November 22, 2024

This Week…I AM the Door (John 10:1-10)

March 14, 2015 by

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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.

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

So Jesus said again, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you,
that I Myself am the Door for the sheep.
All others who came [as such] before Me are thieves and robbers,
but the [true] sheep did not listen to and obey them.
I AM the Door; anyone who enters in through Me will be saved (will live).
He will come in and he will go out [freely], and will find pasture.
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy.
I came that they may have and enjoy life,
and have it in abundance (to the full, till itoverflows).

John 10:7-10 AMP

Another incredible promise that Jesus gave…how grateful and thankful are we?!!?   This past week, here on the Seeking Him devotional blog, our sisters have shared some insight on these words spoken by our Lord.  Here are a few highlights from the devotionals that Tina, Laura, Cynda, Ann, and Ahmee wrote to encourage us.

In The Door Is Our Protection, Cynda shared a bit of the enlightenment she received…

“…as I was studying commentaries on this passage, I came across a statement that made me pause.  Had I perhaps missed an additional meaning in this Scripture?  Had I stopped short without completely understanding the depth of this Scripture?

“In a ‘field’ sheepfold, the shepherd actually laid his body across the entrance, to keep the sheep in and to keep out the wolves.” – David Guzik

I totally get the symbolism that Christ laid down His life for our salvation.  But I missed the part about Him being our protection. Christ is there to protect us from the evil one.”

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In The Gate for the Sheep, Ahmee helped us to see the value of each of our differing journeys to salvation.  

“Our stories are so different.  True, but there is something in common with all our stories—we all said ‘yes!’ to Jesus.  There is no other way.  So, before the yes, our stories are very different. After the yes, our stories are very different. It is even possible that during the yes, our stories are very different.

The point is, Jesus said that He is the Gate for the sheep.  Well, sisters (and brothers) we all walked through that same Gate!  Saying this makes me want to high-five each and every one of you.  We are ‘in’ because of our Savior.  Yay for us! What an awesome feeling it is to have walked through the Gate.  Why not bring someone along?”

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In The Door To a New Life, Tina also wrote about salvation….

“As verse 9 states, Jesus wants to give us salvation. All we have to do is ask.  Then believe we are forgiven of all of our sins.  Change our lives and begin living for God.  This changes everything.  Believing and developing a trust in God will empower you in every area of your life. You will believe you can speak before a crowd to share your testimony with others.  You will be able to tell your story with such conviction and self confidence.  You will be proud. ”

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In Re-Entering The Door, Laura encouraged us to recognize that  the Door—Jesus—rescues us from distractions of this world.

“However, we can easily reenter that Door when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Christ opened the door to redemption when He died on the Cross for our sins.  He reconciled us to God, so we may have eternal life. A s the children of God, we should pay attention to Jesus and being faithful to Him.  We should not listen to a world that has turned away from God.  If we turn away from God then we will die a certain death when Judgment Day arrives.  All we have to do is see Jesus’ open Door, give up the worldly distractions, and accept Jesus as our Savior.  When we cross over the threshold of that Door, we are no longer of this world. ”

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In The Door Gives Access, Ann reminded us of the abundant life available to those who accept Jesus as Lord. (Check out the list of Scriptures she provided for us!)

“Jesus said, ‘I AM The Door’ …what does this imply?  He is giving us access to use Him because those who enter through Jesus will be saved—they will have abundant life (verse 10); they will have all they need to be delivered from sin, guilt, condemnation. He is the ONLY Door; none other exists.   [These}…verses help us to understand what this Door can do and how it is going to help us.  Let us therefore choose deliberately to use this Door which will take us to the highest places. ”

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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 Door to salvation and eternal life.

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This Week…Love is (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

February 13, 2015 by

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Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Such a well-known, oft-quoted passage of Scripture!  But is it well and often lived out in my life?  Have you asked yourself this question, too?

