Category: Joy

Posted on

His Rejoicing Love

“The LORD your God is in your midst, A Warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with joy; He will be quiet in His love [making no mention of your past sins], He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. -Zephaniah 3:17 AMP

The way God loves is just sooo deep, sweet and especially personal ❤. For many years I didn’t know He was like this.

This evening as I was having one on one time with Him during a long drive, I began to become enraptured in worship. I sang to Him. As heartfelt music played in the background, I sang loudly with the passionate emotions bubbling with me, “You are my hallelujah (my praise, my joy 💛)!” Just as I was becoming in awe that He was mine, I felt a holy pause in my soul and it was like He sang these same lyrics to me, “You (Ashley) are mine… hallelujah!” It was like He was rejoicing over the fact that I am his. As if He were giving himself kudos and congratulations for winning me. It reminded me of the Bible verses in Zephaniah that talks about God rejoicing over us in his love!!!

I almost pulled over on the side of the road as tears rose to my eyes from his affectionate love and I felt the anointing and presence of the Holy Spirit in the car with me.

Years ago when I was in Bible college, I closed my eyes and I saw a Man coming toward me with speed. He was running with all his might and strength (picture a scene with Tom Cruise running in one of the mission impossible movies). The sun behind Him was glorious and He was silhouetted in golden light brighter than fire… everything behind Him was washed with radiating sunlight. Every blade of grass, all the waters of the lake beside us, every strand of wheat was glowing like glimmering auburn stars.

Somehow I knew, this was Jesus just after He rose from the dead and walked out the tomb…there was a joy in Him that was powerful (the Bible says in Hebrews 4:2, “for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross…” (we are a part of that glorious joy). As He ran, He flung his arms open and declared, “You are Mine! I have you now! I have won you! I love you! You are finally Mine!!!”

The scene reminded me of what Jesus might have described when He told the story of the prodigal son in a parable that was meant to reveal the nature of God…the Father ran toward the sin-stained son in that story, threw his arms around him and wept from overwhelming love (which was a cultural disgrace for an elder/old man of wealth to run back in those days…especially since he probably would have to hold up his robe to keep from tripping).

When I pictured Jesus running toward me in that vision, I felt I had to open my eyes and end the vision before He got any closer. His love was too powerful, too pure, too passionate, too holy, too amazing and I wasn’t used to it (I felt like a person born blind having to gaze upon sunlight for the first time…the brilliance was too bright, too blindingly good and splendid ☀️ ).

I think of why Mel Gibson named the movie about Jesus’s suffering, The Passion? Did he name it that to describe the passionate, excruciating pain of Jesus’s suffering, lashing, crucifixion, persecution and eventual death? He certainly captured the pain more than any movie producer I’ve known. Seeing scenes from the movie was almost too unbearable and I would turn away or close my eyes on certain parts. But even deeper, I’m beginning to see that there was something more powerful than the pain Jesus suffered on the cross that He was looking forward to. It was joy. It was the joy of having us 💛. His love was greater than the greatest human suffering.

The Father’s love for you is greater than any suffering you’ve experienced on earth 🌎👑!

So much goodness! Dear, beloved Jesus 🥰!

Recently these lyrics from Steffany Gretzinger’s song 🎵 More To Me, have left an imprint on my heart more sweet than a steaming bath of incense:

“All of the others

They don’t matter

You are everything

All of the others

They come after

You mean more to me

You mean more to me.

Let me set a table

For the One that I love

This is my desire

All I have is ready

To fulfill Your longing

What do You desire?

I wanna know

Let me set a table

For the One that I love

This is my desire.”

(Steffany Gretzinger, Chandler Moore) © 2020 Watershed Worship Publishing / Ivory and Ink Publishing (ASCAP) (admin. at WatershedMusicPublishing.com); Chandler Moore Publishing Designee (C) 2020 Provident Label Group LLC, a division of Sony Music Entertainment

The Lord’s love for you is truly endless! May you forever drink deeply of his love and bask in the wonder, power and warmth of it.

