Yes, I am amazed at what God can do with someone like me. I am nobody, hardly have any friends, yes, I have some good acquaintances, but they are not close friends. I do have a very few friends but they live far away from me, I wish we were closer. My husband was my very best friend and now he is sleeping in Jesus. I am talking about earthly friends. I do have a very best heavenly friend and I am so thankful for that. I have been praying for a close earthly friend that loves Jesus, but so far haven't found him yet. Yes, it is time to get on with my life and see what God has in store for me. I am looking for a friend, not a mate, at the present time. A good Christian friend that really loves Jesus and will bless my life with Jesus love.
I had a great desire to do something for God, but didn't know what to do, I love to share what He has done and is doing in my life but I didn't know how or what to do and a friend was visiting me from Oregon and was telling me about her blog and the thought came to me that I might be able to do something like that and here I am, sharing my faith every morning with you and many others. I am amazed.
I was pleading with God to give me the blessing of His fullness that He promises in Ephesians 3 and as I listen for His instructions each morning, I have been filling up with His fullness, His word is the miracle that I needed and blogging has filled that need. I am amazed.
I asked God for happiness. After my husband died, it seemed that happiness flew away and wouldn't return, but as I have been sharing with you each morning, happiness is returning, day by day. I am amazed.
I asked God for help when I was left alone and He sent my son to be with me and help with the upkeep and also with finances. Just what I needed when I needed it, I have also been blessed to have my grandson with me for a few months and getting acquainted with him. He is a sweet boy. Another amazing event and answer to my prayers.
I am amazed that God would send His ONLY Son to die such a cruel death just for me and just for you.
Doesn't that amaze you? It should. Who am I that He should make such a sacrifice for me? It is amazing and what is more, He keeps on blessing day by day and it never ends. Amazing love, and you are included in it too. What will you do with that love, will you show disdain for it or will you accept it for what it really is? Will you serve Him with your whole heart? Ask Him to come in and dwell with you and then spend time with Him each day and you too will be amazed at what He will do for you. More amazing events later as they occur. Grandma Joan
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
What Studying The Scriptures Will Do For You
I am sure that you have already seen benefits from our studies each morning if you are a regular reader, but the benefits are much greater that you have experienced already, so keep studying and even do your own, that is what I am trying to encourage you to do through giving verses to prove a point and you can look up others. It is a mine that you can never exhaust, so keep on studying and digging until Jesus comes. It is well worth your time. So keep studying and digging for the treasures of eternity.
I want to share some Scriptures with you this morning that will happen to you from studying them daily.
1 Peter 1:23 "Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever." It causes us to be born anew and be able to start a new life in Christ.
2 Timothy 3:15 "And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." Studying the Scriptures will make us wise unto Salvation.
John 20:31 "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." Through studying the Scriptures we will have life in His name.
Acts 20:32 "So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." Studying the Scriptures gives us an inheritance among the saved.
John 17:17 "Sanctify them by Your truth, Your word is truth." We may be sanctified by His word because His word is truth. This was Jesus prayer for us.
Ephesians 6:16,17 "Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." With the word of God we can meet all of Satan's temptations and be victorious.
There are six benefits and of course this is not all of them, just want to get started realizing what some of them are. (1) a new life in Christ, wise unto salvation, and life in His name, an inheritance among the saved, be sanctified by His word, and be able to meet all of Satan's temptations and be victorious Christians.
The Bible says in Psalms 34:8 "O, taste and see that the Lord is good, Blessed is the man who trusts in Him."
Just get a taste of studying the Scriptures, if you are sincere, just a taste is all you need and you will want more. God bless you as you taste and see that the Lord is good. He is very good. Grandma Joan
I want to share some Scriptures with you this morning that will happen to you from studying them daily.
1 Peter 1:23 "Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever." It causes us to be born anew and be able to start a new life in Christ.
2 Timothy 3:15 "And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." Studying the Scriptures will make us wise unto Salvation.
John 20:31 "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." Through studying the Scriptures we will have life in His name.
Acts 20:32 "So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." Studying the Scriptures gives us an inheritance among the saved.
John 17:17 "Sanctify them by Your truth, Your word is truth." We may be sanctified by His word because His word is truth. This was Jesus prayer for us.
Ephesians 6:16,17 "Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." With the word of God we can meet all of Satan's temptations and be victorious.
There are six benefits and of course this is not all of them, just want to get started realizing what some of them are. (1) a new life in Christ, wise unto salvation, and life in His name, an inheritance among the saved, be sanctified by His word, and be able to meet all of Satan's temptations and be victorious Christians.
The Bible says in Psalms 34:8 "O, taste and see that the Lord is good, Blessed is the man who trusts in Him."
Just get a taste of studying the Scriptures, if you are sincere, just a taste is all you need and you will want more. God bless you as you taste and see that the Lord is good. He is very good. Grandma Joan
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
A Safe Path
I told you how I got lost all alone on the wrong path on Mt Pitt, in Oregon. Well, there is a safe path for everyone who wants to find it. I believe that I am on the right path to the kingdom of God but let's study it out to see.
Psalms 23:3 "He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake"
I feel like putting the whole chapter which isn't very long in here, but thought you might take time to read it this morning. It is so good and tells how God will take care of us and lead us.
Psalms 17:5 "Uphold my steps in Your paths, that my footsteps may not slip."
Psalms 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." He is willing to hold us up in the right path that we will not slip, and His word is the lamp we need to lighten our path so that we can be sure we are on the right path.
Proverbs 4:18 "But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day."
Our path will be like the shining sun that gets brighter and brighter until Jesus comes. We can't go wrong if we stay in His word and walk in it.
Are you on the right path? Am I? I believe I am because I am taking God at His word and not adding to it or taking from it. That is the only safe path for us today and has always been the only safe path. God has outlined our path in His word, are you willing to follow? I am by His grace. Let's take His word as it reads, not adding or subtracting but as it reads and we cannot go wrong if we do that.
Stay on His path and be safe, there are so many directions from many different sources today but the only sure source is our God and His word. There are many who follow tradition apart from His word but that will not save us. That is what the Scribes and Pharisees did in Jesus day and He condemned their beliefs in tradition. Jump over on the Biblical path and stay there, it is the only sure way to salvation. Grandma Joan
Psalms 23:3 "He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake"
I feel like putting the whole chapter which isn't very long in here, but thought you might take time to read it this morning. It is so good and tells how God will take care of us and lead us.
Psalms 17:5 "Uphold my steps in Your paths, that my footsteps may not slip."
Psalms 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." He is willing to hold us up in the right path that we will not slip, and His word is the lamp we need to lighten our path so that we can be sure we are on the right path.
Proverbs 4:18 "But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day."
Our path will be like the shining sun that gets brighter and brighter until Jesus comes. We can't go wrong if we stay in His word and walk in it.
Are you on the right path? Am I? I believe I am because I am taking God at His word and not adding to it or taking from it. That is the only safe path for us today and has always been the only safe path. God has outlined our path in His word, are you willing to follow? I am by His grace. Let's take His word as it reads, not adding or subtracting but as it reads and we cannot go wrong if we do that.
Stay on His path and be safe, there are so many directions from many different sources today but the only sure source is our God and His word. There are many who follow tradition apart from His word but that will not save us. That is what the Scribes and Pharisees did in Jesus day and He condemned their beliefs in tradition. Jump over on the Biblical path and stay there, it is the only sure way to salvation. Grandma Joan
Monday, October 28, 2013
Are You Satisfied With Life?
Can you plop down in a comfortable place and heave a sigh of relief and say, 'I am so satisfied with life and full of contentment, I am overjoyed and my life it is so beautiful'? Can you say this and mean it? If not why not?
I don't know that I have ever felt completely that way, I think there have been times when I did, and I need to ask myself, 'why just times'?
Psalms 107:9 "For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness."
Psalms 91:16 "With long life, I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation."
Psalms 90:14 "Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days!"
My soul longs to be like Jesus and be filled with His Holy Spirit, and He has promised to fill the hungry soul with goodness. I thank Him for that, and He has also promised to satisfy us with long life and show us His salvation. He has also promised to satisfy us with His mercy that we may be happy all our days. So why are we not satisfied with life. Let us ask ourselves this question and see if can't remedy the situation. I sure am going to try to find the remedy.
I believe the remedy is in keeping our heart and mind on Christ, the true remedy, everyone is so involved in their daily life and lots of self-pity going on, I am talking about myself, it is no wonder that we are not satisfied with our life. Let's come up out of the pit we are in and look around and see the needs of others and become a giver instead of a taker. Unbeknowns to me, I have been trying to practice this without any knowledge of how satisfied it will make you but it really does work, the more we give of ourselves, the more satisfied we will be with our life. I have never thought of that before but I believe it is true.
We don't have to give gifts, money or things, just give of your time and what little things you can do and soon you will be able to give more, and want to do more for others. Make time for others and see what that will do for you. I believe that you will be more satisfied with your life. You will have accomplished what Christ accomplished when He was here. Giving is the secret to satisfaction. Grandma Joan
I don't know that I have ever felt completely that way, I think there have been times when I did, and I need to ask myself, 'why just times'?
Psalms 107:9 "For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness."
Psalms 91:16 "With long life, I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation."
Psalms 90:14 "Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days!"
My soul longs to be like Jesus and be filled with His Holy Spirit, and He has promised to fill the hungry soul with goodness. I thank Him for that, and He has also promised to satisfy us with long life and show us His salvation. He has also promised to satisfy us with His mercy that we may be happy all our days. So why are we not satisfied with life. Let us ask ourselves this question and see if can't remedy the situation. I sure am going to try to find the remedy.
I believe the remedy is in keeping our heart and mind on Christ, the true remedy, everyone is so involved in their daily life and lots of self-pity going on, I am talking about myself, it is no wonder that we are not satisfied with our life. Let's come up out of the pit we are in and look around and see the needs of others and become a giver instead of a taker. Unbeknowns to me, I have been trying to practice this without any knowledge of how satisfied it will make you but it really does work, the more we give of ourselves, the more satisfied we will be with our life. I have never thought of that before but I believe it is true.
We don't have to give gifts, money or things, just give of your time and what little things you can do and soon you will be able to give more, and want to do more for others. Make time for others and see what that will do for you. I believe that you will be more satisfied with your life. You will have accomplished what Christ accomplished when He was here. Giving is the secret to satisfaction. Grandma Joan
Sunday, October 27, 2013
A Life of Simplicity
Are you a simple person? If you are that is a good thing. We don't need to have self-esteem or be self-important. Simplicity is a beautiful thing when it comes to character. To have a simple character is not being stupid or careless, it would be someone that lives a simple life, and has a simple belief in God that hangs on to His promises and believes He fulfills His promises. To me that is simplicity.
In Matthew 6:5-15 Jesus tells us not to pray like the hypocrites do but go into our room and shut the door, because they loved to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be heard of men. Our prayers should be simple and He gives us an example in verses 9-13.
1 Peter 3:3,4 "Do not let your adornment be merely outward--arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel--rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." Simple dress, mainly a beautiful, gentle, quiet spirit, which is precious in God's sight.
2 Corinthians 1:12 "For our boasting is this; that the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you." Even our conduct should be in simplicity and godly. Sounds so good.
Another thing I think should be in simplicity is our meals, specially when we get older, we need more simple meals and plant based meals are the best for us, and overeating is the plague of the United states, I have been there and I know what it is like to be heavy and heavy laden with too much food. I am ashamed to say it but it is true, not any more though. God gives me the victory daily over this forbidden thing.
Genesis 1:29 "And God said, 'See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed, to you it shall be for food." It is true after the flood when there was no vegetation on the earth for a while, God gave permission to eat of the clean animals, that's why they were taken into the ark by sevens so that they would have food for a while after the waters dried up. The unclean animals were only taken into the ark by twos.
If you would just try a plant based diet for a month and see how much better you will feel. You don't need meat for strength, the elephant is a vegetarian and look how strong he is. Just eat whole plant food, anything that grows and of course not poisonous. There are so many good recipes and just plain good food in the plant kingdom.
So, how about a life of simplicity for you? Doesn't it sound good to you? It sure does to me. Grandma Joan
In Matthew 6:5-15 Jesus tells us not to pray like the hypocrites do but go into our room and shut the door, because they loved to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be heard of men. Our prayers should be simple and He gives us an example in verses 9-13.
1 Peter 3:3,4 "Do not let your adornment be merely outward--arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel--rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." Simple dress, mainly a beautiful, gentle, quiet spirit, which is precious in God's sight.