This week, our devotional writers…Ahmee, Ann, Cynda, Laura, and Tina have shared some insightful points regarding what {Biblical} love is.  There messages have helped me and encouraged me to hold to the Truth regarding what love is.  Here are a few things they have had to say…

In Forgiveness is Love, Tina reminded us of the importance of forgiveness being a part of how we love.

“When we forgive, a weight is lifted from our hearts.  We will feel light, we will feel as if the world is at our fingertips, as when we first believed in Jesus Christ.  We can have that now.  Unforgiveness weighs a ton and sometimes we don’t realize it is piling up.

We need to release those who have wronged us and forgive ourselves.  We need to let God take away everything that holds us from reaching our dreams.  Stop believing the lies Satan has told us.  God wants us to love always, and not hold on to the wrongs in this world.”

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In Jesus’ Love IS, Laura shared some examples from her own life and pointed us to our Lord’s love.

” Jesus’ love is the same way.  It is patient and kind.  Jesus’ love is slow to anger, and it keeps no record of our wrongdoings because we are forgiven by that love.  We are saved by that love.  It protects us from evil, and it always perseveres.  This is why Jesus’s love will win in the end. ”

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 In Imperfect Love, Ahmee reminded us, though we are imperfect, we can strive to love perfectly by being examples of our Lord’s love.

“Love is meant to be unconditional.  But, like many other things the human race has gotten it’s hands on, it can be tainted.  And we need to remember this.  We aren’t going to love perfectly.  In a perfect world we would, but we don’t live in a perfect world.  I’m not saying we need to excuse or ignore the fact that we don’t love perfectly, but we need to be kinder to one another.  Some of us have had poor examples of what love actually looks like.  What we know in our minds sometimes does not translate in the real world, because we just don’t know what it’s supposed to be like.

We are imperfect.  Our love will be imperfect.  Together, we can strive for Godly love.  Together we can show one another (and unbelievers) what love truly looks like. We can be examples of the Lord’s love—He loves us, so we can love others. Together, we can get it right.”

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In Selfless Love, Ann gave us some great examples of 1st Corinthians-love lived out by men  (Paul, Moses, Joseph…and Jesus) throughout the Bible.  And she wrote…

“As believers let us encourage one another to have selfless love and do as the Word says in the passage (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) we are focusing on this week.  We were made in His own likeness and so we have to show the likeliness of God.  In whatever we do, how we speak, the way we carry ourselves…let those who see us thank God and turn to God. We should not grieve the Spirit with our deeds and cause the name of the Lord to not be worshipped. ”

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And in Utterly Unselfish, Cynda gave us a little exercise so that we had some perspective about living out 1 Corinthians 13.  And she also shared,

“Utterly unselfish love, possible only with God’s help

Whew!!!  That’s a tall order.  Try reading that passage with your name in place of {Love}.  (Did anyone besides me just say OUCH?!?) I am not all those things yet…but I can continue to work towards them. What I need to remember is that is not important how many times I fail, but how many times I get back up. Perseverance is key. Hebrews 12:1b (NIV) encourages us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us….” James 1:4 tells us we must “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” God will always be there to help if I am willing to persevere and ask Him for help. The neat thing—God has already provided us with everything we need.”

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This Week…Jesus’ Words on Faith (Mark 2:3-5)

February 6, 2015 by

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 Then they came, bringing a paralytic to Him, who had been picked up and was being carried by four men.  And when they could not get him to a place in front of Jesus because of the throng, they dug through the roof above Him; and when they had scooped out an opening, they let down the [thickly padded] quilt or mat upon which the paralyzed man lay.  And when Jesus saw their faith [their confidence in God through Him], He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven….”

Mark 2:3-5 AMP

This has been the final week of our current series—Jesus’ words on faith—here on the Seeking Him devotional blog.  Each week our devotional writers have shared and reminded us about what our Lord taught on this very important subject.  (If you haven’t had the opportunity to read through these wonderful devotionals, just click above on the Seeking Him button and scroll backwards.  The series began on January 11th.)  We have looked at these four particular records from the Gospels which are just a few examples where Jesus spoke to His disciples as He  taught them the value and importance of having faith.

