Category: Romans

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Seeds of Celebration

We ladies know what it’s like to “dream of our wedding day”. From the time we are little girls and go to our first wedding or see our first Disney Princess movie we are hooked.

But before you men completely discount this morning’s writing I want you to know you are included in this celebration too. For whether we are man or woman we are all joined with Christ as our husband.

The Scripture tells us that we have a loving husband. Jesus is the husband and we are His wife.

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27 ESV

Christ loved us so much that He gave up his life for us. His shed blood completely removes any residue of sin and leaves us clean, no spot or wrinkle and glorious arrayed!

How many times have I heard people say, “if you only knew what I have done, you would know that God couldn’t love me”. It because of what we have done that God found a way to make us clean and acceptable. He has covered all our failures, our sins, our imperfections.

“Sin ruled by means of death. But God’s kindness now rules, and God has accepted us because of Jesus Christ our Lord. This means that we will have eternal life.” Romans 5:21 CEV

“God already planned to have us as His own children. This was done by Jesus Christ. In His plan God wanted this done.

6 We thank God for His loving-favor to us. He gave this loving-favor to us through His much-loved Son. 7 Because of the blood of Christ, we are bought and made free from the punishment of sin. And because of His blood, our sins are forgiven. His loving-favor to us is so rich. ” Ephesians 1:5-7 NLV

We have seen the royal weddings on television, all the pomp and circumstance. The carriage, the beautiful gown, the groom dressed so regally, the flowers, the lace. The celebration!

But that is nothing compared to what the King of Kings has prepared for His bride.

“You are God, and you will rule forever as king. Your royal power brings about justice.  You love justice and hate evil. And so, your God chose you and made you happier  than any of your friends.
8 The sweet aroma of the spices myrrh, aloes, and cassia, covers your royal robes. You enjoy the music of harps in palaces decorated
 with ivory. 9 Daughters of kings are here, and your bride stands at your right side, wearing a wedding gown trimmed with pure gold.” Psalm 45:7-9 CEV

Sometimes Christians are considered to be second class citizens, as if we need to apologize for our station in life. The opposite is true. We are joined to the King of Kings and our father, is God Almighty.

“But you are God’s chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things that he has done. The Scriptures say,

10 “Once you were nobody. Now you are God’s people. At one time no one had pity on you. Now God has treated you with kindness.” I Peter 2:9-10 CEV

It’s important that we see ourselves as God sees us. We are His children and we are dearly loved. There was no expense too great to keep Him from bringing us into relationship with Him.

“I cried to the Lord in my trouble, and He answered me and put me in a good place. 6 The Lord is with me. I will not be afraid of what man can do to me. 7 The Lord is with me. He is my Helper. I will watch those lose who fight against me. ” Psalm 118:5-7 NLV

We have been dressed in royal splendor, our husband loves us dearly. It’s time to celebrate!!

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An Unending Harvest

I’m sure that I have mentioned before that Dave and I spent a number of years farming alfalfa for an absentee owner. We lived south of Phoenix, out in the desert half way between two very small towns, Buckeye and Gila Bend.

It was there that we really began to study God’s word. Each hour that we were on the farm equipment was another hour spent listening to cassette tapes and receiving faithful teachings. It was our Bible school and it was the place that I gained practical application of God’s word.

The area we farmed was rich, river loam soil. We had 900+ acres of alfalfa which was irrigated. The wells ran day and night providing the much needed moisture to the fields. We got 10 cuttings a year from that ground. In the peak of the summer, we were swathing alfalfa every 21 days. We would water twice, cut, rake and bale. We only stopped in the winter when the frost came and stunted the growth of the plants.

What I learned was that alfalfa was a perineal not an annual plant like cotton or maize, it was a perpetual seed that continued to produce for seven years before it needed replanting. Within one seed was multiplied potential for reproduction and harvest.

I applied that to the seed of God’s word. When planted the harvest potential is immeasurable.

