Archive | September 2014

Accepted!!!

Sep30

‘Now when you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. — Leviticus 19:5

Results of Justification
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, — Romans 5:1

Thank you God for sending Jesus, the ultimate peace offering, that I may be accepted. What love to send Your Son as justification that through Him I may be acceptable in Your sight. What peace is mine.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

I Never Knew You

Sep29

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ — Matthew 7:21-23

The reality of this verse breaks my heart. I wonder how many who believe they are Christians will hear these words of our Lord when the day comes and they stand before Jesus.

Jesus states here that the one who does the will of the Father will enter heaven. Jesus did the will of the Father. Jesus is our example. Are you practicing the will of the Father or still seeking after your own will and desires? Have you surrendered your life to live for Jesus or are you living for yourself? Are you seeking the will of the Father by searching the scriptures to know His will?

Many who call themselves Christian are hard workers in the church. Some do good to others for the betterment of all. Some are nice, lovely people but are simply playing the game, the Christian game. If I do this or do that I will make it to heaven. But do you seek the Lord? Do you walk minute by minute with Him? Is He your all in all, your everything? Do you know Him?

Are you calling yourself a Christian but still living a sinful life? Do you use the excuse that you are a sinner saved by grace? Christ paid the price so you could be a saint, a saint because of the price Christ paid. Are you still practicing lawlessness? Did Jesus practice lawlessness? NO. We are to strive to be like Jesus and yes because of our sinful nature there will be times when we will fail and sin. But walking closely, obeying the will of God and trusting Him minute by minute we can keep ourselves away from the power of sin over us. So walk in the grace of God as you obey the law and do the will of the Father for His glory.

I really hope you will evaluate your walk with Jesus. Do you know Him? Are you going to hear those dreadful words? I hope not.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Where’s Your Focus?

Sep28

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. — Matthew 6:33

Jesus’ own words say to seek His kingdom and His righteousness first. He wants the best for us and seeking after Him and His righteousness makes all the difference in our lives.

Why do we struggle, work exhaustively, stress out, worry and fret to feed ourselves and clothe ourselves? Why don’t we use that worthless energy more productively by seeking what is beneficial, eternal and worthy?

Jesus allows us to focus on the important things in life — His kingdom and righteousness — while He provides for the temporal needs — clothing and food.

So where is your heart and focus today? Are you trusting God to provide your needs and seeking Jesus?

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Jesus Loves You

Sep27

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. — John 3:16

Jesus loves you, this I know
For the Bible tells me so.

The Word of God
A source of truth.
The truth.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

I Will Dwell

Sep26

. . . “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word. — Isaiah 66:2

For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite. — Isaiah 57:15

O how I long to dwell with “the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy”. O Lord revive my spirit when I come with a repenting heart. Keep me humble in all my comings and goings. I tremble at Your word because it is truth and convicts my soul. I tremble when I see Your majesty and glory and realize I am not worthy to stand before Your throne. But I rejoice because You do allow it and desire to dwell with me.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Your Confidece

Sep25

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. — Hebrews 10:35-36

Life changes. Your routine, well managed life is turned upside down. New events challenge your routine. The hours of your day seem to have gotten shorter, demands on your time come from all directions and your peaceful, close encounter life with Christ seems to be fading in the stress of this overwhelming turn of events.

Do you ever miss Jesus? Is your relationship with Him so close that when you start drifting away you miss Him and yearn for His presence?

No matter what happens in life “do not throw away your confidence”. Our confidence is found through the blood of Jesus allowing us entrance to the holy place*. We need that holy time with Jesus. It has a great reward. We need endurance to fulfill the will of God. That endurance comes from our time in the holy place with Jesus. For by our endurance we will gain our lives^. Jesus is our life and without Him our lives are filled with disappointment, weakness, lack of confidence and stress.

Don’t throw away your confidence to approach the throne of God. For therein lies God’s promises.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

* Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, — Hebrews 10:19
^ By your endurance you will gain your lives. — Luke 21:19

Spirit of Patience

Sep23

I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope. — Psalms 130:5

Where is your hope? Is it in the word of a Holy Creator God? Cry out to Him today for He is the source of salvation and light.

God Is the Source of Salvation and Light
But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. — Micah 7:7

Is it any wonder why one fruit of the Spirit is patience? I truly believe He is worth the wait. Wait expectantly.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Faithful Follower

Sep22

And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. — Mark 8:34 (Matthew 16:24; Luke 9:23)

The gospel leads to discipleship (Acts 14:21). If we are saved by accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ we are to be disciples of Christ. Being a disciple is being a follower of Jesus. A disciple of Christ is one who (1) believes his doctrine, (2) rests on his sacrifice, (3) imbibes his spirit, and (4) imitates his example (Matt. 10:24; Luke 14:26, 27, 33; John 6:69)*.

I was reminded yesterday of the cost of discipleship and convicted as to my level of commitment to follow Jesus. Are we taking our salvation seriously? If we are then we will heed the words of Christ when He said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, He must deny Himself.” So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. — Luke 1:33 Nothing can be more important than following and doing the will of God. If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. — Luke 14:26

Christ has set the standard for being a disciple (follower) of His. We must deny ourselves, all of our desires, plans, will, possessions, etc. and take up our cross and follow Him. Jesus says, “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:38)

Discipleship is a serious matter that needs our immediate and faithful attention. My words cannot express how important an issue this is for all of us who call ourselves Christians. Jesus’ words express the importance and it is not to be taken lightly. I hope you take the time to examine your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ to assess your level of discipleship. Is Jesus everything to you? Is He the first thought on your mind when you rise in the morning and the last thought as you close your eyes at night? Is He the reason you live your life? Do you make it your ambition everyday to please Him and serve Him? Do you deny yourself for His glory? Are you willing to sacrifice your life for His? Are you willing to give up everything and/or go anywhere for Him?

Only you can answer those questions for yourself. Be true to God and talk to Him about your walk. He is waiting and wanting to help you to become the disciple that faithfully follows.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

*Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary