Weary but Cheery
Nehemiah 8:10 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our LORD; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Matthew 11:28-30 28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Philippians 4:4-7 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Yesterday I received the sweetest card from my friend and Bible Study leader. And what scripture did she use? Nehemiah 8:10, “the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
As humans, we are bound to grow weary, yet as Christ followers we have a hiding place and do you know the best part? In that hiding place we find joy, and we have been invited by the King Himself!
May we each know that when our bodies grow weary and our spirits need a boost, we have a promise of joy that is not dependent upon our circumstances. Instead, our joy comes from the Holy Spirit and that is a promise!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner condemned, unclean.
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!
When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
’Twill be my joy through the ages
To sing of His love for me.
Living for Jesus
1 John 3:1-9 1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Sin and the Child of God
4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
Do you ever think of who you are in Christ? Because of His great sacrifice, and because we accepted His call to “Come,” we are children of the Most High God. Our natural bent to sin has been replaced with a desire to love Him and love others.
Have you ever known someone who knows the Word but does not live the Word? They can quote the Bible, and much like the Pharisees, they have what is referred to as head knowledge but not heart knowledge.
It is incumbent upon us to grow in grace and leave behind once and forever a lifestyle of sin. Throughout the Bible, we see that sin separates us from God, and though each of us has the propensity to sin, through Christ we can turn our backs on sin.
May we each choose to walk in the light of God’s love, knowing and believing that because of the Holy Spirit, we can live in righteousness.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1 Living for Jesus a life that is true,
striving to please Him in all that I do,
yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
this is the pathway of blessing for me.
Refrain:
O Jesus, Lord and Savior,
I give myself to Thee;
for Thou, in Thine atonement,
didst give Thyself for me.
I own no other master;
my heart shall be Thy throne.
My life I give, henceforth to live,
O Christ, for Thee alone.
By Thomas Chisholm
Living for Jesus
1 John 3:1-9 1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Sin and the Child of God
4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
Do you ever think of who you are in Christ? Because of His great sacrifice, and because we accepted His call to “Come,” we are children of the Most High God. Our natural bent to sin has been replaced with a desire to love Him and love others.
Have you ever known someone who knows the Word but does not live the Word? They can quote the Bible, and much like the Pharisees, they have what is referred to as head knowledge but not heart knowledge.
It is incumbent upon us to grow in grace and leave behind once and forever a lifestyle of sin. Throughout the Bible, we see that sin separates us from God, and though each of us has the propensity to sin, through Christ we can turn our backs on sin.
May we each choose to walk in the light of God’s love, knowing and believing that because of the Holy Spirit, we can live in righteousness.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1 Living for Jesus a life that is true,
striving to please Him in all that I do,
yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
this is the pathway of blessing for me.
Refrain:
O Jesus, Lord and Savior,
I give myself to Thee;
for Thou, in Thine atonement,
didst give Thyself for me.
I own no other master;
my heart shall be Thy throne.
My life I give, henceforth to live,
O Christ, for Thee alone.
By Thomas Chisholm
Bless the Lord O My Soul
Psalms 103:1-5 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Isn’t it great to begin your day with a blessing? I read my Bible every day, and most days I write a devotional to accompany my reading. Recently, I have been reading from 1 John, but today I awoke with Psalm 103 on my lips, and so I write today’s devotional based upon that psalm.
Psalm 103 begins with praising God with all that is within me, with nothing held back. I remember His many blessings, so how can I do anything but praise Him? He forgives my sins, anything that separates me from Him. He heals me, He has bought me back from the sin that would have destroyed me, and places a crown upon my head, which one day I will lay at His feet.
This past weekend God blessed me with the privilege of baptizing my precious great granddaughter, Claira Josephine. I love her parents so very much, and I am so thankful to have the benefit to bask in their love for each other and their daughter. As I read the liturgy of the Church and scooped the water from the Baptismal Font with a shell, pouring it over her head as her dad held her and her mom waited to dry her off, I was overwhelmed with God’s love and faithfulness. And, I am confident that her parents, grandparents and great grandparents will cover her in prayer daily, leading her to know, believe and understand that when the Holy Spirit beckons her, she will respond, moving her from prevenient (preventing) grace to justifying grace and ultimately sanctifying grace.
May we continue to praise God for all He has done and for all He will do. And as I read Hab 3:17-18, where the questioning prophet finally understands God’s character, I remind each of us that it is our duty and our blessing to praise God regardless of our circumstances. And, as the Message, a contemporary version of the Bible reads: Psalms 23:6 (MSG) 6 Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I’m back home in the house of GOD for the rest of my life.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Abiding in Him
1 John 2:24-29 24 Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
26 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. 27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.
I love the word “abiding” and what it means in the context of our relationship with Christ. According to the Bible, abiding means to stay connected, dwell, or remain in a continuous, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
In the 21st century it is easier than ever to stay connected. Texting, emailing, and calling can all be done on cell phones, tablets, and even watches. I know it is hard to believe but many of us grew up without these devices. As a child we had an operator direct our calls, and there were party lines which means we shared one line among multiple households.
If we were away from home, it was not so simple to reach another person. We had to find a phone booth (think Superman’s changing room) or sometimes ask a business owner for the use of his phone. But have any of our modern conveniences made it any easier to draw closer to God?
I would say our cell phones have made accessibility easier, but they have also provided more distractions. What a shame.
May we understand that to draw closer to God, our focus should be on Him.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 