Tag: Jesus

Last Sunday of Lent-Palm Sunday

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All 4 of the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and work record his entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before the Jewish Passover.  Matthew, Mark and Luke tell the story of how Jesus obtained the donkey upon which He entered Jerusalem,  as it was prophesied that Messiah, king, would arrive riding a donkey.  Zechariah 9:9 was written hundreds of years before the event “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!  Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!  your king comes to you gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the fold of a donkey.”   John was the only writer to mention the palm branches that were waved by the crowds as Jesus humbly rode into the city.  “So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'” John 12:13  The waving of the palm branches  was a show of celebration indicating a victory and was a reminder of Jesus’ royalty.  The only other place that palm branches are waved is in Revelation 7:9-10.   John records the following scene that will take place in heaven. 9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

As you worship today, cry out in praise to Jesus, our mighty King and Savior.  He is the Victor King now and forever!  Raise your palm fronds high in praise and proclamation that Jesus is our Savior.  He is indeed the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!

Palm-Sunday-pic-2017Today let my praises join those in heaven proclaiming the name of Jesus.  

Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Linda

I am a joint heir with Christ.

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Because I believe that Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead, I am a joint heir with Christ.  This is an amazing truth that is laid out for us in scripture.  we-are-co-heirs-with-christ-in-his-suffering-and-glory-grace-sabarusRomans 8:16-17 “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,  and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.  Being a child of God means we share in the good and the ‘bad’ or suffering just as Christ did.   This is a truth of family life we see in our own lives.  We reap the benefits of being in our earthly family- the love, care and companionship, but we also have the hard times, struggles and strains caused by living here on sin-filled earth.  However, being a child of God, we have His indwelling Holy Spirit to give us power to endure and overcome evil with good as we struggle to live for Him.  We know the love and companionship of the Holy Spirit within our lives as His Spirit bears witness with our spirit.  Praise God, we can know and feel His power and guidance in our lives.  Someday we will see Him in all His glory and share in the joy of His presence.  That is a true inheritance worth waiting and working for!

As a believer, are you feeling His power in your life?  If not, turn to Him and ask Him to reveal Himself to you, and then listen and feel the Spirit within you recognize His heir bnbvoice.  If you do not know Jesus, call on Him and He will reveal himself to you.  Many verses tell us how simple it is to do this: 1 John 1:9 “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”   Romans 10:9 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  What is keeping you from knowing Jesus today? In the face of an eternity without Him, whatever is stopping you is unimportant.  Turn to Jesus today.

Loving being an Heir,

Linda

 

I am a friend of God.

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Because I believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am a friend of God.  Being called Jesus’ friend or God’s friend is a privileged position.   John 15:15  “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”    Jesus makes the distinction between a servant and a friend.  A servant is one who does the bidding of his master, one who works without knowing the plans, motives and purposes behind what he is doing and receives little to no reward for his service.   Whereas a friend is someone who is brought into close confidence with Him and with whom Jesus shares His knowledge of the Father.  In scripture Abraham was referred to as a friend of God.  James 2:23 ” and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.”  Through his faith and faithfulness towards God, Abraham was recognized by God as His friend and he was rewarded with righteousness.

Friendship with Jesus brings us an even greater closeness as we know who He is and what He desires for mankind.  We share in His vision and purpose when we are His friends.  Unlike a servant, as friends of Jesus we have multiple rewards now and in the future because of this relationship.  I have a really close friend that now lives near Los Angeles.   For years we lived close enough to see each other each week and share our hopes, dreams, struggles and worries.  We supported one another in prayer, gave encouragement and listened with a heart of love.   Proverbs 17:17a “A friend loves at all times,”  describes friend lovesmy friend.  She has been there for me and stood by me in some really difficult times.   My friend is still my friend even though I don’t see her every week.  I know I can call her and she will listen, pray and encourage me no matter what.  Jesus is an  even greater friend as He goes beyond all earthly friendships.  He intercedes for me with the Father (Romans 8:26), and He listens and encourages me through prayer (Hebrews 4:15).  He has good planned for me (Jeremiah 29:11), and He loves me (John 3:16).   Just like Abraham, I need to be faithful and full of faith in Jesus, then His righteousness will be credited to me.  Knowing and trusting Jesus as my Savior will wash and cleanse me and will result in His righteousness being imputed to me.  Proverbs 22:11 “He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.

As a follower of Christ, You can call Jesus your friend.  What a blessed friendship it is!

Linda

friend     

                

4th Sunday of Lent

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This week I was blessed when someone told me their favorite verses were Psalm 103:1-5. Reading this Psalm of David puts things into perspective and reminds me of who God is and what He can do and does for me.

1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s

praise-powerMay you let the Lord forgive, heal, redeem, crown, satisfy and renew you today as you Praise Him!   

This week we have seen His love and mercy in new ways as each day we have had another wonder to proclaim: I am the sweet fragrance of Christ to God (3/5), I am a branch on Christ’s vine (3/6), I am a saint (3/7), I am confident of God’s good work (3/8), I am a princess or prince in God’s kingdom (3/9) and I am a child of light (3/10).  I pray that one or more of these has caused you to praise and thank God for sending Jesus who made all this possible for us by His work on the cross and rising from the dead.  Blessed Jesus.