Until next time, be blessed with his mighty grace, perfect peace, freeing truth and redeeming love.

For similar words of inspiration, check out my book, Visions of Celestial Love:

“Visions of Celestial Love is a book of inspiring quotes and beautiful prose about God’s unconditional love for mankind. The insights of this book help us to understand that it was the Father’s great love for us that made a way for us to have life together with His Son, Jesus Christ. Through it we get a glimpse into the true meaning of Christ’s sacrifice of love expressed through His death, burial and resurrection as God’s magnificent gift of grace to us. His blood made it possible for all those who put their faith in Him to have fellowship with His Father again. 

I am confident that at the completion of this book, you will also seek after God with your whole heart and want to be in His presence forever.” —Alice Paige, True-Heart friend of author

Posted on

The Source of All Holy Pleasure

Why do men try and be their own god? How can the created know or surpass the Creator? Why do men worship nature, science, the created order, physical possessions, and knowledge when God is the One who founded and thought of all those things?

Why do men worship their own pleasure even at the cost of hurting others when God is the source of all beautiful, enjoyable, pure, healthy and wholesome pleasure?

Men seek power, fame, sex, and wealth to fulfill them when God offers these as blessings through wisdom to certain people at certain times. Yes, God gave our skin sensors so we could feel pleasure, God gave us taste buds so we could enjoy food, God gave us wine, God gave us majestic mountains, green rolling hills, birds of color, rainbows, sky, rivers, good families, bountiful oceans teeming with life, honey, emotions, music etc.

God isn’t boring. He’s not dull, He’s not hateful, and He’s definitely not anti-fun. He’s the One who has blessed us with all these wonderful things to be enjoyed in their proper context. Not to be indulged in without thought, and certainly not to be enjoyed more than Him (thus making that thing your god).

Everyday I realize I need a humility check. I know nothing without God. My weakness is my greatest strength…because He fills my weaknesses with His strength. The pride of man is one of our greatest downfalls. God is the only One who can give man the eternal joy man craves. He is our greatest pleasure, and when we come to that conclusion we can enjoy His blessings as just that…blessings, and not gods. God is most beautiful ❤

Posted on

The Radiant Joy of His Resurrection Living In You

Happy almost Resurrection Day! This is truly a time to be joyous as we reflect on the great goodness, love, kindness and mercy of God! He paid the highest price for your salvation. He spared no expense in redeeming you so that you could be his child by the new birth (you share his spiritual DNA). You are also his child in name (you are adopted into his family). He wanted to open up the treasuries of his heart and the kingdom of heaven to you so badly that He gave his one and only Son so that you can forever taste the joy of heaven .

Recently Father God has been encouraging me to gaze upon the breathtaking glory of his generous heart and the radiant light of the gospel. This gazing has caused me to be in a state of wonderment, like a child who expects little for Christmas but awakens to discover a living room full of shimmering presents circling a festively dressed tree.  

There are so many more presents that we have yet to experience from the wooden cross at Calvary. There are so many gifts and blessings of grace that gushed from heaven like a waterfall after Jesus ascended from the grave and rose to sit at God’s right hand. This waterfall of blessing is so copious and powerful that I dare say we could not stand under the weight of its sweet, crashing waters all at once. 

We will be in wonder at God’s grace for all of eternity as we worship Him in the next life. We will never run out of reasons to praise Him.

I wrote something of modern psalm of praise as I rejoiced in the Lord. I hope reading this psalm below will help elevate your soul to a place of jovial thanksgiving and faith!

This grace is supreme, this goodness unimaginable. The glories of the Gospel sometimes appear to me as a fictional tale…spun by heaven’s heart. Such celestial thoughts of light and love.

How could such a wealthy God conceive man in His heart and birth us with His words? “Let us create man in our own image.”

Such high and lofty promises of reconciliation and oceans of immense inheritance.

