March 12, 2026

You Are The Shepherd

March 29, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

 

Recorded in the Gospel of John, our Lord made seven statements referring to Himself as I AM…

I AM The Light of the World
I AM The Bread of Life
I AM The Door
I AM The Good Shepherd
I AM The True Vine
I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life
I AM The Resurrection and The Life

Each week during this season of Lent, here on the Seeking Him blog, we will be focusing our devotionals on a different aspect of Jesus’ revelation of Himself as I AM.  The aim of Lent should be to prepare our hearts for the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice—His trial and torture, the Crucifixion and His death…and above all, the celebration of His Resurrection from the dead.  We pray that this will be a great encouragement to each of you who read them.  And that all of us will consider the significance of Jesus’ words and, through them, be helped as we remember and are thankful for all Jesus went through during the last few weeks of His life on this earth.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

 Jesus said to him,
I AM the Way and the Truth and the Life;
no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.


You are the Shepherd, I belong to You
When I walk on rough ground, You will guide me through
You know my name, You know my voice
Before I was born I was Your choice
Show me how to follow, Lord, keep me close to You
You are the Shepherd, I belong to You

Open eyes to see You are the Way
Open ears to hear You are the Truth
Open hearts to know You are the Lord of Life
For every one You hold a special plan

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

At Calvary

March 29, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Years I spent in vanity and pride
Caring not my Lord was crucified
Knowing not it was for me He died
On Calvary

Mercy there was great, and grace was free
Pardon there was multiplied to me
There my burdened soul found liberty
At Calvary

By God’s Word at last my sin I learned
Then I trembled at the law I’d spurned
Till my guilty soul imploring turned
To Calvary

Now I’ve giv’n to Jesus everything
Now I gladly own Him as my King
Now my raptured soul can only sing
Of Calvary

Oh, the love that drew salvation’s plan
Oh, the grace that brought it down to man
Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span
At Calvary

Gaither Music
written by William Newell and composed by Daniel Towner

  *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

In Whom we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of His grace.
Ephesians 1:7

I have a sweet memory of Easter…I’ve got my pink Easter basket with tulle and lots of colored eggs, and I’m holding my mom’s hand as we head into the sanctuary.  Oh, how I loved Easter and the new white Sunday shoes.  But most of all, even at a young age, I loved the message. My God loved me so much that He allowed my Jesus, His Son, to become a man and walk the earth and ultimately die in my place.  After the message the choir would sing and chills would go all over as we sang about this day.

This song takes me back to those days…listen to the story behind the song:

William Newell wrote this hymn about his own testimony of God’s love and grace in his life that began with Jesus suffering and dying on the Cross to save him.  He was a teacher at the Moody Bible Institute and a Bible conference speaker. One day, while he was on his way to teach his class, he came up with the words to this hymn. He wrote them down quickly on the back of an envelope, just as they appear today. He then met with Daniel Towner, Director of music at the Institute, and showed him the words he had written.  Immediately Towner began working to compose a tune.

An hour later, the two met up and actually sang the hymn together. They were so grateful to God for this.  The hymn was published in 1895 in a collection called “Famous Hymns.”  The words of this hymn are sung all over the world in all denominations.  And, at Easter, the words mean just a little bit more.

“Mercy was great and grace was free,
pardon there was multiplied for me,
there my burdened soul found liberty…at Calvary“

As you listen to this hymn, I pray that you will ponder all that this means for you and maybe write your thoughts down.  He died for you, my friend.  At Calvary, all that you have done or ever will do was nailed to the cross with Jesus.

