Two Commandments

1. Believe on the Name of The LORD Jesus Christ
2. Love one another

Love - Bless - Pray

Love-Bless-Pray
My devotion this morning was the June 7 devotional in My Utmost for His Highest. (I am rereading it)
John 14:13
"Whatsoever you ask in My Name, that I will do."
Many times this phrase is taken out of context, and not just by unbelievers, but by sincere believers, as well. ...
We must read the passage preceding such a promise. 

We must believe not only that GOD IS, but that JESUS IS. That's Jesus served God and did as God had Him do. That where One was, the other was.
In that last garden prayer Jesus prayed that we would be one in Him as He is in the Father; that we would all be one: live as one, serve as one, love as one, die as one.
Because Jesus died for us, we who believe no longer live under the penalty of sin, which is death. Therefore we are free to forgive all offenses against us. We are free in Christ. And He lives freely in us.
Jesus reigns in our lives through the power of God's Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of God which calls us to repentance: to admit we have sinned and desire to sin no longer. Sin cannot reign where God reigns; the chains of sin are broken by the blood of the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world.
1 John 4:9-11
We love because the love of God, His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, loves through us. That love will set this world on fire with a spiritual fire that burns up hate and discord.
That love abounds in the hearts and minds and words and actions of the one who believes that Jesus Christ is LORD.
It is that belief that gets answered prayer, for it is only with the belief not just in a higher or greater power, but the belief that salvation is found in no other that can ask anything in Jesus' Name and receive it, also.
My dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, let us Love-Bless-Pray like that!  

A Heart Thing

We used to sing a song that talked about being careful not to let sin get a foothold in our lives. We referred to it as a children's song for Sunday School or VBS or Bible Camp song, when in actuality, it is an everyday reminder to keep sin at bay.

 Be careful little eyes what you see.
 Be careful little ears what you hear.
 Be careful little tongue what you speak.

 Do you remember it now?
 Are you doing it?
 Does the phrase "garbage in, garbage out" ring a bell?
 It is only when we have something good (JESUS) living in us through the power of God's Holy Spirit, that we are able to have the goodness of God flowing out of us.
 But we have to want it. We have to Believe not only that GOD IS, but that GOD's WORD IS FAITHFUL AND TRUE.

Fitly Frames

It is not the building that is the church, so to speak, it is the people who answer the Holy Spirit's call to believe in Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It is the Holy Spirit who unites the believers into God's church.
We need the Holy Spirit actively moving in our lives, making us holy and presentable to God.
God Creates.
Jesus Saves.
The Holy Spirit Sanctifies.

Nothing Less

Romans 10:13 says Whosoever shall call upon The Name of The LORD shall be saved. I was one of the whosoevers that called upon The Name of The LORD for my salvation. I repented of my sins and God forgave me. He cleansed my soul with the blood of His Lamb, His only begotten Son Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:8,9 says that By grace are we saved. That said grace is a gift from God. You know what that grac...e is? Mercy. Unmerited Favor. I have done nothing to deserve God's grace. No one has.
But God loves us anyway. God sent His Son into the world that hates Him to die for their sins so that they (we, I) could be reconciled to God and live with Him for ever in His eternal home.
Isn't that amazing? Amazing Grace.

Victory & Deliverance

The Heart Believes

The Heart Believes
Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in The LORD; and He shall give you the desires of your heart"
Psalm 84:2 "My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of The LORD: my heart and my flesh cry out for The Living God."
Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in The LORD with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding."
Jeremiah 29:13 "And you shall seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me... with all your heart."
Ezekiel 36:26-27 "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My judgments, and do them."

My Heart Believes See More

Christ's Witnesses

Christ's Witnesses

Rejoice in God's Forgiveness

Rejoice in God's Forgiveness

God chose you before you were born to belong to Him.
But He also created within each of us the power to choose. It is the one super power most of us have. But the choice to choose God's plan of salvation over Satan's plan of destruction must be made before death takes us.
...
Choosing Christ now means livng a life filled with joy and peace, hope and love. This choice comes at a price.

Many of your friends will turn against you. Make fun of you. Hurt you. Turn you in as a hater. Kill you. This cost is too much for some to bear. And yet, we all make this choice.

Who do you choose to be your God? Who is your king?

My God is Almighty God, Creator of the heavens and earth: The God of The Scriptures.
King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

My choice. My God. My Jesus.

Enduring Truth

Enduring Truth
Psalm 100:4,5
Enter into His gates with
thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise:...
Be thankful unto Him, and
Bless His Name.
For The LORD is good; His
Mercy is everlasting;
And His Truth endures to all generations.

Jesus is not just for your grandma and grandpa. His love and mercy are for you, too. And your friends. And your children. And their friends.
The God of the Bible loves you. And all He wants is for you to love HIm back.

The LORD That Heals

The LORD showed Moses a tree. And the tree was thrown into the waters.
God showed us a tree. We call it a cross. Not just any cross, but the cross on which Jesus was nailed and died.
This tree was also cast into waters, meaning many people. When Jesus is received into a repentant sinner's heart, that person is made sweet in Christ.
The Word says IF, with a promise attached.
IF you hearken, turn your ear towards and listen intently, to the voice of The LORD
AND
IF we do that which is right in God's sight,
AND
IF we hear and obey His commandments,
AND
keep all His statutes,
THEN
The LORD will heal.
That's my JESUS.

New Life

Light Green is the color of new life. Look around you now in this new spring. The first sign of life is the buds on the trees.. Blades of grass are a paler shade of green near the root than the tip.
Dark green, the deepening waters in the ocean, is the color of worship to our God. He is glorified and lifted up in our praise.
Praising God is one of the weapons in our armory.

With Me Always

Thy God Reigns

Strengthen yourself in The LORD and He will walk with you!

Perspective

We see the small picture. God sees the big picture. When we view peopel and events through God's Word, we catch a glimmer of the bigger picture, but never quite the whole picture.
And that's okay. We dont need to know everything God knows: we just need to believe that God Is; that God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for us; that Jesus defeated death, hell and the grave and that He walked out of the grave wherein He was laid

Stand Fast

1 Corinthians 16:13
“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”

Galatians 5:1
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”...

Philippians 1:27-29
“Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”

1 Thessalonians 3:8
(a reminder to those who pray for, and support, foreign missions)
“For now we live, if ye stand fast in The Lord.”

2 Thessalonians 2:15
“Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught,, whether by word, or by our epistle.”

The Greatest of All

The Greatest of All

1. Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
2. Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
3. 1 Corinthians 6:20 For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. ...
4. Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
5. Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of The Holy Ghost.
6. Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
7. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of in is the law. But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
8. Hebrews 2:2-3 For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by The Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him.
9. John 12:48-49 He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has One that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of Myself; but The Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
10. 2 Peter 3:9-12 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of The Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
11. Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
12. Proverbs 9:10 The fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. 2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

My Help Comes From The LORD

THE KING OF ALL CREATION, THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL, NEVER SLEEPS, IS ALWAYS GUARDING HIS PEOPLE: HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE ISRAEL AND THE ONES WHO CHOOSE HIM.
HE CAME TO HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE AND THEY RECEIVED HIM NOT, SO HE WENT TO THOSE WHO WOULD.
AREN'T YOU THANKFUL CHRIST DIED FOR YOU? I AM.
THERE IS A GOD IN HEAVEN: HE WATCHES AND WAITS. HE LISTENS AND ANSWERS. HE FORGIVES AND FORGETS.
THAT'S MY GOD. AND THERE IS NO OTHER GOD.

By acknowledging where my help comes from, I am giving God the glory. It is not of myself that strength is, it is all God. 

My Song in The Night

In the night is usually when I am awakened by The LORD and given a new song to share. Though sometimes I do get new songs in the flower garden.

Hope In The Cross

I AM ANCHORED IN MY LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD, WHO DIED ON THE CROSS IN MY PLACE.
AS JOHN THE BAPTIST SAID, "BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD WHICH TAKES AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD".
MY HOPE IS IN HIM.