Monday, August 31, 2015

Promises for the salvation for sinners

Are you a sinner in need of God's grace and mercy.  The Bible says that  "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."  Romans 3:23.  According to the Bible we are all sinners and need His mercy and grace in order to live a righteous life.  Our salvation is secure in Christ, but outside of  Christ we need to ponder some promises that will give us great hope.  I am sure you will agree with me that we all need hope, I know I do, so let's see if we can find hope in these scriptures.

Luke 19:10  "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." NKJV

Isaiah 59:1  "Behold the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have separated you from your God."

Jeremiah 31:17  "There is hope in your future, says the Lord,  that your children shall come back to your own border."

Hosea 14:4  "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely."

Just knowing that Jesus came to this earth just to save us is an awesome thought.  Why would He suffer such a painful death to save me?  The only reason that I can come up with is that His love is so great that He couldn't bear to leave us in this sinful world without making every effort to save us to Himself.  God's love is so great that He was willing to sacrifice His Son and watch Him suffer and die on a cruel cross just for you and for me.  We can't fathom such love, it is beyond our reasoning power.

All we can do is accept His great love for us and have faith in His redeeming power that He can and will save us if we consent to His will for us.  If we contemplate this love and what He has done for us, we will love Him more and more.  That is my prayer, that I will love Him more and more. He will save us if we let Him.  I want to be with Him forever, don't you?   Grandma Joan

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Promises for a full surrender to God.

I have a deep, personal question to ask you right now.  When you look deep within your heart, do you see that you have grown deeper and deeper in your relationship with Christ?  Do you consider yourself to be stronger in the things of God than you have ever been before?  I hope so.  Every day with Jesus should be sweeter than the day before.  We should have a deeper faith moment by moment.  Yet we should not be satisfied that God has finished His work in our lives. He is ever working on our characters to lift us up and set our feet on solid ground, spiritually.  Does God really mean what He says in the promises in Roman 6?  No other chapter in the Bible is so lavish in giving instruction to a struggling Christian. Consider these verses:

Verses 1& 2  "Shall we continue in sin. . . .God forbid."

Verse 2  "We that are dead to sin."

Verse 6  "Henceforth we should not serve sin."

Verse 7 "Freed from sin."

Verse 11  "Dead indeed to sin."

Verse 12 "Let not sin therefore reign."

Some are frightened simply because it describes the perfect work God wants to do in sanctifying us from sin.  Many are afraid of that word 'perfect'.  They are fearful that God will ask them to do some-thing that they are not willing to do.

Philippians 1:6  "Being confident of this very thing, that He that hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."  If we surrender our all to Christ, He will do just what He says.

1 Thessalonians 5:23,24  "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it."

He has called us and He has said He will do it for us.  We must give ourselves to Him in complete surrender.  Of ourselves we cannot do anything because He has said in John 15:5  "I am the vine, ye are the branches:  He that abideth in Me and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without Me ye can do nothing."

This whole study is pretty plain, isn't it?  I believe that we can be very confident that when He begins a good work in us, He will finish it in us and save us in His kingdom.  If He is faithful to call us, He also will be faithful do it for us.  I love these promises, they mean so much to me.  Grandma Joan

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Promises for the rest we need.

Everyone needs rest, I know at my age I for sure have to rest more than ever before.  God wants us to rest one whole day a week.  Does anyone know what day He picked?  I will let you look it up and find out.  You just might be surprised.  Email me and let me know if you found it.  Be sure to give me the text where it is.

Matthew 11:28-30  "Come unto Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. for My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Jeremiah 31;25  " I will refresh the weary,  and satisfy the faint."

Psalm 62:1, 2  "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken."

Psalm 91:1  "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."

I'm weary, are you?  I need rest for my spirit as well as for my soul.  The above verses promises rest for us if we are willing to rest in God alone.  We have the invitation to 'Come unto Him, if we are weary and burdened and He will give us rest.  He will refresh us and if we are faint, He will satisfy us.  We can dwell in the shelter of the Most High and rest in His shadow.  These are awesome thoughts about resting.  Our minds need rest too.  Sometimes we are overburdened in our minds and we need to lay all those burdens on Him and He will give us the rest that we need.  I love that!  Grandma Joan

Friday, August 28, 2015

Promises of what the Word of God will do.

