We have a hope!!!

I think it's about time to have some hope, and then maybe some more daily life help.  How about it?
I need all the hope and help I can get, how about you?  There is lots of instruction in the Scriptures and too, there is lots of hope, so let's get lifted up with some hope and even in the Book of Lamentations, there is a little bit of hope put in for encouragement.  Sometimes this Book is called the book of weeping:

Lamentations 3:21-24  "This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.  Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness."

Isaiah 40:31  "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint."

Jeremiah 29:11  "'For I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

Hope means the expectation of some future good.  Have you given up on life, I hope not, there is so much to live for in the Scriptures, it is a life saver for us who lose hope.

We are told that God's compassions fail not, they are new every morning.  I can't stress it enough that if you will ask God to fill you up with His Spirit, He will do it, every morning before you get out of bed, and then He will give you meaning for your life and hope for your future.

The promise is that if we Hope in the Lord, He will renew out strength and we will mount up with wings like eagles and we will run and not grow weary, and walk and not faint.  I am looking forward to that because I am not able to walk far and even then not without cane or walker, but I am very thankful I still have a mind and love to study His word and apply it to my life and I know that I have a hope and a future and you can too, and I hope and pray that you do, but if you don't, follow my plan and you will, I'm sure.  Grandma Joan

You have a Guide

I remember one time I was climbing Mt. Pit in Oregon with my family and when we got to the tree line, because of my fear of height, I couldn't go any further.  All I could see was the back side of the mountain and it was vast and steep and I stopped right there to wait for their return.  They didn't come and I waited and waited and people kept trudging past me and going to the top and I just sat there on a rock.  Finally I thought I heard there voices coming down and I decided to go on ahead thinking they would catch up with me and all would be fine. So that's exactly what I did.  I followed the path real close or at least I thought I did, when all of a sudden I came to the end of it.  Nothing!  I stood there in fear, knowing I was lost and wondering what to do, when I heard voices behind me, and guess what?  My husband and daughter were lost too and found me.  He had a good booming voice when he wanted to use it, being a logger, and he yelled out for directions and someone answered and guided us back down the mountain.  I needed a guide.  Sometimes we get lost in the maze of life and wonder which way to go or what to do.  We do have a guide and I will show you some texts that really help me.

Proverbs 3:6  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths."

Isaiah 30;21  "Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, 'This is the way, walk in it', whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left."

Psalm 119:105  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Psalm 32:8  "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye."

Psalm 25:8-10  "Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.  The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way.  All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth."

Do you have a Guide?  Of course you do, whether you know it or not, God is your guide if you allow Him into your heart so He can speak to you and you will hear His word behind you saying, 'This is the way walk in it'.  You may not hear an audible voice but you perceive in your mind, telling you just what to do.  Be always open to His directions and you cannot go wrong.  His word is our lamp to our feet and a light to our path in life.  In all our ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct our paths.  By all means don't lean on your own thoughts of what you should do or not do.  Lean on Him.  He is a secure guide in our life.  The closer we come to God through His word, the more we will hear His voice guiding us, I know from experience this is true.  He saved my life just recently when I was bleeding internally and didn't realize I was running out of blood,  I knew I was terribly weak and could barely walk without help and I went to bed the night we got home from a long days trip, had been gone for two weeks.  After I went to bed I felt the presence of the Lord telling me to get up and get to the ER or it would be too late.  I told my son and he and my daughter took me and it took to units of blood to bring me back to normal.  Praise God for His watch care over me, even when we really don't deserve it.  God is so very good, so tender and merciful, like I said, even when we don't deserve His mercy and love.  Listen carefully He may be guiding you in a way that you are rebelling to go.  Also make sure you are surrendering to Him daily, even if you fell like you are failing Him, He still loves you and wants to guide Him.  Let Him in, Please.   Grandma Joan

What about Humility?

Humility is a Christian trait of character, but not all Christians practice humility.  There is a lot of pride that needs to be given  up and replaced with humility.  Humility is admitting that you are wrong when you are, it also means putting others first before ourselves, that is a tough one isn't it?  Another tough one is to take the blame when things need to be righted between people, even if you are not wrong.  I remember an incident that happened many years ago.  This man his name was James and he and a friend had a falling out and the other man was at fault and they didn't speak for quite a while and it bothered James a lot and finally he couldn't take it any longer and he decided to take the blame and go and apologize to his friend and it broke the friends heart that he would take the blame and it all melted away and they were friends again.  I think that might be a good way to handle wrongs that are done against us.  It does take humility to do this but if we are Christians, it seems to me to be the proper way to handle this type of problem.  Let's see what God says about humility.

James 4:10  "Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up."

Psalm 149:4  "The Lord takes delight in His people;  He crowns the humble with Salvation."

Psalm 25:9  "He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way."

