I'm excited that tonight, Bill and I go to our first practice with the choir at First Baptist here in Leesburg. I love to sing, as does Bill, and we both felt led to the ministry of music.
Today I want to share from Acts 17: 24-28.
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ' We are his offspring'".
It is only by the grace of God that each one of us wakes up to life each morning. He created each of us for a plan and purpose, and once we come to know him as a believer in Christ, he comes to dwell in us by his Holy Spirit; our body becomes the temple - the dwelling place of the Lord Almighty. It is then that we begin to seek Him to find out just exactly what our purpose in life is. There is no promise of smoothe sailing as a Christian; there are trials and difficulties we must all endure to enable us to grow and mature. Remember though, he is constantly with us - closer than the very breath we take.
We need to honor the temple by being careful how we take care of it - what we put in for nourishment, and also, and most importantly, what we feed ourselves spiritually. Psalm 34:8 says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him". That teaches us that we need to hunger and thirst for the word of God - that is the best way to get to know him better and to find out what his will in our life is.
I challenge you to take a few minutes each day to read a portion of God's word - if you don't know where to begin and want to know more about this Jesus I speak about - start in the New Testament with the book of John. Ask the Lord to open your eyes and your heart to truth, and to show you what your purpose here on earth is. That's all he wants from us - a relationship to where we tell him our need for him - he will change your life!
Have a blessed Wednesday!
Showing posts with label grace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grace. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Saturday, December 27, 2008
A Choked Out Life
I asked the Lord to show me a passage to post this morning, and He led me to Hebrews 12: 12 - 15.
There are many who at this time of year, are depressed and lonely; feeling like their life is being choked out by circumstances - and the Lord addresses this in this passage, and also tells us what might be the cause in some cases, for those who are feeling this way.
"Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and your weak knees. Make level the paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Make every effort to live at peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many".
Sometimes the things we face are brought on by our own choices that we've made, and when those choices end up differently than we'd planned, it can cause a spirit of unforgiveness to surround and overtake our lives, which leads to the root of bitterness.
The passage here tells us that this root of bitterness will bring on nothing but trouble and will affect every area of our lives, and every person we are connected with.
In order for us to live the life of joy that the Lord desires for us, we need to follow his direction and lay all our burdens, our sorrows and troubles at the foot of his cross. We can't turn back time or change the choices we've made that weren't the ones that God had planned for us, but we can go to Him and be delivered from the bondage of bitterness that those choices have brought upon us.
The way we face and handle the challenges in our lives is a witness to the world - do we want our witness to be that of Jesus and his grace, mercy and love, or is our witness one of sorrow, bitterness and therefore, disabling those who are searching?
I pray for those who feel like their life is spinning out of control and are entangled in a life that's being choked out by a root of bitterness. I pray for freedom and deliverance by our Lord Jesus.
Janelle
There are many who at this time of year, are depressed and lonely; feeling like their life is being choked out by circumstances - and the Lord addresses this in this passage, and also tells us what might be the cause in some cases, for those who are feeling this way.
"Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and your weak knees. Make level the paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Make every effort to live at peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many".
Sometimes the things we face are brought on by our own choices that we've made, and when those choices end up differently than we'd planned, it can cause a spirit of unforgiveness to surround and overtake our lives, which leads to the root of bitterness.
The passage here tells us that this root of bitterness will bring on nothing but trouble and will affect every area of our lives, and every person we are connected with.
In order for us to live the life of joy that the Lord desires for us, we need to follow his direction and lay all our burdens, our sorrows and troubles at the foot of his cross. We can't turn back time or change the choices we've made that weren't the ones that God had planned for us, but we can go to Him and be delivered from the bondage of bitterness that those choices have brought upon us.
The way we face and handle the challenges in our lives is a witness to the world - do we want our witness to be that of Jesus and his grace, mercy and love, or is our witness one of sorrow, bitterness and therefore, disabling those who are searching?
I pray for those who feel like their life is spinning out of control and are entangled in a life that's being choked out by a root of bitterness. I pray for freedom and deliverance by our Lord Jesus.
Janelle
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The Love of Christ
Christmas is my favorite time of the year, as it has been since my childhood. I pray that each of us will remember the greatest gift that has ever been given, and WHY it was given to us - the birth of our Lord Jesus.