2 Corinthians 1:12 "For our boasting is this; that the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you." Even our conduct should be in simplicity and godly. Sounds so good.
Another thing I think should be in simplicity is our meals, specially when we get older, we need more simple meals and plant based meals are the best for us, and overeating is the plague of the United states, I have been there and I know what it is like to be heavy and heavy laden with too much food. I am ashamed to say it but it is true, not any more though. God gives me the victory daily over this forbidden thing.
Genesis 1:29 "And God said, 'See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed, to you it shall be for food." It is true after the flood when there was no vegetation on the earth for a while, God gave permission to eat of the clean animals, that's why they were taken into the ark by sevens so that they would have food for a while after the waters dried up. The unclean animals were only taken into the ark by twos.
If you would just try a plant based diet for a month and see how much better you will feel. You don't need meat for strength, the elephant is a vegetarian and look how strong he is. Just eat whole plant food, anything that grows and of course not poisonous. There are so many good recipes and just plain good food in the plant kingdom.
So, how about a life of simplicity for you? Doesn't it sound good to you? It sure does to me. Grandma Joan
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Disappointments
Disappointment means according to the dictionary - The non-fulfillment of one's hopes. Do you have hopes that have been unfulfilled? I have had some that have never been fulfilled to this day. And I have had one that is in the process of being fulfilled at this moment, I hope.
Proverbs 13:12 "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life." I think I have quoted this verse before but it is important for us to realize that if we let God have control and when it is time, it will be realized and become like a tree of life to us.
Disappointments are hard to take, regardless of what they might be, I have been disappointed so many times as I am sure you have too, it seems to be a part of life to suffer disappointments.
The Disciples were very disappointed when their Savior was crucified and put in a tomb, and even after He showed Himself to them, it was hard for them to believe until they saw the wound scars in His hands and His feet and the scar in His side where He was pierced. Theirs was a heartbreaking disappointment but the joy that came when they were with Him again was beyond joy.
Habakkuk 3:17-19 "Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines, though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food. Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls--Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, He will make my feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills."
Though crops fail and there is no food, we may lose everything like Job did, yet we need to rejoice in the Lord and joy in His salvation. This year I had the most beautiful crop of tomatoes, just like last year and one day we pick a few beautiful ones and the next day they were all damaged from a blight from the rain. That was real disappointing to me because I had enough to share with neighbors and friends before they were damaged. I may have gotten a dozen and a half out of all of them, plus some little cherry ones.
Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." We don't always know why God does what He does but in the end it will be revealed to us and as we see the ending of things we will rejoice that He handled it the way He did.
I don't know why my tomato crop failed and I lost almost all of them, great, big beautiful ones but God knows and it's OK with me as long as He is in charge. How do you feel about your disappointments? Are they devastating or building faith in Him. I am doing my very best to let Him build my faith in Him and not be disappointed anymore. I am not saying that I will never be disappointed again, I can't guarantee that but I can give Him my life and let Him be in control, sure will take the stress out of life. How about you? Will you join me? Grandma Joan
Proverbs 13:12 "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life." I think I have quoted this verse before but it is important for us to realize that if we let God have control and when it is time, it will be realized and become like a tree of life to us.
Disappointments are hard to take, regardless of what they might be, I have been disappointed so many times as I am sure you have too, it seems to be a part of life to suffer disappointments.
The Disciples were very disappointed when their Savior was crucified and put in a tomb, and even after He showed Himself to them, it was hard for them to believe until they saw the wound scars in His hands and His feet and the scar in His side where He was pierced. Theirs was a heartbreaking disappointment but the joy that came when they were with Him again was beyond joy.
Habakkuk 3:17-19 "Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines, though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food. Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls--Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, He will make my feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills."
Though crops fail and there is no food, we may lose everything like Job did, yet we need to rejoice in the Lord and joy in His salvation. This year I had the most beautiful crop of tomatoes, just like last year and one day we pick a few beautiful ones and the next day they were all damaged from a blight from the rain. That was real disappointing to me because I had enough to share with neighbors and friends before they were damaged. I may have gotten a dozen and a half out of all of them, plus some little cherry ones.
Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." We don't always know why God does what He does but in the end it will be revealed to us and as we see the ending of things we will rejoice that He handled it the way He did.
I don't know why my tomato crop failed and I lost almost all of them, great, big beautiful ones but God knows and it's OK with me as long as He is in charge. How do you feel about your disappointments? Are they devastating or building faith in Him. I am doing my very best to let Him build my faith in Him and not be disappointed anymore. I am not saying that I will never be disappointed again, I can't guarantee that but I can give Him my life and let Him be in control, sure will take the stress out of life. How about you? Will you join me? Grandma Joan
Friday, October 25, 2013
God Cares for us - Part 4
This is winding up our study on God's care, I am sure by now we are totally aware that God takes care of us through thick and thin and most of our worries are uncalled for. I try not to think about anything that I might worry about. It's best to leave it all in His hands to do with as He knows best. And He always does know what is best for us. Today we will be reading Psalms 91: 14-16 to end this study, these verses tell us what God is going to do for us. Wonderful verses.
Verse 14 "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name." How wonderful to give Him our love and to know His name. He will deliver us in times of trouble.
Verse 15 "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him." Can you fathom the God of the universe, answering you when you call and being with us through our troubles and honoring us. I don't think I can quite fathom that, it is so wonderful to think about.
The God of the universe interested in little old me. This is so awesome.
Verse 16 "With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation." Do you want to have a long life? How about eternity with God, not floating on a cloud, playing a harp like some folks believe but living every day in His presence, real presence. This is the Biblical teaching. We will get to that at a later time. For right now, we need to know that He really cares for us as a good parent cares for their children and even more.
His love is beyond our comprehension and I just want to bask in it like you would in the sunshine. Thank you for reading my little worships and hope you are enjoying them. Grandma Joan
Verse 14 "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name." How wonderful to give Him our love and to know His name. He will deliver us in times of trouble.
Verse 15 "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him." Can you fathom the God of the universe, answering you when you call and being with us through our troubles and honoring us. I don't think I can quite fathom that, it is so wonderful to think about.
The God of the universe interested in little old me. This is so awesome.
Verse 16 "With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation." Do you want to have a long life? How about eternity with God, not floating on a cloud, playing a harp like some folks believe but living every day in His presence, real presence. This is the Biblical teaching. We will get to that at a later time. For right now, we need to know that He really cares for us as a good parent cares for their children and even more.
His love is beyond our comprehension and I just want to bask in it like you would in the sunshine. Thank you for reading my little worships and hope you are enjoying them. Grandma Joan
God's Care Over Us - Part 3
We have been learning about the attributes of God and His care over us is absolutely fabulous, don't you think? I would love to hear some of your stories about His care over you, you must have some good ones. Why don't you share some of them with me and my readers can have their faith increased through your stories. We are reading Psalms 91 and today we are going to read:
Verses 10,11,12 "No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone." Here the angels are busy doing their Father's business, taking care of us lest we fall and to protect us against plagues. Some time back I told the story of a policeman that came to our rescue when we were out of gas and traveling in bare forsaken country and it turned out to be an angel because when he went back to his car we looked back and no car was there, for twenty miles, nothing.
I think it is wonderful that God sends His angels when He knows what might happen if He didn't. I am so happy to know that we are well taken care of.
Verses 13 "You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot." I am not sure what that is speaking of, but I take it that He will allow nothing to get in our way of the kingdom. You may have your own ideas on this verse. I haven't read any commentaries on it so will have to let it go with that.
I hope you are encouraged with God's care over you. It is so awesome and I need to thank Him and praise Him more every day. I hope you will do the same because without His care, I would hate to think what might happen to us. May we always appreciate it. Grandma Joan
Verses 10,11,12 "No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone." Here the angels are busy doing their Father's business, taking care of us lest we fall and to protect us against plagues. Some time back I told the story of a policeman that came to our rescue when we were out of gas and traveling in bare forsaken country and it turned out to be an angel because when he went back to his car we looked back and no car was there, for twenty miles, nothing.
I think it is wonderful that God sends His angels when He knows what might happen if He didn't. I am so happy to know that we are well taken care of.
Verses 13 "You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot." I am not sure what that is speaking of, but I take it that He will allow nothing to get in our way of the kingdom. You may have your own ideas on this verse. I haven't read any commentaries on it so will have to let it go with that.
I hope you are encouraged with God's care over you. It is so awesome and I need to thank Him and praise Him more every day. I hope you will do the same because without His care, I would hate to think what might happen to us. May we always appreciate it. Grandma Joan
Thursday, October 24, 2013
God's Care Over Us - part 2
We have been learning a lot about God lately and rightly so because He is everything to us and His care over us is so important too. I have learned in my lifetime that it is priceless. This is a very dangerous place to live anymore and I am so glad we have heaven watching over us. Sometime I will do a study on angels care over us. That will be a good one too. But of course we need to realize that God sends the angels on errands and they do His bidding, so it is really God watching over us. But it will be interesting to delve into the angels lives as far as we can.
Psalms 91:5 is our next verse to read: "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night , Nor of the arrow that flies by day." In some places in this world, terror reigns at night and even here in the United States in some cities but we do not need to be afraid of it if we have God watching over us. I suppose you can translate arrows to bullets that fly by day.
Verse 6 "Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday."
Verse 7 "A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you." This makes me think of Desmond Doss, have you heard his story. I don't remember what battle he was in in World War 2 but it was in Japan and he was a noncombatant and had been ridiculed for his beliefs for not carrying a weapon, but when push came to shove, he was in the middle of the combat, putting wounded men over a cliff to safety and bullets flying all around him. There is a documentary out about it now if you would like to see it. There was death all around him but he lived to tell the story and earn a purple heart for his bravery. He gave God all the praise for what he was able to do.
Verses 8,9 "Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place." If we make God our dwelling place it is the secret to His care over us.
I remember one time, I was driving my husbands pickup going in town to visit my daughter and it was raining and I had forgotten that just ahead of me was a stop sign and when I remembered, it was too late to stop but I tried and the pickup went up on two wheels and was headed to lay down in the ditch beside a big log deck. I was at an intersection and the blessing was, there was only one car coming and it was back far enough for me not to get hit by him. I only had time to say, 'God help me' and instantly it felt like a strong hand took the steering wheel and put it back on its wheels. I was shaking but ever so thankful that I had been saved from an awful accident. I always wondered what the car behind me thought of my escapade.
It is so wonderful to have God's loving care over us, isn't it? I am sure that you could tell some times when you were spared from some awful things that might have happened to you. Just praise God for His ever present watch care. I am so thankful for it and I am sure you are too. Grandma Joan
Psalms 91:5 is our next verse to read: "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night , Nor of the arrow that flies by day." In some places in this world, terror reigns at night and even here in the United States in some cities but we do not need to be afraid of it if we have God watching over us. I suppose you can translate arrows to bullets that fly by day.
Verse 6 "Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday."
Verse 7 "A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you." This makes me think of Desmond Doss, have you heard his story. I don't remember what battle he was in in World War 2 but it was in Japan and he was a noncombatant and had been ridiculed for his beliefs for not carrying a weapon, but when push came to shove, he was in the middle of the combat, putting wounded men over a cliff to safety and bullets flying all around him. There is a documentary out about it now if you would like to see it. There was death all around him but he lived to tell the story and earn a purple heart for his bravery. He gave God all the praise for what he was able to do.
Verses 8,9 "Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place." If we make God our dwelling place it is the secret to His care over us.
I remember one time, I was driving my husbands pickup going in town to visit my daughter and it was raining and I had forgotten that just ahead of me was a stop sign and when I remembered, it was too late to stop but I tried and the pickup went up on two wheels and was headed to lay down in the ditch beside a big log deck. I was at an intersection and the blessing was, there was only one car coming and it was back far enough for me not to get hit by him. I only had time to say, 'God help me' and instantly it felt like a strong hand took the steering wheel and put it back on its wheels. I was shaking but ever so thankful that I had been saved from an awful accident. I always wondered what the car behind me thought of my escapade.
It is so wonderful to have God's loving care over us, isn't it? I am sure that you could tell some times when you were spared from some awful things that might have happened to you. Just praise God for His ever present watch care. I am so thankful for it and I am sure you are too. Grandma Joan
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
The Goodness of God
This study is to strengthen my faith in a God of love, mercy and grace. When I grew up, I had a stepfather that did not represent the goodness of God to me in any way, shape or form. I would picture God looking at me with a stern look on His face and it wasn't until about 10 - 11 years ago that I realized that He was looking at me with a loving, merciful heart full of grace and beauty. What a difference that picture made to me. What kind of picture do you have of God? I hope it is one of grace and beauty and not like the one I had. If it is the wrong one, let me introduce you to the One I have now.
