November 25, 2024

The Holy Spirit

March 13, 2015 by

encouragementbloggraphicromans15

“If you love Me, obey My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him. But you know Him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. Those who accept My commandments and obey them are the ones who love Me. And because they love Me, My Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal Myself to each of them.”

Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to Him, “Lord, why are You going to reveal Yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”

Jesus replied, “All who love Me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and We will come and make Our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love Me will not obey Me. And remember, My words are not My own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent Me. I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as My representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”

John 14:15-26 NLT

Someone once asked me if I thought having Jesus here on earth or having the Holy Spirit living among us was more desirable.  I had to think…on the one hand, I can’t imagine walking and talking with Jesus! Asking Him all kinds of questions and just sitting in His presence, soaking it in that I am with my Savior.  But Jesus was human, here on earth, and He couldn’t be everywhere.  Yes, He traveled from place to place and spoke to many but physically He could only be in one place. However, the Holy Spirit can be everywhere…in every believer…all at the same time!  And, really, to have the Holy Spirit is to have Jesus.

The Spirit has so many jobs.  When we have fallen backwards, and we keep doing the same thing over and over and for some reason, we just cannot stop..the Holy Spirit will give you the strength. When we have been in the valley for oh so long, He will pull us up from where we are. He is our Comforter, our nurse when we are sick. He is our Advocate, our Encourager. And He ministers to both the head and the heart.  He gives us the strength to endure the hatred and evil in our world.  There is so much evil and so much persecution and Jesus knew there would be.

Nothing that is happening today is a surprise to Jesus.  He knew there would be many terrorist groups that would harm His people and He knew that the Holy Spirit would give them the endurance to fight and to die for Him if need be.  Oh friend, the Holy Spirit is your Friend.  He is straight from God the Father, given to each of His children that accepts Jesus as their Savior.  He is here to remind us of all Jesus taught us and gives us a whole new way to look at life.  He gives us a peace that passes all understanding.

  *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Have you asked Jesus to be Lord of your life?  Are you so tired of trying to do it all on your own?  Or maybe you just needed to be reminded that you aren’t alone and that the Holy Spirit is waiting to give you whatever you need.  Just call on Him today.  Whichever one it is, let’s pray together:

Dear God, Thank You for loving us.  I know that I am living my life right now on my own and I need You.  Today I ask that Jesus come into my heart, into my life, to be my Lord and Savior.  I know that I am a sinner and I need forgiveness.  I believe that Jesus is Your Son and He died for my sins.  Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Help me to know You better.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

Filed Under: encouragement Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Remain In Him

March 6, 2015 by

encouragementbloggraphicromans15

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,
so that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

So Jesus and His disciples took many walks before they stopped at the final place—the Garden of Gethsemane. They fed the hungry, healed the sick and gave hope to the hopeless. As Jesus led them, He used every opportunity to teach them all that He could before He left this earth for Heaven.  One day, as they were walking, they passed a vineyard…the vines were full of fruit.   Jesus told them that He is the True Vine.  And that if they would remain in Him, as branches connected to a vine, they would bear beautiful fruit. Beautiful for others to see. He said:

“If you remain in Me and My words remain in you,
ask whatever you wish and it will be given you.
This is to my Father’s glory,
so that you bear much fruit,
showing yourselves to be My disciples.”
John 15:7-8

God wants so much for us as His children and the best way to have the abundant life that He ordained is to remain in Jesus.  The closer we get to Him, the more He pours into us.  And then we begin to bear His fruit!   Before you know it, you are equipped to lead others to the Kingdom.  What kind of world would we live in if all those who are lost saw in us the hope that they have been searching for and we gave them the answer—it is Jesus!

The stronger you become in Jesus, the more the enemy seems to comes at you.  He will tell you over and over how insignificant your life really is…and that Jesus isn’t enough to brighten your life…and that joy is temporary.  (Remember after all, he is the father of lies. Jesus, however, is the Truth.)  And God would haveve never sacrificed His own Son for us if He didn’t think we were really worth it.

He loves us so much…as much as He loves His own Son, Jesus.  As Matthew 3:17 says, “This is My Son, Whom I love…with Whom I am well pleased.” Jesus has this same love for us, too.  And He never gets tired of us.  He only wants to give us all that He has and all the love that He can give.  We need only remain in Him. He is the True Vine and we are the branches. Without the vine, and the nourishment that spreads through to the branches, there is no fruit. As Christians, without fruit, we cannot be a witness to others.

