Tag Archive | Jesus

Shine Jesus Shine Pt. 3

Mar12

As we gaze on Your kindly brightness.
So our faces display Your likeness.
Ever changing from glory to glory,
Mirrored here may our lives tell Your story.
Shine on me. Shine on me.

— Cliff Richard–

Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub to the threshold of the temple, and the temple was filled with the cloud and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord — Ezekiel 10:4

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, — Titus 3:4-5

like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. — 1 Peter 2:2-3

[Moses’ Face Shines] It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. — Exodus 34:29

They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed. — Psalm 34:5

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. — 2 Corinthians 3:18

Does your face and life reveal the image/likeness of Christ? Does it display His story? Just as Moses’ face shone because of his speaking with Him, our lives are transformed from glory to glory when we take time to speak with Him, Jesus Christ.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Shine Jesus Shine Pt. 2

Mar11

Lord I come to Your awesome presence,
From the shadows into Your radiance,
By the blood I may enter Your brightness,
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness,
Shine on me. Shine on me.

— Cliff Richard —

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. — Hebrews 4:16

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, — Jude 24

‘You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with Your presence.’ — Acts 2:28

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, — Hebrews 1:3

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. — John 6:53-56

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts — Psalm 139:23

Examine me, O Lord, and try me; Test my mind and my heart. — Psalm 26:2

For You light my lamp; The Lord my God illumines my darkness. — Psalm 18:28

to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’ — Acts 26:18

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. — 1 John 1:5-7

Praise Jesus! My all! My everything!

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Shine Jesus Shine

Mar10

This morning at worship I was blessed by singing one of my favorite songs. I turned it into a prayer as I often do. The song brought so much truth and Scripture to mind I couldn’t help but be moved to write devotionals pertaining to the song. I hope you will be blessed by this Cliff Richard song.

Lord the Light or Your Love is shining,
In the midst of the darkness shining,
Jesus light of the world shine upon us,
Set us free by the truth You now bring us,
Shine on me. Shine on me.

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” — John 8:12

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, — Colossians 1:13

[Walk by the Spirit ] It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. — Galatians 5:1

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

God’s Word says it so well. I will close here with — Jesus is the light of the world who rescued us from the domain of darkness, set us free to stand firm on His life because He is the way and truth. God bless you as you allow Him to shine on you.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Pray For Them

Mar9

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. — Romans 1:8

Praise God for those who take the gospel to all the world. I think specifically of missionaries. They are letting the Word of God perform it’s work in them.

All who receive the Word of God and believe the gospel message (Jesus left His throne on high to humbly come to earth for the purpose of reconciling man’s relationship with God, by paying the debt for our sin on the cross. God raised Jesus from the grave so we can live abundant, productive lives that continues on to eternity) are transformed as the Word of God performs it’s perfect work in them. Since the day you heard and understood the grace of God in truth, you are constantly bearing fruit and increasing.

What can we do for our missionaries and one another — since all believers are technically missionaries to their portion of the world? We can give thanks to God for them and mention them in our prayers.

How can we pray for them? “Ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;” (Colossians 1:9-10).

God is at work in the world today through believers so let’s pray continually for all believers. Together Jesus will accomplish His work in and through us to His glory. Let us join God in His work to bring the lost to salvation by uniting together and praying for one another so the power of His Word will travel to all parts of this earth.

Worship

Mar8

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. — Psalm 63:3-4

What does your worship entail? The Psalmist here first specifies why he is praising God, because Your lovingkindness is better than life. A close intimate walk with Jesus helps us see His lovingkindness in our lives. Then his lips praise the Lord. Do you praise Him with your lips, your voice, the words of your mouth exalting the Lord?

Worshipping the Lord with praise is a lifelong endeavor. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. (Psalm 104:33); I will praise the Lord while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. (Psalm 146:2). This endeavor is enjoyable for us and deserving of Jesus. To bless Him is to extol Him as holy and glorify Him. Make it your life’s ambition, your goal each day. Acknowledge Him every day. It is not exclusively a Sunday experience or practice. He is so deserving of our praise. Lift up your hands.

Do you ever lift up your hands in His name? The Psalmist, in 143:6, says “I stretch out my hands to You; My soul  longs for You, as a parched land.” The Lord is our fountain for the parched land of our heart. As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. (Psalm 42:1).

Worship is the revival of our souls. Worship strengthens our faith. Worship, best of all, draws us close to our Lord drawing us into His very presence. What better place to be so why don’t we spend more time worshipping our Lord?

My hope and prayer for you as you read this is that you will be challenged to spend more time in worship of our God. Make it a priority of your life and see if you aren’t changed. You will be blessed.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

 

Seek First His Kingdom

Mar7

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

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. — Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

This has been my life verse for over 30 years. Anytime my financial future (could be 5 minutes away) looked dim I would refer to this verse. It is a promise that God has proven over and over and over and over again in my life. That phrase is written in the margin of my Bible.

You see, all I have to do is seek Jesus, His kingdom and righteousness. What a great reward for loving, respecting, worshipping, and honoring our God. Knowing Him I have daily testimonies to share with others. It blows my mind that I have the joy of loving Him and He gives all I need.

Another benefit, reward or blessing (whatever you want to call it) is the peace that comes in trusting those words. I don’t have to worry about having enough gas to get to work or pay the bills or have food to eat, clothes to wear, or shelter. God provides jobs to accomplish these. At times our lives are filled with trials where we don’t see how a need will be met but every time God has kept His promise — many, many times through brothers and sisters in Christ.

1Timothy 4:8 says, “for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” A worthy goal with benefits. So seek Jesus Christ and His righteousness bringing godliness to our lives and receive the promise it holds for us now and forever.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Freewill

Mar6

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. — Psalm 1:1-2

Freewill. God desires the best for us and warns us in His Word of dangers to our souls. He also encourages us in His Word to make wise choices. When it comes right down to it we are responsible for our destiny — that is freewill.

Who are the people you spend the majority of your time with? What kind of influence do they have on you? Ever notice how you start picking up phrases of the ones you hang out with? Back in my youth there were two sayings that I struggled getting out of my vocabulary — “yabut” and ending every sentence with “ya know”.

The saying “one bad apple spoils the whole bunch” is a valid statement. We do well to choose not to walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand or walk in the ways of sinners and hang out with scoffers. Our better choice is to meditate on God’s Word day and night and find the delight that is in it. We have a choice to be influenced by the world or by Jesus. Who do you choose to be influenced by?

The more we are influenced by the Word of God, the more of an influence we are in the world. So seek Jesus and let Him influence you to be a productive, influential, dynamic person of God.

The choice is yours. Exercise your freewill and choose wisely.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Who Can You Trust?

Mar5

For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. — Deuteronomy 10:17

Who can you trust? In life it is sometimes difficult to trust another person. Some people have great difficulty trusting anyone. Are there any attributes that stand out in a trustworthy person?

Well, there is One who can be trusted. He is the Creator of all from the smallest of creation to the outer limits of the universe. That is a person who knows all things — I can trust the God of gods. He is the Master, Boss, Commander, Ruler over all — the Lord of lords who rules with wisdom. That is someone I would trust to counsel me well.

Someone who shows no partiality would be honest with me and can be trusted to tell me the truth. A person who stands on good principles without wavering cannot be bribed. That is someone who can be trusted.

The Lord our God is great, mighty, and awesome. He can be trusted!

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

If You Diligently Obey

Mar4

Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. Deuteronomy 28:1

Did you ever notice how closely our obedience is connected to our blessings? We aren’t obedient to receive blessings — we can’t work our way to blessings or heaven — but through our obedience God blesses us. Just like our kids — we desire to bless them but if they are disobedient it would be detrimental to bless them. We require and expect our children to be obedient. God expects the same from His children (us).

This verse says, “God will set you high above all the nations”. I couldn’t help but be reminiscent thinking about great nations of the past who prospered when they were walking in the obedience of God. One such nation was the United States known to be established on Biblical principles. It was a nation that posted the Ten Commandments in it’s court houses, that had prayer in schools to the One and only God. It was a nation that was set above all the nations of the earth. God blessed this nation.

Just as Israel was blessed and prospered throughout history they were also disciplined for disobedience. It saddens my heart that this country draws further and further away from God. Fortunately God loves us enough to discipline us but unfortunately we are not responding. Our nation needs to turn back to obedience to God. As His people we must unite through the Holy Spirit and bathe our country in prayer and be an example as we are obedient to the Lord God Almighty.

Hear the cry, O Lord, of your remnant. Amen.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, — Deuteronomy 28: 13

Teach Them

Mar3

You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. — Deuteronomy 6:7

Yesterday’s devotional was a plea to keep the commandments of God on your heart. Diligently keep watch over your soul so that your heart does not depart from what you have learned from God all the days of your life. Remind yourself by telling of the goodness of God to your children and/or grandchildren.

The closer my walk has become with the Lord Jesus, the more I see analogies in my life. Often life events, everyday ones as well, will have me sharing the Lord’s words or biblical events that spring into my mind. On one such occasion the church start my husband and I attended had a booth at a community event. When it came time to pack up, we had 4 of us folding up a canopy. Each of us grabbed a leg and met in the middle. As we were coming together I just said, “This is like the Holy Spirit drawing us together as one.” My sweet friend came back with, “Sharon, does everything have to be about God?” She of course was teasing me.

When we walk closely with the Lord He opens our eyes to opportunities to share Him. In everyday life we can see things that can be correlated with Scripture. Make every moment a teachable one by staying connected with Jesus and His Word. He makes opportunities for us to speak of His glory. So share those moments with your children and grandchildren and everyone you have a chance to whether you are sitting in your house or walking by the way, when you rise up and when you lay down. Sun up to sun down.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons. — Deuteronomy 4:9