LOVE AND FORGIVENESS

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

John 15:13,14 KJV

Jesus not only loves us unconditionally and died for our sins on the cross, He also forgave us while He was still hanging on the cross with the blood flowing down His body.  He had been cursed, ridiculed, rejected and beaten beyond recognition yet He still walked that long lonely road to Calvary and died for us.

I’ve heard sermons about the physical torture that Jesus endured for us but I have never heard a sermon about the pain in our precious Saviour’s heart.  I believe that every time they pounded a nail into His hands, He felt that excruciating pain in His heart.  He was alone and I believe He died of a broken heart.

Even God couldn’t look at His Son while He was hanging on the cross dying for us.  Jesus had taken our sins on Him and God can’t look on sin so He had to turn away from His beloved Son.  I believe that not only broke the heart of our Saviour, it also broke the heart of our Heavenly Father and He cried.

Would you send your son to war knowing in advance he was going to be killed?  Of course you wouldn’t but that is what God did.  He knew His Son was going to be killed but because He loves you and me so much He gave His beloved Son to pay the penalty for our sins and die on the cross.  What amazing love!

Heavenly Father, we come to You with grateful hearts for Your compassion and love for us.  Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross for our sins and paying the price we could never have paid.  I love You so much.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 30, 2016

HE SET US FREE

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

John 19:30 KJV

We don’t have to live a defeated life and be in bondage to satan because when Jesus said “It is finished”, He set us free from the bondage of satan. We read in the Bible.  “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1).

As soon as satan attacks us we need to cry out to Jesus and ask Him to help us.  One of the things that would make satan very happy is if he can discourage us so much that we stop serving Jesus.  We must not let that happen!  We must stay on the battlefield for Jesus.  He stayed on the battlefield for us.

Jesus left His home, His Father and all that He had to come to earth and die on the cross for our sins so we can live in Heaven.  There is no greater love than the love God and Jesus have for us.  John W. Peterson wrote a beautiful and inspiring cantata about Jesus “No Greater Love”.  What a loving Saviour we have!

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us and thank You for Jesus.  What a privilege You have given me to serve Your beloved Son.  I love You, Heavenly Father and I appreciate all You have done for me and all You do for me every day.  Thank You for adopting me.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 29, 2016

DO THEY KNOW

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”

John 13:34 KJV

Peter Raymond Scholtes wrote the beautiful hymn “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love”.  What about our family, our friends and everyone we see, do they know we are Christians by our love?  We must love one another.  Loving one another is not an option; it is a commandment from Jesus.

If we want people to be kind to us and love us, we had better be kind to them and love them.  It is so true that you get back what you give out.  We need to search our heart and see if we have hurt someone and if we have, we need to ask God to forgive us and ask the person to forgive us.

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us so much You gave Your Son to die on the cross for our sins.  Jesus, thank You for loving us and dying for us.  I pray for everyone who is discouraged and hurting.  Please comfort and encourage them as You have done for me.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 28, 2016

THE PRAYER OF EVERY CHRISTIAN

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

Psalm 51:10 KJV

Our Scripture verse should be the prayer of every Christian.  We are living in a world that is filled with hatred, violence, drugs, sex and all other things that hurt our Heavenly Father.  It is so easy to point the finger of guilt at others but it’s a lot harder for us to admit we hurt God and fail Him.

As one of my pastors said in a sermon, “If you will make sure your heart is in right standing with God, you won’t have time to point the finger of guilt at others and condemn them”.  The pastor is so right because it is a full time job making sure my own heart is in right standing with God.

We need to be very selective about our close friends.  We are to love one another and treat each other with kindness but we need to be careful about who we choose to be our close friends.  None of us are perfect and that includes me but we need to be sure our close friends love Jesus.

Just as we can have parents but not love them so we can have Jesus as our Saviour but not love Him.  Jesus deserves our love, all of our time and our talents and He should be first in our heart and life.  Nothing or nobody should come before Jesus.  He is the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!

