When I .....

 

I don't live my life according to the stars. Nor do I seek what the future holds. (Leviticus 19:31; Leviticus 20:6; Isaiah 8:19)

God is my life-giver, life-sustainer, new life in Christ through God's grace God. (Acts 17:28; Job 12:10; Psalm 36:9)

It is to God I go for direction. Whether we take the high road up in the mountains and hills, or whether we take the low road down in the valleys and waysides. I will follow Jesus Christ, Son of The Living God. 

When I have questions, I go to God. And He answers me.(Matthew 7:7)

When I have fears, I trust in God. And He comforts me.

(Isaiah 41:10)

When I have doubts, I lean on God. And He upholds me with His right hand. (Psalm 18:35; Psalm 63:8)

When I am discouraged, He lifts me up. 

(Joshua 10:25; Ephesians 6:10)

When I am oppressed, I turn to Him for strength. And He fights for me. (Psalm 42:9-11; Psalm 18:2; Psalm 14:6)

When my soul agonizes in prayer, He meets me where I am.

(Psalm 88:9; Job 11:13-19; Psalm 24:6)

When my heart is overwhelmed, He covers me with His wings. 

(Psalm 91:3-5)

When I need God, and I ALWAYS need GOD, He is near: just a whisper away. (1 Kings 19:12)

When I cry out, He hears my voice. (Psalm 28:2; 62:8)

When I am silent before Him, God speaks. And I listen. 

(Psalm 46:10; Habakkuk 2:20; Isaiah 41:1)

FirstFruits: 1 Corinthians 15, Acts 2 & 17

 

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, 

we are of all men most miserable.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

1 Corinthians 15:19-20

But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches.

Acts 2:24

PROOF OF GOD'S JUSTICE GIVER

Acts 17:30-31

"Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.

For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”

Psalm 9:8

He judges the world with justice; He governs the people with equity.

Psalm 96:12-13

Let the fields exult, and all that is in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD, for He is coming—He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.

1 Samuel 2:10

Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed.

Revelation 19:11

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

The Cross Has Two Sides

 

There are two sides to the cross: the front and the back. The front of the cross is the part we see when first we come to the cross. The eyes of our heart want to look away, for the sight before us is one of death and shame. 

Blood covers the cross where the body of Christ bled and died on it. It is a means of humiliation, torment and torture (Deuteronomy 21:23; Acts 5:30; Galatians 3:13) He was beaten so badly He was unrecognizable (Isaiah 52:14; Isaiah 53:2; Isaiah 50:6; Psalm 22). Yet the cross is known even to His enemies, for none can really take their eyes off of it. 

The Roman soldier who stood looking on at the Man who had been nailed to the cross, who stood where the blood was flowing, knew that here was a righteous man (Mark 15:39). 

If we listen to the Voice of Reason, which tells us this is where the Savior of the world died, then we can make our way to the back of the cross. But to get there we will have to go through the blood.

With our eyes wide open, and our hearts having received the knowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, we are able to walk through the blood which was shed for us and make our way to the other side of the cross. 

Death is not here. Shame is not here. We left those on the other side, under the blood. Life is here. Joy is here. Victory is here.  Jesus is here. He's not on the cross any longer. 

In the blood 

we are forgiven. 

For it is the blood of Christ which washes away all our sins, WHEN we repent. It is not enough to be sorry for what we have done wrong. It is not enough to be remorseful for our wrongdoings.

Even Judas was sorry for his actions. He saw the immediate results of his betrayal of his Friend. But he did not repent. He tried to give the money back. But he did not repent. 

Unless we repent of the sins we have committed against the Word of God, we will not be forgiven. We must go through the blood of Christ on the cross in order to walk out of the grave with Him. 

We cannot live a new life in Him unless we go through Him. 

I am forgiven. Every day I ask the Holy Spirit to search my heart and show me where I need to be washed clean. Then I repent and ask for help and strength to not commit the same crimes against God that I have already been forgiven for. And He helps me. 

If you don't already have it, you, too, can have this relationship with Jesus Christ. All you have to do is ask God for it. You will know the change when it happens. No fancy prayer, just talk to Him from your hearts. Like I did. 

 

Revealed To Few

 

John 14:22

Judas (not Iscariot) asked Him, “Lord, why are You going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”

Acts 10:39-41

We are witnesses of all that He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And although they put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree,

God raised Him up on the third day and caused Him to be seen—

not by all the people, but by the witnesses God had chosen beforehand, by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

Why do only the ones chosen by God see the risen Christ? Because He is seen with the eyes of Faith. They who do not believe cannot see Him until they do believe. We who believe, believe by Faith in the Son of God: He Is who He says He is. His Word is Faithful and True. 

Our Faith is not the denomination of the church we belong to: Faith is conditional on Belief and Confession. Romans10:17 Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10:8-10 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

And that's who Jesus reveals Himself to: the believer. He reveals Himself to me daily, little by little, until someday I will see Him fully. That perfect day. Until then I will love Him, seek Him and serve Him more every day. I'm a believer.