Micah 6:8  "He has shown thee, 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 loves His people to be humble, doesn't He?  He will lift us up, and take delight in us and will crown the humble with Salvation and also guide and teach the humble what is right.

He also has shown us what is required of us, to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God.  Can you do this today, you will have a great day if you do and you and God will enjoy your day together. Grandma Joan

What about Jealousy?

Once in a while someone will become very jealous over your position in the church or work place.  Or it's possible that you might become jealous of someone.  It is a good way to ruin friendship or a relationship isn't it?  Jealousy is a very wicked trait and should be put away as soon as we realize that we are jealous and then of course what to we do with the one that is jealous of us.  I don't think there is much we can do except to pray for them and treat them kindly.  That's what I have done just recently, well, about a year ago someone was so jealous of me, it turned into hate and I always spoke kindly to her and treated her as kindly as I could.  I shed many  tears over it because it is not easy to be hated but it happens and now by God's grace I really know how to handle it.  God is so good to teach us out of His word.  I believe there is instruction in His word for every circumstance in life.  Let's see about jealousy. Another word for jealousy would be envy.

Proverbs 14:30  "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."

Galatians 5:26  "Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."

James 3:16  "For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing is there."

Envy or jealousy rots the bones, and where it exists, confusion and every evil thing is there.  I think if you think back on your life that you will see that jealousy is a very hurtful trait to have and we don't want to be guilty of hurting anyone in this way, do we?  Are you growing along with me?  It's fun being a Christian and getting a handle on these things through God's word, isn't it?  I am learning so much I hope God gives me some years left to share and I will sure to do it if He does.  Grandma Joan

Is it OK to judge others?

Sometimes it is very hard not to judge someones actions or words.  But I have a couple of friends that don't dress like I think they should, and I know it's not my business how they dress, what they wear or what they do.  I over look those things and we are just the best friends and that's how it should be.  I have not always seen things in this manner and have in past years been very judgmental.  I hate it now and hope I have the victory over it, not sure yet but as I seek to be filled with God's Holy Spirit the desire to do that is fading fast away and I thank Him immensely.  I would like to share some verses with you this morning on judging.

Luke 23:33  "And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.   Then Jesus said, 'Father forgive them for they know not what they do."  Can we do that?  It is a hard thing isn't it?

Ezekiel 36:26,27  "I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments and do them."  This is another verse that says that He will cause us to walk in His statutes and keep His judgments and do them.  Every morning before I get out of bed, I ask Him to fill me with His Holy Spirit.  I don't want to mess up my relationship with Him, I want to start my day out with Him.  It works so beautifully, I can't figure out why it took me so many years to understand how to have victory over the sin in my life.  If you are young or even middle age or older, don't waste any more years, believe what God says and live a life for Him, you will never be sorry.

Matthew 7:1,2  "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged;  and with what measure you use, it will be measured back to you."

John 8:7 "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

Matthew 7:5  "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your own eye."

Not very long ago, I had a friend judge me very harshly and it hurt very much and I thought about it and what I should do about it and my new knowledge about sin, told me to forgive and forget it and that is what I did.  It's buried and I feel very forgiving about it.  It is so simple when we let Jesus and His Holy Spirit take over, it's really sooooo simple I can't believe I could have been living like this all my life.  It's wonderful and I know if you try it you will be very blessed indeed.  Grandma Joan

Justice

Is God Just in all His dealings with mankind?  Sometimes in our minds it doesn't appear that He is, but we must remember that He is ALL KNOWING and He knows the end from the beginning and He also knows our hearts inside out and our motives, so we don't have to worry about our Heavenly Father be just or not, we know that He is.  But He also wants us to deal justly too, so let's see what we can find out about Justice.

Micah 6:8  " He  has shown thee, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of thee but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God."  So we are to do justly too, aren't we?

Proverbs 31:8, 9  "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.  Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."

Isaiah 1:17  "Learn to do right!  Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.  Defend the cause of the fatherless,  plead the case of the widow."

Isaiah 30:18  "The Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all those who wait for Him."

Psalm 11:7  "For the Lord is righteous, He loves justice.  Upright men will see His face."

We are to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, and judge fairly and defend the rights of the poor.  Defend the cause of the fatherless, and plead the case of the widow.  We will be blessed if we wait on Him, for the Lord is Just and righteous and if we follow Him we will see His face.  What a promise!  The Bible is so full of promises and not only that God wants us to be just in all our dealings with our fellowmen and He has shown us what He requires of us but to ' do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God.  Walking humbly with God may be the hardest thing for us to do because that is putting others first in our thoughts and in our associations with others.  Justice does play a big part in the Christians life, doesn't it.  Something for us to think about.  Grandma Joan

Is Obedience necessary?