Heavenly Father, please forgive us for the times we fail You and hurt You.  Help us to be children that make You happy instead of children that bring sadness to You.  Please search my heart and if there is anything that hurts You, I’m sorry.  Please forgive me.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 27, 2016

NOW WHAT

“So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.”

Matthew 20:16 KJV

All of us who have invited Jesus into our heart to be our personal Saviour are called to live so others will see the difference Jesus has made in our heart and life.  However, if God chooses us to be a missionary, a pastor, a Sunday school teacher or anything else, we are to serve Him with all our heart.

On October 4, 1998 when God chose me to be a missionary I walked down the aisle to the altar during the invitation time.  Pastor David took my hand and prayed the most beautiful prayer for me.  He told me not to wait until God told me what He wanted me to do but to start telling people Jesus loves them.

Many years ago when I lived in Texas my pastor preached a sermon on happiness.  Pastor Byron said “If you want to fly higher than a kite, start bragging on Jesus”.  Since I started telling people how much Jesus loves them and how wonderful He is, I really feel like I am flying higher than a kite.

Joy comes from being in the presence of Jesus (Psalm 16:11) but happiness comes from being in the center of God’s will and doing what He tells us to do.  We make our own happiness by obeying God.  Some times people blame God for things but we have a free will and we are the ones who choose how to live.

You might wonder now what after you are saved.  Start telling people how much Jesus loves them.  Be an encouragement to your pastor and family and it is very important that people see the difference Jesus has made in your heart and life.  Does your family see the difference?  Are you spreading the love of Jesus?

Joanne Lowe

June 26, 2016

IN THE BEGINNING

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Genesis 1:1 KJV

We know that everything God does is perfect because He is perfect so there was joy, peace and happiness on earth until Adam and Eve disobeyed Him and sin entered the world.  However, instead of pointing the finger of guilt at Adam and Eve, we must remember none of us are perfect.

All of us sin and hurt God but because He is a compassionate, forgiving and loving Father and loves us unconditionally He forgives us when we hurt Him.  There are times when we cause our own problems and unhappiness because we disobey Him.  I believe we hurt Him many times and aren’t aware of it.

I’m reminded of my Mother who said to me many times “Joanne, it doesn’t matter what I say, you’re going to do what you want to do.”  If we will listen with our heart, we will hear our Heavenly Father saying to us “It doesn’t matter what I say because you’re going to do what you want to do”.

Yes, I hurt my Mother many times because I disobeyed her and I have also hurt God because I didn’t do what He told me to do or I did something He told me not to do.  Before you point the finger of guilt at me, search your own heart.  Have you hurt your parents and God because you didn’t obey them?

Jesus told us that He came that we might have an abundant life (John 10:10).  Unless we obey what our Heavenly Father tells us to do, we won’t have a happy and abundant life.  It is time we stop hurting God and start obeying Him.  God has done so much for us and we should do all we can do to make Him happy.

Joanne Lowe

June 25, 2016

ONE DAY

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 KJV

One day there will be no more heartaches or sorrow.  There will be no more crying and no more beating of children and spouses because one day Jesus is coming back for us.  All the yelling, cursing and terror will be gone and we will have peace forever.  How I long for that day!

Pastor John Wilbur Chapman wrote one of my favorite hymns “One Day”.  “Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me; Buried, He carried my sins far away; Rising, He justified freely forever; One day He’s coming-O glorious day!”  Think about it.  We are going to see Jesus face to face and be with Him.

Jesus Who had never sinned died on the cross for our sins so we may have the privilege of being saved and living in Heaven with Him for all eternity.  What a Saviour!  What a Friend, this Jesus of Nazareth!  All hail, King Jesus!  Worthy is the Lamb of God!  He is the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!

What a privilege is ours to be loved by the Saviour of the world.  If you ever think nobody loves you or cares about you, remember the cross where Jesus was crucified for your sins because He loves you unconditionally.  Again, and let this sink into your heart, Jesus loves you!

