Do you have an aim in life, an ultimate goal? When I was young my goal was to find a Christian man for a husband and have children and then I got interested in health and I studied natural healing for several years and read everything I could get my hands on. My goal was to have a health retreat where I could help people get well with natural means. When that didn't work out, I started helping friends and even people would hear about me and call me for help and I wrote a health article for a paper. But have always been one who needed a challenge and would find something to challenge my mind and the greatest challenge I have ever found is the challenge of being Christ like. This goal will pay big dividends in the end as I will be able to be with my best Friend forever. It is my Ultimate Aim.
I would like to present this challenge to you and see what you will do with it. Of course there are promises to help us along the way.
2 Corinthians 3:18 "But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." How are we changed into His image? By beholding the glory of the Lord, we will be changed into His likeness.
Philippians 3:21 "Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself." He will change our vile body. Praise Him for such a promise.
2 Peter l:4 "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." Just find all the promises in the Scriptures that you can and use a red marking pencil, not pen and color all the promises red so you can readily see them and the promise is that we might be partakers of His divine nature. A wonderful goal for anyone.
1 John 3:2 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." Isn't that a goal worth looking forward to? I think it should be the Ultimate Aim of everyone alive, what a different world we would have to live in, isn't that right?
This Bible study was good for me, I needed it and am thankful for it. Could you make being Christ like your Ultimate Aim? I hope so and pray that you will. I don't know who you are, but I do know that I pray for each person reading this blog that you will come to know Jesus as your Savior and it will be your Ultimate Aim to be like Him. You have all the help you need through Him who loves you, it is your choice to make.
Grandma Joan
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Someone Who Cares
I never realized until after my husbands death how much he cared for me and how much I missed someone to care. It left a terrible void in my life of which I am just now overcoming. I will probably always miss him, it is natural after 63 years of being together plus two years of going together. Everyone needs someone to care for them, I know I do. Children care but they have their own lives to live and their children to care about and spouses etc. So when you are left alone, it is important to find someone who really cares and I can tell you from experience that to replace a spouse after all those years it is impossible to do or for me, to even think of doing. So what do you do, well here is what I have done.
By the way it doesn't have to be a death, it can be a separation, a divorce and in some ways that is even worse, so listen up and maybe, just maybe help is coming.
Matthew 8:17 last part, "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."
Isaiah 53:4 "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted."
John 19:17 "And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha."
Here is Someone whom you can trust to care enough for you to take your infirmities and bear your sicknesses and your griefs, sorrows and then bearing the cross for us went to Calvary and took all our sins and died for us there, the most horrible and agonizing death. And that's not all.....
Isaiah 53:12 in short, "He bore the sins of many".
Hebrews 9:28 "So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many..."
1 Peter 2:24 "who Himself bore our sins in having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed."
1 John 3:5 "And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin."
Not only is He our burden bearer but He will take away your huge burden of sin if you allow Him to. You must ask, He is only waiting for you to want to be free from them enough to ask Him to take them. He will do it, I am living proof of this very thing, I am not perfect, but He is and He is willing to take away our sins and He already bore them to the cross for us, so what are we waiting for? Let's lay them at the foot of the cross and leave them there, He will take care of them. "You will cast all our sins in the depths of the sea."
Micah 7:19 last part. A good place for them, don't you think?
How about it? Do we have Someone who cares? Absolutely, I can't live without this Someone, He has worked a miracle in my life, why not let Him work one in yours? Grandma Joan
By the way it doesn't have to be a death, it can be a separation, a divorce and in some ways that is even worse, so listen up and maybe, just maybe help is coming.
Matthew 8:17 last part, "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."
Isaiah 53:4 "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted."
John 19:17 "And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha."
Here is Someone whom you can trust to care enough for you to take your infirmities and bear your sicknesses and your griefs, sorrows and then bearing the cross for us went to Calvary and took all our sins and died for us there, the most horrible and agonizing death. And that's not all.....
Isaiah 53:12 in short, "He bore the sins of many".
Hebrews 9:28 "So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many..."
1 Peter 2:24 "who Himself bore our sins in having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed."
1 John 3:5 "And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin."
Not only is He our burden bearer but He will take away your huge burden of sin if you allow Him to. You must ask, He is only waiting for you to want to be free from them enough to ask Him to take them. He will do it, I am living proof of this very thing, I am not perfect, but He is and He is willing to take away our sins and He already bore them to the cross for us, so what are we waiting for? Let's lay them at the foot of the cross and leave them there, He will take care of them. "You will cast all our sins in the depths of the sea."
Micah 7:19 last part. A good place for them, don't you think?
How about it? Do we have Someone who cares? Absolutely, I can't live without this Someone, He has worked a miracle in my life, why not let Him work one in yours? Grandma Joan
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
He Touched Me
Do you know the song, 'He Touched Me?' I love it and it goes like this: ' He touched me, He touched me, and O the joy that floods my soul, Something happened, and now I know, He touched me and made me whole.'
Have you felt His touch on you? If you have been following my blog on a daily basis, surely you have come to love Him more and have felt His touch on you Spiritually and maybe even Physically. I pray that you have, as I have been sharing with you I have definitely felt His touch on me Spiritually and to some extent Physically, and I expect as I keep sharing, to feel His touch stronger and stronger. And as you keep reading my blog, I pray that you will experience His touch on you each day in a stronger and stronger way.
I want to share some Bible verses of what the touch of Jesus does, and then maybe you can relate to them in a special way.
The Cleansing Touch: Matthew 8:3 "And Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed."
The Quieting Touch: Matthew 8:15 "And He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose, and ministered unto them."
The Illuminating Touch: Matthew 9:29,30 "Then touched He their eyes, saying, according to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, see that no man know it."
The Reassuring Touch: Matthew 17:7 "And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid."
The Liberating Touch: Mark 7:33 "And He took him aside from the multitude, and put is fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain."
The Touch upon Childhood: Mark 10:13 "And they brought young children to Him, that He should touch them; and His disciples rebuked those that brought them. And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them."
The Healing Touch: Luke 22:51 "And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far, And He touched his ear, and healed him."
I am going to share how He has touched me in hopes that you can identify with them and see how He has touched you, I know He has, but maybe you just haven't felt His touch in a personal way, I pray that you have.
He has touch me with His cleansing touch and made me clean Spiritually. He has touched me with His quieting touch, and I am at peace in Him. He has touched me with His illuminating touch by causing me to write this blog and has illuminated my mind to grasp His messages for me. He has touched me with His reassuring touch and given me peace amid my storm. He is touching my children with His love and blessing them. I have felt His healing touch years ago when crushed a vertebrae .
Now that I have shared what He has done for me, could you identify with any of them and would you possibly share with me how He has touch you. I would love to hear from you. Grandma Joan
Have you felt His touch on you? If you have been following my blog on a daily basis, surely you have come to love Him more and have felt His touch on you Spiritually and maybe even Physically. I pray that you have, as I have been sharing with you I have definitely felt His touch on me Spiritually and to some extent Physically, and I expect as I keep sharing, to feel His touch stronger and stronger. And as you keep reading my blog, I pray that you will experience His touch on you each day in a stronger and stronger way.
I want to share some Bible verses of what the touch of Jesus does, and then maybe you can relate to them in a special way.
The Cleansing Touch: Matthew 8:3 "And Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed."
The Quieting Touch: Matthew 8:15 "And He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose, and ministered unto them."
The Illuminating Touch: Matthew 9:29,30 "Then touched He their eyes, saying, according to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, see that no man know it."
The Reassuring Touch: Matthew 17:7 "And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid."
The Liberating Touch: Mark 7:33 "And He took him aside from the multitude, and put is fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain."
The Touch upon Childhood: Mark 10:13 "And they brought young children to Him, that He should touch them; and His disciples rebuked those that brought them. And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them."
The Healing Touch: Luke 22:51 "And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far, And He touched his ear, and healed him."
I am going to share how He has touched me in hopes that you can identify with them and see how He has touched you, I know He has, but maybe you just haven't felt His touch in a personal way, I pray that you have.
He has touch me with His cleansing touch and made me clean Spiritually. He has touched me with His quieting touch, and I am at peace in Him. He has touched me with His illuminating touch by causing me to write this blog and has illuminated my mind to grasp His messages for me. He has touched me with His reassuring touch and given me peace amid my storm. He is touching my children with His love and blessing them. I have felt His healing touch years ago when crushed a vertebrae .
Now that I have shared what He has done for me, could you identify with any of them and would you possibly share with me how He has touch you. I would love to hear from you. Grandma Joan
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Abundant Supplies
Most of us have an abundant supplies of whatever we need, is that not true? We have plenty of food, clothes, a fairly nice home, we can say that we are well off compared to some parts of the world. I know that we never have an abundance of money, at least we don't think we do but if we lived in the poor parts of the world we would say that we are very rich in comparison. But there are abundant supplies of some other things that anyone can have an abundant supply of. Let's check it out.
Abundant Joys: Psalms 36:8 "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures."
Abundant Life: John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and destroy. I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly."
Abundant Grace: 2 Corinthians 9:8 "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:"
Abundant Power: Ephesians 3:20 "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us."
Abundant Supplies: Philippians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Abundant Entrance: 2 Peter 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
These things that we have been promised an abundant supply of should mean more to us than food, clothes, homes or any earthly need that we might have.
God is more than abundantly happy to supply us with all the things that He has promised to give us so abundantly. We should be abundantly happy and thankful for each and every promise that He has made for our happiness here in this world and in the world to come. We should be willing to share these promises with others so they may be abundantly blessed. I feel blessed, don't you? We should feel more than blessed with His precious Promises that we may claim as ours. God is so good to us, how can we help but love Him? Grandma Joan
Abundant Joys: Psalms 36:8 "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures."
Abundant Life: John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and destroy. I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly."
Abundant Grace: 2 Corinthians 9:8 "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:"
Abundant Power: Ephesians 3:20 "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us."
Abundant Supplies: Philippians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Abundant Entrance: 2 Peter 1:11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
These things that we have been promised an abundant supply of should mean more to us than food, clothes, homes or any earthly need that we might have.
God is more than abundantly happy to supply us with all the things that He has promised to give us so abundantly. We should be abundantly happy and thankful for each and every promise that He has made for our happiness here in this world and in the world to come. We should be willing to share these promises with others so they may be abundantly blessed. I feel blessed, don't you? We should feel more than blessed with His precious Promises that we may claim as ours. God is so good to us, how can we help but love Him? Grandma Joan
Monday, August 26, 2013
You Have a Substitute
Substitute is someone who takes another's place, it could be a teacher, a laborer, anyone who takes someone else's place. I was a substitute teacher years ago, I thought it was fun and I looked forward to doing it.
But the Substitute we have was not a fun job, it was a loving thing to do but not fun and I don't think he looked forward to it with pleasure except to know what the end results would be.
Isaiah 53;5 " But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."
Galatians 3:13 "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written 'cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree."
Hebrews 2:9 "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone."
1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit."
Do you see Jesus as your Substitute, I do, what a marvelous thing He has done for us by taking our punishment and suffering for our sins that we might be with Him forever. Does this help you to love Him more, it sure helps me, every time I envision His willing sacrifice for me, it causes me to love Him more and I want to continue to grow in His love until I am ready to go home with Him. How about you?
I want so much for my little worships to help you to see Jesus as He really is, a loving, merciful, forgiving Savior, One who has done everything possible to save us and will do whatever it takes to make us holy beings ready to go home with Him. Are you willing to accept His work in you, so that He can do His will in us and for us? I am and I pray that you are. Living for Him beats anything we have ever done or will do. It brings a joy that cannot be replaced by anything that we can do. Think about it and surrender your will to Him to make you a new person in Christ. Grandma Joan
But the Substitute we have was not a fun job, it was a loving thing to do but not fun and I don't think he looked forward to it with pleasure except to know what the end results would be.
Isaiah 53;5 " But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."
Galatians 3:13 "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written 'cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree."
Hebrews 2:9 "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone."
1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit."
Do you see Jesus as your Substitute, I do, what a marvelous thing He has done for us by taking our punishment and suffering for our sins that we might be with Him forever. Does this help you to love Him more, it sure helps me, every time I envision His willing sacrifice for me, it causes me to love Him more and I want to continue to grow in His love until I am ready to go home with Him. How about you?