So sorry, my computer got hacked up and have had a terrible time getting it back together.  Had to change passwords and close down other sites, but fortunately I'm on again, I was beginning to wonder if I was suppose to be on here anymore.  Seems like if it isn't my health, now it was my computer, praise the Lord it is working again.  I was wondering what I should talk about today and Obedience came to mind as something a lot of people don't think is important and most people in the world think it is impossible, as I have said before, it is impossible for us to obey God in our own strength, so let's see what God has to say:

Jeremiah 7:23  "Obey Me and I will be your God, and you will be My people, Walk in all the ways that I command you, that it may go well with you."

Luke 11:28  "(Jesus) replied,  Blessed are those that hear the word of God and obey it."

Deuteronomy 4:2  "You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take anything from it,  that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you."

Ecclesiastes 12:13  "Now all has been heard, hear the conclusion of the matter.  Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."

Now don't get all shook up by saying, 'you know I can't do that', yes I know that you can't do that, but God can if you allow Him to take control of your life.  Living in Him all things are possible and joy comes from obeying.  Check out the texts Philippians 1:6 and 1 Thessalonians 5:24.  As I have said before these verses give me comfort, that when I get tired of being what I think God wants me to be and I feel weak and worn out from trying, I remember these verses that tell me that God is willing to work in me to will and to do of His good pleasure.  That verse is found in Philippians 2:13. I can't say God does it all, because it takes a full surrender on our part.  He can't surrender out hearts for us, we have to do that, after all that is done, then He works out our salvation for us.  Be sure and check out those two texts again in Philippians 1:6 and 1Thessalonians 5:24. I will always remember them because I know that I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.  That's found in Philippiains 4:13.  There are so many texts in the Bible that are so very encouraging to me, I just feel like I have to share them to encourage you.  I am so sorry my computer was down for several days.  But please don't give up on me.  I love sharing, even when I don't feel so well.  God has been so good to me I just have to share Him with others.

Can we have assurance through troubles in life.

The world is so full of sin and heartache, that if we don't have God to depend on for assurance through it all, it would be tough to hang on. That's why there are so many suicides, without God there is nothing, absolutely nothing.  I am so thankful for the Bible and all the encouragement that God gives us through His word.  We can be so much encouragement to others if we put our trust in Him and share His promises with others.  I am trying to do that through this blog, as I am not able to get out and fellowship much.  I am trying to think of other ways I can share His love and I know that He will give me some ideas as I struggle to keep sharing.  May you be able to share too, one thing you can do is share these blogs with others, or study and share.  So what is the assurance that we have in the Bible to help us in our daily lives.  Here are some.

Isaiah 41:13  "For I, am the Lord your God, I will hold your right hand, Saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you."

Psalm 46:1  "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea."

Isaiah 43:2,3  "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.  For I am the Lord your God."

2 Corinthians 1:21,22  "It is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.  He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."

Philippians 1: 6  "Being confident of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

These are some great promises, aren't they?  What would we do without His presence with us through His Holy Spirit?  I wouldn't survive, how about you?  Praise God for His wonderful works in the children of men.  Grandma Joan

How is your Attitude?

Attitude is a choice, we can either choose to look on all the bad things in life or choose to look on all the good things in life.  If we choose to look on all the bad things, it brings anger, bitterness, hate and developes an ugly spirit within us, which in turn causes us illnesses of all kinds, mental, and emotional illnesses and then we get physical illnesses caused by the stress of all the bad emotions.  Oh how we need the attitude of Christ in our life, don't we.  Me included, it is so easy to get hung up on all the bad things that happen to us and forget all the blessings we receive day by day.  It might do us a lot of good to count our blessings each morning when we wake up.  We have had a good nights rest, we wake up again for a new day and so on all through the day.  I would like to share some texts about our attitude with you if you don't mind.

Philippians 2:5-8  "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:  Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and and became obedient to death, even the death on a cross."

Philippians 4:11,12  "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content what-ever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."

Philippians 4:8  "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things."

Philippians 4:13  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

We have learned from these verses that our attitude should be like Christ's attitude. We need to humble ourselves  in the sight of the Lord and let Him lift us up.  Contentment is another great attribute and if we think on noble, what is right, pure, lovely, admirable, if any of these things are excellent or praiseworthy, that is what our thoughts should be on.  AND we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  That's where the power is, is in Christ.  Grandma Joan

Believing God's promises

God's word is full of promises.  On almost every page there is something that will help us in our Christian walk.  Right now, I am not feeling very well, even though I have had a transfusion when I was bleeding internally and just recently I had a pace maker put in to keep my heart from missing beats, and I still feel so weak and just broke another rib which numbers in the twenties somewhere, I lost count some time ago.  I need some encouragement today and thought that learning to believe in God's promises would help me, if any of you are praying people, please pray for me, I need an abundance of prayers to keep going.  Here are some texts to help us believe in His promises, I pray that it helps.

Numbers 11:23  "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Has the Lord's arm been shorten
ed?  Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not."

Psalm 89:34-36  "My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.  Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David:  His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before Me."

