Tag: Hope

The Mind of Christ

nofearlindaLeave a comment

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can have a mind that thinks and understands like Christ. The promise of a mind that can know and understand the things of God is a huge gift from God through our faith in Jesus.

In 1 Corinthians Paul is talking to the Corinthian believers about wisdom and how we can know and discern the things of God.  “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”  1 Corinthians 2:14-16  With our natural mind we can’t know the things of God but with the indwelling Holy Spirit we can understand God and know Him.  The spiritual person is not to be judged by the opinions of unbelievers who consider the things of God to be foolish.  We are only held accountable to God, His standard of conduct is the only one we need consider.  We are assured that the indwelt believer has the mind of Christ.

So what does that mean to you?  As I pondered that thought, James 3:17 came to mind, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere”.   Having the mind of Christ would mean we have access to godly wisdom as described here.   We could have pure thoughts, a spirit of peace in our words, gentle presentation of our thoughts to others, reasonable thoughts not prone to wander or be self-serving,  thoughts filled with mercy,  thoughts that produce good things for ourselves and others, thoughts without bias and thoughts that are always sincere not fake in any way.  I know that having the mind of Christ is a growing process and does not happen overnight.  As we draw near to God we are promised in James 4:8 that God will draw near to us.  The closer we walk with Jesus the more we can think and act as He would.  A mind that is governed by Jesus would be glorifying to God and produce a vibrant and whole life for us.  Consider the words of James today as you go about your daily routine.  What part of the mind of Christ, the wisdom that comes from above, are you seeing in your life?  Where do you want to grow?

guidance

Promise: God promises that through faith we can know Him and have a mind that understands the things of God. Thank you Jesus!

Linda

The Sixth Sunday of Lent, 2025, Palm Sunday

nofearlindaLeave a comment

Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem the week before Passover and His death on the cross is a wild an joyous event.  I have walked the Palm Sunday Road and it is a very steep hill leading down from the Mt. of Olives that leads to the eastern gate. As I walked that road, I could see this scene in my mind that is included in all four gospels.

Matthew 21:1-11    Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
    humble, and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

IMG_0505

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Blessings today as we usher in the final week of Jesus’ life on earth with Palms, Shouts of Hosanna and Praises to Messiah, the Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can rejoice today at who Jesus was and is and is to come!

Linda

IMG_0513
Jesus entered into the city through the eastern gate that is now closed.  In later times the gate was blocked to keep Messiah from entering,  not realizing that Jesus had already come that Palm Sunday so long ago.

Suggestion:  As you praise God today in worship, choose an attribute of God that you are most thankful for and let God know what it means to you.  Consider- Savior, His Grace and Mercy, Sovereignty, Faithfulness, His Hope, His Assurance of Salvation in Jesus, His granting Freedom from Sin, His Provision or His great and precious promises to you.  Praise His Holy Name!

Power from Within- in Jesus!

nofearlindaLeave a comment

Many passages in the Bible clarify the role of Christ and what His indwelling Holy Spirit does within our lives. Romans 8:10-11 is one such passage.

Romans 8: 10-11  “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.“

Promise: God promises to give life through His Spirit and make all believers alive because of Christ’s righteousness.

The old saying goes “nothing is sure except death and taxes.” These verse say that is not true. God promises life in Jesus and all this is possible because of Jesus’ death on the cross. His sacrifice covered your sins and mine. 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.” 1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” Our sins are forgiven and covered by the blood of Jesus. How then are we alive in Jesus? Paul explains in Ephesians 2:4-6 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” This work of grace and mercy from God we owe to our faith in Jesus. Paul continues to explain in Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” Thank you Jesus for this amazing gift of faith and forgiveness.

What we can know about God from these verses: Jesus’ blood covers our sins-past, present and future, the Holy Spirit indwells the believer, faith in Jesus makes us spiritually alive, Jesus is righteous, Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross.

Lenten Reflections: Am I experiencing God’s Spirit within me each day? Am I thankful for all Jesus did for me on the cross?

These are sobering verses when you consider what our salvation and freedom from the power of sin cost Jesus. His blood was shed for me and you. Because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can live forgiven and experience His life within me. I am alive in Christ!