I want so much for my little worships to help you to see Jesus as He really is, a loving, merciful, forgiving Savior, One who has done everything possible to save us and will do whatever it takes to make us holy beings ready to go home with Him. Are you willing to accept His work in you, so that He can do His will in us and for us? I am and I pray that you are. Living for Him beats anything we have ever done or will do. It brings a joy that cannot be replaced by anything that we can do. Think about it and surrender your will to Him to make you a new person in Christ. Grandma Joan
Saturday, August 24, 2013
The Depth of the Sacrifice
I have never done this before on this blog, but today is different, something is really getting to me and I want to share something with you that has been mind boggling to me and caused me to stop and really think this thing through. I am going to quote two or three paragraphs from a book called, 'In the Light of God's Love'.
I have read the little book nine times and should have it memorized by now but I don't. Maybe when I get through with the tenth time. I will share the address with you where to get it if you want it, you won't be sorry I am sure. These paragraphs are speaking about Christ's death on the cross. Here goes--
In 2 Corinthians 5:21 "For He (the Father) made Him (the Son) who knew no sin to be sin for us."
Jesus took into Himself the guilt of every lie, every theft, every murder, every rape, every sin ever committed by human beings. Consequently, He began to sense in the depths of His inmost heart the separation that sin will ultimately make between God and lost sinners. It was the horror of this reality that caused our destiny to hang in the balance against His own will to continue living in the light of God's love. Three times the tortured will of God's Son was pressed to choose between His own eternal life and ours.
'O My Father,' He sobbed, 'if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will'. Three times He consented to any destiny for Himself, however bleak, in exchange for our redemption.
In Gethsemane the Savior's decision was made to save us at any cost to Himself. At Calvary that choice of love was tested to the utmost. The darkness that only cast it's hellish shadow upon Him in the garden now enveloped His soul with the impenetrable blackness of eternal midnight. The Father's love, His acceptance and His approval, seemed so far away as to never return. As Jesus hung there on the cross, the One whose presence alone is life seemed gone forever. The accumulated guilt and shame of the fallen race flooded His heart and hid the Father's face, sharp with eternal damnation, the sword of divine justice was unsheathed and driven through the innocent heart of the Savior.
Zechariah 13:7 "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,' grieved the Father, 'against the Man who is My Companion."
Matthew 27:46 "Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Forsaken! What a horrible thought. The word carries the meaning of abandonment, rejection, separation, not for a time but for eternity.
Peering deeper into the mystery of our Savior's sacrifice, Psalm 88:6-8 & 12 makes an astonishing revelation of what transpired in His agonizing heart: "Thou (Father) hast laid Me (the Son) in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon Me...I am shut up and I cannot come forth...in the land of forgetfulness. I am confined and cannot escape in the land of oblivion".
Jesus felt with unbuffered force the complete severing of the soul from the love and life of God that sin ultimately causes. Confined in the dungeon of guilt, plunged into the depths of shame, oppressed under the hopeless feelings of never ending separation from God, Jesus endured the full and final wages of sin. He was shut up in the darkness of a death from which He could see no return. And yet He did not relent.
I am sure that if you have any feelings at all, you have been touched by these words from this little book. If not then please read it again and again until it penetrates your heart like a spear. It is the first time that I have really understood the depths of which Christ went to save me and it brought remorse and sorrow to my heart to think of what He went through for me and what pain I have caused Him when I have sinned against Him.
If you would like to have this little book, 'In the Light of God's Love' You can order it from: Light Bearer's,
37457 Jasper Lowell Rd., Jasper, Oregon 97438. USA. Or you might try Amazon, they have used books as low as $4.00. Either way, it is worth every penny spent. I love it, it has helped me understand so many beliefs so much clearer and always Bible proof, so you don't have to worry about being led astray.
I hope you love Jesus more from these few thoughts this morning. I can't help but love Him and want to love Him more every day, don't you? Grandma Joan
I have read the little book nine times and should have it memorized by now but I don't. Maybe when I get through with the tenth time. I will share the address with you where to get it if you want it, you won't be sorry I am sure. These paragraphs are speaking about Christ's death on the cross. Here goes--
In 2 Corinthians 5:21 "For He (the Father) made Him (the Son) who knew no sin to be sin for us."
Jesus took into Himself the guilt of every lie, every theft, every murder, every rape, every sin ever committed by human beings. Consequently, He began to sense in the depths of His inmost heart the separation that sin will ultimately make between God and lost sinners. It was the horror of this reality that caused our destiny to hang in the balance against His own will to continue living in the light of God's love. Three times the tortured will of God's Son was pressed to choose between His own eternal life and ours.
'O My Father,' He sobbed, 'if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will'. Three times He consented to any destiny for Himself, however bleak, in exchange for our redemption.
In Gethsemane the Savior's decision was made to save us at any cost to Himself. At Calvary that choice of love was tested to the utmost. The darkness that only cast it's hellish shadow upon Him in the garden now enveloped His soul with the impenetrable blackness of eternal midnight. The Father's love, His acceptance and His approval, seemed so far away as to never return. As Jesus hung there on the cross, the One whose presence alone is life seemed gone forever. The accumulated guilt and shame of the fallen race flooded His heart and hid the Father's face, sharp with eternal damnation, the sword of divine justice was unsheathed and driven through the innocent heart of the Savior.
Zechariah 13:7 "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,' grieved the Father, 'against the Man who is My Companion."
Matthew 27:46 "Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Forsaken! What a horrible thought. The word carries the meaning of abandonment, rejection, separation, not for a time but for eternity.
Peering deeper into the mystery of our Savior's sacrifice, Psalm 88:6-8 & 12 makes an astonishing revelation of what transpired in His agonizing heart: "Thou (Father) hast laid Me (the Son) in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon Me...I am shut up and I cannot come forth...in the land of forgetfulness. I am confined and cannot escape in the land of oblivion".
Jesus felt with unbuffered force the complete severing of the soul from the love and life of God that sin ultimately causes. Confined in the dungeon of guilt, plunged into the depths of shame, oppressed under the hopeless feelings of never ending separation from God, Jesus endured the full and final wages of sin. He was shut up in the darkness of a death from which He could see no return. And yet He did not relent.
I am sure that if you have any feelings at all, you have been touched by these words from this little book. If not then please read it again and again until it penetrates your heart like a spear. It is the first time that I have really understood the depths of which Christ went to save me and it brought remorse and sorrow to my heart to think of what He went through for me and what pain I have caused Him when I have sinned against Him.
If you would like to have this little book, 'In the Light of God's Love' You can order it from: Light Bearer's,
37457 Jasper Lowell Rd., Jasper, Oregon 97438. USA. Or you might try Amazon, they have used books as low as $4.00. Either way, it is worth every penny spent. I love it, it has helped me understand so many beliefs so much clearer and always Bible proof, so you don't have to worry about being led astray.
I hope you love Jesus more from these few thoughts this morning. I can't help but love Him and want to love Him more every day, don't you? Grandma Joan
Friday, August 23, 2013
A Very Expensive Errand
I am sure that we have all run errands, but have you ever ran an errand that was so expensive that it cost you the most dearest treasure that you had? I haven't and probably never will be required to. But love does strange things and the stronger the love the more apt it is to happen.
This is just what God did, when He sent His only begotten Son to this sinful world to save sinners such as me. The dearest treasure He had was His Son and He knew when He sent Him what the price would be. How wonderful and heartbreaking is this? It would take love that we cannot comprehend. His love is so deep and so unfathomable that it is impossible for us to understand how it could be. Our love is so shallow and so dependent on how well we like someone or how well we don't like them that we cannot understand that kind of love.
Why did He do it? This is a great question and deserves some thought and study, so let's see what we can come up with that will tell us a little something about this kind of love.
John 6:38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will, but the will of Him who sent me." He came to do His Father's will, not His own.
Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost." He came to seek out the lost and show them the way of salvation.
Hebrews 2:14 "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil."
1 John 3:8 "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." He came to make sure that the devil would be destroyed and He had victory over the devil and his angels to seal their destruction forever.
John 10:10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." He came so that we would have a real life of peace and fulfillment in Christ.
Verse 28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." What a safe place to be, in His hand, when we give our lives to Him we are safe in His keeping, but we must remember that we are always free to change our minds, it is only when we stay with Him in trusting dependence on Him that we are safe.
What more could we ask for? He came to do His Father's will, to save us from sin, to destroy the works of the devil and to give us an abundant life here and eternal life hereafter. Can you fathom such love, it is hard isn't it? But it is real and trustworthy, so why not look forward to such unfathomable love for eternity? I am excited and am looking forward to living with Him forever, aren't you? Grandma Joan
This is just what God did, when He sent His only begotten Son to this sinful world to save sinners such as me. The dearest treasure He had was His Son and He knew when He sent Him what the price would be. How wonderful and heartbreaking is this? It would take love that we cannot comprehend. His love is so deep and so unfathomable that it is impossible for us to understand how it could be. Our love is so shallow and so dependent on how well we like someone or how well we don't like them that we cannot understand that kind of love.
Why did He do it? This is a great question and deserves some thought and study, so let's see what we can come up with that will tell us a little something about this kind of love.
John 6:38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will, but the will of Him who sent me." He came to do His Father's will, not His own.
Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost." He came to seek out the lost and show them the way of salvation.
Hebrews 2:14 "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil."
1 John 3:8 "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." He came to make sure that the devil would be destroyed and He had victory over the devil and his angels to seal their destruction forever.
John 10:10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." He came so that we would have a real life of peace and fulfillment in Christ.
Verse 28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." What a safe place to be, in His hand, when we give our lives to Him we are safe in His keeping, but we must remember that we are always free to change our minds, it is only when we stay with Him in trusting dependence on Him that we are safe.
What more could we ask for? He came to do His Father's will, to save us from sin, to destroy the works of the devil and to give us an abundant life here and eternal life hereafter. Can you fathom such love, it is hard isn't it? But it is real and trustworthy, so why not look forward to such unfathomable love for eternity? I am excited and am looking forward to living with Him forever, aren't you? Grandma Joan
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Love Him More
I want so much to pass His love along to you, whoever you are. I can't think of a better way than to share His love with you via my blog and worships every morning. I am learning every morning as I have my worships that I love Him more and more, it has seemed like a long journey but actually it hasn't been that long since I realized that was what was missing in my life. Love for God and Jesus whom He has sent to save us is absolutely essential for our salvation and of course the Holy Spirit is involved in a very big way, He is part of the Godhead.
We can't love someone whom we do not know in a personal way. Isn't that true? When you are looking for a companion for life, you get acquainted with someone and then little by little you get to know them and you learn to love them and that's the way it is with Jesus, we need to learn to know Him and we can't know Him if we don't spend time with Him. Even if you are a new believer, just a few minutes in prayer and reading the Bible will lead to a close relationship with Jesus and you will want to spend more and more time with Him as you get to know Him.
Ephesians 3:14-19 "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in LOVE, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--to KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
I want to be filled with His fullness, don't you? So that I may know the love of Christ, the width, depth, length and height of His love for me. In order for this to happen, we need to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in our inner self that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. I have been experiencing this as I study each morning and share what I am learning with you.
It is so important to know Him and we can't know Him if we don't spend time with Him. His promises are sure and yes it takes time to get to know someone, so be patient with yourself and spend some time each morning with Him because I want you to get to know Him too. My life is so much better because I know He will take care of me, I know He loves me and wants what is best for me and will fill all my needs according to His riches in glory. Life has become more pleasant and trusting in Him has brought 'a peace that passes all understanding'. Philippians 4:7.
Won't you take time to be with Him each morning when you get up and talk to Him as you would talk to a friend, tell Him your troubles, your fears, your heartaches and also tell Him your joys and sorrows and just have sweet communion with your best Friend. Your life will become so bonded with Him that you will wonder how you ever lived without Him, I can vouch for that, it is a wonderful experience. Grandma Joan
We can't love someone whom we do not know in a personal way. Isn't that true? When you are looking for a companion for life, you get acquainted with someone and then little by little you get to know them and you learn to love them and that's the way it is with Jesus, we need to learn to know Him and we can't know Him if we don't spend time with Him. Even if you are a new believer, just a few minutes in prayer and reading the Bible will lead to a close relationship with Jesus and you will want to spend more and more time with Him as you get to know Him.
Ephesians 3:14-19 "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in LOVE, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--to KNOW THE LOVE OF CHRIST which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
I want to be filled with His fullness, don't you? So that I may know the love of Christ, the width, depth, length and height of His love for me. In order for this to happen, we need to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in our inner self that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. I have been experiencing this as I study each morning and share what I am learning with you.
It is so important to know Him and we can't know Him if we don't spend time with Him. His promises are sure and yes it takes time to get to know someone, so be patient with yourself and spend some time each morning with Him because I want you to get to know Him too. My life is so much better because I know He will take care of me, I know He loves me and wants what is best for me and will fill all my needs according to His riches in glory. Life has become more pleasant and trusting in Him has brought 'a peace that passes all understanding'. Philippians 4:7.
