Readying yourself for Pentecost, remember the Ascension

May 30, 2020 nofearlindaLeave a comment

40 days after the resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven. His ascension is recorded in Mark, Luke and the book of Acts. It took place on a mountain top in the vicinity of Bethany according to Luke 24:50-51 “And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. ⁵¹While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.” Mark also adds in Jesus’ destination after His ascension, Mark 16:19 “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” In the book of Acts, Luke, the author, gives us a more complete picture of this event. Acts 1:9-11 “And after He said these things, He was caught up as they looked on, and a cloud took Him up out of their sight. ¹⁰While they were looking intently into the sky as He was going, two men in white clothing suddenly stood beside them, ¹¹who said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This [same] Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will return in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

The disciples who were focused on where Jesus went and the angels assured them that Jesus will return in the same way He left. Jesus had lovingly told them that He would send a helper to guide and empower them in His absence. Acts 1:7-8 “He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority. ⁸But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.” Jesus wanted His followers to be about telling others of the kingdom and the good news of the salvation and forgiveness available to each one though Jesus. The promised Holy Spirit would come upon them in just 10 days at Pentecost and then the truth of Christ and His work would revolutionize the world!

Are you anticipating the return of Christ? Be encouraged with these words from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Are you telling others about your Savior as you wait? Be encouraged by Peter’s words: 1 Peter 3:15 “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” Be ready to tell others of your HOPE in Jesus!

Linda

God sighted on the Road to Emmaus, did you see Him?

April 14, 2020April 14, 2020 nofearlindaLeave a comment

One of my favorite post-resurrection appearances is the encounter of the two on the Road to Emmaus. Overcome with grief over Jesus’ death and disbelief over what the women said about seeing Him alive, these two followers of Christ were walking along the Emmaus Road discussing all these things. Jesus joined them on their journey without disclosing his identity. As they walked they were surprised that this man did not know about all the events that had just occurred in Jerusalem. They shared their hope that Jesus, the one crucified, had been the long awaited Messiah. “Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. ²⁶Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” ²⁷Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke 24:25-27

Wouldn’t you have loved to have been there and listened to Jesus explain all about Himself? A little later in the story when they were sitting down to eat, Jesus gave thanks, broke the bread and began to give it to them. Right then, their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus. He then disappeared from their presence. Even though it was late they quickly returned to Jerusalem to tell the disciples about their encounter with the risen Lord Jesus.

Jesus came to these two when they were in grief, despair and confusion, and He cleared up their thinking, encouraged and enlivened them. Can you remember a time when Jesus came to you in prayer or through the actions or words of another believer to give you hope and encouragement? Jesus promises that He will be with us wherever we go. Just like these two, we need to look and recognize His presence with us and the hope that He brings.

I pray that my Lenten Blogs have brought you hope and encouragement these past 6 weeks. I have been mightily blessed by being with you and in the scriptures each day. I am still pondering the magnitude of Christ’s sacrifice and all the truths I have gleaned from the book of Ephesians. I will continue writing on the post-resurrection appearances leading to Pentecost (40 days after the cross). Christ appeared many times, before His ascension, to many individuals and groups. They are affirming and touching encounters that teach us more about the depth of His love and care for us.

Be on the lookout for God sightings this week. Be assured He is with you!

Linda

Truth and Right Living, Armor up with Christ

April 4, 2020April 16, 2020 nofearlinda3 Comments

Do you suit up properly for life’s battles? Here are the first pieces of armor in Paul’s list- the belt and breastplate. Ephesians 6:14 “Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness”, The first things we are to put on involve our godly character- the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness. The root of the believer’s strength is the character he/she has in Christ. Godly character is based on the truth of God, who He is, and how you are bound to Him through faith in Christ. Jesus is truth and knowing Him brings truth into your life. John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” His Holy Spirit brings believers truth “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” John 16:13 and His Word is truth “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:17. The truth of godly character is base on Christ, the Holy Spirit and His Word and are the essential building blocks for godly character in our lives.

Another element of godly character that we are to put on that provides for our defense is His righteousness as our breastplate. The breastplate covers the heart and protects our vital organs. Since we cannot be righteous on our own because of our sin nature, we have to depend upon Christ and His righteousness. Romans 3:21-24 “But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. ²²We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. ²³For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ²⁴Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” Jesus made the way for us to be righteous before God and give us (imputes) His righteousness to us. We are renewed through this righteousness from Christ as Paul reminded us in Ephesians 4:20-24 in The Message translation, “But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.” Righteousness is a key to a life filled with godly character and can only be obtained through Christ. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, only through Him can we have His character.