All things are yours in Christ? (1 Corinthians 3:21-22)

Seated with Christ in heavenly places? (Ephesians 2:6)

Accepted in the Beloved? (Ephesians 1:6)

Adopted heirs? (Romans 8:7)

Your words are crystallized honey my Father. Your Presence and this peace of having my sins all washed away is never ending joy. You say in your Word it was your good pleasure to present me blameless (above reproach) before You in love.

Man’s religion is a heap of ashes compared with your Gospel God.

As C.S Lewis so beautifully and succulently penned:

“If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak….We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” 

~I pray your soul is refreshed by my thoughtful reflections of staring into this glorious, everlasting grace that has so liberally and lavishly been supplied for us all! May you find yourself in a state of supreme joy and spiritual bliss as Resurrection Sunday dawns not only in your church service but in your soul like a eternal sunrise. May you experience all the good things Jesus died and rose again for you to have. May your fellowship with our Father be freed to reach new heights of peace and closeness. May the wings of your soul taste the sweet expanse of heaven’s skies and may you never land.

His joy is for you!

His life is for you!

His love is for you!

Blessings and love,

your sister in Christ Ashley

~For more faith-encouraging words like this, check out my book, Visions of Celestial Love on amazon by clicking here:

“Ashley Thompson’s book, Visions of Celestial Love is just that; a visionary work of epic proportions. It is glimpses into a loving and remarkable relationship with the creator of the universe.

You are invited to Dive into stories of love and compassion, healing and provision, loss and recovery, profound grace and faith. Ashley draws us in with her descriptive prose and unique style of writing.

There are so many stories to relate to in this book and I’m sure you will find your own story among the many that are told here. So, find your favorite spot, your favorite beverage, and curl up with “Visions of Celestial Love”! -Amazon Reviewer

Posted on

His Fulfilling Love

Holiness equals happiness.

Purity equals pleasure.

The world teaches the opposite of this. Almost every time I turn on the television or listen to a (secular) love song on the radio I hear and see the damaging way culture is training people to find gratification. People cling and grasp at others for fleshly fulfillment…but there is no gratifying the flesh. And such cycles only lead to hurting others or yourself in the name of “love.” We tend to seek wholeness in others because the Father built us for relationship. Aristotle summed this up wisely when he wrote, “it is the nature of desire not to be satisfied, and most men live only for the gratification of it.”

When I was 16 years old I was filled with the Holy Spirit. It was only until that moment that I began to receive the love of God (Romans 5:5). This love filled my heart like balmy, thick sap and flowed into the cracks of my broken places, brining the fragrance of Christ. It was truly a supernatural work, one that I could never do. I remember sitting in my high school journalism class next to my friend Hazel and feeling the Holy Spirit move in my heart. I began to scribble in my notebook and drew a picture of my soul. There was a Man inside cooking, then He began rearranging furniture, adding beautiful things and tending to a garden outside of a pleasant looking cottage. I could tell He was making himself comfortable inside of me. I turned to Hazel and showed her the drawing, “I see Jesus in me.”

Soon an amazing thing began to happen…I found fulfillment. This incredible peace came not because of popularity, or dating a boy, or because I had accomplished some great feat. It came because God was intimate with me. Slowly, He wooed me and there was such inner pleasure within me that I became almost unoffendable (if that’s a word). My soul was like a thousand rolling hills of purple lavender fields. The scents of His Presence was weighty and heady like wine. And I was stolen away into a place called the Kingdom of Heaven. There…He made a proposal and I accepted my identity and covenant in Christ.

God’s love is so deep, so wide, so comforting. I once described His eyes like bowls of cinnamon set on fire. He became everything and everything became nothing without Him. I loved others deeply, from my heart (1 Peter 1:22). I found everything the heart of man truly longs for in our Creator…who I found wasn’t distant and angry. He was my personal Friend, my Master, my Father & then He told me He was my husband (Isaiah 54:5).I married my now husband, Stephen McClelland as a virgin. I had never kissed anyone before him or dated anyone before him. But it wasn’t because I had a set of religious rules in front of me and worked hard to control my flesh. To be honest, I’m not that strong and that kind of method doesn’t work. Paul said it is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace (Hebrews 13:9). Father set a feast of divine pleasure in my heart. It was heavenly pleasure that kept me away from sinful fleshly pleasure.

Romantic Rendezvous for the Soul, is a collection of tender short stories that Jesus used to romance my soul with pure intimacy. It was these sweet moments with Him that saved me from the traps that were set for me in my youth. I am so excited to be able to offer this book on amazon. You can check it out by clicking here.

My prayer for every man and women that reads this, is that they will be drenched in the warm love of God as if they were under a spiced waterfall. And that through this… they would fall in love with Him. ❤️🌈 There is no lasting fulfillment or rest for your soul until it is found in relationship with Him. abundant life begins with Him. The bread of peace is in His hand and He’s a generous Giver.

xoxo

“This book is simply wonderful. Deliciously descriptive, it nourishes the soul with fresh revelation of God’s love for humanity. This collection of short stories may challenge your thinking about what true intimacy looks like, while making your heart yearn to daily experience the Perfect Love described within its pages. It invites you into a world created by Love Himself, where there’s no mistaking that His love is not only unconditional and never-failing, but also deeply personal and precious to Him. Get ready to experience the purpose, pleasure, and power of real love!” -Danielle Sanders

Posted on

Saints Upon the Earth: My Thanksgiving

“How much more beautiful is the earth because you’re upon it…a righteous, glowing star. Happy Thanksgiving!”

I wrote this text message with a specific friend in mind, but soon I was copying and pasting it to several dear friends.

Normally, I would give God thanks for my family (my husband children, parents, siblings, grandparents and other members), for the things He’s blessed me with throughout the year, for daily grace, mercy, favor and his kind thoughtful intentions toward me and my husband and my children. Words would truly fail me to describe just how thankful I am for my family…the 3 most precious people in the all the world to my heart. The 3 people who douse my soul in a bath of golden joy more brilliant than the sun. They are a constant Spring birdsong in my heart, raising continual thanks to my Heavenly Father.

As for the saints (godly people) who are in the land, They are the majestic and the noble and the excellent ones in whom is all my delight. -Psalm 16:3 AMP

This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for the saints upon the earth.

Lately I’ve been developing a deepening appreciation and love for the church and the individual members that make it up. I’ve been blown away, almost to the point of awe at how valuable, amazing and priceless every son and daughter of God truly is. I have thanked the Lord for his presence through his people in this world. I have considered that there is nothing more beautiful or valuable on earth than a recreated human being who has been transformed from the nature of Adam, to the nature of Christ.

What in the world could be more radiant than a person with God inside of them by the Holy Spirit?

“You are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world…”- Jesus in Matthew 5:13-16.

God’s people are earth’s hope. We are a foretaste of heaven to the lost and dying. We are royal priests, kings and queens and a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9), we are living tabernacles (1 Corinthians 6:19), we are the salt and light of the world. We are the hands and feet of Jesus, (1 Corinthians 12:27) and God works through us to appeal to the world. We are his ministers of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:11-21). We are ambassadors for Christ, his representatives (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Weeks ago, I was driving home with a full heart after meeting with two dear friends (they are featured in the head photo). As I drove, I thanked and praised God! I was full of glorious joy because of the saints who dispensed the sweet fragrance and mighty power of his Presence. I thanked Him profusely for his people upon the earth because of how incredibly rich their lives are. Inside of them are the rivers of life (John 7:38), inside of them is all the wealth and treasures of the kingdom of heaven (Ephesians 1:3), inside of them is the Person of Jesus Christ and his Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17), inside of them is them is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Inside of them is the virtue for every healing miracle and every truth that brings freedom (Mark 3:15, 1 John 2:20). Inside of them is the authority and power to cast out demons and set the captives free (Luke 10:19).