Won't you take time to be with Him each morning when you get up and talk to Him as you would talk to a friend, tell Him your troubles, your fears, your heartaches and also tell Him your joys and sorrows and just have sweet communion with your best Friend. Your life will become so bonded with Him that you will wonder how you ever lived without Him, I can vouch for that, it is a wonderful experience. Grandma Joan
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
A Different Slant on Faith
Sometimes we just have to trust in God and go about our business. Other times we have to show our faith by our actions. The Bible says that 'Faith without works is dead' James 2:17. What kind of works are we talking about? There are two kinds or maybe three, let's see what the Bible says.
There is a kind of faith that prepares the way for God to answer and there are several instances in the Bible to show this kind of faith. I believe that preparing the way is a type of work or maybe it is just an action. Let's find out.
No Water until the ditches were dug. 2 Kings 3:16,17 "And he said, Thus saith the Lord, make this valley full of ditches, For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain, yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts."
No Oil until the vessels were gathered. 2 Kings 4:3,4 " Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all they neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons; and shalt pour out into all those vessels; and thou shalt set aside that which is full." Her husband had died and had left debts and she had no way to pay him and the man she owed was going to take her sons next, he had taken everything else, the prophet asked her what she had, she had a little oil in her vessel and she started pouring and when all the vessels were full, he told her to go sell what she had and pay her debt and live on the rest.
No Healing until the leper dipped seven times in the river Jordan. 2 Kings 5:10. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thous shalt be clean.
No Crossing the Red Sea until Moses stretched out his rod over the waters. Exodus 14:15,16 "And the Lord said to Moses, why do you cry unto Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea."
No Crossing the Jordan until the Priests stepped into the water. Joshua 3:13 "And it shall come to pass as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap." Israel crossed Jordan on dry ground.
Sometimes I believe God asks us to step out in faith and then He comes through with the answer, other times He just asks us to be patient and wait for His answer, because He knows the best timing for the answer.
The other two kinds of works are: First, there is the works that we do for merit to enter the Kingdom of God, when Jesus has already paved the way for us with His gift of life on Calvary. Second, there is the works that we do because we have met Him face to face and have fallen in love with Him and want to work for others so they will have the same experience.
Are there three kinds of works? Maybe, if you want to call the stepping into the water, works and the other things people did by faith to open the way for God to answer. So what do you think? I personally like the idea that God wants us to show our faith by our actions, I think actions is a better word than works, so let's stick with just two kinds of works. Our works of trying to earn heaven by what we do and then the works of sharing with others because we have met Jesus and want others to meet Him too.
Hope you enjoyed our little study on acting on our faith. It really should increase our faith and hopefully my faith is increased by this study. Grandma Joan
There is a kind of faith that prepares the way for God to answer and there are several instances in the Bible to show this kind of faith. I believe that preparing the way is a type of work or maybe it is just an action. Let's find out.
No Water until the ditches were dug. 2 Kings 3:16,17 "And he said, Thus saith the Lord, make this valley full of ditches, For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain, yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts."
No Oil until the vessels were gathered. 2 Kings 4:3,4 " Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all they neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons; and shalt pour out into all those vessels; and thou shalt set aside that which is full." Her husband had died and had left debts and she had no way to pay him and the man she owed was going to take her sons next, he had taken everything else, the prophet asked her what she had, she had a little oil in her vessel and she started pouring and when all the vessels were full, he told her to go sell what she had and pay her debt and live on the rest.
No Healing until the leper dipped seven times in the river Jordan. 2 Kings 5:10. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thous shalt be clean.
No Crossing the Red Sea until Moses stretched out his rod over the waters. Exodus 14:15,16 "And the Lord said to Moses, why do you cry unto Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea."
No Crossing the Jordan until the Priests stepped into the water. Joshua 3:13 "And it shall come to pass as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap." Israel crossed Jordan on dry ground.
Sometimes I believe God asks us to step out in faith and then He comes through with the answer, other times He just asks us to be patient and wait for His answer, because He knows the best timing for the answer.
The other two kinds of works are: First, there is the works that we do for merit to enter the Kingdom of God, when Jesus has already paved the way for us with His gift of life on Calvary. Second, there is the works that we do because we have met Him face to face and have fallen in love with Him and want to work for others so they will have the same experience.
Are there three kinds of works? Maybe, if you want to call the stepping into the water, works and the other things people did by faith to open the way for God to answer. So what do you think? I personally like the idea that God wants us to show our faith by our actions, I think actions is a better word than works, so let's stick with just two kinds of works. Our works of trying to earn heaven by what we do and then the works of sharing with others because we have met Jesus and want others to meet Him too.
Hope you enjoyed our little study on acting on our faith. It really should increase our faith and hopefully my faith is increased by this study. Grandma Joan
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Pictures of the Character of Jesus
It is so hard for us living in this sinful world to see Jesus as He really is and to fall in love with Him. He is helping me to get a picture of His loving character traits and thus I love Him more and more. I would like you to get a glimpse of Him as He really is and thus also fall in love with Him. Hopefully these Bible verses will help us see Him through our poor vision of who He really is.
Luke 1:35 "And the angel answered and said to her 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." He is the Holy One.
Isaiah 53:11 "He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied, By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities." He is righteous and came as a servant.
Zechariah 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey." He is just and is bringing salvation to all who will accept Him.
1 Peter 2:22 "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth." He is not a deceiver.
2 Corinthians 5:21 "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." He is sinless.
1 Peter 1:19 "but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." He is the spotless Lamb of God.
Matthew 27:4 "saying, 'I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." He is the innocent Lamb of God.
Matthew 11:29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." He is a gentle Savior and humble.
Hebrews 2:17 "Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation, for the sins of the people." He is a merciful and faithful High Priest interceding for the sins of His people.
Philippians 2:8 "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. He is humble Savior to the point of giving Himself on the cross to save us from eternal death.
Luke 23:34 "Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." He is a forgiving God willing to forgive anytime we will repent of our sins.
Here is the list in a capsule, He is Holy, He is Righteous, He is Just, He is not a deceiver, He is Sinless, He is Spotless, He is innocent, He is Gentle, He is Merciful, He is Humble, and He is Forgiving. If you had an acquaintance that had all those traits, wouldn't you want to be their friend and even their best friend. You could always trust them, they would do anything for you, and if you hurt them, they would forgive you.
Well, I am anxious to tell you that you do have just that kind of friend in Jesus. You can rest in Him knowing that He will never hurt you and if you are hurt by the devil, He will heal, if you are down, He will lift you up, if you are hurting, He will comfort you, if you are lost, He will save, if you have gone astray, He will lead you back to the fold, if you are friendless, He is your friend, if you are Fatherless, He is your Father and He IS YOUR MIGHTY GOD. HE IS FOREVER YOUR FRIEND AND MINE. Aren't you glad you have a friend like that at the throne of God interceding for you every moment of every day. One who has willingly laid down His life for you that you might have eternal life. All you have to do is choose to serve Him with your whole heart. Can you do that today? I am willing, Are you? Grandma Joan
Luke 1:35 "And the angel answered and said to her 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." He is the Holy One.
Isaiah 53:11 "He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied, By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities." He is righteous and came as a servant.
Zechariah 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey." He is just and is bringing salvation to all who will accept Him.
1 Peter 2:22 "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth." He is not a deceiver.
2 Corinthians 5:21 "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." He is sinless.
1 Peter 1:19 "but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." He is the spotless Lamb of God.
Matthew 27:4 "saying, 'I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." He is the innocent Lamb of God.
Matthew 11:29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." He is a gentle Savior and humble.
Hebrews 2:17 "Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation, for the sins of the people." He is a merciful and faithful High Priest interceding for the sins of His people.
Philippians 2:8 "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. He is humble Savior to the point of giving Himself on the cross to save us from eternal death.
Luke 23:34 "Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." He is a forgiving God willing to forgive anytime we will repent of our sins.
Here is the list in a capsule, He is Holy, He is Righteous, He is Just, He is not a deceiver, He is Sinless, He is Spotless, He is innocent, He is Gentle, He is Merciful, He is Humble, and He is Forgiving. If you had an acquaintance that had all those traits, wouldn't you want to be their friend and even their best friend. You could always trust them, they would do anything for you, and if you hurt them, they would forgive you.
Well, I am anxious to tell you that you do have just that kind of friend in Jesus. You can rest in Him knowing that He will never hurt you and if you are hurt by the devil, He will heal, if you are down, He will lift you up, if you are hurting, He will comfort you, if you are lost, He will save, if you have gone astray, He will lead you back to the fold, if you are friendless, He is your friend, if you are Fatherless, He is your Father and He IS YOUR MIGHTY GOD. HE IS FOREVER YOUR FRIEND AND MINE. Aren't you glad you have a friend like that at the throne of God interceding for you every moment of every day. One who has willingly laid down His life for you that you might have eternal life. All you have to do is choose to serve Him with your whole heart. Can you do that today? I am willing, Are you? Grandma Joan
Monday, August 19, 2013
Mercy, a Godlike Trait.
Maybe a synonym for mercy would be compassion , or kindness? You might think of another word but I like compassion. Have you ever felt compassion for someone? I have but I have to admit, that if I understand the word completely, I am not sure that it has been one of my better traits. Actually, I am very ashamed to admit that. I was raised in a family where little compassion was shown and so I guess you could say that I never realized what compassion was. I needed an example.
Well, I guess you could say I learned the hard way. When my husband was in the nursing home, I wanted to help him but couldn't find a way, I would have done anything for him but there was nothing to do but to love him and I tried to do that. Then when he was dying, I wanted so much to help him and be near him and I was near him and tried to comfort him but it seemed such a small thing compared to what he was going through. I believe over time from that experience, I have learned to be more compassionate with others when they are hurting, both physically and emotionally. I hope. Of course I am still in the learning process.
Psalms 103:17 "But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children."
Lamentations 3:22,23 "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed. Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning."
Isn't it wonderful that we have a merciful, compassionate God that they fail not and are new every morning.?
I am so thankful for that and I want to be like that, a compassionate follower of His.
Psalms 108:4 "For Thy mercy is great above the heavens; and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds."
His mercy is Eternal, New every day and Boundless.
Micah 7:18 "Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy." He delights in showing mercy to us even in our transgression. What more could we ask?
Titus 3:5 "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." There is nothing we can do to save ourselves, it is according to His mercy that we are saved when He washes us clean through baptism and renews us with the Holy Spirit.
Here is our admonition: Micah 6:8 "He hath showed thee O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Isn't that pretty simple, to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. Those are all Godlike traits of character that we could use aren't they? May you be blessed with these traits today is my prayer and that I might be blessed with them as well. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Matthew 5:7.
Grandma Joan
Well, I guess you could say I learned the hard way. When my husband was in the nursing home, I wanted to help him but couldn't find a way, I would have done anything for him but there was nothing to do but to love him and I tried to do that. Then when he was dying, I wanted so much to help him and be near him and I was near him and tried to comfort him but it seemed such a small thing compared to what he was going through. I believe over time from that experience, I have learned to be more compassionate with others when they are hurting, both physically and emotionally. I hope. Of course I am still in the learning process.
Psalms 103:17 "But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children."
Lamentations 3:22,23 "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed. Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning."
Isn't it wonderful that we have a merciful, compassionate God that they fail not and are new every morning.?
I am so thankful for that and I want to be like that, a compassionate follower of His.
Psalms 108:4 "For Thy mercy is great above the heavens; and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds."
His mercy is Eternal, New every day and Boundless.
Micah 7:18 "Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy." He delights in showing mercy to us even in our transgression. What more could we ask?
Titus 3:5 "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." There is nothing we can do to save ourselves, it is according to His mercy that we are saved when He washes us clean through baptism and renews us with the Holy Spirit.
Here is our admonition: Micah 6:8 "He hath showed thee O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Isn't that pretty simple, to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. Those are all Godlike traits of character that we could use aren't they? May you be blessed with these traits today is my prayer and that I might be blessed with them as well. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Matthew 5:7.
Grandma Joan
Sunday, August 18, 2013
The First Sin, Are You Guilty?
As you know, I have been beseeching God in my life to help me be an overcomer and the worships that I have been sharing with you are my personal studies that God gives me in my search to being an overcomer and today was no exception, this one is a strong one and one that I desperately need His power in to gain the victory that I want. Can you guess what it is? I think I would be safe in saying that most if not all people need this one victory in their life.
The first sin was Eve's when she took of the forbidden fruit. She was intemperate in her desires. Wanting something that God had strictly forbidden.