Matthew 8:23-26

Mark 5:24-34

Matthew 6:33-34

Mark 2:3-5

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

In Extended Faith, Ahmee made such a great point about our faith and how it affects others.

“Not only can our faith be of use to the non-believer, but believers can help other believers, too.  Our faith is not just our faith. Our faith can extend to the lives around us.  And sometimes that’s what we need.  We need others to believe for us and with us.  This is why fellowship is important.

Faith—your faith—is for more than just you.
Share it. Use it. It has great power.“

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In From Paralyzed to Forgiven and Healed, Tina wrote about the value of godly, praying friends.

“Friends.  What would we do without our friends?  The man in our Scripture today would not have been able to receive his healing had his friends not put their faith into action…and been willing to get help for their friend.  We are not told whether the man had been paralyzed for a long or a short time; we just know that he was paralyzed.

Do you have such love for a friend—in which you would go to that much trouble for them?  If not, then we really need to look at our friend list and see who God would direct us to help.”

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In Level of Faith, Ann encouraged us to have a high level of faith.

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17 KJV

“If you don’t hear the Word of God you will not know what the Word has for you.  These people in Mark 2, had been hearing a lot of things that Jesus did, for Jesus went about doing good.  So, the news that Jesus healed people was all over their cities [Mark 1:29 – 34] and through many testimonies they had been hearing of Him healing many as well as His miraculous deeds.  Their level of faith grew each day by hearing these testimonies and probably many others, too, had followed Him to another place where the miracle took place in their presence.

When you have a high level of faith you can do the extraordinary—this is what we see in our Scripture this week.  Their level of faith did not allow stumblingblocks to the healing of their brother; hence, the opening on the roof.”

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In Faith and Forgiveness, Cynda focused on a fundamental truth—

“Faith is the key.

In this one verse (Mark 2:5), Jesus makes it abundantly clear what is most important.  It isn’t our physical well-being, our monetary wealth, or our social status.  It is the state of our soul, our spiritual well-being.  Our greatest need is for salvation.  One of the greatest miracles is God freeing us from the power of sin because of faith.  He is the only One who can truly set us free. Four simple words—”Your sins are forgiven.” No qualifiers.  Jesus doesn’t say because you are pretty you are forgiven.  He doesn’t say because you are smart you are forgiven.  No, all that is required is faith…faith in Jesus Christ.  Just like that our sins are forgiven.  Past, present, and future.  Permanently erased.  And sometimes, it is all because someone interceded in faith for us.”

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And in Strong Faith, Laura also wrote on the value of faith.

“Faith is one of the strongest weapons we have as humans when it comes to facing the different trials of the world.  It can carry us through the toughest times and can give us joy during the good times.  Faith is the best tool we have to face evil in a world that is changing before our eyes. Faith is what gives us the strength to keep on searching for answers. ”

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

As always, our heart and prayer to God is that these devotionals will encourage you to seek Him and that you will be drawn closer in relationship with Him.

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Week Three…Jesus’ Words on Faith (Matthew 6:33-34)

January 30, 2015 by

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Therefore do not worry about tomorrow
for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:34 NIV

Jesus’ words…such the good thing to remember!!!  He spoke these words along with other instructions as He taught His disciples to not be anxious or filled with worries and fears.  He directed them to seek God and that God would take good care of them.   He was teaching them about having faith.

This is our third week of looking at Jesus’ words on faith here on the Seeking Him devotional blog.  Our bloggers, Ahmee, Ann, Cynda, Laura, and Tina, have shared their hearts about concerns for tomorrow, worry,  and faith.  Please listen….

 

In One Day At a Time, Ann encouraged us with the lyrics to a great song!