Joanne Lowe

June 24, 2016

A COMMANDMENT

“These things I command you, that ye love one another.”

John 15:17 KJV

Joy comes from being in the presence of Jesus but we make our own happiness when we obey what Jesus tells us to do.  We read in the Bible “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:17).  There are times that we cause our own unhappiness by being disobedient to Jesus.

Loving one another unconditionally is not an option; it is a commandment from Jesus.  How dare you and I go to a Holy God and ask Him to forgive us when we hurt Him if we aren’t willing to forgive those who have hurt us?  None of us are perfect.  All of us sin and hurt God at times. 

One of the things that has helped me so much in the area of forgiveness is a sermon a pastor preached.  He said “If you will make sure your own heart is clean before God, you won’t have the time to judge and condemn other people”.  My pastor was right.  It is a full time job making sure my own heart is clean.

Where would we be if Jesus had said He would never forgive us for what we did?  We would be on our way to hell with no hope of redemption.  However because our precious Saviour loves us unconditionally, He asked His Father to forgive us even while He was hanging on the cross.  What an amazing love!

Heavenly Father, forgive us for not always doing what we have been commanded to do.  Search my heart and if there is anything that hurts You, please let me know so I can repent and get my heart right with You.  I love You, dear Father.  Thank You for adopting me into Your family.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 23, 2016

WHERE IS HEAVEN

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

John 14:3 KJV

A little boy asked his family and friends where his grandmother had gone when she died and they told him she went to Heaven.  The boy wanted to know exactly where Heaven is and nobody could tell him.  Jesus gave us the answer in our Scripture verse.  He said that where He is, we will be with Him. 

It doesn’t matter the exact place, what matters is we will be with Jesus forever.  Are you shouting with joy yet?  Heaven is going to be filled with joy, praises, love and happiness and best of all we will be with Jesus.  We will also be reunited with our loved ones who have died.

Are you going to Heaven when you die?  Don’t miss out on spending eternity with the One Who loves you so much He died on the cross for your sins.  Open the door of your heart and let Jesus come into your heart.  He will be the best Friend you have ever known and He will never leave you, not even for a minute.

Joanne Lowe

June 22, 2016

ARE WE TRUSTING HIM

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.  Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.”

Isaiah 26:3,4 KJV

We say we trust Jesus but do we really trust Him?  One of my pastors said in a sermon about trusting Jesus “When we sit down on a chair we don’t stop to wonder if it will hold us, we just sit down”.  When my pastor used that illustration, it made me search my heart to see if I really trust Jesus.

We can tell others we trust Jesus.  We can even convince ourselves that we trust Jesus but He can see into our heart and He knows if we really trust Him or if we are just giving Him lip service.  I believe there are many times that we hurt Him and break His heart and we’re not even aware we have hurt Him.

A teenage boy said to his parents after they came home from church “You go to church, teach Sunday school and sing in the choir, but when you come home you criticize the pastor and the sermon.  If that is what being a Christian means, I don’t want any part of it.”  How that must have hurt Jesus.

It is important that people, especially our family see and hear the difference that Jesus makes in our heart after we invite Him into our heart to be our personal Saviour.  When our family looks at us and hears us talking do they see and hear the love of Jesus in us?  If not, we are hurting Jesus and breaking His heart.

Heavenly Father, please forgive us for trusting a chair more than we trust Jesus.  Help us to live so that others will see Jesus in our smiles and hear His unconditional love for them in the loving words we say.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 21, 2016

SECURE IN HIS HAND

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.  I and my Father are one.”

John 10:27-30 KJV

One of the definitions I found for secure in Webster’s Dictionary is “providing protection from danger or harm”.  That is what Jesus does for us.  He protects us from danger and harm.  I can remember singing a hymn about being safe in the hollow of His hand.  What a precious promise to our battle scarred heart.