Exodus 34:6 "And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth." Does this sound like a stern looking God? Not to me.
Psalms 31:19 "Oh, how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee, which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men." I want to mention here that the word 'fear'
here means reverence. He has laid up great Spiritual blessings for those that reverence and trust Him.
Psalms 52:1 "Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? The goodness of God endureth continually." His goodness endures forever.
Psalms 145:9 "The Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works."
Psalms 86:5 "For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon Thee." He is a forgiving God and has plenty of mercy for all that call upon Him.
Has your picture of Him changed and you see a loving God, bending over you in love, merciful and tender, compassionate ready to forgive.? I hope this is your picture of Him, it is mine now and I am so thankful that He has changed my picture of Him. I always loved Him even as a child, but I may have loved Him out of fear instead of His loving kindness towards me. I am not sure about that, I just know that my picture of Him has changed into a loving, compassionate look and I love it. I hope that is your picture now too. Grandma Joan.
Exodus 34:6 "And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth." Does this sound like a stern looking God? Not to me.
Psalms 31:19 "Oh, how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee, which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men." I want to mention here that the word 'fear'
here means reverence. He has laid up great Spiritual blessings for those that reverence and trust Him.
Psalms 52:1 "Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? The goodness of God endureth continually." His goodness endures forever.
Psalms 145:9 "The Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works."
Psalms 86:5 "For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon Thee." He is a forgiving God and has plenty of mercy for all that call upon Him.
Has your picture of Him changed and you see a loving God, bending over you in love, merciful and tender, compassionate ready to forgive.? I hope this is your picture of Him, it is mine now and I am so thankful that He has changed my picture of Him. I always loved Him even as a child, but I may have loved Him out of fear instead of His loving kindness towards me. I am not sure about that, I just know that my picture of Him has changed into a loving, compassionate look and I love it. I hope that is your picture now too. Grandma Joan.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
The Life Giver
Do you want a full, happy, contented, Spiritual life? I sure do and we can have it according to some verses that I just read. Let's see what they say and what we can do if anything. I am not promoting a 'do it yourself Spiritual life, because we are totally unable to live a Christian life without the Spirit's filling, we need to under-stand this in order that we won't get on a 'works trip' in trying to do it our self, it just doesn't work that way.
John 6:63 "It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." The words that God speaks to us through His word, is life to us. Who can turn down a life from God?
Romans 8:11 "But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you."
1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." Our sinful nature needs put to death that we may be quickened or made alive by the Spirit.
We need our minds and hearts quickened or made alive by the Spirit, also our bodies too. It would be such a wonderful gift to receive the quickening of the Spirit, I can't think of anything that I need that is greater than the Spirit making me alive, body, soul and spirit. Can you? We need it so much, I just pray that you are being touched by His Spirit this morning and that you will choose to let Him control your life in such a way that you will have the best life possible in Christ. It is real, we just need to be real with God and plead for His infilling. He has promised to fill us with the fullness of God in Ephesians 3:19, read it again and again until you grasp what the Spirit is telling you. Read Ephesians 3: 14-21 for the whole meaning. It is one of my favorite set of verses out of many. God be with you and bless you in your walk with Him, today and always is my prayer for you. Grandma Joan
John 6:63 "It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." The words that God speaks to us through His word, is life to us. Who can turn down a life from God?
Romans 8:11 "But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you."
1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." Our sinful nature needs put to death that we may be quickened or made alive by the Spirit.
We need our minds and hearts quickened or made alive by the Spirit, also our bodies too. It would be such a wonderful gift to receive the quickening of the Spirit, I can't think of anything that I need that is greater than the Spirit making me alive, body, soul and spirit. Can you? We need it so much, I just pray that you are being touched by His Spirit this morning and that you will choose to let Him control your life in such a way that you will have the best life possible in Christ. It is real, we just need to be real with God and plead for His infilling. He has promised to fill us with the fullness of God in Ephesians 3:19, read it again and again until you grasp what the Spirit is telling you. Read Ephesians 3: 14-21 for the whole meaning. It is one of my favorite set of verses out of many. God be with you and bless you in your walk with Him, today and always is my prayer for you. Grandma Joan
Monday, October 21, 2013
The Indweller
Have you ever thought about someone dwelling in you? In our way of thinking, it sounds different, doesn't it but to tell you the truth it is a supernatural experience that we need, to function as a really, truly Christian. In Ephesians 3:19 it says that 'we may be filled with the fullness of God.' Do we take God at His word or do we think it is foolishness? I am thinking that life is full of choices, especially the Christian life, so we have a choice here, don't we?
The promises of the Indweller are several. Let's check them out. I think we will be surprised and honored with His presence as we study this morning.
Ezekiel 26:27 "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." This is a great promise from God.
John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him, but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." Another great promise that we can know Him because He dwells with us and in us.
Romans 8:9 "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." See how important it is to have the Spirit dwelling in us? It is really a life or death matter.
1 Corinthians 3:16 "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
It is very important to keep His temple clean from all impurities, our mind and body, so that He may dwell in us.
It is a common thing to eat what we want, think what we want and do what we want without a thought of what it is doing to our Christian walk or to the One who loves us and has made it possible for us to have a happy Christian life. It is possible for us to resist the Spirit's calling on our lives until we don't hear it anymore and then we live in a peace that isn't real and we will never have a contented Christian experience. This is what God is bringing to my mind at this moment and I pray that it will sink in and I will cooperate with the Spirit and be a happy, healthy, contented Christian. How about you? Is He calling you to cooperate with Him and allow the Spirit to dwell in you? I know He is because He doesn't leave anyone out, He loves us all and wants us all to walk with Him side by side right into His heavenly kingdom. Are you willing to be filled? Ask God to make you willing to be willing. He will do it and the reward is out of this world, literally. Grandma Joan.
The promises of the Indweller are several. Let's check them out. I think we will be surprised and honored with His presence as we study this morning.
Ezekiel 26:27 "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." This is a great promise from God.
John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him, but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." Another great promise that we can know Him because He dwells with us and in us.
Romans 8:9 "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." See how important it is to have the Spirit dwelling in us? It is really a life or death matter.
1 Corinthians 3:16 "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
It is very important to keep His temple clean from all impurities, our mind and body, so that He may dwell in us.
It is a common thing to eat what we want, think what we want and do what we want without a thought of what it is doing to our Christian walk or to the One who loves us and has made it possible for us to have a happy Christian life. It is possible for us to resist the Spirit's calling on our lives until we don't hear it anymore and then we live in a peace that isn't real and we will never have a contented Christian experience. This is what God is bringing to my mind at this moment and I pray that it will sink in and I will cooperate with the Spirit and be a happy, healthy, contented Christian. How about you? Is He calling you to cooperate with Him and allow the Spirit to dwell in you? I know He is because He doesn't leave anyone out, He loves us all and wants us all to walk with Him side by side right into His heavenly kingdom. Are you willing to be filled? Ask God to make you willing to be willing. He will do it and the reward is out of this world, literally. Grandma Joan.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
A Knowledge of God - In the Cross
God's love to us centers in the cross. I cannot do it justice, my mind cannot comprehend it, my pen cannot write it and I cannot speak it with the power that it needs portrayed with. I can only be a tool in God's hand to try to do my very best to explain that, "God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16.
Philippians 2:6-8 "who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men, 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 humbled Himself, put others first even esteeming them better than Himself. Even to the point of death on the cross.
Here we have infinite wisdom, infinite love, infinite justice, infinite mercy, all bound up in one Man, Christ.
It is through Christ's gift on the cross that we receive grace and mercy, every gift that He bestows comes from the cross, that one unspeakable gift of love to us.
1 John 3:1 "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons (and daughters) of God." In parenthesis supplied.
,
Isaiah 64:4 "Men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, Neither hath the eye seen a God besides Thee, Who worketh for him that waiteth for Him." No wonder I cannot do it justice, I've done my best, I know that according to the Bible, that when Jesus hung on the cross that He did not see through the agony to the resurrection morning. He thought when He cried out 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me' that He would never see His Father again and He was willing to die that kind of death to save us. What more can be said.
Will you accept His death for you? Will I? It is imperative that we do if we want to be with Him forever.
I beg you to consider your life, the road you are on, where are you bound, I pray that it is heavenward. Will we meet on that beautiful shore forever to be with our Lord. I surely hope so and I plan to, not just hope to. It is better to plan than just hope. We could be lost while we are just hoping and desiring to be saved.
Grandma Joan wants to meet you there.
Philippians 2:6-8 "who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men, 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 humbled Himself, put others first even esteeming them better than Himself. Even to the point of death on the cross.
Here we have infinite wisdom, infinite love, infinite justice, infinite mercy, all bound up in one Man, Christ.
It is through Christ's gift on the cross that we receive grace and mercy, every gift that He bestows comes from the cross, that one unspeakable gift of love to us.
1 John 3:1 "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons (and daughters) of God." In parenthesis supplied.
,
Isaiah 64:4 "Men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, Neither hath the eye seen a God besides Thee, Who worketh for him that waiteth for Him." No wonder I cannot do it justice, I've done my best, I know that according to the Bible, that when Jesus hung on the cross that He did not see through the agony to the resurrection morning. He thought when He cried out 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me' that He would never see His Father again and He was willing to die that kind of death to save us. What more can be said.
Will you accept His death for you? Will I? It is imperative that we do if we want to be with Him forever.
I beg you to consider your life, the road you are on, where are you bound, I pray that it is heavenward. Will we meet on that beautiful shore forever to be with our Lord. I surely hope so and I plan to, not just hope to. It is better to plan than just hope. We could be lost while we are just hoping and desiring to be saved.
Grandma Joan wants to meet you there.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
A Changed Life - part 6
Another fault that Peter had, he was timid and afraid. I am very timid until I get to know a person and then I feel right at home with them. There are some people that I have a fear of and just by their demeanor they scare me. I can't tell you why, sometimes they have caused my fear by their straightforwardness and other times they are rude or speak unkindly. When I am connected with God, I shouldn't be timid or afraid of anyone. So it is something that I need to work on along with Peter.
Matthew 14:28 "And Peter answered Him and said, 'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.' So He said, 'Come,' and when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus, but when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!" I am afraid that I would have been every bit like Peter, although I love the water, I have never walked on it in a storm or any other time.
Then after Pentecost and the Holy Spirit came down and filled them, this is what happened.
Acts 5:28,29 "saying, 'Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!' But Peter and the other Apostles answered and said; 'We ought to obey God rather than men." Peter became fearless. I want to be fearless when it comes to speaking for Jesus, don't you?
If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, it will change our lives like it did Peter's and the other Apostles. The other Apostles didn't seem to have as many hurtles to overcome as Peter did, that is why I chose Peter to show what the Holy Spirit did in His life. He was a coward and became courageous, he was impulsive an became a humble disciple, he was ignorant and became enlightened, he was deeply inquisitive and became submissive, he was of a boastful nature and became boastful of Christ, he was timid and afraid and became fearless.
This is my last study on Peter, I hope you have learned something valuable, I have and I want to plead for the Holy Spirit's indwelling in my heart, how about you? It will change you as it did Peter and I want to be changed, I am tired of my life the way it is, so let's work together and become like Peter became and we may have other faults that the Holy Spirit will be glad to remove for us if we ask. I only touched on a few.
I want so much to have the Holy Spirit in my life, but it does take some effort in asking and being really, truly repentant so that He can dwell in us. Let's take the time in prayer pleading for His presence in our lives.
Grandma Joan
Matthew 14:28 "And Peter answered Him and said, 'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.' So He said, 'Come,' and when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus, but when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!" I am afraid that I would have been every bit like Peter, although I love the water, I have never walked on it in a storm or any other time.
Then after Pentecost and the Holy Spirit came down and filled them, this is what happened.
Acts 5:28,29 "saying, 'Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!' But Peter and the other Apostles answered and said; 'We ought to obey God rather than men." Peter became fearless. I want to be fearless when it comes to speaking for Jesus, don't you?
If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, it will change our lives like it did Peter's and the other Apostles. The other Apostles didn't seem to have as many hurtles to overcome as Peter did, that is why I chose Peter to show what the Holy Spirit did in His life. He was a coward and became courageous, he was impulsive an became a humble disciple, he was ignorant and became enlightened, he was deeply inquisitive and became submissive, he was of a boastful nature and became boastful of Christ, he was timid and afraid and became fearless.