“You have made your souls pure by obeying the truth through the Holy Spirit. This has given you a true love for the Christians. Let it be a true love from the heart. 23 You have been given a new birth. It was from a seed that cannot die. This new life is from the Word of God which lives forever. 24 All people are like grass. Their greatness is like the flowers. The grass dries up and the flowers fall off. 25 But the Word of the Lord will last forever. That Word is the Good News which was preached to you.” I Peter 1:22-25 NLV

God’s word is an incorruptible seed, it is a seed that never dies. What we are planting in our lives today will continue to grow and bring us a harvest beyond compare. It can be thwarted by weeds of worry, unbelief, anger, unforgiveness, strife, gossip, etc. but it will not die.

When we yield our lives to Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to plant seeds in our hearts that will bring a harvest of godly character.

“But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith, 23 being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things.” Galatians 5:22-23 NLV

We have already planted some of these and today we are going to add one more from this group.

Love.

“”But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us.” Romans 5:8 CEV

“We have come to know and believe the love God has for us. God is love. If you live in love, you live by the help of God and God lives in you.” I John 4:16 NLV

“Love does not give up. Love is kind. Love is not jealous. Love does not put itself up as being important. Love has no pride. 5 Love does not do the wrong thing. Love never thinks of itself. Love does not get angry. Love does not remember the suffering that comes from being hurt by someone. 6 Love is not happy with sin. Love is happy with the truth. 7 Love takes everything that comes without giving up. Love believes all things. Love hopes for all things. Love keeps on in all things.

8 Love never comes to an end.” I Corinthians 13:4-8 NLV

So let’s take these seeds and plant them in the soil of our heart today.

Imagine a lifetime of producing fruit from the seeds of love.

 

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No Place for Tantrums

We’ve all been there; we’ve either experienced it or we’ve been there to observe it.

You’re out in public. Your child wants something and you’ve said no. Then the begging begins and still the answer is no. The tears start, the voice raises, the feet stomp and the fist pounds. Yes, a full on tantrum – loss of self-control.

It’s one thing when this happens in a child but entirely another when it happens with an adult in a business meeting or between a couple. It can have devastating results.

Society is filled with self-centered folks who want something and want it NOW! If they don’t get what they want when they want it, they claim it’s their right – they’re owed it and take offense when told no. Many of the ills in our culture stem from selfishness or lack of self-control.

We need to get some temperance planted in our gardens. It might even require a double planting since it is so lacking in many lives. Temperance is another word for self-control. But we know that self-control is really Holy Spirit, God-directed control. It’s the strength to hold your tongue when everything on the inside is saying “let ’em have it”. Self-control is what Jesus showed when Pilot asked him for a defense in the judgment hall and it says

“ But Jesus did not say anything, and the governor was greatly amazed.” Matthew 27:14 CEV

Solomon, our teacher of wisdom, gave us this instruction.

“ A gentle answer makes anger disappear, but a rough answer makes it grow.”
Proverbs 15:1 ERV

Temperance is a quality  of those who have matured in life. Knowing when to speak and how to act so that it will be effective and not fall on deaf ears or a hard heart is a skill gained through experience.

“If a nation is not guided by God, the people will lose self-control, but the nation that obeys God’s law will be happy.” Proverbs 29:18

WOW! what a mandate for us as a nation!

“If your thinking is controlled by your sinful self, there is spiritual death. But if your thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace.” Romans 8:6

Life and Peace – what a blessing!

“Because you have these blessings, do all you can to add to your life these things: to your faith add goodness; to your goodness add knowledge; to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add patience; to your patience add devotion to God;  to your devotion add kindness toward your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to this kindness add love.  If all these things are in you and growing, you will never fail to be useful to God. You will produce the kind of fruit that should come from your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” II Peter 1:5-8

In the verses above Peter says we will produce fruit and be useful to God. Sign me up!

