Tag: God's love

“I’m going to hold your hand”- God

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I love this next portion of Isaiah 41. God shows his love and compassion for His people Israel. He is their heavenly Father and treats them as His precious and special children. God knows they will be in captivity for 70 years and wants to encourage them during that time. Look at the “I”‘s in this passage. Whatever God says He will do, HE WILL DO! God keeps His promises.

Isaiah 41:13-14 “For I am the Lord your God
    who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
    I will help you.
14 Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
    little Israel, do not fear,
for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord,
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

These promises by God were to encourage the Israelites but they are meant for all God’s children. He loves and cares for each of us as His own. Romans 8:14 “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” Galatians 3:26 “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,” Through our faith in Jesus, we are children of God. We are precious to Him. Psalm 147:11 “The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” Be encourage by the love your heavenly Father has for you and how much He cherishes you. When He says, “I Will”, He means it as a promise to each of us.

There are important truths about God and lessons we can apply to our lives from just these 2 verses.

*God promises to personally lead, guide, comfort and help those who believe and trust in Him.

*By holding our hand, God shows He cares for each of us.

*God promises to help us. He knows our circumstances and how to resolve all our problems.

*Since God will attend to us personally, we can know that we mean something to Him and have value in His eyes. We,

each one of us, are loved by the God of the universe!

*God reminds us that He is Holy, His character is pure and blameless, and He is our redeemer.

Be encouraged today by God’s special love for you.

Linda

Let’s Begin with His Love and Goodness

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I always look forward to the start of November. The weather is cooling and we are headed into the holiday months with Thanksgiving and Christmas. I also begin to panic a bit as I have no ideas right now for Christmas gifts. I also like it because for the last several years I have blogged daily from November 1 to Thanksgiving and then December 1 to Christmas. It is a busy time and causes me to stretch and grow my faith as I depend upon God each day to I write from His Word. I have been in prayer about these blogs and the message God wants me to send out in His name. We will begin each day in November with a scripture highlighting Thanks and then I will add a remainder to you of a spiritual blessing we have in Christ. I am praying that these blogs will encourage your own attitude of gratitude and thankfulness towards God.

Day 1 of November 2022

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34 This same praise is found repeatedly in scripture. The basis of all our thanksgiving is based upon the goodness of the Lord. This is not based on something temporal but in the enduring, eternal love of God for us. Let that sink in for a moment! We can give thanks no matter what the circumstances as God’s character, His goodness, never changes. When things are hard and seem to be going wrong, God’s goodness and His love are still there. He is always available to us and turning to Him will give you hope and reassurance. We can cling to His promise in Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God works all things for our good and His glory as we trust and put our faith in Jesus. The part that is continually tested is our enduring faith in His goodness. Claim His promises, lean into and on His goodness and love today! Then, live like you truly believe it!

A truth to claim with thanksgiving: I am sustained by Christ. Is Christ your sustaining power? Claim Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Along with 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” My go to verse for claiming the sustaining power of Christ in my life is 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. In His goodness and love, He promises to sustain, care, support and love each of us. He will always be enough for whatever we are going through, so claim His sustaining promises today!

Linda

Resurrection Sunday, A True Eternal Blessing!

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During our entire Lenten journey, we have pondered the meaning of Christ’s death on the cross and the actions Jesus wants us to ‘put on’ so we can shine His light and love on others.  Now we need to come to the realization that without the resurrection His death would have been meaningless,  and we would be still lost in sin!  In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 Paul writes,”12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.”

Paul made this argument to clarify for the unbelievers and doubters that belief in the resurrection was essential to faith otherwise they would still have all their sins and be under penalty of death.  Romans 6:23  “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”   Belief in Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross and His victorious resurrection were essential to the Corinthian believer’s faith and are for us as well.  Without the resurrection there is no forgiveness of sins and no victory over death! All of Christ’s suffering here on earth would have been for nothing. 

I know that God is sovereign, all powerful and omniscient and nothing is left to chance or done randomly.  Jesus prayed in John 17:3-4 just before His death, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.”   We know God’s plans will be accomplished, His Word, Jesus would not return to Him void. Isaiah 55:11 “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”   Job 42:2 also reminds us of this truth, ““I know that you can do all things,  and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”   Praise God His purpose was not thwarted and was accomplished completely by Jesus’ death and resurrection from the dead.  Praise God, our Redeemer Lives!

1 corinthians 15 4

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, Your faith is real, your sins are forgiven, you will spend eternity with Jesus, you are empowered and indwelt by His Holy Spirit!  Praise God!

Happy Easter!  Blessings because of our risen Redeemer, Christ Jesus.

Linda