This is my last study on Peter, I hope you have learned something valuable, I have and I want to plead for the Holy Spirit's indwelling in my heart, how about you? It will change you as it did Peter and I want to be changed, I am tired of my life the way it is, so let's work together and become like Peter became and we may have other faults that the Holy Spirit will be glad to remove for us if we ask. I only touched on a few.
I want so much to have the Holy Spirit in my life, but it does take some effort in asking and being really, truly repentant so that He can dwell in us. Let's take the time in prayer pleading for His presence in our lives.
Grandma Joan
Friday, October 18, 2013
A Changed Life - part 5
Another one of Peter's problems was boasting about himself. Do you have that problem? I am asking myself if I do. I am sure that you know some braggers, they are around and sometimes they are not very pleasant to be around. I know someone that loves to put me down under and lift himself high above others and really he is not pleasant to be around. He hasn't seemed to learn the lesson of humility yet, some day I am hoping he does.
God has something to say about those who think they are holier than others.
Isaiah 65:5 "Who say, 'keep to yourself, Do not come near me for I am holier than you. These are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all the day." I guess this person never read this verse. It wouldn't be very comfortable to be called smoke in God's nose. Smoke is unpleasant to breathe. Well, Peter had this problem and you can read it in:
Matthew 26:33,34 "Peter answered and said to Him, (Jesus) even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble. Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." Did he deny Christ three times? Very much so. Sometimes we don't know ourselves, just like Peter didn't know himself. We need to ask God to show us what we are really like and believe Him when He tells us.
Peter didn't believe that he could stoop so low as to deny his Lord, but he did. This shows us that we can do things that we ordinarily wouldn't do except when put into a tight circumstance, something happens to us and we lose it, like Peter did. He looked up and saw Jesus looking at him, not with hate or anything like that, but with love in His eyes for Peter. Peter went back to the garden and wept his heart out for denying his Lord.
This is the way we should be when we sin against our Lord, Peter's Lord. We don't do it on purpose, but we do it, just like Peter did. We need to weep before Him with repentance and ask for forgiveness, like Peter did. Peter was forgiven and reinstated with the other disciples and they forgave him too and he became a great preacher of the gospel. We can do the same, we may not become a great preacher, but we can witness of Christ's love to those around us by the things we do and say and pray for them that our lives will change their lives.
Do you want to become like Peter after Pentecost or stay like you are? A great question, isn't it? I want to become like Peter after Pentecost and bless those around me. Let's try to be like Peter after Pentecost.
Grandma Joan
God has something to say about those who think they are holier than others.
Isaiah 65:5 "Who say, 'keep to yourself, Do not come near me for I am holier than you. These are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all the day." I guess this person never read this verse. It wouldn't be very comfortable to be called smoke in God's nose. Smoke is unpleasant to breathe. Well, Peter had this problem and you can read it in:
Matthew 26:33,34 "Peter answered and said to Him, (Jesus) even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble. Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." Did he deny Christ three times? Very much so. Sometimes we don't know ourselves, just like Peter didn't know himself. We need to ask God to show us what we are really like and believe Him when He tells us.
Peter didn't believe that he could stoop so low as to deny his Lord, but he did. This shows us that we can do things that we ordinarily wouldn't do except when put into a tight circumstance, something happens to us and we lose it, like Peter did. He looked up and saw Jesus looking at him, not with hate or anything like that, but with love in His eyes for Peter. Peter went back to the garden and wept his heart out for denying his Lord.
This is the way we should be when we sin against our Lord, Peter's Lord. We don't do it on purpose, but we do it, just like Peter did. We need to weep before Him with repentance and ask for forgiveness, like Peter did. Peter was forgiven and reinstated with the other disciples and they forgave him too and he became a great preacher of the gospel. We can do the same, we may not become a great preacher, but we can witness of Christ's love to those around us by the things we do and say and pray for them that our lives will change their lives.
Do you want to become like Peter after Pentecost or stay like you are? A great question, isn't it? I want to become like Peter after Pentecost and bless those around me. Let's try to be like Peter after Pentecost.
Grandma Joan
Thursday, October 17, 2013
A Changed Life - part 4
Another change in Peter's life was that he was deeply inquisitive but after Pentecost, he was very submissive. Some times there are things that we don't understand and are not for us to know and we need to be very submissive to Christ and learn from him in humility.
John 21:21,22 "Peter seeing him, said to Jesus, 'But Lord what about this man? Jesus said to him, 'If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?" Jesus was telling Peter what was going to be his end and he wanted to know what the end of John was going to be, but it wasn't for him to know John's ending. Sometimes we want to know something which is not for our best good, especially our future. It is best if we just live from day to day and not worry about our future ending or anyone else's. It would probably just be something else for us to worry about. If we put our lives in the hands of God, there shouldn't be any worries.
In Acts 11:2-17 it tells the story about Peter going to the Gentiles and eating with them. Before their conversion they believed that they were better than the Gentiles and shouldn't associate with them but God showed Peter through a vision that it was OK for him to go to the Gentiles and convert them also. You can read these verses and see the story. Peter became submissive to God and went and preached to the Gentiles. From wanting to know everything, after Pentecost he became submissive to God's orders and not ask questions.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we became so submissive to God that there would be no questions to ask as to what is going to happen to us? If the Holy Spirit will do that for Peter, what can He do for us who are living in this end time, just before Jesus comes. We need His Spirit more than ever before, to be strong for the Lord and submissive to Him to do His will and not our own. If God could change Peter, He can change us to be submissive, enlightened, humble and courageous. What do you think? I believe He can and He will if we are willing and make that choice. Are you willing? I am. Grandma Joan
John 21:21,22 "Peter seeing him, said to Jesus, 'But Lord what about this man? Jesus said to him, 'If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?" Jesus was telling Peter what was going to be his end and he wanted to know what the end of John was going to be, but it wasn't for him to know John's ending. Sometimes we want to know something which is not for our best good, especially our future. It is best if we just live from day to day and not worry about our future ending or anyone else's. It would probably just be something else for us to worry about. If we put our lives in the hands of God, there shouldn't be any worries.
In Acts 11:2-17 it tells the story about Peter going to the Gentiles and eating with them. Before their conversion they believed that they were better than the Gentiles and shouldn't associate with them but God showed Peter through a vision that it was OK for him to go to the Gentiles and convert them also. You can read these verses and see the story. Peter became submissive to God and went and preached to the Gentiles. From wanting to know everything, after Pentecost he became submissive to God's orders and not ask questions.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we became so submissive to God that there would be no questions to ask as to what is going to happen to us? If the Holy Spirit will do that for Peter, what can He do for us who are living in this end time, just before Jesus comes. We need His Spirit more than ever before, to be strong for the Lord and submissive to Him to do His will and not our own. If God could change Peter, He can change us to be submissive, enlightened, humble and courageous. What do you think? I believe He can and He will if we are willing and make that choice. Are you willing? I am. Grandma Joan
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
A Changed Life - part 3
This is about another change in Peter's life from being ignorant to enlightened. We could learn something from this couldn't we? I am afraid that I have been ignorant way too long. These lessons that God is giving me are showing me my true condition and the remedy for it.
Matthew 16:21,22 "From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many thing from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to you." Peter showed just how ignorant he was when he said that. Jesus was trying to prepare them for the crucifixion and burial, but Peter did not want that to happen, and you can't blame him, but still I am sure that he knew from experience that he should trust Christ's word.
Acts 4:13 "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled, and they realized that they had been with Jesus." What a beautiful lesson on education. What things are possible if we spend our time with Jesus. Peter was not bold before or educated and trained until after Pentecost and the Holy Spirit was poured out upon him. So it will be with us if we spend time with Jesus, we can be bold and trained and educated from Him who is willing to pour out His Spirit upon us if we ask in humility.
I am seeing what great things God can do for the most humble person if they are willing to give their life to Him and spend time with Him. Let's be willing to ask and humbly submit our lives to Him so that He can pour out His Spirit upon us so we can have changes in our life like Peter had. I am encouraged, are you?
Grandma Joan
Matthew 16:21,22 "From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many thing from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to you." Peter showed just how ignorant he was when he said that. Jesus was trying to prepare them for the crucifixion and burial, but Peter did not want that to happen, and you can't blame him, but still I am sure that he knew from experience that he should trust Christ's word.
Acts 4:13 "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled, and they realized that they had been with Jesus." What a beautiful lesson on education. What things are possible if we spend our time with Jesus. Peter was not bold before or educated and trained until after Pentecost and the Holy Spirit was poured out upon him. So it will be with us if we spend time with Jesus, we can be bold and trained and educated from Him who is willing to pour out His Spirit upon us if we ask in humility.
I am seeing what great things God can do for the most humble person if they are willing to give their life to Him and spend time with Him. Let's be willing to ask and humbly submit our lives to Him so that He can pour out His Spirit upon us so we can have changes in our life like Peter had. I am encouraged, are you?
Grandma Joan
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
A Changed Life - part 2
This is another character change that Peter made from an 'impulsive' Peter to a 'humble' Peter.
John 18:10 "Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus." This was when they arrested Jesus in Gethsemane. A very impulsive act to say the least. He thought he was protecting Jesus.
Acts 10:25,26 "As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, 'Stand up; I myself also am a man.'" Peter turned from an impulsive disciple protecting Jesus to a humble disciple not worthy of worship. Of course none of us are worthy of worship. We should all be Christ's humble servants as Peter turned out to be.
Sometimes we go through some very humiliating things to cause us to turn from a spirit of pride to humility.
I remember a lady in our church who had a very proud spirit and when it came time to elect officers for the new year, she called me and told me that she had been elected to be the Home and School leader for the whole valley which consisted of 3 or 4 churches and I knew that they had asked me to do it but I didn't say anything, what could I say? I thought to myself, I guess I will let it ride and see what happens when she finds out that I would be the new Home and School leader. As it was she never said a word to me about it. I have no idea to this day what her thoughts were. I do know that it didn't cure her of her pride because she put herself and her husband in about 8 offices when she was on the nominating committee. So sad to see people when they have to suffer humiliating experiences to learn humility and some learn and some don't. I hope that I am one that learns.
That's what happened to Peter, when he cut off Malchus ear and Jesus told him to put up his sword and he put Malchus ear back on and healed it.
It was after Pentecost that Peter became a humble disciple, after the Holy Spirit was poured out on them in abundance.
Acts 2:38-41 "Then Peter said unto them, 'repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.' And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, Get saved from this perverse generation.' Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them."
When the Holy Spirit is really, truly poured out upon God's people things happen. But in order for the Spirit to be poured out upon us, we must repent and according to the scripture be baptized and then we shall receive the Holy Spirit as Peter did.
What a testimony!! Will it be yours? Will it be mine? It is our choice. I know from other answers to my prayers that He says, "If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him." He will answer our prayers for the Holy Spirit in our life if we humbly ask Him and confess our frailties to Him. He will give us the same power to overcome as He gave to Peter. So let's ask Him. I am willing, are you, we need it more than anything else. Grandma Joan
John 18:10 "Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus." This was when they arrested Jesus in Gethsemane. A very impulsive act to say the least. He thought he was protecting Jesus.
Acts 10:25,26 "As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, 'Stand up; I myself also am a man.'" Peter turned from an impulsive disciple protecting Jesus to a humble disciple not worthy of worship. Of course none of us are worthy of worship. We should all be Christ's humble servants as Peter turned out to be.
Sometimes we go through some very humiliating things to cause us to turn from a spirit of pride to humility.
I remember a lady in our church who had a very proud spirit and when it came time to elect officers for the new year, she called me and told me that she had been elected to be the Home and School leader for the whole valley which consisted of 3 or 4 churches and I knew that they had asked me to do it but I didn't say anything, what could I say? I thought to myself, I guess I will let it ride and see what happens when she finds out that I would be the new Home and School leader. As it was she never said a word to me about it. I have no idea to this day what her thoughts were. I do know that it didn't cure her of her pride because she put herself and her husband in about 8 offices when she was on the nominating committee. So sad to see people when they have to suffer humiliating experiences to learn humility and some learn and some don't. I hope that I am one that learns.
That's what happened to Peter, when he cut off Malchus ear and Jesus told him to put up his sword and he put Malchus ear back on and healed it.
It was after Pentecost that Peter became a humble disciple, after the Holy Spirit was poured out on them in abundance.