Have you allowed Jesus to take your hand and lead you?  We can trust Jesus to lead us in the right path.  Do we really trust Jesus?  We say we do but do we really trust Him?  If we do, we should not hesitate to let Him lead us.  Jesus is not only our Saviour, He is also our Guide and our best Friend.

Joanne Lowe

June 20, 2016

WE LOVE YOU, HEAVENLY FATHER

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16 KJV

Heavenly Father, we love You so much.  Happy Father’s Day to You!  Thank You for being a tender compassionate and loving Father.  We never have to worry, dear Father if You are going to yell at us or if You are going to hit us.  We know that You love us unconditionally and that You are a protective Father.

Thank You for providing the way of salvation through Your beloved Son.  Thank You for adopting us into Your family.  You have proven Yourself over and over to be a Father Who cares about us.  I have lost track of the many times You have rocked me and dried my tears with tender kisses.  Thank You.

You don’t just love us who are living in America, You love everyone in the world and Your heart is moved with compassion when we are hurting.  I know that it hurts You when people ignore Your Son and refuse to open the door of their heart and let Him come in to be their Saviour.

Please melt hardened hearts so they will let Jesus into their heart.  Speak to their hearts and help them to realize how much You love them.  May they see the love of Jesus in those of us who claim to be saved.  Everyone in the world needs to know how much Jesus loves them.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 19, 2016

SHOUTS OF JOY

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 KJV

I watched the Hoppers sing “It’s Shouting Time in Heaven” on You Tube and I got so excited.  However, the excitement I felt as I watched them singing is nothing compared to the shouts of joy that we are going to hear when Jesus comes back for us and we will be with Him forever!  Think about it, FOREVER!

People cheer for their favorite sports team and they cheer for their children but nothing we have ever heard will equal the shouts of joy we are going to hear when we get to Heaven.  The most wonderful thing about the shouts of joy is they will never end.  We will shout for all eternity because of Jesus.

No matter how many dark valleys and crises we have in our life and no matter how many tears we shed and how often we get discouraged and feel like giving up, just knowing that we will be with Jesus forever should be enough to make us shout for joy and stay on the battlefield for Jesus.

Heavenly Father, we praise You and thank You for giving Your Son to die on the cross for our sins so we will have the privilege of living in Heaven for all eternity.  Thank You, dear Jesus for loving us so much that You died on the cross for our sins.  One day I will see You face to face!  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 18, 2016

THANK YOU FOR PASTORS

“We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;”

1 Thessalonians 1:2, 3 KJV

Pastors, don’t be discouraged if you don’t think you’re helping people.  Many years ago, my pastor preached a sermon on serving Jesus.  My pastor said “If you want to fly higher than a kite, start bragging on Jesus”.  My pastor was so right.  Since I have been serving Jesus, I feel like I’m flying higher than a kite.

We need to pray for and encourage our pastors and families.  One pastor said “Please pray for my wife because she is the one who encourages me when I get discouraged”.  There were times when one of my pastors would call his wife up to stand beside him as he prayed for her and thanked God for her.

Heavenly Father, we praise You and thank You for our pastors.  Please help us to be a comfort and encouragement to them.  I pray for every pastor’s family that You would bless them.  Please let our pastors know how much You love and appreciate them.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 17, 2016

GOD CAN DO ANYTHING

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”

Jeremiah 32:27 KJV

Have you ever been in the middle of a crisis or in a situation that seemed impossible to conquer?  There is nothing too hard for God.  In fact, God tells us that there is nothing too hard for Him to do.  When we are young and growing up, we think our dads can do anything.  We see them as strong people.

While it is not true that a man can do anything, it is true that our Heavenly Father can do anything.  Our Heavenly Father not only loves us unconditionally, He is also very protective of us and He comforts us and encourages us.  He has rocked me in His arms many times and dried my tears with kisses.

Our Heavenly Father loves us so much He gave His Son to die on the cross for our sins so we may be saved and live in Heaven for all eternity.  What a day of rejoicing it is going to be when we go to Heaven and see our Heavenly Father and Jesus.  We will also be reunited with our loved ones.

