Tag: cross

The Assurance of His Love

My husband and I married almost 60 years ago. The assurance of each other’s love kept us together all these years, even when we were selfish about something. God definitely played a big part in this, especially in areas where we disagreed. We both continued faithful to our marriage, no matter what happened. Even when control seemed to rule in my husband’s thoughts, I never doubted his love for me.

In the same way, I’m assured of my heavenly Father’s love for me. Even when I don’t understand his ways with me and with others, I never doubt his love for any of us. Prayers that remain unanswered don’t cause me uncertainty of that care. You might ask, “How can I be so sure?” Just like with my husband’s love, that assurance of God’s love remains deep in my heart. I know that I know both their love, and I never doubt their faithfulness to me.

John 3:16 (Amplified) speaks about that love: For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish but have eternal life.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 (Amplified) states: But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you [setting you on a firm foundation] and will protect you and guard you from the evil one.

Would you give you only child to save someone who committed evil acts? Most likely not and neither would I! While many go to war to protect their country, what God did sealed us from hell’s fiery torment, if we only believe in Jesus. Simply believing Jesus lived a good life on this earth at one point carries no weight with God. Certainly, the devil knows that also.

Awareness of going our own way instead of God’s and trusting that Jesus’ death on the cross exempts us from living a life totally and eternally separated from God. Then we make Jesus our Savior but our Lord as well, doing as He wants instead of going our way.

My prayer for you today is that you’ll be totally assured of your Father’s love.

Who Am I?

Do you have low self-esteem? Many of us do, and for most of my life I did. Circumstances work to make us feel this way, though our situations may be far different. What changed? I learned who I am as a child of God. I also learned that I need to reinforce the positives in my life and not the negatives because that gives them more power if I think about them most of the time. If you’re in this condition, you might every day look in the mirror and repeat the following:

 When I confess Jesus is Lord and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead, I am saved from sin and have eternal life with God. (Romans 6:23, 10:9; John 17:3)

 When I confess my sins, they are forgiven by God. (Hebrews 8:12, 10:17; 1 John 1:9)

 All my forgiven sins are far from God’s remembrance. (Psalm 103:12)

 I am a beloved daughter/son of the Lord God Almighty. (Romans 5:8; 1 John 6:10)

 I am worthy because Christ died for me. (Romans 8:32; 1 John 4:10)

 When I feel guilty for past sins after I earnestly confess them, Satan is lying to me because I am no longer condemned by God for them. (Romans 8:1)

 God is for me! (Romans 8:31)

 God has promised me good and not evil, and He works for my good. (Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 8:28)

 God will hear me when I pray to Him. (Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 66:17-19)

 No one can take me away from God. (John 10:38; Romans 8:38 & 39)

 God knows me intimately. (Psalm 139:1-16)

 God chose me and has a purpose for my life. (Jeremiah 1:5; John 15:16)

 God gave me a spiritual gift to be used to glorify Him and help others. (Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1 & 4-12, 14:1-6; Ephesians 4:11-12)

 I am not worse or below others, but I am not better than others either. (Romans 12:3)

An old saying tells us that the ground is level at the foot of the cross. This means that we are all equal because God has no favorites. He loves everyone the same, and that is what gives us our worth: that He loved us enough to send Jesus to pay the death penalty for our sins. Therefore, we rejoice because we are the beloved daughters and sons of the Lord Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth.

Poem for Those Who’ve Lost Loved Ones This Year

Several of my friends have lost loved ones this year, and I dedicate this poem to them. Some years ago God gave me this idea of the joy those who know Jesus Christ as their Savior and are children of our Father experience when entering heaven. I cannot say this reality fits all who pass this life, for regrettably they turned their backs on the One who could give them this new life. The Gospel of John tells us much about this decision we must make while still alive.

John calls Satan a thief in John 10:10 and we’re told the different purposes he has in our lives and Jesus has for our lives. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they have life and have [it] abundantly.”

Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and in 1 John 3:8 we read, “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” Jesus therefore tells us that Satan wants only our harm, but He came to bless us.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me’” in John 14:6. The thick veil in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem being torn apart from top to bottom when Jesus died indicates that the way for us to know God as our Father is no longer through following laws and rituals but through simply recognizing Jesus as the One who makes us clean before God so we can become His children.

