I am sanctified.

February 28, 2018 nofearlinda1 Comment

Because I believe Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am sanctified. The dictionary defines sanctification as the process of making one holy so as to be a conduit of spiritual blessing, free from sin and set apart as sacred. Hebrews 2:11 “So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.” Our sanctification is made possible because of Jesus. He is the one who makes us holy. Paul clarifies this thought in Philippians 2: 12b-13 “Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Jesus made us holy when he died for our sins, then the Holy Spirit of God works in us to grow us more and more like Him. We live in a sin filled world and still sin. Someday we will be freed from the presence of sin in heaven, but until then we need to constantly seek His forgiveness and grow in Him. The growing is what Paul called putting on the ‘new self’ and putting off the ‘old self’ in Ephesians 4:22-24. “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Since sanctification is a growing process and the Holy Spirit within does the work in our hearts and minds, what is my part in this sanctification process? I need to be willing to listen and respond to the desire God has put in my heart when I accepted Jesus as my savior to be more and more like Jesus, to please Him in all I say and do. I need to desire to renewed mind and put off old habits that are not pleasing to God. I need to pray, study, fellowship with other believers, worship and apply myself to being one who Jesus will not be ashamed to call His brother or sister. Only though the Spirit can we achieve this, so that is why it is God working in us that makes this possible. I am finding the process of growing in the Lord to be a huge adventure. The more I learn about God the more I want to learn. The more I obey His commandments and follow His ways the more contented I am and feel loved and held by Him. It is a life-long process to walking with Jesus day by day.

Loving my walk with Him,

Linda

I am helped by God.

February 27, 2018 nofearlinda1 Comment

Because I believe Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am helped by God. Scripture is filled with proclamations concerning the help we have available from God. Our key verse today is Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” The author of Hebrews is pointing us to God in prayer. In prayer we will receive mercy and undeserved favor (grace) and help when we need it the most. This verse is such a reassuring promise that when we pray God hears us and responds to us with mercy, grace and help. As a believer, I am assured that God is my helper and accessible 24/7. Moses told Joshua that as the new leader of the Israelites, he could depend upon God. His words are true for us today too. Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Here are a few verses for you to meditate upon today as you consider God’s ability to help. David eloquently spoke of God’s help in the Psalms. I particularly love Psalm 34:15,17 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. Psalm 33:20 “We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.” Psalm 121:1-2 I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Jesus promised after his return to heaven he would send a helper in John 14:26. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

Paul was confident in Jesus’ help in Philippians 1:19 “Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,”

Hebrews-136-Big-Faith-Little-Fear- The author of Hebrews was confident in the Lord’s ability to help. Hebrews 13:5b-6 “for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

What about you ? Are you confident that God is your helper? All believers in Jesus can know for certain that God is accessible and will listen to your cries for help and answer with mercy and grace! Many times the answer is not what we expect or right when we want it, but God is faithful and will answer. He have to trust His timing and deliverance.

Blessings today as you draw near to His throne and seek His help,

Linda

I am salt and light.

February 26, 2018 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Because I believe Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am considered salt and light in the world. I love the children’s song. “This little light of mine. I’m gonna let it shine.” It innocently speaks of how Jesus wants us to shine for Him. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke plainly of qualities true believers and followers of Him would possess. “You are the salt of the earth.” “You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:13,14. He went on to explain that salt that loses it’s saltiness and a light that does not shine are worthless.

So how are we to be ‘salty’ in the world. Salt has many uses. It is used to preserve, heal, make tasty, and clean up. As Christians we are to keep Jesus where the world can see Him, in our lives. We are to heal the world by telling them about Him. We are to add flavor- purity, honor, integrity and justice to the world to show them who God is. And, we are to be abrasive, causing a rub with the sin and evil of the world so they will remember God and be pointed to Jesus.

Likewise, we are to be light where ever we are placed. Jesus said we are not to hide our light, His light in our lives, but we are to light up the world. He wants us to shine so the world will see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven. Light also had many uses- it dispels darkness, allows us to see where we are going and where we have been, it is warm and comforting. Your presence is a reminder to the world of Christ. His light overcomes evil and darkness. His light guides us and shows us His way in the Word. Light brings warmth and goodness to the world in His name. Jesus said in John 8:12. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus wants us to show others His light as He lights up our lives.

I love thinking about the qualities of light and salt and reflecting how Jesus wants us to act in this world. Without Jesus showing himself in and through our lives, the world would be a dark and tasteless place. Where do you need to be salt and light today?