  *   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Let us pray: Dear God, You are mighty and awesome.  Your love for us is unimaginable and Your grace and mercy are free.  Lord, as we come closer to Easter may we remember that it is not about the pastels and the bunnies but about something far greater—our Salvation.  One dark day Your Son was hung on a cross and died.  You couldn’t look. But on the third day He rose and now He lives and reigns with You. Thank You!  We love You…In Jesus’ name, amen.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

This Week…I AM The True Vine (John 15:1-8)

March 28, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

Recorded in the Gospel of John, our Lord made seven statements referring to Himself as I AM…

I AM The Light of the World
I AM The Bread of Life
I AM The Door
I AM The Good Shepherd
I AM The True Vine
I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life
I AM The Resurrection and The Life

Each week during this season of Lent, here on the Seeking Him blog, we will be focusing our devotionals on a different aspect of Jesus’ revelation of Himself as I AM.  The aim of Lent should be to prepare our hearts for the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice—His trial and torture, the Crucifixion and His death…and above all, the celebration of His Resurrection from the dead.  We pray that this will be a great encouragement to each of you who read them.  And that all of us will consider the significance of Jesus’ words and, through them, be helped as we remember and are thankful for all Jesus went through during the last few weeks of His life on this earth.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

I AM the True Vine, and my Father is the gardener.
He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit,
while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
Remain in Me, as I also remain in you.
No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.
I AM the Vine; you are the branches.
If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;
apart from Me you can do nothing.
If you do not remain in Me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers;
such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
If you remain in Me and My words remain in you,
ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit,
showing yourselves to be my disciples
John 15:1-8

This week, here on the Seeking Him devotional blog, our sisters have shared some insight on these words spoken by our Lord…specifically regarding the statement He made, “I AM the True Vine.”  Jesus gave us such clear direction AND encouragement as He made it very clear that it is vitally necessary to abide/remain…and that, apart from Him, we truly cannot do anything of worth or value.   Here are a few highlights from the devotionals that Laura, Cynda, Ann, and Ahmee wrote to encourage us.

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In Bearing Fruit in the Vine, Ann asked some needful questions…(have you answered them?).

“This passage gives us an illustration of how bearing fruit is essential in the eyes of God.  The Bible is talking of a garden that is being taken care of by God Himself.  And Jesus said “I AM the True Vine…”.  This means there is another vine that is not true and has not been planted not by God.

As Christians we need to understand which garden we belong to—
is it God’s or the other garden?

We are told “you are the branches.”  Branches bear the fruit; and so if a branch is not producing fruit, then it must be cut off.  If we do bear fruit, we are true branches. If we do not, then we are not true branches. Which side of the coin are we?”

❦

In God the Gardener, Laura made the comparison between a person tending the garden in their yard—purging and pruning—and God as He cares for us, the branches.

“Just as a gardener works to keep their garden beautiful, so does God in His relationship with us.  He points out the things that we need to cut off and get rid of in order to strengthen our relationship with Him.  The stronger we are in God the more fruitful we are in His Spirit.  We are the branches of God’s beautiful Creation—His own garden. God makes us (the branches on His vine) stronger through our blessings and the hardships He guides us through.”

❦

In Just Hanging Out, Cynda reminded us that as we abide we are able to bear fruit…because of the Vine.

“Philippians 4:13 AMP (one of my favorite verses) tells us:

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me
[I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him
Who infuses inner strength into me;
I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

Christ empowers me!  And when I abide in Him, I have full access to all His power.  The fruit will be a natural result.  I like the way David Guzik * puts it: ‘Fruit bearing is impossible without abiding; but it is inevitable with abiding.’  Philippians 1:11 HCSB tells us when we hang out with Jesus we are ‘…filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.’

We have two choices then: either hang out with Jesus or go it on our own.  If we hang out with Jesus, fruit comes naturally.  If we go it on our own, we will continue to struggle and begin to wither.  Not much of a choice really, is it?”

❦

In Fellowship Through The Vine, Ahmee addressed the difference between relationship and fellowship.

“I pondered the difference between relationship and fellowship.  Relationship, although very basic, is a distinguishing factor of Christianity.  (Without a dictionary in hand) I concluded that it is possible to have a relationship with someone, but not be in fellowship with them. And it seems very unlikely, if even at all possible, to be in fellowship with someone and not have a relationship with them.