Acts 2:38-41 "Then Peter said unto them, 'repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.' And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, Get saved from this perverse generation.' Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them."
When the Holy Spirit is really, truly poured out upon God's people things happen. But in order for the Spirit to be poured out upon us, we must repent and according to the scripture be baptized and then we shall receive the Holy Spirit as Peter did.
What a testimony!! Will it be yours? Will it be mine? It is our choice. I know from other answers to my prayers that He says, "If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him." He will answer our prayers for the Holy Spirit in our life if we humbly ask Him and confess our frailties to Him. He will give us the same power to overcome as He gave to Peter. So let's ask Him. I am willing, are you, we need it more than anything else. Grandma Joan
Monday, October 14, 2013
A Changed Life
Have you ever wished you could have a changed life? I am wishing it right now, so I am sure there are others who feel the same way. So let's see what it takes to have a changed life and what can we do to help make that happen. I'm in so much need of it, I can't wait to see what this study is going to be about.
When Jesus was here, he had twelve disciples and one of them was impulsive and acted without thinking and jumping to conclusions before he thought. Can you guess which one it was? Peter the impulsive one.
I would like to study Peter and how he became like Jesus, which he did but it was after a certain incident.
Remember when he denied his Lord and went out to the garden where Jesus spent a lot of time and he spent time there weeping because he had made such a terrible mistake and not only that, he had been warned that he would do it. He just couldn't believe that he could stoop so low as to deny his Lord, but he did.
Peter was not only impulsive, he was a coward, how did he turn from cowardice to courageous? Have any idea? In those days they had what they called Pentecost, or Feast of Weeks or Feast of Harvest. It was a time of consecration and work was prohibited during this time. They were to concentrate on their relationship to God and commit totally to Him.
After Jesus resurrection, he met with His disciples several times and one of the times He met with them and commanded them in Acts 1:4 that "they should not depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence" And in verse 8, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
In Matthew 26, verse 58 it tells how Peter followed Jesus at a distance because he didn't want those in the court to know he was a follower of Jesus and this is when he denied Him totally that he didn't even know Him, so he was a coward. By the way, Jesus forgave him of his cowardice and made sure his standing with the disciples was trustworthy again.
When the day of Pentecost had fully come and they were altogether in one place and the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples according to the promise of Jesus, Peter stood up and with boldness preached Jesus risen to the people. What caused the difference from being a coward to being bold for Jesus? You will find this account in Acts 2.
The Holy Spirit being poured out on the disciples is what made the difference. Will it make a difference in our lives? Of course it will. In John 15:26 says, "When the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me." And in John 16: 13,14 says, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you."
We have this wonderful promise that we may have the Holy Spirit poured out on us and He will guide us in to all truth. Do you want to know what real truth is? Then ask for the Holy Spirits power in your life and you have the promise that you will receive it. Don't just ask once, keep on asking the rest of your life and it will change your life like it did Peter's. Are you a coward? I am a real one when it comes to speaking up for Jesus. I have done it lot's of times in the past when I was really in love with Jesus and it has made enemies for me, I don't know if that is when I became a coward or not, but I don't like it and so I am going to ask God to pour out His Spirit upon me to change me like He did Peter, How about you? I want to be bold again for Jesus, don't you? Let's pray for the outpouring of the Spirit upon us and our families and see what happens. It has to be something great, I am sure of that. I don't like being a coward. Do you? Let's let God change us through His Spirit. Grandma Joan
When Jesus was here, he had twelve disciples and one of them was impulsive and acted without thinking and jumping to conclusions before he thought. Can you guess which one it was? Peter the impulsive one.
I would like to study Peter and how he became like Jesus, which he did but it was after a certain incident.
Remember when he denied his Lord and went out to the garden where Jesus spent a lot of time and he spent time there weeping because he had made such a terrible mistake and not only that, he had been warned that he would do it. He just couldn't believe that he could stoop so low as to deny his Lord, but he did.
Peter was not only impulsive, he was a coward, how did he turn from cowardice to courageous? Have any idea? In those days they had what they called Pentecost, or Feast of Weeks or Feast of Harvest. It was a time of consecration and work was prohibited during this time. They were to concentrate on their relationship to God and commit totally to Him.
After Jesus resurrection, he met with His disciples several times and one of the times He met with them and commanded them in Acts 1:4 that "they should not depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence" And in verse 8, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
In Matthew 26, verse 58 it tells how Peter followed Jesus at a distance because he didn't want those in the court to know he was a follower of Jesus and this is when he denied Him totally that he didn't even know Him, so he was a coward. By the way, Jesus forgave him of his cowardice and made sure his standing with the disciples was trustworthy again.
When the day of Pentecost had fully come and they were altogether in one place and the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples according to the promise of Jesus, Peter stood up and with boldness preached Jesus risen to the people. What caused the difference from being a coward to being bold for Jesus? You will find this account in Acts 2.
The Holy Spirit being poured out on the disciples is what made the difference. Will it make a difference in our lives? Of course it will. In John 15:26 says, "When the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me." And in John 16: 13,14 says, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you."
We have this wonderful promise that we may have the Holy Spirit poured out on us and He will guide us in to all truth. Do you want to know what real truth is? Then ask for the Holy Spirits power in your life and you have the promise that you will receive it. Don't just ask once, keep on asking the rest of your life and it will change your life like it did Peter's. Are you a coward? I am a real one when it comes to speaking up for Jesus. I have done it lot's of times in the past when I was really in love with Jesus and it has made enemies for me, I don't know if that is when I became a coward or not, but I don't like it and so I am going to ask God to pour out His Spirit upon me to change me like He did Peter, How about you? I want to be bold again for Jesus, don't you? Let's pray for the outpouring of the Spirit upon us and our families and see what happens. It has to be something great, I am sure of that. I don't like being a coward. Do you? Let's let God change us through His Spirit. Grandma Joan
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Thoughts on Surrender
I was very surprised to find only two texts on surrender. There are a lot of texts that leave you with the thought but not with direct thoughts on surrender. I found lots of information on surrender and it is very thought provoking and helpful. Surrender is giving control over to another person, and that person being God. We would be so safe in in His care, why do we put off surrendering to Him our lives and all that we have? I have pondered this and I don't have an answer, except to say that we like to control our own lives and hate to give up our control.
All God is asking us to give up is our sin-polluted heart, is that so hard? It seems to be, evidently we love sin more than we love our God. I am ashamed to say this, it seems so calloused. I have been guilty too. Surrender is the secret of perfect rest in His love. There are so many blessings attached to a full surrender to God. We will be filled with His Holy Spirit, We will have peace in our hearts because we know that we are abiding in His will. Our features even bear evidence of a complete surrender to God.
Surrender brings grace and power into our lives so we can live a godly life. It also keeps Satan from causing us to stumble and fall into his temptations. When we surrender our choices and decisions to God, He can accomplish His Divine will in us and make us pure and holy after His divine character.
I found this wonderful thought in a book called 'The Acts of the Apostles' p. 299. "Paul had a keen sense of the conflict which every soul must wage with the agencies of evil that are continually seeking to deceive and ensnare, and he had worked untiringly to strengthen and confirm those who were young in the faith. He had entreated them to make an entire surrender to God; for he knew that when the soul fails to make this surrender, then sin is not forsaken, the appetites and passions still strive for the mastery, and temptations confuse the conscience. > The surrender must be complete. Every weak, doubting, struggling soul who yields fully to the Lord is placed in direct touch with agencies that enable him to overcome. Heaven is near to him, and he has the support and help of angels of mercy in every time of trail and need." If that isn't comforting, I guess I don't know what is.
James 4:7,8 "Therefore submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded."
Hebrews 12:9 "Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
To tell you the truth, I would much rather be in subjection to my heavenly Father. He will never let you down. His heart is full of love for you and me to the point that we cannot understand divine love, it is so deep and full. But we can trust Him and know that our best good is in His heart of love.
Surrendering to God is the best option that we have in this world to have a peaceful and happy life. I hope that you will respond to His heart of love. I am. Grandma Joan
All God is asking us to give up is our sin-polluted heart, is that so hard? It seems to be, evidently we love sin more than we love our God. I am ashamed to say this, it seems so calloused. I have been guilty too. Surrender is the secret of perfect rest in His love. There are so many blessings attached to a full surrender to God. We will be filled with His Holy Spirit, We will have peace in our hearts because we know that we are abiding in His will. Our features even bear evidence of a complete surrender to God.
Surrender brings grace and power into our lives so we can live a godly life. It also keeps Satan from causing us to stumble and fall into his temptations. When we surrender our choices and decisions to God, He can accomplish His Divine will in us and make us pure and holy after His divine character.
I found this wonderful thought in a book called 'The Acts of the Apostles' p. 299. "Paul had a keen sense of the conflict which every soul must wage with the agencies of evil that are continually seeking to deceive and ensnare, and he had worked untiringly to strengthen and confirm those who were young in the faith. He had entreated them to make an entire surrender to God; for he knew that when the soul fails to make this surrender, then sin is not forsaken, the appetites and passions still strive for the mastery, and temptations confuse the conscience. > The surrender must be complete. Every weak, doubting, struggling soul who yields fully to the Lord is placed in direct touch with agencies that enable him to overcome. Heaven is near to him, and he has the support and help of angels of mercy in every time of trail and need." If that isn't comforting, I guess I don't know what is.
James 4:7,8 "Therefore submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded."
Hebrews 12:9 "Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
To tell you the truth, I would much rather be in subjection to my heavenly Father. He will never let you down. His heart is full of love for you and me to the point that we cannot understand divine love, it is so deep and full. But we can trust Him and know that our best good is in His heart of love.
Surrendering to God is the best option that we have in this world to have a peaceful and happy life. I hope that you will respond to His heart of love. I am. Grandma Joan
Some Thoughts on My Studies
You know, I was so blessed by my 'Thoughts on Humility' studies, that I realized that I do not study deep enough to really understand what God has for me in His Word. This was a world of enlightenment. I am so grateful that He has shown me how to study to get the most from it and apply it to my life. I can't tell you how much doing this blog has helped me and hope that it is helping someone else as well.
It's been a great blessing to me and from now on I am going to put a lot into each study so that there won't be any reason not to understand. That means that I will be putting a lot more time into them, which I have plenty of, most of the time. I really want to be able to help others with their walk with God as I am being helped. The condition of the world in it's present state needs all we can get from the Word of God to keep us going and steadfast in our daily walk, nothing else is working this day and age. God's word is the only thing that is stable.
I was talking on the phone to my son the other day and we like to talk about things of God, which I am very thankful for. He mentioned the word 'surrender' and I told him that he just gave me an idea for my next study, I think I have mentioned surrender before in one of my posts but this will be a deep study in to the meaning and how it fits into our lives. I am anxious to get started on it. I think it is going to open up our minds to an altogether different outlook on the word 'surrender'.
I always think of the word 'yield' when I think of surrender or 'giving up' but the word really means 'giving up control of to another'. Like one country surrendering to another country. In this case it would be 'surrendering the control of ourselves to God and letting Him control us. A lot of people don't like that idea or they are afraid of what God is going to do with them. We must remember that God is a loving God and only wants what is for our best good and happiness. If we remember that, it will be easier for us to get the
meaning of the word 'surrender' and apply it to our lives.
There are blessings in surrendering and we need to know what they are and how we can receive them. We also need to know how to surrender, it is easy to say, 'I surrender' but do we really mean it? There is just so much talk but no actions on the talk. We need to walk our talk or quit talking, I guess. I am so intent on walking my talk, I can hardly put my Bible down to do anything else. I want to learn all I can learn on how to be a blessing to others and be sure and walk my talk. Are you with me?
Micah 6:8 "He has shown you O man what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humble with your God."
The studies on 'surrender' will show us how we can do what the Lord requires of us. I am anxious to get started, so tomorrow will be the first in this series and I hope as we study along on this subject, we will be getting the idea of what 'surrender' really means and how to incorporate it into our lives. Stay with me, this is going to be a great experience. Grandma Joan
It's been a great blessing to me and from now on I am going to put a lot into each study so that there won't be any reason not to understand. That means that I will be putting a lot more time into them, which I have plenty of, most of the time. I really want to be able to help others with their walk with God as I am being helped. The condition of the world in it's present state needs all we can get from the Word of God to keep us going and steadfast in our daily walk, nothing else is working this day and age. God's word is the only thing that is stable.
