Tag Archive | Bible

In the Morning, Jesus

Mar7

In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.
Psalms 5:3 NASB

My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him.
Psalms 62:5 NASB

I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
Psalms 40:1 NASB

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

My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation.
Psalms 62:1‭ NASB

O Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; Make Your way straight before me.
Psalms 5:8 NASB

Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.
Psalms 33:20‭

For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name.
Psalms 33:21 NASB

🌹Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon

Exult

Mar6

Exult: to show or feel a lively or triumphant joy; rejoice exceedingly; be highly elated or jubilant:

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; Romans 5:3 NASB

We show triumphant joy in our tribulations?!

We rejoice exceedingly in our tribulations?!

We are highly elated, jubilant in our tribulations?!

Do we, really? It is so easy to take the path of “O woe is me” when tribulation, suffering, or persecution comes. But 

. . .You have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 1 Peter 2:21‭-‬23 NASB

Jesus is our example and

If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 1 Peter 4:14 NASB

That is how we rejoice in tribulations!

Personally I have found that during times of tribulation and suffering God is the closest. I am more aware of His presence and I grow tremendously as I trust that He is doing a good work in me. And this is why I rejoice in tribulation:

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 NASB

🌹God, help us to exult in tribulation.

Continually Seeking Him, 

Sharon 

Blessings of Trust

Mar3

But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
Psalm 32:10b

Are you trusting in God? God says if you are then lovingkindness shall surround you. God also blesses those who give attention to the word.

He who gives attention to the word will find good, And blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
Proverbs 16:20 NASB

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.
Psalms 32:10‭b-‬11 NASB

Do you consider yourself a righteous person? Those who are clothed in the righteousness of Christ will rejoice, being glad in Him. He is our refuge.

But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God; Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.
Psalms 68:3 NASB

Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones, And give thanks to His holy name.
Psalms 97:12 NASB

🌹The righteous man will be glad in the Lord and will take refuge in Him; And all the upright in heart will glory.
Psalms 64:10 NASB

The more you know the word, the more you will trust the Word, Jesus. The bigger your trust grows, the bigger your joy and gladness grows turning into praise, glory and thankfulness to our God.

May the righteousness of Christ abiding in you bring you much joy, gladness, and thankfulness as you trust in Him.

To God be the glory!!

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon

Obedience from Suffering

Mar2

Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,
Hebrews 5:8‭-‬9 NASB

The Son of God suffered. The Son of God!!! And yet we expect a perfect, smooth ride through life when we are merely adopted children of God.

He learned obedience from the things He suffered.
This really jumped off the page as I read it. Obedience brings suffering?! That isn’t what we expect, is it? Looking over my life as a child of God I have experienced much suffering. And it was at those times that I was close to God. I cried out to Him in fervent prayer. I grew in my walk. I learned. I was obedient. Thank You, Jesus for Your example. Through suffering You showed us what humble obedience to the will of God looks like.
We need affliction to teach us submission. (1)

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.
Colossians 1:24 NASB

The Christian life is not an easy road. It is not enough to make a profession of faith but not have a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. We must heed His Word and obey Him. If Jesus is our Savior, He must also be the Ruler, Prince, of your lives. We must be willing, submissive, to let Jesus reign over us. If Jesus isn’t our Ruler, He isn’t our Savior.

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 NASB

🌹Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon


(1) Matthew Henry’s Commentary; BibleGateway.com, passage Hebrews 5:8-9

New Every Morning

Mar1

Came across this and just had to share again . . .

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” 

Lamentations 3:19-24

Have you ever experienced bitterness? That something that is hard to bear, distressing, painful, grieving your soul that brings the taste of bitterness? Remember lest that bitterness turns to fierce, cruel, ruthless, relentless or hostile bitterness, that there is hope.

This is our hope: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

God has a plan and sometimes that plan doesn’t sit well with us causing bitterness. Take your bitterness to the Lord. His compassions never fail. He is faithful. Trust Him and wait on Him. He is our portion. He is all we need and the answer to all our woes and bitterness. He will renew you with His faithfulness and compassion every new day. Praise the Lord God Almighty.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Reblog June 9, 2014 indasharonjesus.org

Bitterness

Feb28

Bitterness. Have you been there? Things don’t go your way, happen the way you think they should. The world comes crashing down around the perfect world you were walking in. Someone or someones let you down. What is the result? Bitterness!

Bitterness left untreated results in hate, gossip, and separation — from both God and fellow man — trouble causing defilement, lack of grace toward others, wickedness, bondage of iniquity, faithlessness, unforgiveness, anger.