But now, I have my NLT dictionary/concordance handy and have the proper definitions:

  • Relationship (n): a state of affairs existing between those having relations or dealings
  • Fellowship (n): friendship; association; company; partnership

Stay connected to Jesus (via the word, prayer, etc.) and this will be evident in your life. We have to have our Life Source in order to do anything productive. We need more than just a mere relationship…we have to have that fellowship…that DEEP connection.

So, take a look at your relationship with God…
Are you in a relationship only? Or is there fellowship?”

❦

Have you had the opportunity to read through these blogposts this week?  If not, I would encourage you to do so!  Our bloggers have made these as well as some other wonderful points to direct us towards Jesus, Who IS The True Vine in Whom we can abide and remain.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Up From the Grave He Arose

March 28, 2015 by 
psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv
Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior 
‘Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord 

 Up from the grave He arose
 With a mighty triumph o'er His foes
 He arose a Victor from the dark domain
 And He lives forever, with His saints to reign 
 He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose

Vainly they watched His bed, Jesus my Savior 
Vainly they sealed the dead, Jesus my Lord 

Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior 
He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord

 
David Thornton
Written by Robert Lowry
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What a way to celebrate Easter by singing this song with all of your heart!

As the disciples waited in the upper room…barely speaking to one another or even looking at each other.  None of them were blameless. All of them deserted Jesus in the end.  Then one of the women comes running to tell them that Jesus was gone from His grave.  Suddenly, there is hope, there is an excited expectation…though still mingled with  doubt.

Then, running out to the tomb, they see for themselves that it is indeed empty.  How can this be?  Who could have rolled the stone away and taken His body?  Then an angel appears telling them that Jesus has risen and asking them why do you look for him here?

In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  …The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ … Then they remembered His words.  …Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

excerpts from Luke 24:5-12 

What a glorious day for the disciples! To know that the past three years were not in vain and that they were going to be spreading God’s word to all the nations.

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Father, thank You for the hope and promise of bringing more people into Your Kingdom.  I pray for hearts and minds to be opened to receive Your wonderful news of everlasting life with You!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Protein Banana Bread Breakfast Bars

March 27, 2015 by

Protein Banana Bread Breakfast Bars

I found this recipe on a website called PaleOMG.  I love their photos on Instagram, and they have great ideas for healthy snacks and things to give your kids.  I changed the recipe a bit, just subbing a few things here and there, and now I present to you:  Protein Banana Bread Breakfast Bars!

That’s a mouthful.  These PBBBBs are just like banana bread, but not cloyingly sweet.  They are made with almond flour and whey protein powder, so you’re getting a good dose of protein in your sweet treat.  These were easy and delicious!  I’m storing mine in the fridge, and hope there is enough left for me to enjoy one with my morning coffee tomorrow!

Protein Banana Bread Breakfast Bars

Ingredients:

  • 2 bananas, mashed
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2/3 cup almond flour
  • 1/3 cup whey protein (vanilla, but I used cinnamon!)
  • 1/4 cup tapioca or arrowroot flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup cacao nibs (I used mini chocolate chips)
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds (I used sesame seeds)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350*F.  Grease an 8×8 square pan.
  2. Mix all the ingredients together, except for chocolate chips and almonds.  Then fold in cacao nibs or chocolate chips.  Pour into the prepared pan, and cover the top with the almonds or sesame seeds.
  3. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the middle is set.  Cool for 10 minutes before cutting.
  4. I cut mine into 1″x4″ bars, so I had 16 servings.  Store in the fridge, covered.

 

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipes, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

Filed Under: At Home w/ GCH Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Letter From Your Father

March 27, 2015 by

encouragementbloggraphicromans15

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves,
so that you live in fear again;
rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.
And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:15

Adoption…God has searched you out and adopted you for His own.  Before you knew you even needed Him as your Father, He had already filled out the paperwork and made you a room in His House.