Isaiah 46:11  "Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass.  I have purposed it; I will also do it."

Ezekiel 36:36  "Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it."

John 14:14  "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it"

Is something wrong with our faith, we have been told it is a gift from God.

Ephesians 2:8,9  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast."

Faith is a gift from God, we cannot earn it, all we can do is believe His promises and He has promised to do it.  One thing I have found out is that concerning my health, I need to be particular about my diet and not be presumptuous and eat things that I know from my study are harmful.  I know that I fail in this respect and I will pray for forgiveness and with His power and His infilling I will succeed.  Was this too heavy for you?  Not for me, I really needed it.  Thank you Father for the outpouring of Your Spirit and showing my my failings.  I praise Your Holy Name.  Grandma Joan

What is Truth?

How many times have you heard this question?  Nearly everyone has a different answer.  Some think it is whatever you want it to believe as truth.  Others dwell on one thing and push their ideas off on others of what they think truth is.  What do you believe truth is? Here are some of the texts to tell us what truth is?

John 8:32  "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free."  This is what truth does.

John 14:6  "Jesus answered and said, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me."  We must go through Jesus to find truth, and it might be a good idea to study His life and the way He lived.

Psalm 145:18  "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth."  He will be near to all of us who call upon Him seeking truth.

Matthew 7:7  "Ask, and it will be given unto you; seek, and you will find; knock,  and it will be opened to you."  This is how you find truth and what it really is.  Remember we learned to ask for the filling of the Holy Spirit each day and He has promised us wisdom in our study and we can be sure if we ask for His  Spirit  it will be given and we will find truth as it is in Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:16  "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,  and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."  Here is the way to find truth.  Search the scriptures, it is a profitable thing to do and be sure when you do, ask God to send His Holy Spirit and fill you so you will find real truth and not someones ideas.  That is where we have all gone wrong in believing what someone else has said what truth is and not searching it out for ourselves.  God bless you with an infilling of His Holy Spirit as you search out truth for yourself and when you find the real truth, then share it with family and friends and God will bless you immensely.
Grandma Joan

Our words seasoned with grace.

I want my words to be a blessing to others, I don't want to hurt anyone, I am afraid I have done that way too many times.  It's time to take stock of what I say and it would probably be a good time to take stock of what I listen to, too.  Too many times I have spoken before I think and too many days I have forgotten to invite the Holy Spirit into my life to control all that I do and say.  So here are some promises to help us if you have that problem too, maybe we can all benefit from these Bible verses.

Psalm 141:3  "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips."

Proverbs 18:21  "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."

Ephesians 4:29  "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

Luke 6:45  "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of his heart his mouth speaks."

Colossians 3:8  "But now you, yourself are to put off all these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy filthy language out of your mouth."

On my blogs on the Holy Spirit, if we invite Him in every morning the first thing, He will take charge of our mouths, our actions and guide us through the day and we will have a wonderful day of victory.  It's all possible through the Holy Spirit's power in our lives.  This is such great news and I have experienced victory over a sin that most of you probably wouldn't call sin, but because I know for me it is, and I have fought it for years and when I started asking the Holy Spirit first thing in the morning I have seen His power at work in my life in many ways.  Please don't give up, it is so simple to do that and that is the way that Christ overcame too.  Christ spend many hours in prayer to His Father for overcoming power and also for His Disciples.  So hold on, it is possible.  Grandma Joan

Examples of Bible characters being filled with the Holy Spirit.

I thought it would only be appropriate to give some examples of men in the Bible being filled with the Holy Spirit.  We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit too, to enable us to live the life that God wants us to live.  We cannot do it without Him as I have shared verses previously that God dwells in us to give us the power to overcome, without Him it is impossible.  So let's review a few Bible characters who were filled with the Holy Spirit.  I am not going to share the whole verses, but will share enough to peak your interest and you can read them.

Luke 4:1  Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Luke 1:15  John the Baptist was also filled with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:1-4  the Pentecost Christians were also filled with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 4:8  Peter being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 4:31  At a prayer meeting, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 7:55  Stephen being full of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 11:22,24  Barnabas was a good man full of the Holy Spirit

Acts 13:9  Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit

Acts 13:52  And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Do you think that God is the same in Bible times, yesterday, today and tomorrow?  I believe He is and He wants us filled with the Holy Spirit too, just like long ago.  It will bring us so much joy because He will convict us of our sins and give us overcoming power.  We will also be born again by the Spirit,  He will give life to our mortal bodies.  He will guide us into all truth, so that we may have the wisdom and knowledge to be saved.  He will also speak of things to come.  He will anoint us and abide with us and teach us.  What a blessed privilege to be able to be so close to God that His Spirit abides abides in us.  We can't possibly go wrong with a guide an teacher like that, can we?  I hope these posts have helped you in understanding the work of the Spirit. It sure has helped me.  God bless you in your walk with Him.  Grandma Joan

What the Holy Spirit will do for you. Continued

Yesterday we learned that the Holy Spirit will convict us of sin,  we must be born of the Spirit to enter heaven, He will also give life to our mortal bodies, He will guide us into all truth and also tell us things to come.  We have also been anointed by the Holy Spirit and we can know all things and the anointing that we have received, abides in us and we can trust that what He teaches us is truth and not a lie.  Now for some more of all these precious promises for us for today.

