Tag: Eternal Life

Alignment is a Good Thing!

nofearlindaLeave a comment

What has God promised as a result of our having faith in Jesus? What can we expect from prayer? Today’s promise answers both of these questions definitively.

1 John 5:13-15 “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

Promise: God promises that faith in Jesus gives us eternal life and that anything we ask, according to His will, He will grant us.

When you pray do you give God a wants or needs list? This verse reminds us that God has a perfect plan, and that we need to seek to align ourselves with His plan not our own. True alignment with God’s will produces results in the form of answered prayer. Jesus was our example as he prayed in Matthew 6:9-10 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ” And again in Matthew 26:39 “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” As hard as it may seem, to produce results for God, we must seek His will not our own. God promises His will brings the very best to us.

What we know from these verses: faith in Jesus gives eternal life, God is accessible, God has a plan for my life in His will, God is sovereign over all things, God wants me to align myself with His perfect will.

Lenten Reflections: Where am I needing God’s will in my life instead of my own? How am I doing in trusting His will for my life?

Eternal life is God’s promise for our faith in Jesus. It begins as soon as we accept Jesus into our lives. The indwelling Holy Spirit begins working on our character and will to make us more and more like Jesus. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can spend eternity with Christ, approach God in prayer and seek to be in alignment with Him each day.

Linda

Related Verses: John 3:16-17, John 4:13-14, Matthew 7:7, Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:27, Romans 12:2, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:8

The Way to Life

nofearlindaLeave a comment

Today’s promise is an essential one as it contrasts a life without Christ to one with Christ.

1 John 5:11-12  “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

We live in an age of tolerance and it is not thought to be polite, proper or loving to say there is only one way to God. Many would espouse the idea that there are many pathways to God. God’s Word does not allow for tolerance of other ways or the idea of multiple ways to reach a relationship with God. God specially says that Jesus is the only way to Him and that is through faith in Jesus. Knowing Jesus is the only way to have a relationship with God, have your sins forgiven, to be able to go to heaven and to have an eternal life with God. It is imperative that we stand firm on this basic truth for true salvation demands it.

What we know from these verses: Faith in Jesus results in eternal life and a relationship with God, not believing in Jesus brings death, Jesus is God’s Son who He sent to save us and redeem us from sin.

Lenten Reflections: Do you know Jesus and believe He is the way to God? Are you tolerating talk of many pathways to God or are you taking a stand on God’s Word?

As we can see from our verses, not accepting Jesus as the way to God and embracing faith in Him leads to death. Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Without the work of Jesus we are lost in our sin and definitely not headed for eternal life with Him. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can know God, be forgiven and will be able to spend eternity with Him. Be sure you know Him.

Linda

Related Verses: Jonah 2:8-9, John 3:16-18, John 14:, Acts 4:12, Romans 6:23

For the way to salvation- 1 John 1:8-10, John 3:16, John 14:6, John 1:12-13

The Book of Life

nofearlindaLeave a comment

Earlier I wrote about the promise in Joshua 1:9 and while I was reviewing the passage I was drawn to the promises of Joshua 1:8. They are both dynamic promises that make a difference in our daily lives.

Joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Promise: God promises a way of life that leads to prosperity and success if we follow His Word.

This is not some type of prosperity gospel but a basic truth from God’s Word. God promises if we follow His word by keeping His commandments in our hearts and minds, meditating on His word, and by doing what His word tell us, we will find fulfillment, happiness, and success in living. This has nothing to do with money or possessions but God is promising those things in life that make life worth living. We will have purpose in Him. We will have an abiding faith in Jesus. We will have the sealing of the Holy Spirit on and in our lives. We will have Christ’s righteousness. We will have eternal life and spend eternity with Him. Those are things only God can give and cannot be purchased or earned. They are promised gifts from God.

What I can know from this verse: God’s Word is meant to be studied, internalized and meditated upon, God’s Word gives us guideline for living His way, God’s Word shows the way to good living and success.

Lenten Reflections: How am I doing on studying God’s Word? Is it daily, regularly, of haphazardly? Do I read God’s Word with the intention of apply it to my life?

So are you reading and studying your Bible? It is impossible to know what God desires or even who He is unless we delve into His word. God reveals himself in the Bible and we see Jesus clearly from His recorded time on earth. Don’t let anything keep you from reading and studying God’s Word. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can read and learn of God and His Son from the pages of His written Word. It is His love letter to me.

Linda

Related verses: Psalm 119:105, Psalm 119:11, Psalm 119: 9, Romans 8:28, Romans 3:25-26, Ephesians 1:13, Romans 1:17, Romans 8:10, John 3:16, John 17:3.

Priorities Matter

nofearlindaLeave a comment

 Today’s verses are often quoted when speaking about the sacrifices missionaries make in choosing to go to foreign lands to preach and teach about Jesus. However, there are applications we can make for these verses to our own lives in the city, suburbs, country or wherever God has placed us.

Matthew 19:29-30 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Promise: God promises generous blessings and eternal life to those who sacrifice and put Him first in their life.

