JESUS IS THE ANSWER

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

John 10:10 KJV

Jesus is the answer to everything.  When we walk through dark valleys or are in the middle of a crisis, He is with us.  I just recently went through a very dark valley and satan did his best to discourage me so I would stop serving Jesus.  Our precious Saviour won the victory over satan when He died on the cross.

Not only is Jesus with us when we go through dark valleys, our Heavenly Father is also with us.  What a healing balm it is to know that our Heavenly Father will never hit us, curse us or call us stupid.  What a privilege we have to be loved by God and by our Saviour.  It should make us shout with joy.

Lynda Tait Randle wrote a beautiful hymn about our loving Heavenly Father “God on the Mountain”.  “For the God on the mountain, is still God in the valley When things go wrong, he'll make them right And the God of the good times, is still God in the bad times The God of the day, is still God in the night.”

I receive a lot of email from people telling me how wonderful it is that I write devotions.  I appreciate those emails because all of us need to be encouraged.  However, don’t look to me; keep your eyes on Jesus and on Him alone.  I am human and I sometimes say and do things that hurt Jesus.

Precious Heavenly Father, thank You for giving Your beloved Son to die for our sins.  You are a compassionate loving Father.  Thank You for adopting me into Your family.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

April 30, 2017

EVERY MOMENT

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Matthew 28:20 KJV

Evangelist Daniel Webster Whittle wrote one of my favorite hymns “Moment By Moment”.  I love these words.  “Never a trial that He is not there, Never a burden that He doth not bear, Never a sorrow that He doth not share, Moment by moment, I’m under His care.”  Jesus is with us every moment of the day and night.

It doesn’t matter if we are in the valley of despair, heartache, loneliness or discouragement or if we are on the mountain top of happiness, Jesus is with us.  Many times I have felt my precious Saviour pick me up in His loving arms and carry me until the pain, the heartache and the grief went away.

If you are discouraged, lonely, heartbroken or in the valley of despair, tell Jesus.  He really loves you and cares about you.  He will lift you up and carry you through all your dark valleys and crises and will set you once again on the mountain top of happiness.  He will never leave you, not even for a minute.

Heavenly Father, there are many people who are heartbroken, lonely and discouraged and they need Your encouragement and comforting.  I pray that You will comfort and encourage them as You have done for me so many times.  Jesus, thank You for never leaving us.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

April 29, 2017

ARE WE MARCHING

“Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.”

Psalms 60:4 KJV

Evangelist Daniel Webster Whittle wrote a beautiful hymn.  It is one of my favorite hymns “The Banner of the Cross”.  “Marching on, marching on, For Christ count everything but loss! And to crown Him King, we’ll toil and sing, ’Neath the banner of the cross!”  Are we marching on when satan attacks us?

Jesus understands how we feel when satan attacks us.  Our Saviour has warned us to be on the alert for the sneaky attacks of satan.  “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Peter 5:8).  We must keep on the alert.

How do we keep marching on for Christ when satan attacks us with lies and discouragement?  We can’t do it in our own strength.  We need to cry out to Jesus and ask Him to help us and He will be faithful to help us.  It doesn’t matter how many crises we have, Jesus will bring us through every one of them.

When our precious Saviour was here on earth on His mission, He was ridiculed, cursed, beaten and rejected so He knows how we feel when we are discouraged and feel like giving up.  He doesn’t condemn us for being discouraged; He cheers us on to victory as He gives us more love.  O how I love Jesus!

Precious Heavenly Father, You are a loving Heavenly Father and You really care about us.  What a healing balm it is to our heart to know that You will never hit us or yell at us.  Thank You for all You have done for me.  I love You, Heavenly Father.  I love You, Jesus.  I love You, Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

April 28, 2017

OUR BURDEN BEARER

“Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”

Galatians 6:2 KJV

We are instructed to bear one another’s burdens.  I don’t know about you but it is very hard for me to share what is in my heart with people.  I think it’s probably because I don’t think they will understand or they will make fun of me.  Jesus understands how we feel and He will never make fun of us.