For God knew His people in advance,
and He chose them to become like His Son,
so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
Romans 8:29

He will never leave you fatherless in this world…after all, He wrote your name in His family tree.  And He paid a huge price for you too!

God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law,
so that He could adopt us as His very own children.
Galatians 4:5

We didn’t pay for our adoption, we only have to accept it.  The minute we do, we go from orphans with nothing to heirs with everything.  We are adopted into a new family…but we are not home yet.  We know our Father’s name, but we haven’t seen Him face to face yet.  He has claimed us but He hasn’t come for us yet.  But we know He will.  But until that day, we live as His.

You are no longer wandering alone.  You are loved so much by a King! Someone actually paid for your freedom in full with His own life!  All the sins you have committed and ever will have already been erased by His blood.  You can never do anything to make Him love you any more or less.  And, though this world may be hard, He will never let you flounder alone.  He wants so much for you, His child.

If God were to write you a letter, it might sound like this:

Dear ______,

I love you more than  you will ever understand.  I bought you and I complete you.  I will always comfort you and I will never fail you.

I know all that you have done, all the regrets and shame you feel about your past.  I want you to know that My grace is sufficient for you and I have put them all behind Me.  I have the ability to actually forget them and, of course, forgive them.  You have been washed clean, like new.  Please come to Me, for I have truly set you free.  I broke the stronghold of the enemy.  You have a home with Me in Heaven and all glory. There you will have no more sorrows, no more sadness or crying and no more death and pain.

I see that you are worried about so much that you cannot control.  But I can.  Please put your trust in Me and I will rescue you every time from all your trials.  Cling to me in your struggle and know that I will give you the strength you need to get through what is in front of you.  Don’t ever give up.  I will give you the help you need and I will give you courage.

Just trust me with all that you have.  I will never leave you.  I never sleep and I am always looking out for you.  I will go before you and make a way.  I have planned every detail of your journey here and until I come again and bring you home, I will give you what you need daily.  I love you, my precious child.

Keep pressing on toward the finish line, never losing momentum.  I will see you soon!

Your Father

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Do you know Jesus?  He is waiting on you with open arms.  I encourage you to pray with me today and ask Him into your life, to be Lord.  Pray with me:

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner.  I need a Savior.  I believe that Jesus is Your Son and You sent Him to die in my place.  I ask that You come into my heart and be my God.  Please go with me and help me to grow in You.  Thank You for this life You have given me.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

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

Just Hanging Out

March 26, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

Recorded in the Gospel of John, our Lord made seven statements referring to Himself as I AM…

I AM The Light of the World
I AM The Bread of Life
I AM The Door
I AM The Good Shepherd
I AM The True Vine
I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life
I AM The Resurrection and The Life

Each week during this season of Lent, here on the Seeking Him blog, we will be focusing our devotionals on a different aspect of Jesus’ revelation of Himself as I AM.  The aim of Lent should be to prepare our hearts for the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice—His trial and torture, the Crucifixion and His death…and above all, the celebration of His Resurrection from the dead.  We pray that this will be a great encouragement to each of you who read them.  And that all of us will consider the significance of Jesus’ words and, through them, be helped as we remember and are thankful for all Jesus went through during the last few weeks of His life on this earth.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Abide in Me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine,
so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
I AM the Vine, you are the branches;
he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit,
for apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:4 and 5 NASB

I wonder if you are like me…. When I read a passage like this one, I start to fret.

  • What if I am not producing enough fruit?
  • What if I need to be doing something else?
  • What if I am not producing ANY fruit? How do I start?
  • What if it’s not the right kind of fruit?  How do I know?

What if, what if, what if!!!

I was reading commentaries on this passage and I learned so many amazing things!  But a commentary written by Chuck Smith included this passage that seemed to answer all my ‘what ifs?’.