If you are going through a crisis or situation that seems impossible to conquer, ask God to help you.  He loves you and cares about you and He will help you.  Remember, there is nothing so hard that God can’t do it.  He will also comfort and encourage you.

Joanne Lowe

June 16, 2016

ARE WE HONORING JESUS

“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.  He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.”

John 5:22,23 KJV

Are we honoring Jesus?  How do we honor Jesus?  We honor Him by giving Him first place in our heart, in our time, in our life and in everything we do.  Jesus must come before anything or anyone.  If we don’t have time to spend with Jesus, we should not read the newspaper or turn on the television.

We also honor Him by respecting Him.  One of the definitions I found for respect in Webster’s Dictionary is “a feeling or understanding that someone or something is important, serious, etc., and should be treated in an appropriate way.”  I wonder if we always treat Jesus in an appropriate way.

There are times when we put Jesus on the shelf like a puppet and only take Him down when we want Him to do something for us or we need Him.  I believe there are times when we hurt Jesus and break His heart and don’t even realize it.  When we neglect to thank Him and tell Him we love Him, we hurt Him.

One of the greatest ways we can honor Jesus is by serving Him.  That means that we have to shut off the television set, get out of our comfort zone and tell people that Jesus loves them so much He died on the cross for their sins.  It’s not enough to tell them Jesus loves them; we need to prove it to them by our actions.

Joanne Lowe

June 15, 2016

DO WE TRUST HIM

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”

John 14:1 KJV

I believe there are times when we hurt Jesus and break His heart without even realizing we are doing it.  We say we trust Jesus but do we trust Him?  When He asks us to do something, do we do it immediately?  We can always trust Jesus to help us do what He wants us to do.

If Jesus lays it on our heart to go visit someone, do we go when He speaks to us or do we continue watching television?  If someone calls us while we are watching television, do we answer or do we let the answering machine record the call?  I am so glad that Jesus doesn’t have an answering machine.

When we don’t know how to do what He has asked us to do then we need to ask Him for directions.  “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3).  When Jesus gives us something to do, He will help us do it.

The most important thing that we need to trust Jesus for is our salvation.  Have you invited Jesus into your heart to be your personal Saviour?  If not, I urge you to say yes to Jesus today before it is too late.  He loves you so much that He died for your sins on the cross and He will never leave you. 

Joanne Lowe

June 14, 2016

HE DIDN’T KNOW

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16 KJV

As I watched the news report on the television yesterday about the mass shooting, it broke my heart and I got tears in my eyes.  What a tragedy!  All those people killed and there was no reason to kill them.  Even though I am very angry at the person who killed them, he didn’t know that God loves him.

Someone might have told the man that God loves him but the man didn’t believe it.  We can tell people twenty four hours a day that God loves them and that Jesus loves them so much He died on the cross for their sins but it needs to enter their heart.  This is why I tell you over and over that Jesus loves you.

We are so quick to point the finger of guilt at people but many times we refuse to accept the fact that we also hurt people and break the heart of our Saviour.  We need to understand that none of us are perfect.  We all sin and hurt Jesus at times.  However, when we do sin, Jesus pleads our case with God.

We read in the Bible.  “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.  And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” (1 John 2:1).  We have a compassionate loving and forgiving Heavenly Father.  Thank You, Jesus, for pleading our case with the Father.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for not always spreading Your unconditional love like we should.  I pray for everyone who is hurting.  Please comfort and encourage them as You have done for me through the years.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 13, 2016

GOD’S UNIVERSITY

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV

We can graduate from every university with high honors but if we don’t study and graduate from God’s University, all the other graduations are meaningless.  There are many people who are hurting, lost and confused.  Some are even suicidal and they need to know there is a Saviour Who cares about them.

It is very important that we put into practice the things we learn in the Bible.  If we don’t, it would be like someone who had studied for years and earned the right to be a doctor but that person never treated people.  There is good news.  Jesus is the great Physician and He treats us every day.