Jesus said  “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).  The next time you are discouraged, tell Jesus.  He is waiting for you to share your heart with Him.  He will pick you up in His loving arms and carry you through the dark valley until the pain goes away.

I have a wonderful family that I love very much and I have a lot of good friends who I love but I love Jesus with all my heart.  He is the reason I’m living and the reason I get out of bed.  Without Jesus, life is not worth living because without Jesus we are not living, we just exist.

If you don’t know Jesus, take time to get to know Him.  We can be saved but not know Jesus.  To know someone, you have to spend time with that person.  Jesus should come first in our heart, in our life, in our time and in everything we do.  Our precious Saviour deserves to have first place in our heart.

Heavenly Father, I pray for all who are carrying heavy burdens.  Please comfort them as You have comforted me so many times.  May they feel the unconditional love You have for them like they have never felt it before.  I love You so much, Father.  Thank You for everything.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

April 27, 2017

A REMINDER TO PRAY

“Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

1 Thessalonians 5:17,18 KJV

Mary Ann Pepper Kidder wrote a hymn that should remind us to pray “Did You Think To Pray”.  These words should inspire us to pray for each other.  “O how praying rests the weary! Prayer will change the night to day; So when life seems dark and dreary, Don’t forget to pray.”

Someone said “I’ve done all I can do for that person”.  However, the person who said that did not pray about the situation or for the one he was trying to help.  If we don’t pray for one another, we have not done everything we can do for each other.  It is very important and even urgent that we pray for one another.

One of my pastors said in a sermon about prayer.  “We should have pictures of the ones we love not only because we love them, but also because it is a reminder to pray for our loved ones”.  Some homes have pictures of their family on the walls.  God has pictures of us, His family, in His heart.

The next time you look at pictures of your loved ones, pray for them.  Pray that God will encourage them, comfort them and reassure them that He loves them.  If you don’t have pictures of your loved ones, I urge you to get a picture and start praying for them.  We don’t know what dark valleys they are going through.

Heavenly Father, I pray for those who read this devotion.  Please comfort and encourage them as You have done for me so many times.  Wrap Your arms of compassion and love around them and remind them that You love them so much You gave Your Son to die for them.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

April 26, 2017

SHARE IT WITH JESUS

“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 KJV

When our heart is breaking and we don’t think we can take another step or give another smile, we need to share it with Jesus.  He is always with us.  Our loved ones have to go home but Jesus never leaves us.  Not only can we share our sorrows with Him, we can also share our happiness with Him.

There have been many times when I have been so excited and happy that I felt like shouting with happiness.  It is important that we have crises hotlines for the times we are discouraged and depressed but it is also important that we have hotlines to share our happiness.  We need each other.

It is even more important that we have hotlines we can call when we are so excited we feel like we are going to explode with happiness.  One of my pastors said in a sermon about serving Jesus “If you want to fly higher than a kite, start serving Jesus.”  I wasn’t serving Jesus at that time so I wasn’t flying.

On October 4, 1998, I surrendered to the mission field.  Since I started serving Jesus and telling people that Jesus loves them, I have been flying higher than a kite.  However, when you serve Jesus; satan will do all he can do to discourage you.

If you are happy, tell Jesus.  He will share your happiness and rejoice with you because He is always with you.  Jesus loves you so much He died for you and He wants you to be happy.

Joanne Lowe

April 25, 2017

OUR CAREGIVER

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Matthew 28:20 KJV

One of the definitions for caregiver in the dictionary is “a person who cares for someone who is sick or disabled”.  That is what our compassionate loving Saviour does for us.  He cares for us when we are sick, hurting, lonely and heartbroken and He never leaves us, not even for a minute.

There are a lot of wonderful caregivers and thank God for the caregivers but most caregivers don’t work on the weekend.  When people are hurting, they need caregivers every day of the week.  What a healing balm it is to our weary battle scarred heart to know that Jesus is with us even on the weekend.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus, our Caregiver.  Comfort and encourage all those who are lonely, hurting, discouraged and feel like giving up.  Jesus, thank You for the promise that You are always with us.  I love You, Heavenly Father.  I love You, Jesus.  I love You, Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

April 24, 2017