OUR PRECIOUS HEAVENLY FATHER

“Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!”

Psalm 71:19 KJV

We may have who we consider to be the best dad in the world.  However, as our Scripture verse tells us there is no one like our precious Heavenly Father.  As kind and loving as our dads can be toward us, it is nothing compared to the way our Heavenly Father loves us, takes care of us and protects us.

God wants us to share what is in our heart with Him.  He already knows but He wants us to come to Him like little children and allow Him to comfort and encourage us.  God is never too busy to listen to us.  I believe that there are times when we hurt Him and break His heart because we don’t talk to Him.

Do you realize how much God loves us?  He loves us so much He gave His own beloved Son to die on the cross for our sins.  I have said this many times and I will say it until the day I die.  Nobody loves us like God and Jesus love us.  They love us unconditionally and they will love us for all eternity.

The best gift we can give God on Father’s Day is to serve His Son and tell everyone we see that Jesus loves them so much He died for their sins.  To do this, we will have to shut off the television set and get out of our comfort zones.  Are you willing to spread the unconditional love of Jesus to everyone?

Heavenly Father, Happy Father’s Day!  I pray that You will have the best Father’s Day You have ever had.  Thank You for being my Father, for loving me unconditionally and for adopting me into Your family.  I love You with all of my heart and I appreciate all that You have done for me.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 21, 2015

JESUS LOVE LITTLE CHILDREN

“And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.  But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

Matthew 18:2-6 KJV

I am so glad that Jesus loves children.  He is very protective of our children.  When Jesus sees someone abusing children, it upsets Him and makes Him very angry.  It also hurts Jesus and breaks His heart to see children mistreated.  O that we would love our children unconditionally just as Jesus loves them.

Do we love our children?  If so, what are we doing to prove to them that we love them?  Do we take the time to sit down with them and talk to them or do we watch television without saying anything to our children?  Someone said “I would rather watch television than talk to my kids”.  How that must hurt Jesus.

Several years ago I was really excited about something and I wanted to share it with my Mother.  However, she was watching a baseball game on television and said to me “I don’t want to talk; I want to watch this game”.  It hurt me and broke my heart when she said that to me.

May God help us to be kind and loving to our children and take the time to listen to them and allow them to share with us.  I am so glad to know that Jesus loves our children.

Joanne Lowe

June 20, 2015 

LIFE IS A ROLLER COASTER

“I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.  Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”

Psalm 27:13,14 KJV

Have you ever had a day or a week when everything seems to be going good with no crises or problems when all of a sudden without any warning, satan attacked you?  Life is a roller coaster because we can be happy one minute and devastated the next minute because of satan and his vicious lies.

We don’t have to go through these valleys alone because Jesus has promised us that He will never leave us or forsake us.  “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). 

We can depend on Jesus to keep His Word because He does not lie.  What He says, He will do.  When satan attacks us we need to immediately cry out to Jesus and ask Him to help us.  Not only will He help us, He will also pick us up and carry us through the valley as He dries our tears with tender loving kisses.

May God help us to be encouragers to one another instead of causing conflict and problems.  Are we encouraging our family and friends or are we causing problems?  Kurt Kaiser wrote “Pass It On”.  It is about passing on God’s love to one another.  Are we passing on God’s love to everyone we see?

Heavenly Father, please help us to encourage one another because all of us need encouragement.  Thank You for being a faithful and protective Father.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 19, 2015 

A BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATION

“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.  And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.  But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put in on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again, he was lost and is found.  And they began to be merry.”

Luke 15:18-24 KJV

This is one of the most beautiful illustrations in the Bible because it describes the unconditional love and forgiveness that our Heavenly Father has for us when we fail Him and hurt Him.  O that we as parents would love our children like God loves us that when our children hurt us we would forgive them.

It is true that we need to correct our children when they need it.  However, if we don’t tell our children we still love them when we have to punish them like God tells us He still loves us when we hurt Him and disobey Him then our children will probably think that we don’t love them anymore. 