“This Scripture reminded me about a song I know (and I know most of you know it)…

♫ ♪ ♫  One day at a time, sweet Jesus
That’s all I am asking from You
Help me today to do everything that I might do
Yesterday is gone, sweet Jesus; and tomorrow may never be mine
So, for my sake, teach me today, one day at a time   ♫ ♪ ♫

This is very encouraging.  As God knows everything we need and so we need to know that He won’t deprive us.  And the Word says “And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life?” (Matthew 6:27).”

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Ahmee made a great point about planning in Not Worrying Doesn’t Mean Don’t Plan:

“Worrying often comes from us depending on ourselves instead of the Lord. If we are depending on the Lord in every area of our life, then there is no need for us to worry!  Planning, on the other hand IS something we can do.  Here’s an example:  if you know that you make “X” amount of money each week and you have “X” amount of bills to pay each week, then making a budget for the upcoming weeks is not worrying; it’s called planning.

Planning is essential to our well-being.  God said in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you…”  God thought it was a good idea to have a plan for us; so we, too, should have plans in our lives.

Notice I didn’t say ‘plan our lives’…I said, ‘plans IN our lives.’

Only God can plan our lives.  The Bible says, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21).

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Cynda directed us to the importance of Staying In the Presence.  

“How many times have you heard the phrase ‘One day at a time…’? Hundreds, maybe even thousands?  It sounds trite but it is exactly what we need to do—take one day at a time.  But HOW do we do that?  By staying in His Presence. Philippians 4:6 gives us the best advice and provides step-by-step instructions for staying in His Presence.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.

As we begin to thank God for all He has done, it causes us to reflect back on our life.  Psalm 77:11 (NLT) encourages us to recall what He has done and remember the miracles He has performed in our lives.

But then I recall all You have done, O Lord;
I remember Your wonderful deeds of long ago.

When we remain in His Presence, we have no need to worry.  He knows the plans He has for us…plans that give us hope (Jeremiah 29:11).  So let’s stop the worry and enjoy this day in His Presence.

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Laura reminded us in Tomorrow Is Another Day of Scarlett O’Hara and her penchant to put things off ’til tomorrow.  Far more importantly Laura also reminded us of this Truth:

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1

“For those of us with strong faith in God, we do not have to worry about today or tomorrow.  God has everything in control.  We cannot see what tomorrow will bring.  We do know what will happen tomorrow if we have an appointment or something else scheduled.  However, we do not know what will happen around those planned parts of our day. We cannot control what will happen during the day.  Only God can.  Through faith we know that tomorrow will be there. Through faith, we hope and pray that we will see tomorrow.  Faith gives us the certainty that what we can’t see or touch really does exist.  Unlike Scarlett, we do have to live in the here and now.”

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And in Trust Do Not Worry, Tina gave us the example of her parents who were always able to provide for their family…just like our God does.

“Dad worked at a saw mill while Mom stayed home.  She worked part-time at a veterinarian clinic which she truly loved!  They were poor and worried how to make ends meet. Mom and Dad always were able to provide for us.

Likewise, God provides for us.  All we have to do is trust Him.  As our parents provided for us, and we provide for our families, God will provide.

All we have to do is ask and trust that God will be there.“

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Week Two…Jesus’ Words on Faith (Mark 5:24-34)

January 23, 2015 by

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 …And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years,
And who had endured much suffering under [the hands of] many physicians and had spent all that she had, and was no better but instead grew worse.
She had heard the reports concerning Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment,
For she kept saying, If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health.
And immediately her flow of blood was dried up at the source, and [suddenly] she felt in her body that she was healed of her [distressing] ailment.
And Jesus, recognizing in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around immediately in the crowd and said, Who touched My clothes?
And the disciples kept saying to Him, You see the crowd pressing hard around You from all sides, and You ask, Who touched Me?
Still He kept looking around to see her who had done it.
But the woman, knowing what had been done for her, though alarmed and frightened and trembling, fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.
And He said to her, Daughter, your faith (your trust and confidence in Me, springing from faith in God) has restored you to health. Go in (into) peace and be continually healed and freed from your [distressing bodily] disease.