Micah 3:8  "But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.."

Romans 15:16  "That I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit sanctifies our work for God and makes it acceptable.

2 Thessalonians 2:13  "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth."  We have been chosen for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit.  God has chosen everyone to be saved but it is our choice whether we will accept it or not.  God does not force His will on us, and has left it up to us whether we want to be with Him for eternity or not.

John 14:16,17  "And I will pray the Father,and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.  The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."  The Spirit of truth is our helper and will abide with us forever if we will let Him.

Romans 14:17  "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."  Through the infilling of the Holy Spirit we can be filled with joy.  I really like that.  In a world of chaos we can still have peace and joy and righteousness.

Galatians 5:22,23  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against such there is no law."  Think of the wonderful condition this world would be in if we just practiced the fruit of the Spirit.  We need the Holy Spirit in our lives so much.  Let's pray for His abiding presence each morning when we wake up.  How much joy that would be.  Grandma Joan

What the Holy Spirit will do in our lives.

Have you ever wished that you could get rid of all the bad feelings, words, guilt at just a snap of the finger?  Well, its a lot better than that.  We can have One of the Godhead, 'the Holy Spirit' to helps us through all these things that bug make life so hard that sometimes we feel like giving up.  Never fear, we don't have to come to that place in life if we truly don't want to.  We have a helper from God's eternal kingdom to help us through all the bad times.  Let's see what some of the things are that He will do for us.

John 16:8  "And when He (the Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."  He convicts us of sin in our lives.

John 3:3,5  "Jesus answered and said to him, 'most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God; unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."  We must allow the Spirit of God to dwell in us and the results will be that we are born again of the Spirit."

Romans 8:11  "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."
He will give us life to our mortal bodies through His Spirit because His Spirit dwells in us.

John 16:13 "However, when He, the Spirit has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."
He will be our guide and will make sure we get the truth that is in the scriptures, we don't have to worry about whether we have the truth when we ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in to all truth. And He will also show us things to come, this could be very helpful in certain circumstances.

1 John 2: 20,27  "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.  But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and it is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him."  This is a very interesting verse.  We may have the Holy Spirit as our teacher concerning all things when we have been anointed by the Holy Spirit and it will be truth, not a lie.  There are so many false doctrines out there it is not safe to study without His power in our lives.  This is so very true, be careful when you study to ask God's Spirit to direct your study and you will be safe.  Grandma Joan

PS. More tomorrow on what the Holy Spirit can do for us.

The Holy Spirit has feelings and a personality

This is true, even without texts to prove it, simply because Jesus and the Father as we know has feelings and a personality and if He is part of the Godhead, then we know that He has feelings and a personality.  If you have a close relationship with God and He speaks to you through the presence of the Holy Spirit, surely you are acquainted with Him to know that He cares for you, but lest there be some doubt, let's look up some texts.  This is good for me too, I hope you are enlightened by them.

Ephesians 4:30  "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."  So the Holy Spirit can be grieved by us.

Acts 7:51  "You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit;  as your fathers did, so do you."  This was speaking to the Israelites when they turned away from God and built the golden calf to worship.  We can also resist the Spirit's leading if we don't like what He is saying to us or leading us.  I don't think we want to do that, do we?

Romans 8:16  "The Spirit Himself bears witness with out spirit that we are the children of God."

Genesis 6:3  "And the Lord said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.'"  Our days would have been long had we not cut them short by wrong habits of life.  Too bad we didn't know this sooner, huh?  Of course we have always had God's word to tell us, we just have't studied like we should have and we can always change our habits and receive longer life.

Romans 8:26,27  "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.  For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  Now He who searches the hearts, knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

Acts 9:31  "Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaaria had peace and were edified.  And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit they were multiplied."

Revelation 22:17  "And the Spirit and the bride say 'Come'! And let him who hears say 'Come' and let him who hears Come, whoever desires , let him take of the water of life freely." The Spirit is inviting us to come and take of the water of life freely.  What a great invitation given to each of us which shows His personal interest in our lives.