Then we go down to Noah's day, their eating and drinking led to widespread corruption. And the world was destroyed by a flood.
Then there was Sodom and Gomorrah, gratification of unnatural appetite led to the sins that caused the destruction of the cities by fire.
Then there was Esau, who lusted after his favorite dish, and sacrificed his birthright.
Then Israel lusted for the flesh meats of Egypt, they preferred to go back to Egypt and endure slavery and even death, rather than to be deprived of flesh meat. And God granted their request and many died with the meat still in their mouths.
Intemperance was the first great evil, and today we are slaves to appetite. That's heavy isn't it? I don't like to think that I am a slave to anything, but the truth is we are all slaves to our precious idols. We love food more than we love God, or we love to eat more than we love to spend time with God. Whatever your problem is, it involves love for some pleasure which is an idol.
When Christ was in the wilderness of temptation, after He came off His forty days and nights fast, the first temptation the devil presented to Him was to make the stones into bread. Eve failed her first temptation and Christ overcame His first temptation for us, to show us it is possible to rebuke the devil with 'it is written' as Christ did.
Remember the story of Daniel, 'he purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's meat or the king's wine. Daniel was an honor to God, wasn't he? I want to be like that, don't you?
Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."
1 Corinthians 6:19 "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
We are to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which really is a reasonable service,
and our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is a free gift from God and we belong to God.
I have had a revelation from this study, how about you? I see it all in a different light now and by the grace of God, I will be victorious over appetite. It is not only what we eat, but how much we eat, we don't want to burden our stomachs with too much food, which dulls the brain as well as injures the body. So are you ready to conquer this evil, I believe I am, so let's get started and give the devil a rebuke he will never forget. "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God."
Matthew 4:4. Grandma Joan
The first sin was Eve's when she took of the forbidden fruit. She was intemperate in her desires. Wanting something that God had strictly forbidden.
Then we go down to Noah's day, their eating and drinking led to widespread corruption. And the world was destroyed by a flood.
Then there was Sodom and Gomorrah, gratification of unnatural appetite led to the sins that caused the destruction of the cities by fire.
Then there was Esau, who lusted after his favorite dish, and sacrificed his birthright.
Then Israel lusted for the flesh meats of Egypt, they preferred to go back to Egypt and endure slavery and even death, rather than to be deprived of flesh meat. And God granted their request and many died with the meat still in their mouths.
Intemperance was the first great evil, and today we are slaves to appetite. That's heavy isn't it? I don't like to think that I am a slave to anything, but the truth is we are all slaves to our precious idols. We love food more than we love God, or we love to eat more than we love to spend time with God. Whatever your problem is, it involves love for some pleasure which is an idol.
When Christ was in the wilderness of temptation, after He came off His forty days and nights fast, the first temptation the devil presented to Him was to make the stones into bread. Eve failed her first temptation and Christ overcame His first temptation for us, to show us it is possible to rebuke the devil with 'it is written' as Christ did.
Remember the story of Daniel, 'he purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's meat or the king's wine. Daniel was an honor to God, wasn't he? I want to be like that, don't you?
Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."
1 Corinthians 6:19 "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
We are to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which really is a reasonable service,
and our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is a free gift from God and we belong to God.
I have had a revelation from this study, how about you? I see it all in a different light now and by the grace of God, I will be victorious over appetite. It is not only what we eat, but how much we eat, we don't want to burden our stomachs with too much food, which dulls the brain as well as injures the body. So are you ready to conquer this evil, I believe I am, so let's get started and give the devil a rebuke he will never forget. "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God."
Matthew 4:4. Grandma Joan
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Out of Touch
It is very important to stay in touch with those we love. You can lose touch so easily and then it is sometimes hard to get back in touch again. You lose so much being out of touch.
It is the same way with God, if we don't stay in touch with Him on a daily basis and I find, hourly, and even down to the minute because we can be drawn away so easily. Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares and your fears before God. You cannot weary Him.
James 5:11 "The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." He loves us, He wants the very best for us and He is waiting for us to pour our hearts out to Him so He can pour out His blessings on us.
Yesterday, I mentioned that we must pray in Jesus name and here is the text for that.
John 16:26,27 "Ye shall ask in My name; and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loveth you. That whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you."
To pray in Jesus name means to pray in the mind and spirit of Jesus, while we believe His promises, rely upon His grace and work His works.
If we thought and talked more of Jesus and far less of self, we should have more of His presence with us.
Is there anyone who couldn't have more of His presence with us. We must stay in touch with Him, we dwell to near the lowlands of earth.
Hebrews 7:25 "Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them."
We need to praise God more "for His goodness and His wonderful works to the children of men." Psalms 107:8. If we are not realizing His works in our life, it is because we are not staying in touch as we should. We should praise Him for the benefits that we receive on a daily basis. Fresh air, sunshine, fresh water, food, clothing and any other benefit. Health is a wonderful benefit and we don't realize it until we lose it. These all come from God and we should Praise Him and Thank Him for them and any other gifts that He supplies. If we work to obtain livelyhood, it is because He gives us the strength and health to do it.
Our best friend is Jesus, so let us treat Him as a Best Friend and stay in touch with Him at all times because where an earthly best friend cannot give us the things that we need, as a rule, Jesus can and will take care of all our needs, great or small.
Please don't become out of touch with Him, it is the most important thing you can do is to stay in touch all the time, in other words always be ready to offer a prayer heavenward in a moments notice, you never know when you will need Him, in a crises, an emergency or just want to communicate with Him. I know that He loves to have us just visit with Him just to praise him. Start telling Him what you are thankful for, it will work a miracle in your life just to realize what all you have to be thankful for. The trials will not seem so large any-more and life will be a bit more happier. I am praying for you that you will stay in touch and have a blessed day today and always. Grandma Joan
Some thoughts were taken from the little Book Steps to Christ. Chapter on Prayer.
It is the same way with God, if we don't stay in touch with Him on a daily basis and I find, hourly, and even down to the minute because we can be drawn away so easily. Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares and your fears before God. You cannot weary Him.
James 5:11 "The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." He loves us, He wants the very best for us and He is waiting for us to pour our hearts out to Him so He can pour out His blessings on us.
Yesterday, I mentioned that we must pray in Jesus name and here is the text for that.
John 16:26,27 "Ye shall ask in My name; and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loveth you. That whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you."
To pray in Jesus name means to pray in the mind and spirit of Jesus, while we believe His promises, rely upon His grace and work His works.
If we thought and talked more of Jesus and far less of self, we should have more of His presence with us.
Is there anyone who couldn't have more of His presence with us. We must stay in touch with Him, we dwell to near the lowlands of earth.
Hebrews 7:25 "Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them."
We need to praise God more "for His goodness and His wonderful works to the children of men." Psalms 107:8. If we are not realizing His works in our life, it is because we are not staying in touch as we should. We should praise Him for the benefits that we receive on a daily basis. Fresh air, sunshine, fresh water, food, clothing and any other benefit. Health is a wonderful benefit and we don't realize it until we lose it. These all come from God and we should Praise Him and Thank Him for them and any other gifts that He supplies. If we work to obtain livelyhood, it is because He gives us the strength and health to do it.
Our best friend is Jesus, so let us treat Him as a Best Friend and stay in touch with Him at all times because where an earthly best friend cannot give us the things that we need, as a rule, Jesus can and will take care of all our needs, great or small.
Please don't become out of touch with Him, it is the most important thing you can do is to stay in touch all the time, in other words always be ready to offer a prayer heavenward in a moments notice, you never know when you will need Him, in a crises, an emergency or just want to communicate with Him. I know that He loves to have us just visit with Him just to praise him. Start telling Him what you are thankful for, it will work a miracle in your life just to realize what all you have to be thankful for. The trials will not seem so large any-more and life will be a bit more happier. I am praying for you that you will stay in touch and have a blessed day today and always. Grandma Joan
Some thoughts were taken from the little Book Steps to Christ. Chapter on Prayer.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Keeping in Touch
We all like to keep in touch with others, it is so easy now days to do that. There are cell phones, Ipads, Ipods, computers, and I am not up on things like some people, so I would think there are other ways too. I probably have one of the cheaper cell phones and it costs $50. a month incl. tx. Internet cost me $40. a month and I know that I have the cheapest route for these items unless you get a deal for signing up. What am I getting at, it is expensive to 'keep in touch'. It used to cost three cents to mail a letter and now it is 47 cents, I think, I may not even have that right but any way to keep in touch costs money and some peoples 'keeping in touch' items cost lots more than what it cost me.
We can 'keep in touch' with the Monarch of the Universe and the line is always open and it is absolutely free. What do you think of that? Doesn't cost a cent, not one red cent as the say. It is such a privilege to keep in touch with Him. He is always ready to hear the faintest whisper of a person in need. It is our privilege to drink largely at the fountain of boundless love, and yet we pray so little. The darkness of the evil one encloses those who neglect to pray.
We must feel our need of help from Him.
Isaiah 44:3 "I will pour water on him who is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground."
Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it shall be given you"
Romans 8:32 "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things." He is ready and willing to pour out His blessings on us, but we must seek Him to do these things for us.
Through sincere prayer we are brought into connection with the mind of the Infinite and it doesn't cost us a penny. No busy signals, no messages to listen to, just a pure connection straight to God Himself. We must always pray in Jesus name because He is our intercessor. He presents them to His Father for us.
We must have a spirit of love and forgiveness, if we expect our prayers to be heard we must forgive others in the same manner as we hope to be forgiven.
We must persevere in prayer and not give up. God wants us to come before Him persevering in prayer, it causes us to become humble and it demonstrates our great need.
Philippians 4:6 "In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God."
Jude 20,21 "But ye beloved, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God"
There is necessity for diligence in prayer, let nothing hinder you. Make every effort to keep open the communion between Jesus and your own soul. Remember it is free. Also, remember that we have been studying to stay in His presence all the time and let our thoughts be of Him and be ready to offer up a prayer whenever it is needed, that is what is called 'praying without ceasing.'
Some of my thoughts today were taken from the little book 'Steps to Christ' the chapter on the Privilege of Prayer. If you don't have this little book, it is quite inexpensive and you can order one by pushing the Amazing Facts button and looking in their store. I think I have read this little book probably twenty-five times at least. It is really one of the most helpful little books you can read, it might even be an e-book.
I pray that you have been blessed by these thoughts on Keeping in Touch with the King of the Universe.
Keep in touch until it becomes a habit, you will never regret it, never. Grandma Joan
We can 'keep in touch' with the Monarch of the Universe and the line is always open and it is absolutely free. What do you think of that? Doesn't cost a cent, not one red cent as the say. It is such a privilege to keep in touch with Him. He is always ready to hear the faintest whisper of a person in need. It is our privilege to drink largely at the fountain of boundless love, and yet we pray so little. The darkness of the evil one encloses those who neglect to pray.
We must feel our need of help from Him.
Isaiah 44:3 "I will pour water on him who is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground."
Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it shall be given you"
Romans 8:32 "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things." He is ready and willing to pour out His blessings on us, but we must seek Him to do these things for us.
Through sincere prayer we are brought into connection with the mind of the Infinite and it doesn't cost us a penny. No busy signals, no messages to listen to, just a pure connection straight to God Himself. We must always pray in Jesus name because He is our intercessor. He presents them to His Father for us.
We must have a spirit of love and forgiveness, if we expect our prayers to be heard we must forgive others in the same manner as we hope to be forgiven.
We must persevere in prayer and not give up. God wants us to come before Him persevering in prayer, it causes us to become humble and it demonstrates our great need.
Philippians 4:6 "In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God."
Jude 20,21 "But ye beloved, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God"
There is necessity for diligence in prayer, let nothing hinder you. Make every effort to keep open the communion between Jesus and your own soul. Remember it is free. Also, remember that we have been studying to stay in His presence all the time and let our thoughts be of Him and be ready to offer up a prayer whenever it is needed, that is what is called 'praying without ceasing.'
Some of my thoughts today were taken from the little book 'Steps to Christ' the chapter on the Privilege of Prayer. If you don't have this little book, it is quite inexpensive and you can order one by pushing the Amazing Facts button and looking in their store. I think I have read this little book probably twenty-five times at least. It is really one of the most helpful little books you can read, it might even be an e-book.
I pray that you have been blessed by these thoughts on Keeping in Touch with the King of the Universe.
Keep in touch until it becomes a habit, you will never regret it, never. Grandma Joan
Thursday, August 15, 2013
The Poor Publican
Do you feel rejected by God or too sinful to come before Him? I have felt that way when my pride didn't get in the way. I call pride a dreadful disease and I believe it is because it can destroy us and others as well. People despise the alcoholic and it is considered that they will naturally be lost while pride, selfishness, and covetousness too often go unrebuked. but these are sins that God hates. Read Proverbs 6;16, it doesn't state it just this way but I think you can see what I am saying, what God is trying to tell us.