“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Many people recognize John 3:16 probably more than any other verse in the Bible unless it’s Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd.”

We hardly hear, however, of verses 17-18 in John 3 which say, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Finally, Ezekiel 18:23 records God saying, “Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?”

If anyone does not realize that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for all you’ve done wrong so you can become a child of God, then I ask you to please contact me or talk with someone who is a believer and find out how when you die, you can go to heaven and know the great joy that this poem discusses, plus so much more than words can express.

My Destiny

Joy unspeakable!
How can I describe this blessedness?
So far surpassing all I imagined
The greatest words cannot do it justice.

“What joy,” you ask,
“What brings such rapture?”

The sight of my Jesus’ face!
How can I picture such love
Such compassion, even for me?
What word describes His glory?
The glory of the only begotten Son!

Then I see my Father!
My Daddy-God.
The tears fall down my face
Tears of humility, adoration and love.
I kneel at His feet and worship
Almighty God!

No eye has seen
No ear has heard
No mind has conceived
What God has prepared
For those who love Him.
(1 Corinthians 2:9)

I cannot tell you all this wonder;
Truly, you must see it for yourself!
 

The Tumbleweed

Tumbleweeds. Perhaps you’ve never seen a real one. My father liked to watch westerns on TV, and quite often a tumbleweed would blow across the street. I saw my first ones when we drove through the Texas panhandle going to Colorado or Wyoming during December. When we made that trip in June, I didn’t know which plants were tumbleweeds because they have flowers and don’t show their characteristic tumbling. Only in late fall do they die, the roots separate from the plant and wind blows them wherever it wants. Why do tumbleweeds tumble? Because they broadcast their seeds over acres of land that way.

A few days ago I saw on Facebook the life of a tumbleweed. When it said at the end that when the plant dies, the wind can blow to spread its seeds, suddenly Galatians 2:20 popped into my mind. What? I’m looking at the story of a tumbleweed on Facebook fondly remembering the times we saw them and scripture interrupts my thoughts? Yes, the Holy Spirit immediately awakened me to the context of this plant dying and becoming fruitful.

 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels – a plentiful harvest of new lives (John 12:24.)

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20 New Living Translation.)

 The more our old inner nature of sin dies, the greater Christ through the Holy Spirit will live in us. Then we’ll bear a good harvest of fruit for the Lord.

Passover and Easter – What They Mean to Me

 

While I don’t have any Jewish ancestors that I know of, I grew up learning the intense story of the Jewish Passover and how the blood of a blemish-free lamp put on the doorpost of their home saved the first-born from certain death, even among the animals. Then the whole family with their flocks escaped from slavery in Egypt to journey into God’s land long ago promised to Abraham, the founder of the Jewish people. I know that story like it was a part of my personal history.

As I reflect on it this morning, which is the first day of Passover, I see how similar it is to my story. In what way, you might ask. Jesus, the Son of God, lived as a perfect man on earth and then died on the cross so that He might be that blemish-free Lamb for me. This enables me to escape from slavery to sin (Romans 6:16-18, 7:14) to become a willing servant (and friend, see John 15:15) of God. It means I now have power not the do the wrong things I really don’t want to do. It means I don’t have to be addicted to anything, no matter what it is because Jesus died to set me free from all bondages.

What does that mean practically? It means I know that I’m a beloved daughter of God Almighty, a joint-heir with Jesus Christ with all the treasures of heaven. Even if no one else in the whole world loved me, I am deeply and passionately loved by my heavenly Father. That love gives me security in a sometimes-hostile world. That great love says resources beyond the normal human means become available when I need them. My husband and I live not far from Houston, Texas and sometimes go there. A couple of times over the years cars pulled in front of us from another lane, seemingly only avoiding the front of our car by a couple of inches. I thanked my Father of Love each time that we weren’t in an accident. While that’s not saying that disastrous things don’t happen because I’m a Christian (because they do), it is saying I feel an extra measure of protection because angels watch over me (Hebrews 1:14).