John 3:16 is a verse that most learn by memory early in their years. "For God SO loved the world, that he gave his only Son, and whoever believes in him, will not perish, but have everlasting life".
He SO loved us, that he stepped out of his home in Heaven and became one of us. He lived a perfect and sinless life, then willingly went to the cross so that you and I might be given the gift of salvation. As he hung there, he saw each of us, and if we were the only person on earth - he would have done the same thing - that's how great his love is for us.
Romans 8: 35 - 39 tells us more about this love....
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, ' For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered'.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerers through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor ANYTHING ELSE in ALL creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God, that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord".
There is nothing - ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, that can ever make our Lord not love us. There are many things in life that will do their best to separate us from him, but he says that's impossible. Many are under the deception that they've done something SO horrible, that God could never love them or forgive them - WRONG! The Bible is very clear in saying that, " While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" - Romans 5:6. He came here knowing that God's will for him was to suffer and die the most horrible of deaths, just so you and I don't have to face eternal separation from him. There is nothing that he can't or won't forgive.....nothing!
Think about that little baby who was laid in a feeding trough - HE was the best and perfect Christmas present for the whole world.
Have a blessed day - thank God for giving us this perfect gift of love, found in Christ Jesus.
Janelle
John 3:16 is a verse that most learn by memory early in their years. "For God SO loved the world, that he gave his only Son, and whoever believes in him, will not perish, but have everlasting life".
He SO loved us, that he stepped out of his home in Heaven and became one of us. He lived a perfect and sinless life, then willingly went to the cross so that you and I might be given the gift of salvation. As he hung there, he saw each of us, and if we were the only person on earth - he would have done the same thing - that's how great his love is for us.
Romans 8: 35 - 39 tells us more about this love....
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, ' For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered'.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerers through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor ANYTHING ELSE in ALL creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God, that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord".
There is nothing - ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, that can ever make our Lord not love us. There are many things in life that will do their best to separate us from him, but he says that's impossible. Many are under the deception that they've done something SO horrible, that God could never love them or forgive them - WRONG! The Bible is very clear in saying that, " While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" - Romans 5:6. He came here knowing that God's will for him was to suffer and die the most horrible of deaths, just so you and I don't have to face eternal separation from him. There is nothing that he can't or won't forgive.....nothing!
Think about that little baby who was laid in a feeding trough - HE was the best and perfect Christmas present for the whole world.
Have a blessed day - thank God for giving us this perfect gift of love, found in Christ Jesus.
Janelle
Thursday, December 4, 2008
The Covenant of Salvation
Today I start into the 11th Chapter of Jeremiah - The Lord is laying down the facts of Judah's breaking of the covenant he made with the forefathers of the children of Israel.
11:1-5 - "This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 'Listen to the terms of this covenant and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: "Cursed is the man who does not obey the terms of this covenant - the terms I commanded your forefathers when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace. I said, 'Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey - the land you possess today." I answered, 'Amen, Lord.'"
We are all born with the curse of sin that was passed down from Adam. Romans 3: 23 says, "For all have sinned, and fall short of the gory of God and are justified by freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. So you see, we all have been offered the choice of blessing or cursing.
The blessing - The Lord has made a way for us to be his children, by accepting his gift of salvation, found in Jesus. In doing so, we have all the priveleges of being his child, and have all the promises of the covenant with a loving Father to guide us through our daily lives; when we go from this earth, we will forever be with him in Heaven - none of the sorrows or pain we know here on earth will ever be present again. All his promises to us are Yea and Amen.
The curse - Should one choose not to accept God's gift of salvation, then that person remains under the curse of sin and will face an eternity of torment and total separation from God.
What will your choice be? God has probably been tugging at your heart for some time now, and is patiently waiting for you to open your heart to him. Don't put off today what you think you might do tomorrow or the next day - the time is now - we are never guaranteed tomorrow.
I pray that today you will reach out to God and ask him to be Lord of your life - giving over your heart, mind and soul to his loving grace.
If you have accepted the gift of salvation in Jesus, but haven't nourished that relationship in a long time and have fallen away - He is just like the Father in the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15, and he is waiting with open arms and a joyful heart at the sight of your return to him.