I want God to be honored by my life and if you are reading this each day, I know you do too! So as we plant these seeds in our garden today the work isn’t over. We still have to water them daily with prayer and let the “Son” shine on them as they grow. We also have to keep the weeds out (cares, anxieties and distractions) and fertilize them (the testimony of others or from God’s word).

“But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things.” Galatians 5:22-23 ERV

I love what Paul says at the end of listing the fruit of the Spirit, “against such there is no law.” When these traits are working in our lives we will be fulfilling the law of love, God’s love!

Happy Gardening.

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What Are You Going to Plant

What is it that you’re wanting to grow in your garden? At our house, we seem to focus on a “salsa garden”, that means that we grow was is needed to make a good salsa – cilantro, peppers, tomatoes and onions.

So it would only be natural that we would buy pepper, tomato and cilantro starts and that we would plant onion seeds of bulbs, right? You certainly wouldn’t expect to plant zucchini seeds and get onions or carrot seeds and get peppers. It just doesn’t work that way.

“ You cannot fool God, so don’t make a fool of yourself! You will harvest what you plant. 8 If you follow your selfish desires, you will harvest destruction, but if you follow the Spirit, you will harvest eternal life. ” Galatians 6:7-8 CEV

In life, if we plant seeds of criticism, anger, selfishness, resentment and strife we are going to see those same things grow up and produce a harvest in our lives. Isn’t it better to sow seeds of understanding, love, encouragement, kindness, and joy?  We might not understand exactly how the germination and growing process work but we can be certain of this, we will only harvest what we plant.

“Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like a man who plants seed in the ground. 27 The seed begins to grow. It grows night and day. It doesn’t matter whether the man is sleeping or awake, the seed still grows. He doesn’t know how it happens. 28 Without any help the ground produces grain. First the plant grows, then the head, and then all the grain in the head. 29 When the grain is ready, the man cuts it. This is the harvest time.” Mark 4:26-29 ERV

This morning let’s plant seeds of faith. The important thing to remember about faith is that it’s not based on us but on God. Faith is simply believing that God is who He says He is and that He can do what He said He could do.

God gives us all “the measure of faith” at salvation. Some people don’t get a larger portion while others get a tiny bit. Paul says in Romans 12:3 “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

Jesus had much to say about faith while he was here on earth. But I guess a good place to start is to know that “without faith it is impossible to please God.”  Hebrews 11:6 and that “faith works by love” Galatians 5:6 If we want a good crop of faith then we must fertilize it with love.

We get born again by our faith in the grace of God and that’s the same faith that we should apply to every other area of our lives. Our faith is in God’s grace. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2: 8-9

The Apostle Paul tells us that our daily walk with the Lord should be just like our salvation.

“ As you have put your trust in Christ Jesus the Lord to save you from the punishment of sin, now let Him lead you in every step. 7 Have your roots planted deep in Christ. Grow in Him. Get your strength from Him. Let Him make you strong in the faith as you have been taught. Your life should be full of thanks to Him.”  Colossians 2:6-7 NLV

The choice is ours, we can plant seeds of worry or seeds of faith. Worry is faith that the wrong things will happen but true faith is confidence that God is bringing about good things in our lives.

“Think about how the wildflowers grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that even Solomon, the great and rich king, was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. 28 If God makes what grows in the field so beautiful, what do you think he will do for you? That’s just grass—one day it’s alive, and the next day someone throws it into a fire. But God cares enough to make it beautiful. Surely he will do much more for you. Your faith is so small!

29 “So don’t always think about what you will eat or what you will drink. Don’t worry about it.” Luke 12:27-29 ERV

Plant these seeds and then watch your faith grow. It’s amazing! Start by trusting God will small things and as your “faith” seeds grow you will find you are trusting Him with the larger things of your life as well.

Remember the adage: Don’t spend time telling God how big your problem is; tell your problem how big your God is!

Good harvest!

 

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Sign Here!

