BE CAREFUL

“Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”

1 Corinthians 10:12 KJV

Have you ever had a day when everything was going great with no problems when all of a sudden you had all kinds of problems?  When we serve Jesus, it makes satan very angry and he will do all he can do to discourage us so much that we stop serving Jesus.  We must not let that happen.

Jesus has warned us to be on the alert.  “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world” (1 Peter 5:8,9).

Heavenly Father, when satan attacks us, please help us to stay on the battlefield for Jesus just as He stayed on the cross for us.  I love You, Heavenly Father.  I love You, Jesus.  I love You, Holy Spirit.  Heavenly Father, please encourage those who are hurting, lonely and discouraged.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

March 31, 2018

FORGIVENESS AND JOY

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”

Revelation 2:17 KJV

Charles Austin Miles wrote a beautiful inspiring hymn “A New Name In Glory”.  “I was humbly kneeling at the cross, Fearing naught but God’s angry frown; When the heavens opened and I saw That my name was written down.”  Is your name written down?  Thank God for the redeeming cleansing blood of Jesus.

We read in the Bible.  “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke 15:10).  The angels rejoice when someone accepts Jesus as Saviour.  What a loving Saviour we have!  He loves us so much He died on the cross for us.

Joanne Lowe

March 30, 2018

NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Ephesians 2:8,9 KJV

I had a terrible dream a couple of nights ago.  In my dream, I couldn’t get a job because I didn’t have any experience.  I was living on the street because I didn’t have the money to pay rent.  When I finally woke up from that dream, I was very upset for a few hours and then I realized it was just a bad dream.

We can’t work for our salvation and we don’t need money to go to Heaven.  It is a free gift to us from the compassionate loving heart of our Heavenly Father.  All we have to do is to believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and ask God to forgive us.  He wants us to come just as we are.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the precious gift of Your Son.  Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross and paying the penalty for my sins.  How I long for the day when I will see You face to face and praise God, one day I will see You face to face.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

March 29, 2018

THE HOLY SPIRIT

“Quench not the Spirit.”

1 Thessalonians 5:19 KJV

There are only four words in our verse for today but they are very important.  One of the definitions in Webster’s Dictionary for quench is “To still; to quiet; to repress; as, to quench a passion or emotion.”  I was in a church service and the pastor said he wasn’t giving an invitation so we could go eat.

Many years ago at a Sunday morning worship service while the pastor was still preaching I went to the altar and kneeled and started praying.  The lady playing the organ got up and came to the altar and kneeled.  Within ten minutes, several people were kneeling at the altar.

The pastor stopped preaching in the middle of his sermon and said “The Holy Spirit has taken over this service”.  What a time of happiness and rejoicing together we had.  It is so important that we don’t quench the moving of the Holy Spirit.  Thank God for the pastor who stopped preaching.

Joanne Lowe

March 28, 2018

ALL THE TIME

“Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

John 12:13 KJV

We shouldn’t wait for special occasions to give honor and glory to Jesus. We should praise Him all the time.  If ever someone deserves to be praised, it is Jesus, the “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”.  It is sad but true.  We cheer more for our favorite sports team than we do for Jesus. 

How we must hurt Him and break His heart and also His Father’s heart.  Not only was the heart of our precious Saviour broken on Calvary, God’s heart was also broken because His Son had been beaten beyond recognition, spat on, cursed, mocked and crucified on the cross.

May God help us to give Jesus praise and glory every cay of our life.  It is because of His love for His Father and His unconditional love for you and for me that we have the privilege of having our sins forgiven and cleansed by the precious atoning blood of Jesus.  Please join me in praising Him now and every day.

Joanne Lowe

March 26, 2018

YOU ARE NOT MY CHILD

“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

A dad said to his son who was doing drugs “You are not my child.  I don’t want anything to do with you.  Get out of my house now and don’t come back!”  Where would we be if our Heavenly Father said that to us?  However, He will never say that to us.  He loves us unconditionally and we can trust Him to never hit us or disown us.  O how He loves us!

Joanne Lowe

March 25, 2018

IT BREAKS HIS HEART

“She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”

John 8:11 KJV

Jesus loves us so much H died for us and it breaks His heart when we sin.  However, He doesn’t condemn us.  He tells us to stop sinning.  We need Jesus every hour of every day because satan is going to do his best to discourage us so much that we stop serving Jesus.  We must not let that happen.  We must stay on the battle field for Jesus and stop breaking His heart.

Joanne Lowe

March 24, 2018

EVERYTHING

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Romans 12:1, 2 KJV

Elisha Albright Hoffman wrote one of my favorite hymns “Is Your All on the Altar?”  “Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?  Your heart does the Spirit control? You can only be blest, And have peace and sweet rest, As you yield Him your body and soul.”  Have we surrendered everything to Him? 

If we can’t answer yes to this question, we need to ask God to forgive us and ask Him to help us surrender everything to Him,  May God help us to give Him our talents, our time, our heart and everything we have because it all belongs to Him.  We have a loving Heavenly Father and He deserves everything.

Joanne Lowe

March 23, 2018

I DIDN’T DO IT

“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”

Revelation 22:16 KJV

Someone asked me how I was and I said I was fine.  I asked her how she was and she replied “It’s Monday”.  Without realizing what I was doing, I said “Yes, it’s Monday”.  Instead of encouraging her and telling her Jesus loves her, I didn’t do it.  I just agreed with her.