11:1-5 - "This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 'Listen to the terms of this covenant and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: "Cursed is the man who does not obey the terms of this covenant - the terms I commanded your forefathers when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace. I said, 'Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey - the land you possess today." I answered, 'Amen, Lord.'"
We are all born with the curse of sin that was passed down from Adam. Romans 3: 23 says, "For all have sinned, and fall short of the gory of God and are justified by freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. So you see, we all have been offered the choice of blessing or cursing.
The blessing - The Lord has made a way for us to be his children, by accepting his gift of salvation, found in Jesus. In doing so, we have all the priveleges of being his child, and have all the promises of the covenant with a loving Father to guide us through our daily lives; when we go from this earth, we will forever be with him in Heaven - none of the sorrows or pain we know here on earth will ever be present again. All his promises to us are Yea and Amen.
The curse - Should one choose not to accept God's gift of salvation, then that person remains under the curse of sin and will face an eternity of torment and total separation from God.
What will your choice be? God has probably been tugging at your heart for some time now, and is patiently waiting for you to open your heart to him. Don't put off today what you think you might do tomorrow or the next day - the time is now - we are never guaranteed tomorrow.
I pray that today you will reach out to God and ask him to be Lord of your life - giving over your heart, mind and soul to his loving grace.
If you have accepted the gift of salvation in Jesus, but haven't nourished that relationship in a long time and have fallen away - He is just like the Father in the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15, and he is waiting with open arms and a joyful heart at the sight of your return to him.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Partiality
I'm starting on the second chapter of James today, which first instructs us on how we need to be fair in treating others. He starts out by once again, calling us 'brothers' - this is speaking to those who are Christian belivers. Vs 1 - 7
"My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man with shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes, and say, ' Here's a good seat for you', but say to the poor man, 'You stand there', or 'Sit on the floor by my feet', have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? LISTEN my dear brothers. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him. But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of Him to whom you belong"?
I remember back in the 70s, when men were starting to wear their hair longer, and I saw first hand how some were "welcomed" when visiting our church. You'd hear whispers, and not witness many who would speak or welcome them to the service. As a teen, and very impressionable, I couldn't understand why this was.
We had an evangelist from Scotland come to preach a revival; his name was Ian Leitch. I remember him so well because he was probably in his late 20s, early 30s, and he came into church to preach wearing jeans, casual shirt, a big leather watch, and had hair down over his ears (which to my parents and others was lonnnnnnnng hair). I was drawn to every word he said in his Scottish accent. He spoke with kindness, and preached with power! Although I knew the older members of the church weren't thrilled with his appearance, the normal whispers weren't there as much, because he was the nephew of one of the older members. He was welcomed more than a regular person walking in off the street, who would be similar in appearance. Again, I was confused.
I think though, that when the ones who seemed to judge him on his appearance saw that he was filled with the Spirit of God, and brought many to come to believe in him and accept him as Lord and Savior - their eyes were opened somewhat.
We all need to be careful in how we look at and judge others based solely on their appearance. Our Lord didn't parade around in fancy clothes - he was humble, and hung out with the crowd that the leaders - the Scribes and Pharisees despised. They called our Lord all kinds of names, accusing him of associating with "sinners". He quickly rebuked them for their pious attitudes and vicious words.
Our prayer should be that we see everyone through the eyes of the Lord - that we take the time to get past what their outer appearance looks like, and look into their eyes; the very place that the Lord called the window of our hearts. It's amazing at what our eyes reflect - they can be bright and full of light, or they can reflect sadness and despair. Take the time to allow the Lord not only to show you the "real" person inside, but also to trust him to give you what you need to be an example of him in their lives.
Have a blessed Friday - pray for our leaders, and for them to seek God for his wisdom in leading our country. Pray for our soldiers - one of which I am a mother to, and pray that you will be effective today, in your witness to the grace and love of our Lord Jesus.
Janelle
"My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man with shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes, and say, ' Here's a good seat for you', but say to the poor man, 'You stand there', or 'Sit on the floor by my feet', have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? LISTEN my dear brothers. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him. But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of Him to whom you belong"?