We’ve all done it – you know, ordered those items on line and then waited for the delivery source to bring them to your door. You know the waiting, you hear the truck arrive, the back door rolls up and here comes the delivery man up the front walk. They present you with the package and sometimes you even have to sign for it.

Is it everything you expected? It isn’t broken, is it? It’s what you paid for and it’s yours!

Now consider this. You are going about your own business, maybe doing the laundry, cleaning or working out in the yard. You hear the delivery truck stop in front of your house. The driver opens the back of the truck, brings out a package and starts up your walk. You don’t remember ordering anything, maybe your husband did. What could it be? On the side of the box you see the “gift” tag. Now you’re intrigued.

The driver tells you that this box has a signature required and you must sign before he can leave it. You don’t recognize the store or the return address. It’s addressed to you…but from whom. Now let’s see what you do next. Do you go inside, put the box on a chair or table and just stare at it or do you open it, excited to see what’s inside and hopefully find out who sent it?

You open it, right? It’s the most beautiful gift you’ve ever seen! How could they know that it’s exactly what you wanted. You’ve never had anyone give you such an expensive gift. Oh my goodness!! You’re overcome with emotion. Tears stream down your face, words can’t express the gratitude. You are overwhelmed and now you pick up the phone and call the giver of this precious gift and say, “I’m sorry I can’t receive this. I don’t deserve it and I’ll be sending it back.” Really? No, not at all. You call and express your gratitude and love, or at least that’s what I would do.

Do you know that this is exactly what has been done for us by God? Let me show you.

“But God had so much loving-kindness. He loved us with such a great love. 5 Even when we were dead because of our sins, He made us alive by what Christ did for us. You have been saved from the punishment of sin by His loving-favor. 6 God raised us up from death when He raised up Christ Jesus. He has given us a place with Christ in the heavens. 7 He did this to show us through all the time to come the great riches of His loving-favor. He has shown us His kindness through Christ Jesus.

8 For by His loving-favor you have been saved from the punishment of sin through faith. It is not by anything you have done. It is a gift of God. 9 It is not given to you because you worked for it. If you could work for it, you would be proud. 10 We are His work. He has made us to belong to Christ Jesus so we can work for Him. He planned that we should do this.” Ephesians 2:4-10

God’s great grace, loving-kindness, gave us something we didn’t deserve. Something we won’t ever earn, something we will never be able to pay for. It’s a gift! It’s a gift of love that comes straight from the Father’s heart. The gift is new life, a relationship with God the Father, saved from the punishment of sin. Jesus took the punishment for us! Why? To show us through all the time to come that He loves us.

The most amazing gift was given freely to us, but it cost Jesus his all! Our part in receiving this wonderful gift –  just accept it.

“All have sinned and are not good enough to share God’s divine greatness. 24 They are made right with God by his grace. This is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ. 25-26 God gave Jesus as a way to forgive people’s sins through their faith in him. God can forgive them because the blood sacrifice of Jesus pays for their sins. God gave Jesus to show that he always does what is right and fair. He was right in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. And in our own time he still does what is right. God worked all this out in a way that allows him to judge people fairly and still make right any person who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:23-26 ERV

By this devotional I have delivered the gift. I can only hope that if this is the first time a delivery attempt has been made that you will take it. Say “thank you Father for this wonderful and precious gift. I receive it.”

Sign here!

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The Eternal Love of God

Have you ever had a hard time believing that you are loved? I have!

If that’s where you are today or where you have been I want to share some verses on God’s love with you. I know I have shared some of these before but we can never have too much love. Agree?

“Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not death, life, angels, or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us—nothing in the whole created world—will ever be able to separate us from the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 ERV

Do you see that – NOTHING! Nothing now or in the future can separate us from the God’s love. Absolutely nothing.

“We were weak and could not help ourselves. Then Christ came at the right time and gave His life for all sinners. 7 No one is willing to die for another person, but for a good man someone might be willing to die. 8 But God showed His love to us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8 NLV

You might think that the things in your past or even in your present make you unlovable but God sees more than our actions and our failures and He sees someone He loves. He has loved us at our worst and He loves us just the same at our best. His love is unconditional!