Mark 5:24–34 AMP

This week the daily devotions here on the Seeking Him daily devotional blog have focused on Jesus’ words on faith from this record in the Gospel of Mark…

So much to glean and to learn here! Whenever I read or hear this passage, I am immediately drawn to the thoughts and the actions of this woman. She had FAITH…and she acted upon it!

Listen to what Tina, Laura, Cynda, Ann, and Ahmee had to share earlier this week….

In Your Faith, Cynda wrote,

“I got to thinking…if Jesus came
to give us an abundant, overflowing life,
why aren’t we experiencing that kind of life?

I think Mark 5:34a (NLT) holds the key:

And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well.

Our faith must be exercised to have an abundant, overflowing life.  Faith is based on knowing God & studying His words.  Joyce Meyer says “God’s Word is like medicine for the spirit, soul, and body.”  We must apply God’s Word and put our faith into action.  That’s what this woman did.”

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Tina reminded us, in Your Faith Has Made You Free, of the courage of this woman who had faith to approach Jesus for healing.

And He said to her, Daughter, your faith (your trust and confidence in Me,
springing from faith in God) has restored you to health.
Go in (into) peace and be continually healed and freed
from your [distressing bodily] disease.
Mark 5:34

“The woman had heard of Jesus’ miraculous healing power and out of her desperation, she knew she would probably die if she did not find someone to cure her…Getting the courage to touch His robe in the crowd, she knew she could get into trouble if found out.  Women were and are still thought of as property.  But Jesus did not rebuff her.  He wanted her to have faith in telling her story to everyone that she was healed just by touching His robe.”

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Ahmee reminded us in A Single Choice, of the importance of making choices based upon the guidance of God and God’s Word.

“A single choice can change your life for better or for worse.  Big decisions and small decisions can have catastrophic results.  The choices we make today form our habits for our tomorrows.  The choices we make today influence who will be in our tomorrows.  The choice this woman made (in this passage from Mark chapter 5) changed her life!  For twelve years—everyday—she bled.  She’d tried getting help from doctors, but to no avail.  And she had spent everything she had.   As I read this I wondered if she went to Jesus only because she had run out of other options.  Was it desperation that pulled her to Him?  Is this not so often the case, though? Regardless of why… she still made the choice and that’s the part that matters.

Choose. And make sure they are wise choices.“

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In Faith That Brings Peace, Ann posed some important questions regarding making good decisions to step out in faith.

“This lady knew that ‘if only I can touch Jesus’ hem of His garments…all will be well for me.’  She took a step of faith and broke protocols of that time by maneuvering through the crowd and found herself amidst the disciples (men) and touched Jesus.

On its own, it was not proper for a woman to be brushing shoulders with men; she didn’t mind what people would say about her.  All she was concerned with was that she would be healed.  I therefore urge each one of us to be a people of vision.  Let us also ask ourselves these questions below:

  • What is it that we want God to do for us
  • How are we drawing near to Him for Him to help us
  • How much time do we have for God
  • Do we believe He can do it
  • How great is He to heal us and free us from suffering”

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And  in Healing Power, Laura shared with us the faith in action of some folks from her home church who are endeavoring to have faith as they go through some hard times.

“One of our church members was involved in a bad car accident this week.  He was in very bad shape.  He was paralyzed from the neck down and was having trouble breathing.  The family asked for prayers….

The power of prayer and faith in God has helped this follower of Jesus to improve.  Faith and prayer is hopefully going to bring this family through this season in their life.  …However, I believe that they have faith like the woman in this record in the Gospel of Mark.  They have been praying, and he is slowly starting to improve (at last update).

To have faith strong as this is a blessing to any family.  Faith this strong can bring the healing power of God to anybody.  This is what Jesus wants from us—full faith in Him.  He wants us to rely on Him.  He died for us…we should all be able to rely on Him no matter the season or the trial ahead of us.”