Maybe you just need to be still today and let Him love on you. Maybe you don’t feel lovable today and life has really been hard lately and you just need to be reminded that He really is for you and He is always working on your behalf.  Please don’t forget that He died for you—even if you were the only one on earth that needed saving, He still would have gone to the Cross.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believes in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

I have loved you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

I ask you today: do you know Jesus?  Do you know God?  He is waiting for you, my friend, with open arms.  All you have to do is ask Him into your heart and to be your Lord.  Will you pray with me?

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and I need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus is Your Son and He came into the world as a baby, and walked the earth as a man then died on the Cross with my sins on Him.  Jesus is the Savior and I need Him.  Please come into my heart and be Lord of my life.  I want to know You more.  Walk with me.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Filed Under: encouragement Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Imperfect Yet Beautiful

February 27, 2015 by

encouragementbloggraphicromans15

For His invisible attributes, namely,
His eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly perceived,
ever since the creation of the world,
in the things that have been made.
Romans 1:19 and 20

So after a long day I am out walking my precious dog with my youngest daughter and I see it—the sky is blue and pink…and there are clouds drizzled in between the colors…and the sun is breathtaking as it gets ready to drop off behind the ocean.  I stand amazed at His handiwork.  And I think of how good He is and how all He gives is good!

Then the questions come:  “Why is there so much yuck in this world, mama?  Like why do bad guys steal Christians and their children over there?” I have to really think before I answer. Because haven’t I asked these same questions? When marriages end…and children suffer…when there is cancer and chemo…and childrens hospitals that are always half full….  How do I answer?

I begin to read in Genesis and how much God loved the first man and woman and how beautiful He made their their home. The Garden of Eden was flawless. Trees and flowers bore their fruit and food. Adam and Eve met with God everyday; they walked with Him in the garden. Life was beautiful. Until the enemy convinced them that what God gave wasn’t good enough. That they weren’t REALLY satisfied and surely they wanted more.  The fall of man was ingratitude. Here is the story:

The Fall  Genesis 3:1-19

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”  He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”  The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”  The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals!  You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.  And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;  He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.”

To the woman He said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children.  Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

To Adam He said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.  It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.  By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

God didn’t mess this world up…we did.  He saw that we needed help so He sent Jesus to die with all this sin on Him, so that we don’t have to. Jesus was the sacrifice to save us.  God is good and all He gives is good. There is beauty that comes from the ashes of all this hard.  We may not actually see the good that comes or the one person that was saved through it…but God does and that is enough.  Yes, this world is suffering but there is a day when there will be no more bad…only good. But until that day, let’s keep encouraging each other, praying for each other, and reaching out to those who don’t know Him and together we can change lives for Him.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

Do you know Jesus?  Have you ever asked Him into your life?  Oh friend, He is waiting. Will you pray with me?

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner, I need forgiveness.  I believe that Jesus is Your Son and the Savior of the world. I believe that You sent Him to die on the Cross so that I can live free and in eternity with You.  I ask Jesus today to come into my life and be my Lord.  Please walk with me and guide me and direct me.  Thank You for loving me.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Filed Under: encouragement Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

We Are Full Of Hope

February 20, 2015 by

encouragementbloggraphicromans15What strength do I have that I should continue to hope?
What is my future, that I should be patient?
Is my strength that of stone, or my flesh made of bronze?
Since I cannot help myself, the hope for success has been banished from me.
Job 6: 11-13

God created us to feel every emotion we as humans will experience in our lifetime. We never want to be so dead inside not to grieve. Tears are actually a gift…they take us to a place that words cannot. And they bring healing, yes, much healing. As much as this may hurt or cause us discomfort, can you imagine if you weren’t allowed to cry and grieve?

As Jesus’ followers, the world that we live in causes us to grieve on a daily basis. Then hope and faith are found also, when we rely solely on God the Father and Jesus the Son to fill us.  That which we lost, we gain in Him.

Job’s thoughts hit home.  “What  strength do I have…since I cannot help myself, so all hope for success has been banished.”  When we feel God has let us down, or didn’t answer the way we wanted, we feel like Job—hopeless because we have no control over the outcome.  We cannot always help ourselves. But He can!  He is always the answer! He is always your strength! The best part is this:

Life’s outcomes aren’t dependent on you…
Your future lies in His hands, His capable, strong hands.

