March 1 is quickly approaching.  I am anxious to see what God is going to do in my life as I write each day for 40 days.  It is curious to me that something that will take me at least an hour each day I consider a ‘joy’.  Usually something of that magnitude is considered work and problematic as it is continues day after day for 40 days.  However, I am looking forward to meeting with  God each day on my laptop as I write.  I’ve decided it must be from God or else I’m crazy!

Here’s a little Lenten history I found and a reminder about a few famous 40’s!    The practice of observing Lent has been going on since before 1000 AD.  It is a time of fasting, prayer and penitence beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting 40 days until Easter.    40 seems to be a significant number in scripture.  Here  are a few famous 40’s you’ll probably remember.  It rained for 40 days and 40 nights while Noah and his family were in the ark.  Moses was on the Mt. Sinai for 40 days getting the 10 Commandments.The children of Israel wandered for 40 years in the wilderness.    Jesus was in the wilderness fasting for 40 days and 40 nights and then Satan came and confronted him with various temptations.  After Christ ascension into heaven, it was 40 days until Pentecost and the arrival of the Holy Spirit.  40 seems to be number that shows a length of time that is not too short or too long but enough to reveal our character and devotion.

I anticipate the development of my character and experiencing greater devotion to God.

Linda

I have been thinking and praying about Lent and the call that I find this time of year has on my life.  I never grew up observing Lent so adding this observance into my routine has taken some getting use to.  However, since I have begun blogging each day during Lent I’ve found a new spiritual awareness and awakening as we journey towards the cross.  Lent is a time of reflection and introspection.  We take very little time in our lives to do this.  I pray that each of my blog posts will help to point you to your Savior and challenge your thinking in some way.  Please pray for me as we near this time:  for inspiration from the Holy Spirit as I write and multiplied time- Lent begins March 1.  If you enjoy my Advent blogs- be sure to pass them on to friends so they can join us in our journey.  8 days to go!

Here is a word for today:  “With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God?  Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?  Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?  Shall I offer my first born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?  He has showed you, O man, what is good and what does the LORD require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your  God.”  Micah 6:6-8

Blessings as you prepare for the coming of Lent and endeavor to walk with God each day.

Linda

Valentine’s Day, on the cynical side, is the day for florists, candy and card makers to earn a great deal.  My grandson and I visited a local supermarket yesterday and I was overwhelmed by the amount of flowers, cards and candy that were on display.   On the love side, Valentine’s Day is a day when we can express our love for one another freely and not be thought of as sentimental or mushy.  How about God?  How does God express His love for us?   Here is a familiar verse that gets right to the heart of God.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that who ever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For He did not sent his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  John 3:16-17  

How much more love could God show for us than sacrificing His only Son on our behalf? He loved us that much.   He sent Him so that through faith in Jesus we could be saved and not condemned.  Only Jesus could erase our sin and present us whole and perfectly clean before our Holy God.

When you say ‘thank you’ today for a Valentine gift you receive, a card or flowers, think about thanking God too.  Thank Him for sending Jesus.  Thank Him for making a way to salvation and eternal life with Him.   That is the best Valentine I can think of that is filled with all of God’s love for now through eternity.

Blessings on this Valentine’s Day.

Linda

This morning I came upon the passage in 2 Corinthians 1:20-22.  I was so encouraged I wanted to share these verses with you.

“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him.  This is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.  And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal of us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

Lessons and Truths:   all the promises in the Old Testament given hundreds and thousands of years before Christ came to earth were fulfilled in Christ, all future promises will be fulfilled just as He said, our testifying to Jesus brings God glory, He gave us His indwelling Holy Spirit to dwell within us,  the Holy Spirit has anointed us with God’s love, mercy and grace, the Spirit of Christ dwelling within me is sealed and guaranteed by the Holy Spirit and His presence in my life assures me from now to eternity that He is with me!

I pray the truth of these verses encourage you today.  Someone said to me a few days ago this simple truth, “You have to know God’s promises to claim them”.  Knowing Jesus is the key to understanding and claiming God’s promises.  Want to learn more specifics about what God’s promises are?  Pick up a copy of my book, Promises for Dynamic Living.  There is a link right here on this website, order one today.  Studying God’s promises leads to a more intimate relationship with Jesus as you learn what Jesus did for you on the cross and how you can access His promises for yourself in His name.

Be encouraged today- all God’s promises are Yes in Christ!

Linda

I love this visual glimpse of God’s promises that are Yes in Him!

Since purity is a word that has negative connotations in our present culture, I decided to start with a definition.  Purity is the condition or quality of being pure, free from anything that contaminates or pollutes- physically or spiritually- wrong doing, sin, evil, being innocent or virginal.  The words  found in of James and 1 John lay the foundation for what God has in mind when He says He wants us to be pure.  James 1:27  “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”   1 John 3:2b-3 “But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”    God wants us free from the pollution of the world, helping those less fortunate and striving looking to Jesus.  Our walk of faith is one in which we are desiring to be more and more like Jesus as He indwells and empowers us.

My research into purity revealed multiple reasons that we should desire to be pure.  Here are a few that I found:

Psalm 51:10  “Create in me a pure clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”  A pure heart brings a true, steady, faithful heart into the believer.