Well, the Word of God says, “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;“
Hebrews 12:15 NASB

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:31‭-‬32 NASB

Bitterness has no place in our lives especially since it is rooted in distrust and selfishness.

It is like saying, “I don’t trust God because of what is happening”. We are blinded by selfishness because it isn’t going the way we think it should.

Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness;
Isaiah 38:17‭a

For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”
Acts 8:23

How do I escape this gall of bitterness that has me and escape the bondage of sin?

Be in the Word:

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 NASB

THEN:

You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Therefore REPENT of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.
Acts 8:21‭-‬23 NASB

And God will redeem.

It is You who has kept my soul from the pit of nothingness, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
Isaiah 38:17b

Being bitter is not trusting in the holy God of the universe. He is in full control so we do not need to be bitter.

For:

This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalms 118:24 NASB

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

Take it from someone who has spent over a year in bondage to bitterness. It is debilitating. It is pride. I can still thank God because He taught me, humbled me, made me more dependent on Him and made me realize I can’t walk this walk alone. I am so thankful for sisters in Christ who stood by me through it all. I am not completely through it but I am more aware of the warning signs that leads me to prayer and submission and the realization that God is in control and I can fully trust Him.

To God be the glory!!! 🙌

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon

Love the Lord – Part 4

Feb24

and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, — Mark 12:30

The best way to love the Lord with all our mind is to have the mind of Christ, received via the Holy Spirit that lives within us. With the Holy Spirit’s help we can truly love Him with all we are. (1 Corinthians 2:16)
We can begin by asking the Lord to test our mind so we can be made new in the attitude of our minds; and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Psalm 26:2; Ephesians 4:22-23) What better way to love our Lord.
We then need to set our mind on the things above like whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Our focus on these things places us in the proper attitude of worship to truly love the Lord as He deserves. (Colossians 3:2; Philippians 4:8)
So let me encourage you to set your mind on loving the Lord and be greatly blessed.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

1 Corinthians 2:16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Psalm 26:2 Examine me, O Lord, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.
Ephesians 4:23-24 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self,created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Love the Lord – Part 3

Feb23

and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, — Mark 12:30

How do we love our Lord with all our soul? We need help because we are not able to love God on our own. Ezekiel 18:4 says, “Behold, all souls are Mine;”. Our souls belong to God. Because He is our God and our souls are His, our natural desire is to thirst and pant for Him.
He gives us the desire to cling to Him, to earnestly seek Him. As we seek Him our soul grows to love Him more and more. Seeking Him through His word it helps us to know Him and the more we know Him the more we love Him. In this we can rejoice and praise Him!!!
So seek Him earnestly through the word of God, prayer, and praise.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.
Psalm 63:1 O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Psalm 42:1-2 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?
Psalm 63:8 My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 119:75 Let my soul live that it may praise You, And let Your ordinances help me.

Love the Lord – Part 2

Feb22

and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart — Mark 12:30

“with all your heart”
How? By a new heart given by God. (Ezekiel 36:26) My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart (Psalm 73:26). The Lord will circumcise your heart to love the Lord (Deuteronomy 30:6:). It is all about Him, isn’t it? God is love and He is the One who enables my heart to love Him. Mind boggling.
What can we do? Pray asking the Lord to create in me a clean heart, O God (Psalm 51:10) and search me, O God, and know my heart (Psalm 139:23). We need to set our heart to seek the Lord (2 Chronicles 12:14). We need His word — please receive instruction from His mouth and establish His words in your heart (Job 22:22).
I do my best to follow Your commands. You are the One who gives me the desire (willing heart, understanding) (Psalm 119:32).
We need a relationship with Jesus Christ so we can love the Lord our God with all our heart.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Ezekiel 36:26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Deuteronomy 30:6 Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
2 Chronicles 12:14 He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek theLord.
Job 22:22 Please receive instruction from His mouth And establish His words in your heart.
Psalm 119:32 I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.

Love the Lord

Feb21

and you shall love the Lord your God — Mark 12:30

The commandment is to love the Lord, our God. How can we possibly love God who is love? (1 John 4:8) We could not even come close to measuring up to His love. We are incapable of loving God on our own. We need the help of the Master. With salvation comes the Spirit of God living in us. The love of God living in us enables us to love Him. We can love Him because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19) And if we love Him we will keep His commandments — to love the Lord, our God.

John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

1 John 4:8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
1 John 4:19 We love, because He first loved us.