These verses are about priorities and putting God first. This maybe harder, if say you choose to believe in Jesus, and your family rejects you. But, choosing to follow Jesus takes full commitment and rejection of the world and its ways that surround us. Jesus warned the disciples, in John 15:18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.’ We are to be in the world but not of the world.

Keeping the mindset of Jesus first in our lives opens us to receive his promised eternal life and blessings upon blessing. Jesus is sovereign and controller of all things and circumstances and giving him our praise, honor and heartfelt devotion He promises will result in our blessing. The blessings Jesus refers to are both physical and spiritual! Romans 5:17 speaks of the difference, “For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.” The new Gentile believers were to share in Christ’s blessing through faith in Jesus. In Ephesians 3:1 Paul explains “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,” Our blessings may be tangible- here on earth, but most assuredly they are spiritual. These spiritual blessings like salvation, righteousness, a heavenly home, a loving forgiving Savior, etc. are priceless. Putting Christ first takes prayer, commitment, study of His Word, faith, dedication but most of all a passionate love for Jesus and what He did for us on the cross!

The order of God’s kingdom is unlike the world’s kingdom. The best, most aggressive and accomplished will not be first. The humble with a servant attitude who love Jesus beyond measure- those will be the ‘first’ in God’s kingdom. Remember when thinking about this Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

What do we know from these verses: God honors sacrifices made in His name and for His purpose, God can bless beyond our greatest imagining, God is eternal and promises life with Him, God’s reward system is not like earthly man made plans and is at his direction.

Lenten Reflections: Where do I need my priorities adjusted? Are my goals more worldly or spiritually motivated? Where am I seeing God’s blessings in my life? Count away!

These verses hold me accountable for runaway goals that are worldly. They help to ground me and point me towards having Jesus’ as the main focus in my life. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can keep my priorities and focus aligned with Jesus and will open myself to untold blessings. His blessings will be for now and eternity!

Linda

Related verses: Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 5:17, Ephesians 3:1, John 5:24, Isaiah 55:8-9. Genesis 15:1.

God Preserves

nofearlindaLeave a comment

Today’s promise comes from Psalm 31:23-24. It holds both promises and a warning- a cautionary note from God.

Love the Lord, all you his saints!
    The Lord preserves the faithful
    but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
    all you who wait for the Lord!

Promise: God promises to preserve those who faithfully follow Him and chastise those who act pridefully.

The world present us with constantly changing circumstances. The life of one who follows Jesus requires strength and courage; it is not for the fainthearted! God promises that He will be preserve us as we wait upon Him and strive to follow His ways. He promises to look out for those who belong to Him and even calls us saints! This does not mean we will not have challenges or heartbreaks, but that we will be preserved. The best verse I can think of for this is John 10:27-29 “ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” We are protected through our faith in Christ. No one, nothing, can take us away from God once we are His. Once committed to Jesus, we cannot lose our salvation as no one can snatch us out of the Father’s hand! He preserves us and our salvation is safe. Our eternal life is secure!! Another verse that helps us see this is Ephesians 1:13 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,” We are sealed though the power of the Holy Spirit.

God’s caution about being prideful is shown through multiple examples in the Bible. 2 Chronicles 26 tells us about King Uzziah who became prideful before God, 2 Chronicles 32 tells us about Hezekiah’s prideful actions that almost cut his life short until he repented. Daniel 4 tells of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon who admired all he had built  “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you,” He then lost his kingdom and spent 7 years roaming the woods like an animal until he repented. Only then was he restored to health and power. Proverbs 16:18 puts it this way, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.’

What we can know from these verses: God is worthy of my love and praise, God is committed to preserving me for eternity, God hates pride/arrogance, God supports those who wait upon Him with courage and strength.

Lenten Reflection: Do I truly believe that you belong to Jesus? If in doubt, pray and ask God for assurance of His promise that you are sealed and preserved for all eternity. Do you suffer bouts of pride or arrogance? Be quick to repent and acknowledge God as your Father and provider.

Knowing the Lord loves you and has your back for all eternity is a great comfort in this hectic and often evil world. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can live with assurance of God’s faithfulness and His safeguarding of my salvation.

Linda

Related Verses: Psalm 145:3, John 10:27-29, Ephesians 1:13, Proverbs 16:18, 1 John 2:16-17, Psalm 97:10, Romans 1:7.

Keeping Eternal Pleasures in Mind

nofearlindaLeave a comment

Today we are looking at the remainder of Psalm 16 verses 7-11. I read this in various translations but I really felt the Message was the most direct.

The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake
    is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I’ll stick with God;
    I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go. Do you ever go to bed with a problem and think you’ll sleep on it and maybe in the morning you will know your mind and decided what to do? The psalmist is identifying with this, saying God is directing him during the day and then confirms his directions while he sleeps. So night and day, God is his guiding light. I find this both comforting and encouraging and it reaffirms 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.” That means God is with us day and night!