Can you see from these texts that the Holy Spirit is grieved by our actions and when we resist Him and go our own way.  He bears witness with our spirit, but He will not always strive with us if we don't want Him too.  He also helps us in our weaknesses.  We cannot lose if we abide with God through His Spirit, can we? What an awesome God to send His Spirit  to be so personally with us.  We know God hears our prayers because it is the Holy Spirit that makes intercession for us.  Praise God for caring so much for us.  Grandma Joan

The Holy Spirit as a teacher

Today we will concentrate on the Holy Spirit as a teacher.  So if you want to be taught truth, then ask for the Holy Spirits presence as you study.  It never and I say never is safe to study the Scriptures without God's help through His Spirit.  We can contrive all kinds of ideas if we are left to ourselves or someone else for interpretation.  Believe me it is not safe.  Always pray for guidance when you open God's word.  The Holy Spirit is our teacher.

John 14:25,26  "These things I have spoken while being present with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."  The Holy Spirit helps us by teaching us all things and bringing them to our memory when we need them.

Ephesians 1:16,17  Paul is speaking here, "I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him."  We may have the Spirit of wisdom to understand the knowledge of Him.

1 Corinthians 2:12,13  "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.  These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual."  This is the way that we are to study with the Holy Spirit's help, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  And that is what I am trying to do so I may understand what the Holy Spirit is teaching me and I am passing it on to you.

2 Timothy 3:16,17  "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Ephesians 6:17  "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God."

The Holy Spirit will teach us all things, everything we need to know if we ask in humility and even bring to our remembrance things that we have learned.  He also will give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.  We don't want the wisdom that man teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing scripture with scripture and All scripture is given by God's inspiration and instruction, that we may be complete in Him.  The sword of the Spirit is the word of God.  We have learned that the word of God does so many things for us by studying it.  How can we ignore what the Spirit is trying to teach us through God's word.  It is a wonderful privilege that God has given us, the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit to teach us from the Word.  I am so thankful for that.  Grandma Joan

The Holy Spirit-Part of the Godhead.

A lot of people don't believe that the Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead but I will show you some verses that tell us differently.  I want to tell you that I believe that the Holy Spirit speaks to us personally and wants to help us in every way and the verses of these studies will show you what I mean.  It is so far beyond my comprehension how He can be a personal friend to everyone but I accept the Bible as the word of God and you will see what He will do for you, there will be a few studies on this subject of the 'Holy Spirit' so hang on and learn along with me.  As for being part of the Godhead, this will be the first.  I want to instill faith in you as my faith has grown so will yours.

Acts 5:3,4  "But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled yur heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?  While it remained, was it not your own?  And after it was sold was it not in your own control?  Why have you conceived this thing in your heart?  You have not lied to men but to God."  Ananias had promised part of the sale of his land to God and then lied about the amount that he had received to the Holy Spirit which was God also.

Matthew 28:19  "Go therefore and make Disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost."

2 Corinthians 13:14  "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.  Amen.

Hebrews 9:14  "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God."

John 3:38  "Jesus answered and said to him, most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.   The wind blows where it wishes, an you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

These verses show us the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are of one and the same mind but individual entities.  God speaks to us through His Spirit and impresses our hearts when we stray if we will but listen.  We need the Holy Spirit to communicate with God, He intercedes for us, it's amazing what He does for us, hope you will stick with me to find out what the Holy Spirit is all about.  Your mind will be enriched as mine will be.  It is a wonderful subject.  Grandma Joan

How not to walk in the Christian life.

Walking in the Christian life is very important to those of us who want to walk worthy of what Christ has done for us.  There are two verses that I have put on my blog before that gives me so much encouragement and I am going to use them today too.  Hoping that by multiple use it will stick in our minds.  So many of us try our hardest and I have tried hard too, but there is a better way and the first two verses I present are promises that are amazing, please try to remember them and you will find the Christian walk so much easier.  God bless you as you go through this.

1 Thessalonians 5:22-24  "Abstain from every form of evil.  Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely: and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."  Did you get that.  Christ is telling us to abstain from every form of evil and He will sanctify us completely, our spirit, soul and body and preserve us blameless at Christ's second coming. And the best part is He that calls us is faithful, who also will do it.  I love the fact that He is willing to do it for us when we are surrendered to Him.

Philippians 1:6  "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."  He will complete His work in us until the end.  We don't really have to worry about it except that we need to surrender out lives to Him to do His will in us.  And according to these two verses He is very willing to abide in us and complete His work in us.  I am so grateful for His work in me.  I know I have a long way to go but I trust His promises that He will do it for me and complete it.

Now for how not to walk in the Christian life, Trust in God and remember these two verses above.

John 8:12  "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

Romans 8:1,4  "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.  That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according, to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

Ephesians 4:17  "This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind."

2 Corinthians 4:2  "But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness not handling the word of God deceitfully, but by the manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."

