worship in Ascension reality.

All this love, assurance, faith and hope lead us to a new perspective about our "SUFFERINGs".
They fashion us into Perseverance.

Perseverance is?????

You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.

Maya Angelou

Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before.

Jacob A. Riis

"Not only so, but we^calso glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5

The face of perseverance is focused and fixed on the "Shining Brighter Than The Sun" Jesus.

The one who reconciles enemies.

The one who lays down his life for his friends.

The one who sees all your obedience and sacrifice and remembers it for reward on that DAY.

A clear sense of direction and of the grace given to us by Jesus is essential in a walk of perseverance.

We must believe.

Believe our venture is in the will of God.

Believe we will see the Day of Deliverance and Joy.

Believe in the one who sent us.

Rejoice and believe in the honor of being a sent one.

The anchors of Perseverance know....

By faith we have peace with God. Anything saying otherwise is a lie.

By faith we have access to God. The one who is making everything conform to his good will for us. His good desires. His heart desires in us.

For me, the deepest anchor of the soul is in
Adopting Jesus' trust, confidence, faith, hope and love in the Father.

Nikki Bothman

When I see into the trust Jesus has in the Father's will,

I see into the trust I want to have.

Just like Jesus, I have access to the Father and to the power of grace, love, assurance and hope that one touch of his steadfast love imparts.

Acquiring Perseverance is not typically our goal.

I typically just want a way out of the desert,

or a new insight to shut off the persistent trouble.

Rarely do I settle into the presence and rest.

Looking afresh and anew at the landscape of my troubles.

Childlike before the Father for the insight only he can provide.

Yet, it seems that perseverance is our goal.

When we get it we get something else that builds us up in a holy love.

We get character.

That affects our decisions, staying power, grace, everything.

Character gets formed in us.

Something much more permanent than our troubles.

The eternal gets woven into the fabric of our soul, mind, body, spirit.

Something that lasts forever gets written on us by God himself.

Character starts forming HOPE in us.

We gain a strength of vision and faith that is far greater than previously known.

Then we gain new faith into the peace of God.
Then we gain new faith for access to the presence of God.

We find ourselves abiding more and more.

Perceiving the nearness of Jesus through the Spirit in....

Conversations.

Troubles.

HOPEs

Family

Work

Finance

You name it.

Everything gets a new look. A new understanding.

Perseverance works remarkable things in and through faith in Jesus Christ.

For freedom Christ set you and I free. His ways are righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. The heart, dwelling in the fullness of Christ, is rich in these three amazing graces.

You can do it. YOU can keep Pressing ON!

Here is a series of blogs about the heart that may help.

1. The Unhindered Heart - Sharpening the Arrow Point of Grace and Glory - https://jeffreynoldsonedesire.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-unhindered-heart-sharpening-arrow.html

2. Undivided - Undaunted - Unhindered Heart After God - https://jeffreynoldsonedesire.blogspot.com/2017/02/undivided-undaunted-unhindered-heart.html

3. Love for God Is A Never Ending Open Country - An Undivided Heart - Wholly Devoted - a place to follow not hide.

://jeffreynoldsonedesire.blogspot.com/2014/03/love-for-god-is-never-ending-open.html

4. Five Thorns to Pull From a Wounded Heart -https://jeffreynoldsonedesire.blogspot.com/2015/10/5-thorns-to-pull-from-wounded-heart.html

5. Personal Unity. Can the Heart and Mind be United in the Spirit Always? https://jeffreynoldsonedesire.blogspot.com/2014/02/personal-unity-can-heart-and-mind-be.html

Thanks for reading.

The dialogue is awesome. Thank you.

Testimonies? Share em with me.

I am hoping to do Google Hang Outs Soon on Friday's.
Uganda was amazing.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
So appreciated. Such an offering. Makes all the difference.

With much love in Jesus