Luke 18:10-14 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted." The Poor Publican was the humble one and went to his house justified while the Pharisee was praying with himself, did you notice that? God does not hear a prideful prayer but when we come to Him in humility, feeling our need He always hears and answers. I wonder if sometimes we shouldn't pray the tax collector's prayer, 'God be merciful to me a sinner' as well as praying David's prayer of repentance. It is good for us to humble ourselves before God and go away justified, but we must mean it, it must come from a heart that has seen what his sins have done to Jesus and in repentance or sorrow for sin enough to turn away from it because of what our sins have done to Jesus. I, personally love the tax collector's prayer and David's prayer of repentance and have prayed both of them many times in my great need of Christ in my life. You can do the same, what peace it brings to our hearts and in humility brings joy, exceeding joy because of what Christ has done for us and we have been set free from our sinful natures. I personally can't think of a better way to live, can you? Grandma Joan
Luke 18:10-14 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted." The Poor Publican was the humble one and went to his house justified while the Pharisee was praying with himself, did you notice that? God does not hear a prideful prayer but when we come to Him in humility, feeling our need He always hears and answers. I wonder if sometimes we shouldn't pray the tax collector's prayer, 'God be merciful to me a sinner' as well as praying David's prayer of repentance. It is good for us to humble ourselves before God and go away justified, but we must mean it, it must come from a heart that has seen what his sins have done to Jesus and in repentance or sorrow for sin enough to turn away from it because of what our sins have done to Jesus. I, personally love the tax collector's prayer and David's prayer of repentance and have prayed both of them many times in my great need of Christ in my life. You can do the same, what peace it brings to our hearts and in humility brings joy, exceeding joy because of what Christ has done for us and we have been set free from our sinful natures. I personally can't think of a better way to live, can you? Grandma Joan
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Not Quite Right?
Have you ever felt that something is not quite right in your life but you can't put your finger on it? I have been feeling just like that for a while now and could not figure out just what was wrong with me or whatever it was, I wanted to know. I was thinking about this lately and all of a sudden I thought, 'well, God knows what it is, so why not ask Him?' That is a dangerous thing to do if you don't really want to know but for me, I had to know and I found out, it is a little to personal to relate on the web but anyway, I asked God what was standing in the way of answering my prayers and He very willingly pointed something out that I had not thought of. A simple thing to take care of but a hideous thing to have done to an innocent person who has a tender heart. So that taken care of what is next? Well, the next thing to do is ask God again if there is anything else in my life keeping my prayers from being answered. And then repent of what He has already shown me. That's where I am right now. So where do I go from here, I just keep it up until I have full joy in my heart of a clean conscience and a right spirit. Does that seem like an unlikely thing to do? It is absolutely necessary for us to do to stand before a Holy God in the judgment day.
I am determined to have a clean heart and a right spirit and God is helping me tremendously. David's prayer in Psalms 51 is an example of what we should be praying every day if we want to have a relationship that is pure with God. Remember in the story of David he took another man's wife and then had the other man killed in battle so as to hide his sin, and when the prophet of God pointed out his sin he repented which is what we need to do and Psalms 51 is his prayer of repentance.
The part I like to repeat for my condition is verses 10,11,12 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me, Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit." I need the joy of knowing I am clean before God. Isn't that a beautiful prayer? It is to me, and I pray it quite often and God does hear and answer, He wants us to repent and be converted every day so that we may 'walk with Him in white for they are worthy' Revelation 3:4. Jesus is the worthy One, for He is the One who has made it possible for us to overcome through all His love, all His suffering, all His humiliation that we might not perish but have everlasting life. It is so easy to center everything on ourselves, our time, our work, our relationships, everything is for us, that is what the world teaches and that's where we get it, but if we center our life on Christ everything is for Him and not for ourselves.
The person thus touched will hate its selfishness, abhor its self-love, and will seek, through Christ's righteousness, for the purity of heart that is in harmony with the law of God and the character of Christ. Is that your desire? It is mine totally. Shall we repent today and follow Christ more closely? Grandma Joan
I am determined to have a clean heart and a right spirit and God is helping me tremendously. David's prayer in Psalms 51 is an example of what we should be praying every day if we want to have a relationship that is pure with God. Remember in the story of David he took another man's wife and then had the other man killed in battle so as to hide his sin, and when the prophet of God pointed out his sin he repented which is what we need to do and Psalms 51 is his prayer of repentance.
The part I like to repeat for my condition is verses 10,11,12 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me, Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit." I need the joy of knowing I am clean before God. Isn't that a beautiful prayer? It is to me, and I pray it quite often and God does hear and answer, He wants us to repent and be converted every day so that we may 'walk with Him in white for they are worthy' Revelation 3:4. Jesus is the worthy One, for He is the One who has made it possible for us to overcome through all His love, all His suffering, all His humiliation that we might not perish but have everlasting life. It is so easy to center everything on ourselves, our time, our work, our relationships, everything is for us, that is what the world teaches and that's where we get it, but if we center our life on Christ everything is for Him and not for ourselves.
The person thus touched will hate its selfishness, abhor its self-love, and will seek, through Christ's righteousness, for the purity of heart that is in harmony with the law of God and the character of Christ. Is that your desire? It is mine totally. Shall we repent today and follow Christ more closely? Grandma Joan
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Why No Answers to my Prayers?
Have you ever wondered why God doesn't answer your prayer? I am wondering right now.
I was wondering last night as I was lying in bed, just what is wrong with me that my prayers seem not to be heard, when I have had lots of answers, there doesn't seem to be an answer this time. So this morning I am going to do a study on this very subject and I hope it helps anyone who is having the same problem and I hope it helps me figure out the why's.
Psalms 66:18 "If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me."
Isaiah 59:2 says the same thing. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.'
Proverbs 1:28,29 "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me, Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord."
Proverbs 21:13 "Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, will also cry himself and not be heard.
Proverbs 28:9 "One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination."
Micah 3:4 "Then they will cry to the Lord, but He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, because they have been evil in their deeds."
James 4:3 "You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."
Wow! That was quite a study, I will go over it again and again and pray over it to see wherein I am failing to receive answers. It may be because I want something and God knows it is not good for me, even though it seems good at the moment. I try to be willing to walk in the path that He has outlined for me as long as He is walking with me. I hope this hasn't been too hard on you, it was pretty hard on me, I want so much to be willing to accept His will. I have been wondering about this for a week now and reading promises and trying to understand where they fit into my life. I know there is an answer and I will find it and when I do, I will share it with you if it is not too personal. Hope you have a wonderful day and have benefited by this study, I am sure that I will but it may take some time. Grandma Joan
Psalms 66:18 "If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me."
Isaiah 59:2 says the same thing. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.'
Proverbs 1:28,29 "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me, Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord."
Proverbs 21:13 "Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, will also cry himself and not be heard.
Proverbs 28:9 "One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination."
Micah 3:4 "Then they will cry to the Lord, but He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, because they have been evil in their deeds."
James 4:3 "You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."
Wow! That was quite a study, I will go over it again and again and pray over it to see wherein I am failing to receive answers. It may be because I want something and God knows it is not good for me, even though it seems good at the moment. I try to be willing to walk in the path that He has outlined for me as long as He is walking with me. I hope this hasn't been too hard on you, it was pretty hard on me, I want so much to be willing to accept His will. I have been wondering about this for a week now and reading promises and trying to understand where they fit into my life. I know there is an answer and I will find it and when I do, I will share it with you if it is not too personal. Hope you have a wonderful day and have benefited by this study, I am sure that I will but it may take some time. Grandma Joan
Monday, August 12, 2013
Suggestions for Prayer in our life.
A lot of us wonder when, where and for what should we pray? I would like to suggest a few things that might be helpful to you and me.
Pray early in the day, because the more time that lapses, the harder it is to take time to pray.
Mark 1:35 "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Pray alone, it is important that we be alone in our private prayer, it is hard to concentrate on our conversation with God when others are around.
Luke 5:16 "And He withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed."
Pray with passion or strong emotion. If we pray with strong emotion it is indeed a sign that we are sincere in our conversation with God. Jesus prayed with strong passion and emotion when He was in Gethsemane.
Luke 22:41,42 "And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying,'Father, if thou be will, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
We need to pray for guidance, otherwise what will happen to us during the day if we go through the day without His guidance.
Psalms 27:11 "Teach me Thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path..." We must pray that His will, will be done in our lives, we must pray like Jesus prayed, 'Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven'. This is the Lord's prayer. Psalms 143:10 "Teach me to do Thy will; for thou art my God; thy spirit is good; lead me in to the land of uprightness."
We must pray in faith and believe that He hears us and will answer according to His will and His word. Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."
In conclusion we must pray early in the day and be alone so as to be able to concentrate on our prayers. We should pray with strong passion or emotion as Jesus prayed in Gethsemane. If we have some trial or need, it can be our need and trial or someone dear to us, we need to be passionate about it when we pray. I pray in tears lots of times because of things and people dear to my heart. Then we need to pray for guidance each day so that we are living in His will. And pray that His will be done in our lives and then pray in faith, we must believe that He is and rewards those who come to Him in faith. This study has meant a lot to me and given me courage to keep my relationship with Him ongoing. It is so very important for us to stay in His presence. God wants us to be successful in our walk with Him. Don't you agree. Grandma Joan
Mark 1:35 "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Pray alone, it is important that we be alone in our private prayer, it is hard to concentrate on our conversation with God when others are around.
Luke 5:16 "And He withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed."
Pray with passion or strong emotion. If we pray with strong emotion it is indeed a sign that we are sincere in our conversation with God. Jesus prayed with strong passion and emotion when He was in Gethsemane.
Luke 22:41,42 "And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying,'Father, if thou be will, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
We need to pray for guidance, otherwise what will happen to us during the day if we go through the day without His guidance.
Psalms 27:11 "Teach me Thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path..." We must pray that His will, will be done in our lives, we must pray like Jesus prayed, 'Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven'. This is the Lord's prayer. Psalms 143:10 "Teach me to do Thy will; for thou art my God; thy spirit is good; lead me in to the land of uprightness."
We must pray in faith and believe that He hears us and will answer according to His will and His word. Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."
In conclusion we must pray early in the day and be alone so as to be able to concentrate on our prayers. We should pray with strong passion or emotion as Jesus prayed in Gethsemane. If we have some trial or need, it can be our need and trial or someone dear to us, we need to be passionate about it when we pray. I pray in tears lots of times because of things and people dear to my heart. Then we need to pray for guidance each day so that we are living in His will. And pray that His will be done in our lives and then pray in faith, we must believe that He is and rewards those who come to Him in faith. This study has meant a lot to me and given me courage to keep my relationship with Him ongoing. It is so very important for us to stay in His presence. God wants us to be successful in our walk with Him. Don't you agree. Grandma Joan
Sunday, August 11, 2013
What and Who we can Trust
Yesterday we learned what not to trust and some of it we already knew but still it was helpful but today we are going to learn what and who we can trust. This is so important, I hope you will stick with me because some people do not know that the Word of God is trustworthy, they think it is a fairy tail or that it has been changed so that you don't know what is true or not. So let's see what the Bible says about itself and God.
2 Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." 2 Peter 1:21 "Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit"
John 10:35 "The Scripture cannot be broken." It Claims to be inspired. It was written by men who were guided by the Holy Spirit. It cannot be broken or proved untrue.
How about God, can we trust in Him?
Psalms 37:3 "Trust in the Lord and do good, Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness." Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding."
Psalms 32:10 "Many sorrows shall be to the wicked, But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him."
Romans 1:20,21 "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." I know for a fact that those of us who have had our prayers answered have no doubts that God exists. I don't, I have been healed instantly one time when I helped lift a heavy cast iron stove and ruptured a vertebrae and was flat on my back for eleven days and I read a verse in Psalms and submitted to God's will in whether I would be able to walk again or not it was OK with me. And instantly the pain left and I stood up and I was so shocked that God would work so quickly in my behalf, I fell back on the couch where I had been living for eleven days and my husband walked in about that time and I said, 'see I can stand up, I have no pain' and I asked him to look at my swollen back and it was all gone, just a little dark spot where it had been as a reminder of what God had done for me.
No one can tell me God doesn't exist, that is just one answer to my prayers, there have been many. How about you? Is your faith in God stable, I know we go through trials galore, I am going through a severe one right now and I am up and down with my faith, but I know He cares and will come through, how I don't know. It's not for me to tell God what to do, I can only make a request and Pray that it is His will. If He has promised in His word, then we can claim His promise and ask Him to come through with it, but still it is in His timing, not ours.
