September 2009
Love Jesus First
Rev 2:4 says, "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." Have you left your first love? Jesus should be second to none. He is worthy of our allegiance. He suffered and died for our sins. As Christians we should be walking with Christ and seeking to draw nearer each day. We need to please Him, not man. "Without faith we cannot please Him and faith cometh by hearing th WORD OF GOD" The bible is our daily guide book. It is filled with God's promises, instructions, knowledge, wisdom. correction and encouraging words.
April 2009
My Pondering Thoughts for Good Friday
I was pondering the other eve and this morning about how generous & merciful Jesus is. When on the cross He said "Father forgive them." Even in His agony, He thought of those who crucified Him. Then, I was thinking about the 2 thieves and how the one railed him saying, "If you are the Christ, save yourself and us." Then the other thief defending Christ first, saying "we deserve this death, but He has done nothing, He is innocent." Only after defending Christ this thief says to Jesus, "Lord, remember me", leaving it up to Jesus, rather than commanding Him as the other thief who was thinking only of immediate deliverance from agony on the cross and not eternal salvation. The 2nd thief was sincere and his words to Christ were humble. The first thief was hardened, even at death's door.
In Matthew Henry's commentary, I read that, "It is certain that it is never too late for true repentance, but it is just as certain that late repentance is seldom true."
While Christ can call His child at his deathbed, it is not an excuse or an encouragement that we should delay or put off repentance for His Word says "Today is the day of Salvation". If we hear Him calling and we are truly His, we will know it and should respond and never delay.
February 2007 BLESSED EYES AND EARS
Matthew 13:16 But blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear for assuredly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desire to see what you see and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it.
The good news says, blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear. There are many who are glad to listen to a good sermon, but what sort of hearers are we? Our ears must be blessed to hear, that we may see the salvation of the Lord. Jesus said many prophets and righteous men desrired to see and hear and did not. It is by His grace that we receive the Gospel message.
The bible says, He calls to His sheep and they HEAR His voice and they come. What a marvelous promise !
"Have your eyes and ears been blessed?
The bible teaches that we are all sinners in need of the Savior.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.
Call upon the name of JESUS, He alone can save your soul,
From the miry pits of sin and from all deadly woes.
A contrite and a humble heart, the Lord will not despise,
With open arms He welcomes those for whom the Savior died.
January 2007 Blessings in the A New Year
Psalm 37:5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass.
This is a wonderful scripture to meditate on as the new year begins. What better way to start the year than to commit our way to the One who loves and cares for us so deeply. To commit our way is to turn everything over to Him and then, "Trust in Him " .for as Psalm 138:6 says, " The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me". We need to trust Him completely knowing He will guide us and keep us in all we do. Yes, "And He shall bring it to pass".
No matter what we are going through, the Word teaches that "this too shall pass". No matter what lies ahead of us in the new year, Jesus has gone before us, we need only follow Him.
The Lord promises new mercies every morning. He gives us joy unspeakable. He loves us with an everlasting love.
Let us begin the new year by committing our way unto the Lord and exalting His name.
Psalm 34:3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
Revive us O Lord, God of all creationRevive us O Lord, ruler of the nationsSpeak to our hearts, Your Word to us impart,Revive us O Lord.December 2006 A CHILD IS BORN, THE SAVIOR, THE PRINCE OF PEACE
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, And the government will be upon His shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
"For unto us a Child is born" It is amazing to think that God in His infinite mercy had His children in mind, when by the power of the Most High , Mary would become the mother of Jesus the Savior. This little baby that we celebrate during Christmas has come to save His people.
In Matthew 1:21 it says, "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Notice it says "HE WILL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS", not "He might save", but He will save. A promise that only He can keep. The Lord will never leave us or forsake His children.( Hebrews 13:5,6.)
Jesus will never lose that which the Father has given Him and all that the Father has given to Christ will come to Him. This is a mystery we cannot fully understand, this side of heaven. As children and followers of God, we believe what His Word teaches, we are drawn and will come to Him and it is all possible by His grace alone.
And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
This little baby grew up and lived a perfect life, knowing that He would become the sacrificial offering for our sins. "Isn't He Wonderful ?"
He hears our prayer, He instructs, teaches and guides us. "For who has known the mind of the Lord or who became His counselor."
No matter what trial we face, nothing is too big for Him. He is Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The star did shine above Him, to lead the wise men's way.
To the lowly manger where the baby lay.
He came to earth and lived to die that my life might be spared,
Oh what a wonderful Savior , Oh Prince of Peace so fair.
