Tag Archives: encouragement

Oh How HE Loves Us…

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OH How He loves us! Are you hearing that special praise and worship song in your head right now? It is TRUE!!

I have been writing about our identity, but will deviate from it this time. I will go back to the listing of misconceptions we have about who we are next time!

I have been asked how we know His voice? How do we know that God is speaking to us? We listen to Him when reading His word and in prayer. He speaks to us through His creation, His world. The Lord wants us to know that we are loved and I believe that He does not want His presence to be a mystery to us.

John 1:1-2 says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”

Hebrews 4:12 says: “For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges thoughts and the attitude of the heart.

He speaks to us through His word and meets us right where we are in our lives. The supernatural thing is that He speaks to many, many people at the same time. He speaks to where our needs lie at the time. It does not matter if it is a three year old little boy listening to a Bible story or and eighty-three year old grandmother through an in depth Bible study…He speaks through His word! He loves us!

If we go back to the scripture, notice..The Word of God is LIVING. It is able to minister to me, to guide me, to fit my stage of life…WHY? Because it LIVES! It always has been and always will be! It lives and breathes..kind of like a good pair of shoes made of leather. Once you wear these shoes, they take on the shape and feel of your foot and fits perfectly! Oh how He loves us!

“Living” is a verb that translates to the word…zao in the Greek. It literally means to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead),to enjoy real life! Isn’t that awesome!?
God’s word is not only alive, it brings LIFE to us! God has given us this living, breathing Word of love to bring us victory in our everyday life! That is love like no other.

The Bible is not to be viewed as a list of “do’s and don’ts”, but a guide to live as He knows is best for us. Love is the key to living this life and living is so much more abundantly.

I actually wrote a devotional on this in 2001. I am (but shouldn’t be) amazed how He used it in my life then (as a stay at home mom who homeschooled and worked as a radio announcer) to today…a just retired special education teacher (I actually felt led to quit) who is now middle aged. An empty nester who is being healed, refreshed, and renewed. That’s just like my Abba Father, my Daddy. Meets me where I am….because of love.

My prayer is that you will be encouraged today, whichever season of life in which you are in…HE loves you and wants you to know it…He left His love letter for you. And it is alive.
Oh my….HOW HE loves us.

Blessings Dear Ones…
IN CHRIST ALONE

Isaiah 55:8-9

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Our Identity

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Our Identity…do you know who you are?

“You are worthless, I cannot believe what you did!” “You cannot be a Christian, look at how you act!”

OK, don’t take those statements personally…they are not from me! But have you ever heard those comments from others or in your own heart? Well dear ones, we must believe the Word of God if we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ! And the Word of God tells us truths that we must hide in our hearts. The enemy will always serve up our guilt and shame. We are worthless once we believe those lies. We can only live this life out if we believe what He says is true. And “our identity” is sealed!!

Last time we touched on some Biblical truths…up against “untruths” that sometimes can plague us. Let’s talk about some more of these truths!

I am such a failure. “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are pershing.” 1 Corinthians 2:14-15 I am always in triumph, despite appearances.

I am hopeless. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerers through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37 I overwhelmingly conquer through Him.

I cannot understand the Bible. “But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old convenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:14-18 My hardened mind has been changed.

(Sigh) I will never change. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 I have been changed. The old has gone and the new has come!

No one is righteous. “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20-21 I am the righteousness of God in Christ.

I have no parents. “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out ‘Abba Father’. So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” Galatians 4:4-7 I am a child of God and His heir.

Is this not the most incredible, wonderful news? Our identity in Christ is not up for debate!! There are so many more truths, this listing is not exhaustive. My heart is overflowing with thanksgiving when I realize again what the Father has done for me….and you! Walking along that lighted path of truth is what we must have to survive. These truths can help others along their journey as Christ followers.

I know so many hurting people right now. Many going through situations that are heartbreaking. As Believers, we are not immune to these circumstances that the world throws at us. But knowing our identity, knowing and believing His Word, and following that light….that’s our hope and that is what will get us through!

Be blessed,
IN CHRIST ALONE~

Isaiah 55:8-9

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New Beginnings! New in Christ!

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A New Year!!  New Beginnings…who are we in Christ?


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I remember as a little girl only imagining the year 2000…and now we are at 2014!  As I have aged, time has decided to go faster.  Interesting how that works, isn’t it?

How exciting to think that the New Year brings new beginnings.  And to know that the Father is the author of new beginnings does my heart good.  Starting a new year reminds me that I was made new in Christ when I trusted him at 12 years old.  I need to be reminded of that daily.  One way is for me to keep my thoughts on Him in the midst of life and it’s swirling circumstances.  

Psalm 119:105 says “They word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”  How?  Worship can lead us into His presence, as well as the word of God.  The Bible illuminates our path and helps us to see truth and the “new” of who we are in Christ. Remember our “lighthouse” entry previous to this one?  He is our light, He is our Word.

As we enter into this new year, I wanted to remind myself of the truths that I often lose sight of.  I had many misconceptions of myself for many years.  Even though I was “new” in Christ, I never really grasped it.  I was not into the Bible, nor was I encouraged in that way by other believers.  I believed lies and that was disasterous for me.  I lived my life trying to perform for others, perform for the Father thinking I could gain His love.  What a lie that was!!

I am loved unconditionally because of what Jesus did for me on the cross.  You are loved unconditionally!!  Let me identify some of those “untruths” and give you scripture to prove it wrong. Read and hear the truth…may it speak to your heart.

1.I cannot resist sin….. “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”  Romans 6:7…..SO, Christ freed me from sin’s control.

2. I feel like God has given up on me….”Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”  Romans 8:1…..SO, I am not condemned either now or in the future.

3.I feel like no one loves me….“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”  Romans 15:7…….SO, I am fully accepted in Christ.

4.I am not a saint you know….“To the church in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ-their Lord and ours.”  1 Corinthians 1:2…SO, All those who are in Christ are saints.

5. I am so inferior….“Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.  If the foot should say ‘Because I am not a hand, I don’t belong to the body.’  And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body…As it is, there are many parts, but one body.”  I Corinthians 12:14-16, 20   SO, I am a part of Christ’s body equal to all.

Isn’t is wonderful to realize who we really are IN CHRIST?  We have to know this, commit this to our heart and remind ourselves these truths over and over.  The enemy would prefer that we did not know these truths, thus rendering us “unusable”.  When we have this confidence, we choose life and we choose love.  We cannot help it, it is a natural by-product.

I will continue to share these truths from the Word through these next few entries.  I believe that I need to review it again, and someone else needs to be reminded as well.

Be blessed dear ones!

IN CHRIST ALONE

Isaiah 55:8-9
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