Joshua 22: 5

But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Joshua 22:5

Love the Lord your God:

Love: beloved like, friend, show your love

To walk in all His ways:

Walk: all along, behave self, on continually, be conversant

Ways: a course of life or mode of action, journey, manner, wisdom and moral

To keep His commandments:

Keep: guard; to protect, attend to, watch, preserve

Commandments: code of law, ordinance, precept

To hold fast to Him:

Hold fast: cling, cleave to, with idea of physical proximity retained, follow close hard after, be joined together

To serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul:

To serve: keep in bondage, work

Heart: inner man, indefinite the soul, comprehending mind, affections and will

Soul: living being, self, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

LOVE - that is action - show your love to the Lord your God.

WALK/WAYS - that is action - have the mindset and wisdom to behave continually

KEEP/COMMANDMENTS - that is action - preserve attend to the code of law. (In order to this, you must KNOW the commandments!)

HOLD FAST - that is action - CLING HOLD ON TIGHT!

SERVE - that is action - work!

Notice the order - it all begins with Loving God! When your focus in on loving God then the walking, keeping, holding fast, and serving is a natural outcome!

-Rhonda's study of Joshua 22:5

Psalm - Psalm 2

I'm choosing one verse from each Psalm to focus and meditate on each day.  

Psalm 2:11Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Serve: to work
Fear: morally, reverence
Rejoice: root word - under the influence of emotion; be glad, joy, be joyful
Trembling: a shudder 

There are two actions in this verse - SERVE and REJOICE. Both are done with emotions based upon who the Lord (Yahweh) is. If my motivation to serve is based on the knowledge of WHO God is - then it will be done with rejoicing! 

Psalm 2

SERVE & REJOICE - because I know

who God is! 

Thanks Living: Actively Expressing Gratitude

We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers. 1 Thessalonians 1:2

Give thanks: actively to express gratitude

Always: at all times, evermore

For you: consideration where "all the bases are covered"

Making mention: as often as I remember you; literally, 'on all my remembrance'

Prayers: earnest prayer

People—World.

The world is full of people. Some we see on a regular basis. Some we know. Some we pass by. And others we interact with in varying degrees. Family. Friends. Acquaintances. Neighbors. 

People—Introduction.

Introduction based on commonality.

Back: Lately I've meet people because I wear a back brace. Several people have stopped me to ask about my back and what has helped, or what I had done as they are seeking answers for their own back issues.

Faith: I have the privilege of attending a great church. It's been exciting over the past year to meet various people and become engaged in some of their lives. 

Problems: Due to a fence that needs to be replaced, I've had the opportunity to get to know my neighbor more and meet some contractors. Often problems introduce us to people as we work for a common solution. 

Serving: Often we neglect this aspect of people. We are often so busy on what others can do for us, we neglect that we are to be serving others. Helping and encouraging others usually ends up being a blessing for the "server" as well as the recipient. 

I keep thinking about "actively to express gratitude"—to God for people. As I think about the people in my life, WOW, am I ever blessed! Thanks Living is recognizing the people that are in my life and actively expressing my gratitude to God for them—and making sure I say "thanks" to those individuals who are part of my life.

We give thanks to God always for you all. 

Actively expressing gratitude, making sure all bases are covered—not leaving out who and/or what was done. Actively expressing gratitude to God for people.

As there is much that we ought to be thankful for on the behalf of ourselves and our friends, so there is much occasion of constant prayer for further supplies of good. Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

Thanks Living is recognizing who God brings into our lives, and taking time to "actively to express gratitude"—to God for them. 

Cheerful Attitude

If you are looking for the posts about

God's Amazing Blessing

Announcement—I'm moving!

here's the link to the first Part: 

http://createapositiveday.blogspot.com/2015/05/announcement-part-1-im-moving.html

Then follow the arrows at the bottom of each post to the next Part.

There are 10 parts in all.

I recommend that you read each part, there are amazing details—

and God took care of each and every one! 

______________________________________________

This post is the continuation of my Study of Colossians.   

Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men, Colossians 3:23 (AMP)

Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters, Colossians 3:23 (TLB)

Whatever the task—no matter what it is—do it with a cheer attitude and to the VERY BEST of my ability. Remember I am working for GOD, not just your employer. 

If you do all your work in that spirit, how noble it becomes, and how cheerfully you will get through it! You may have a master who is unworthy of your service; yet, if you “do it heartily, as to the Lord,” you will have rest of heart even in serving those who are froward and perverse, and the Lord will reward your service in due time. Spurgeon's Verse Expositions of the Bible

How often do I do something to the very best of my ability, but the entire time I'm grumbling and complaining about the task at hand? The two (hard work and cheerful attitude) must go together. 

I can't help but think of "Mary Poppin's" as I read this verse. 

"In every job that must be done, there is an element of funYou find the fun and snap, the job's a gameAnd every task you undertake becomes a piece of cakeA lark, a spree, it's very clear to see...."

In each and every task, I am to put my whole heart into it, cheerfully to my utmost best — because I am serving our Great God! 

When my heart is permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God, then that will be evident in my cheerful attitude as I carry out each and every task I'm given.

Make My Boss Look Good!

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 100. Here is what I learned.

Serve the Lord with joy; come before him with singing. Psalm 100:2 (EXB)

Serve: aid, help; supply; Synonyms: arrange, assist, attend to, be of assistance, be of use, care for, deal, deliver, dish up, distribute, do for, give, handle, minister to, nurse, oblige, present, provide, provision, set out, wait on, work for.

My work philosophy has always been, that it is my job to “make my boss look good”. Each aspect of the jobs I have had, would reflect on my boss. And I wanted to make sure that “my boss” always looked good. 

Since I am to do ALL things so that God received the glory, honor and praise, I should be making sure I am making my “Boss” look good! 

As a matter of fact, do everything that way, heartily and freely to God’s glory. 1 Corinthians 10:31 (MSG)

How do I make God “look good”? He really doesn’t NEED my help... but He allows me to work for Him and with Him to accomplish His will. My responsibility is to first and foremost give God the glory due Him. Secondly, share His love with those around me. And lastly, make sure that I’m willing to do any job that God assigns me—whether or not I “like it”. 

Each and every job that God assigns me has a specific purpose to accomplish His will and plan. I need to remember that I can’t pick and choose which jobs I want to do and which ones to ignore. Some are more pleasant than others, but each task is required to assure that God’s plan is fulfilled in it’s entirety. 

To create a positive day, I need to make sure that I am doing my best to “make my Boss look good”! That means doing each task God assigns me to the best of my ability and giving God the glory due Him.