As I gave him praise, I almost cried. It was dark outside and the sky was sheeted with the blackness of the night, but the ground was lit from the lights of the city. Each store bulb, street lamp, and house light illuminated the earth like aureate-gold stars. I imagined, from Heaven’s perspective, this must be how the saints look on the earth. Have you ever seen a satellite photo of the earth at night? Entire continents are speckled with clusters of twinkling lights as eye-catching and glistening as bioluminescent algae. Every single light represents a sign of life. While, our eyes are drawn only to see the invention of man (the electric bulbs) through these satellite photos… God’s eyes see into the spiritual realm. Each believer shines like these lights. From an ethereal perspective, we look like the lights on the earth.

I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted him to the place of the highest honor and supreme authority in the heavenly realm! -Ephesians 1:19-20 TPT

My friends and I sat in a small diner where we talked for nearly 4 hours about our adventures with God, his goodness in our lives and the ways we’ve experienced his amazing love. The tangible presence of God was so strong in the diner that several times, we all laughed, cried, and sat in silence as we savored his holy company. These saints are probably the most radiant stars/lights I have ever spiritually seen on the earth. Not because they are somehow more special than other children of God…but because they don’t hide their light under a bushel. Instead, they boldly and lovingly praise God through their actions and words and they share his light with others (Matthew 5:15). Their lives resemble Jesus in a way that naturally convicts and draws others to God. Not only are their personalities and character brimming with the love of God and the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), but their lives are full of the power of the Holy Spirit in miracles (1 Corinthians 12).

I want to mention some of the miracles we shared together. I hope these testimonies encourage your heart in the faith:

  1. One of my friends shared how he prayed for a young girl who was hospitalized and near death to the natural eye. Her mother was on drugs when she was pregnant the young girl and now some of her organs were severely inoperative. My friend told me that as he approached the hospital where he knew God wanted him to be, the Lord told him that it would be done even before he entered. He said his wife had given him a spotless, white stuffed lamb for the little girl (a symbol of Jesus as our Passover sacrifice who paid for our healing and deliverance). As my friend opened the hospital door he said those in the room saw a cloud of the Lord’s presence appear and the little girl’s skin went from a ghostly pale color to her regular color as God touched her body with his healing power. My friend prayed over her and instead of being life-flighted to another hospital, like she was supposed to be, she was released from the hospital with a clean bill of health. My friend shared that over the years, he has learned not to rely on his personal goodness or work-righteousness but to simply trust in Jesus and his finished work and to receive the grace of God when it comes to healing.
  2. My other friend told of when she prayed for one of her in-laws who was suffering from demonic oppression that manifested itself in schizophrenia. She said this family member had been lying in bed for days with no motivation and little hope. She said they wouldn’t even clean themselves. When my friend found out what was going on, she said she experienced the righteous anger of the Lord against the enemy. She went into the room where this family member was, and commanded the evil spirit to leave and declared the life of God. Her in-law received freedom and the enemy left!
  3. One of my friends told me how he used to minister to motorcycle gang members who would come around his house. He had small children then and so he felt lead to talk to the gang members to make sure they knew he was a father who would protect his children should anyone of them get any ideas. One thing lead to another and soon several gang members received physical healing. After experiencing God, they would bring people they knew who needed healing to my friend. One of them brought his girlfriend who was suffering from stage 4 cancer. As my friend ministered to her and told her of the great love of God for her through Jesus, she wept. Before this, she had felt worthless due to abuses and trauma in her past. My friend prayed over her and she was miraculously healed of cancer! One of the gang members he had prayed for, received Jesus into his heart and turned from a life of violence and sin and later became a marriage and family therapist. My friend told me for a long time he battled to overcome feelings of guilt and condemnation. It was only until he began to receive the unconditional love and grace of God through the gift of faith-righteousness that, he was able to walk more truly in the freedom Christ came to give us. He said when praying for others, he often bring sup the love and grace and God because he’s found many people struggle with secret feeling of unworthiness and condemnation. Once people are able to see that healing is by grace, because of the love of God and the sacrifice of Jesus, that some people open up to freely receive.