Has this helped you in some small way? It has me, it has strengthened my faith by just remembering what He has done for me. I believe we can trust God with all our heart and trust His Word with all our heart too. It is good to remember how God has led us in the past, it gives us faith to push on to His eternal kingdom. Thankyou for joining me this morning for worship, I pray that it has been a blessing to you. Grandma Joan
2 Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." 2 Peter 1:21 "Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit"
John 10:35 "The Scripture cannot be broken." It Claims to be inspired. It was written by men who were guided by the Holy Spirit. It cannot be broken or proved untrue.
How about God, can we trust in Him?
Psalms 37:3 "Trust in the Lord and do good, Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness." Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding."
Psalms 32:10 "Many sorrows shall be to the wicked, But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him."
Romans 1:20,21 "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." I know for a fact that those of us who have had our prayers answered have no doubts that God exists. I don't, I have been healed instantly one time when I helped lift a heavy cast iron stove and ruptured a vertebrae and was flat on my back for eleven days and I read a verse in Psalms and submitted to God's will in whether I would be able to walk again or not it was OK with me. And instantly the pain left and I stood up and I was so shocked that God would work so quickly in my behalf, I fell back on the couch where I had been living for eleven days and my husband walked in about that time and I said, 'see I can stand up, I have no pain' and I asked him to look at my swollen back and it was all gone, just a little dark spot where it had been as a reminder of what God had done for me.
No one can tell me God doesn't exist, that is just one answer to my prayers, there have been many. How about you? Is your faith in God stable, I know we go through trials galore, I am going through a severe one right now and I am up and down with my faith, but I know He cares and will come through, how I don't know. It's not for me to tell God what to do, I can only make a request and Pray that it is His will. If He has promised in His word, then we can claim His promise and ask Him to come through with it, but still it is in His timing, not ours.
Has this helped you in some small way? It has me, it has strengthened my faith by just remembering what He has done for me. I believe we can trust God with all our heart and trust His Word with all our heart too. It is good to remember how God has led us in the past, it gives us faith to push on to His eternal kingdom. Thankyou for joining me this morning for worship, I pray that it has been a blessing to you. Grandma Joan
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Don't Trust These Things!!!
Do you trust everything and everybody? I suppose that is a silly question but some people do, they think because they are honest, everyone else is. There are some very important things that we are told not to trust. I guess I wasn't too surprised at what I found and you may not be either. But it is very interesting and I can see the reasons now that I studied it. So here they are, see what you think about it. It might surprise you what I found.
Psalms 44:6 "I will not trust in my bow, Nor shall my sword save me." That is telling us not to trust in weapons. God is stronger than any weapon and He will take care of us. I believe that, don't you.
Psalms 49:6,7 "Those who trust in their wealth and boast in the multitude of their riches, None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him." In this day and age, who can trust in their wealth, it's here one day and gone the next. I know of two or three people who had good RA's and the next day they were gone.
Psalms 146:3 "Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help." It is telling us that we should not put our trust in leaders or any man that can't help us. To find someone trustworthy is not easy. Some people can't even trust their spouse, or their best friend, I think we all know that this does happen, don't we? Sometimes it is a business partner, or employer. I hope none of you have experienced any of these things. I had a friend who had $700,000 and he gave it to his lawyer to invest for him and the lawyer disappeared with the money.
Jeremiah 17:5 "Thus says the Lord. 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his strength.'
Ezekiel 33:13 "When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered, but because of his iniquity that he has committed, he shall die." We are not to trust in our good deeds or our good behavior. It is the grace of Christ that merits our being saved not anything that we do, because it is through Christ that we can do anything good. If we have committed iniquity we need to repent so that we can surely live.
This has been a short study but full of meaning and warnings against who and what we can trust in. Very timely for me and I hope it has helped you. Be encouraged because Christ is giving us knowledge and also help to not trust the things that will cause us to be lost. His love is too great to not warn us and help us through all our trials. We need Him every step of the way and I hope that you feel your need of Him too.
Grandma Joan
Psalms 44:6 "I will not trust in my bow, Nor shall my sword save me." That is telling us not to trust in weapons. God is stronger than any weapon and He will take care of us. I believe that, don't you.
Psalms 49:6,7 "Those who trust in their wealth and boast in the multitude of their riches, None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him." In this day and age, who can trust in their wealth, it's here one day and gone the next. I know of two or three people who had good RA's and the next day they were gone.
Psalms 146:3 "Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help." It is telling us that we should not put our trust in leaders or any man that can't help us. To find someone trustworthy is not easy. Some people can't even trust their spouse, or their best friend, I think we all know that this does happen, don't we? Sometimes it is a business partner, or employer. I hope none of you have experienced any of these things. I had a friend who had $700,000 and he gave it to his lawyer to invest for him and the lawyer disappeared with the money.
Jeremiah 17:5 "Thus says the Lord. 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his strength.'
Ezekiel 33:13 "When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered, but because of his iniquity that he has committed, he shall die." We are not to trust in our good deeds or our good behavior. It is the grace of Christ that merits our being saved not anything that we do, because it is through Christ that we can do anything good. If we have committed iniquity we need to repent so that we can surely live.
This has been a short study but full of meaning and warnings against who and what we can trust in. Very timely for me and I hope it has helped you. Be encouraged because Christ is giving us knowledge and also help to not trust the things that will cause us to be lost. His love is too great to not warn us and help us through all our trials. We need Him every step of the way and I hope that you feel your need of Him too.
Grandma Joan
Friday, August 9, 2013
The Same Light in a Different Way.
When someone gives you a good recipe, you make it and then you want to share it. When someone gives you a beautiful gift, you want to display it where it will bless others. That's the way it is with God, when He gives us something, we want to share it or display it in our lives. The light that we are following, God wants it to light up our life in many ways and also wants us to share it and when we receive something from God and share it, we receive more so we can share more. It becomes a greater blessing to us as we share with others. I am finding that out as I share my worship experience with those of you who are reading my blog each day. The more I share, the more I am blessed. It is the same with you, as you study your Bible and share with others, the more you will be blessed.
Ephesians 5:8 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light."
Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify our Father in heaven."
Isaiah 2:5 "O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord." Isaiah the prophet is pleading with Israel to come and walk in the Light of the Lord. Many times they failed to follow the Light of God and God had to wake them up to come back to Him. And I believe He is pleading with us today to come and walk in the Light of the Lord.
We are God's light in this dark world and he wants us to shine bright and clear to all those with whom we come in contact with..
1 John 1:4-7 "And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."
That is a wonderful promise, we all need cleansing don't we? I know that I do and I pray every day to be like Jesus in every way. Won't you join me in following the Light of the World and then letting His Light shine through you to others. It's going to be a wonderful experience. I'm looking forward to meeting you some day in the earth made new. It will be wonderful. Grandma Joan
Ephesians 5:8 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light."
Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify our Father in heaven."
Isaiah 2:5 "O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord." Isaiah the prophet is pleading with Israel to come and walk in the Light of the Lord. Many times they failed to follow the Light of God and God had to wake them up to come back to Him. And I believe He is pleading with us today to come and walk in the Light of the Lord.
We are God's light in this dark world and he wants us to shine bright and clear to all those with whom we come in contact with..
1 John 1:4-7 "And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."
That is a wonderful promise, we all need cleansing don't we? I know that I do and I pray every day to be like Jesus in every way. Won't you join me in following the Light of the World and then letting His Light shine through you to others. It's going to be a wonderful experience. I'm looking forward to meeting you some day in the earth made new. It will be wonderful. Grandma Joan
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Follow The Light
We can't live without light, and most of us enjoy the sunlight, it is necessary for our physical health to get the vitamin D that we need and it also is necessary for our mental and emotional health. People that live where there is little sunlight have a tendency to become depressed and do not function as well as those who get lots of sun. I remember that when I was living in Oregon out in the mountains I got a bad case of psoriasis on both legs and elbows and when we moved to the desert, it went away, so our skin loves the sun but also it can be dangerous for our skin too, if it is not protected from the hot rays.
1 John 1:5 "This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all."
Psalms 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalms 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
God is my light and there isn't any darkness in Him and He is my light and salvation and the strength of my life and then it says that His word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Can we follow this light safely? I think we can.
John 12:35 says "Then Jesus said to them, 'a little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.'" This sounds a bit like a warning that if we don't follow the light that we have, that darkness may overtake us. We surely don't want that to happen. I don't mind physical darkness, I was never afraid of it, I remember one time when we were living in the Oregon mountains that I wanted to get my mail and forgot to take a flashlight with me or thought it was light enough to see where I was going, as it was it was pitch dark and I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face, the lane to the road was probably 150 feet long or so and I was OK as long as I stayed on the path, but when I got to the main road I sort of knew where the mail box was but couldn't see a thing and put my hands out in front of me and went towards where I thought it was and sure enough I found it and started back, it was quite the walk but there wasn't any fear, darkness has never meant fear to me. But to tell you the truth, Spiritual darkness means more than fear to me, it means eternal separation from my God and I do not like that idea at all. If we stay on the path of light we are safe in His keeping, but if we refuse to stay on His path that He has designed for us, it is a dangerous situation, darkness will overtake us and we will not know where we are going, as the verse says.
It is important to study to see what the path of light is and to surrender to His light and His guidance. It is a journey that you will never be sorry that you took. I am not a bit sorry, even though it has been a bit thorny and dangerous at times and sometimes even discouraging, I keep turning my eyes on Him for guidance and He has kept me these 82 years through thick and thin, sometimes really thin but His love is so deep and condescending He comes down here by His Spirit to direct and encourage and keep us from getting off the path if we are willing to follow.
Are you willing to follow the Light? I am, even though it is tough sometimes, He gives me strength to do it.
Will you join me in this journey, I will try very hard to encourage you and help you as He is helping me each and every day. Grandma Joan
1 John 1:5 "This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all."
Psalms 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalms 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
God is my light and there isn't any darkness in Him and He is my light and salvation and the strength of my life and then it says that His word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Can we follow this light safely? I think we can.
John 12:35 says "Then Jesus said to them, 'a little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.'" This sounds a bit like a warning that if we don't follow the light that we have, that darkness may overtake us. We surely don't want that to happen. I don't mind physical darkness, I was never afraid of it, I remember one time when we were living in the Oregon mountains that I wanted to get my mail and forgot to take a flashlight with me or thought it was light enough to see where I was going, as it was it was pitch dark and I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face, the lane to the road was probably 150 feet long or so and I was OK as long as I stayed on the path, but when I got to the main road I sort of knew where the mail box was but couldn't see a thing and put my hands out in front of me and went towards where I thought it was and sure enough I found it and started back, it was quite the walk but there wasn't any fear, darkness has never meant fear to me. But to tell you the truth, Spiritual darkness means more than fear to me, it means eternal separation from my God and I do not like that idea at all. If we stay on the path of light we are safe in His keeping, but if we refuse to stay on His path that He has designed for us, it is a dangerous situation, darkness will overtake us and we will not know where we are going, as the verse says.
It is important to study to see what the path of light is and to surrender to His light and His guidance. It is a journey that you will never be sorry that you took. I am not a bit sorry, even though it has been a bit thorny and dangerous at times and sometimes even discouraging, I keep turning my eyes on Him for guidance and He has kept me these 82 years through thick and thin, sometimes really thin but His love is so deep and condescending He comes down here by His Spirit to direct and encourage and keep us from getting off the path if we are willing to follow.
Are you willing to follow the Light? I am, even though it is tough sometimes, He gives me strength to do it.
Will you join me in this journey, I will try very hard to encourage you and help you as He is helping me each and every day. Grandma Joan
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Do you like fruit? God does too.
Did you know that fruit is cleansing to our bodies and vegetables are body building? I like that idea and it really does work. If you need cleansing, go on a fruit fast for two or three days, amazing how you will feel afterwards. There is a plus too, you will lose one to three pounds, probably, not guaranteed of course, just a suggestion. But fruit truly is cleansing.
My favorite fruit used to be cherries in season, but recently I have fallen in love with mangoes. I love mangoes and could eat one every day or just have a fruit salad of mangoes, with some of my homemade crackers and that would be a wonderful meal. How about it?