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can have godly character that is based on His truth and righteousness. These first pieces of armor are crucial to living a life for Christ. Put them on then stand firmly rooted and grounded in Christ.

Linda

The Cross = Parent-Child relationships made whole

March 31, 2020May 26, 2026 nofearlindaLeave a comment

We are about to enter one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. Ephesians 6 has so much to tell us about Christ and the life He desires that we live in and through His powerful indwelling Holy Spirit. Remember Ephesians 5:21 “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”? This is the driving verse for the discussion about relationships between a husband and wife and it continues in Ephesians 6 with children and parents, then employee and employer.

Ephesians 6:1-4 deals with parent-child relationships. “Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. ²“Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: ³If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.” ⁴Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.”

The admonition from God to obey and honor our parents was given in the 10 Commandments. Exodus 20:12 ““Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Living a life with peace begins in the home. Rebellion, strife, anger, harsh words and discord can flourish in children both young and old (meaning even you at your age) if not curbed with honor, respect and love. We are selfish creatures and as such want our own way. This command to honor and obey our parents has a promised return- a long and full life in the Lord. Honor and obedience lead to peace and harmony that will lengthen the quality our lives just as disharmony, discord and dissent will shorten it. Paul does not end with the children but goes on to admonish all parents. He says we are not to provoke, needle, irritate our children intentionally or be unnecessarily angry with them for anger sake. We are to practice a parenthood that reflects Christ and remember His submission to the Father on our behalf. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we (both parent and child) are able to submit to one another with love and respect.

These are sobering words that call all of us to think about our parent-child relationships. Are they honoring in God’s eyes? In these last days of Lent, spend some time mediating on Paul’s words and seek God’s guidance in your relationships.

Linda

Back to the light, shine for Jesus

March 28, 2020April 16, 2020 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Do you ever wake up some days and feel like you missed a day? Somehow I wrote on Ephesians 5:15-20 before writing on Ephesians 5:9-14. So today I’m going back to our discussion of light and dark and Paul’s admonition to us to be ‘Children of the Light’. In verses 9-14 Paul gives us more information about what living in the Light of Christ means and what we can expect in our lives because of the light He gives us.

“For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

¹⁰Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. ¹¹Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. ¹²It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. ¹³But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, ¹⁴for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said,

“Awake, O sleeper,
rise up from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”

Paul instructs us that right living pleases God and that we should expose, avoid and to try not to take part in anything ungodly. The light of truth in Christ will expose the things of darkness and make everything visible. He concludes with a common hymn of the day to illustrate his point. The Ephesians (us too) were dead without Christ but coming to faith in Jesus brought them (us) into His light. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, His light can be seen in me.

Strive to do what is good, right and true in the name of Jesus knowing that those behaviors, deeds and actions are pleasing to God and will shine His light into the world around you. Be that light today!

Linda

Being real imitators = Life filled with Love

March 25, 2020May 18, 2026 nofearlinda1 Comment

Paul begins Ephesian Chapter 5:1-2 having arrived at a conclusion as to how believers in Jesus should act. “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. ²Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.” He exhorts us to imitate God. What does that mean to you? Think of God’s attributes and consider the ones that He desires we have – like being forgiving, loving, kind, gentle, compassionate, thankful, pure, holy, …. God desires that we follow Christ’s example and imitate Him because He dearly loves us and we are His children. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross pleased God as it redeemed all mankind from death and enabled us to come before Him. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we can be imitators of Jesus and have lives filled with love.

Where do you need to imitate Christ in your life? With your family, at work or school, on committees or groups you belong to?? Living a life of authentic Christianity is a call to sacrifice, humility and openness before God. I love Philippians 1:6 because it assures me that I am not in this struggle to live for Christ alone, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 4:19 assures me that He has what I need to live for Him, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” We can have hope that God will finish what He started in us when we became believers. He always completes what He starts! We can do this because God has the resources for all our needs. We just need to ask and be willing to serve Him. Be imitators of Christ today and experience His love in your life.

Linda

The Cross = access to God!

March 14, 2020April 16, 2020 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Paul concludes this section on the mystery of the gospel and his work among the Ephesians as a teacher and preacher with a revelation about the unique freedom they now have in Christ. Ephesians 3:12 “Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.^”³So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.” Paul wanted them to focus on the position available to them because of their faith in Christ and not to feel sorry for him as he writes to them from prison in Rome. He felt it was a privilege to suffer in the name of Christ, not a burden.