Need proof? Let’s go to The Word:

Be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:24

I will praise You forever for what You have done.
In the presence of Your faithful people,
I will put my hope in Your name, for it is good.
Psalms 52:9

__________, {put your name here} put your hope in the Lord.
For there is faithful love with the Lord, and with Him is redemption in abundance.
Psalm 130:7

Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.
Romans 12:12

I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened
so you may know what is the hope of His calling.
Ephesians 1:18a

Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering,
for HE WHO PROMISED IS FAITHFUL.
Hebrews 10:23 (emphasis mine)

Pain will fill our lives in different seasons and we will have loss in this life. So we must grieve when we need to but we must not be hopeless. Because His hands control everything and in Him is so much hope.  Sadness?  Yes we will feel it, but we will be happy and full of joy again.  Why?  Because He promised us!  And He can be trusted, even when you can’t trust anyone else.

He will bless you and He will love you.
And there may be sadness right now…
but joy comes in the morning!

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

Do you know that God loves you so much that He sent His only Son to die in your place? And He would’ve done this for just you if it meant that you would live with Him forever. Jesus is waiting to come into your heart. Today is the day for change! Ready?

Let us pray:
God, I know I am a sinner. My life is out of control and I am so tired. I need You to be my God. I believe that Jesus is Your Son. You sent Him to die in my place so that my sins are forgiven. I will get to live in Heaven with You forever. Walk with me through this hard life and bring me into the light. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

Filed Under: encouragement Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Feed My Sheep

February 13, 2015 by

encouragementbloggraphicromans15When they had all had enough to eat, He said to His disciples,
‘Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.’
John 6:12

America, the land of the free.  Also the land with plenty, so much that there really shouldn’t be so much hunger and poverty.  We don’t have to cross oceans to see hunger and poverty, although the levels are definitely different.  Not only is the world suffering from lack of food, there’s a lack of Jesus.  And because God doesn’t want to see anyone perish, He gave each one of us a spirit hungry for more of Him.  Before we go any further, I want you read John 6:1-15…a familiar story I know but we need to be reminded.  So read on:

Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed Him because they saw the signs He had performed by healing the sick.  Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples.  The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”  He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”  Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there).  Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
When they had all had enough to eat, He said to His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”  Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.

You know, Jesus knew what these people needed before they did. The crowds had followed Him to hang on His every Word, and the disciples were trying to protect their Master and get Him away, but Jesus wanted to feed His sheep.  His people were hungry, not only for food but for His wisdom.  And today, there are multitudes who are hurting too, and can’t voice it…but we can.  We must spread the Word of Salvation to the lost.  We must teach His Word, because He entrusted it to us.

Over one billion people call themselves Christians, and not all are really born-again, God-fearing, Bible-reading and Bible-believing Christians.  Just as God knows every hair on their heads, He also knows which ones actually call Jesus ‘Lord,’ and He has made them ambassadors of Christ Jesus, commanding them to offer to all people in all nations the Bread of Life.  But how can a few reach so many?

In the story above, in verse 5, Jesus asked Philip, as they were faced with feeding so many people,”Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” Of course Jesus knew the answer, He was testing him. “He asked this only to test him, for He already had in mind what He was going to do” (verse 6).  Doesn’t Jesus sometimes place a question in our minds to make us seek Him for the answer?  Today our question is this: “How will you obey Me and reach out to my people?”

I know I am like Philip…I often feel ill-equipped, outnumbered, without confidence, and intimidated.  Sometimes the task at hand seem so huge that you don’t even know where to start!  And let’s be honest: sometimes we don’t even try.  But aren’t we to do it the same way it was done in John 6?  Miraculously…every time any one offers to anyone else the hope they have in Jesus, something miraculous happens.  Even if you feel like you don’t have anything to give, if you give it all to Jesus, He can do wonders with what you do have to give.

The boy in the story only had five small loaves of bread and two small fish and look what Jesus did with it!!  Because this little one was willing to give Jesus all he had, He multiplied it into all He needed.  You are all He needs…you can reach His people and you can change someone’s life. Whether you share your Jesus or your food, God can and will use you. Surrender all that you have. The world is needy, in all kind of ways, and God created us to do His work.

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

Do you know Him?  I urge you to read more of John’s Gospel and learn Jesus’ heart.  And pray this prayer with me:

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner.  I need forgiveness.  I believe that Jesus is Your Son and He died for me.  I want You to come into my heart and be my Lord.  Walk with me.  In Jesus name, amen.