Did you know that God loves fruit too? You say, 'how do you know that? I will show you how I know that. This is God speaking in Proverbs 8:19 "My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold." What fruit is He talking about? I believe He is talking about the fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22,23 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against these there is no law." In other words there is nothing in the scriptures against bearing this kind of fruit. If everyone bore all the fruit of the Spirit, what would this world be like? It is so important for us to do all we can to make our world a more pleasant place to live and we can start in the home, then in the church and then in the community. I know we can't change the whole world, but we can change our homes and help in changing our churches and community. I hope my worship blog is helping to change someone and someone's home, I pray that it is. It is changing mine. But not those who live here, it is changing me, my attitude, my selfishness, it is making me a better person all the way around and for that I am thanking God. As God changes me, He is changing those I love, whether near or far away. It is far more pleasant to live with someone that God is working on and it eventually changes their heart too.
Do you see why God's fruit is better than Gold, even fine Gold.? It is cleansing too, just like the fruit we eat. God loves His kind of fruit and has provided all the necessary ingredients for our Spiritual cleansing and has also provided our fruit for our Physical cleansing.
Yes, we like fruit and some like one kind better than another kind and God loves fruit too, but He loves all of His kind of fruit and it is beneficial to every part of us, our Spiritual cleansing as well as mental, emotional and physical because as we are transformed into His image, we are being transformed in body, soul and spirit and He will be able to put His finishing touch on us when He comes to take us home with Him. So it is with the fruit He has created for our enjoyment, we will feel better if we eat some everyday. We like a bowl of fruit with our breakfast or if our breakfast is to big we have a fruit salad for our evening meal if you eat one or you could even have a fruit salad for lunch on a nice warm summer day, very cooling too.
I hope you will be blessed by God's fruit of the Spirit. I have been and I know He will bless each of us as we bear fruit to His glory. Grandma Joan.
My favorite fruit used to be cherries in season, but recently I have fallen in love with mangoes. I love mangoes and could eat one every day or just have a fruit salad of mangoes, with some of my homemade crackers and that would be a wonderful meal. How about it?
Did you know that God loves fruit too? You say, 'how do you know that? I will show you how I know that. This is God speaking in Proverbs 8:19 "My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold." What fruit is He talking about? I believe He is talking about the fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22,23 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against these there is no law." In other words there is nothing in the scriptures against bearing this kind of fruit. If everyone bore all the fruit of the Spirit, what would this world be like? It is so important for us to do all we can to make our world a more pleasant place to live and we can start in the home, then in the church and then in the community. I know we can't change the whole world, but we can change our homes and help in changing our churches and community. I hope my worship blog is helping to change someone and someone's home, I pray that it is. It is changing mine. But not those who live here, it is changing me, my attitude, my selfishness, it is making me a better person all the way around and for that I am thanking God. As God changes me, He is changing those I love, whether near or far away. It is far more pleasant to live with someone that God is working on and it eventually changes their heart too.
Do you see why God's fruit is better than Gold, even fine Gold.? It is cleansing too, just like the fruit we eat. God loves His kind of fruit and has provided all the necessary ingredients for our Spiritual cleansing and has also provided our fruit for our Physical cleansing.
Yes, we like fruit and some like one kind better than another kind and God loves fruit too, but He loves all of His kind of fruit and it is beneficial to every part of us, our Spiritual cleansing as well as mental, emotional and physical because as we are transformed into His image, we are being transformed in body, soul and spirit and He will be able to put His finishing touch on us when He comes to take us home with Him. So it is with the fruit He has created for our enjoyment, we will feel better if we eat some everyday. We like a bowl of fruit with our breakfast or if our breakfast is to big we have a fruit salad for our evening meal if you eat one or you could even have a fruit salad for lunch on a nice warm summer day, very cooling too.
I hope you will be blessed by God's fruit of the Spirit. I have been and I know He will bless each of us as we bear fruit to His glory. Grandma Joan.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Have you been derailed?
This morning I sat here wondering what was wrong with me, I have had a hard time getting my thoughts together even for my time with God and all of a sudden I realized that someone was trying to control things and it wasn't God. What could be going on and then I thought about the enemy in the camp, and sure enough he was trying to derail me into his line of thinking and I needed God's help to get back on the rails, so to speak. Well, in this mode of thinking, I thought about how we are getting derailed all the time and some don't even know they are derailed. Isn't that true? I have been derailed more than once and needed brought back on the rails. It's kind of a dead feeling if I can use that word, you can't get your thoughts together specially if it has to do with God and your way of life. You feel a little down, and don't know just what the problem is. He (the enemy) would like to derail us to the point that we would not make it into God's kingdom, I hate his subtle ways with us poor mortals, so what can we do?
The first text that comes to mind is James 4:7,8 "Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw night to God and He will draw nigh to you." How simple does God make our life if we will let Him.
You might ask, How do we resist the devil? One way that I do it is to get into the Word of God, he doesn't like it when we put God first in our lives or run to Him for help, we have all heaven on our side and he doesn't and he tries to use force and God uses love so it is important to let God's love prevail and satan will flee.
Psalms 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." He is our refuge and strength, right here, right now, so flee to Him for the help we need when we are buffeted by the devil.
Psalms 124:8 "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth."
Isaiah 55:6 "Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near." I know that He is so delighted to have us seek Him and call upon Him for help, our help is in His name, He is our Creator and Redeemer. He wants us to be safe in His keeping all the time so let's let Him take care of us and let Him rebuke the devil as we draw nigh to Him each day. Of course we must ask for His help.
This has been so helpful to me today, I believe that the devil is a defeated foe because I can trust the above promises for my life. How about you? I know you can do it too. We have the power of all heaven on our side and it couldn't be better for us. Do you believe that? I am sure you do, so have faith in His promises and let Him take care of you. I am ready for this day, how about you? Grandma Joan
The first text that comes to mind is James 4:7,8 "Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw night to God and He will draw nigh to you." How simple does God make our life if we will let Him.
You might ask, How do we resist the devil? One way that I do it is to get into the Word of God, he doesn't like it when we put God first in our lives or run to Him for help, we have all heaven on our side and he doesn't and he tries to use force and God uses love so it is important to let God's love prevail and satan will flee.
Psalms 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." He is our refuge and strength, right here, right now, so flee to Him for the help we need when we are buffeted by the devil.
Psalms 124:8 "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth."
Isaiah 55:6 "Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near." I know that He is so delighted to have us seek Him and call upon Him for help, our help is in His name, He is our Creator and Redeemer. He wants us to be safe in His keeping all the time so let's let Him take care of us and let Him rebuke the devil as we draw nigh to Him each day. Of course we must ask for His help.
This has been so helpful to me today, I believe that the devil is a defeated foe because I can trust the above promises for my life. How about you? I know you can do it too. We have the power of all heaven on our side and it couldn't be better for us. Do you believe that? I am sure you do, so have faith in His promises and let Him take care of you. I am ready for this day, how about you? Grandma Joan
Monday, August 5, 2013
Before we fall
I have fallen flat on my face so many times, I can't count them. There is a reason for this and I would like to share it with you. I know that we all have suffered falling, I am talking about a Spiritual fall. We all have suffered Spiritual falling, it is human nature to be lifted up and then comes a hard fall, not every time, sometimes it is an easy fall, maybe a warning against the bigger fall. So let's check out the reason for this.
Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." I think the haughty spirit comes before pride and so maybe this is a warning that we need to catch the haughty spirit before it turns into pride and we fall flat on our face. I never saw it this way before and maybe, just maybe I could have prevented some serious falls, anyway now I know and will watch for that haughty spirit.
Proverbs 11:2 "When pride comes, then comes shame." I can't tell you how many times I have felt ashamed of my ugly spirit or haughty spirit. I don't know where it came from because I was always a timid person, I guess it was when we bought a business and I was in charge of all the help and it sort of made me tough which I hated but after ten years, I guess I got use to it and in came that haughty spirit, the know everything attitude. I was sitting one day at the dining room table, after we had sold our business and I was contemplating my character, I think it was God showing me what I had become and it was not a pretty sight.
I just bowed my head and asked Him to help me be what I use to be and it has taken a while and I still find myself catching that haughty spirit and then I read that God hates pride.
Proverbs 8:13 "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way." I have found that in most places in the Bible where it says fear the Lord, the fear means reverence the Lord, so in this case if we reverence the Lord we will hate pride and that is my goal. To hate it so much that it is not a part of my character any more.
Proverbs 29:23 "A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor." Sometimes God rebukes us through someone else and they don't realize they are rebuking us. That happened to me once and I have never forgotten, it seemed I had an answer for everything, a know it all spirit, I am so ashamed to admit that but it is true and a friend asked me something and I gave her my know it all answer and she said, 'you have an answer for everything, don't you?' I realized then that my pride was out of hand.
James 4:6 "But He gives more grace. Therefore He says; God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." So let me be humble in spirit and leave all my pride and know it all attitude behind so that I may have God's grace abiding in me. How about you, isn't that one of our greatest needs, is His grace, so let's
have a humble spirit, if He can give me one, He can do it for you and He will, because He is working on me daily to prepare me for a place with Him someday. Won't you join me? Grandma Joan
Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." I think the haughty spirit comes before pride and so maybe this is a warning that we need to catch the haughty spirit before it turns into pride and we fall flat on our face. I never saw it this way before and maybe, just maybe I could have prevented some serious falls, anyway now I know and will watch for that haughty spirit.
Proverbs 11:2 "When pride comes, then comes shame." I can't tell you how many times I have felt ashamed of my ugly spirit or haughty spirit. I don't know where it came from because I was always a timid person, I guess it was when we bought a business and I was in charge of all the help and it sort of made me tough which I hated but after ten years, I guess I got use to it and in came that haughty spirit, the know everything attitude. I was sitting one day at the dining room table, after we had sold our business and I was contemplating my character, I think it was God showing me what I had become and it was not a pretty sight.
I just bowed my head and asked Him to help me be what I use to be and it has taken a while and I still find myself catching that haughty spirit and then I read that God hates pride.
Proverbs 8:13 "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way." I have found that in most places in the Bible where it says fear the Lord, the fear means reverence the Lord, so in this case if we reverence the Lord we will hate pride and that is my goal. To hate it so much that it is not a part of my character any more.
Proverbs 29:23 "A man's pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor." Sometimes God rebukes us through someone else and they don't realize they are rebuking us. That happened to me once and I have never forgotten, it seemed I had an answer for everything, a know it all spirit, I am so ashamed to admit that but it is true and a friend asked me something and I gave her my know it all answer and she said, 'you have an answer for everything, don't you?' I realized then that my pride was out of hand.
James 4:6 "But He gives more grace. Therefore He says; God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." So let me be humble in spirit and leave all my pride and know it all attitude behind so that I may have God's grace abiding in me. How about you, isn't that one of our greatest needs, is His grace, so let's
have a humble spirit, if He can give me one, He can do it for you and He will, because He is working on me daily to prepare me for a place with Him someday. Won't you join me? Grandma Joan
Sunday, August 4, 2013
I Find No Fault In Him.
I have heard so many, many reasons why people do not want to become a Christian, Here are a few:
1. I know someone who says they are a Christian that leads a double life, so who wants to be like that?
2. I went to church and no one even spoke to me.
3. I know a Christian who treated me terrible.
4. Some say that the Christians they know, lie, cheat and do all manner of evil to others.
You know what? The word Christian means Christ like and I doubt that people that do all these bad things are really Christians. They might be growing Christians and are in the process of being sanctified, because we all have been there in that situation. Jesus was perfect in all His ways and we are to strive to be like Him and if we are really Christians He will be the center of our lives, Isn't that true? And someday we will be like Him when He comes to claim us as His children.
Some people will point their finger at a so called Christian but they can't point their finger at Jesus and use His life as an excuse for not being a Christian. He even gave up His life on Calvary to save them, what else could He have done to prove His love to us. That was the ultimate sacrifice to save us. Even Pilate said,
"I find no fault in this man". So we can't look at Jesus and use His life as an excuse for not being a Christian.
You probably have never heard anyone say, 'I am not going to be a Christian because I don't like what Jesus did. Please don't get sidetracked into looking at others. Look to Jesus, He is the author and finisher of our faith and what He has started in us, He is well able to finish, so let's let Him finish the work in us and in others as they need it. Grandma Joan
1. I know someone who says they are a Christian that leads a double life, so who wants to be like that?
2. I went to church and no one even spoke to me.
3. I know a Christian who treated me terrible.
4. Some say that the Christians they know, lie, cheat and do all manner of evil to others.
You know what? The word Christian means Christ like and I doubt that people that do all these bad things are really Christians. They might be growing Christians and are in the process of being sanctified, because we all have been there in that situation. Jesus was perfect in all His ways and we are to strive to be like Him and if we are really Christians He will be the center of our lives, Isn't that true? And someday we will be like Him when He comes to claim us as His children.