You see no matter what God commands us to do, He gives us the power to do it through His Spirit.  We do not have to worry about the doing, because He does the doing.  We must make choices to follow Him and surrender to Him and sometimes this is not easy, but He will help us with that too, just ask Him to take over your life.  You will not be sorry one bit, it's easier to be saved then to fight with the devil and do his bidding and be lost.  Won't you join me in complete surrender and enjoy His companionship the rest of our lives?  I know you won't be sorry.  Grandma Joan

The Christian Walk, cont'

We have covered quite a bit of what God would be pleased with in our Christian Walk.  There is more though and I hope you are ready for some.  I am, it all means so much to me, as I hope it does to you.  Here goes-----

1 Thessalonians 2:12  "That you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory."  If that isn't something to look forward to, I don't know what is.
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Ephesians 5:15  "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise."

Colossians 4:5  "Walk in wisdom towards those who are outside, redeeming the time."

1 Thessalonians 4:1  "Finally brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God."

There is so much in these four verses, it is so important to walk worthy of God because He calls us into His own kingdom and glory.  What a promise!!  Are you looking forward to that as much as I am?  It's a wonderful promise.  Then we are to walk circumspectly, walk without bringing reproach upon God with what we do and say, these things are so important.  Not being foolish but being wise.  Walk in wisdom, remember we get wisdom when we study God's word and making up for the time we were not walking with Him by doing as He did and does.  We are being urged and taught that we will grow more and more just as we receive from the word how we ought to walk to please God.  When God's word comes into our lives by studying it and applying it or allowing God to apply it to our lives we will receive the promises that He has promised in His word.  We are not earning anything but we are spending time with Him each day and that's what He wants us to do and then He can do anything through us and with us.  The more I study, the better it sounds.  I am enjoying this so much.  I am praying that these posts will not have been in vain but will help you on your journey to God's kingdom.  Grandma Joan

The Christian Walk, continued.

Yesterday we learned that we need to walk in the Spirit and we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (sin) in our lives.  A great promise and the only thing that is required from us is to study His word and walk in it.  He does the rest, He even gives us the power to walk in the Spirit and then cleanses us from all sin. He even gives us the power to walk in the Spirit if we want to and show our earnestness in doing it.  Here are some more instructions in walking or living our lives.

Ephesians 5:2  "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us."

Ephesians 5:8  "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of light."

1 John 2:6  "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked."

2 John 6  "This is love, that we walk according to His commandments."

2 Corinthians 5:7  "For we walk by faith, not by sight,"

Ephesians 4:1  "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called."

Colossians 1:10  "That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

Let's recap a little bit.  Walk in love, it's easy to love those who love us but what about the others, even those who have done us wrong.  Now we have the light, are we going to walk in it?  We need to walk like Jesus walked.  Loving others and doing good to them as much as we are able.  Also to walk according to His commandments.  We need to study them in Exodus 20 and walk worthy of His calling with which we were called.  We also need to please God and be fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.  And how do we increase in the knowledge of God?  By studying His word and really when you try to study every day you discover the joy that it brings and it makes your day so much brighter and for me it also takes away my loneliness. I love what studying His word has done for me and I sincerely hope that it has done the same for you.  I love to share with you what God is doing for me, may you be abundantly blessed.  Grandma Joan

The Christian Walk.

In other words 'The Christian way to live".  We have learned from the last few posts that we need to keep in His word and all the blessings that follow when we do.  I felt like I needed to study what the Christian walk was all about, or how we should live.  It is very interesting and I know for those of you who are just starting the Christian life, this may be a little hard to understand but remember if we study His word, He will give us understanding, which we all need as we study.  So pray and follow on to know how God wants us to live.

1 John 1:5  "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare unto you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all."

1 John 1:7  "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

1 John 1:6  "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."

3 John 4  "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

Colossians 2:6  "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him."

Galatians 5:16  "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."

Galatians 5:25  "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

My experience with these verses, lest you become discouraged by reading them.

It is good to know that in God there is no darkness at all, if there was, how would we know truth when we read it. I have found that when I am following closely to God I know that He is cleansing me from sin as I study His word, I see what sin is or what the lust of the flesh is and I am convicted to give it up to Him and He takes care of it.  Another benefit of studying His word.

If we brag about having fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we are a liar and are not practicing the truth that we are reading in His word.  If Paul had no greater joy than to see His children walk in truth, what kind of joy do you think our Father in heaven feels when we turn to Him from darkness?  How do we keep from fulfilling the lust of the flesh?  Walk in the Spirit and we shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  A great promise from God Himself.  If we live in the Spirit let us also walk in the Spirit.  Our lives will reflect whether we are walking in darkness or light.  This has been very enlightening and I have some more for tomorrow, don't miss it. I love to know God's will for my life and you will too as you study His word.  Grandma Joan

God's warnings to us who study His word.

I know that there are hundreds of doctrines out there and it confuses people who are trying to get to the real truth of God's word so I thought it would only be appropriate to study some of the warnings from Scripture itself.  They are very timely for the times we are living in and what is going on in the world today.  I pray that God will do this study for me as He has done in the past, because this one is being ignored by many preachers and members today.