Besides that, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from death and His ascension into heaven means that He sits beside Father God (Romans 8:26-27, 34; Hebrews 7:25) praying for me and for you! That brings me great assurance, plus the Holy Spirit lives in me so that silently when I have no words for what I want to pray, He knows what I need and speaks the words needed sometimes silently and sometimes in a language I can’t understand.

The full meaning of Easter means that my heart remains peaceful even when my circumstances become troublesome or dire (John 14:27). Does this automatically happen? No, I must put those circumstances into my Father’s hands and allow Him to work them out. I don’t worry and fret but keep my eyes focused on Him. I discipline my mind so that my focus remains on all the many reasons I have for thanksgiving and not on my situation. While I don’t ignore or pretend it doesn’t exist, it’s not the whole point of my life during that time. Certainly, I ask my Father for wisdom in dealing with that condition and take wise steps to help it become as good as possible.

Easter brings joy. Joy overshadows happiness because it lasts when the reason for the happiness passes. Joy gives life zest and encourages us to look forward to what comes next. Joy makes life worthwhile, even in the hard times. Joy sets me free from the drudgery of daily life. Joy keeps me focused on Jesus, who is Joy.

Look up because your redemption draws near – Jesus is with you and lives in you (Galatians 2:20). He continually prays for you (Hebrews 7:25) and He will never leave you or forsake you (Psalm 27:9, Hebrews 13:5). Rejoice, for He is risen! That means you and I have new life!

Merry Christmas as We Celebrate Our King

Merry Christmas! What a wonderful day to celebrate Jesus’ birth as a human baby so He could grow and be tempted just like you and I are[1]. Then one day He died on the cross to pay for our sins[2] and all the many ways we’ve turned from God – total good and truth. Not only did Jesus die, but He rose from that grave and 40 days later went back to heaven[3], where He now sits at God’s right hand praying for you and me[4]. What a marvelous thought! Continue reading →

The Christmas Season

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At this special time of year
We think of others far and near;
As we give gifts to those we love
Let us also give to the One above.

Churches tell the story in word and song
So many will know where they belong;
Christmas is a time of good will to others
Men more willing to help their brothers. Continue reading →

CHRISTmas Had to Come

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CHRISTmas had to come. It couldn’t be avoided. No, not the tree, parties and decorations, but the reason Christians celebrate Christmas. We commemorate the birth of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

Why did CHRISTmas have to come? Because God planned for Easter! Today’s Easter conveys the Old Testament version of Passover, where people sacrificed a perfect lamb yearly for the sins of the people. Jesus fulfilled that sacrifice once for all so today we celebrate Easter for what He did for us. But the birth of Jesus had to come before His death and resurrection, so that the star over the place where Jesus lived when the wise men saw him became the sword that pierced his side when he died. Continue reading →

Trouble Changing Wrong Actions?

As Christians we often know we’re not living like we should and keep trying to change so we can please God but don’t always succeed. Why? Maybe it’s the way we think about it. We try to overcome bad habits on our own, asking God to help us.

The good news is we don’t have to fight our wrong actions because they died when Christ was crucified! Maybe you say if such a thing is dead, why does it keep on occurring? Why do I keep on doing what I don’t want to do? I fly off the handle if someone says the wrong thing to me, and I really don’t want to do that. How can that happen if it’s dead? Continue reading →

What a Difference Easter Makes!

Sitting in church Easter Sunday morning, I remembered that Easter morning in church so many years ago. A blind evangelist visited and preached the sermon, making such a real presentation about the two thieves crucified on either side of Jesus. Even though I was only six at the time, I realized that I didn’t know Jesus as my personal Savior and that without Him, I would go to hell when I died. So that morning became my resurrection into the new life that Christ always brings. Continue reading →

The Horrible Price of Crosses

My husband and I traveled home from the Rio Grande Valley yesterday and I noticed a small, white cross on each side of the road. I’d seen them a few weeks ago when we’d been to Rockport but not paid attention to what they honestly stood for: The horrible price those parents paid. The devastation that moment of truth brought; the never-ending loss. Continue reading →