Does God approve of us?  Does He approve of the places we go, the things we watch on television, the things we say and the things we do?  Are we making our Heavenly Father happy or are we hurting Him and breaking His heart?  What about you?  Are you enrolled in God’s University?

I have not had the privilege of attending Bible college but I have been attending God’s University every day for eleven years with the Holy Spirit teaching me.  The desire of my heart is to make Jesus happy and spread His unconditional love to every person I meet.  Jesus loves every person in the world.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the privilege of attending Your University.  Please help me to put into practice the things I learn.  May others always see Jesus in me in the things I do and in the words I say.  I love You, dear Father.  Thank You for adopting me into Your family.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 12, 2016

HE IS A COMPASSIONATE SAVIOUR

“The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.”

Psalm 145:8 KJV

I submit to you on the authority of the Word of God that Jesus not only loves you, He is also gracious, full of compassion, slow to anger and of great mercy.  There is nothing you can do that would make Jesus stop loving you.  It doesn’t matter how many times we fail Him and hurt Him, Jesus still loves us.

What kind of love is this?  This is an amazing compassionate and unconditional love that comes from the heart of our loving Saviour.  Have you got it yet?  Jesus loves you.  Yes, I’m talking to you.  Jesus loves you.  He loved you yesterday.  He loves you today and He will love you tomorrow.

Just as we want to know Jesus loves us, He wants to know we love Him.  I think we sometimes forget that Jesus has feelings too.  Have you told Jesus today that you love Him?  Have you thanked Him for dying for your sins on the cross and for never leaving you?  Let’s make Jesus happy today.

Joanne Lowe

June 11, 2016

THE DARKNESS OF DESPAIR

“For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.”

Psalm 18:28 KJV

If we have accepted Jesus as our personal Saviour, we won’t have to live in the darkness of despair because not only is Jesus the Light of the world, He is also the Light in our heart.  It can be dark and storming outside but His Light is still shining brightly in our heart (John 8:12).

However, there are times when we take our eyes off Jesus and put them on our circumstances.  When we take our eyes off of our Saviour, then satan attacks us with doubts, confusion and fear.  “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3).

We don’t have to live in despair because Jesus told us that He has come that we might have an abundant life (John 10:10).  May God help us to keep our eyes on Jesus.  Our precious Saviour should have first place in our heart, in our time, in our life and in everything we do.  He deserves to have the first place.

Joanne Lowe

June 10, 2016

ARE WE GUILTY

“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:”

Luke 6:37 KJV

I don’t know about you but I have to admit there have been times when I judged and condemned people and refused to forgive them.  How I must have hurt Jesus and broke His heart because He told us that what we do to others we do to Him.  Are we guilty of hurting Jesus at times because of the way we treat people?

One day we will stand before a Holy God and give an account of the way we treated His Son.  Will we have to hang our head in shame because of the way we hurt Him?  May God help us to love one another unconditionally as Jesus loves us.  Jesus has commanded us to love one another unconditionally.

We read in the Bible.  “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34).  Are we doing what He has told us to do or are we being disobedient and hurting Jesus because we aren’t loving others unconditionally?

Joanne Lowe

June 9, 2016

HE DIED ALONE

“Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?”

Matthew 26:53 KJV

Have you ever felt all alone?  Jesus understands how it feels to be all alone because when He was hanging on the cross with His precious blood flowing down His body He was all alone.  The most amazing thing to me is that He could have come down from that cross but He didn’t come down.

Rev. Overholt wrote one of my favorite hymns “Ten Thousand Angels”.  The words in this hymn describe the unconditional love of our Saviour for us.  “He could have called ten thousand angels to destroy the world and set Him free.  He could have called ten thousand angels, But He died alone for you and me.”

Have you allowed it to go from head knowledge to heart knowledge that Jesus loves you so much that He not only died for you, He died alone.  He really was alone.  Jesus had taken our sins on Him and God can’t look on sin so God had to turn away from His own Son.  How that must have broken His heart.