Prayer: Thank you Jesus for giving me worth and purpose in the world. Show me where you want me to be salt and light. Use me to bring others to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Basking in the light of Jesus,

Linda

2nd Sunday of Lent

February 25, 2018February 25, 2018 nofearlindaLeave a comment

doxology As I reflect on this past week’s devotions, I am reminded of Paul’s praise to God in Romans 11:33-36:

“Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.”

As you ponder the greatness of God, think about what He has done for you with thanksgiving and praise: Because I believe Christ died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead to life- I am Justified (2/19), I am forgiven (2/20), I am holy and blameless before God (2/21), I am an ambassador for Christ (2/22), I am a temple in which God dwells 92/23) and I am tenderly loved by God (2/24). Praise God for all He has done for us!!

romans 11 36 Worshiping Him with praise and thanksgiving today,

Linda

I am loved by God.

February 24, 2018February 23, 2018 nofearlinda2 Comments

Because I believe Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am loved by God. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was motivated by God’s great love for me and you. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Love was what caused God to come up with a plan to save us as He desires to be in relationship with mankind and have us live with Him eternally.

God repeatedly tell us in the Bible that He loves us. Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” Paul describes God’s love for us in Ephesians 2:4-5 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” God saved us because He loved us and through His grace and mercy He sent Jesus.

How do you feel today? Do you feel loved by God or are you letting the cares, worries and circumstances of life block God’s love? As you think about God’s love today, let your mind be transformed by the love of Christ. He died for you and me. Know that He loved us enough to die for us. God loved us enough to send Jesus to bring us into a relationship with Him. Know you are loved by God, and it cost Him dearly to show you His great LOVE!

Feeling cherished and loved by God,

Linda

I am a temple in which God dwells.

February 23, 2018 nofearlinda1 Comment

Because I believe Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am a temple in which God dwells. This is one of those mind stretching statements that believers often don’t stop to ponder. We know we are alive and have a conscience and a spirit within us that makes us alive. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, He sends His Holy Spirit to join with our spirit and live inside of us. Why would He do that? In the Old Testament times the Jews built a tabernacle at God’s direction as a place to worship God but also a place for God to dwell. God instructed Moses in Exodus 25:8 “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” God desires to live in our midst so He can guide and direct us into right living, but also so we can know and understand God and His ways more clearly. 1 Corinthians 2:11-12 “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. What an amazing gift God has given us in the indwelling Holy Spirit. We can feel connected to God at all times, loved and cherished by Him, guided and protected. I love Romans 8:16 “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” We can know that we are God’s child because the Holy Spirit tells us so from within.

How does this fact affect you? Paul tells us in Romans 8:9 that if we do not know Christ we do not have His Spirit within us. “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” Having God’s Spirit living within us and helping us to grow in understanding of Him and His ways is the privilege of every believer. Paul says we are not led by the flesh anymore but are in the Spirit. To know Christ is to have His Spirit indwell us. Do you let this fact that the Holy Spirit lives within you guide your words and actions each day? Or do you ignore the nudging of the Holy Spirit and determine to do your own thing be it godly or not? God put His Holy Spirit within us to help us to be more and more like Jesus. Is that you?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your indwelling Holy Spirit. Help me listen more carefully to you as I speak and interact with others. Guide and protect me as I seek to be your light in a dark world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Striving to walk in the Spirit each day,

Linda

I am an ambassador.

February 22, 2018 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Because I believe Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am an ambassador for Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:20 “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” What does being Christ’s ambassador mean to you? I looked up the word ambassador and it is the highest ranking diplomatic representative appointed by a government to represent them in another country, a special representative. Paul is referring to us as ambassadors as we represent Christ and His kingdom to the world. The indwelt believer is indeed God’s mouthpiece, model and witness to a world that is desperately in need of a Savior. As Christ’s ambassador we proclaim Jesus to the world and implore them to become right with God by claiming faith in Jesus. We are the highest ranking person in God’s kingdom here on earth entrusted with this sacred duty. When you consider your job or work in the kingdom, you can see that you, the believer, are the heart of His ministry to reach the lost world around us. We are God’s Plan A! We are the ones that non-believers see and view Christ though. It is sobering to know that they judge God by what they see in our words, deeds and actions. The way we live is important to our witness for Him. Hebrews 13:18 reminds us that we need prayer to stand firm in Him. “Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.” We need to pray for one another that our lives would reflect Jesus in all we say and do.