“The only lasting fruit is that which is produced as the result of the relationship with Jesus Christ.  And here again, the idea of fruit indicates to us the method of God. The fruit that comes forth from our lives is a very natural thing; it’s not forced.  That apple hanging on the tree is not out there struggling and striving and pushing and doing its best to get ripe.  All it has to do is just hang in there and it’s going to ripen.  And it’s going to come to maturity.  And I just need to hang in there, just to abide in Christ, and the natural result of abiding in Christ is my life is going to bring forth fruit.  One of the problems…today is this endeavor of forced fruit.…you’re being pushed into all kinds of activities, not really directed by the Spirit.  And this can become worthless expenditures of energy, unless God is behind it and God is guiding it and God is directing it. Unless you’re abiding in Him, you cannot bear fruit of yourself.  You cannot sit down and say, “Now, this is what I’m going to do for God this year. And these are the projects that I’m going to endeavor. And this is my plan by which I intend to fulfill this goal.”  That bearing fruit that God desires is the most natural thing that can happen to you as you abide in Christ.  It’s just a natural function.”

– Chuck Smith
click here to read the entire article

I have one purpose—to produce fruit.  If we are hanging out with Jesus, the fruit will come naturally!  Whewwww!  That’s a big relief. I don’t need to do more or be more.  I just need to hang out with Jesus more (“abide in Me…”) and let the Holy Spirit direct me.  Anything I try to do on my own is going to be a useless struggle and is destined to fail.  It would be “forced fruit.”  I am powerless on my own.

Philippians 4:13 AMP (one of my favorite verses) tells us:

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me
[I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him
Who infuses inner strength into me;
I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

Christ empowers me!  And when I abide in Him, I have full access to all His power.  The fruit will be a natural result.  I like the way David Guzik * puts it: “Fruit bearing is impossible without abiding; but it is inevitable with abiding.”  Philippians 1:11 HCSB tells us when we hang out with Jesus we are “…filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” John 8:31 AMP reminds us “If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples.”

We have two choices then: either hang out with Jesus or go it on our own.  If we hang out with Jesus, fruit comes naturally.  If we go it on our own, we will continue to struggle and begin to wither.  Not much of a choice really, is it?

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Lord, I want to spend more time with You so that bearing fruit comes naturally.  I don’t want to offer You forced fruits from my own labors. When I begin to fret, remind me relax and hang out with You.  May Your plans be my plans.  Help me hear Your voice and follow Your lead. In Jesus’ name – Amen, It Is So!

* here is a link to David Guzik’s article on John chapter 15.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

(Only Love) Sólo El Amor

March 26, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

For love I’d do almost anything
I’d cross the widest of oceans
For love, I’d fly with an broken wing
Just to taste it for a moment
For love, I’d turn back the strongest tide
There’s no storm I couldn’t weather
‘Cause it’s more than a gleam in someone’s eye
It’s what holds us all together
But I’ve only known once in my lifetime
Love in its purest form
He came here for me
Suffered and then died under a crown of thorns

Sólo el amor es la salida {Sólo el amor, only love can save me}
Limpia, construye, concibe y procres {Conquering death and the sting of the grave }
Tan solo el amor sana la herida {Kingdoms will fail and tongues will cease}
Que alguna vez nos causara el dolor {But through all eternity love will remain}

Sólo el amor, when all else has failed me
Will take me to places that I’ve never dreamed
Healing my wounds and setting me free
There’s nothing else worth living for
Sólo el amor

Por amor murio crucifecada la esperanza de la humanidad
{For love the Hope of humanity made the lame to walk again}
El amor es al fruta sagrada {For love He settled the raging sea}
La promesa de la libertad { And became the sinner’s friend}

For love He drank of His Father’s cup
With all my shame on His shoulders
And He offered forgiveness through His shed blood
Tell me, is it any wonder
That I’ve only known once in my lifetime
Love in its purest form
He came here for me
Suffered and then died under a crown of thorns