Filed Under: encouragement Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

He Had Brought Me So Far

February 6, 2015 by

encouragementbloggraphicromans15

 { David’s Prayer of Gratitude }

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?  And yet this was a small thing in Your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God!  And what more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord God!  Because of Your promise, and according to Your own heart, You have brought about all this greatness, to make Your servant know it.  Therefore You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

 2 Samuel 7:18-22

I feel stuck.  Sometimes I feel that I have not really grown spiritually as much as I want to.  I play my past over and over feeling inadequate.  But then I step back at and really look at where I have been…and where I am now…and how in love I am with my God more and more each day.  And I see how far He has brought me.  I am like David and I am celebrating the progress I have made with the One Who brought me here.

David responded to God’s goodness and we see the reasons why he was ‘a man after God’s own heart’.

But now your kingdom shall not continue.
The Lord has sought out a man after His own heart
and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over His people
because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.

1 Samuel 13:14

David surrendered his heart to God.  When we do the same, we will see how far we have come and we, too, will respond like David.  For instance, we will have intimacy with our Creator: David sought no other audience.  He left Nathan’s presence and went and sat with God.  And before we can really embrace and celebrate God’s amazing and unexpected gifts with other believers, we have to seek Him first…always.  We must stay humble in that we need not take credit for our progress.  David always gave credit to His Maker and made known to all that he was humbled by God’s goodness.  He celebrated every time he came into the presence of God.  We must be careful not to flaunt our gains to those who don’t have them yet, for this is prideful.  We will delight in our Lord.  He loves our gratitude and it blesses His heart when we are grateful and awestruck at His goodness.  I imagine it makes Him want to bless us more, knowing how much joy it brings us, each blessing being named and thanking Him for all of them.  And last, we acknowledge God, as David did. I imagine that God loves when we sing loudly the hymn “How Great Thou Art”…don’t you?  He also loves when we list His good qualities and when we shout to all who will listen,”How great is our God!!”  There really is no one like Him!

Look back for a minute to where you have been. Only when you have been in a valley, can you really appreciate coming out. Only when you have been in bondage, do you really understand the amazing feeling of freedom. And when you see that God has been there all along and He keeps loving you and He keeps cheering you on and He never fails you, you will see that you have come a really long way and that God has brought you here. Why don’t you celebrate, my friend!  You are His heart…

Do you know this amazing God?  He knows you and He has been waiting your whole life for the moment that you surrender to Him and accept Him into your life.  Are you ready?  If so, then pray this prayer with me:

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner.  I need forgiveness.  I believe that You alone are God.  And that You have a Son, Jesus.  He came and walked this earth as a man, suffered the same things that I do, and ultimately He laid down His life for me on the Cross.  You sent Him to be my Savior, and I am asking Jesus to come into my heart today.  Please walk with me and help me to know more about You.  I love You.  Thank You for loving me.  In Jesus name, amen.

Filed Under: encouragement Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

He Is My Rock

January 30, 2015 by

encouragementbloggraphicromans15

I wait quietly before God.  For my victory comes from Him.
He alone is my Rock and my Salvation, my Fortress where I will never be shaken.
So many enemies against one man-all of them trying to kill me.
To them I’m just a broken-down wall or a tottering fence.
They plan to topple me from my high position.
They delight in telling lies about me.
They praise me to my face but curse me in their hearts.
Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him.
He alone is my Rock and my Salvation.
My Fortress where I will not be shaken.
My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my Refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
O my people, trust in Him at all times.
Pour out your heart to Him, for God is our Refuge.
Psalms 62:1-8 (NLT) 

I remember it like it was yesterday…my heart is breaking into a million pieces as I watch my husband of 20-something years standing on the steps of the courthouse, seeing our home sold to the highest bidder.  Oh, how I want to change this; but I cannot.  I cannot understand why God did not show up and perform a huge miracle and save us from all this pain.  I shook my fist at Him, “How could You sit on Your throne in Heaven and allow this to happen to us, to my children?  Why did You abandon me?  Why didn’t You at least protect my children from losing their childhood home?”

I look back now and what was meant to destroy me, only made me stronger and more in love with my God than ever before.  What I noticed is that the first thing I did was turn to God, it may have been in anger, but I cried out to Him.  And my life and the live of my children are now beautiful.  We see where He had a greater plan all along.  What we saw as ugly, God made pretty.

