JESUS KNEW

“And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid.  And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,  Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:  And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.”

Mark 10:32-34 KJV

Jesus knew in advance what was going to happen to Him.  He knew they were going to mock Him, scourge Him, spit upon Him and kill Him but He still walked that long and lonely road to Calvary and there allowed them to crucify Him as He suffered a pain and an agony that you and I will never experience.

Our precious Saviour was beaten beyond recognition for you and for me.  It is very difficult for me to type this devotion because I don’t like to think about the pain He endured for me.  Has it gone from head knowledge to heart knowledge that Jesus loves you so much He suffered all that pain and agony for you?

God knew His beloved Son was going to be beaten beyond recognition and crucified for us.  How it must have broken the heart of our Heavenly Father to watch His Son leave on His mission.  I believe Jesus and our Heavenly Father hugged for a long time with tears in Their eyes before Jesus left.

Would you send your son to war knowing he was going to be killed?  Of course you wouldn’t but God did.  Nobody loves us as much as God and Jesus love us and nobody ever will.  What unconditional love comes from Their heart for you and for me.

Joanne Lowe

January 22, 2015

THERE REALLY IS NO GREATER LOVE

“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

God doesn’t just love us, He so loves us.  One of the definitions for so in Webster’s Dictionary is “to a great extent or degree”.  We say we know He loves us but none of us realize just how much God loves us.  Think about it!  God loves us so much He gave His only Son to die for us.  What mercy and what love!

John W. Peterson wrote the beautiful and inspiring cantata “No Greater Love”.  There really is no greater love than the love of God and Jesus.  What an unconditional and compassionate love for you and for me came from the heart of God when He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins so we can be saved.

Jesus didn’t have to die on the cross for our sins.  God didn’t make Him go to the cross.  Jesus left His Father, His home and all that He had to come to earth to die for us.  Jesus loves His Father and wanted to fulfill the mission His Father had entrusted to Him.  Are we fulfilling our mission that God has given us?

Heavenly Father, I pray that all of us will fulfill the mission that You have entrusted to us.  May we be willing to turn off the television, get out of our comfort zones and serve the One Who loves us so much He died for us.  Jesus, thank You for dying for me.  I love You so much.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

January 21, 2015

ETERNALLY HIS

“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 11:27-30 KJV

If we have invited Jesus into our heart to be our personal Saviour, we are His sheep and He knows us.  Think about it, Jesus, the Saviour of the world knows us personally.  What an encouragement it is to our weary battle scarred heart to know that nobody can pluck us out of His hand.  We are eternally His.

Rusty Goodman wrote one of the most beautiful hymns I have ever heard “Who Am I”.  Have you ever really thought about this?  Who are we that Jesus would willingly walk that long and lonely road to Calvary and allow them to crucify Him on the cross for our sins?  Jesus had never sinned yet He died for us.

Don’t ever let satan or anyone else tell you that Jesus doesn’t love you because it is a lie!  If Jesus doesn’t love you, He would never have died for you on the cross.  Jesus not only loves you, He loves you unconditionally.  There is nothing you could ever do that would make Him stop loving you.

We know Jesus loves us because He proved His love for us when He died for our sins.  The question we need to ask ourselves is “Do I love Jesus and if I do love Him, what am I doing to prove to Him how much I love Him”?  Jesus has called us to serve Him by telling everyone He loves them.  Are we doing it?

Joanne Lowe

January 20, 2015

ARE WE THANKFUL

“And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.  And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests.  And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.  And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?  There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.  And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”

Luke 17:12-19 KJV

I wonder if we are thankful for all God does for us and if we remember to tell Him thank you when He does something for us.  I used to go to Mom’s house and do her laundry for her.  The first three times I washed her clothes she thanked me but she never thanked me again and it hurt my feelings.

How many times do we hurt God’s feelings because we forget to thank Him for all He does for us?  God has feelings because if He didn’t, He would not have sent Jesus into the world to die for us.  Jesus was cursed, spat on, beaten beyond recognition and crucified on the cross for you and for me.

Are we thankful for all God does for us?  If we are thankful, let’s remember to tell God thank You when He does something for us.  If you can’t think of anything to thank Him for, you can thank Him for loving you so much that He sent Jesus to die on the cross for your sins.  God loves you unconditionally.

Joanne Lowe

January 19, 2015

DO WE TRUST JESUS

“The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.”

Nahum 1:7 KJV

We should never expect our family and friends to be perfect and never fail us because all of us, including me, are human and we are not perfect.  Sometimes we hurt people without intending to do so or even realizing we hurt them.  We should always trust Jesus because He is perfect and He will never hurt us or fail us.

Arthur Luther wrote one of my favorite hymns “Jesus Never Fails”.  I believe he wrote this hymn from the depths of his heart.  “Earthly friends may prove untrue, doubts and fears assail; One still loves and cares for you, One Who will not fail”.  I believe all of us know from personal experience that Jesus never fails.

Do we trust Jesus when we are going through crises and dark valleys?  Jesus is faithful to us.  He won’t leave us when we are going through crises and dark valleys.  He will pick us up and carry us through all the dark valleys and will set us once again on the mountain top of happiness. 

Louisa M. R. Stead wrote the inspiring and beautiful hymn “’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”.  Do we trust Jesus even when we are going through difficult times or do we think He is going to fail us?  Jesus has proved to us we can trust Him.  Can Jesus trust us to keep serving Him even when we feel like giving up?

Joanne Lowe

January 18, 2015

FLOWERS AND CARDS

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

John 15:12-14 KJV

Many years ago I called a friend of mine; she was the wife of a pastor I once had, to tell her how much I appreciated all she had done for me.  Her son answered the telephone and I asked to talk to his mother.  He said “Mom died of cancer several months ago”.  I was heartbroken.  I had waited too long to thank her.

It is the same with flowers and cards.  There are times when we wait too long to give flowers or send cards of appreciation to the ones we love.  It’s nice to give flowers and cards to the families who have lost loved ones but the ones who have died don’t see the beautiful flowers or read the kind and loving cards.

What about Jesus?  How often do we tell Him how much we love Him and appreciate Him?  If we will listen with our heart, we will hear Jesus tell us every day how much He loves us and that He loves us unconditionally.  O how Jesus loves us.  He proved how much He loves us when He died on the cross for us.

Joanne Lowe

January 17, 2015

A NEW SONG

“O COME, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”

Psalm 95:1-3 KJV

Every day we should sing a new song of thanksgiving and praise for all Jesus has done for us and for all that He does for us every day.  I was asked to leave a choir and was told that I can’t sing so I’m very glad that He accepts the joyful noise I make to Him when I am singing and praising Him.

One glorious day when God calls me home or Jesus comes back for us, I will have the privilege of singing in the heavenly choir and I will sing on key and not be asked to leave the choir.  Not only will I be able to sing on key, I will praise Jesus and sing in the heavenly choir for all eternity.

If ever someone deserves to be praised and adored, it is Jesus.  He is worthy of our praise.  What a privilege it is to be loved by the Saviour of the world.  Jesus not only loves us, He loves us unconditionally and He never leaves us, not even for a minute.  That should make us shout with joy!  I love You, dear Jesus.

Joanne Lowe

January 16, 2015