However, before you judge and criticize me, search your own heart.  Do you tell people that Jesus is our Sonshine?  Jesus is the “Bright and Morning Star” and He can chase the clouds of sadness and discouragement away if we will only let Him do it.  

May God help us to encourage one another by the reminder that Jesus is not only the Light of the world, He is also the Light in our heart and He loves us so much he died for us.  Point others to the love of Jesus and there will be less sadness and heartaches.

Joanne Lowe

March 20, 2018

HELP THEM

“And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.   And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,  And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.  Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”
Luke 10:30-37 KJV

Someone said “Have you noticed all the bruises on her arms”?  The person he was talking to replied “Yes, but she has to ask for help before I help her because otherwise I don’t want to get involved”.  Sometimes people can’t ask for help because they are shy or afraid to ask for help.  Jesus said we are to help.

Jesus gets involved in our lives and He helps us in every way.  All we have to do is ask Him for help and then get out of the way and let Him help us.  Are you willing to get out of your comfort zone and get involved?  If Jesus hadn’t got involved and died for us we would be on our way to hell.  Open your heart and help.

Joanne Lowe

March 19, 2018

OUR COMPASSIONATE FATHER

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Revelation 21:4 KJV

Our Heavenly Father cares when we are hurting and He tenderly wipes the tears from our eyes with loving and compassionate kisses.  O how God loves you!  If you are hurting and brokenhearted, allow God to comfort and encourage you as only He can.

Joanne Lowe

March 17, 2018

ONE HAPPY DAY

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”

1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV

I have cataracts and it is very hard for me to see and type but one happy day, I will see Jesus face to face.  Think about it.  We are going to have the privilege of seeing our precious Saviour face to face.  Are you shouting with happiness yet?  We get excited over football games and we cheer for our favorite team.  How much more we should get excited and cheer for Jesus.

Joanne Lowe

March 16, 2018

WHERE IS THE LOVE

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”

John 13:34 KJV

Yesterday, I listened to a program on a Christian radio station.  The people on this particular program was saying terrible, judgmental and criticizing words about people they didn’t like.  Not one time did these people say that Jesus loves the people they were criticizing.

Where is the love?  It is not a suggestion or an option to love one another unconditionally as Jesus loves us.  It is a commandment from Jesus, our Saviour.  May God have mercy on us for criticizing and judging one another.  Instead of judging and criticizing, we need to be praying for each other.

We read in the Bible.  “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:” (Luke 6:37).  It is time we stop judging and make sure our own heart is in right standing with God.  Let’s start loving unconditionally and pray for one another.

Joanne Lowe

March 13, 2018

WE CAN’T HIDE

“If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.”

Psalms 139:11, 12

King James Version

A man had done something illegal.  He heard the police coming and he shredded the papers so the police couldn’t read the evidence.  The police couldn’t read the papers but God could read them even if they were shredded.  We can’t hide from God.  He sees everything and He hears everything.

Heavenly Father, search my heart and if there is anything that hurts You, I’m sorry.  Remove anything from my heart that shouldn’t be there.  I never want to hurt You but I know that I do at times.  Please forgive me and help me do things and say words that make You happy.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

March 12, 2018

WE LOVE YOU

“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

Heavenly Father, You not only gave us Your Son, You also give us compassion, tenderness, protection and forgiveness every day.  Thank You for everything.  We love You and appreciate You.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

March 8, 2018

HE HOLDS US CLOSE

“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

A young girl was crying and her mother held her close to comfort her.  That is what our Heavenly Father does for us when we are crying.  He holds us close and tenderly dries our tears with kisses of compassion.  We have a loving Heavenly Father Who loves us so much He gave His beloved Son to die on the cross for our sins.  Allow God to comfort you when you are hurting.

Joanne Lowe

March 6, 2018

GOD’S FAITHFULNESS

“It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:22, 23 KJV

Rev. Thomas Chisholm wrote one of my favorite hymns “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”.  “Great Is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father!  There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.”  We have a faithful Heavenly Father.

Loving Heavenly Father, thank You for Your faithfulness to us and for being a compassionate loving Father.  I love You, dear Father, and I appreciate all You have done for me.  Thank You for the privilege You have given me to serve Your Son.  Please comfort all who are hurting.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

March 2, 2018

ONE JOYOUS HAPPY DAY

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Revelation 21:4 KJV

The newspapers report violence every day.  People are being killed, raped and hurt.  One joyous happy day when Jesus comes back for us, there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain and God Himself is going to wipe the tears from our eyes.  I believe He is going to dry our tears with kisses.

If you feel like you can’t go on or give another smile, realize that one day God is going to dry your tears with tender loving compassionate kisses.  Esther Kerr Rusthoi wrote one of my favorite hymns "It Will be Worth it All, When We See Jesus."  It really will be worth it all when we see our precious Saviour.

Heavenly Father, I pray for all who are lonely, discouraged, broken hearted and going through dark valleys.  Please comfort and encourage them as You have done for me.  I love You so much Heavenly Father.  Thank You for loving me and for adopting me into Your family.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

March 1, 2018