Have you ever seen a braided rug?  Or a rug made by a loom?  The undersides of the rugs are not pretty; there are loose ends of yarn dangling all around.  What if we judged the rugmaker by the underside of the rug? Likewise, we look at the underside of our life—the wrong side—but God sees the finished pattern always.  His work is never finished until we leave this earth with Him.  God takes the tangled mess of our lives and weaves it together to created a beautiful masterpiece, a gorgeous tapestry, a breath-taking mosaic.

Today, my family is closer than we have ever been.  God literally plucked us out of our hometown and placed us in another.  He brought us away from all we had known to a place where we only knew Him.  Our lives became simple, and more about His purpose for us instead of us keeping up a image that had to be torn down.  God gave us a church that I love more than I can say…and friends that I never would have met.

And healing…healing…healing!  I know that I am blessed.  And I know that He is worthy to be praised regardless of what I’m going through.  There is always something to be grateful for (even if it’s just that you are breathing today).

God is for you...He only wants what is more than beautiful and amazing for your life…and He wants the glory when you make it through.  Do you need Him today? Are you going through a hard season? I encourage you to seek Him. And if you don’t know Him or haven’t accepted Him, I hope you will pray this with me…

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner.  I feel so lost right now.  I need a Savior.  I believe that Jesus is Your Son and He died for me, He is my Savior.  I ask that He come live in my heart today and walk with me through all of this.  I want to know more about You.  Thank You for loving me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Filed Under: encouragement Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

What Is Your Jericho?

January 23, 2015 by

encouragementbloggraphicromans15

…but the Lord said to Joshua,”I have given you Jericho, it’s king, and all its strong warriors.
You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six day.
Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn.
On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times,
with the priests blowing the horns.
When you hear the priest give one long blast on the rams’ horns,
have all the people shout as loud as they can.
Then the walls of the town will collapse and the people can charge straight into the town.”

Joshua 6:2-5

I have a “Jericho.”  And I pray circles around this daily (sometimes literally walking in a circle around my beach neighborhood) asking God for this one thing.  In my heart, I know He will answer.  One day, it will come to be.  Do you have a Jericho?

In the Scripture passage above, God was telling Joshua that Jericho was already delivered into his hands…the enemy was already defeated.  I imagine that Joshua had much confidence as he went to battle that day. Knowing that the city was already his and all he had to do was follow every instruction that God gave him…exactly as He told him.  Joshua had to have faith to carry this out, don’t you imagine?

For someone who was not a believer, the instructions might have seemed a little farfetched. But not to Joshua, who loved his God.  God was making it perfectly clear to Joshua that the battle would depend on Him and not the weapons that Israel had or the manpower.  And He wanted to make sure that Joshua really was committed.

God already knows your prayer and your Jericho.  He wants you to name it and ‘circle it’ in prayer, so He knows how committed you are to your desire.  He has given us His Word as a promise so that we need never doubt or question all He can do for us.

And what does He expect from us in return? Really, all He asks is for us to be the best we can and do the best we can with what He has already given us.  Doing His Will has more to do with “being” the right person and success is glorifying Him in the process.

As a parent, I circle each of my precious ones in prayer and I have great desires for us as a family.  He has already delivered us from so much and He has defeated the enemy more than once.  And just like Joshua, God has given us instructions; sometimes He sends us into a battle that looks like it is impossible.  But with prayer and perseverance we will watch walls crumble in front of us, and kings defeated in His name, and the conquering of the city that is ours already. Isn’t our God so amazing?

I encourage you today to turn in your Bible to this story and pray that God will guide you wherever it is that you are supposed to be.  And if you don’t know what your Jericho is right now, pray that He will reveal to you what His desire for you is.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

And if you don’t know Him, I pray that you will join me in this simple prayer asking Him to be your God.  Will you?

Dear God, I know I am a sinner.  I ask for Your forgiveness.  I believe that Jesus is Your Son and He is the Savior of the world.  I believe that He died on the Cross to save me from my sins.  Come into my heart today and be my God.  I want to know more about You.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Filed Under: encouragement Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

What Is A Peacemaker

January 16, 2015 by

encouragementbloggraphicromans15

Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
James 3:18 NIV

I am a peacemaker by nature; a conflict resolver at any cost, or at least I used to be.  I don’t think that is the kind of peacemaker James is referring to.  He is actually talking about healthy peacemakers who are personally at peace with God‘s authority and willing to bring a sense of peace wherever they go.  It doesn’t matter who they are with…they just have that gift.

