ANOTHER BIRTHDAY

“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

Today is my birthday.  I am 74 years old.  I have received emails and telephone calls wishing me a happy birthday.  However, it would not be a happy birthday if I didn’t have another birthday.  On August 14, 1980, I invited Jesus into my heart to be my personal Saviour and I was born again into God’s family.

What a privilege it is to be adopted by God and be part of God’s family.  We have a loving Heavenly Father Who loves us so much He gave His Son to die for us.  Do you have another birthday?  Have you invited Jesus into your heart to be your personal Saviour?  If not, I urge you to do it today.

Heavenly Father, thank You for adopting me into Your family and for being a compassionate loving and caring Father.  I love You so much and I appreciate all You have done for me.  Please comfort and encourage all those who are discouraged and hurting.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen. 

Joanne Lowe

July 7, 2017

THREE TIMES A DAY

“Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.”

Psalms 55:17 KJV

Does God hear our voice three times a day?  Does He hear it any time during the day or night?  I think sometimes we treat God as if He is a puppet.  We put Him on a shelf and only take Him down when we need something or want something.  I think we hurt Him and break His heart many times because we ignore Him.

Our Heavenly Father loves us so much He gave His beloved Son to die on the cross for our sins.  We need to prove to God we love Him by talking to Him.  Prayer is just talking from our heart to our Heavenly Father.  He already knows what is in our heart but He wants us to share our heart with Him.

If we are too busy to pray and talk to our Heavenly Father, we are too busy and we need to rearrange our schedules.  It is time that we treat our Heavenly Father with the respect that He deserves and talk to Him all the time not just when we want something or need something.

Heavenly Father, please forgive us for ignoring You at times and hurting You.  I love You, Heavenly Father.  I appreciate all You have done for me.  Thank You for adopting me into Your family and thank You for the privilege You have given me to serve Your Son.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

July 6, 2017

JESUS IS CALLING US

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?  Then said I, Here am I; send me.”

Isaiah 6:8 KJV

There are times when Jesus calls us to do something for Him and we either don’t respond or we don’t hear Him talking to us.  Jesus is asking us to tell people of His unconditional love.  We may not be called to be a missionary in a foreign country, but we can tell our loved ones, our friends, and our neighbors about the unconditional love of Jesus.

I think as Jesus said this, He said it with a heart filled with love and compassion for us.  I believe His heart was broken as He said this because He knows there are so many people who don’t believe that He loves them.  They may have accepted Him as their personal Saviour, but have never grasped in their hearts that He really does love them and cares about their happiness.

He calls us to turn off the television and pick up the telephone and tell someone who is lonely and hurting how much He loves them.  We will never be able to serve Him as He asks us to do unless we put Him first in every area of our lives.  Jesus is the Saviour of the world and He should come before our families, our loved ones and friends, and before every activity.  He deserves to have first place in our lives and to be given respect.

One day He called to us from an old rugged cross and said by His actions, I love you so much that I am willing to suffer this devastating heartache and agonizing pain.  Can you hear Him calling you to serve Him and tell others of His love?  Have you surrendered everything to Jesus, or are you holding back an area of your life that you aren’t willing to give up?

Joanne Lowe

July 5, 2017

HIS REDEEMING BLOOD

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

John 19:30 KJV

It doesn’t matter if we live in a free country because if we haven’t invited Jesus into our heart to be our personal Saviour, we are not free.  It is only when the atoning cleansing redeeming blood of Jesus is applied to our heart for the forgiveness of our sins that we are free.  Thank God for the redeeming blood of Jesus.

Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote a beautiful hymn about our Saviour “I’m Free”.  I love these words.  “So long I had searched for life’s meaning, Enslaved by the world and my greed; Then the door of the prison was opened by love, For the ransom was paid, I was freed.”  We have been set free by the redeeming blood of Jesus.

As we celebrate the 4^th of July, let us also remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross when He shed His blood for our sins.  I am so glad I live in a free country but what thrills my heart is to know that Jesus has set me free from the shackles and bondage of satan.

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us so much You gave Your beloved Son to die for our sins.  Jesus, thank You for setting me free from the bondage of satan through Your cleansing redeeming blood.  I love You so much and I long for the day when I will see You face to face.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

July 4, 2017

GARMENTS OF LOVE

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”

Isaiah 61:10 KJV

I have a beautiful purple robe that I bought several years ago.  It keeps me warm when the weather turns cold.  I have another robe and it is the robe of righteousness.  I also have the garment of salvation which Jesus gave me with His blood when He died for my sins on the cross.  Thank God for heavenly garments.

The beautiful robe I bought keeps me warm when the weather gets cold but only Jesus can warm our heart that gets cold when people say sarcastic and criticizing words that hurt us.  Jesus understands how we feel when we are criticized.  When He was here on earth, He endured rejection and criticism.

Are you wearing these garments of love?  Have you allowed God to clothe you with the garment of salvation and the robe of righteousness?  If not, don’t wait.  Invite Jesus into your heart to be your personal Saviour.  He loves you so much He died for you.  Give your heart and life to Jesus today before it is too late!

Joanne Lowe

July 3, 2017

THE BODY AND HEART OF JESUS

“For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:  And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.”

1 Corinthians 11:23,24 KJV

My sister gave me a beautiful figurine of Jesus which I had on my entertainment center.  One day I was cold so I put my sweater on and as I was walking from my office into the living room I didn’t realize how close I was to the entertainment center and my sweater hit the figurine and knocked it off and it broke. 

Even now, I have tears in my eyes as I tell you about it.  As I looked at the pieces of the broken figurine, our Scripture verses became so real to me.  Just as the figurine of Jesus broke into pieces when I knocked it off, so the body and heart of Jesus was broken on the cross of Calvary for you and for me.

What a compassionate and matchless love Jesus has for you and for me.  Our family and our friends love us but nobody loves us like Jesus loves us and no one ever will.  Jesus loves us unconditionally.  There is nothing or nobody that will ever take His love from us.  Thank You, Jesus, for loving us.

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38, 39).

Joanne Lowe

July 2, 2017

HOW IT MUST HURT GOD

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

Genesis 1:1 KJV

How it must hurt God and break His heart to see the things we do to the earth He created.  When God created the earth everything was beautiful.  People throw things out their car window on the highway as they are driving.  People throw their cigarettes on the ground and they also spit on the ground.

Not only are we hurting God by the things we do to the earth, we also hurting Him by the things we do and say.  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27).  When we say cruel words and do mean things to one another, it hurts God.

Heavenly Father, please forgive us for hurting You and for sometimes being hateful and saying cruel words to one another.  You are a compassionate tender loving Father.  Please help us to love one another unconditionally as Jesus has commanded us to love.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

July 1, 2017