I was talking on the phone to my son the other day and we like to talk about things of God, which I am very thankful for. He mentioned the word 'surrender' and I told him that he just gave me an idea for my next study, I think I have mentioned surrender before in one of my posts but this will be a deep study in to the meaning and how it fits into our lives. I am anxious to get started on it. I think it is going to open up our minds to an altogether different outlook on the word 'surrender'.
I always think of the word 'yield' when I think of surrender or 'giving up' but the word really means 'giving up control of to another'. Like one country surrendering to another country. In this case it would be 'surrendering the control of ourselves to God and letting Him control us. A lot of people don't like that idea or they are afraid of what God is going to do with them. We must remember that God is a loving God and only wants what is for our best good and happiness. If we remember that, it will be easier for us to get the
meaning of the word 'surrender' and apply it to our lives.
There are blessings in surrendering and we need to know what they are and how we can receive them. We also need to know how to surrender, it is easy to say, 'I surrender' but do we really mean it? There is just so much talk but no actions on the talk. We need to walk our talk or quit talking, I guess. I am so intent on walking my talk, I can hardly put my Bible down to do anything else. I want to learn all I can learn on how to be a blessing to others and be sure and walk my talk. Are you with me?
Micah 6:8 "He has shown you O man what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humble with your God."
The studies on 'surrender' will show us how we can do what the Lord requires of us. I am anxious to get started, so tomorrow will be the first in this series and I hope as we study along on this subject, we will be getting the idea of what 'surrender' really means and how to incorporate it into our lives. Stay with me, this is going to be a great experience. Grandma Joan
Friday, October 11, 2013
Lord, Help my unbelief.
Do you have trouble believing in something that you cannot see? I think we all have had problems with this.
It is natural for us to believe something that we see or can feel than it is to trust in something that we cannot see or feel. I am one of those who like to see or feel before believing, but as I got to thinking about this, I realize that I have seen the hand of God in lots of ways and I have felt His healing touch in my life more than once, so then what is wrong with my believing? We forget the way the Lord has led us, instead of counting our blessings over and over, we tend to forget.
What can we do to strengthen our faith in Him? My answer to that is, what do you do when you find someone you are interested in to marry? Or what do you do when you find a person that you think would make an excellent friend? You want to spend time with them to get to know them to see if you really want them for a mate or friend. It really is pretty simple to make sure that they are the one.
It is the same principle with God, we need to spend time with Him each day to get acquainted with Him and to see what kind of a Friend He is, I can tell you that you will never be disappointed. You may not feel His strong and loving arms about you, but nevertheless He is still there bending over you in love, strengthening you, comforting you and just being the loving Father that He is.
How do we increase our faith? By recounting the blessings that we have received from Him and reminding Him of them and He will pour out more blessings because we have been grateful for the ones we have been given. It is always good to praise the Lord and thank Him for His many blessings whether great or small. We have a tendency to forget the way the Lord has led us in the past and forget to thank Him and praise Him for His goodness towards us.
Hebrews 3:12 "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." This verse confirms the fact that we need to stay in His presence, otherwise we may be overwhelmed with unbelief.
I have been blessed each day as I share my worships with you, that is one way of increasing our faith, sharing with others what God has done for us. Also, recounting our blessings from Him increases our faith abundantly and puts us in a place to receive more and more, thus drawing closer and closer to Him. My prayer is for you to have this experience along with me. May God bless you with increased faith so that all unbelief will be gone.
Mark 9:24 "Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, 'Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" Let this be our prayer with tears, 'Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.' Grandma Joan
It is natural for us to believe something that we see or can feel than it is to trust in something that we cannot see or feel. I am one of those who like to see or feel before believing, but as I got to thinking about this, I realize that I have seen the hand of God in lots of ways and I have felt His healing touch in my life more than once, so then what is wrong with my believing? We forget the way the Lord has led us, instead of counting our blessings over and over, we tend to forget.
What can we do to strengthen our faith in Him? My answer to that is, what do you do when you find someone you are interested in to marry? Or what do you do when you find a person that you think would make an excellent friend? You want to spend time with them to get to know them to see if you really want them for a mate or friend. It really is pretty simple to make sure that they are the one.
It is the same principle with God, we need to spend time with Him each day to get acquainted with Him and to see what kind of a Friend He is, I can tell you that you will never be disappointed. You may not feel His strong and loving arms about you, but nevertheless He is still there bending over you in love, strengthening you, comforting you and just being the loving Father that He is.
How do we increase our faith? By recounting the blessings that we have received from Him and reminding Him of them and He will pour out more blessings because we have been grateful for the ones we have been given. It is always good to praise the Lord and thank Him for His many blessings whether great or small. We have a tendency to forget the way the Lord has led us in the past and forget to thank Him and praise Him for His goodness towards us.
Hebrews 3:12 "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." This verse confirms the fact that we need to stay in His presence, otherwise we may be overwhelmed with unbelief.
I have been blessed each day as I share my worships with you, that is one way of increasing our faith, sharing with others what God has done for us. Also, recounting our blessings from Him increases our faith abundantly and puts us in a place to receive more and more, thus drawing closer and closer to Him. My prayer is for you to have this experience along with me. May God bless you with increased faith so that all unbelief will be gone.
Mark 9:24 "Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, 'Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" Let this be our prayer with tears, 'Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.' Grandma Joan
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Thoughts on Humility - part 10 - conclusion
I must say this has been an outstanding study and my heart overflows with gratitude to my Father in heaven for showing me the real, true definition of humility. My prayer is that I will be the most humble person that God can make of me. I know that I am a mess, but He has all the tools necessary to make a beautiful character out of an ugly one. Do you believe that? I know it to be true.
I believe that 'humility is the key to a very important aspect of the Christian life and I am ever so grateful for the help that God has given me to understand it as well as I do. It seems like such a profound study, I am still working on understanding it. But today, I have a few Bible characters that show us true humility and I would like to share them with you.
Jeremiah 1:6 "Then said I: 'Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth." Jeremiah was just a youth when God called him to the prophetic work and he was very humbled by it.
Daniel 2:30 "But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart." Because of Daniel's humility he was promoted by the king to be ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. And he petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon, but Daniel sat in the gate of the king. Verses 48,49. Another great story of humility. Please take the time to read the whole story, another great lesson on humility.
Luke 1:43 "But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? This was John the Baptist's mother Elizabeth, when Mary, Jesus mother came to visit her before John or Jesus birth.
John 3:30 "He must increase, but I must decrease." This was John the Baptist speaking about Jesus ministry. He was willing to be the forerunner of Christ and then take a back seat, so to speak. In all humility, he was willing to give up his ministry to Christ.
Matthew 11:29,30 "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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Christ has shown us from His life the path of humility and He says it is easy and the burden is light. I believe that when we follow Jesus and stay close to Him that this is very true, even through the trials of life, He makes it easier for us than if He were not by our side.
This is Paul speaking in Acts 20:19 "serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews." Paul's life was full of hardships, but he never gave up his faith in God, regardless of circumstances even unto death. His life was full of humility, of putting others first.
Micah 6:8 "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
God has shown us what true humility is and what He requires of us, to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God. Are we willing to take the step? To walk humbly with God? If not, why not? And if you are, praise be to God. I pray that you are, it will change your little world into a little heaven on earth.
I know that there are quite a few reading my blog each day and I would like to know if it is helping you to have a closer walk with God and if it is making you a happier Christian and your home a little heaven on earth. It is mine. If you are enjoying my worships, could you please let me know by your comments. It would be so encouraging to me to keep going. No praise or flattery please, just plain thankfulness. I am only a tool in His hands and I am thankful to be allowed to come into your home and be a blessing to you.
Grandma Joan
I believe that 'humility is the key to a very important aspect of the Christian life and I am ever so grateful for the help that God has given me to understand it as well as I do. It seems like such a profound study, I am still working on understanding it. But today, I have a few Bible characters that show us true humility and I would like to share them with you.
Jeremiah 1:6 "Then said I: 'Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth." Jeremiah was just a youth when God called him to the prophetic work and he was very humbled by it.
Daniel 2:30 "But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart." Because of Daniel's humility he was promoted by the king to be ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. And he petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon, but Daniel sat in the gate of the king. Verses 48,49. Another great story of humility. Please take the time to read the whole story, another great lesson on humility.
Luke 1:43 "But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? This was John the Baptist's mother Elizabeth, when Mary, Jesus mother came to visit her before John or Jesus birth.
John 3:30 "He must increase, but I must decrease." This was John the Baptist speaking about Jesus ministry. He was willing to be the forerunner of Christ and then take a back seat, so to speak. In all humility, he was willing to give up his ministry to Christ.
Matthew 11:29,30 "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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Christ has shown us from His life the path of humility and He says it is easy and the burden is light. I believe that when we follow Jesus and stay close to Him that this is very true, even through the trials of life, He makes it easier for us than if He were not by our side.
This is Paul speaking in Acts 20:19 "serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews." Paul's life was full of hardships, but he never gave up his faith in God, regardless of circumstances even unto death. His life was full of humility, of putting others first.
Micah 6:8 "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
God has shown us what true humility is and what He requires of us, to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God. Are we willing to take the step? To walk humbly with God? If not, why not? And if you are, praise be to God. I pray that you are, it will change your little world into a little heaven on earth.
I know that there are quite a few reading my blog each day and I would like to know if it is helping you to have a closer walk with God and if it is making you a happier Christian and your home a little heaven on earth. It is mine. If you are enjoying my worships, could you please let me know by your comments. It would be so encouraging to me to keep going. No praise or flattery please, just plain thankfulness. I am only a tool in His hands and I am thankful to be allowed to come into your home and be a blessing to you.
Grandma Joan
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Thoughts on Humility - part 9 - Bible examples for encouragement
Sometimes we need a boost of encouragement, at least I know that I do and when others set the example, it helps me in my life and that is why I thought it would be well to look at some Biblical examples of humility.
My first one is Abraham, he was pleading for souls in Sodom when God said he was going to destroy the city and in Genesis 18:27 "Then Abraham answered and said, 'Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord." Can we say the same, that we are but dust and ashes but take it upon ourselves to speak to God.
Jacob when he was about to meet Esau his brother after long years of separation and after he had deceived his father into giving him the birthright which really belonged to Esau. Genesis 32:10 "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown your servant for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies." Jacob spoke in humility too, when he said, 'I am not worthy, are any of us worthy of God's mercies, I don't think we are. We should come to God in humility of heart and He will hear us when we come in humility.
Moses had been herding sheep in the desert for years and he was very timid, I guess you would call it timid, and when God called him to deliver Israel from Egypt, in Exodus 3:11 "But Moses said to God, 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" Moses was a very humble person and he learned his humility herding sheep.
Joshua was leading Israel after Moses death and they had crossed Jordan and men from Ai struck down 36 men and in Joshua 7:6 "Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads." Read Joshua 7, it is a good story and a good lesson. He fell in humility before God.
Job was a humble man through all his trials and never turned on God, even if it meant his death. And in Job 42:5,6 "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." I think we should all read the story of Job and it might be well for us to repent in dust and ashes. Romans 3:23 says "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." So we all need to repent and humble ourselves before Him.
I think that probably is enough examples for today, but there are a few more that I would like to list tomorrow, so bear with me. This has been such a profound study and has really caused me to do a lot of thinking and praying about my spirit that I will be humbly His and treat others better than myself and put them first in my life and learn to be dead to self. What a lesson!! I am totally impressed with the word 'humility' and what I have learned about it and what having humility will do for me in my Christian walk. The examples have taught me that if they can be humble, so can I, how about you? I have been totally blessed by digging into this important word, 'humility'. It is so pleasing to God to have His people humble and willing to be used by Him in our Christian walk. Let's pray for each other, shall we? I need the prayers of others as I am sure you do. Grandma Joan
My first one is Abraham, he was pleading for souls in Sodom when God said he was going to destroy the city and in Genesis 18:27 "Then Abraham answered and said, 'Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord." Can we say the same, that we are but dust and ashes but take it upon ourselves to speak to God.
Jacob when he was about to meet Esau his brother after long years of separation and after he had deceived his father into giving him the birthright which really belonged to Esau. Genesis 32:10 "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown your servant for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies." Jacob spoke in humility too, when he said, 'I am not worthy, are any of us worthy of God's mercies, I don't think we are. We should come to God in humility of heart and He will hear us when we come in humility.
Moses had been herding sheep in the desert for years and he was very timid, I guess you would call it timid, and when God called him to deliver Israel from Egypt, in Exodus 3:11 "But Moses said to God, 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" Moses was a very humble person and he learned his humility herding sheep.