Do you ever wonder how to be 'Born Again' or how to 'Build your Faith' into a faith that is beyond our comprehension?  There is a simple way that only takes a little time each day.  Considering we have 24 hours in a day, what is a half hour or hour out of the day to live a life that you never dreamed possible?  Well, the scripture tells us how and also promises great rewards if we follow the advice given.

Romans 10:17  "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God."  So faith is strengthened by spending time in God's word.  In order to strengthen our faith, we must often bring it in contact with the Word of God.

1 Peter 1: 23 "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever."  Surely it is a wonderful word that can produce conviction, faith and cause us to be Born Again.

Psalm 119: 9  "Wherewithall  shall a young man cleanse his way?  By taking heed thereto according to Thy Word."  When this Holy Word is cherished in the heart and is meditated upon in the heart, there is no room for sin.

Psalm 119: 11  "Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee."  Spend time in His Word if you want to have victory over sin.

Acts 20: 32  "And now brethren, I commend you to God,  and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up."  This is the way to be built up spiritually

Jeremiah 15:16 "Thy words were found and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart."

This was probably the study that will turn our lives around for the better, if we take heed to His promises.  I must tell you, this study has done wonders for me.  I now understand how I can have a new life in Christ and be Born Again and be cleansed from all sin and grow up into Christ.  By spending time in His word.  This will bring joy to our hearts now and forever and will build up our faith in Him so we can face any issue in life knowing that God has taken care of it or will take care of it. I really needed this study this morning.  I hope you have been blessed as well. Grandma Joan

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Promises of protection.

This world is becoming a frightening place to live, specially in some places more than others.  We surely need promises now to help us realize how much God cares and  takes care of us.  Here are some very important promises from Scripture that will give us hope.

John 10:10  "The thief does not come except to steal, kill and destroy.  I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly."

Psalm 97:10  "The Lord.....guards the lives of His faithful ones."

Psalm 91:9-11  "Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High thy habitation;  there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.  For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

Psalm 32:7  "You are my hiding place;  You shall preserve me from trouble."

Psalm 121:7,8  "The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul.  The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore."

Psalm 91:1-7  "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him will I trust .  Surely He will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler. and from the noissome pestilence.  He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust;  His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.  Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night; not for the arrow that flyeth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in the darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.  A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh to thee."

After reading these promises, there is no need for us to be afraid, is there?  We are safe in His keeping and we need have no worries.  We just need to trust Him in all things.  Grandma Joan


Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Promises to help with our pride.

I think we all have some pride of some kind and this really should not be and I will tell you why from the Bible.  Isaiah 64:6  "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."  Jesus says in Isaiah 1:18  "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

When we are in this condition, do you think there is any room for pride in our lives.  According to the second verse above, we can be cleansed of our pride and any other sin in our life.  So let's look at some of those promises about pride.

Proverbs 16:18,19  "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.  Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, then to divide the spoil with the proud."

Proverbs 26:12  "Do you see a man  wise in his own eyes?  There is more hope for a fool than for him."

Proverbs 21:4  "A haughty look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked are sin."

James 4: 6,7,10  " 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'  'Submit yourselves then to God.  Resist the devil, an he will flee from you, draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you.  Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up."

Micah 6:8  "He hath showed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God."  Do you see any pride in God's requirements in this verse.  I don't think so.

It's better to be of a  humble spirit, it's one of God's requirements.  According to these verses the proud heart is a sinful heart.  Let God do our lifting up if He so sees that we can handle it.  We must walk humbly with our God and do justly and to love mercy.  I love this verse don't you?  Remember that God says, "Come now and let us reason together; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."  I want my sins, including any pride in my heart washed away and made as white as snow.  Don't you?  This has been a very helpful study this morning.  The word of God strengthens me so much and I know it will if you will just contemplate the verses and how they apply to your life.  We may feel terrible when we see ourselves as we really are but remember we can be as white as snow when we confess and repent.  God loves us so much and He is in the process of saving us.  Grandma Joan

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Prayer Promises

There are some really good prayer promises and it is good to know what they are and claim them in our prayer time.  I have had many answers to prayer and I appreciate it very much but I know that it is only a fraction of the answers that God would like to give me if I just spend time with Him and surrender my life to Him completely and at this time in my life I am really trying to do just that.  If you have some answered prayers that you would like to share with others, please send them to me and I will gladly post them for encouragement to others.  Following are some texts I would like to share with you regarding this subject.

Psalm 107:9  "For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness."

Jeremiah 33:3  "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not."

Matthew 7:7  "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

Matthew 21:22  "All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."

John 15:7,8  "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you.  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."

How is that for some awesome promises.  I want you to notice that all of these promises have conditions in them.  Not anything hard but conditions that God wants us to fulfill so He can fulfill His promises to us.

We must long after Him and hunger for Him as searching for great treasures.  He also says we must call unto Him and He will show us great and mighty things.  We must ask, seek, and knock before it can be opened to us.

We must believe that we will receive whatever we are asking for.  This is sometimes the hardest part for we humans, because it is so hard to believe in something or Someone that we cannot see.  But think of all the things we are missing out on because of our unbelief.

The last promise is, If you abide in Me and My words abide in you.  We must spend some time each day abiding with Him in His word.  This glorifies our Father and we will bear much fruit, and then we will be His disciples.

This little study has helped me so much this morning, I hope it has helped you.  I want to glorify my Father so much and be His disciple.  Don't you?  Grandma Joan

Monday, August 24, 2015

Promises to help us Praise the Lord.

I am going to share with you today one of my favorite passages in the Bible.  It helps me praise the Lord and also has promises for those who praise Him.  These verses are absolutely wonderful and I am sure you will want to memorize them as I have.  They mean so much to me.

Psalm 103: 1-5  "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name.  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits;  Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies:  Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's."

Can you memorize these verses?  I have, I have to review them every so often, but they mean so much to me.  We have so much to praise the Lord for.  He forgives us when we fail Him.  He heals us when we need it and it is for our best good.  He redeems us from destruction and crowns us with His lovingkindness and tender mercies and satisfies us with good things and renews our youth so we can soar like an eagle.  How wonderful is all of that.  Put it to your memory and dwell upon His goodness and His greatness and bless His holy name.  I love it.  Grandma Joan

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Promises to help us persevere on our upward journey.

Do you like challenges.  I have always loved a challenge.  Usually challenges help us if we persevere at fulfilling them.  I usually succeed in being successful at a challenge, but not always.  I had one big challenge that I wanted to complete but never was able, because it took cooperation from others that didn't seem to be as interested in my challenge as I was.  It has always been a disappointment to me that I didn't succeed in fulfilling this one.  It was huge and I understand why it was hard to get others interested in it.  Perseverance is a real attribute in the Christian life and it is a real challenge to succeed but with God's help we can persevere until the end.  Let's check out these promises.

Philippians 3:14  "I press on toward the goal to win the prize to which Christ Jesus is calling us upward."

Hebrews 10:36  "For you need to have patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise."

1 Corinthians 15:58  "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

James 1:12  "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him."

Galatians 6:9  "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Press on my friend, God waiting patiently for us to win the crown that He has prepared for us.  It will pay to persevere in our walk with God because the reward is eternal life with Him.  I am looking forward to that, aren't you.  What a day that will be!!!  Grandma Joan

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Promises to help us be more patient.

Are you impatient?  Sometimes I am, I hate to wait for something and I am letting God subdue me and make me more like Him and patience is a much needed trait that I need to pray for.  There are so many ways that we can be impatient.  I always want to be punctual and I expect others to be punctual too and if they aren't it seems to me to be disrespectful of my time to keep me waiting.  Do you have that problem too?  Something I need to pray about.  Patience with our children at any age.  We need to be kind and considerate of their feelings and impatience with them hurts them.  I wish I had learned these lessons a long time ago.  So let's see what God says about patience.

1 Corinthians 13:4,5  "Love is patient, Love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud."

Galatians 5:22,23  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith-fulness, gentleness and self-control."

Psalm 37:4  "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 27:14  "Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart;  Wait, I say on the Lord."

Psalm 37: 7,9  "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;  Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass....For evil doers shall be cast off;  But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth."

Can you see how important it is to have patience and the reward of possessing such a character trait?
He will give us the desires of our heart.  He will also strengthen our heart.  Those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.  What promises!  I am going to do my best to remember these texts, for they certainly encourage patience.  May we all be blessed with these promises.  Grandma Joan

Friday, August 21, 2015

Promises for Wisdom.