Some people will point their finger at a so called Christian but they can't point their finger at Jesus and use His life as an excuse for not being a Christian. He even gave up His life on Calvary to save them, what else could He have done to prove His love to us. That was the ultimate sacrifice to save us. Even Pilate said,
"I find no fault in this man". So we can't look at Jesus and use His life as an excuse for not being a Christian.
You probably have never heard anyone say, 'I am not going to be a Christian because I don't like what Jesus did. Please don't get sidetracked into looking at others. Look to Jesus, He is the author and finisher of our faith and what He has started in us, He is well able to finish, so let's let Him finish the work in us and in others as they need it. Grandma Joan
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Experiencing Prayer
Have you ever experienced an answer to a prayer that you didn't pray? I did one time and probably more than once but this time has stuck in my mind for almost forty years. I have always been one to pray for my children whether they are Christians or not, I always pray for them, so in a way you could say that it was an answer to my prayer but I never thought of what was put in my mind that day.
I was sitting in church and all of a sudden the thought came to me that my son was going to ask me to quit praying for him because it was making him miserable, he was living in sin at the time. So then I sort of put it in the back of my mind and a few days later I was visiting my daughter and my son came in and said, 'Mom I want to talk to you," so we went into the back bedroom to talk and I told him I knew what he was going to say to me and he said, 'what am I going to say?' and I told him he was going to ask me to quit praying for him, and he said, how did you know? so I told him what God had put in my mind a few days before. And of course I told him I could never do that, and I never have, I still pray for all my children regardless of their lifestyle.
Isaiah 65:24 "It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear." I believe this is what I experienced. God knows our need before we ask but He loves to hear our prayers and answer them. He knew I needed to know that, to prevent me from shock and also have an answer.
Is there anything that would cause God not to hear our prayers? Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have separated you from your God, And your sins have hid His face from you, so that He will not hear."
Psalms 66:18 "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." When it comes to these verses
I think we need to challenge our minds and search our hearts to see if there be any wicked way in us.
Psalms 139:23,24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." If there is sin in our lives and we ask
God to show us, believe me He is anxious for us to know and give them to Him so He can hear and answer our prayers. I believe He is talking about 'known sin', sanctification is the work of a life time and we would be overwhelmed if God showed us all that is wrong with us at once and we couldn't handle it, but He wants us to have pure hearts and love Him with all our heart and then we will want to get rid of the things in our life that are displeasing to Him. Sometimes one thing at a time is all we can handle, don't you think? God loves you and wouldn't overwhelm you with something you cannot handle. His character is love and He wants to lead us in the way everlasting. So don't let these verses deter you from praying, because he wants us to come to Him and remember the verses that say we must believe that He is and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, so believe in Him and diligently seek Him. He will hear and answer.
What should our prayer habits be? Psalms 55:17 "Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice." That sounds like a lot, but I can tell you from experience, it keeps us close to Him all through the day, He doesn't expect long tedious prayers, He just wants us to come before Him for instruction and companionship. What better thing to do.? He really does want us close to Him all the time, it is a very safe place to be and keeps us from lots of trials and disappointments.
Who is mentioned in the Bible as praying an acceptable prayer? James 5:17,18 "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit." Read Elijah's story in 1 Kings 17. It's a good story of faith and answered prayer.
I hope you have been blessed by these studies on prayer, I have and now I have more faith to know that His answers are better than mine and He will take care of my fears and my troubles. How about you? We are all human and need all the encouragement we can get. I hope and pray that you are encouraged in your Christian walk. Grandma Joan
I was sitting in church and all of a sudden the thought came to me that my son was going to ask me to quit praying for him because it was making him miserable, he was living in sin at the time. So then I sort of put it in the back of my mind and a few days later I was visiting my daughter and my son came in and said, 'Mom I want to talk to you," so we went into the back bedroom to talk and I told him I knew what he was going to say to me and he said, 'what am I going to say?' and I told him he was going to ask me to quit praying for him, and he said, how did you know? so I told him what God had put in my mind a few days before. And of course I told him I could never do that, and I never have, I still pray for all my children regardless of their lifestyle.
Isaiah 65:24 "It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear." I believe this is what I experienced. God knows our need before we ask but He loves to hear our prayers and answer them. He knew I needed to know that, to prevent me from shock and also have an answer.
Is there anything that would cause God not to hear our prayers? Isaiah 59:2 "But your iniquities have separated you from your God, And your sins have hid His face from you, so that He will not hear."
Psalms 66:18 "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." When it comes to these verses
I think we need to challenge our minds and search our hearts to see if there be any wicked way in us.
Psalms 139:23,24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." If there is sin in our lives and we ask
God to show us, believe me He is anxious for us to know and give them to Him so He can hear and answer our prayers. I believe He is talking about 'known sin', sanctification is the work of a life time and we would be overwhelmed if God showed us all that is wrong with us at once and we couldn't handle it, but He wants us to have pure hearts and love Him with all our heart and then we will want to get rid of the things in our life that are displeasing to Him. Sometimes one thing at a time is all we can handle, don't you think? God loves you and wouldn't overwhelm you with something you cannot handle. His character is love and He wants to lead us in the way everlasting. So don't let these verses deter you from praying, because he wants us to come to Him and remember the verses that say we must believe that He is and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, so believe in Him and diligently seek Him. He will hear and answer.
What should our prayer habits be? Psalms 55:17 "Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice." That sounds like a lot, but I can tell you from experience, it keeps us close to Him all through the day, He doesn't expect long tedious prayers, He just wants us to come before Him for instruction and companionship. What better thing to do.? He really does want us close to Him all the time, it is a very safe place to be and keeps us from lots of trials and disappointments.
Who is mentioned in the Bible as praying an acceptable prayer? James 5:17,18 "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit." Read Elijah's story in 1 Kings 17. It's a good story of faith and answered prayer.
I hope you have been blessed by these studies on prayer, I have and now I have more faith to know that His answers are better than mine and He will take care of my fears and my troubles. How about you? We are all human and need all the encouragement we can get. I hope and pray that you are encouraged in your Christian walk. Grandma Joan
Friday, August 2, 2013
Back to Prayer
So sorry that I forgot to finish our Prayer Study. Prayer is so important in our lives and do you remember the verse that says, 'pray without ceasing'? 1 Thessalonians 5:17. Sometime back I did a study on the praying without ceasing and it means to always be in the attitude of prayer so that no matter what is going on in your life you can lift your heart up to God, at work, in a meeting, taking a walk, whatever you are doing you can talk to God and he will hear. What better friend could we have, especially One who can do anything and everything for us according to the power that works in us, remember that verse?
Remember the part in the Lord's Prayer that says, 'Forgive us our debts as we forgive others?' We must forgive if we want to be forgiven, it is one of the hardest things to do at times but we can do it. I had to learn to forgive someone one time that was a hard thing to do, actually more than once. Two different people. The first one had abused me in a very bad way and I finally was able to forgive but they were gone and out of my life before I was able to forgive them. But a weight was lifted off my heart that was even heavier to bear than what had been done to me. It is really important to forgive others when they have wronged us, even if they don't seem to care if we do or not. Why should we let what others do or say mess up our lives and make us miserable? It really does, they aren't usually miserable for doing it but we allow ourselves to become miserable by not forgiving them.
So forgiving our debtors is important if we want to be forgiven of our sins. If you do not feel like forgiving, You can ask God to give you a forgiving spirit and He will do it, He did it for me. He has done it more than once for me. An unforgiving spirit can stand in the way of our prayers being answered.
Matthew 6:14,15 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." We all need forgiven don't we? So we all need to forgive.
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." See we can have the power to forgive if we desire to do it.
Do you feel destitute? Psalms 102:17 "He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, and shall not despise their prayer." A great promise, sometimes we all have a moment or longer when we feel destitute of God's Spirit, but we have this promise that He regards our prayers when we feel this way. I am so happy that we have an all knowing, and all loving God. Aren't you? I can't make it through the day without Him and I am sure He is delighted when I spend time with Him. How about you, can you make it without Him, I mean really make it, with a heart full of peace and resting in His will? It is something that I am learning to do and it really is a wonderful way to live, I try not to forget to spend my time with Him two or three times a day. I like to stop what I am doing in the middle of the day and spend a few minutes with Him, I really believe that, that is what is keeping me going and able to keep up with my duties each day. May you be blessed with these special thoughts today as I was. Grandma Joan
Remember the part in the Lord's Prayer that says, 'Forgive us our debts as we forgive others?' We must forgive if we want to be forgiven, it is one of the hardest things to do at times but we can do it. I had to learn to forgive someone one time that was a hard thing to do, actually more than once. Two different people. The first one had abused me in a very bad way and I finally was able to forgive but they were gone and out of my life before I was able to forgive them. But a weight was lifted off my heart that was even heavier to bear than what had been done to me. It is really important to forgive others when they have wronged us, even if they don't seem to care if we do or not. Why should we let what others do or say mess up our lives and make us miserable? It really does, they aren't usually miserable for doing it but we allow ourselves to become miserable by not forgiving them.
So forgiving our debtors is important if we want to be forgiven of our sins. If you do not feel like forgiving, You can ask God to give you a forgiving spirit and He will do it, He did it for me. He has done it more than once for me. An unforgiving spirit can stand in the way of our prayers being answered.
Matthew 6:14,15 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." We all need forgiven don't we? So we all need to forgive.
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." See we can have the power to forgive if we desire to do it.
Do you feel destitute? Psalms 102:17 "He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, and shall not despise their prayer." A great promise, sometimes we all have a moment or longer when we feel destitute of God's Spirit, but we have this promise that He regards our prayers when we feel this way. I am so happy that we have an all knowing, and all loving God. Aren't you? I can't make it through the day without Him and I am sure He is delighted when I spend time with Him. How about you, can you make it without Him, I mean really make it, with a heart full of peace and resting in His will? It is something that I am learning to do and it really is a wonderful way to live, I try not to forget to spend my time with Him two or three times a day. I like to stop what I am doing in the middle of the day and spend a few minutes with Him, I really believe that, that is what is keeping me going and able to keep up with my duties each day. May you be blessed with these special thoughts today as I was. Grandma Joan
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Free Gifts, Very Special for Everyone.
When anyone has a chance to get something free, very few people would turn down a 'special free gift'' I think you will agree with me that these gifts are more than special, they are super special. It will be worth your time to discover them and claim them as yours. You won't be disappointed in them. I challenge you to accept them as yours and discover the happiness that they will bring you.
Spiritual Knowledge - Jeremiah 24:7 "And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, for they shall return unto me with their whole heart." He will give us a heart to know Him, so who wouldn't want to know Him or know Him better.
A New Heart - Ezekiel 11:19 "I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh." Wouldn't you want to exchange your stony heart for a new heart of flesh? I do, I need a new heart and it is a very special gift too.
Spiritual Rest - Matthew 11:28 "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." If we have been burdened down with trials and or sin, we need spiritual rest, don't we. Jesus says to come to Him for that special gift of rest.
The Holy Spirit - Luke 11:13 "If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him." This happens to be a super, super gift that we cannot do without, it is something that we need to be filled with, daily, hourly, it is really an important gift.
Eternal Life - John 10:28 "And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." What more could we ask for than the gift of eternal life, to be with Jesus eternally is beyond my comprehension but I believe it and truly want to be there, how about you? What a precious promise is ours if we claim it.
There are other kinds of gifts too that are entirely different than these and maybe we can touch on them another time. I think if we comprehend these gifts and let God fulfill them in our lives it will change our lives like nothing else can. May God bless you as you accept these gifts as yours, you will never be sorry that you did, never. Grandma Joan
Spiritual Knowledge - Jeremiah 24:7 "And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, for they shall return unto me with their whole heart." He will give us a heart to know Him, so who wouldn't want to know Him or know Him better.
A New Heart - Ezekiel 11:19 "I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh." Wouldn't you want to exchange your stony heart for a new heart of flesh? I do, I need a new heart and it is a very special gift too.
Spiritual Rest - Matthew 11:28 "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." If we have been burdened down with trials and or sin, we need spiritual rest, don't we. Jesus says to come to Him for that special gift of rest.
The Holy Spirit - Luke 11:13 "If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him." This happens to be a super, super gift that we cannot do without, it is something that we need to be filled with, daily, hourly, it is really an important gift.
Eternal Life - John 10:28 "And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." What more could we ask for than the gift of eternal life, to be with Jesus eternally is beyond my comprehension but I believe it and truly want to be there, how about you? What a precious promise is ours if we claim it.
There are other kinds of gifts too that are entirely different than these and maybe we can touch on them another time. I think if we comprehend these gifts and let God fulfill them in our lives it will change our lives like nothing else can. May God bless you as you accept these gifts as yours, you will never be sorry that you did, never. Grandma Joan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)