Linda

Related Verses: 1 Peter 2:24 1 Peter 3:18, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 John 1:7-9, Romans 6:10-12, Ephesians 2:3-8, Colossians 2:6-7,

What Rainbows mean

nofearlindaLeave a comment

When asked if you know any promises from God, today’s promise probably comes to mind. It is one of the first ones we learn as a child and comes from Genesis 9, the rainbow.

Genesis 9:11-13, 16  I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth…..16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

Promise: God promises to never again destroy the creature of the earth by flood, and the rainbow will be our sign that God remembers His promise.

Don’t you love to see rainbows in the sky? Usually they occur after or during a storm and remind us of God’s faithfulness to His creation. Storms will come but God promises that whatever may come it will not destroy us. I think you can take this literally with storms of nature but it also applies to emotional storms that invade our lives. God’s rainbow gives us hope that He is eternally present and His Word is everlasting. We can depend upon Him no matter what the storm may be because He is sovereign and greater than anything we can or will ever face. Like Noah, we can have faith in God as He keeps His promises.

What we can learn from these verses: God’s covenants are eternal, I do not need to fear destruction of the earth by flood, God wants me assured of His promises, the rainbow is His sign to us, God’s Word is eternal, God’s promises do not change.

Lenten Reflections: What does God’s faithfulness look like in my life? How am I thankful for His faithfulness to me?

I know rainbows are a matter of science but God made all the parts of the universe and knows how they work together. They are His rainbows and He uses them to remind us of His faithfulness. Because Christ died on the cross, and rose from the dead, I can trust in God’s faithfulness 100%.

Linda

Related Verses: Job 42:2, Psalm 86:15, Hebrews 6:17-18, Hebrews 10:23, James 1:17, 2 Peter 3:8-9

The Perfect Manual

nofearlindaLeave a comment

Psalm 119 is a treasure trove of truths and promises about God’s Word. Each of the stanzas of this poetic scripture tell us more and more about the reliability and truthfulness of God’s Word.

Psalm 119:9, 11, 105, 160 “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word…..11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you……105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path….160 All your words are true;  all your righteous laws are eternal.”

Promise: God promises that His Word is eternal, righteous and a guidebook for godly living.

When you get new appliances they come with a manual for operation or installation. Once I purchased a new sewing machine. The purchase came with 2 introductory classes to learn about the machine and the things you could make it do. When I got to the class I sat down, set up and threaded my machine in preparation for our work. The instructor came around and asked me, “How did you get the machine threaded?” He was shocked that I had accomplished that task without his assistance. I replied, “I followed the directions in the manual.”   In today’s world Google and YouTube have become our convenient manuals for resolving questions about how things work.  What about in the area of godly living? Where do you go for guidance when you have problems with people, money, conflicts of faith, jobs, stress, etc? God tells us that all we need is in His Word. We do not need to worry that God’s manual will become out of date, have misleading information or lead us into wrong actions as He says His Word is true, eternal and righteous.

What we know about God from these verses: following God’s Word leads us in the direction of purity for our lives, God’s Word will guide us, God’s Word is true, pure, righteous, and eternal.

Lenten Reflections: Am I using God’s Word as my guide for living? How much time do I spend reading God’s manual for godly living?

His Word is our perfect manual for living our lives His way. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can trust God’s Word to lead me in godly living. Be sure to consult your manual often. You can depend on it!

Linda

Related Verses: Proverbs 30:5, Matthew 24:35, John 6:68, John 17:17, Hebrews 4:12, James 1:22-25.

Seeing Fruit in Your Life?

nofearlindaLeave a comment

The words of today’s promise echoes in my mind as I am reminded that without Christ I can do nothing of eternal value.

John 15:4 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

Promise: God promises that a life lived through faith in Jesus will produce eternal fruit.

Have you ever wondered if you are successful in life? Who determines what is considered success? You, others or God? In this verse, Jesus tells us that believing in Him and walking with Him day by day will produce fruit in our lives. Godly fruit is described in Galatians 5:22-23 and is produced by His Holy Spirit living within us. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” None of those things are material goods but involve our character and are intangible. Having a godly character is what God wants for us. By remaining faithful, Jesus promises that we will be transformed into one who exhibits a Spirit-filled life with abiding fruit that reflects Him within us. What greater success could we ever achieve than to be like Jesus?