Sólo el amor…only love

Sandi Patty and Miguel Angel Guerra
Songwriters: Donato Póveda / Kelly Minter

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This morning I was sitting at my piano playing, and singing along to the words of this song.  I was struck so deeply by the very first line: “For love I’d do almost anything…”.  Because I WOULD do almost anything due to the love I have for my family and loved ones!  You would, too…I am sure!  Those of us who are mommas (or grammas!), we know the truth of this feeling in our hearts.  Y’know the whole “don’t get between a mother lion and her cub!” thing.  Definitely a deep, strong, passionate love there. But there is a love that goes beyond what you or I have done or could even imagine doing—the love of Jesus our Savior and Redeemer.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless,
Christ died for the ungodly…
But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6 and 8

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

Despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief…
we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions;
He was crushed for our iniquities;
upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:3-5
(spoken prophetically about our Messiah)

But God—so rich is He in His mercy!
Because of and in order to satisfy
the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us,
Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses,
He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ;
[He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for]
it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve)
that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation.)
Ephesians 2:4-5

Christ’s death is not only the demonstration of God’s love (John 3:16), it is also the ultimate expression of Jesus’ own love for all mankind. And my part (yours AND mine) is being convicted of this fact: “Christ loved me and gave Himself for me.”  And not just convicted…my response (OUR response) should be LOVE.   How do we prove our love for our Savior?  Simply by our obedience.

No matter where you look in the Scriptures—whether back in the records of the Old Testament…or in the words of our Lord contained in the Gospels…or in the doctrine given to the 1st century Church—to say ‘I love You, o God’ means you choose to obey.  Here are just three examples:

Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God,
who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousand generations
with those who love Him and keep His commandments;
Deuteronomy 7:9

“If you love Me, keep My commands.
Whoever has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me.
The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father,
and I too will love them and show Myself to them.
…Anyone who loves Me will obey My teaching.
My Father will love them,
and We will come to them and make Our home with them.
Anyone who does not love Me will not obey My teaching.
These words you hear are not My own;
they belong to the Father who sent Me.”
John 14:15, 21, 23-24

By this we know that we love the children of God,
when we love God and observe His commandments.
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments;
and His commandments are not burdensome.
1 John 5:2 and 3

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

I would love to leave you with a couple of resources that communicate so beautifully about the love of Jesus demonstrated through the sacrifice of His life for you and me.

  •  Herein Is Love, a sermon that Charles Spurgeon preached.  Click here.
  •  Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die,  a book written by  Pastor John Piper wrote.  Click here.

I hope that you will take make the time to read and meditate on the words of these two wonderful men, maybe not today but soon…or perhaps read them as part of your quiet time over a few days.  As you listen to this song and read through these teachings, my prayer is…

“…that you, being rooted and firmly established in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love,
and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge…”
Ephesians 3:17-19

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fellowship Through The Vine

March 25, 2015 by

SeekingHimLogo

Recorded in the Gospel of John, our Lord made seven statements referring to Himself as I AM…

I AM The Light of the World
I AM The Bread of Life
I AM The Door
I AM The Good Shepherd
I AM The True Vine
I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life
I AM The Resurrection and The Life

Each week during this season of Lent, here on the Seeking Him blog, we will be focusing our devotionals on a different aspect of Jesus’ revelation of Himself as I AM.  The aim of Lent should be to prepare our hearts for the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice—His trial and torture, the Crucifixion and His death…and above all, the celebration of His Resurrection from the dead.  We pray that this will be a great encouragement to each of you who read them.  And that all of us will consider the significance of Jesus’ words and, through them, be helped as we remember and are thankful for all Jesus went through during the last few weeks of His life on this earth.

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I AM the Vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in Me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit;
apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5

Listening to K-LOVE as I drove home from work yesterday, something sparked a conversation with God about the difference between relationship and fellowship with the Lord. I felt I was being told that I should write about this for my devotional…to which I promptly responded that I didn’t know what the topic is this week, but I’d see if it fit in.  Silly me, right?  (If the Holy Spirit tells you to do something, I do believe He knows what He is talking about.)