I remember back in the 70s, when men were starting to wear their hair longer, and I saw first hand how some were "welcomed" when visiting our church. You'd hear whispers, and not witness many who would speak or welcome them to the service. As a teen, and very impressionable, I couldn't understand why this was.
We had an evangelist from Scotland come to preach a revival; his name was Ian Leitch. I remember him so well because he was probably in his late 20s, early 30s, and he came into church to preach wearing jeans, casual shirt, a big leather watch, and had hair down over his ears (which to my parents and others was lonnnnnnnng hair). I was drawn to every word he said in his Scottish accent. He spoke with kindness, and preached with power! Although I knew the older members of the church weren't thrilled with his appearance, the normal whispers weren't there as much, because he was the nephew of one of the older members. He was welcomed more than a regular person walking in off the street, who would be similar in appearance. Again, I was confused.
I think though, that when the ones who seemed to judge him on his appearance saw that he was filled with the Spirit of God, and brought many to come to believe in him and accept him as Lord and Savior - their eyes were opened somewhat.
We all need to be careful in how we look at and judge others based solely on their appearance. Our Lord didn't parade around in fancy clothes - he was humble, and hung out with the crowd that the leaders - the Scribes and Pharisees despised. They called our Lord all kinds of names, accusing him of associating with "sinners". He quickly rebuked them for their pious attitudes and vicious words.
Our prayer should be that we see everyone through the eyes of the Lord - that we take the time to get past what their outer appearance looks like, and look into their eyes; the very place that the Lord called the window of our hearts. It's amazing at what our eyes reflect - they can be bright and full of light, or they can reflect sadness and despair. Take the time to allow the Lord not only to show you the "real" person inside, but also to trust him to give you what you need to be an example of him in their lives.
Have a blessed Friday - pray for our leaders, and for them to seek God for his wisdom in leading our country. Pray for our soldiers - one of which I am a mother to, and pray that you will be effective today, in your witness to the grace and love of our Lord Jesus.
Janelle
Monday, May 5, 2008
Confidence in God
Today, I'm taking a passage from the New Testament in the book of Philippians, Chapter 1:2-6.
I have a very dear friend, who I consider family, who has been going through a very rough time lately, and when I asked the Lord today what to share on here, this is what he showed me. This is my prayer not only for him, but for all those who I have had the pleasure of crossing paths with throughout my life.
"Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I think my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers, for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being CONFIDENT of this, that He who began a good work in you, is faithful to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ".
True grace and peace can only come from above. Paul is telling us in this letter to the Philippians that they need to remember that God doesn't start something that he doesn't finish; and we should be at peace because of that.
In our lives, we all face difficult times. Sometimes it makes us question our salvation, sometimes it allows satan to throw our pasts up and bind us in fear and torment. THIS is when you really need to have this verse buried in your heart and mind, and when the voices of torment come your way, speak out this verse with CONFIDENCE - God gave me a new life, and he will see me through until the day I am reunited with Jesus face to face.
Like Paul, I thank God every time I remember ALL of you.
Have a very blessed week, and remember that Jesus promised us that he will never leave us or forsake us - he's just a breath away, and is waiting for you to call out to Him.
Janelle
I have a very dear friend, who I consider family, who has been going through a very rough time lately, and when I asked the Lord today what to share on here, this is what he showed me. This is my prayer not only for him, but for all those who I have had the pleasure of crossing paths with throughout my life.
"Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I think my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers, for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being CONFIDENT of this, that He who began a good work in you, is faithful to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ".
True grace and peace can only come from above. Paul is telling us in this letter to the Philippians that they need to remember that God doesn't start something that he doesn't finish; and we should be at peace because of that.
In our lives, we all face difficult times. Sometimes it makes us question our salvation, sometimes it allows satan to throw our pasts up and bind us in fear and torment. THIS is when you really need to have this verse buried in your heart and mind, and when the voices of torment come your way, speak out this verse with CONFIDENCE - God gave me a new life, and he will see me through until the day I am reunited with Jesus face to face.
Like Paul, I thank God every time I remember ALL of you.
Have a very blessed week, and remember that Jesus promised us that he will never leave us or forsake us - he's just a breath away, and is waiting for you to call out to Him.
Janelle
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