“Love does not give up. Love is kind. Love is not jealous. Love does not put itself up as being important. Love has no pride. 5 Love does not do the wrong thing. Love never thinks of itself. Love does not get angry. Love does not remember the suffering that comes from being hurt by someone. 6 Love is not happy with sin. Love is happy with the truth. 7 Love takes everything that comes without giving up. Love believes all things. Love hopes for all things. Love keeps on in all things.

8 Love never comes to an end.” I Corinthians 13:4-8 NLV

Love was and still is God’s plan. It’s who He is. Love isn’t a emotion that comes and goes. Love isn’t goose bumps and tingles. Love is God!

“The person who tells of Him in front of men and says that Jesus is the Son of God, God is living in that one and that one is living by the help of God. 16 We have come to know and believe the love God has for us. God is love. If you live in love, you live by the help of God and God lives in you.” I John 4:15-16 NLV

God desires to always be here for us, providing us with comfort and encouragement, He gives us hope. He isn’t out to condemn us!

“Our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father loves us. Through His loving-favor He gives us comfort and hope that lasts forever. 17 May He give your hearts comfort and strength to say and do every good thing.” II Thessalonians 2:16-17 NLV

When we accept His wonderful gift, Jesus Christ, as our Savior we receive a new life free of condemnation. We’ve talked about this in days past God chooses to forget our sins and put them as far as the east is from the west. We are forgiven.

“So now anyone who is in Christ Jesus is not judged guilty. 2 That is because in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit that brings life made you free. It made you free from the law that brings sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2 ERV

It is impossible to pen the words that can adequately express the love that God has for us. It is written in every book of the Bible – in fact, the Bible is God’s love letter to us. So I will end with a prayer that Apostle Paul recorded – it was his prayer us and it is my prayer for you.

“I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. 18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.

20 With God’s power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of. “ Ephesians 3:17-20 ERV

God loves you and so do I!

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Don’t Lose Hope!

A few days back I shared with you some verses on faith. We found that we can’t really please God without faith.

This morning I want to tell you the story of Abraham, a man who believed God’s promise, even though it took years to see it.

“ Everything depends on having faith in God, so that God’s promise is assured by his great kindness. This promise isn’t only for Abraham’s descendants who have the Law. It is for all who are Abraham’s descendants because they have faith, just as he did. Abraham is the ancestor of us all. 17 The Scriptures say that Abraham would become the ancestor of many nations. This promise was made to Abraham because he had faith in God, who raises the dead to life and creates new things.

18 God promised Abraham a lot of descendants. And when it all seemed hopeless, Abraham still had faith in God and became the ancestor of many nations. 19 Abraham’s faith never became weak, not even when he was nearly a hundred years old. He knew that he was almost dead and that his wife Sarah could not have children. 20 But Abraham never doubted or questioned God’s promise. His faith made him strong, and he gave all the credit to God.

21 Abraham was certain that God could do what he had promised.” Romans 4:16-21 CEV

Abraham was a man who put his faith and trust in God. The Lord told him to move from his homeland to a new land that was fertile and good. Abraham started the journey with his wife and his nephew and their servants. They came to the land of Canaan, the land that is now called Israel. Abraham was 75 years old when they started this journey and the Lord promised Abraham that his descendants would be a great nation and that everyone on earth would be blessed because of him.

Abraham and his family went through struggles in this new land. They faced famine and had to move to Egypt for a while and then they came back. Their herds became so great that they had to separate their flocks. There was quarreling between the two ranching operations but Abraham honored the Lord.

One thing was lacking however, Abraham had no children. His wife, Sarah, was well past the age of having children. She was post menopause but even more than that she had been barren. She had never had a child but God promised that Abraham would be a father of many nations. Sarah tried to help God out. She had Abraham have sexual relations with her maid servant. The maid conceived and had a son.

