JESUS HASN’T MOVED

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

Hebrews 13:8 KJV

A husband and wife were driving down the highway and the wife said to her husband “We don’t sit next to each other any more”.  The husband replied “I haven’t moved”.  If we feel separated from Jesus, He hasn’t moved.  We are the ones who have allowed ourselves to be moved by the attacks of satan.

All we have to do is cry out to Jesus and ask Him to hold us close.  Jesus understands how we feel when we are hurting and feel all alone.  I believe when Jesus was here on His mission that there were times when He wanted to say to someone “Hold Me and encourage Me”.  We have an understanding Saviour.

Jesus tells us in John 10:10 that He came that we might have life and that we might have it more abundantly.  He wants us have a happy and joyous life.  If we will stay in the presence of Jesus we will have joy in our heart but sometimes we allow satan to discourage us and then we take our eyes off Jesus.

We sing the beautiful hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”.  Yet there are times when we sing this hymn that our eyes are on our circumstances instead of on Jesus.  Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus instead of on our circumstances.  I’m just as guilty of taking my eyes off Jesus as you are.  May God forgive us.

Precious Heavenly Father, we come to You praising You and thanking You for giving Your beloved Son to die on the cross for our sins so we may be saved.  Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross for our sins.  We love You, Heavenly Father.  We love You, Jesus.  We love You, Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

March 7, 2016

HE JUST WANTS OUR HEART

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

Revelation 3:20 KJV

I have been feeling a little discouraged because I can’t do all I want to do to serve Jesus.  God knows my heart and He knows it breaks my heart and hurts me because I can’t do more than I do.  However, He knows my heart and He knows how much I love Him and Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

God knows that we aren’t perfect.  He just wants our heart.  If we could be perfect, His beloved Son wouldn’t have had to be beaten beyond recognition, spat on, cursed, mocked, ridiculed and crucified on the cross for our sins.  How do we make God happy?  We make Him happy by serving Jesus.

Jesus knows how it feels to be sad, discouraged, lonely and brokenhearted so He understands when we feel like we are going under for the last time.  When we feel this way, we need to cry out to Jesus and He will be faithful to pick us up and carry us through all the dark valleys in our life.

Not only does Jesus want to come in to our heart and life, He also wants to encourage us, comfort us, carry us and lead us through this life.  I honestly don’t know how I made it without Jesus.  I wasn’t living, I just existed.  He holds our hand and goes with us through every trial and crisis.

What a Saviour!  What a Friend, this Jesus of Nazareth!  Allow Jesus to pick you up in His loving arms and carry you through every crisis and heartache in your life.  He is faithful and He will never leave you, not even for one minute.  O how I love Jesus!

Joanne Lowe

March 6, 2016

A VICTORIOUS SHOUT

“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:”

1 Thessalonians 4:16 KJV

One happy and wonderful day Jesus Himself is coming back for us with a shout.  If you have ever been to a sporting event and heard people shouting for their favorite team, you know how loud they shouted.  However, no shout will ever equal the shout that Jesus is going to give when He comes back for us.

Jesus won the victory over satan on the cross when He died for our sins.  As much as we want to see Jesus, our precious Saviour wants to see us more.  He loves us so much He died for us and shed His own blood and He wants to see us.  What a Saviour!  What a Friend, this Jesus of Nazareth!

Do you know this Jesus?  I didn’t ask if you are saved.  I asked if you know Him.  Do you know what makes Him happy and what makes Him sad?  How much time do you spend with Him during the day?  If we are spending more time watching television than we are with Jesus, we are hurting Him and breaking His heart.

Think about it!  We are going to have the privilege of seeing our risen Saviour face to face.  How I long for the day when He comes back for us.  I am going to give Him the biggest hug I have ever given anyone and tell Him for all eternity how much I love and appreciate Him.  Are you ready to meet Him?

Tell Jesus how much you love Him and appreciate Him.  Just as we want to be told He loves us, He wants to be told we love Him.

Joanne Lowe

March 5, 2016

ONLY ONE KEY

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

Revelation 3:20 KJV

Several years ago, one of my neighbors knocked on my door and told me she had locked herself out of her home and asked me if she could use my telephone to call the landlord to unlock her door and let her in.  As I was thinking about that, it reminded me that nobody but Jesus can unlock the door of our heart. 