 

Another Advocate

 

John 14:16-17

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever -- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you.

Acts 1:4

And while they were gathered together, He commanded them: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift the Father promised, which you have heard Me discuss."

Romans 8:26

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.

Redeeming Israel

 

REDEEM ISRAEL

Psalm 25:22

Redeem Israel, O God, from all its distress.

Psalm 14:7

Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion! When the LORD restores His captive people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!

Psalm 122:6-7

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you prosper. May there be peace within your walls, and prosperity inside your fortresses.”

Jeremiah 24:7

I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart.

Romans 25:26-27

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove godlessness from Jacob."

Romans 8:10

For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.

This covenant is JESUS CHRIST. He is the New Testament through which GOD saves all who believe on His name.

John 3:16-17

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

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Romans 10:12-13

For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him, for, "Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."

Joel 2:32

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Acts 2:21

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

You. Me.  It is for you and me that God sent His Son to die on the cross, taking the punishment for our sins. Jesus Christ is our Deliverer, Redeemer, Savior, Messiah, Friend. 

I know my Redeemer lives. And I know His Name. Do you?

Unwrapped

 

 James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (change), neither shadow of turning. 

Acts 2:38-39

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

Hebrews 2:3-4

"How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will."

Such a gift God above has given to us below! Everything God Is, Jesus Christ Is. John 1:1-5 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." 

For Jesus Is God's Living Word, God's Perfect Gift. 

John 1:9 "The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. BUT to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God."

That's our Gift from God, salvation through Jesus Christ, by believing on the NAME of THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, we become children of God. What Is the NAME of THE LORD? Wherever you find a verse that reads THE LORD IS, that is His Name. Whenever you read I AM, that is His Name.

The first one that usually pops into mind is Psalm 23:1 "The Lord Is my Shepherd." Therefore The Lord's Name is Shepherd. And because I believe that Jesus Christ Is Lord, then I know that He Is my Shepherd, too.

There are many, many others of which I am still learning and studying up on. But here are a few of The Lord's Names to get you started:

• Exodus 15:2 The Lord Is My Strength and My Song
• Exodus 15:3 The Lord Is A Warrior
• Numbers 14:18 The Lord Is Slow to Anger Abounding in Love and Forgiving Sin
• Psalm 9:9 The Lord Is A Refuge For the Oppressed, A Stronghold in Times of Trouble
• Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer. My God is my Rock, in whom I take refuge, my Shield, and the Horn of my Salvation, my Stronghold
• Psalm 118:6 The Lord Is With Me
• Hebrews 13:6 The Lord Is my Helper
• Isaiah 49:26 I The Lord Am Your Savior and Redeemer, The Mighty One of Jacob

God's Gift to us, all of us. Unfortunately, some will not receive this Gift. Some will pick up the Gift, look at the pretty wrapping and set it down. Some will hold the Gift in their hands, open it, look at, maybe set it out somewhere, and never think of it again. 

Some folks will not even look in the direction of the Gift, ignoring it completely. Some will not even see the Gift, their eyes wandering to other trappings, their ears hearing greetings other than God's Word calling out their names. Sadly, none of them will receive God's Gift to them until they believe that Jesus Christ is Lord.
These are the people God is trying to reach. To reach with His Love, the mighty Love that more than covers sin: this Love completely washes our sins away AND Forgets the sin that has been forgiven! What an amazing Gift God has given us! And He wrapped that Gift in flesh, which Mary then wrapped in baby clothes and blankets. Jesus. The Gift from God that keeps on giving. 

• Giving Joy Unspeakable (1 Peter 1:8). 
• Giving Peace Which Passes Understanding (Philippians 4:7)
• Giving Love (1 John 4:7)
• Giving Hope (Romans 15:13)
• Giving Faith (Romans 10:17)
• Giving Sight to the Blind (Luke 18:42)

Let us open this Glorious Holy Gift which God has so graciously extended to us and receive His Perfect Word, Jesus Christ, into our hearts and our lives, with Joy and Celebration!

We Live In God's Love

1 JOHN 4:17

In this way. This verse is connected to the previous verse by these three words "in this way". What way? The Way of Divine Love. 
As I study it out, I realize that by using the concordance the verse reads:

In this way, Divine Love has been made complete, consummated, perfected, among us (beyond time and distance), that we may possess boldness, assurance at the day of judgment (the time in which God metes out justice in His court); for in this world we are just like Him. 

There is another verse that totally lines up with this train of thought: 
Acts 17:28 In Him we live, and move, and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, we are His offspring. 
And again in John 17:22-23 when Jesus was praying with His Father just before He was arrested: 
"I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are One--I in them, and You in Me--that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me."

Isn't that beautiful? When we live in God's love, we are living and moving and breathing in Christ as He lives and moves and breathes in us. That's powerful stuff right there. I am so glad that I live in His love and that His love lives in me.