HAVE WE CROWNED HIM

“And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.  And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.  And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.”

Luke 23:32-34 KJV

Jennie Evelyn Hussey wrote “LEAD ME TO CALVARY”.  “King of my life, I crown Thee now, Thine shall the glory be; Lest I forget Thy thorn crowned brow, Lead me to Calvary”.  Have we crowned Him King of our life?  Does Jesus come first in our heart, in our life and in everything we do?

It is very difficult and painful for me to think about my precious Saviour dying on the cross for my sins.  However, it is very important that we remember the unconditional love He showed us when He died on the cross for us.  There is no greater love than the love that Jesus has for you and for me.

We can tell people we have crowned Him but Jesus can see into our heart and He knows if we are just giving Him lip service or if we are serving Him from our heart.  They crucified the KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS and He had never sinned or done anything wrong in His life.  What a loving Saviour we have!

Jesus asked His Father to forgive us even while hanging on the cross in excruciating pain.  He set the example for us to follow.  I wonder if we can honestly say that we have asked God to forgive those who hurt us even while they were hurting us.  May God help us to be more like Jesus Who loves unconditionally.

Joanne Lowe

October 7, 2015

DO THEY SEE AND HEAR JESUS IN US

“Little children, yet a little while I am with you.  Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have love one to another.”

John 13:33-35 KJV

Jesus, the Saviour of the world has told us to love one another as He loves us.  Can we honestly say from our heart that we love one another unconditionally as He loves us?  Jesus didn’t say He wishes we would love one another.  He said that it is a commandment.  May God help us to love one another.

When people look at us or hear us talking, do they see and hear Jesus in us?  We can’t smile every minute of the day because all of us have valleys and heartaches in our life but if we have invited Jesus into our heart to be our personal Saviour, He is still with us even when we are going through dark valleys.

A man said in a testimony “I am saved today because of my mother.  I not only saw her on her knees, I heard her praying for me.  My mother isn’t perfect but even when she was going through crises, heartaches and dark valleys she still had a smile for everyone”.  Only Jesus can help us smile when we are sad.

Does our family see the difference Jesus has made in our heart and life since we invited Him into our heart?  O that you and I would live in such a way that even when we are heartbroken and feel like we can’t give another smile or take another step they would see Jesus in us.  What a loving Saviour we have! 

Joanne Lowe

October 6, 2015

NOT JUST A NEW HEART

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”

Ezekiel 36:26 KJV

Jesus not only gives us a new heart when we invite Him into our heart to be our personal Saviour, He also gives us a new attitude toward life, toward people and toward everything we do.  Before I was saved, my heart was filled with hatred for everyone.  What a difference Jesus has made in my heart and in my life.

When Jesus saves us and changes our attitudes we want to do things that will make Him happy.  Jesus has told us when we are kind and loving to people, we are kind and loving to Him and when we’re not kind and loving to people, we are not kind and loving to Him.  Are we making Him happy or breaking His heart?

Have you invited Jesus into your heart to be Your personal Saviour?  He will replace your sadness and despair with joy and happiness.  He loves you so much He died on the cross for your sins and shed His own blood for you so you can be saved and go to Heaven for all eternity.  Say yes to Jesus today!

Heavenly Father, I pray that You will touch our heart and put a desire in our heart to be kind and loving to one another.  Thank You for Jesus and for adopting me into Your family.  I love You so much, dear Father.  I love You, Jesus.  I love You, Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

October 5, 2015

OUR BEAUTIFUL ROSE

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

SONG OF SOLOMON 2:1 KJV

Roses are my favorite flower because they remind me of our beautiful Rose, Jesus.  Not only is Jesus beautiful, He is also tender loving compassionate and kind.  He loved us yesterday.  He loves us today and He will love us forever.  Jesus loves us even when we hurt Him because He loves us unconditionally.

There have been several times that I have smelled the fragrance of a rose in my home and I didn’t have any flowers in my home.  What I smelled was the fragrance of Jesus.  One of the definitions I found for fragrance in Webster’s Dictionary is “the quality or state of having a sweet odor”.

Jesus not only is beautiful, He also has a sweet odor.  If you will smell with your heart, you will smell the fragrance of Jesus.  Everything about Jesus is wonderful.  He is the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS and He loves you.  He loves you so much He died for you.  What a Saviour, this Jesus of Nazareth!

Do we love Jesus?  If we do love Him, what are we doing to prove to Him how much we love Him?  The best way to let Him know how much we love Him is to serve Him.  If we want to serve Him, we will have to shut off the television and get out of our comfort zone and tell people how much He loves them.

Have we told Jesus today how much we love Him?  Jesus has feelings and He wants us to tell Him we love Him just as we want Him to tell us He loves us.  If Jesus didn’t tell me every day He loves me, it would break my heart.  I love my precious Saviour so much.  He is the reason I’m living and the Joy of my heart.    

Joanne Lowe

October 4, 2015

A JOYFUL LIFE

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

Psalm 16:11 KJV

It is only when we are in the presence of Jesus that we have fulness of joy.  One of the definitions for joy in the Webster’s Dictionary is “a source or cause of delight”.  I found this definition for delight in Webster’s Dictionary “something that make you very happy”.  Jesus is our source of happiness.

For the last ten years, I have had the privilege of serving Jesus.  Sometimes I get so happy I have to get up and go into the other room for a few minutes because I feel like I am going to explode with happiness.  Pastor Byron was so right when he said “If you want to fly higher than a kite start bragging on Jesus”.

“Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matthew 11:11).  Jesus doesn’t play favorites.  He loves all of us unconditionally and He brags on us.

Is Jesus bragging on us today because of someone we have encouraged and helped or is Jesus sad because we haven’t helped and encouraged someone today?  Never forget all of us need encouragement.  If you don’t know what to say, tell them that Jesus loves them unconditionally and will never leave them. 

Joanne Lowe

October 3, 2015

THE MOST HEARTBREAKING DAY

“And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.  And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.  And sitting down they watched him there;”

Matthew 27:33-36 KJV

I think most of us have had heartbreaking days but no bad day we have had or ever will have can compare to the most heartbreaking day of all, the day our precious Saviour was crucified.  They spat on Jesus and beat Him beyond recognition.  They mocked Him and yet He allowed them to crucify Him.

If you ever think nobody loves you, remember the cross and the pain and anguish Jesus endured because He loves you so much.  He not only loves you, He loves you unconditionally.  There is nothing you could do that would make Him stop loving you.  Jesus, the Saviour of the world, loves you.

Heavenly Father, we thank You and praise You for loving us so much that You gave Your beloved Son to die on the cross and pay the penalty for our sins.  Jesus, I love You so much.  Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins.  How I long to see You face to face.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

October 2, 2015

WE DO PRAISE YOU

“PRAISE ye the LORD.  Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.  Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.”

Psalm 150:1,2 KJV

Heavenly Father, we praise You for all You have done for us and for all You do for us every day.  We know You will never yell at us or hit us.  When You do have to correct us, You always reassure us that You love us.  Thank You for loving us unconditionally.  We love You.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

October 1, 2015