What we know from this verse: God is always faithful and omnipresent, having God in my life will produce godly fruit, there is no fruitfulness in one’s life apart from God.

Lenten Reflections: What fruit am I seeing in my life? What fruit do I want God to cultivate and produce in my life?

This promise has a bit of a command attached to it. Jesus tells us to abide in Him and to let Him abide in us. He promises to abide in us but we need to be open to His Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can know the abiding presence God in my life through His Spirit and in Him I will produce eternal fruit, guaranteed.

Linda

Related Verses: Isaiah 58:11, John 15:1-2, 16, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, 1 John 4:13-18

Justice, Eternal Hope and Righteousness

nofearlindaLeave a comment

Today’s promise looks to the future in various layers. Isaiah talks about “my salvation is on the way” which points to Jesus. “For the skies will disappear like smoke.points towards the end times. Even though we do not know specifics we can look at God’s promises and know that they will come true.

Isaiah 51:4-6 “Listen to me, my people.
    Hear me, Israel,
for my law will be proclaimed,
    and my justice will become a light to the nations.
5 My mercy and justice are coming soon.
    My salvation is on the way.
    My strong arm will bring justice to the nations.
All distant lands will look to me
    and wait in hope for my powerful arm.
6 Look up to the skies above,
    and gaze down on the earth below.
For the skies will disappear like smoke,
    and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing.
The people of the earth will die like flies,
    but my salvation lasts forever.
    My righteous rule will never end!

Promises: God promises to provide justice, salvation and unfailing righteousness through Christ Jesus and it will be for eternity.

Isaiah’s imagery is captivating as he describes what God will do. There is no doubt in his mind that God is capable and will fulfill His promises to the nation Israel and all future believers through his mighty arm of righteousness, Jesus Christ. In God’s time, He see this occurring speedily, and that we should always look forward with eternal hope. It is the hope we have in Christ that allows us to live each day looking forward to God’s promised justice, salvation and righteousness. A reason for our impatience is we desire to see things completed quickly. God’s ways are not our ways we are reminded in scripture. Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” His timing is not ours either. 2 Peter 3:8 “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” While waiting for the Lord’s perfect timing, we need to wait patiently. Romans 8:24-25 “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.“

What we know from these verses: God rules justly, God provides salvation through faith in Jesus, Jesus will bring justice to all nations, things of earth are temporal but things of God are eternal.

Lenten Reflections: Which of these prophetic promises are you looking forward to most? Where are you struggling with the difference between God’s timing and your own?

I am encouraged by these ancient verses from Isaiah. We know that God will provide and see us through to a time where His justice reigns and his unfailing righteousness is available to all in Jesus. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can be assured of eternal salvation and a time of righteous justice for all.

Linda

Related Verses: Psalm 102:26-27, Psalm 45:17, Isaiah 30:18, John 3:16, Philippians 2:9-11

The 4th Sunday of Lent 2025, I can come

nofearlindaLeave a comment

These past Sunday’s I have been highlighting things we have in our lives because of Christ’s work on the cross. Salvation, Christ’s Righteousness, a Heavenly Home and today let’s look at approachability. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I have the ability to approach God.

The idea of approaching Holy God is filled with fear and trembling, and rightly so. Sinful man is unworthy to approach God and even Moses only saw God’s shadow as He passed by. (Exodus 33:22) As we saw in the Garden of Eden, it was Adam and Eve’s sin against God that got them barred from the garden where they had communed with God. (Genesis 3:22-24) Jesus came and died so that our relationship with God could be restored and our sins forgiven. Jesus made us clean so that we can now approach God in faith. Ephesians 3:12 “ In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.’ Our confidence comes from our relationship with Jesus. Hebrews 4:16 explains the benefits of coming to God, “ 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 benefits of approaching God are listed in Hebrews 4:16. Coming before God in prayer, we can find freedom, confidence for living, mercy, grace and help in our time of need. What a blessing that now we can approach God and commune with Him.

This week take advantage of this opportunity and spend time with God. Thank Him for his many benefits and lay your needs before Him. He will listen and answer.

Linda

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.