Heavenly Father, You are a tender compassionate and loving Father.  We love You and appreciate all You have done for us and for giving Your Son to die for our sins.  I love You so much, dear Jesus and I long for the day when I will see You face to face.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 8, 2016

WE ARE HURTING OUR CHILDREN

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Ephesians 2:8,9 KJV

We sing songs about being good so Santa will give us gifts.  However, we are hurting our children because they grow up believing if they are not good, they won’t get any gifts.  I submit to you on the authority of the Word of God that our salvation is a free gift and it comes from the heart of God.

We need to explain to our children that it makes God happy when they are good but He still loves them even when they do things to hurt Him.  It is very important that we set the example of how to live so our children can see Jesus in us by the things we do and the words we say.

When I was young my Mother used to say to me “Don’t do what I do.  Do what I say”.  It doesn’t work that way.  Our children are going to do what they see us do.  What kind of example are we setting for our children?  Do they know we love Jesus by our loving words and our actions?

We can’t be good enough to deserve our salvation.  We can’t work our way into Heaven and giving our money to charity will not get us to Heaven.  It is only when the cleansing blood of Jesus is applied to our heart for the forgiveness of our sins that we are saved and it is a free gift from our Heavenly Father.

I read about a lady who died and someone said “She never hurt anyone and she never said anything bad about anyone”.  When I read that it brought tears to my eyes because I have hurt people but God still loves me and has given me the gift of salvation.

Joanne Lowe

June 7, 2016

HAVE WE ENCOURAGED JESUS

“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

Matthew 25:40 KJV

Jesus has feelings and He gets discouraged when people reject Him.  He has been knocking at the door of some people’s heart for years and they have refused to let Him come into their heart.  Have we encouraged Jesus?  If we have encouraged one another, then we have encouraged our precious Saviour.

How do we encourage one another?  We encourage them by doing kind and loving things for them and by saying loving words to them.  If we know people who are discouraged, we need to reach out to them with comfort and encouragement before they ask us.

Isn’t that what Jesus does for us?  Jesus sees into our heart and He knows the dark valleys and crises we go through and He is faithful to pick us up in His loving arms and carry us until the pain goes away.  Not only does He carry us until the pain goes away, He sets us once again on the mountain top of happiness.

When is the last time you hugged someone and told him or her how much Jesus loves him or her?  If you’re not comfortable hugging them physically, hug them with loving words and actions.  Remember when we hug one another, we are hugging Jesus.  Have you hugged Jesus today with words and actions?

It’s important that we study our Bible and learn about people, places and things but it is much more important to learn about the heart of Jesus.  If ever someone deserves to be happy, it is Jesus, the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!

Joanne Lowe

June 6, 2016

ONLY GOD KNOWS

“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”

Mark 13:32 KJV

I heard someone say on television that Jesus was coming back on this date.  I forget what date he said.  However, that is not true.  Thank God that one day Jesus is coming back for us but we don’t know when He is coming for us.  Jesus doesn’t know, only God knows.  How I long for that day.

The date isn’t that important.  What is important is that we are ready to meet Jesus when He comes back for us.  Are we ready to meet Him if He comes today?  Are you ready to meet Him if He comes while you are reading this devotion?  I think we forget that He can come any minute and we need to be ready.

When we go on vacation, we plan for it.  We buy the things we need and save money for the trip but when Jesus comes back we won’t have the time to do anything because we don’t know when He is coming back (1 Corinthians 15:52).  We should plan for our future but we need to be ready to meet Jesus.

When Jesus comes back for us will we be able to look Him in the eye or will we have to hang our head in shame because of the things we did and said?  None of us are perfect and that includes me.  There is only one perfect person who ever lived or ever will live and His Name is Jesus.