Years ago, when I worked in a nursing home, I heard some of the residents talking about when they were children and their parents took them out to the woodshed to spank them.  God has had to take me out to His woodshed several times and correct me but He always reassured me that He still loves me.

Joanne Lowe

June 18, 2015

OUR LOVING AND BEAUTIFUL ROSE

“I AM the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.”

Song of Solomon 2:1 KJV

Jesus, our loving and beautiful Rose not only has a pleasant scent, He is beautiful.  I love roses and a red rose is my favorite rose because it reminds me of the unconditional love Jesus has for us when He shed His precious blood for us on the cross so we can be saved.  Indeed, He is a beautiful and loving Saviour.

What an unconditional love for us flowed from the heart of Jesus when He walked that long lonely road to Calvary and there allowed them to crucify Him for our sins.  Our family and our friends love us but nobody loves us like Jesus and our Heavenly Father love us and no one ever will.  O how I love Jesus!

All hail, King Jesus!  Worthy is the Lamb of God!  One glorious day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.  Jesus will finally get the praise and honor that He so richly deserves.  If ever someone deserves to be praised and honored, it is Jesus!

There have been times I have smelled something sweet in my home and I didn’t have any flowers in the house when I smelled the fragrance.  It was the fragrance of Jesus I smelled in my home.  It was a reminder to me of the beauty and fragrance of Jesus, our loving and beautiful Rose and His unconditional love.

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us so much that You gave Your beloved Son to die on the cross so we can be saved.  Jesus, You are so precious to me.  I love You with all my heart.  How I long for the day when I will see You face to face.  Thank You for loving me.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 17, 2015

HE IS ALWAYS WITH US

“And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:  He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.”

Exodus 13:21,22 KJV

Rev. William Charles Poole wrote a beautiful hymn about Jesus “Just When I Need Him Most”.  I am so thankful these words are true.  “Just when I need Him, Jesus is strong, Bearing my burdens all the day long; For all my sorrows giving a song; Just when I need Him most.”  Our Saviour is so faithful to help us.

We know that He is always with us because He has proved His faithfulness to us.  What about us?  Are we faithful to Him?  Jesus never leaves us but I wonder if we leave Him.  Are we listening for His call?  He may not call us to go to a different country to serve Him but He calls everyone to serve Him.

You may think you can’t serve Him because you don’t have any talent.  However, all of us can smile and tell people how much Jesus loves them.  It’s very important that we witness to people but the most important thing we need to do is tell them how much Jesus loves them.

Are we proving to people how much Jesus loves them by our kind and loving words and our actions?  May God help each one of us to point others to Jesus by the way we live and the things we say.  I want people to see Jesus in my smiles and hear His unconditional love for them by my kind and loving words.

Joanne Lowe

June 16, 2015

HE WILL DELIVER US

“Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”

Psalm 50:14,15 KJV

Our family, our friends and our loved ones can encourage us and pray for us when we are in trouble but only God can deliver us.  God is so faithful to protect us and deliver us.  How faithful are we to Him?  After He delivers us from harm and out of a difficult situation, do we thank Him and praise Him?

I read about someone who had prayed for her child every day for over thirty years to be saved.  The day her child accepted Jesus as personal Saviour, the mother thanked God and never mentioned it again and yet she had prayed every day for over thirty years.  How that must have hurt God and broke His heart.

I think there are times when we put God on a shelf and only take Him down when we need Him.  God is not a puppet.  He is a Holy God and He is to be respected, adored and glorified.  Why is it that we can find time to pray for something we want but we are too busy to thank Him for His deliverance and kindness to us?

If we are too busy to thank and praise God for all He does for us, we are too busy and we need to rearrange our schedule so He comes first in our heart and life.  I believe God delivers us from danger when we aren’t even aware we are in trouble.  We have a compassionate Heavenly Father Who loves us unconditionally.

Heavenly Father, You are so faithful to protect us.  Thank You for loving us even when we fail You and hurt You.  I pray we will be children who make You happy instead of children who hurt You and make You sad.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

June 15, 2015