So what is this unique freedom we now have as believers in Christ? Paul says we now have the ability to come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. This is a unique status given only to believers. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we have access to the God the Father in prayer. We do not need to go to or though anyone to have our requests made known to God. In the past, the Israelites had to go through their High Priest to present their needs to the Lord. Now, each person can approach the throne of God in prayer and lay your heart’s desires, needs, hopes and dreams before the Lord. The Lord Jesus is now our High Priest and presents our prayers to the Father. When we struggle for words or thoughts, Jesus intercedes for us and knows exactly what we are thinking or feeling. Hebrews 8:1b “we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,”

Here are a few verses that talk about this unique privilege of prayer:

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.”

1 John 5:14: ^“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

Pray with confidence today, God hears your prayers. Pray to stay in God’s will and He will give you the grace and mercy you need. God is faithful and keeps His promises. I love Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” God is 100% faithful and will hear our prayers. His ways are not our ways, so we need trust Him and not seek to demand our own way or try to tell God what to do. I am always amazed at God’s answers to my prayers as He often answers in ways I could never have imagined. Pray in faith, knowing He absolutely hears you and let God take care of the details! Thank you Jesus for interceding for me as I approach the Father in prayer.

Linda

“Masterpieces” by God

March 7, 2020April 23, 2026 nofearlindaLeave a comment

I love today’s verses in Ephesians 2:8-10. They bring renewed hope, purpose and clarification from God showing His great love, generosity, planning and sovereignty. I particularly like the New Living Translation as it brings added clarity to the passage. “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. ⁹Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. ¹⁰For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

What hope we have because we believe in Jesus! We are assured that we don’t have to try and ‘earn’ our way into heaven. God promises us that there is nothing we can do now or in the future to earn our salvation. It is purely a gift from our gracious God. God loves us and we are important to Him. We are His masterpieces. He loves us and has prepared good works for us to do in His name. There are many scriptures that confirm these facts:

John 1:16 “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” His grace is perfectly complete, giving us all we need.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Salvation is a free gift, not earned.

Psalm 139:14 “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” God specifically created each of us.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” God’s plans are complete and for my good, I can place my hope in them.

James 2:14 “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? As a believer, genuine faith will cause me to seek to do good works for Jesus.

We can cling to these verses from our loving and gracious God knowing we are here with a purpose by His design. We can trust His sovereignty in all things. 2 Chronicles 20:6 ““O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.”

Have a blessed day as you prayerfully consider: God’s grace towards you, His sovereignty over your life and the good works He has lovingly prepared for you.

Linda

But God! Thankfully, His grace abounds towards us!

March 6, 2020April 23, 2026 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Yesterday, Paul reminded us of our state of sinfulness before knowing Christ in Ephesians 2:1-3. In today’s verses, Paul brings us hope that through the mercy of God we were not left in that horrible state, BUT GOD! We can be totally encouraged by our present and future! Ephesians 2:4-7 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Wow!!! In His mercy, God intervened and sent Jesus to die for our sins and be raised from the dead. Through His act of love, He offered salvation through faith in Jesus. It was totally God. He alone could save us from our sin, and we did or can do nothing to earn His love. We can’t be good enough or work hard enough to make God love or save us- it is solely through His grace- God’s unmerited favor towards us. Paul tells us God’s plans did not stop with salvation, but He desires to have us dwell with Him in eternity in heavenly places so He can show us His amazing grace and kindness up close and personal. Amazing!

I am so thankful that God intervened. Romans 5:8 confirms this truth “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Sinful man would be a hopelessly lost but for God. Does that fact make you thankful? Do you feel loved by God? Can you feel the grace of Jesus in your life? John 1:14, 16 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” ¹⁶For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”

Through the power of Jesus’ indwelling Holy Spirit, we are filled with His grace each day. Live today like you believe you are filled with His grace and love. Look for His gracious hand of protection and favor as you go through this day. When you see it or feel it, raise your voice in praise to Him! You will be amazed by God’s grace and love.

Linda

Here’s a guarantee you can count on!

February 29, 2020April 13, 2026 nofearlindaLeave a comment

Today’s verses are some of the most precious in the New Testament and I refer to them often in my writing and speaking. They tell of our wonderful inheritance of salvation through faith in Christ and inclusion in God’s family through the power of the Holy Spirit. His power within us is our guarantee of God’s hope and promises to come. Be encouraged as you read, Ephesians 1:13-14 “And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. ¹⁴The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.”

I love that God knew us so well. He knew that our finite minds would need a guarantee to confirm our faith and help us cling to His promises. Praise God for the Holy Spirit that He has placed within us through faith. The Holy Spirit confirms and testifies with our spirit giving us hope and assurance in Him. “For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:16

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, May you be encouraged by God’s love, the redemption plan made perfect in Christ and the hope you now have in Him. Praise God! Thank you Jesus!