Hebrews 13 18 As you go about today, thank Jesus for making you His ambassador. It is a position of privilege and responsibility. Know that He will provide you with everything you need to do His work in the world.

Privileged to be Christ’s Ambassador,

Linda

I am holy and blameless before God.

February 21, 2018 nofearlinda1 Comment

Because I believe Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am holy and blameless before God. The New Living Translation makes this point very clearly in Colossians 1:22 ” Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” What a privileged position we are in before God because of what Christ did for us on the cross. His blood has washed us clean so that we are without sin before God, pure, holy and without guilt. Many of the old hymns talk about ‘there is power in the blood’. The blood of Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness. “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7

What now? David wrote of being blameless and what that looks like in Psalm 15:1 “Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends.” Again he wrote in Psalm 18:31-33 “For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?— the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. proverbs 11 20 Solomon wrote in Proverbs 11:20 “The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse, but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.” Christ has made us blameless before God through our faith in His work on the cross, but walking daily with Him requires us to do what is right, speak the truth, be sincere of heart, refuse to gossip or speak harm to others. God promises to equip us for this work and give us strength. We will be secure in Him at all times. Walking with Jesus, brings purity and holiness into our lives and pleases God.

I’ll end today with Jude 24-25. May it resonate with you all day and help you as you strive to walk humbly with Jesus. He did it all and then equips you to go out to show and tell others of His transforming power. Jude 24 25 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen

Thankful for the transforming power of Christ,

Linda

I am forgiven!

February 20, 2018February 20, 2018 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Because I believe Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am forgiven. This is a basic truth in scripture that God can and does forgive sin through the work of Jesus on the cross. Paul, writing to the Colossians, spoke of Father God and the work of God the Son in verses 1:11-14.  “We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”  God’s forgiveness of our sins is complete and eternal. I love the way Micah 7:18-19 speaks of God’s power and total forgiveness. “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
    and passing over transgression
    for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
    because he delights in steadfast love.
¹⁹He will again have compassion on us;
    he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
    into the depths of the sea. God casts our sins into the depths of the sea to be remembered no more. He isn’t going to drag them up later and hold them against us. They are gone and buried. Isaiah also speaks of God’s dealing with sin as he writes of Hezekiah’s experience with God’s forgiveness. Isaiah 38:17 “Behold, it was for my welfare  that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction,  for you have cast all my sins behind your back.” King Hezekiah knew God’s forgiveness was complete as he had evidenced God’s work in his life.

What about you? Do you know the true forgiveness of God? As believers in Jesus we know that the work of Jesus on the cross was enough for God and that we can and are fully and truly forgiven. Sometimes I think I hold onto my sin and replay and remember my short comings and failures towards myself and others. The holding on is Satan wanting me to feel inadequate and unforgiven. God wants us to live as His children fully forgiven and restored by His Son. Today as you meditate on God’s forgiveness seek to let go and let God transform you with His forgiving power.

Thanking God for His total forgiveness,

Linda

I am justified.

February 19, 2018 nofearlinda2 Comments

justified Because I believe Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am justified. This year I have been studying Romans in Bible Study Fellowship and my pastor just finished a lengthy sermon series on Romans. I am learning that being justified is a really big deal. Why? To be justified means to be declared ‘not guilty’ and to be acquitted of wrong doing or shown to be innocent. Because of our sin nature we are guilty before God and can do nothing to help ourselves. We can’t do enough good works or be really good and earn enough ‘points’ to be declared worthy or clean before God. All you have to do is look around you to see that people do wrong things all the time even when they don’t really mean or want to. Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” is pretty plain that all mankind are sinners. However, let’s look at verse 24, “and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”. We are all sinners but saved by Jesus because He declares us ‘not guilty’ though His work on the cross. It was a gift to us though His grace when we believed in Him. We did nothing to deserve it. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Our faith in Jesus brings us into a relationship with God that is peace filled and free from the guilt and burden of our sin. justifed by grace Martin Luther declared many centuries ago that we are saved by grace alone, in Christ alone and by faith alone. Christ did all the work to save us and justify us before God.

As I think about this, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Jesus saved me from condemnation and declared me ‘not guilty’ before our heavenly Father. I will no longer be subject to the penalty I really deserve for my sins which is eternal death. I am also now open to God’s peace and can let it fill me each day as I rest in His eternal redemption. Praise God! How about you? Are you resting in Jesus? Let this time of Lent be a time of peace filling as you praise Jesus for dying for you and declaring you Not Guilty before God.

Eternally grateful for His justification and peace,

Linda