Turn in your Bible to James 3:13-4:1

If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.  What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? (New Living Translation)

What a hard question he is asking the people!  And what kind of answer do you think you would have given him?  What does cause the fighting among God’s people?  I think the answer comes in the second question that is asked: “Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?”  That answer is yes.

The fact is: conflict is part of our human condition.  It exists in most households, offices, and churches.  But just because there is conflict, doesn’t mean that there has to be fighting and quarreling.  However, they usually go hand in hand, especially if people are not willing to take responsibility for their own part in an argument.  They find someone or something to blame for their actions instead of just admitting the wrong that they did or the words that they said.

But God calls us to be different.  As His children, we pray for the wisdom to do the hard things—like admitting we were wrong and asking for forgiveness.  He calls us to be humble, knowing that we are human and will make mistakes. Read James 3:13 again.  The writer is reminding us that one who is wise and understands God’s ways will show it by deeds done in humility.  Saying we are sorry requires humility and that means admitting to others that we are actually wrong sometimes.  (We don’t like that very much.)  But in order to be the light that Jesus calls us to be and to be the witness that leads others to Him we must right our wrongs.

This is the kind of peacemaker that God calls us to be.  The kind that humbles themselves and shows love to others.  Seeking God’s wisdom delivers us from the need to be right all the time and helps us become the humble servant to those that we come in contact with.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
Matthew 5:9

 { You are a child of God….  }

Do you know this God that loves you so much?  He is your Father and He wants so much to be in your life.  Or maybe you know Him but you’ve moved away from Him and need to get back on track.  If so, He is waiting and He will meet you right where you are.

I would love for you to pray this prayer with me today:

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and I need forgiveness.  I am far from You today and I want to change that.  I believe that Jesus is Your Son and He died for my sins.  I ask that Jesus come into my heart today and be Lord of my life.  Walk with me…gve me more knowledge of You.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Filed Under: encouragement Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jesus Prays For You

January 9, 2015 by

encouragementbloggraphicromans15

Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him,
because He always lives to intercede for them.

Hebrews 7:25

Those words really resonated with me as I read them over and over.  This week I gave Him all my problems… then took them back.  I played that game for a while.  Isn’t it just like God to lead us right to the words we so need—His words of comfort? And knowing that Jesus intercedes for us and He saves us and delivers us is the Truth; well, I think we all need to hear that.

I encourage you to read Hebrews 7:23-28.  Before Jesus, there were many priests, but they were human and they eventually died. In this passage above, we see that one of Jesus’ favorite things to do is to save us. (The word save translated means “any kind of deliverance.”)  Have you ever wondered what He was doing up there, after He left His disciples and went to prepare a place for us? I know He is hard at work on our behalf… and don’t we give Him plenty of things to work on!  We know that Jesus sits at the right hand of His Father, and He is our High Priest.  He lives to pray for us, to look deep into our lives, and knows what we need before we ask.  He knows God’s Will and fully understands it.  He knows our desires and He knows God’s total plan for our lives.

See, Jesus tore the veil that stood between us and God so that we can go straight to God.  We have total access to our Father and so does Christ.  And He uses that access for our gain.  They both love us so very much that, together, they are working all things together for our good and answering our prayers and petitions in God’s timing. Think about what is occupying your thoughts right now…are you at peace or is there turmoil going on?  When our minds focus too much on the problems and we take our minds off the Solver of those problems, the Holy Spirit nudges us, and Jesus intercedes and helps us to pray, and God answers our prayers.

Here is the main point; We have a High Priest who sat down
in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in Heaven.
Hebrews 8:1

And in verse 6 it says,

But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry
that is far superior to the old priesthood,
for He is the One Who mediates for us
a far better covenant with God,
based on better promises.

Promises like this: that you have the gift of salvation by faith, and can trust entirely in Jesus.  Jesus has done it all.  Nothing you can do will improve His work. Nothing you can do to make Him not love you.  Accept these truths today…

  • He came to this earth to live a hard life so that we would know how to do this
  • He died on the Cross so that you can live forever with Him
  • He left us the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us and help us on this journey

   *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

Let’s all pray this simple prayer together:

Dear God, I trust in Jesus alone. Please forgive my sins through Him, and give me the eternal life secured by Him. In Your name, amen.

Did you pray this prayer for the first time today? If so, leave us a comment so that we can celebrate your spiritual birthday with you!  God sees you….

Filed Under: encouragement Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »