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“Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.”

I John 2:24 NKJV

http://bible.com/114/1jn.2.24.nkjv

The gospel message is powerful and not to be forgotten. We need to daily be preaching the gospel to ourselves.

If we forget God's love for us, what is to cause us to worship Him daily?

If we forget our sin, what is to keep us from arrogance and forgetting out need for a savior?

If we forget Jesus' death on the cross, what is to keep us from getting mired in our sin?

If we forget our personal relationship with Christ, what is to keep us from feeling we don't belong to Him?

We must remind ourselves of this precious message daily. This should not be something we emptily rehearse, but truths we cling to and abide in.

The gospel is not a place we visit, it is our home. It is the message we return to. It is a ,estate of comfort. It is a place of safety.

Abide in this truth and we shall abide in Him.

Fear

“So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?””

Hebrews 13:6 NKJV

This is such a wonderful verse. It starts with a bold proclamation of the truth: The LORD is my helper. Then it moves to the appropriate reaction: I will not fear. But, it doesn't stop there. For the truth and the reaction, it continues to the dismissal of worries: What can man do to me?

LORD, often times I let fear hold me back. In many regards, it is fear that has kept me from becoming the godly woman I long to be.

I suffer from fear of how people would react. Fear of whether people would still love me. Fear of being rejected by my family. In the world today, these fears seem justified.

But only if I focus on the world. YOU are my helper. I should not fear. How weak is my faith that I can only say "should" and not "will"?

LORD, help me to trust you even more than I do. Help me to accept your help. Help me to not fear and walk on this path set before me.

You, O Christ, are me beloved. You are mine and I am yours.

Time Alone With God

I love it when God speaks to me through reading His Word. Today was one of those days that something jumped out at me from what seemed like it might be an unlikely place - Leviticus 16.  This passage details the rituals for the day of atonement.  This was the one day a year that the high priest was allowed to approach God in the holy place to make atonement for the people of Israel.  From this passage, I was able to draw inspiration for my daily time alone with God.

1. We can (and should) approach God daily
   Aaron, the high priest, was only to approach God one day a year.  When the Jesus died on the cross for us, the curtain at the entrance of the holy place was torn in two and we have access to God every day.
   We are told in Matthew 6:33 to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" This should be our practice each and every day to seek God and to seek Him deliberately and intentionally. Do you spend time alone with God every day?
2. We should prepare ourselves to approach God
   Aaron had holy garments he had to wear to approach God (Leviticus 16:4) and he had to make a sacrifice of atonement for himself and his family before he could approach God.
   We don't need to wear special clothes to approach God, but we should still make sure that we prepare our hearts to meet God. Do you prepare your heart before you meet with God? Do you confess your sin and accept His forgiveness? Do you have a special place you go to meet with God where you are free from distraction and you can focus on what God has for you today?
3. We need to prepare ourselves to re-enter our world after we have met with God
   Aaron and the priests had to change out of their holy garments, bathe, and change into their regular clothes before reentering the camp with the rest of the people.
   This really struck me as I read it this morning. Sometimes I finish my time alone with God with just the thought "it's over" and move on with my day. That does a great disservice to my time with God. Today, I was conscious and intentional about how I concluded my time alone with God. I prayed for my day and those around me as I prepared to leave my special place.

Are you intentional about spending time alone with God every day? Do you prepare your heart for your time with Him? Do you prepare your heart for your time afterward? I hope you do and that you draw nearer to Him every day!

Sad, But True

It's sad to think that back in those days it was out of the ordinary for a Jewish man to have spoken to a Samaritan woman.  She was considered unapproachable both because of her nationality and because of her gender. Sometimes it doesn't seem that much has changed today.

Do you feel unapproachable? Know this, dear reader, that nothing about you - not where you from, not who you ar, not what you've done - will keep Jesus from reaching out to you. There's no question in His mind that you are lovable. There's no question is His mind that you are loved.

Knowing What You Really Need

As Jesus questioned the Samaritan woman at the well, he asked her to bring her husband. He, of course, knew of her five marriages and that the man she was with was not her husband.

Did he condemn her?

No, of course not. He knew what she really needed. It wasn't a perfect husband. It wasn't the respect of her neighbors who looked downing her because of her past.

He knew she needed a right relationship with God. He knew she need to drink of the living water.

Jesus freely offered what she needed to the Samaritan woman just as He freely offers it to you.

If You Had Known

If I had only known, I would have...