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This Week…Beginning a Series on FAITH (Matthew 8:23-27)

January 16, 2015 by

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Then He got into the boat and His disciples followed Him.
Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat.
But Jesus was sleeping.
The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this?
Even the winds and the waves obey Him!”
Matthew 8:23-27

This week, here on the Seeking Him devotional blog, we’ve begun a series on Jesus’ words on FAITH.  There are quite a few accounts recorded in the Gospels where Jesus taught His disciples the value and the importance—the requirement—of having faith.  I believe that having faith is something we grow in as we mature in our Christian walk.

Listen to just a bit of what our sisters have shared this week…

In No Denial, Laura shared a story from just a few years ago of a woman who gave her life for her faith…and did not deny her Lord and Savior.

I have fought a good fight, I have finished [my] course, I have kept the faith:
2 Timothy 4:7

“The woman kept her faith even though she probably knew she was fixing to die.  She was not afraid to tell the gunmen that she was a Christian and followed Christ.  She had great faith—a faith that carried her home as she admitted she followed Christ.  She was probably afraid, but she had faith.  She obeyed her Lord and did not deny Him.”

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Tina reminded us, in Free, of the account in Mark chapter 5 where a woman who suffered for twelve years with a debilitating bleeding disease had faith to approach Jesus for healing.

And He said to her, Daughter, your faith (your trust and confidence in Me,
springing from faith in God) has restored you to health.
Go in (into) peace and be continually healed and freed
from your [distressing bodily] disease.
Mark 5:34

“The woman had heard of Jesus’ miraculous healing power and out of her desperation, she knew she would probably die if she did not find someone to cure her…Getting the courage to touch His robe in the crowd, she knew she could get into trouble if found out.  Women were and are still thought of as property.  But Jesus did not rebuff her.  He wanted her to have faith in telling her story to everyone that she was healed just by touching His robe.”

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In God Said It. So Be It. Fear Not., Ahmee encouraged us with the record of Joshua and the Israelites and their seven day walk around the walls of Jericho.

“The Israelites did nothing but march around the walls of Jericho to make them fall. That was simple. Should it have worked? No. Not at all. If I go outside right now and march around my house, I’m certain it will still be standing when I’m done. The reason it worked is because God said so.

God will call us to do some <for lack of a better word> crazy things. However, it doesn’t matter what we think we are capable of and it doesn’t matter what is supposed to be possible. All that matters, in the end, is Who said it was supposed to happen. When the Creator of the world says, “Let it be so,” believe me, it will be so, regardless of what opposition we face.”

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Ann laid out two great points, in Faith Jumps, about how faith and God’s Word go hand-in-hand.

“Faith is a raw material for a product we are going to have. As Hebrews 11:6 explicitly says without this raw material—faith—we cannot please God. For us to have our hearts’ desires we need to have faith in the Giver and believe His word with no doubt at all.
The disciples forgot that Jesus was everything and started doubting…hence Jesus’ question (Matthew 8:25). Jesus called Peter to walk on the sea toward Him. At first Peter did…and was not drowning but he started doubting and focused on the waters THEN he started drowning. The Bible records Jesus confronting Peter: “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Read this record here.)

So little faith can be a raw material for us to have a product that is not attractive and leads to not having a product at all. We need to build our faith always. So, how do we build our faith? By hearing the Word of God.”

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17

❤

And in Why Are You Afraid, Cynda spoke a difficult truth to us.

“Being a Christian doesn’t mean bad things won’t happen. Storms will come at us, tossing us to and fro. But those storms are much easily weathered when we cling to our Rock. The second part of Matthew 8:26 (HCSB) reminds us “Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm.”

Look at 2 Samuel 22:3 AMP:

My God, my Rock, in Him will I take refuge;
my Shield and the Horn of my salvation;
my Stronghold and my Refuge, my Savior—You save me from violence.