Have a blessed Sunday as you worship.

Linda

I am a child of the light.

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Because I believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am a child of the light.   Paul made this bold statement to the Thessalonian Christians while he was telling them to be awake, aware and encouraged as they waited for the Lord Jesus to 1 thes 5 5return.    1 Thessalonians 5:5-8  “For you are all children of light, children of the day.  We are not of the night or of the darkness.  So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.  But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.”   Throughout scripture light has been associated with God- He created light (Genesis 1:3), He is our light and our salvation (Psalm 27:1), He will be our everlasting light (Isaiah 60:19) and Jesus proclaimed himself to be the light of the world on multiple occasions.  John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  

Being a child of light is a privileged place. It is a state of being that is wholesome, pure and does not have a shadow of darkness anywhere.  The opposite of a child of light would be a child of darkness.  Satan and sin are associated with darkness, and it is a state that leads to death.  Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Without Jesus we are walking in darkness and are not guided by the ‘light of life’.

I love that Paul tells us in verse 8 above “But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.”    We have salvation and the hope of eternity protecting our thinking, thoughts and future.  We are to take this place of light seriously and be on guard, awake and aware of the enemy who would love to lure us back into the darkness.  1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”   We don’t need to be afraid but on guard, always standing firm with the Lord.  

called-into-the-light
Choose Jesus and walk in the light!

Stand today and let your light shine,

Linda

 

I am sanctified.

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Because I believe Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am sanctified.  The dictionary defines sanctification as the process of making one holy so as to be a conduit of spiritual blessing, free from sin and set apart as sacred.  Hebrews 2:11 “So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.”   Our sanctification is made possible because of Jesus.  He is the one who makes us holy.  Paul clarifies this thought in Philippians 2: 12b-work out salvation13  “Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.  For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”    Jesus made us holy when he died for our sins, then the Holy Spirit of God works in us to grow us more and more like Him.  We live in a sin filled world and still sin.  Someday we will be freed from the presence of sin in heaven, but until then we need to constantly seek His forgiveness and grow in Him.  The growing is what Paul called putting on the ‘new self’ and putting off the ‘old self’ in Ephesians 4:22-24. “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,  and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Ephesians-4_23Since sanctification is a growing process and the Holy Spirit within does the work in our hearts and minds, what is my part in this sanctification process?  I need to be willing to listen and respond to the desire God has put in my heart when I accepted Jesus as my savior to be more and more like Jesus, to please Him in all I say and do.  I need to desire to renewed  mind and put off old habits that are not pleasing to God.  I need to pray, study, fellowship with other believers, worship and apply myself to being one who Jesus will not be ashamed to call His brother or sister.  Only though the Spirit can we achieve this, so that is why it is God working in us that makes this possible.  I am finding the process of growing in the Lord to be a huge adventure.  The more I learn about God the more I want to learn.  The more I obey His commandments and follow His ways the more contented I am and feel loved and held by Him.  It is a life-long process to walking with Jesus day by day.

Loving my walk with Him,

Linda

 

I am helped by God.

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Because I believe Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am helped by God.  Scripture is filled with proclamations concerning the help we have available from God.  Our key verse today is 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 170932-God-s-Help-Is-Only-A-Prayer-Awayour time of need.”  The author of Hebrews is pointing us to God in prayer.  In prayer we will receive mercy and undeserved favor (grace) and help when we need it the most.  This verse is such a reassuring promise that when we pray God hears us and responds to us with mercy, grace and help.   As a believer, I am assured that God is my helper and accessible 24/7.   Moses told Joshua that as the new leader of the Israelites, he could depend upon God.  His words are true for us today too.   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.”

Here are a few verses for you to meditate upon today as you consider God’s ability to help.  David eloquently spoke of God’s help in the Psalms.  I particularly love Psalm 34:15,17   The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,  and his ears are attentive to their cry;   The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;  he delivers them from all their troubles.   Psalm 33:20  “We wait in hope for the Lord;  he is our help and our shield.”    Psalm 121:1-2  I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from?    My help comes from the Lord,  the Maker of heaven and earth.

Jesus promised after his return to heaven he would send a helper in John 14:26. “ But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

Paul was confident in Jesus’ help in Philippians 1:19  “Yes, and I will rejoice,  for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,”

Hebrews-136-Big-Faith-Little-Fear-The author of Hebrews was confident in the Lord’s ability to help.  Hebrews 13:5b-6   “for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  So we can confidently say,  “The Lord is my helper;  I will not fear;  what can man do to me?”

What about you ?  Are you confident that God is your helper?  All believers in Jesus can know for certain that God is accessible and will listen to your cries for help and answer with mercy and grace!  Many times the answer is not what we expect or right when we want it, but God is faithful and will answer.  He have to trust His timing and deliverance.

Blessings today as you draw near to His throne and seek His help,

Linda