9-10 I’m happy from the inside out,
    and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
    that’s not my destination! David, the psalmist, was convinced that God had his eternity secure and that he had a heavenly home with God. His faith in God had cancelled his sin and assured him of a heavenly home. We can be assured of this too as faith in Christ and his work on the cross confirms our gift of eternal life with Him. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
    all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
    I’m on the right way. David knows his pathway is assured and it is lifelong. He is on the right pathway in life walking hand and hand with God.

We too can say we have a heavenly home, God is our light and guide, and we do not need to fear death and punishment in Hell. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can be assured of life eternal and walking with him day by day. Thank you Jesus.

Linda

Fifth Sunday of Lent, 2022

nofearlindaLeave a comment

For our final Sunday of Lent, #5, before Palm Sunday and the Easter, I want to look at the last verses of Psalm 139: 23-24. These verses speak to my heart because they tell me to who God is and why I need Him.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting!

God is omniscient, all-knowing so He knows what is in my heart and what my heart desires. If it is not good- then God knows it. If it is good or partially good, God knows it. He can and does use my thoughts to guide and challenge my thinking. I am His and all of me belongs to Him. He can seek out and reveal to me things I have done wrong, attitudes that need refining or redirecting and through His searching He can cleanse me from the inside out! Praise our magnificent, merciful and loving God.

May you have a blessed Sunday to worship Him!

Linda

Are you clothed in His Righteousness?

nofearlindaLeave a comment

I am starting my “Put it on me please, Lord Jesus” Lenten journey in Isaiah 61. At the beginning of this chapter Jesus is speaking of himself, veses1-2, and then the text begins to describe believers and how they will reflect God’s glory in heaven. Isaiah 61:3 To all who mourn in Israel,
    he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
    festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
    that the Lord has planted for his own glory. I love the thought that God has designed and intended for me to be covered in His righteousness and to be a great oak bringing Him glory.

In verse 10, God describes the joyousness of my salvation. “I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!     For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation  and draped me in a robe of righteousness.
I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding
    or a bride with her jewels.”

How thankful are you for your salvation? Your hope of eternal life with Him is secured by the Holy Spirit and begins the day you accept His gracious gift of salvation through faith in Jesus. Because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am clothed in His righteousness, pure and holy before God. Faith in Jesus assures me of the proper clothing when I stand before God. Thank you Jesus!

Take time today to thank Jesus for his sacrifice on the cross that makes your salvation possible so that you are covered in His righteousness. Without Jesus we are lost. Jesus accomplished this for us, for all time. Hebrews 10:10 “For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.” 1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” We are healed and freed from the bondage of sin through Jesus’ death on the cross. Believe and be freed in Jesus.

Linda

OH My! Titus is a Gem

nofearlinda1 Comment

And the journey continues…. into Titus. The book of Titus is a letter written by Paul to his young convert and coworker for Christ. They had traveled together preaching and teaching and when they came to Crete, Paul left Titus there to carry on the work of sharing the gospel. When I visited Crete recently, they still revere Titus and his work of bringing the gospel to their island.

Titus 2:11-14 “ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” The grace of God=Christ who came bringing salvation to all people. Through Christ we can be trained to reject godlessness and sin in our lives. We can wait expectantly for Jesus’ return knowing He has created us through faith to be His people! Thank you Jesus!

Titus 3:3-7 “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” God is so good. He knew us and our sin filled nature and sent Jesus anyway to save us and clean us inside and out. Now we are renewed in Jesus, redeemed and saved to be heirs of His kingdom forever! We serve and amazing Savior and God who truly loves us.

May you know that God loves you and has given you a way, through Christ, to live a life that is pleasing to Him.

May you know that you are redeemed, clean and filled with His Holy Spirit.

May you know that you are co-heirs with Christ and have hope of eternal life with Him.

May you know that Christ will return and bring us to be with Him for eternity!

Have a blessed day filled with this knowledge.

Linda

Thankfulness Day 17: Resurrection Promise

nofearlindaLeave a comment

On Day 16, we looked at 7 amazing reasons for faith. Today’s verse looks more specifically at #7- salvation that leads to eternal life in Him. John 11:25-26 is a familiar precious promise from God “Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”” Jesus spoke these words to Martha, the sister of Lazarus who had just died and was recently buried. She was upset that Jesus had not made it Bethany before Lazarus died, for she knew he could have saved him from dying. Jesus’ message to Martha, and you an me, is that belief in Him guarantees resurrection to new life. Belief in Jesus brings a life one can live in Him now and for eternity. His words were meant to encourage, bring hope and challenge Martha’s faith.

His question to Martha, do you believe me?, is the same question He asks each of us. If your answer is YES, then the thought of eternal life with Jesus, living forever with Him should bring you eternal joy. No one likes to think about leaving their life and dying, but Jesus is reassuring each of us that He has it covered. He will be with us, protect and guide us into our next stage of life with Him. If your answer was NO, then may His words bring you to Him today with a repentant and open heart.

May your heart rejoice over this promise. You can be thankful that God is eternal. God is greater than anything you will ever face- even death. God desires that you live without fear of death and know He has a plan for your life. Rejoice in the hope of resurrection and let that joy fill your heart with thanksgiving.

Linda