With God as our Rock, we have no reason to be afraid.
All it takes is placing our faith in Him alone.”

❤

I so appreciate the encouragement given through these devotionals written by Tina, Laura, Cynda, Ann, and Ahmee.  Having consistent faith is among the more difficult requirements of our Christian walk.  Have you found this to be true yourself? Nevertheless, we must pursue every day believing God and His Word and placing our complete trust in it.  Remember,

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17

The time will come when each of us will stand before our Lord and there will be a reckoning of our lives and our obedience.  No doubt each of us wants to hear the words that Jesus spoke in the parable of the ten talents (Matthew chapter 25)…

‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’

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

This Week…Hebrews 13:15

November 28, 2014 by

seekingHimthanksgivinggraphic

Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times
offer up to God a sacrifice of praise,
which is the fruit of lips
that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name.
Hebrews 13:15

Oh, what encouragement I have received this week as I’ve read daily through the Seeking Him devotional!  (You, too?)  Ann, Ahmee, Clella, Cynda, and Tina have each written devotionals reminding me of the importance of offering my praise—a sacrifice of praise—to our wonderful Father God and drawing me closer to the One Who I do seek to praise and glorify!

In The Fruit Of Lips, Cynda took a good in-depth look at just what a ‘sacrifice of praise’ is and also asked a really good question…along with a few answers she found.

“But why are we compelled (Hebrews 13:15) to do it ‘constantly and at all times’?  Here are just a few of the reasons I found:

  • it glorifies God and pleases Him
  • (because of) His enduring love and goodness
  • because Jesus did
  • it is our shared inheritance

But, I think my favorite reason for giving thanks is to tell others and remind myself of all He has done in my life.“

~   ♥   ~

Then, Ann gave us some great reasons in Praise At All Times just WHY we praise God—

  • for what He has done (Psalm 9:11)
  • a four-fold reason— because we are “…a chosen people, a loyal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God….” (1 Peter 2:9)
  • and, as a commandment (Psalm 63:7)

She wrote, “So we are all to praise God; let us make a choice of doing so in the morning …in the afternoon …and in the evening time!”

~   ♥   ~

Clella shared a wonderful translation of Hebrews 13:15 with us in Proclaim Allegiance To His Name.  She wrote,

“The New Living Translation says it this way:

Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God,
proclaiming our allegiance to His Name.

The phase ‘proclaiming our allegiance to His Name’ popped out at me.  It sounded so different than the other translations that refer to ‘the fruit of lips that confess His Name.’  I just had to do a little research to understand what this verse is really saying.

– to “confess” God’s Name is to declare, state, acknowledge His Name
– to “proclaim allegiance” is to announce publicly, or to declare something one considers important with due emphasis, which in this case would be one’s loyalty or commitment of a subordinate to a superior.”

~   ♥   ~

In Verbal Sacrifice, Ahmee brought us back to the central element in Hebrews 13:15 of ‘sacrifice.’  She reminded us of reasons we have to offer our sacrifice of praise.

“Those days when you don’t feel like giving praise are the days when praise is a sacrifice. When we praise God even in our less-than-favorable moments we are saying to Him — and those around us —

  • God is our God
  • we trust Him with our lives
  • we trust in Someone bigger than us
  • we have the Almighty on our side to fight for us”

~   ♥   ~

And in Giving Thanks Tina encouraged us to remember how abundantly blessed we are here in the USA.

“The Pilgrims were so grateful to have a land to call their own and the freedom to worship God. After such a hard crossing and a hard harvest, they decided to celebrate and praise God for what they had. Let us do the same. Continuous praise should be on our lips and in our thoughts.

~   ♥   ~

So after being encouraged and admonished this week reading these devotionals each day, I am determined to be thankful to God not only on Thanksgiving Day but the next day…each day. We are to be thankful, joyful people today, tomorrow, and every day! Truly living in this manner—

Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times
offer up to God a sacrifice of praise,
which is the fruit of lips
that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name.
Hebrews 13:15

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