A Call to Be Courageous

In our Beth Moore class on Esther yesterday, the topic was around FEAR. The study this week is an exhortation to be courageous, as Esther was, when going to face the king on behalf of her and the other Jews throughout Persia.

Some of the notes regarding fear were:

• I am the biggest obstacle to myself in overcoming


• There is no denial in courage - you need to look your fears flat in the face and you don't deny it, but rather, you deny its power over you!
• You may be one brave decision from the most important turn in your entire path...
• The most common command in scripture is: "Don't be afraid"
• We tend to cherish fear and/or hide behind it
• Don't be motivated by fear!
• The enemy - Satan - knows our fears and he's all over it!
• "What If" = "I Fear"....the "what ifs" in life, usually don't even happen

I don't know of a single person who couldn't benefit from this lesson on fear - we all have them, some moreso than others, but any fear is in contradiction to God's word - he says in I John 4:18: "There is NO fear in love. But perfect love drives out ALL fear"

Let us be strong and courageous in facing our fears and come to the full knowledge and trust in the Lord that NO MATTER WHAT....God is ALWAYS with us, and will see us through...

Janelle

Love is..........

Today I want to share the definition of love, according to I Corinthians 13 - I pray that I will be able more and more, to exhibit this kind of love towards everyone...
13: 4 - 13 - "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish things behind me.
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love".

I know there are many times that I completely fail in my efforts to love as Christ loves, and wants us to love others. I needed this reminder today of the depth of the meaning of the word LOVE.
It is a word we use too often for silly things - "I love chocolate", "I love shopping", etc. I enjoy those things, but according to the definition of love from the word of God - love is an action and an attitude of the heart - it is something we need to strive to be better at with each day.
I pray that you too, will grow in your ability to love others as Christ loves us. My prayer is that I'll be more in tune to seeing others through His eyes, and exhibit His love to not only those I am close with, but with strangers who might be looking for that very thing to get them through something that's going on in their life.
Have a blessed Saturday!

Janelle

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

A Random Act of God's Love

For the last few days, I have been suffering horrible pain from a molar that is needing a root canal. I was thinking that I'd be eating tylenol like candy during my entire trip to see Dude graduate later this week.

Well yesterday I was frantic, crying and asking the Lord to take away my anxiety about it, and to please make a way somehow for me to not have this tormenting me while I'm away on my trip. I also asked him to strenghten my faith in Him always takes care of my needs, as I just don't have a thousand dollars to have this done right now.

This morning, I didn't get up early with Bill before he left for work. I was laying in bed watching The Today Show, and my phone rings - it was from someone whom I love dearly. I was told to call my dentist, to get in there to see her today, and to stop by this person's house to pick up a check to cover the costs of getting done whatever needed to be done to get me out of this pain. This was to be a loan, but I'm not one who "receives" easily - I'd rather be the giver......

This wasn't easy for me to do, but I heard the Lord speak to me that this was the answer to my prayer, so I called, and they said to come in at 9:30, so I called this person back to tell them that I could get in, and would be by her house on my way to the dentist's office.

When I arrived at her house, she said she'd gone ahead and called them also, and had given them her credit card number to charge whatever the expenses for my visit today were. All I could do was hug her and cry........

When I got to the dentist, they got me in as soon as I walked in the front door. I was told that they could give me a prescription for infection, and some strong pain pills to get me through the next few days, but that I'd have to see a specialist to get the root canal done.

When I got up to the front desk, there were no charges for my visit today - this person's credit card info was shredded.

I then got my prescription filled, and I had to go by her house, as she is going to watch my dog for me while I'm gone, and I needed to show her where his food is, etc.

We were sitting here talking, and me being the very big crybaby that I am, fell apart. I told her, "I know that you don't believe in God the same way as I do, but yesterday when my tooth was hurting so badly and I was praying to him for some kind of answer, well today - you were the answer to my prayer".

She hugged me and said, "We all believe in God, just in different ways - I want you to take your medicine, relax and go enjoy your time with Dude. When you get back, I want you to call the other dentist to get an appointment for the root canal, and the offer still stands on me putting it on my card, and you paying me back as you can".

All I have been able to do is cry, and thank the Lord for answering my desperate prayer, and most importantly, using someone that I love dearly - someone who doesn't know him in the same way, but sure did exhibit Jesus to me today.

Random acts of kindness - random acts of the love of Jesus - I have learned today, that he can and will at times, use those you least expect.
The song, "Great is Thy Faithfulness" keeps running through my mind....because He is SO faithful to his children...
"Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with thee
Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning, new mercies I see
All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me"

The Christmas Store

Today, Bill and I are going down to The Christmas Store, an outreach by our church, 1st Baptist, Leesburg.
Families who need help at this time of the year with providing a little something for their children, will come and get ministered the love of Jesus, then get to "shop" for presents for their little ones.
We will be in the wrapping area, and will escort the parent(s) to their cars with their packages, then walk over with them to get their children from the area where they've been playing and also being taught about the love of Jesus .
I am so blessed to be able to contribute a few hours out of my Saturday to do whatever the Lord leads me to do and/or say, to these families who need support and the knowledge that there are people out there who truly care about their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.
In my favorite movie of all time, "Miracle on 34th St.", "Santa" says to Maureen O'Hara, "Christmas isn't just a day, it's a way of living".
That says it all to me - that we should have the same spirit of giving, of love, and of compassion year round, and put that into action each and every day.