Joshua was leading Israel after Moses death and they had crossed Jordan and men from Ai struck down 36 men and in Joshua 7:6 "Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads." Read Joshua 7, it is a good story and a good lesson. He fell in humility before God.
Job was a humble man through all his trials and never turned on God, even if it meant his death. And in Job 42:5,6 "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." I think we should all read the story of Job and it might be well for us to repent in dust and ashes. Romans 3:23 says "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." So we all need to repent and humble ourselves before Him.
I think that probably is enough examples for today, but there are a few more that I would like to list tomorrow, so bear with me. This has been such a profound study and has really caused me to do a lot of thinking and praying about my spirit that I will be humbly His and treat others better than myself and put them first in my life and learn to be dead to self. What a lesson!! I am totally impressed with the word 'humility' and what I have learned about it and what having humility will do for me in my Christian walk. The examples have taught me that if they can be humble, so can I, how about you? I have been totally blessed by digging into this important word, 'humility'. It is so pleasing to God to have His people humble and willing to be used by Him in our Christian walk. Let's pray for each other, shall we? I need the prayers of others as I am sure you do. Grandma Joan
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Thoughts on Humility - part 8 - Humility that is a Mockery
Now we know what true humility is, let's see what mockery of humility is. We have learned that humility in a nut shell is esteeming others better than ourselves and putting others first and the rewards of doing this are of great value to our personal lives.
But there is a false humility that we need to be aware of, we don't want to fall into the trap of the devil with our put on humility. For example:
We could dress slovenly, dirty and even wear clothes that had rips in them to show how humble we are. I know that sounds outrages but I knew some people that wore wrinkled clothes that had been stuffed in a basket and pulled out and put on to show their humility. I also knew a man that came to church with a suit on but it had stain spots all over it and this was his way of showing humility. His wife would wear long dresses that drug the ground and become filthy that way and that was her way of showing how humble she was.
Back in Bible times the Priests and Rulers would fast to show how humble they were. There might even people today that would brag about their fasting and prayer life. I knew a man that would brag about how early he would get up in the morning to read his Bible and pray.
Boasting about our holiness is a mockery to God. We can only be holy through His holiness.
Bragging about all the good deeds we do, and all the accomplishments we have made is pride, not humility.
From my experience I can tell you that usually people who go off to extremes in dress for example, are very critical of the dress of others and not only of others dress but of everything about them. Finding fault and criticizing is not humility, it is pride of heart. It is a form of will-worship. Worshiping ourselves as the Bible says the Pharisee did in the temple. The Bible says that the 'Pharisee prayed thus with himself' but the Publican prayed 'God be merciful to me a sinner'. The Pharisee's prayer was a prayer of bragging and the Publican's prayer was one of complete humility. You can read all about this in Luke 18.
The Bible says the 'Publican 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.' Luke 18:14.
Satan always has traps for Christians to fall into if they are not staying in Christ's presence and keeping their eyes fixed on Him. How many times I have fallen into his traps and ended up being humiliated. How about you? It is much better to let go of our pride and humble ourselves in the sight of a Holy God, than to have a proud heart that God has to humble for us, which might not be the best experience we have ever had. In the long run it probably would be the best experience we have ever had but a hard lesson to learn.
In our next study, I would like to mention some people in the Bible who were of a humble character, to encourage us to continue on in our experience of humility. It always helps to have examples to encourage us.
I hope and pray that God is blessing you on your journey of humility, your life will be so much happier, I know mine is and I am amazed how God is teaching me day by day to put others first, it really is amazing.
God bless each of you as you journey towards the kingdom. Grandma Joan
But there is a false humility that we need to be aware of, we don't want to fall into the trap of the devil with our put on humility. For example:
We could dress slovenly, dirty and even wear clothes that had rips in them to show how humble we are. I know that sounds outrages but I knew some people that wore wrinkled clothes that had been stuffed in a basket and pulled out and put on to show their humility. I also knew a man that came to church with a suit on but it had stain spots all over it and this was his way of showing humility. His wife would wear long dresses that drug the ground and become filthy that way and that was her way of showing how humble she was.
Back in Bible times the Priests and Rulers would fast to show how humble they were. There might even people today that would brag about their fasting and prayer life. I knew a man that would brag about how early he would get up in the morning to read his Bible and pray.
Boasting about our holiness is a mockery to God. We can only be holy through His holiness.
Bragging about all the good deeds we do, and all the accomplishments we have made is pride, not humility.
From my experience I can tell you that usually people who go off to extremes in dress for example, are very critical of the dress of others and not only of others dress but of everything about them. Finding fault and criticizing is not humility, it is pride of heart. It is a form of will-worship. Worshiping ourselves as the Bible says the Pharisee did in the temple. The Bible says that the 'Pharisee prayed thus with himself' but the Publican prayed 'God be merciful to me a sinner'. The Pharisee's prayer was a prayer of bragging and the Publican's prayer was one of complete humility. You can read all about this in Luke 18.
The Bible says the 'Publican 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.' Luke 18:14.
Satan always has traps for Christians to fall into if they are not staying in Christ's presence and keeping their eyes fixed on Him. How many times I have fallen into his traps and ended up being humiliated. How about you? It is much better to let go of our pride and humble ourselves in the sight of a Holy God, than to have a proud heart that God has to humble for us, which might not be the best experience we have ever had. In the long run it probably would be the best experience we have ever had but a hard lesson to learn.
In our next study, I would like to mention some people in the Bible who were of a humble character, to encourage us to continue on in our experience of humility. It always helps to have examples to encourage us.
I hope and pray that God is blessing you on your journey of humility, your life will be so much happier, I know mine is and I am amazed how God is teaching me day by day to put others first, it really is amazing.
God bless each of you as you journey towards the kingdom. Grandma Joan
Monday, October 7, 2013
Thoughts on Humility -part 7 - More Blessings
Yes, there are more blessings to look forward to. God is waiting to bless us with all spiritual blessings, we are the ones holding Him up. Ephesians 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.'
Matthew 18:4 "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Most little children are humble, aren't they? We would do well to be the same if we want to be great in God's kingdom.
Proverbs 3:34 "Surely He scorns the scorner, but gives grace to the humble." We all need His grace, we can't live without it, so it is a great blessing of grace added to all the rest of the blessings that being humble bring. We cannot out give God, it is impossible, He has so much stored up for us, it is up to us whether we will receive His gifts or not.
James 4:6 "But He gives more grace, therefore He says; God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." See, He gives even more grace to the humble in heart.
He even wants to heal our land or our nation, as we read in 2 Chronicles 7:14. He is such a great God, there is no limit to what He wants to do for us if we just humble ourselves in His sight and seek Him faithfully.
Can you fathom all these gifts that He wants to pour out on us if we will just humble ourselves before Him and before others and esteem others better than ourselves and put others first?
1 Peter 5:5,6,7 "Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders, Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him for He cares for you." Can you hear God pleading to submit ourselves to one another and be clothed with humility so that He can bless us because He cares for us. How can we turn that down? Why would we turn it down? I don't have a good answer, do you?
Tomorrow, our study will be on something called 'false humility', a warning no less that we could if we are not careful, get caught up in. Be sure to tune in, warnings are always welcome to keep us on track. Be faithful my friend, God does care for you, so cast your cares on Him and let Him take care of you. He is taking good care of me and He will do the same for you. Grandma Joan
Matthew 18:4 "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Most little children are humble, aren't they? We would do well to be the same if we want to be great in God's kingdom.
Proverbs 3:34 "Surely He scorns the scorner, but gives grace to the humble." We all need His grace, we can't live without it, so it is a great blessing of grace added to all the rest of the blessings that being humble bring. We cannot out give God, it is impossible, He has so much stored up for us, it is up to us whether we will receive His gifts or not.
James 4:6 "But He gives more grace, therefore He says; God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." See, He gives even more grace to the humble in heart.
He even wants to heal our land or our nation, as we read in 2 Chronicles 7:14. He is such a great God, there is no limit to what He wants to do for us if we just humble ourselves in His sight and seek Him faithfully.
Can you fathom all these gifts that He wants to pour out on us if we will just humble ourselves before Him and before others and esteem others better than ourselves and put others first?
1 Peter 5:5,6,7 "Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders, Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him for He cares for you." Can you hear God pleading to submit ourselves to one another and be clothed with humility so that He can bless us because He cares for us. How can we turn that down? Why would we turn it down? I don't have a good answer, do you?
Tomorrow, our study will be on something called 'false humility', a warning no less that we could if we are not careful, get caught up in. Be sure to tune in, warnings are always welcome to keep us on track. Be faithful my friend, God does care for you, so cast your cares on Him and let Him take care of you. He is taking good care of me and He will do the same for you. Grandma Joan
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Thoughts on Humility - part 6 - Blessings On The Humble in Spirit
I think it is time after all these studies on humility to see what God has in store for us when we humble ourselves in the presence of the Lord. Pay close attention because this is GOOD.
Remember I mentioned King Solomon the other day and how God blessed him with a wise and understanding heart and because that is what he asked for, God also blessed him with riches and honor. You will find that in 1 Kings 3:11-18 if you want to recap the story. Also remember what Proverbs says in chapter 22: 4 "By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life."
2 Chronicles 7:14,15 "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place." We want God's eyes open and His ears attentive to our prayers, don't we, so let's humble ourselves and seek His face and turn from our proud and evil ways and then He will hear us and answer our prayers. What a beautiful promise.
Matthew 23:12 "And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
If we humble ourselves, we will be exalted, but that shouldn't be our goal, our goal is to humble ourselves and let the Lord do the exalting if there is any to be done.
James 4:10 "Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." If we humble ourselves in His sight, He will lift us up, and it is OK if He does it, but we aren't responsible for the lifting up.
Isaiah 57:15 "For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." OK, contrite means repentant, so if we have a repentant and humble spirit, He will revive our hearts and spirit and we do need revived, don't we? I am so thankful for this study and so grateful for God's leading in it, it has blessed me abundantly and I hope you have been blessed but hold on, there are more blessings coming up in the next study. Grandma Joan
Remember I mentioned King Solomon the other day and how God blessed him with a wise and understanding heart and because that is what he asked for, God also blessed him with riches and honor. You will find that in 1 Kings 3:11-18 if you want to recap the story. Also remember what Proverbs says in chapter 22: 4 "By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life."
2 Chronicles 7:14,15 "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place." We want God's eyes open and His ears attentive to our prayers, don't we, so let's humble ourselves and seek His face and turn from our proud and evil ways and then He will hear us and answer our prayers. What a beautiful promise.
Matthew 23:12 "And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
If we humble ourselves, we will be exalted, but that shouldn't be our goal, our goal is to humble ourselves and let the Lord do the exalting if there is any to be done.
James 4:10 "Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." If we humble ourselves in His sight, He will lift us up, and it is OK if He does it, but we aren't responsible for the lifting up.
Isaiah 57:15 "For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." OK, contrite means repentant, so if we have a repentant and humble spirit, He will revive our hearts and spirit and we do need revived, don't we? I am so thankful for this study and so grateful for God's leading in it, it has blessed me abundantly and I hope you have been blessed but hold on, there are more blessings coming up in the next study. Grandma Joan
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Thoughts on Humility - part 5
How are you doing with your practicing humility? Are things better? Is your life sweeter? Are you loved more? I know that Jesus is able to shower you more with His love because you are bringing your life into harmony with His. I can't say that He loves you more because His love knows no bounds and it is no less and no more, it is just the same, it is us that change not Him.
I have given you some heavy thoughts to work on, I know because I have to work on them too. But actually I have found that when I pray and ask for His help in these things, I find myself doing them without thinking, so I believe if we are sincere he will come in and make His abode with us and strengthen us to do what we normally wouldn't do. I works for me and I am sure it will work for you.
Sanctification means to consecrate, and humility is the mark of true sanctification. If we are truly humble, we will be truly sanctified. That is a wonderful thought and I believe it is true. When you have true humility you have victory over your pet sins. Christ's gentleness is true humility and real humility is depending on God's strength to overcome, not trying in our own strength. We can't do it on our own power, that is why so many people give up on the Christian life, they are trying to be a Christian without God's power in their life. It is absolutely impossible to do it on our own.
When I was reading the other day, I found this thought that I thought would be most helpful. "True religion is founded upon love to God, which also leads us to love one another. It is full of gratitude, humility, long-suffering. It is self-sacrificing, forbearing, merciful and forgiving. It sanctifies the whole life and extends its influence over others." Isn't that the way we should live? I believe it is and it is a wonderful way to live. I have to admit that my life hasn't been like that but by God's grace it will be from now on. I intend to let God have His way with me, what about you?