However when we do sin and hurt God, Jesus pleads our case with the Father (1 John 2:1).  Thank God for His unconditional love, His compassion and His forgiveness.  O how our Heavenly Father loves us.  He loves us so much He gave His beloved Son to die on the cross for our sins.  You are loved unconditionally.   

Joanne Lowe

June 5, 2016

GOD’S EMBRACE

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV

A pastor friend sent me an email and prayed that I would feel God’s embrace.  I am so thankful that God does embrace us just as parents embrace their children.  How sad it would be if God never embraced us, but He does.  It breaks my heart to know there are some children who are never hugged by their parents.

Thank You, loving Heavenly Father, for hugging us and rocking us when our hearts are breaking.  You are a tender loving and compassionate Father and I love You and appreciate You.  I pray for every person who is hurting and needs comfort.  Please encourage and comfort them.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 4, 2016

HE WEPT

“When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him?  They said unto him, Lord, come and see.  Jesus wept.  Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!”

John 11:33-35 KJV

The heart of Jesus is filled with compassion.  He loves us very much and when we are hurting, He hurts.  When we cry, He weeps with us and when we are happy He rejoices with us.  When Jesus was here on His mission He experienced the same emotions we feel so He understands.

He knows how it feels to have someone say things about Him that are not true.  He has been cursed, rejected, spat on, beaten beyond recognition and nailed to the cross for our sins.  Many years ago, someone said “If God really loved me, He wouldn’t have let my granddaughter die.”

If we will listen with our heart, we will hear our Heavenly Father say “If you really loved Me, you would not have killed my Son”.  If ever someone has a right to be angry, it is God.  Parents, you know how you feel when someone says or does something that hurts your children.  Think how God feels when His Son is hurt.

Heavenly Father, we know that we have hurt You at times even though we didn’t do it on purpose.  Please forgive us and help us to be children that make You happy instead of children that hurt You and break Your heart.  Thank You for Jesus and for loving us.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 3, 2016

THERE ARE CONDITIONS

“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

John 15:7 KJV

Just as there are conditions to asking for something, there are also conditions to being saved.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).  We must believe in Jesus and trust Him for our salvation.

People try to buy their way into heaven.  They also try to get into Heaven by doing good works but it is only when the blood of Jesus is applied to our heart that our sins are forgiven.  We need to be sure we are in right standing with God.  It is more important than anything in the world.

If Jesus comes back for us while you are reading this devotion, is your heart right before God?  It is a full time job to be sure there is nothing in my heart that hurts God.  As one of my pastors said in a sermon, “If you will make sure your heart is right before God, you won’t have time to judge others”.

Heavenly Father, please search my heart and if there is anything that hurts You, reveal it to me so I can repent and stop hurting You.  Dear Father, I pray for every pastor.  Please encourage and comfort them.  Let them know how much You love and appreciate them.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen. 

Joanne Lowe

June 2, 2016

HE FEELS OUR PAIN

“And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.  And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I?  and another said, Is it I?  And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.  The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if had never been born.”

Mark 14:18-21 KJV

Jesus not only understands how we feel when we have been betrayed, He also feels our pain.  He was betrayed and He understands that it feels like someone plunged a knife deep into our heart.  However, unlike us Jesus had never hurt anyone or did anything wrong and He did not deserve to be betrayed.

Yes, Jesus understands when we feel like we can’t give another smile or take another step and we want to go to bed and stay there.  There is good news.  Not only does Jesus understand how we feel, He will comfort us, encourage us and help us take the next step and give another smile.  He loves us very much.

Several years ago I received an email from a pastor who was so discouraged that He felt like leaving His church.  Instead of the congregation encouraging the pastor and his family, they criticized them.  It is very important that we pray for our pastor and our pastor’s family and also encourage them.

The next time you are hurting allow Jesus to pick you up and carry you through the dark valley.  Not only will He carry you through the dark valley, He will be faithful to set you on the mountain top of happiness once again.  Not only is He our Saviour, He is also the best Friend we will ever have.

Joanne Lowe

June 1, 2016