November 2006 "WIVES LIKEWISE BE SUBMISSIVE"
1 Peter 3:1,2 Wives, likewise be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the Word, they, without a word may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear."
What a freeing verse this is for the woman of God, who is concerned for her husband. God says, "without a word, they may be won." So many times words turn into heated discussions, when a wife attempts to win her husband over by witnessing to them. Oftentimes the best witnessing one can do is with a closed mouth. Well meant sharing, frequently turns into nagging, as far as husbands are concerned. I am not suggesting here, that we never share with them, I am however saying that we need to be cautious in our choice of words.
We can rest in this verse, knowing that ultimately God is in charge of our husbands, and though we may fall short from time to time, we need not despair for the Lord will help us. Let's look again, it says: "Wives, likewise be submissive to your own husbands..." The word "likewise" can be translated, "in the same way." "In the same way as what?, you might ask.
If we look back to the previous chapter, we see in 1 Peter 2:21, the example Jesus leaves for us in suffering, in submission to His Father. It instructs wives, likewise or in the same way, be submissive, as Christ was. It goes on to say, that husbands may be won without a word, as they observe our chaste and respectful behavior. Let's keep ourselves pure and lovely in the sight of God our Father, praying and trusting in Him to answer our heartfelt prayers.
As our husband's see us respectful of God's laws, and our lives reflect love, gentleness, faithfulness and joy, they will no doubt see Christ in us. No man is a match for Christ. He melts hearts of stone and turns them to flesh.
Ephesians 3:20 Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundently above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.
Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
BY CHRIST'S POWER MAY WE OBEY HIS WORD AND TRUST WHOLLY ON HIM. LET US NOT BE CARELESS IN OUR SPEECH, BUT BE PEACEMAKERS IN OUR HOMES AND SUBMIT AS UNTO THE LORD."
Lord help me to please you daily, in the work I do each day,
Striving to be Holy, and as your Word doth say,
To likewise be submissive as my Savior was in "Love,"
Knowing that He suffered much, to share His crown above.
October 2006 "DO AS THOU HAST SAID"
2nd Samuel 7:25 Now, O Lord God, the word which You have spoken, concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as thou hast said.
What a wonderful example here for us to pray as David prayed, "Do as Thou hast said." We can go to the many promises of our Lord and pray this prayer.
It is a blessing to commune with the Lord, though it doesn't always come easy, and requires discipline.
As women, wives, mothers and grandmothers, we have much to do and so little time to do it. Whether we are in the work force out of the home or a stay at home mom, our days seem to get busier by the minute. It can be a struggle for us to take time with the Lord.
Thess. 5:17 tells us to "Pray without ceasing". And since God is everywhere, we can do this anytime. He is ever present and we can commune with Him in the Spirit. So, whether we are driving to work, bringing the kids to baseball practice, music lessons or where ever we are going , we can commune with our Lord.
But today what is on my heart is our need for a quiet time alone with Him. A time to worship and praise Him for who He is and all He has done for us. We are called to worship Him.
Ps. 95:6 Come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our God our Maker.
Ps. 147:1 Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.
Ps. 136:1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
And then, there in that quiet time, we can cast all our cares upon Him, just as Jesus called on the Father in Matt. 14:23, Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16 and Luke 6:12.
The Lord promises to hear and answer our prayer. Is. 65:24, Matt. 21:22
He promises wisdom and understanding. Jer. 33:3
He promises to deliver us from trouble. Ps. 91:15
He promises to give us the desires of our hearts. Ps. 37:4
These are just a few scriptures telling us of His promises. But there is a scripture that teaches us about a condition that must be met.
John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my Words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.
Which brings us to disciplining ourselves. How do we find the time, if we want to do God's will and become the Godly woman He wants us to be? I have heard it said, "We need to MAKE the time, but I say we need to TAKE the time. God has given us 24 hours a day. If God thought we needed more time in the day, He would have created longer days. When we stop and think of all He did for us in Christ His only Son, who suffered to death on the cross, so that we can have eternal life, shouldn't we strive to TAKE THE TIME He has given us.and use it to please Him.
"LET US DAILY ENTER INTO OUR CLOSETS AND SHUT THE DOOR BEHIND US AND PRAY TO THE FATHER IN SECRET AND OUR FATHER IN SECRET SHALL REWARD US OPENLY"
Though I am born a sinner, my God is mighty to save,
For His promise tells me, He has victory o'er the grave.
Do as Thou hast said O Lord, and wash me white as snow,
And grant me true repentance in my journey here below.