Matthew 5:8  “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”    Purity of heart and actions allows us to see God more clearly.

1 Timothy 1:5  “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”  The result of having a pure heart is that we are able to love, act with good conscience and walk in faith.

How can we achieve purity?  Though Jesus’ work on the cross we can receive forgiveness from our sins and through His resurrection we can live in victory.  Hebrews 10:22 “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”   Putting your faith in Jesus requires confession as described in 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”    

How can we keep our lives pure?  Once clean, how do we maintain a pure heart?  The Word gives us some guidelines here too.  Psalm 119:9 “How can a young man keep his way pure?  By living according to your word.”   Studying God’s Word will lead you, guide and train you in God’s ways.  It helps us stay away or apart from the worldly desires so present in our world.  Paul gives us another practical way in Philippians 4:8.  “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.”  Filling our minds with good and honorable things keeps us moving in the right direction towards Jesus and purity.

Keeping a pure heart that is open to see God more clearly and ready to help others is no easy task in our present world.  Our walk of faith demands our attention each day and persistence to study God’s Word and keep short accounts with God.  We need to confess  daily our sins and keep ourselves clean- pure vessels, ready to do His work.

Blessings as you walk in faith seeking a pure heart before God.

Linda

This word forgiveness cuts both ways.  First, God wants us to be forgiven.  He wants us to accept the work of Christ on the cross and believe in his resurrection.  He wants us to have eternal life and walk in His forgiveness, redeemed by the blood of Christ.  Second, He wants us to be forgiving towards others since we have received His forgiveness.  You have to have step one first.  Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”    1 John 1:9 tells us what to do to receive this forgiveness “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”    The Word tells us that God is forgiving and we can rely upon Him to keep His Word and forgive us when we ask.  Daniel 9:9 “The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving even though we have rebelled against Him.”  Psalm 86:5  “You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call upon you.”

Once we have received His forgiveness we are indwelt by His Holy Spirit and are continually in the process of becoming more and more like Jesus as we grow in Him.   Part of growing requires us to adopt His attitude of forgiveness.  Scripture is filled with admonitions for us to have the attitude of forgiveness in our hearts.  Forgiveness is an attitude that results from gratefulness for all that God has done though Christ in forgiving or sin.  Here are a few:

• “Be kind and compassionate to one another forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  Ephesians 4:32
• “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”  Matthew 6:14-15
• “Do not judge and you will not be judged.  Do not condemn and you will not be condemned.  Forgive and you will be forgiven.”  Luke 6:37
• “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievance you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”  Colossians 3:13

If we consider the magnitude and filth of our sin that God forgave us through the sacrifice of His only Son, it is expected that we forgive others and treat them with similar compassion.   Jesus told the parable of the Unmerciful Servant when asked how many times should one forgive?  Read Matthew 18:21-35.  A servant begs his master to forgive his debt and yet he goes out and demands payback from one who owes him.  He treats the one who owes him without mercy.  When the master finds out he throws him in prison.  Jesus’ point was that we are forgiven and are expected to treat others with forgiveness in our hearts.

Forgiving does not mean forgetting.  We need to remember wrongs done so that we will not put ourselves in those situations again.  But we need to let go of heartache and bitterness so that we can heal. Our forgiving is essential and commanded as a follower of Christ but it is not dependent upon the other person accepting!  We cannot make someone else accept our forgiveness but God requires us to forgive.  There is freedom in forgiveness and God wants us to be free in Christ.

Blessings as you strive to be more like Jesus with forgiveness in our heart towards others.

Linda

We all are familiar with the 10 Commandments.  “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor, no adultery, no stealing and no coveting.”  Exodus 20 14-17  All of these break trust and involve dishonesty.  God commands us not to engage in them.  Where else does God desire us to be honest?    Here are some examples:

Romans 12:17 “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.  Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.”   That means- no seeking revenge and endeavoring to act appropriately towards other whether we want to or not.

Psalm 15:1-2  “He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart.”   That means obedience to His Word and speaking the TRUTH from our heart.

Proverbs 12:17 “A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but a false witness tells lies.”

Considering the desire of Christ for us to walk honorably with integrity, the author of Hebrews asked the Christians in Hebrews 13:18 “Pray for us.  We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.”    Peter was speaking about the return of Christ and encouraged the Christians this way, “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.”  2 Peter 3:14.  This tells us that we need to pray for one another and support one another as we strive to live honorably for Christ.

Honesty in all things is our goal.  In the way we live our lives- let it be authentic, in our speech- let it be honest and forthright, in our faith- let it be centered upon Jesus.  You may ask, How can we possibly do this?  It is impossible.    Peter gives us insight into how we can achieve an authentic honest life in Christ.   “His divine power has give us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”  2 Peter 1:3-4    Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we have power to live for Him in the way He desires.  Know His promises and claim them each and every day.

Need help with Promises?  2 Peter 1:3-4 were the verses I claimed for my book Promises for Dynamic Living.  Know them, Know His Word, and He will guide you.  On this webpage you can check out my book. Order one today or contact me and I’ll send you one.

Blessings as you seek to live an honest life before Him,

Linda

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