Archives

Weary and Burdened

Feb6

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew‬ ‭11:28‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.11.28.NASB1995‭‭

I always looked at this verse as being addressed to God’s children until this weekend at church I noticed it could also be a call to salvation.
Come to Me, says Jesus, all you who are weary from and heavy laden with sin. I will give you rest from this world. But it doesn’t stop there . . .

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew‬ ‭11:29‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.11.29.NASB1995‭‭

Take My yoke. Take My Spirit who will teach you all things you need to know to follow Me. You will find peace and rest in Me.

‭‭For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew‬ ‭11:30‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.11.30.NASB1995

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 that I said to you.
John‬ ‭14:26‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/jhn.14.26.NASB1995

🌹But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
John‬ ‭16:13‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/jhn.16.13.NASB1995

Glory to God for making a way to experience peace in a chaotic world!

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
‭‭https://indasharonjesus.org

Rejection

Feb5

At church yesterday, during our Sunday School time, we were discussing evangelism and some of the reasons why we don’t share the gospel. The subject came up of the feeling of rejection – from a nice “not interested” to a feeling that you’ve just been slapped in the face. Well, studying and looking for a devotion to write I came across these verses:

“The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
Luke‬ ‭10:16‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/luk.10.16.NASB1995‭‭

‭‭And

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”
John‬ ‭13:20‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/jhn.13.20.NASB1995

Wow! Did you catch that? We are called, all believers, to share the gospel and if we are rejected, it is not us who are being rejected but the One who sent us, Jesus, and the One who sent Jesus, the Father. The good news is if they receive the gospel message we share they receive Jesus who sent us to share. If they receive Jesus as their Savior and Lord, they receive also the Father.

God is so amazing!! He knows our hearts and thoughts so well. Can I just say again how amazing God is?

🌹So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.
1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/1th.4.8.NASB1995

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
http://indasharonjesus.org

Behold His Face

Feb2

To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens!
Psalms‬ ‭123:1‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.123.1.NASB1995

For my eyes are toward You, O God, the Lord;
Psalms‬ ‭141:8‬a ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.141.8.NASB1995

My eyes are continually toward the Lord,
Psalms‬ ‭25:15‬a ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.25.15.NASB1995

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness,
Psalms‬ ‭33:18‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.33.18.NASB1995

The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry.
Psalms‬ ‭34:15‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.34.15.NASB1995

He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous;
Job‬ ‭36:7‬a ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/job.36.7.NASB1995

🌹For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.
Psalms‬ ‭11:7‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.11.7.NASB1995

‭‭Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
https://indasharonjesus.org

Merciful Hope

Feb1

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1 Peter‬ ‭1:3‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/1pe.1.3.NASB1995

🌹Thank You, Father, for Your great mercy that came through the resurrection of Your Son, Jesus. I praise You, God, for this living hope!! Blessed be the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ!! Amen.

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
http://indasharonjesus.org

The Harvest

Jan31

Then He (Jesus) *said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
Matthew‬ ‭9:37‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.9.37.NASB1995

This just breaks my heart. 💔
Does it yours?

🌹Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
https://indasharonjesus.org

The Planted Seed

Jan30

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John‬ ‭12:24‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/jhn.12.24.NASB1995‭‭

Just as the grain of wheat must die to bear more fruit, so we as believers must die to bear eternal fruit. Die to MY way, MY will, MY life.

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians‬ ‭5:24‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/gal.5.24.NASB1995

The Christian has been crucified with Christ and now lives in Christ. It is HIS way, HIS will, HIS life, His passion.

He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. John‬ ‭12:25‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/jhn.12.25.NASB1995

‭‭Staying connected to God is necessary for Him to increase, and for us to decrease.
John‬ ‭3:30‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/jhn.3.30.NASB1995

Prayer and the Word of God are essential to a life in Christ!!
‭‭
And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
Matthew‬ ‭13:23‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100 /mat.13.23.NASB1995

‭‭🌹For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Philippians‬ ‭1:21‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/php.1.21.NASB1995

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
http://indasharonjesus.org

Change My Heart, O God

Jan29

The steps of a man are established by the Lord, And He delights in his way.
Psalms‬ ‭37:23‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.37.23.NASB1995

When. . .

The law of his God is in his heart; His steps do not slip.
Psalms‬ ‭37:31‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.37.31.NASB1995

God’s covenant with His children. The surrendered heart will be established by God and the steps of the righteous will not slip.

“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Jeremiah‬ ‭31:33‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/jer.31.33.NASB1995

Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.
Psalms‬ ‭119:11‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.119.11.NASB1995

‭‭🌹I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.”
Psalms‬ ‭40:8‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.40.8.NASB1995Psalm 40:8

‭‭Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
https://indasharonjesus.org

Silent Presence

Jan26

Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great. Job‬ ‭2:13‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/job.2.13.NASB1995

Sometimes all a friend needs is your presence. No small talk, just your presence.
As you sit, hold a hand, are silent, there is time to reach out to God on their behalf. Quiet prayer that God hears from your heart.

Continually Seeking Him,

🌹Sharon
https://indasharonjesus.org

Goal 2024

Jan25

He must increase, but I must decrease.
John‬ ‭3:30‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/jhn.3.30.NASB1995

This verse was my 2023 verse of the year. It is a very difficult verse to live, so difficult that it is also my 2024 verse of the year.

What I have come to know is that to accomplish this,

#1 I had/have to:

humble myself before Almighty God:

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
James‬ ‭4:6‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.4.6.NASB1995James 4:6

#2 I had/have to lay down my will:

Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew‬ ‭6:10‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.6.10.NASB1995

#3 Surrender my plans:

For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/jer.29.11.NASB1995

#4 Surrender my way:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
Isaiah‬ ‭55:8‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/isa.55.8.NASB1995

‭‭Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
John‬ ‭14:6‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/jhn.14.6.NASB1995

#5 AND My life:

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Galatians‬ ‭2:20‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/gal.2.20.NASB1995

‭‭And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
Luke‬ ‭9:23‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/luk.9.23.NASB1995

Fully surrendered. Enslaved to God.

‭‭🌹But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
Romans‬ ‭6:22‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/rom.6.22.NASB1995

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
http://indasharonjesus.org

One God

Jan24

Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.
Deuteronomy‬ ‭4:39‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/deu.4.39.NASB1995

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
Colossians‬ ‭1:16‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/col.1.16.NASB1995

one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians‬ ‭4:6‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/eph.4.6.NASB1995

🌹There is none like You, O Lord; You are great, and great is Your name in might. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You.
Jeremiah‬ ‭10:6‭-‬7‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/jer.10.6.NASB1995

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
https://indasharonjesus.org