Fill in the blank. If you're like me, you've probably said those forlorn words a number of times.

What blessings have you missed out on because you didn't know?

Jesus' offer to you is the same as His offer to the Samaritan woman - living water, restoration of your soul.

Now, you know.

Becoming Less

Heavenly Father, I desire to make Jesus more important in my life. Help me to humble myself and set aside my agenda and make myself less important so that Jesus will be lifted up!

Amen

This is the way

How did God love the world?

He gave His one and only son.

Do you believe?

Knowing the Subject Matter

When you talk of Jesus, is it just words?

When you read the Bible, is it just a story?

Dear reader, I pray that God would be alive to you.  That reading the Word would cause you to want to know more - would cause you to want to know Him more!

The Kingdom of God

Do you want to see the kingdom of God?

Or are you content just to see your own kingdom?

It's a matter of perspective...

If you are caught up in the things of this world, you will miss seeing the kingdom of God.

But, if you are born again - born from above - if you let God change your perspective and see things through His eyes, you will see the kingdom of God.

Keeping Secrets

We all have secrets. There are things about us that if someone else were to know them, they might be shocked. This is not so with Jesus. He knows what is in your heart and he knows what is in mine. Dear reader, let's live honestly.

Not Alone

Jesus often went off alone to pray.  But, he also knew there were times to be with others. Even during times like Passover, when the temple would be crowded, Jesus was there.  Don't avoid spending time with others - Jesus didn't.

Saving the Best for Last

Do you sometimes feel like your best days are behind you?  Let it go.  The God who chose you to be his child before the creation of the universe is not finished with you. You've got great days ahead of you! Rejoice and be glad!

Invited

A wedding. 

The glorious celebration of two become one.

Jesus was invited.

Was he invited to yours?

It IS True

Have you ever had a time when you just didn't want to believe something? A time when your doubt or cynicism holds you back from believing? Maybe a gossip has told you something about a friend that can't possibly be true. Maybe you've heard someone else did something and you think there's no possible way they could have played lied that off.

That's where Nathanael was when he was confronted with Jesus.  But Jesus has quickly and easily dispelled his doubt and cynicism. Nathanael joyfully let go and embraced the truth. Will you?

Follow Me

Follow me is such a common refrain today. Follow me on Instagram. Follow me on Twitter.

We want to,have followers. We want to be significant. We want others to think we are important when we ask them to follow us.

On social media, you don't need to do anything other than click to follow somebody. Just click and then you will be able to see everything they do or say.  All without leaving the comfort of your smartphone.

That's not what Jesus was looking for. When he asks you to follow him, it is because he thinks you are important. You must leave the comfort of your smartphone and be willing to give up everything to follow him. When he asks you to follow him, it's not because he wants one more follower, it's because he wants you!

Finding but not keeping

If you have found Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, do you keep Him to yourself?

Go and share Him with your friends and family.

Let those you love so dearly know of the incredible love of Christ!

Expecting

John the Baptist announced Jesus' coming. 

But, Jesus' public ministry had not started yet. 

No disciples.

No sermons.

No miracles.

Jesus had not done anything... yet.

John knew what Jesus was going to do. He knew the promises and he believed them.

Are you waiting for God to work in your life?

Trust His word.

Trust His promises.

Trust that He causes all things to work together for the good of hose who love Him and are called according to His purposes.  Even if you haven't seen it happen... yet.

Humility

Are you humble?

Do you consider others better than yourself?

How far would you stoop to help someone else?

John was humble before Jesus.

Jesus humbled himself and died on the cross for us.

Are you humble?

Who Are You?

Who are you?

Woman? Daughter? Wife? Mother? Business woman? Student?

The answers are myriad.

Do people look at your life and see Christ?

Or do they see the many hats you wear - one of which is Christian?

Who, dear reader, are you?

Moving In

Do you have visitors coming? Are they staying with you or will they be staying nearby? How long will they be staying?

It may be that if your visitors are staying nearby, you won't actually see much of them during their visit. You'll go about your life as if they aren't even here.

Jesus came not just for a visit. He came to reside with us.  He won't just be nearby, he will be with us. Spend time with him. Enjoy his presence. Le him affect your life.

The Light

Happy New Year!

When looking back on the year that just finished, it may seem like there was a lot of darkness.

The way things are going, it may seem like there's a lot of darkness ahead.

But fret not.  

The light shines on!

Darkness has not mastered it!

Darkness WILL NOT master it.

THE LIGHT will shine on!