UPDATE: We just got home, and I feel more blessed than the recipients of the gifts!
There were over 600 children registered to receive Christmas presents, and I got the pleasure of spending time with and helping probably 10 - 12 sets of parents pick out their presents for their children; some only had a couple of children, and then there were quite a few who had up to 7 or 8 kids!
Many were single moms, and you could tell how appreciative they were. It truly was a blessing to be able to minister Jesus in this way.
Each child received one large and one small gift, and the parents were given a Bible and The Jesus Movie, along with some literature explaining the plan of salvation through Christ.
A group of teen boys were eagerly helping take the packages out to the cars, and then escort the parents to pick up their children.
Have a blessed Saturday, and remember that Jesus IS the reason for the season.

God's Love Toward Us

Today I'm focusing on Psalm 145 - it's a hymn of praise.
Starting with verse 8 it says, " The Lord is gracious, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all he has made."
I think most of us at one time or another in our lives have thought that God was some mean old man sitting up in Heaven waiting for us to mess up so he could "punish" us.
WRONG! These verses tell us that his love and grace are his heart, and that it takes a LOT to anger him.
Continuing with verse 13, "The Lord is faithful to all his promises, and loving toward all he has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He filfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them".
Notice how many times just in these few verses it makes a reference to "ALL he has made"? It doesn't say that some can receive his love, his promises, or his coming to us when we call out to him.
We are all sinners, and when crying out to the Lord to come into our hearts and be our savior, he doesn't reject that call - that's what he is waiting for! He wants us to want him in our life - he created each one of us with the need for him, and he is the only thing that can fill that void.
Once we accept Jesus as Lord of our life, all his promises are ours; his grace is endless, and his love is what gives us life.
"For God SO loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have everlasting life". John 3:16
He sent Jesus to die because He loves us SO much - He knew the only way we would be able to come and live with him for eternity was to have the perfect sacrifice to pardon our sin. Jesus WILLINGLY died for us - he left his home in Heaven and came to earth for that very reason.
If you've felt an emptiness in your life, and have tried to fill it with "things", and your life continues to get more lonely, and the emptiness is starting to swallow you up - call out to Jesus today - the verses today say, "The Lord is near to all who call on him, and call on him in truth".
Call him - pour out your heart to him, and he not only CAN, but WILL change your life!

Janelle

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Today I'm studying Psalm 139. This Psalm focuses on four great attributes of God. His knowledge of all things (vs 1 - 6), His presence everywhere (vs 7 - 12),His power in the formation of man (vs 13 - 18), and His holiness, which destroys evil men and searches the believer's heart.

For those who think that an embryo is just tissue, and not a viable human - I think that verses 13 - 18 prove just the opposite. They say this:

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious are your thoughts toward me O God! How vast is the sum of them".

God knew each one of us, and the plan he had for our lives before we were even created. I love the verse that says, "how precious are your thoughts toward me, how vast is the sum of them". We can't even begin to comprehend the amount of love that God has for us - he loves us enough to have had the thought in his mind to form us and plan a life for us, and so we can have life with him when we leave this earth, he loved us enough "to send his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

If you are feeling like you don't matter to anyone in this world, you do. God put you here for a reason. He wants for you to search him out and get to know him personally; letting him show you how much he loves you and what his plans for you are.
To know God personally, you need Jesus to take you to the Father. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through me". John 14:6

Let today be the day that you know the Truth, and that the Truth will set you free. John 8:32



Janelle

The Love of Christ

Today I'm reading Romans Chapter 8 - probably one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. I encourage you, when you have time, to read this entire chapter. I'm focusing on verses 35, 37-39.
"Who shall seperate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors 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 heighth nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to seperate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord".
I'm sure that there are times in your life, as I've had in my own, that we feel seperated from God, and that he couldn't possibly love us. WRONG!
The verses above show us that there is nothing in the entire universe that is outside of God's control. Therefore, nothing (including ourselves) can seperate us from his eternal love.
Is there some past or present sin that makes you feel seperated from the Lord? Some present problems you or your family are facing? Do these things flare up and try to make you feel unworthy to go to him?
If you answer yes to any or all of these, you are being deceived by satan into believing that there is something keeping you from going to Jesus to receive his forgiveness and his eternal love. Satan wants to keep you in the mindset of unworthiness in order to keep you from going to the One who can set you free. God's love toward us isn't based on our "goodness" or anything else. His love toward us began at our creation. Psalm 139:15 says, "My frame wasn't hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be".
The Good Lord created you because he wanted a son or daughter just like you! If you have asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life, then you are a son or daughter of God, and you are worthy to walk up to his throne and pour your heart out to him without fear of rejection. There is NOTHING in this world that can ever make God love you less - so I ask you today to step out of that fear of rejection and crawl up into the lap of God and receive all the love he has to give.

Janelle