We all need wisdom, don't we?  I know I do, every day to make right choices.  To obey God's will in our lives.  It all takes wisdom, and God has promised us wisdom abundantly as we need it.  I am so glad for that because right now we are trying to decide which home to buy and not be in debt, at least very much.  I pray each day that God will direct in our search and decision.  Wisdom is such an important part of life if we want to live it to the fullest, so let's see what God has promised us.

Proverbs 3:7  "Do not be wise in your own eyes."  (NKJV)

James 1:5  "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given him."(NIV)

Proverbs 4:11,12  "I will guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.  When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble." (NIV)

Proverbs 2:1-5  "If you accept my words, and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight, and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God."  (NIV)

1 Kings 4:29-31  "And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore.  Thus Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom, of all the men of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt, for he was wiser than all men."  (NKJV)

Can you have wisdom?  Yes, of course, God gives wisdom generously and He will give it to us as we need it.  If we walk in His way and do His will, we have access to His wisdom according to our need.
I need wisdom, and I am sure you can use wisdom in your everyday life just as I can.  I am going to pray for more wisdom because I need it.  How about you?  Grandma Joan

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Promises to keep us from worrying.

Are you a 'worry wort'?  I can tell you the truth, I don't know if I am or not.  I don't think I am but maybe I am and will find out from this little study.  If we trust in God, we shouldn't be worrying about anything, but it is so easy to take things into our own hands and then we have lots to worry about.  Isn't that true.  Whenever we take things out of His hands and try to take care of them ourselves, it is a sure thing, that things will go wrong for us.  I'm sure that you have experienced that,  I know that I have in the past and usually when we do things our own way, we end up in trouble of some kind.  So let's see what God promises about worrying.

Philippians 4:19  "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."  When we think of riches, we think of money or the equivalent, but as for me, I am very poor in health right now and I think about the riches in health, how healthy I use to be and what I was able to do and now have been reduced to being handicapped and not able to do very much.  I still cook and clean but have to rest a lot because of my heart.

Luke 12:22  "Then Jesus said....'do not worry about your life, what you will eat;  or about your body, what you will wear.  Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes....But seek His kingdom and these things will be given to you as well."  I think this is saying that if we seek Him first, all these things will be supplied, isn't that what it sounds like? I think so.

Philippians 4: 5-7  "The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  A wonderful promise for sure.

Proverbs 16:3  "Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed."  Another wonderful promise. They are all good aren't they.

Romans 8:28  "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

I'm blessed and challenged, how about you?  I have known all these things for many years but guess I never applied these promises to my life as I should have.  I know that God is blessing me even before I ask, for example my heart stops in the night and starts up again before I die. This is what my cardiologist  told me yesterday and I am down for a pace maker. That is a blessing indeed.  I should have no fear knowing that all these promises pertain to my life and they also pertain to your life too.  Let's take them seriously and believe what He says and rest in His promises.  Grandma Joan

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Promises to help us Worship the Lord.

I know that many people just like myself, have trouble with taking time to worship the Lord every day in the beauty of holiness.  I am hoping that this post will help me as I search for the right way to worship and for the fulfillment of true worship.  I am just like everyone else, I need the Lord in my life in a very special way and want Him to be Lord of my life.  How about you?  Do you need these promises too?  I am going to share some with you and see if it will help us to praise Him more and Worship Him more.

James 4:8  "Draw near to God an He will draw near to you"  I want to feel His nearness, don't you?

Psalm 29:2  "Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name;  Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."  In the beauty of holiness, I need to know exactly what that is, It sounds like a peaceful place to be.  I will pray for that, I surely need it.

Hebrews 4:16  "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."  I know we don't have to fear coming before Him, He has a heart full of love for each of us so we can come boldly before Him and obtain mercy and find the help that we need.

Psalm 100  "Make a joyful shout to the Lord....Come before His presence with singing....Enter into His gates with thanksgiving. and into His courts with praise....For the Lord is Good; His mercy is everlasting. and His truth endures to all generations."

Everything He says takes place and when He says His truth endures to all generations that is what He means.  When He makes promises, we can count on them.  I believe this with all my heart, I don't know that I always did but the more I read and experience His love the more I know what He says is truth.  Jesus said, 'I am the way the truth and the life' so we must follow Him and He worshiped His Father and we must in turn Worship Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit will abide very close to us as we do this.  Grandma Joan

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Promises encouraging our relationship with Jesus.

Yesterday we discussed healing and it was a real blessing to me and I thought because healing goes along with our relationship with Jesus, perhaps it would be a good study to do,  just following the healing post.  I know that our relationship with God and Jesus is the most important thing we can work on in this life.  It brings all other blessings to us by being close to Him and obeying Him.  God is a loving Father and never asks us to do anything impossible through His strength.  Here are some texts that reveal this truth.

Philippians 1:6  "Being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

Philippians 4:19  "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16 - 24  (Please be patient through these verses because there is a special promise that is so exciting to discover.) V. 16 Rejoice evermore.  V.17 Pray without ceasing.  V.18 In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  V. 19 Quench not the Spirit.  V. 20 Despise not prophesyings.  V. 21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. V.22  Abstain from all appearance of evil.  V. 23  And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  V.24  FAITHFUL IS HE THAT CALLETH YOU WHO ALSO WILL DO IT.!!!!!!  There is your promise to be able to follow through with the previous verses.  I love it and He is faithful to do just exactly what He says He will do.  He will sanctify you wholly and praying that our whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  I'm so excited when I get into His word and really study it out.

We must commit our ways unto the Lord and repent of our past mistakes and sins and He says He will perfect what He has started in us and supply all our needs in the process according to His riches in glory and faithful is He that calleth you who also will do it.  Can it get any better than that?  I hope this has helped a lot and if you open God's word and ask Him to lead you as you read, you can find many more texts to support these verses.  These verses and promises will make our relationship with Jesus so close that we can absolutely trust Him with our whole lives, not just part of our life.  I love to study to show myself approved by Him.  It is easy once we surrender out own way and plan on following His way.  Try it, you just might never go back to your old way again.  I promise you, this is the only way for peace and safety in this world of sin.  Grandma Joan


Monday, August 17, 2015

Promises for healing.

Healing covers a lot of areas in our lives. Spiritual, emotional, mental, physical and any other area that you are needing healing.  I believe Spiritual is the most important, but we can't really serve the Lord with all our being if we are sick physically, emotionally or mentally.  So perhaps we need fully restored to wholeness in order to serve Him with our whole heart.  These are just my thoughts as I ponder healing.  I do ask God to help me with my posts so they will bless others, so let's look at a few verses regarding healing.

James 5:15 "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."

Psalm 23:3  "He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake"

Jeremiah 30:17 (first part)  "I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord."

Psalm 103:2,3  "Bless the Lord O my soul,  And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases."

Matthew 7:7  "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened  to you."

James 5:15 I believe covers every kind of sickness, even sin sickness.  Psalm 23:3 is talking about our soul, which I believe is our spiritual ills. Jeremiah 30:17 is talking about our health and our wounds.  Psalm 103:2,3 is praising the Lord and not to forget to thank Him for all His blessings that He bestows upon us daily in our lives, He forgives us and heals our diseases. In Matthew 7:7  We are told to 'ask' and it will be given to us and 'seek' and we will find and 'knock' and it will be opened to us.  I believe that when we seek God with all our heart, we will have our minds open to His leading and will understand how we can help ourselves and if we are following His health rules, we can expect to receive healing according to His will and we will accept His will.  Does that make sense to you?  It does to me and I am going to ask God where I am failing to follow His will and ask for His healing and trust His answer for my best good.

This little study has helped me tremendously and I hope it has helped you.  We all need healing of some kind or another and we know from the Scriptures that when we ask for Spiritual healing He is more than willing to save us from ourselves and heal our Spiritual life.  I know this is true of other conditions too but if we have brought our sickness upon ourselves, He will want us to surrender the problem to Him and let Him heal the cause before we can be healed physically.  He loves us and if we are presumptuous enough to go back to our old ways after He has given us healing, He knows what we will do with the healing and cannot honor a presumptuous prayer.  I am talking to myself right now and if it helps you, I thank the Lord for using me to help you.  I am going to study this little post thoroughly and take stalk of my own life and actions to see if I am being presumptuous, which I am pretty sure that I have been and I need to ask for forgiveness first which He is always ready to do.  And then bring my life into line with His Word and leave the rest to Him.  Grandma Joan

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Promises for Kindness.