The conversation continued.  I pondered the difference between relationship and fellowship.  Relationship, although very basic, is a distinguishing factor of Christianity.  (Without a dictionary in hand) I concluded that it is possible to have a relationship with someone, but not be in fellowship with them. And it seems very unlikely, if even at all possible, to be in fellowship with someone and not have a relationship with them.

But now, I have my NLT dictionary/concordance handy and have the proper definitions:

  • Relationship (n): a state of affairs existing between those having relations or dealings
  • Fellowship (n): friendship; association; company; partnership

I was surprised at how few references to these words there were in the NLT, but then I got to thinking.  The Bible in its entirety gives us instructions on how to have a proper relationship with God and others. It gives us information on how God loves us, about His character, and His ultimate plan.  All of this ties into our relationship with God.

You can have a relationship with just about anyone.  You have a relationship with your boss at work, your coworkers, the cashier that scans your groceries every week, the women in your bible study…,etc. The list is never ending. (We would likely refer to most of these people as acquaintances.) However, you likely do not have fellowship with all those people. You CAN, but odds are you don’t. Fellowship is far more deliberate than relationship; it doesn’t just happen without effort.

Jesus made it simple for us. He said,
“I AM the Vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in Me and I in him [fellowship],
he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5 emphasis mine

Stay connected to Jesus (via the word, prayer, etc.) and this will be evident in your life. We have to have our Life Source in order to do anything productive. We need more than just a mere relationship…we have to have that fellowship…that DEEP connection.

So, take a look at your relationship with God…
Are you in a relationship only? Or is there fellowship?

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Lord, help me to maintain fellowship with You.  You are my Life Source and I need You for everything that I do.  Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

March 25, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free
Rolling as a mighty ocean,
In its fullness over me
Underneath me, all around me,
Is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward
To Thy glorious rest above

O the deep, deep love of Jesus
Spread His praise from shore to shore
How He loveth, ever loveth
Changeth never, evermore
How He watches o’er His loved ones
Died to call them all His own
How for them He intercedeth
Watcheth o’er them from the Throne

O the deep, deep love of Jesus
’Tis a heav’n of heav’ns to me
And it lifts me up to glory
For it lifts me up to Thee
And it lifts me up to glory

Selah
Lyrics: Samuel Francis / Music: Thomas Williams 

*  ~    ♥ ~ ✞ ~ ♥    ~  *  

Such a stirring, convicting song!  These lyrics remind us of the immensity and the magnitude of Jesus’ love.  As the song goes, “…vast, unmeasured, boundless….”  No love on this earth ever was, nor ever will be, any greater!  His is a deep, deep love!

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down His life for His friends.
John 15:13

Truly, it could only have been His pure love that compelled Him to die for us. Jesus was fully aware of the kind of sacrifice that was required to redeem mankind.  In His last moments of freedom, while praying in the Garden at Gethsemene, He agonized over what He knew was to come.  And yet, He did it. For us…with deep, deep love!

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps
for a good man someone would dare even to die.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood,
we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God
through the death of His Son, much more,
having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Romans 5:6-10

And so deep is this love of Jesus for us that it requires being born-again—to have Christ living in us—to even be able to comprehend this deep, deep love!

…that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend
with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ…
Ephesians 3:17-19

But, by God’s grace and through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, we are given some insight into this love.  And to begin to know this love.   To fully comprehend this kind of love I truly believe it will take having the new minds and new bodies which are promised to us when He returns.  Perhaps it is just too much for us to completely understand His deep, deep love at this point.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38 and 39

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you…” (John 15:12).  These were Jesus’ words to His closest friends during the last meal He would share with them.  He knew the time was imminent and that the time was at hand when He would show His deep, deep love.  He gave clear command to them (and to us—we are to do the same).

And so, what does that mean to you (me, too) today?  How will we show this deep, deep love of Jesus to others today?  This wasn’t Jesus’ suggestion or even His plea…it was His command.  And it is how the world will know that we ARE His!

By this all people will know that you are My disciples,
if you have love for one another.
John 13:35

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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