GOD HELPS US

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Isaiah 41:10 KJV

I am so glad that God has given us the Bible, His love letter to us to instruct us and encourage us.  For almost a week, satan has tried his best to discourage me by lying to me and trying to get me to stop serving Jesus.  However, I cry out to God and He is faithful to help me.  God helps us when we ask Him for help.

We have a loving forgiving tender and compassionate Heavenly Father Who loves us so much He gave His beloved Son to die for our sins.  No one loves us like God and Jesus love us and no one ever will.  Their love for us is an unconditional love and They will love us for all eternity.

Not only do They love us, They also comfort and encourage us.  Jesus understands how much we need to be comforted and encouraged.  He has felt all the feelings we feel.  Jesus knows how it feels to be all alone and He was betrayed.  I’m so glad that Jesus understands when we hurt and need encouragement.

It is very important that you and I encourage and comfort each other.  It breaks my heart to know that Jesus wasn’t hugged, encouraged and comforted.  We need to tell Him every day how much we love Him and appreciate Him.  Have you told Him today how much you love Him and appreciate Him?

O that you and I will love each other unconditionally just as Jesus loves us.  Think about it, Jesus, the Saviour of the world loves us so much He shed His own blood for our sins so we can be saved.  What an amazing unconditional love He has for us.

Joanne Lowe

May 31, 2015

ARE WE AN ENCOURAGER

“They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.  So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.”

Isaiah 41:6, 7 KJV

All of us need help and encouragement at times.  The person who says he or she doesn’t need encouragement is not being honest.  Even Jesus needed to be encouraged and if Jesus, the Saviour of the world, needed encouragement how much more you and I need to be encouraged.

Are we an encourager to one another?  Are we encouraging our pastors?  Our pastors not only need our prayers, they also need to be encouraged.  Pastors are human just like we are.  They cry like we do and sometimes they feel like giving up and leaving their ministry because no one encourages them.

I received an email ten years ago from a pastor who wrote “My wife and I were very excited when we came to this church.  However, now we are brokenhearted and I am thinking of leaving the church and stop being a pastor because nobody has said anything nice to us.  All they have done is criticize us”.

I know it hurt God because the pastor and his wife were criticized instead of encouraged.  “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 13:17).

Heavenly Father, thank You for our pastors.  May they always feel Your unconditional love.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

May 30, 2015

HE KNOWS EVERYTHING

“O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.  Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.  Thou compasseth my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.  For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.”

Psalm 139:1-4 KJV

God sees us at all times and He knows everything about us.  When we say cruel words that we should not say or do things that we should not do, He still loves us because He loves us unconditionally.  However, we should do all we can do to make Him happy.  Are we making Him happy or are we hurting Him?

People make New Year resolutions.  Sometimes they keep them but many times they only keep them for a few days.  Every Christian should resolve to do things and say kind words that will make God happy.  We should keep the resolution every day of our life.  I am so glad that He loves us even when we hurt Him.

If God searched your heart today, would He see things that make Him happy or would He see things that break His heart?  May God help all of us to act like a Christian should act.  How sad it would be if someone didn’t accept Jesus as Saviour because of things that we said or did to him or her.

Heavenly Father, please forgive me for the times I have hurt You because I wasn’t kind and loving to someone.  I’m sorry I hurt You.  I pray that everything I do and everything I say will make You happy instead of hurting You and making You sad.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

May 29, 2015

OUR FAITHFUL HEAVENLY FATHER

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.  Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.  Are ye not much better than they?”

Matthew 6:25,26 KJV

There have been times when I didn’t have enough groceries in the house and I started to worry.  However, God always provides for us.  A pastor emailed me and wrote “There’s more month than there is money”.  Our faithful Heavenly Father cares about us and doesn’t forget us.  He takes care of us.

Someone asked me if I still worry about having enough money to buy groceries.  The answer to that question is no because God has never let me down and He never will let me down.  We can trust God to take care of us spiritually, physically and emotionally.  O how God loves us!

I don’t have any more money than I did but what I do have is more faith in God.  He has proved Himself over and over by supplying everything that I need.  Have we proved to Him how much we love Him and appreciate Him by serving His beloved Son?  When we serve Jesus, it makes God happy.

Someone said “I don’t know what to give my family and friends for Christmas and birthdays or just to let them know I care”.  We can give gift cards to people to let them know we care.  Again, our Heavenly Father will never fail you.  He will be faithful to supply your need no matter what you need.

Joanne Lowe

May 28, 2015

ARE WE FOLLOWING HIM

“Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.  O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments!  then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:”

Isaiah 48:17,18 KJV

I think there are times when we disappoint God and break His heart because we aren’t following Him.  He has a plan for each of our lives and if we will submit to His will for our lives, not only will we have a peaceful life, we won’t hurt Him.  Are we following Him or do we insist on doing things our way?

If we do things our way instead of listening to what God tells us to do, we will never be happy.  A teenager said to his parents “I’m going to do what I want to do, not what you tell me to do”.  Isn’t that what we say to God when we don’t do what He has told us to do?  How we must hurt Him when we don’t obey Him.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for hurting You when we don’t obey You and follow Your will for our life.  We’re sorry that we hurt You and disappoint You when we refuse to listen to You and like the teenage boy who refused to obey his parents, continue to do what we want to do.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

May 27, 2015

  

YOUR LOVINGKINDNESS

“O GOD, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.  Because thy lovingkindess is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.  Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.  My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:  When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.  Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.”

Psalm 63:1-7 KJV

Do you understand how much God loves you?  Have you allowed it to go from head knowledge to heart knowledge that you are precious to God?  We have a merciful, compassionate, loving and forgiving Heavenly Father Who loves us very much.

Heavenly Father, Your lovingkindness is better than anything in this world.  To be loved by You, fills my heart to overflowing with joy and happiness.  Heavenly Father, You have proved to us how much You love us by giving Your Son to die for our sins.  Thank You for caring.  I love You.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

May 26, 2015

THE GREATEST COMMANDER OF ALL

“STAND fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

Galatians 5:1 KJV

Today is Memorial Day.  I found this definition for Memorial Day in Webster’s Dictionary “the last Monday in May that is a national holiday in the U. S. honoring members of the armed forces that died in wars”.  As I was thinking about all of the men and women who died for their country, I had tears in my eyes.

Then I started thinking about all the missionaries who have been persecuted for their faith and have given their lives in the service of the greatest Commander of all, the Lord Jesus Christ.  What a privilege it is to be a soldier in the army of the Lord.  Have you enlisted in His army?  Is He your Commander?

If you are a Christian but you aren’t serving Jesus, I urge you to start serving Him today.  When Jesus was here on earth, He served us by spreading unconditional love, forgiveness and mercy.  Jesus left His home, His Father and all that He had to die for our sins on the cross.  What a loving Saviour we have!

Jesus walked that long lonely road to Calvary and allowed them to crucify Him on a cross of torture for your sins and for my sins so we don’t have to be in bondage to satan any more.  Our Saviour set us free with His own blood and He tells us that He doesn’t want us to be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

As we are remembering the sacrifices that our service men and women made for our country so we may have freedom, remember the greatest Commander of all.  He shed His own blood so that we can live in Heaven with Him for all eternity.  Thank God for the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sin.

Joanne Lowe

May 25, 2015