I kind of touched on kindness when I did the promises on friendships.  There are so many things we can do that are acts of kindness, and we all have different talents to demonstrate kindness.  I love being hospitable, and being a helping hand to someone in need.  I try to think up things that I can do for others.  Of course at my age and with my handicaps, I am limited to what I am able to do and you might be too.  But we can always find some way to show kindness.  Let's see what the Bible says about kindness.

Romans 12:10  "Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another."

Ephesians 4:3, 32.  "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you."

Matthew 5:44  "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you."

1 Thessalonians 5:15  "Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and everybody else."

I guess these verses were more of admonition than promises, but the outcome is promised if we are kind to those around us.  I've tried this and it works wonders at making friends.  Grandma Joan

Friday, August 14, 2015

Promises for Comfort.

Most everyone has needed Comforting some time in their life, but I was just thinking that God can use us to comfort others too.  We can be a tool in His hands to those who are hurting.  But He has promises for us too when we are hurting and I want to share them with you.

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 (crushed)  and humble spirit.  To revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

Isaiah 40:11  "The Lord tends His flock like a shepherd:  He gathers the lambs in His arms, and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young."

Psalm 56:8  "You keep track of all my sorrows.  You have collected all my tears in Your bottle.  You have recorded each one in Your book."

Psalm 71:19-21  "Who, O God, is like You?  Though you have made me see troubles many and bitter, You will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.  You will increase my honor and comfort me once again."

Jeremiah 31:13,14  "I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.....declares the Lord."

All of these verses are saying that He takes good care of us, what more could we ask?  And the last verse tops them all with turning our mourning into gladness and give us comfort and joy instead of sorrow.  What promises for those who are hurting.  I have found that sometimes it is hard when you are hurting really bad to get the Bible and read these promises but once you start, a miracle happens and mourning turns to gladness and sorrow turns to comfort and joy.  It has happened to me and I know He will do it for you.  Grandma Joan

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Promises for Depression.

Are you suffering from depression?  When my husband was very ill, the doctor told me I was in a depresion, I didn't even know it, so I think from that experience that there are different levels of depression.  But whatever level it might be, it is serious enough to seek help and what better place than to the Lord that loves us and doesn't want us weighed down with depression.  So with that said let's check out some promises on this subject.

Psalm 34:17  "The righteous cry out,  and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles."

Psalm 147:3  "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

Isaiah 41:10  "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Isaiah 51:11 "The ransomed of the Lord will return.  They will enter zion with singing;  Everlasting joy will crown their heads.  Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away."

Don't you think those promises should be enough to chase the blues away.  God always hears us when we cry out to Him.  He will heal our brokenness and bind up where we are wounded.  He will uphold us with His righteous right hand, and we will end up with sorrow and sighing fleeing away.  What an awesome God He is.  Grandma Joan

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Promises to be filled with joy.

I think this is a subject that all that read can use a little more of.  I know I can use more joy in my life. How about you?  I kind of touched on what brings me joy when I make scarves and give them to the ladies in the church that God impresses me to give them to. This last week at church I found two more ladies to give them to.  To give brings me joy and makes me friends too.  I never expect anything back, which I guess is the reason for the joy.  I know there are many reasons for joy so let's see what the Bible says about joy.

Psalm 5:11  "But let all those that put their trust in thee: Let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest them:  Let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee."

John 15:11 & 12  "These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy will be full.  This is My commandment that ye love one another as I have loved you."

Psalm 16:11  "You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy;  at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Psalm 90:14  "Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days."

Can you shout for joy, sometimes I can, not all the time though.  I need to pray more for the joy that these verses promise us.  Loving others brings joy and in Your presence is fullness of joy, which I believe brings the greatest joy, by staying in His presence all day long, because it brings victory over our failures, and victory brings joy.  Having Christ show us the path of life and knowing we are walking in it has to bring absolute joy and His unfailing love should make us sing for joy shouldn't it.?  I hope my promises that I am sharing, are bringing you hope and joy in your life.  They mean so much to me.  Grandma Joan

Monday, August 10, 2015

Promises for Courage and Confidence.

I like to apply these promises to my own life and I hope you don't mind.  Sometimes I really need them.  Right now I could use some Courage and Confidence.  How about you?  Sometimes I think it takes a lot of Courage to be Confident.  You can think about that for a moment.  I have never been an overly confident person and for me to be really confident, I believe will really take some courage.  Let's see what the Bible says about this.

Deuteronomy 31:6  "Moses said, 'Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified...for the Lord your God goes with you;  He will never leave you or forsake you."