In our next study on humility, I want to share some of the blessings from the Bible on humility, I know they will bless you. So until then, God bless your efforts in leaning on Him for the victories in your life. I know He will. Grandma Joan
I have given you some heavy thoughts to work on, I know because I have to work on them too. But actually I have found that when I pray and ask for His help in these things, I find myself doing them without thinking, so I believe if we are sincere he will come in and make His abode with us and strengthen us to do what we normally wouldn't do. I works for me and I am sure it will work for you.
Sanctification means to consecrate, and humility is the mark of true sanctification. If we are truly humble, we will be truly sanctified. That is a wonderful thought and I believe it is true. When you have true humility you have victory over your pet sins. Christ's gentleness is true humility and real humility is depending on God's strength to overcome, not trying in our own strength. We can't do it on our own power, that is why so many people give up on the Christian life, they are trying to be a Christian without God's power in their life. It is absolutely impossible to do it on our own.
When I was reading the other day, I found this thought that I thought would be most helpful. "True religion is founded upon love to God, which also leads us to love one another. It is full of gratitude, humility, long-suffering. It is self-sacrificing, forbearing, merciful and forgiving. It sanctifies the whole life and extends its influence over others." Isn't that the way we should live? I believe it is and it is a wonderful way to live. I have to admit that my life hasn't been like that but by God's grace it will be from now on. I intend to let God have His way with me, what about you?
In our next study on humility, I want to share some of the blessings from the Bible on humility, I know they will bless you. So until then, God bless your efforts in leaning on Him for the victories in your life. I know He will. Grandma Joan
Friday, October 4, 2013
Thoughts on humility - part 4
This has been such an enlightening study, I hope it is helping you as much as it has me. So far we have learned that humility is putting others first, have you tried that? It's great! And esteeming others better than yourselves, have you tried that, this is a little harder isn't it? Then we need to learn to listen and not do all the talking, that takes care of the meek and quiet spirit and then to top it all off we learned that we need to be dead to self and to manifest kindness, respect, noble love, and generosity even to those whom we think are wicked people.
That was quite a study wasn't it, actually it was three studies and today we are going to learn not to be proud or boastful. It is so easy to brag about something that we have accomplished and expect others to feel the same way, when they may not appreciate our bragging, they may see it as an ego trip or maybe something worse, when if we just let others form their own opinion about our accomplishments, we would probably feel a lot better about it. It would be quite a let down experience if it turned into a humiliating experience, so let's be careful about our boasting and our pride about our accomplishments.
Humility is a Christian grace and if we call ourselves Christians, then this grace will be part of our lives, will it not?
Humility is the road to honor, remember King Solomon when he became king, he prayed and asked God for an understanding heart that he might discern justice and because he was humble and only asked for an understanding heart to rule God's people well, God honored him with a wise and understanding heart and also with riches and honor. See 1 Kings 3:11-18. God honors those who are humble in spirit and who put others first.
Proverbs 22:4 "By humility and the fear of the Lord, are riches and honor and life." Humility is such an important part of the Christian's life, I am overwhelmed with what I am learning and I am not through yet. I surely hope you are being blessed too. These studies have been short because they have been so deep for the heart and mind to grasp and put to practice, at least for most of us. I have been praying over them, that I might take it all to heart and become a humble servant of Christ. That is really what it is all about and what I really want to be. How about you? Are you willing to put self aside and humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, as the song goes. I am and I hope that you feel the same way. This is quite a journey, but we can travel it together and become what Christ wants us to be, can't we? Grandma Joan
That was quite a study wasn't it, actually it was three studies and today we are going to learn not to be proud or boastful. It is so easy to brag about something that we have accomplished and expect others to feel the same way, when they may not appreciate our bragging, they may see it as an ego trip or maybe something worse, when if we just let others form their own opinion about our accomplishments, we would probably feel a lot better about it. It would be quite a let down experience if it turned into a humiliating experience, so let's be careful about our boasting and our pride about our accomplishments.
Humility is a Christian grace and if we call ourselves Christians, then this grace will be part of our lives, will it not?
Humility is the road to honor, remember King Solomon when he became king, he prayed and asked God for an understanding heart that he might discern justice and because he was humble and only asked for an understanding heart to rule God's people well, God honored him with a wise and understanding heart and also with riches and honor. See 1 Kings 3:11-18. God honors those who are humble in spirit and who put others first.
Proverbs 22:4 "By humility and the fear of the Lord, are riches and honor and life." Humility is such an important part of the Christian's life, I am overwhelmed with what I am learning and I am not through yet. I surely hope you are being blessed too. These studies have been short because they have been so deep for the heart and mind to grasp and put to practice, at least for most of us. I have been praying over them, that I might take it all to heart and become a humble servant of Christ. That is really what it is all about and what I really want to be. How about you? Are you willing to put self aside and humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, as the song goes. I am and I hope that you feel the same way. This is quite a journey, but we can travel it together and become what Christ wants us to be, can't we? Grandma Joan
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Thoughts on Humility - part 3
Well, how are you doing? I bet you are doing great on this subject of humility. It sure makes our world a better place to live doesn't it? My world is pretty small and so I don't have much to work on but eventually it should broaden and give me a lot more to work on.
Today's topic is a hard one and I am almost afraid to mention it but it is so important I have to. Humility is being dead to self, not lifting self up, not getting upset if things don't go our way, manifesting kindness, respect, noble love, generosity , even to those that we consider wicked people or unworthy of our attention.
How's that for hitting us on the head? WOW! Did I need that or didn't I? How about you? That was a good one, one that is probably hard on our ego Getting rid of pride, not getting upset if things don't go my way, showing kindness, respect, noble love, generosity to those whom I consider unworthy of my attention or of wicked conduct. Can I do that? I am sure that I can with God's help but not on my own.
I think of Jesus humbling Himself, coming from glory to this fallen planet and bowing to the least of these and lifting them up to His stature, the people must have felt good in His presence and knew they were loved. Isn't that what we should be doing? I hope that I am responsible for helping to lift you up not to my stature but to His and I hope you know that you are loved and then it is your turn to follow His example and do the same to others. Can you do that? How much your little world is being blessed by the things you are learning and I am learning on this simple little word 'humility'. God bless you as you put it to practice. Grandma Joan
Today's topic is a hard one and I am almost afraid to mention it but it is so important I have to. Humility is being dead to self, not lifting self up, not getting upset if things don't go our way, manifesting kindness, respect, noble love, generosity , even to those that we consider wicked people or unworthy of our attention.
How's that for hitting us on the head? WOW! Did I need that or didn't I? How about you? That was a good one, one that is probably hard on our ego Getting rid of pride, not getting upset if things don't go my way, showing kindness, respect, noble love, generosity to those whom I consider unworthy of my attention or of wicked conduct. Can I do that? I am sure that I can with God's help but not on my own.
I think of Jesus humbling Himself, coming from glory to this fallen planet and bowing to the least of these and lifting them up to His stature, the people must have felt good in His presence and knew they were loved. Isn't that what we should be doing? I hope that I am responsible for helping to lift you up not to my stature but to His and I hope you know that you are loved and then it is your turn to follow His example and do the same to others. Can you do that? How much your little world is being blessed by the things you are learning and I am learning on this simple little word 'humility'. God bless you as you put it to practice. Grandma Joan
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Thoughts on Humility part 2
Well, how did you do in your first trial at being humble? Did you put everyone else first before yourself?
Did you esteem others better than yourself? It might be a tough assignment but worthy of all the effort you put into it and it will make others feel so good to be around you, I'm sure.
My next thought on humility is a 'meek and quiet spirit'. What do you think about that? Does it sound hard to do? My thought on that would be a meek spirit would be someone who puts others first and esteems them better than themselves. Don't you think?
Then a quiet spirit would be someone who would be a great listener, don't you think? Are you a great listener? I really don't know if I am or if I want to hold the floor and do all the talking, I am going to have to evaluate myself on that one, I think I probably listen some of the time and then other times do all the talking, or be thinking of what I am going to say next and not listening to what they are saying. That doesn't sound very humble, does it? This is a great lesson for me and one that I am afraid to say I need to learn very well.
So to cap off the thoughts on humility, it is putting others first, esteeming them better than myself and you might call that a meek or humble spirit and a quiet spirit would be a good listener. So for today, let's practice being meek and listening to what others have to say instead of doing all the talking which a lot of us like to do I'm sure. Sometimes I get so lonely I probably bore people to death when they come to see me. I hope not and will have to make sure that I do more listening than talking. A great idea to say the least. Let's try it and see if we can't make our world a little better by being a good listener. Tomorrow more thoughts on humility.
Have a good time trying these ideas out. It's fun knowing we are becoming more like Jesus, He was the humble One and we want to be like Him. Grandma Joan
Did you esteem others better than yourself? It might be a tough assignment but worthy of all the effort you put into it and it will make others feel so good to be around you, I'm sure.
My next thought on humility is a 'meek and quiet spirit'. What do you think about that? Does it sound hard to do? My thought on that would be a meek spirit would be someone who puts others first and esteems them better than themselves. Don't you think?
Then a quiet spirit would be someone who would be a great listener, don't you think? Are you a great listener? I really don't know if I am or if I want to hold the floor and do all the talking, I am going to have to evaluate myself on that one, I think I probably listen some of the time and then other times do all the talking, or be thinking of what I am going to say next and not listening to what they are saying. That doesn't sound very humble, does it? This is a great lesson for me and one that I am afraid to say I need to learn very well.
So to cap off the thoughts on humility, it is putting others first, esteeming them better than myself and you might call that a meek or humble spirit and a quiet spirit would be a good listener. So for today, let's practice being meek and listening to what others have to say instead of doing all the talking which a lot of us like to do I'm sure. Sometimes I get so lonely I probably bore people to death when they come to see me. I hope not and will have to make sure that I do more listening than talking. A great idea to say the least. Let's try it and see if we can't make our world a little better by being a good listener. Tomorrow more thoughts on humility.
Have a good time trying these ideas out. It's fun knowing we are becoming more like Jesus, He was the humble One and we want to be like Him. Grandma Joan
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Thoughts on Humility
The last few days the word humility has been haunting me at every step and I am not kidding. I figured that God had something special to talk to me about, so I set about studying into the word and I guess I was right, He had a lot to talk to me about and I won't be able to get it all in one study but I will start with a few facts that I have uncovered and see if you see what I see in this study.
What do you think humility means? The dictionary says, meekness. I had the feeling that there was a lot more to it than meekness and I was right this time. I discovered that humility means putting others first and esteeming them better than myself, this is just a starter, there is so much more and it is so very interesting I must share it.
Do you always put others first? And do you esteem others better than yourself? What kind of questions are these you might ask? Well, for one I don't know if I have ever known anyone that put everyone else before themselves and I don't know if I have ever known anyone who esteemed others better than themselves, but when you think of it, it is humbling to do that and it certainly doesn't hurt us, in fact it really lifts us up above our prideful level.
I don't want to overwhelm you so I won't go any further with this subject than to say it is enough to work on today and to think about today. I want to be humbly yours to all with whom I come in contact with. I believe God impressed me to study this out for a reason and we will see what the reason was as I delve deeper into the subject of humility. Actually, I believe that these two items, esteeming others better than myself and putting others first is enough for one day to contemplate.
So have a great day working on putting others first and esteeming them better than yourself and we will work on it together and see if we can't make our little world a better place to live. Grandma Joan
What do you think humility means? The dictionary says, meekness. I had the feeling that there was a lot more to it than meekness and I was right this time. I discovered that humility means putting others first and esteeming them better than myself, this is just a starter, there is so much more and it is so very interesting I must share it.
Do you always put others first? And do you esteem others better than yourself? What kind of questions are these you might ask? Well, for one I don't know if I have ever known anyone that put everyone else before themselves and I don't know if I have ever known anyone who esteemed others better than themselves, but when you think of it, it is humbling to do that and it certainly doesn't hurt us, in fact it really lifts us up above our prideful level.
I don't want to overwhelm you so I won't go any further with this subject than to say it is enough to work on today and to think about today. I want to be humbly yours to all with whom I come in contact with. I believe God impressed me to study this out for a reason and we will see what the reason was as I delve deeper into the subject of humility. Actually, I believe that these two items, esteeming others better than myself and putting others first is enough for one day to contemplate.
So have a great day working on putting others first and esteeming them better than yourself and we will work on it together and see if we can't make our little world a better place to live. Grandma Joan
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