I WANT YOU

“And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called.  And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.”

Mark 10:49 KJV

Someone said to her daughter “I don’t want you.  I never wanted you”.  These are words that nobody wants to hear.  When the mother said that to her daughter, it not only broke her daughter’s heart, it also broke our Saviour’s heart because He loves us.  Jesus wants us and He calls us to come to Him.

Will Lamartine Thompson wrote the heart touching hymn “Softly And Tenderly Jesus Is Calling”.  What a healing balm it is to our weary battle scarred heart to know that not only does Jesus want us; He also calls us to come to Him.  If you ever think nobody loves you or wants you, remember Jesus wants you.

There are many people who are hurting and desperately need to know Jesus loves them.  Joyce Landorf Heatherley, a Christian speaker and author, said on one of her teaching tapes “The people we sit next to in church look fine and they look darling, but inside they are hurting”.  O how we need to spread the love of Jesus.

It is very important that we as parents tell our children that we love them and want them.  It doesn’t matter how old our children are or how young they are, they need to know they are loved and wanted.  If you will listen with your heart, you will hear our Heavenly Father say “I love you and want you”.

Precious Heavenly Father, I pray for every person who feels unloved and unwanted.  Please comfort and encourage them as You have done for me so many times.  Dry their tears with Your tender compassionate kisses.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

September 7, 2016

I NEVER WILL

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 1:9 KJV

A man was asked “Do you think God will forgive me for what I’ve done”?  The man replied “You’d better hope He does because I’m not sure I ever will”.  How that statement must have hurt Jesus and broke His heart.  Even while He was hanging on the cross with the blood flowing down His body, He forgave us.

We read in the Bible.  “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.  And they parted his raiment, and cast lots” (Luke 23:34).  If Jesus forgave us while He was still hanging on the cross in pain, how dare you and I go to a Holy God and ask Him to forgive us if we don’t forgive others?

How we must hurt our precious Saviour and break His heart when we aren’t willing to forgive others.  Jesus didn’t have to forgive us.  What if Jesus had said that He would never forgive us?  You and I would be on our way to hell for all eternity.  Thank God for the unconditional love of our Saviour.

I think you and I sometimes forget that we too hurt people at times.  If we refuse to forgive the ones who hurt us, we can’t expect the ones we hurt to forgive us.  May God have mercy on us and forgive us for being judgmental and refusing to forgive the ones who hurt us.  Let’s start forgiving as Jesus forgave us.

Joanne Lowe

September 6, 2016

HOW CAN WE THANK THEM

“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

God loves us so much He gave His Son to die on the cross for us.  Jesus loves us so much He died on the cross for us and paid the penalty for our sins that we could never have paid.  This is how much They love us.  How can we thank Them for all They have done for us?  O how God and Jesus love us!

We can thank Them by serving Jesus and by giving Him first place in our heart, in our time, in our relationships and in everything we do.  We can also thank Them by not doing things we know will hurt Them.  Someone emailed me and asked “Is it okay to watch movies on television”?

It is okay to watch movies as long as we would feel comfortable watching them if Jesus was sitting beside us.  We should never do anything or go anywhere that would hurt Jesus.  A dad said “If my children aren’t welcome, I’m not going to your place”.  This is how we should feel about Jesus.

If Jesus is not welcome we should not go to those places.  I believe it would embarrass Jesus and break His heart if we went to places that we know we shouldn’t go.  If ever someone deserves to be honored and respected, it is Jesus the Saviour of the world!  Let’s do everything we can to make Him happy.

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us so much You gave Your Son to die for our sins.  Jesus, thank You for loving us so much You died for us.  I love You, Heavenly Father.  I love You, Jesus.  I love You, Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

September 5, 2016

THE FRAGRANCE OF GOD’S LOVE

“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

One of the definitions for fragrance in Webster’s Dictionary is “the quality or state of having a sweet odor”.  Everything about Jesus is sweet.  There have been times when I have smelled the fragrance of a rose in my house and I didn’t have any flowers in the house at that time.  It was the fragrance of Jesus.

Jesus tells us that He is a Rose.  “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys” (Song of Solomon 2:1).  Not only is Jesus precious, loving, tender, compassionate and sweet, He is also the Rose in our heart.  Jesus is the fragrance of God’s love to us.  He not only smells good, He smells wonderful.

One glorious day, we will be with Him for all eternity when He comes back for us.  What rejoicing and happiness there will be on that wonderful day.  Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord!  On that day, He will get the glory and the respect He deserves.

Heavenly Father, we praise You and thank You for giving Jesus to us Who is the fragrance of Your love to us.  I love You, Heavenly Father.  I love You, Jesus.  I love You, Holy Spirit.  Father, I pray for every person who is hurting.  Please comfort and encourage them.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen. 

Joanne Lowe

September 4, 2016

HE WANTS YOU

“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

A mother was very abusive to her little girl.  She said terrible and hateful things to her and beat her.  The little girl was scared.  She believed that nobody loved her or wanted her.  I submit to you on the authority of the Word of God that Jesus not only loves you, He also wants you so much that He died for you.

“Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said “Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:13,14).

It upsets Jesus very much and makes Him angry when children are mistreated.  One day every person will stand before a Holy God and give an account of how we treated children.  May God have mercy on us if we are abusive to children and don’t tell them that Jesus loves them so much He died for them.

Jesus not only loves little children, He loves every person in the world and He wants you.  He longs to heal your broken heart and dry your tears with tender loving kisses.  O how He loves you.  Yes, I mean you.  Jesus loves you.  You are very precious to Him, so precious that He died for you.

Heavenly Father, I pray for every child who is abused and beaten by their parents or by anyone else.  Please hold these precious children close to Your heart and hug them.  Let them feel Your love for them and let them know that You will protect them from harm.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.   

Joanne Lowe

September 3, 2016

JESUS IS STILL SHINING

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

John 8:12 KJV

Even when it is storming outside and it’s hard to see because of the rain, Jesus is still shining His light in our heart.  If we will follow Jesus, we will have the light of life.  Thank God for His compassion and unconditional love for us in giving His Son to die on the cross for our sins.

It doesn’t matter how many dark valleys and how many crises we go through because the light of Jesus will still shine brightly in our heart.  The light of Jesus is not like a light bulb that burns out.  His light never goes out.  We can’t depend on light bulbs but we can depend on the light of Jesus.

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for Jesus.  Your unconditional love and compassion for us is a healing balm to our heart.  Thank You for adopting me into Your family and thank You for the privilege of serving Jesus.  I pray that people will always see Jesus shining through me.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.   

Joanne Lowe

September 2, 2016

WHERE IS OUR MIND

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

Isaiah 26:3 KJV

There are times when we make our own problems and turmoil because we get our eyes and our thoughts off of Jesus.  We worry about our finances, our jobs, our relationships and other things.  If we will keep Jesus first in our thoughts, we will have better days with fewer problems.  Where is our mind today?

Heavenly Father, help us to keep our thoughts and our eyes on Jesus.  Thank You for being a tender loving compassionate Father.  We love You and appreciate all You do for us.  I pray for every person who is lonely, hurting and feels unloved.  Please comfort and encourage them.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

September 1, 2016