Tag Archive | peace

Who Desires Life?

Apr26

Who is the man who desires life And loves length of days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. — Psalm 34:12-14

If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. — James 1:26 (NLT)

What we say is a testimony to all who are in earshot of our words. Do we walk what we talk? Do we speak as to glorify God or do we speak evil and deceit? Do our words exalt our Lord or bring shame upon the Him?

Allow Jesus, our role model, our example “who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;” (1 Peter 2:22) transform you into a person who is an example to others drawing them to Jesus.

Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. — Hebrews 12:14

Hope is the Lord

Apr14

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. — Jeremiah 17:7 (NKJV)

Here’s another “blessed is” statement. God loves to bless His children. But what does it mean to trust?

Trust: reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc. of a person or thing; confidence/Confident expectation of something; hope/A person on whom or thing on which one relies

Confidence: full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing

We are blessed when we put our reliance, confidence, full trust, hope and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our example of real integrity and strength, who is more than able to supply all we would ever need, who is trustworthy and powerful.

Where is our confidence and peace in life? In hope that is based on God. Seek Jesus who is our hope!

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. — Hebrews 11:1

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Be Still

Apr9

“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”.  — Psalm 46:10
Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. — Psalm 37:7
For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said, “In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength.” But you were not willing, — Isaiah 30:15
And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. — Isaiah 32:17

Have you noticed how the world is always in such a hurry? Running from one meeting/event to another. We pass by people not even noticing them and when we do it is usually because they are slowing us down. We get stressed out over all that needs to be done. Why?

And just as we don’t notice people we tend to be too busy to notice God. We struggle through the day getting stressed out and miss seeing the work that God is about. We miss the miracles of the day. We especially miss the Lord Himself. The relationship. The intimacy. The glory. What is the solution?

The Lord says that we need to be still and know that He is God. Without the stillness and quiet of His presence we focus on things of the world that weigh us down and burden us. We are too busy to wait for an answer from God so we make decisions on our own without God’s direction. We are an impatient people. If God is truly in control then waiting on Him will not be disastrous. Being still and knowing God brings peace and contentment. Knowing God is trusting that He knows what’s best for us so we don’t need to rush through our day blindly checking off our to do list. In quietness and trust is our strength.

The result? I walk this world in the work of righteousness that will be peace and in the service of righteousness that is quietness and confidence. Through Christ I walk in righteousness to bring Him glory so that He will be honored by every nation throughout the world. Take the time to be still and know that the Lord, He is God!

Keep seeking.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Dad’s Greatest Gift To Me

Apr7

 

I shared this message at my Dad’s memorial:

I would like to tell you about the greatest gift my Dad ever gave me. This gift is a gift that he actually received. This was and is a gift that doesn’t lose its value when re-gifted. This is a gift, because he accepted it, that affected many, many people. This gift, like a diamond, has many facets. This gift comes wrapped in strength, peace and assurance.

The greatest gift my Dad gave to me was the gift of salvation that he received from Jesus Christ!

When Jesus was being led away to His crucifixion there was a large crowd following Him — women were mourning and lamenting Him. Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children”.*

My Dad is with Jesus now and O the peace that brings to me and the strength to carry on. John 14:27-28 says, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” As Jesus said — weep for yourselves and for your children — Dad is at peace, experiencing joy as never before — my concern here is . . . do you know Jesus? Have you received the gift Jesus has for you so that when you pass your loved one can have the assurance and peace of your salvation and the strength to carry on?

There is no greater gift you can re-gift to anyone than to receive the greatest gift ever given – the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Please, if you do not have the assurance of where you are headed in death – come talk to me or someone you know who knows Jesus. It makes all the difference.

Thank You Jesus for my Dad’s salvation, my salvation and the peace and assurance of where Dad is. All praise and glory to You, my God. Amen.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

* Luke 23:27-28

Blessings While Coming And Going

Mar19

All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God: — Deuteronomy 28:2   “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. — Deuteronomy 28:6

The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever. (Psalm 121:8) Forever is a long time. What a peace is ours knowing that in our obedience God promises to bless us as we come in and go out. As we grow in our obedience we learn to trust Jesus more and more as we see the blessings, experience the assurance of God’s promises kept, and draw closer to Him.

Drawing closer to Jesus I am confident that He is intimately acquainted with all my ways. He checks out my path and my lying down. He sees my ways and all my steps are numbered. From birth to death I am His. I love that He encloses me behind and before and has laid His hand upon me. Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, the Lord surrounds His people from now and forever.

Why would we not want to be obedient? Built into obedience is trust, peace, security, intimacy, direction, and a relationship with God, the Almighty, Creator of the Universe, Father, and the lover of my soul.

Come and be blessed. Go and be blessed.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. — Psalm 139:3-5

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the Lord surrounds His people From this time forth and forever. — Psalm 125:2

“Does He not see my ways And number all my steps? — Job 31:4

For You have rescued my soul from death, My eyes from tears, My feet from stumbling. — Psalm 116:8

Draw Near To God

Feb15

But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works. — Psalm 73:28

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Being near to God is nothing but good for anyone. He is all we need in heaven and on earth.

Draw near to God for He is our refuge, our shelter. We find peace in His presence as He protects us from the world, giving us security that we can depend upon. He is faithful. We sit in in the sanctuary of His presence when we draw near to God.

When spending time with Jesus in prayer, meditation and study of His Word, our eyes are opened to the wonders of God. We are overwhelmed and overflowing with testimony of His goodness that we must tell the world what He has done, the wonderful things He does.

The real key to proclaiming the good news is knowing the One who is the good news. Draw near to our God so you can proclaim His goodness, salvation, love and the hope He has for everyone.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Seek And Be Blessed

Feb5

How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, Who seek Him with all their heart. — Psalm 119:2

What a blessing to seek the Lord through His word. The blessing is seeing and learning about the Lord God Almighty. His testimony written in this precious book, the Bible, reveals our God. He shows Himself through His word. A testimony or proof that God exists and is alive.

As I observe His law it testifies to me of His existence, of His attributes, and gives me many opportunities to experience His promises that are written in His word. When His word tells me, “All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies”, and I strive to observe them I confess that I am blessed. His word is true and trustworthy.

God’s testimony reveals how to live effectual, abundant lives. A life filled with blessing, peace, joy, love. Isn’t that what people are seeking for in life? Well Jesus is the fulfillment of all we need and desire. We need to seek Him with all our heart through His word, applying it to our lives and we really will find blessing.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.  — Psalm 25:10

With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. — Psalm 119:10

“Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, — Deuteronomy 10:12