Guest post from Aviel – Trusting God

In all my childhood I dreamed about so many things. I dreamed about being a woman, living an important life, and doing something to lighten the burden of this filthy, dark earth, bringing a little hope in the midst of despair. Right at this moment, on the 7th of December, 2013 at 12:26pm, I’m still dreaming, yet my dreams have strayed from the simple aspirations of childhood. I no longer have that complete and certain confidence in my beliefs, my dreams, my Almighty God.

When I was a small child, I thought my father could do anything. He was my inspiration and example in standing up for the Gospel, facing difficulties with the Lord’s strength, and living by the Word of God. My father was able and willing to lead me through life, teaching, guiding, advising, and correcting me.

If only I could trust my Lord Jesus as I did my father. If only I could turn to Him with every problem, lean on Him through every difficulty, have faith in Him to guide my path when I am lost, and trust my every dream and hope to His protection.

In the meantime I am here now, trying to cling to my childhood, striving to trust my Heavenly Father, trying to understand all these new responsibilities. But at the same time I still have to cling to my old innocent hope that has guided me through the time, and given me a purpose and a direction. But even more importantly, I must cling to my everlasting light that truly can never fail – Jesus.

Do you ever struggle with an unknown time, or have doubts? Remember to always cling to the hope we can find in our Saviour.

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.  Psalm 125:1-2

Hello!

This is Aviel Gonen. I am really happy to be on Serving With Joy once more! I used to co-author this blog – I was writing alongside my good friend Rhoda.
To tell you a little about myself, I am 12 years old. I was born in Telaviv, Israel. My family and I moved to New Zealand because my father wanted to study at a Bible College in the North Island. After 2 years of studying, we had to go back to Israel because our Visas expired. 2 Days before our flights, my father was offered a place in Chosen People Ministries – sharing the Gospel with Israeli travelers here in NZ. We moved to Oamaru, on the South Island of NZ, because most of the backpackers go there. We had some great opportunities, and I also talk to them alongside my father.
While in Oamaru, I got to know the Newtons better, and we have been great friends ever since. I also started Serving With Joy with Rhoda, but then continued writing on my own blog – Crowned in Glory. We have moved to Mosgiel now and continue to serve the Lord in the ministry. It’s great to have been working with Rhoda on this post, she is such a good writer, and an inspiration to me as a young woman. 

Blessings and Love,

Aviel Gonen

Introducing…Crowned in Glory, by Aviel Gonen

Hooray!!! Aviel Gonen, who formerly blogged at Serving With Joy,has launched her very own blog, Crowned in Glory ! ! ! !

Aviel
wanted a blog…
created a blog…

And now she’s started it!

Head on over and check out her first blog post, or stick around here to read her great posts.

Have a great week!
Joyfully yours in Christ,
Rhoda Newton

Dear Subscribers,

      It is with mixed feelings that I write to inform you of Aviel’s decision to resign from Serving With Joy. Unfortunately, it has become too complicated and stressful for this blog to be a joint effort. For this reason, she has decided that for her to concentrate her energies and writing talents solely on her new blog would be much easier and more productive for us both. This change is effective immediately.

And now, a message from Aviel:

‘My decision to proceed in this direction has not been an easy one, but I had to do it, because a shared blog, along with conflicting doctrine, was causing me a lot of stress and therefore was starting to affect my health. I would love to present to you Crowned In Glory, which is my new blog that I hope to, through God’s help, bless you with. I invite you to join me in my walk with our Saviour there. I will still be supporting Rhoda on Serving With Joy, and I thank you very much for following us here, as it has been a great encouragement and blessing to us.

                        With love and Joy,

                                    Aviel G. Gonen

I am indeed sorry to have Aviel leave us, but she has my full support, and we are both content with this move. I am looking forward to continuing, Lord willing, to encourage, inspire and challenge young women globally to love and serve the Lord with ever increasing joy on this blog, Serving With Joy.

Joyfully yours in Christ,

Rhoda G. Newton

Being a Jewel for God, by Aviel

Being a jewel for God is difficult. Often we don’t sparkle and shine the way God expects us to. We have to live as a jewel, something that makes people marvel at or stare. We have to stand out, to be a shining light for the glory of God. Often we act as we please, going with our flesh, and being nothing but a piece of dirt, something that blends in with everything else, something that everyone is used to seeing.

Is standing out really important?

Well, it is really important. Here’s why:

God made us so that we can glorify Him, and enjoy Him forever. To glorify Him, we have to stand out – to be different – to be in the world, but not of the world. We can give glory to God by giving Him the glory when people are drawn to us. We can be a jewel for Him by obeying Him and what He commanded us to do in His Word.

It is also really important to stand out by serving Him and others joyfully. That way we can not only give glory to Him, but others can too, by thanking Him for the blessing we can be to them through Christ.

I invite you to join me and Rhoda as we strive to shine for God like jewels on a crown, and as we live to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever, to be in the world but not of the world. We strive to serve God joyfully, and I hope and pray that you will too.

The Eternal Joy, by Aviel

     I often wonder if people that are happy and joyful all the time, no matter what happens are just crazy. Well, I have found that they are not, and this is why.

The state of our faith

We often think people like that are not quite normal, because we have not experienced the joy they have. We are actually quite right when we think that they are not normal, but we have thought that they are not normal in the wrong way.

I have discovered the real meaning, the deep roots to that joy. These people are happy all the time, no matter what, because they have faith that God is sovereign. We often don’t acknowledge that, because we keep forgetting that God is in control over everything and everyone.

The Joy in a Saviour

Those that are really joyful and happy in the inside are those that know and love their Saviour, and they not only know and love Him, but they experience the wonderful, incredible, amazing, and everlasting love and joy that Jesus gives.

Jesus gives a wonderful blessing to all of us – the chance to experience this amazing joy. By believing in Him, and trusting that He is sovereign, and that He reigns in Heaven, and that He died and rose again to life, we are accepting this wonderful gift, and we experience a wonderful joy, not only on that day that we accept and welcome Jesus into our lives, and accept His gift, but for eternity.

We can know that we shall live forever in glory with Him, and so we don’t need to be sad or worried about anything because God is, was, and will always be sovereign.