Jeremiah 32:17  "Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heaven and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm.  There is nothing too hard for You."

2 Chronicles 20:15  "Thus says the Lord to you, 'do not be afraid or dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's."

Does that give you courage and confidence?  It should, I want to remember these verses when I am challenged to do something that takes courage and confidence.  I like that verse that says, 'He will never leave me or forsake me.'  It seems like I have to cry out to Him quite often when things don't seem to go like we planned, but He always has a solution and usually it is a simple one that didn't even enter my mind.  It is so good to have a powerful God to turn too in our troubles, isn't it?  Grandma Joan

Promises for those who have fears.

I will admit that I have a few fears but none of them are something I dread.  I fear snakes and spiders and a lot of women do that so I don't think it's unusual.  I am afraid of heights, very afraid of heights, so much so that my legs start paining when I am up high.  So I try not to do heights.  However, a plane ride is a fearful thing to me and I just have to think about something else when I'm up there. Then when that 'German Wing' went down because the pilot wanted to kill himself, that did it for me.  Don't know if I will ever fly again.  I had just done a long flight from Miami to Seattle and I could almost feel the fright that those poor people had on that plane when they realized what was happening.  Fear is not good and I know that God can do away with our fears because we had a black snake come into our motor home this past summer in Missouri, and it startled me pretty bad but we never saw him again, and my fears went away and I don't know where he went but I'm sure he went out.  I know if I had to fly again, I probably would do it and would be OK with it.  God does take care of our fears.  Here's some promises:

Psalm 27:1  "The Lord is my light and my salvation;  Whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life;  Of whom shall I be afraid?" NKJV

Psalm 34:7  "The Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them."  NKJV

Isaiah 41:10  "Fear not, for I am with you;  be not dismayed for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."  NKJV

Yes, He does take care of our fears, but I would never be presumptuous enough to do something that I didn't need to do just to see if God has taken my fears away.  I don't believe in presuming on His mercy.  He has been very merciful to me and I know He will be to you too.  Just trust Him.  Grandma Joan

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Promises about Friendship.

I use to be an outgoing person when my husband and I were involved it lots of church activities, but as we got older and things started happening to our health, we both just slipped out of sight after so many years of fellowshipping and serving others.  Just recently I learned a good lesson about making friends, and I love to do it and it makes others happy.  I make beautiful scarves out of lace and people just love them.  I use to sell them but recently I have decided to give them away to see the joy on peoples faces.  For ladies only, of course, but you could give one to a man for his wife, which I plan to do this week.  Putting self out of sight and not expecting anything in return is a wonderful way to make friends and see the joy it brings.  So let's see some promises.

Proverbs 18:24  "A man (or woman) who has friends must himself (herself) be friendly.  There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."NKJV

Proverbs 17:17  "A friend loves at all times." NIV

Romans 12:10  "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves." NIV

Do these promises sound like a good way to make friends?  I think so and really, truly, it works.  I already have quite a few ladies wearing my pretty scarves at church but there are lots more that don't have one.  I'll keep working on it, I usually wait until God impresses me to give to the right person. I'm sure you have something you can do to make friends, this is just one thing.  Grandma Joan

Friday, August 7, 2015

Promises for those who feel forsaken.

I know what it feels like to not 'belong'.  I spent several years taking care of my husband and not being able to get to church often and not having a whole lot of fellowship from any Christian friends that could have encouraged me, so I sort of know what it feels like to feel forsaken.  Everyone needs friends and the more the better.  Then this past September my son came to live with me and he has an outgoing spirit and is friendly and started taking me to church and he was making friends and it spilled off on me and now I have quite a few friends and no longer feel forsaken.  I am lonely a lot but God usually supplies me with things to do that help the loneliness.  This is one of the things I can do to help others and fill my time and it draws me closer to God which is the best part.  So for those of you who feel forsaken, here are some promises.

Deuteronomy 31:6  "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you, He will never leave you or forsake you."  NKJV

Psalm 9:10  "Those who know Your name, will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You."NIV

So is it possible to not feel forsaken? Yes, it is.  I don't feel that way any more.  I have allowed people to get close to me, am not afraid of people any more and yes, God has done a lot of healing for me and He will do it for you too.  Grandma Joan  (Comments are welcome and so are questions)

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Promises for those suffering grief.