1 Corinthians 2:4  "And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power."  When we are trying to share with others, we need to do it with God's wisdom and not our own.

2 Corinthians 4:2  "But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness not handling the Word of God deceitfully."  Have you ever listened to someone preach and wonder where in the world he got that from.  So what we do?  We do like the Bible Bereans and study to see if those things are so.  I have heard lots of errors that did not agree with Bible teaching, so beware of what you hear or read.

Revelation 22:18,19  "If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book."  A very fearful and faithful warning to us not to add anything to His word, to take it just as it reads.  Verse 19, "If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life, from the holy city and from the things which are written in this book." Another fearful and faithful warning to us not to pretend something says what it doesn't or to add something or take something away that doesn't suit us or our doctrines.  Let's just study the word as it reads and be diligent to apply it to our own lives and we will be ready when Jesus comes.  May God bless you as you have been studying these posts each day and apply them just as they read from His word.  "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."  Grandma Joan

Proper attitude towards God's word, continued

Sometimes we are prone to doubt the word of God, but that is Satan's way of discouraging us, and we don't need his advice on anything, we need to cling to God's word and His word only, not take men's advice either because if it is against God's word it is coming from Satan no matter where or how we become doubtful, it is always Satan's plan to destroy us and discourage us.  So here are some more Counsel from God's word.

Acts 11:1  "Not the Apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God."  That is what we are to do.  To receive the word of God as truth and apply it to our lives day by day.

Acts 13:48 "Now when the Gentiles heard this they were glad and glorified the word of God."  We are to do the same, give God glory when we learn new things that can bring us salvation.

Acts 18:11  "And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them."
When we learn new things, it is a good thing to teach it to others, even in our simple way it brings God glory.

Psalms 119:148  "My eyes are awake through the night watch, that I may meditate on Your word."  When we wake up in the night and can't go back to sleep, this is good advice and also we can spend the time praying for others and for ourselves.

2 Timothy 2:15  "Be diligent to present yourselves approved of God,a worker who does not need to be ashamed rightly diving the word of God."  I pray that I am rightly dividing the word of God to you each day.  I don't want to stand before Him in the judgment ashamed.  I pray and ask His guidance as I study His word and for wisdom to give what I have learned to you in the right way.  I want to be accurate in all that I post.

James 1:22 -24  "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away and immediately forgets what kind of man he was"  We must be a doer of His word and not just read and forget what we read or hear and forget what we heard.  We must ask Him to put it in on our hearts to do and not forget to do.

I hope you don't mind if I recap each study, it helps me remember what we went through and not to forget.  So today we learned that we are to receive His word and glorify God when we receive it.  We can teach what we are learning to others, and when we awake in the night, it gives us time to meditate on what we have learned and we can also  pray during that time too.  We need to rightly divide the word to be approved of God. and be doers of that word.  I want to please God by being a doer of His word, don't you?  Tomorrow we will study some warnings given about God's word.  Very important.
Grandma Joan

Proper attitude towards God's word

I have heard various expressions that do not show respect and reverence towards a Holy God, and taking His name upon our lips in swearing is one of the ways, another way is calling Him 'the man upstairs', I have heard that too and it actually pains my heart to hear His name spoken so lightly,  I want to protect His name and what it means to me but people don't even give it a second thought. Today I want to study about our proper attitude towards and Holy God and His Word.

Psalm 119:161  "My heart stands in awe of Your Word."  Awe would be reverence of His word.

Isaiah 66:2  (last part, God speaking)  "But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite Spirit.  And trembles at My word."  God's word should be looked upon as something that causes us to tremble when we read things that touch our hearts.  It sometimes brings tears when we feel of unworthy.

Jeremiah 23:28  "Let him speak My word faithfully."  We must be faithful in sharing with others when we have the opportunity.

Acts 17:11  "Search the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."  Test what I have written and see if it is true.  If you think it isn't, let me know, I don't want to bring reproach upon God's word.

Acts 8:25  "So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord they returned to Jerusalem."  Those that are able should preach the word of the Lord and help others understand His word.

Acts 4:29  "Now Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word."  We need not worry about what others think when we talk about God's word, but speak with boldness that others my learn to study His word too.

That is probably enough today, it is important that we reverence God and His word and let it affect our lives to the point of trembling at His word, we also need to search His word to make sure what we are reading or hearing is truth and not take someone else's word for truth.  We can always give our testimony even if we cannot preach the word, our testimony will glorify God.  We also need to be faithful in studying His word and sharing it, also be bold, regardless if others threaten us or not.  There may come a time in the near future when we will have to suffer threats.  It seems to me that the world is becoming less and less leaning to Christian standards.  Do you find it like this too.  Let's be faithful to God regardless of what happens, knowing that our security is in Him.  Tomorrow will be a few more on attitude towards God's word.  Until then be faithful.  Grandma Joan