There are so many more stories I can share but I hope these 3 stories uplifted your heart and encouraged your faith in God.

You have resurrection power in you as a son or daughter of God.

You have the authority of the name of Jesus at your disposal.

You are truly a priceless treasure on this planet, a bright light, and a home for the presence, salvation, love, and grace of God.

I pray you realize how valuable you are.

I am grateful for you this Thanksgiving!

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. -2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT

Some of the most faith-building messages that I’ve heard on our identity in Christ and God’s will to heal us are (I don’t any rights to these videos):

  1. Andrew Wommack on common stumbling stones to healing. To watch, click here.
  2. E.W Kenyon on Jesus the Healer. To watch, click here.
  3. Art Thomas on Be Healed. To watch, click here.
Posted on

Drifting Leaves, Drifting Thoughts

Right now, I just want a pumpkin spice latte (with real pumpkin puree), an electric blanket and my authoring buddy…my laptop. I’m thankful I have at least one of those.

It’s an early crisp morning in October. My favorite season has come. Autumn. As the weather cools my soul becomes warm in the glow of this solstice. It’s as if my heart catches on to the last rays of sunshine like a candle being lit by a match. I long to unearth the scents that make up my being as a candle does when it is flamed. The perfume of Christ in me mingles with my own recreated heart like clove and cinnamon in a coffee shop. I am perfumed with joy and peace.

Like the deciduous leaves that radiate ruby red, tangy orange and honey yellow, I realize that even in death, there is life. Fall has amazed me with its paradoxical differences: death, life, richness, reserve, copiousness, and hibernation.

For farmers, this is the season of reaping everything they’ve sown. It’s a season of abundance, like the day before the Sabbath for them…they gather double what they need (Leviticus 25). I always imagine the husbandry wiping their perspiring foreheads with broad smiles on their bronzed faces. All the labor and work they put in has paid off. Now is their time of holy jubilee. Profuseness that produces rest. I look at Fall this way too.

Except for the trees, Fall is the time to release the leaves that absorbed sunshine for them. Fall is the season to shed their beautiful garments in one last glimmering bang. As their cloaks transform into sunny hued tones, they drift away from their once secure branches. Fall is the season for storing, preserving and releasing all unnecessary weights. It’s a transitional time.

I love the way the leaves rustle and then float away in the frigid breeze. Wafts of something celestial awakens my heart even as I crunch my boots on the quilted patterned earth.

This Fall brings me the soft reminder that because of Jesus’s death, I have new life. Because He emptied Himself of His divinity and became a man (Philippians 2:7), I have been graced with the Holy Spirit (Heaven’s presence in me). The trees begin to look like gnarled crosses to my hazel eyes. The leaves on the ground become a showmanship of all the false and flashy garments of works-righteousness that I used to wear. I learn to let go of self-effort and embrace the rugged cross. My heart sees the cross as the beginning place of birth. One life was exchanged for another. And I’ve heard from Messianic Jews that Jesus was known to be crucified in Autumn…not in winter (how factual this is, I’m not sure).

May this Fall bring you the sweet potency of Christ’s eternal love and sacrifice for you. May this Fall bring an abundance of life in your heart (John 10:10) even as you die to the lies of religion that shielded your nakedness and shame. God’s love will cloak you in new light and new birth. There is nothing like releasing our burdens to Him, only to have Him give us weightless life and freedom. May your soul be wrapped in the garments of heaven’s pure joy and the sugary water of hope. Like trees trust in their leaves to photosynthesis…. I pray you trust in the true sunshine of Christ to produce the food of peace in your mind and heart.

~If you were blessed by this blog, you will probably enjoy my book Visions of Celestial Love. You can find more about it on my Books page, or on amazon. God bless you!