"Do you see my tears, God?"  I am sure there are a lot of sorrowing people that have asked that question.  Grief is so hard to bear and there are several things that cause us to grieve extensively.  I really don't need to name them, you know who you are and how weighed down with grief you are.  I am just a servant of God to help wipe away all those tears and sometimes I wish someone would have wiped away mine.  My latest grief was my husbands passing.  It's been three and a half years and  let me tell you I still grieve though silently and no one knows the heart ache except those going through it.  I want to share some promises regarding our tears and grief.

Psalm 56:8  "You keep track of all my sorrows.  You have collected all my tears in your bottle.  You have recorded each one in your book."  (NLT)

Psalm 34:18  "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (NLT)

Revelation 21:4  "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, not crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things have passed away."

These are great promises aren't they, He does wipe away the tears and saves us when we are crushed in spirit.  We just have to believe His promises and He fulfills them.  It is always His will to comfort the sorrowing and He surely has done that for me and He will do that for you too.  Grandma Joan

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Promise for those under a load of guilt.

Do you have a guilt ridden conscience?  I have had one and there is only one way to get rid of it and that is to recognize what its all about and confess it to God or to the person you have wronged first and then to God.  Guilt can destroy us so let's see what God says about it.

Hebrews 10:22  "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience (guilt), and our bodies washed with pure waters."

1 John 1:9  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Guilt makes us old in a hurry if we hang on to it.  So let's free ourselves from this horrible load that tends to destroy by making a clean slate with those we have hurt and with God who loves to forgive.  Grandma Joan

Monday, August 3, 2015

Promises for Love.

Doesn't it seem to you like love is scarce these days?  I'm speaking of real love for God and for each other.  I'm not sure that we understand what real love is, there is so much fake and phony love out there.  I want to share something from the Bible with you that describes what real love is.  Then I have an invitation to extend to you, listen closely or I should say read closely and take every word in.

1 Corinthians 13:  (the word charity in these verses mean love so I will replace the word charity with love as I print it.)  Verse 4 - 8.  "Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;  Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, enudreth all things,  LOVE NEVER FAILS."

1 John 4:19  "We love Him because He first loved us." NKJV

I know that this is a hard saying if we try to do this on our own, it is impossible.  But with God's help we can, over time be filled with His love and these things will come into our lives in a quiet manner and before you know it you will be practicing this kind of love.  My invitation to you is, Ask God to come in and change your heart to a heart of love to match His love.  Can you do that?  Grandma Joan

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Promise for Peace

So many hearts today are in a turmoil, we need peace in our hearts and peace of mind.  We all need peace, I'm sure.  I know I do and I doubt that there is anyone that doesn't need at least a little bit of peace, so for those of you who need peace, here are three great promises:

Isaiah 26:3  "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you." NKJV

Psalm 29:11  "The Lord will give strength to His people, The Lord will bless His people with peace." NKJV

1 Corinthians 14:33  "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace."  NKJV

He can say, 'Peace be still' to your heart and mind if you will just ask Him too.  It is a great feeling to rest your life in His care, it brings abundance of peace, real peace.  I pray that you have that peace today.  Grandma Joan

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Back to posting again.

Feeling much, much better now.  Had a couple of blood transfusions that brought me out of the slump and this past week have felt better than I have for six years.  So I hope to get my readers back again but am not going to try to do anything outlandish, just thought that I would give a thought for the day to help each of you on your Christian journey.  I love Bible promises for different areas of our lives so that's what I am going to do.  Hope you all enjoy the journey with me.  Love you, Grandma Joan


Todays promise is for the Aging, just what I need and maybe some of you then we will go on to something you need for the day.  I feel the need to know that God takes care of us in our old age.  I have a little experience to share on that subject.  We were visiting friends in Oregon and I noticed blood in my stool right after we got there and so for two weeks I was bleeding internally and my insurance doesn't cover out of state, so had to wait till I got home and I went to bed that night and I was impressed to get up and tell my son to get me to the hospital ER or I wouldn't be here in the morning.  I knew then that I was in serious condition, so to the ER I went and they had to give me two units of blood my count was so low.  I am so glad I listened to that little voice in my heart that said 'go to the ER'.  Now for my text:

Isaiah 46:4  "Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you!  I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you."

Isn't that a great promise, I love it.  May you be blessed by it too.  Grandma Joan