The only key that will open the door to Heaven is the redeeming cleansing blood that Jesus shed for our sins on the cross.  Our loved ones can’t unlock the door to our heart and let Jesus come in because salvation is a personal experience between Jesus and us.  Have you invited Jesus into your heart?

We must keep praying for our loved ones.  A man gave his testimony during a Wednesday night prayer meeting and said “I’m saved today because of my mother’s prayers.  I saw her kneeling beside her bed and heard her praying for my salvation.  She prayed for me for over twenty years”.

Thank God for faithful mothers who pray and cry out to God for the salvation of their children.  How I miss my Mother!  I am so glad to know that she was saved.  One day when Jesus comes back for us or God calls me home, I will see my dear Mother.  Greater than that, I will see Jesus.  I long for that day.

Jesus is a Gentleman.  He will not push open the door to your heart.  He is waiting for you to let Him come in to your heart.  He loves you so much He died for you.  If you have never said yes to Jesus, I plead with you to say yes to Jesus today.

Joanne Lowe

March 4, 2016

IS GOD PLEASED WITH US

“And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.  And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Mark 1:9-11 KJV

I wonder if God is pleased with what we are doing and what we are thinking.  God doesn’t expect us to be perfect because we are still in the flesh but He does expect us to love one another unconditionally and to be an encouragement to each other.  All of us need encouragement at times.

I do my best to be an encouragement to others but there are times when I need to be encouraged.  Jesus knows how it feels to be discouraged.  I’m sure when Jesus was here on the mission His Father gave Him that Jesus also was discouraged at times and felt like giving up just like we do.

We put people in wheelchairs when they are unable to walk and take them where they need to go.  When people are discouraged, we need to put them in an emotional wheelchair and take them to Jesus.  Only Jesus can heal our broken heart and make the light shine brighter in our heart.

Our Saviour loves us so much and He wants us to be happy.  When we are sad He weeps with us and when we are happy, He rejoices with us.  We don’t have to go through this life alone.  Jesus is right beside us, holding our hand and carrying us through the dark valleys.  What a loving Saviour we have!

Joanne Lowe

March 3, 2016

OUR FORGIVING HEAVENLY FATHER

“But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.”

Psalm 78:38 KJV

I wonder how many times our precious and forgiving Heavenly Father has turned His anger away from us when we did something or said something that hurt Him and broke His heart.  “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10).

I am so glad that we have a forgiving Heavenly Father.  “If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?” (Psalm 130:3)  If it were not for the precious redeeming blood of Jesus that He shed for our sins on the cross, we would be on our way to hell.  Thank God for the blood of Jesus.

Heavenly Father, we love You.  Jesus, we love You.  Holy Spirit, we love You.  Thank You, dear Father, for loving us so much that You forgive us when we fail You and hurt You.  Please help us to love one another unconditionally as Jesus has commanded us to love.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

March 2, 2016

JESUS IS STILL ALIVE

“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

Matthew 28:6 KJV  

There are times when we act like Jesus did not rise.  Jesus is still alive!  There is nothing that Jesus can’t do.  When we feel like we’re going under for the last time, we need to take hold of our precious Saviour’s hand and allow Him to help us.  He loves us so much He died for our sins and He will help us.

It is impossible to smile every minute of every day because all of us have valleys, crises, heartaches and disappointments in our life.  However, if we have invited Jesus into our heart to be our personal Saviour, He is still with us no matter how many dark valleys we go through.  He holds our hand and helps us.

The next time satan hurls one of his vicious poisonous attacks at us, we need to immediately allow Jesus to pick us up in His loving arms and carry us through the dark valley until the pain goes away.  O how Jesus loves you!  When you cry, He weeps with you and when you laugh, Jesus rejoices with you.

Have you allowed it to go from head knowledge to heart knowledge that Jesus, the Saviour of the world, loves you so much that He willingly walked that long lonely road to Calvary and allowed them to beat Him beyond recognition, curse Him, spit on Him and crucify Him?  He died for you.  What love!

You are loved by the Saviour of the world!  Let me say it again because it is so important “you are loved by the Saviour of the world”.  Have you got it yet?  Do you know He loves you?  Do you feel His unconditional love for you?  Again, you are loved by the Saviour of the world and He will love you forever!!

Joanne Lowe

March 1, 2016