Whole new set of problems – jealousy, envy and resentment. All the things you need for a good soap opera!

Then at age 99 the Lord appeared to Abraham again and repeated the promise. This time there was a end date added to it.

“Abram was ninety-nine years old when the Lord appeared to him again and said, “I am God All-Powerful. If you obey me and always do right, 2 I will keep my solemn promise to you and give you more descendants than can be counted.” 3 Abram bowed with his face to the ground, and God said:

4-5 I promise that you will be the father of many nations. That’s why I now change your name from Abram to Abraham.[a]6 I will give you a lot of descendants, and in the future they will become great nations. Some of them will even be kings…

15 Abraham, your wife’s name will now be Sarah instead of Sarai. 16 I will bless her, and you will have a son by her. She will become the mother of nations, and some of her descendants will even be kings.

17 Abraham bowed with his face to the ground and thought, “I am almost a hundred years old. How can I become a father? And Sarah is ninety. How can she have a child?” So he started laughing…

21 But your son Isaac will be born about this time next year, and the promise I am making to you and your family will be for him and his descendants forever.

22 God finished speaking to Abraham and then left.” Genesis 17

Twenty-five years Abraham waited to see God’s promise completed. Twenty-five years he held on to the promise God had given him. Twenty-five years he hoped when all hope seemed gone!

How long have you been waiting for God to answer your prayer and keep His word? Have you waited 25 years? Maybe you’re about to give up – DON’T!

This is a verse that I put down on my cards.

“20 But Abraham never doubted or questioned God’s promise. His faith made him strong, and he gave all the credit to God.21 Abraham was certain that God could do what he had promised.” Romans 4:20-21 CEV

Abraham knew that if God said it, he could trust it to come to pass. This takes me back to my favorite verse (you knew I would quote it again, didn’t you).

“God is no mere human! He doesn’t tell lies or change his mind. God always keeps his promises.” Numbers 23:19 CEV

DON’T GIVE UP – DON’T QUIT – DON’T LOSE HOPE – STAND STRONG – THE PROMISE WILL BE KEPT

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What’s Better Than a Mama Grizzly

I’m sure by now most of you have heard the term Mama Grizzly. It’s been used around quite a bit in the last few years. Of course the meaning can be construed to fit a number of situations and refers to taking a strong defensive stand.

I want you to look at it this morning in light of our relationship with the Father. When Jesus was on this earth he faced constant criticism from the religious leaders and rulers of his day. His own family didn’t understand Him. People followed him out of selfish motives; they wanted to see the next miracle and have a free meal.

No one other than Jesus has ever lived a perfect life. He was pure, even when angry he was righteous. He looked at people and was moved with great love. He championed the weak, healed the sick, brought comfort to those with broken hearts and restored relationship to those who had been outcast. He even forgave the ones responsible for his death. He came with a single purpose – defeat the power of sin, providing a perfect sacrifice for our forgiveness and restoration to God.

“Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. 18 God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others.

19 What we mean is that God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. And he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace.” II Corinthians 5:17-19 CEV

When things looked the darkest and hope was almost gone, God stepped in with the ultimate victory.

“We have seen and heard everything He did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And yet they killed Him by nailing Him to a cross. 40 God raised Him to life on the third day and made Him to be seen.” Acts 10:39-40 NLV

When we accept what Jesus has done for us personally is when we truly become God’s child and can call him Father.

“He gave the right and the power to become children of God to those who received Him. He gave this to those who put their trust in His name.” John 1:12 NLV

Once we are in God’s family he defends us, we can be confident of that.

“If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us. 32 He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things. 33 Who can accuse the people God has chosen? No one! God is the one who makes them right.” Romans 8:31-33 CEV

God, our Father, makes it his personal business to provide for our well being and our defense. He will not, WILL NOT, leave us to struggle through things on our own. It’s his promise!

