GOD WANTS US

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

Genesis 1:1 KJV

God doesn’t need anything or anybody so why did God create the heaven and earth?  It is because He desires fellowship.  God wants us to fellowship with Him.  I heard a sermon on the radio yesterday that really touched my heart.  The pastor said “God wants us”.  It is true God doesn’t need us but God wants us.

Have you ever heard someone say “I wish you had never been born”?  Has someone ever said it to you?  There are parents that do say that to their children.  They might as well take a knife and plunge it as deep as they can into their children’s heart.  I have good news for you.  God loves you and He wants you.

God, the Father of our precious and beautiful Saviour, not only loves us, He also wants us.  He wants us to share our heart with Him, our joys and our sorrows.  God, the Maker of Heaven and earth wants you!  God wants you, pastors.  God wants you, parents, God wants every one of us.  You are precious to God.

When I was in high school someone said to me “You are stupid, ugly and fat.  You will never amount to anything.  You don’t have a right to live.  You should commit suicide because you’re just taking up space in this world.”  Not only did those words hurt me and cripple me emotionally, they also hurt Jesus.

If we will allow it to go from head knowledge to heart knowledge that when we say or do something mean and cruel to someone we are also doing it to Jesus, I don’t think we would say so many words that hurt people or do things on purpose to hurt one another.  May God help us to love others as He loves us.

Joanne Lowe

February 25, 2015

THANK YOU FOR LOVING US

“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

When we pray and ask God for something, let’s remember to thank Him for loving us and for giving Jesus to die for our sins so we can go to Heaven when we die.  We have a tender compassionate and loving Heavenly Father.  O how He loves us.  What a privilege it is to belong to the family of God.

We have a Father Who will never yell at us, never curse us, never hit us and He will never disown us.  When the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, we are a child of God forever!  God also will never tell us that He wishes we’d never been born.  O how I love my Heavenly Father.

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us so much that You gave Jesus to die on the cross for our sins so we can be saved.  We love You so much and we appreciate all You have done for us and all You do for us every day.  Please help us to love one another unconditionally.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

February 24, 2015

HE WILL ALWAYS LOVE US

“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

I write a lot about Jesus loving us.  However, it is very important and even urgent that we allow it to go from head knowledge to heart knowledge that the Saviour of the world loves us so much He died on the cross and paid the penalty for our sins so we can have the privilege of being saved and going to Heaven.

I believe with all my heart that if people would allow it to go from head knowledge to heart knowledge that Jesus loves them and that He loves them unconditionally, there wouldn’t be as much hatred, crime and violence in the world.  So many people are hurting and lonely and they need to know Jesus loves them.

May God help us to not only tell people how much Jesus loves them but also to prove to them how much He loves them by our kind words and our kind actions.  O how we need to love one another unconditionally just as Jesus loves us.  I am so thankful for the privilege of serving Jesus, the One Who died for me. 

Joanne Lowe

February 23, 2015

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER REALLY LOVES US

“I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee.  And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.  And he arose, and came to his father.  But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”

Luke 15:18-20 KJV

Our Heavenly Father really loves us because when we go to Him and ask Him to forgive us for something we have done that hurt Him, if we will look with the eyes of our heart we will see Him running to meet us and kiss us as He says to us “Welcome Home”.  What a tender and precious Heavenly Father we have.

We know that our Heavenly Father loves us.  He has proved how much He loves us when He gave Jesus to us to be our personal Saviour.  The question every Christian needs to ask himself or herself is “How much do I love my Heavenly Father and what am I doing for Him”?

Heavenly Father, we give You praise and we thank You for being a tender loving Father.  Thank You for being a compassionate forgiving Father.  I’m sorry for the times when I have failed You and hurt You.  Help us to love unconditionally as Jesus has commanded us to love.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

February 22, 2015

WHAT WILL GOD SAY

“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 3:16,17 KJV

What will God say to us when we get to Heaven?  What is He saying to us right now?  Is He pleased with the words we say and the things we do?  I wonder if we will be able to look Him in the eye or will we have to hang our head in shame because of the way we live.  We should do all we can do to make Him happy.

If God has given us a mission, we need to ask Him to help us if we get discouraged and feel like giving up.  Jesus fulfilled the mission His Father had given Him when He allowed them to crucify Him on the cross for your sins and for my sins.  What a precious loving Saviour we are privileged to know and have.

Years ago, I read an article about a lady in the newspaper.  The article reported that the lady was over eighty years old.  I don’t remember how old she was.  What touched my heart was several people who were giving tributes about the lady said “I never heard her say one unkind word to anybody.”

That tribute not only touched my heart it also convicted me and made me ashamed because before I was saved and walking with Jesus I said some things that were not very nice to people when I lost my temper.  I had a terrible temper before I was saved but Jesus gave me a new heart and I don’t lose my temper now.

Heavenly Father, I pray that You will help us to be kind and loving to one another.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

February 21, 2015

THE WARMTH OF GOD’S LOVE

“The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

Jeremiah 31:3 KJV

It is very cold outside as I am typing this but my heart is warm because it has the warmth of God’s love in it.  All of us need to be loved, comforted and encouraged.  God is our Cheerleader because if we will listen with our heart, we will hear Him saying to us “I believe in you and I love you.  I will help you do it”.

What a comfort it is to our weary battle scarred heart to know that our Heavenly Father not only loves us unconditionally, we can also share our heart with Him anytime and know that He listens to us and cares about us.  He will comfort and encourage us.  Thank God for the warmth of His love.

Have you ever had a day when you were happy and singing when all of a sudden without any warning at all satan attacked you with vicious and poisonous lies?  It makes satan very angry when we are serving Jesus and satan will do all he can do to discourage us so much that we stop serving Jesus.

We must not let that happen!  As soon as satan attacks us, we need to cry out to God and ask Him to help us.  Our Heavenly Father is a loving protective Father and He will not only help us, He will also comfort and encourage us.  What a privilege it is to be loved and protected by our Heavenly Father.

Heavenly Father, I pray for every person who is hurting and discouraged.  Please comfort and encourage them as You have comforted and encouraged me so many times.  I love You, dear Father.  Thank You for Jesus.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

February 20, 2015

NOW

“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”

Matthew 24:42-44 KJV

We don’t have the promise of tomorrow or even another hour.  All we have is right now.  There are many people who are hurting, discouraged and brokenhearted and some are even suicidal.  They desperately need to know that someone loves them.  We can love them and tell them we love them.

However, that is not enough.  They need to know that Jesus loves them and that He loves them unconditionally.  We have a choice to make right now.  We can choose to watch television most of the day or we can use the time to tell others how much Jesus loves them and then prove He loves them by our actions.

I used to watch television most of the day until I gave my heart and life to Jesus.  When it went from head knowledge to heart knowledge how much Jesus loves me and that He died for my sins, I asked God to forgive me for wasting that time and asked Him to please help me tell others about Jesus.

A dear friend of mine gave me a beautiful picture for Christmas which I hung on the wall in my office.  It has flowers and a beautiful verse on it.  “Each day is God’s gift to you, Make it blossom and grow into a thing of beauty.”  There are twenty four hours in a day.  How many hours are we serving Jesus?

Joanne Lowe

February 19, 2015