“’The mountains may disappear, and the hills may become dust, but my faithful love will never leave you. I will make peace with you, and it will never end.’ The Lord who loves you said this.” Isaiah 54:10 ERV

Our loving Father is the one who kept Noah safe in the ark; gave David victory over Goliath; delivered Daniel safely out of the lion’s den; and sent an angel to release Paul from prison. He protects and provides for “his kids”. He’s much better than a “Mama Grizzly”.

One last verse.

“You can go to God Most High to hide. You can go to God All-Powerful for protection. 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my place of safety, my fortress. My God, I trust in you.” 3 God will save you from hidden dangers and from deadly diseases. 4 You can go to him for protection. He will cover you like a bird spreading its wings over its babies. You can trust him to surround and protect you like a shield.” Psalm 91:1-4 ERV

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If You’ve Ever Been in Need – This is a Must Read!

Years back when I began writing verses on index cards and really began to trust God to keep His promises, I needed to know that God loved me. I knew that He loved the whole world; I knew that Jesus died for me but I needed to know that God loved me enough to think about me each day, to be concerned with what was going on in my family and I needed to know that He truly wanted my life to be good.

Maybe you’re not there but I was. I was desperate to experience God’s love every day!

We were in a real hard place financially. Not sure how many of you have ever been there but it’s not good. We were working hard, trying to make ends meet but we were falling short, way short, every month. We had two pre-teen kids and a new baby. We lived in AZ where our monthly summertime utility bill was more than our house payment. And we knew that the Bible said God would supply all our needs but we definitely weren’t experiencing it.

One day, in the midst of all this, our son came, looked in the refrigerator and it was empty. Not much more than the condiments in the refrigerator door. He looked at me and say very matter of fact-ly, “Mom, you need to go grocery shopping. We’re about out of everything.” He closed the fridge and headed back outside to play.

With that, I walked into the other room where I wouldn’t be seen, sat down on the floor and began to weep! I was devastated. My son was right, we needed groceries but I knew that we had no money and no way to buy any. I cried out to the Lord. “Lord, you HAVE to do SOMETHING. I need to have food for my kids.” Dave and I had learned to fast but the kids needed food.

And then I heard in my heart, “Kristi, come to me with the same confidence that Koy came to you. You don’t need to complain or cry or be worried about any of it. I’m your Dad, just ask confidently, like your son did, and watch me provide.” I was stunned! I had been going to God like some undeserving beggar and He wanted me to ask like a child, making a request to my Father.

“Because you are the sons of God, He has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. The Spirit cries, “Father!” 7 So now you are no longer a servant who is owned by someone. You are a son. If you are a son, then you will receive what God has promised through Christ.” Galatians 4:6-7 NLV

It was then those verses I used a few days ago came flooding back into my memory.

“Do not worry. Do not keep saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘What will we wear?’ 32 The people who do not know God are looking for all these things. Your Father in heaven knows you need all these things. 33 First of all, look for the holy nation of God. Be right with Him. All these other things will be given to you also.” Matthew 6:31-33 NLV

And these:

“A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest.” (spoken by Jesus) John 10:10 CEV

“Let us go with complete trust to the throne of God. We will receive His loving-kindness and have His loving-favor to help us whenever we need it.” Hebrews 4:16 NLV

Yes, I know I used these verses in the last few days but you see, if you’re going to live victoriously in God’s word the verses have to be the first thing that come to mind. You need to be confident that God won’t lie and that He will keep his promises! If not, worry will overwhelm and fear will prevail.

I’ve heard it said that you won’t truly learn a foreign language until you are no longer translating your conversation in your head. It has to roll out without thinking about it. That’s the way it is with learning God’s language, His word, it has to be so ingrained that it’s the first thing we think of in any given situation. And if not the first, then it needs to take precedence over that first thought. The Apostle Paul calls it a renewed mind.

“Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That’s the most sensible way to serve God. 2 Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.” Romans 12:1-2 CEV

Now back to that conversation in my kitchen. My son didn’t tell me all that he had done to “deserve” me going to the grocery store and buying him some food. He didn’t say, “Mom, I’ve cleaned my room, been nice to my sisters, I helped Dad in the yard so would you please, pretty please, go to the store and buy some groceries”. No he was just confident that if he told me we needed to fill the fridge I would do something about it.

So as I sat there I gave the Lord my grocery list. I told Him everything we needed. We could use some bread, eggs, milk, meat, veggies, butter, coffee, cereal. And then I said, “Lord, I don’t know how you’re going to get this but I know you’ll come by it honestly. Thank you for providing.” And I got up, went back to the kitchen and finished the dishes.

The next day shortly after breakfast there was a knock on our door. Friends who lived over 30 miles away had come for a visit. “We’re just in the neighborhood” is what they said. Then our friend told Dave he had something in the car he needed help with. His wife and I sat in the kitchen and began to visit. The next thing I knew, they were coming through the door with bags of groceries. Everything that was on my list and more! Even now as I’m telling you this my eyes are filling with tears!

God is good – God is faithful – God can be trusted!

I would love to tell you that was the end of our financial struggles but it wasn’t. It has been a lifetime of trusting God to provide. Sometimes worry has gotten the upper hand, sometimes we have tried to “fix” it ourselves and only made matters worse. But every time we have returned to confidently trusting in the Lord and His promises He has provided.

Is it important to get God’s word in your heart? Absolutely! Is God’s word true? Unequivocally!

Now you have a little more insight into who I am and why I trust God – He loves me and He has provided for my family!

You can trust Him too!

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Hard to Believe

As we start this journey of really believing that the verses in the Bible are written to us and for us it’s imperative that we first truly recognize that God loves us and He will not do anything to harm us and bring us shame.

Over the next few days the verses I share with you are going to be “love” focused. God’s love for us is unconditional! That means, plain and simple, that there isn’t anything that we can do to cause God to love us less and we can’t work to get Him to love us more.

God loves us because He IS love!

“ But God had so much loving-kindness. He loved us with such a great love. 5 Even when we were dead because of our sins, He made us alive by what Christ did for us. You have been saved from the punishment of sin by His loving-favor. 6 God raised us up from death when He raised up Christ Jesus. He has given us a place with Christ in the heavens. 7 He did this to show us through all the time to come the great riches of His loving-favor. He has shown us His kindness through Christ Jesus.

8 For by His loving-favor you have been saved from the punishment of sin through faith. It is not by anything you have done. It is a gift of God. 9 It is not given to you because you worked for it. If you could work for it, you would be proud.” Ephesians 2:4-9 NLV

God’s love and forgiveness is a gift.

With Christmas just passed, did any of you celebrate with a small child? When the presents were distributed did any one of those children open a gift and then look at the adult that provided and say, “You know I really haven’t been that good lately. I don’t deserve such a wonderful gift. You were too generous. I just can’t accept this.”? No!  I doubt that any of you heard such a conversation.

Then why do we not freely receive the gift of God’s love? Why do we feel that we must do something to earn it or feel that God no longer loves us when we do something that is disappointing?

When God says he loves us, he cannot lie! If He did, he would no longer be perfect and so He would no longer be God.

“Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful. 7 No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person. 8 But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.

9 But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger. 10 Even when we were God’s enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by his Son’s life. 11 And in addition to everything else, we are happy because God sent our Lord Jesus Christ to make peace with us.” Romans 5:6-11 CEV

You’ve heard the word “gospel”. Do you know what it means? It means “the nearly too good to be true message”.  This message, that Jesus was willing to die for us and that God is no longer angry with us and welcomes us into relationship with Him is just that – nearly too good to be true.

So whether you choose the verses from Ephesians 2 or the ones from Romans 5, or maybe you’ll choose both, to write down, let them sink it, deep into your heart so that you will truly know how much God loves you.

Believe it – it’s true!

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