MORE THAN ONE WAY

“Judge not, that ye be not judged.  For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”

Matthew 7:1,2 KJV

There has been a lot of shootings and violence lately.  These shootings should never have happened but none of us can point the finger at the ones who killed because none of us are perfect.  Someone said, “I would never kill someone no matter how angry I was at the person”.  There is more than one way to kill.

We kill people with the cruel hateful words we say to them.  Before I gave my heart to Jesus, I hated everyone and was very rude and sarcastic to everybody.  To think that Jesus loved me when I was so unlovable fills my heart with gratitude for Him.  I’m so glad when Jesus saved me that He gave me a new heart.

We read in the Bible “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8).  No, we can’t tame our tongue.  We need to allow Jesus to not only give us a new heart but also tame our tongue so we won’t say things that hurt people.  Remember, when we hurt people, we hurt Jesus.

No, we may never have shot or stabbed someone but if we have said cruel, hateful and sarcastic words, we might as well have stabbed them in their heart.  It hurts just as much and it kills their spirit.  May God have mercy on us and forgive us for hurting people.  I’m so glad that God forgives us.    

Joanne Lowe

October 14, 2016

  

HE CARES AND HE LOVES 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

I use this verse a lot because the love and care that God and Jesus have for us comes from Their heart.  They not only love us, They love us unconditionally.  Think about it.  God gave His beloved Son to die for us.  Jesus died for us.  What kind of love is this?  It is an unconditional, tender and amazing love.

Have you allowed it to enter your heart that one day Jesus is coming back for us and we will see Him face to face?  That is enough to make us shout with joy!  Are you shouting yet?  Jesus, the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS is coming back for us and we will be with Him for all eternity.

Are you ready to meet Him when He comes for us?  Have you forgiven the ones who have hurt you and have you asked the ones you have hurt to forgive you?  Is your heart right with God or is your heart filled with anger, resentment, unforgiveness, jealousy and hatred?  If so, repent and ask God to forgive you.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your tender loving care and for giving Jesus to die for our sins.  Jesus, You are so precious. Thank You for loving us so much that You died on the cross for our sins.  I love You, Heavenly Father.  I love You, Jesus.  I love You, Holy Spirit.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

October 13, 2016

REJECTION

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

Isaiah 53:3 KJV

Have you ever been rejected?  I have and it hurts.  Nobody likes to be rejected.  Jesus was rejected many times and He knows how it hurts to be rejected.  He was rejected when He was here on His mission and what breaks my heart is that He is still being rejected today by many people.

John W. Peterson wrote the inspiring hymn “No Room”.  These words break my heart.  “No room, only a manger of hay.  No room, He is a stranger today.”  Yes, even today our precious Saviour is being rejected.  He gave His life for us and yet people are still hurting Him and breaking His heart.

If you are a parent, you know how it hurts you and upsets you when someone says something or does something to hurt your children.  Think how our Heavenly Father must feel to see the way His beloved Son is treated.  One day we will stand before God and give an account of how we treated His Son.

Will we have to hang our head in shame?  It is time that we give Jesus the respect that He so richly deserves.  Let’s open the door to our heart wider and let Jesus have first place in our heart, in our life, in our activities and in everything we do and say.  If ever someone deserves to be praised, it is Jesus!

All hail, King Jesus!  Worthy is the Lamb of God!  He is the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!  O how I love Jesus.  He is the reason I get out of bed in the morning and He is my joy and happiness.  Praise God, one day I will see Him face to face.

Joanne Lowe

October 12, 2016

NOW

“(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”

2 Corinthians 6:2 KJV

A student went to his professor and asked him “When shall I be saved?”  The professor replied “The day before your death.”  The student said “I don’t know the day I am going to die”.  The professor said “Be saved today”.  Not only should we be saved today, we should be saved now!

Jesus Himself said we should be saved now.  We read in the Bible “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36).  Inviting Jesus into our heart to be our personal Saviour is more important than any other decision we will ever make.

Not only should we accept Jesus as our personal Saviour, we should also follow Him.  We sing the hymn “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus”.  When we sing it, are we singing the words from our heart?  Are we following Jesus?  Ernest W, Blandy wrote the hymn “Where He Leads Me”.

Not only should we follow Jesus, we should also go where He leads us.  Are we going where He leads us or are we going where we want to go?  Jesus knows what is best for us and He loves us unconditionally so we should go where He leads us.  May God help us to follow Jesus instead of going our own way.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for going where we want to go instead of following Jesus.  Help us to realize that Jesus should have first place in our heart, in our life, in our time and in every place we go.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen. 

Joanne Lowe

October 11, 2016

NO MORE HEARTACHES

“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

One day God Himself will wipe all tears from our eyes and there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain.  What a wonderful happy day that will be when our Heavenly Father wipes away our tears.  Just think there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain.  O how our Heavenly Father loves us.

Rev. Frederick Martin Lehman wrote the beautiful hymn “The Love of God”.  I love these words.  “To write the love of God above, Would drain the ocean dry.  Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky”.  It is impossible to express in words how much God loves you and me.

If you are going through a dark valley and your heart is breaking, remember that God loves you so much He gave His beloved Son to die on the cross for your sins.  Joyce Landorf Heatherley, a Christian speaker and author, said, a lady said “I can’t see the end of the tunnel.  I don’t think there is an end”.

Yes, there is an end to the darkness, hurt, pain and agony when God Himself will wipe away our tears.  If you are hurting today and feel like going to bed and staying there, remember God loves you so much He gave His Son to die on the cross for you.  You are loved by God and by our precious Saviour.

Heavenly Father, I pray for every person who is hurting.  Please comfort and encourage them as You have done for me so many times.  We love You and appreciate You, dear Father.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

October 10, 2016

THE COLOR OF LOVE

And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest.  And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Revelation 7:14 KJV

The color of love is the blood of the Lamb that He shed for our sins on the cross.  God didn’t make Jesus die on the cross for us.  Jesus willingly left His Father, His home and all that He had to die for us.  This is how much He loves us.  What kind of love is this?  It is an amazing unconditional love for us.

Robert Harkness wrote the beautiful hymn “Why Should He Love Me So”.  Have you ever wondered why Jesus loves you so much?  It is because not only does Jesus give us love, He is love, unconditional love.  Nobody loves you like Jesus loves you and nobody ever will.  He will never leave you.

Heavenly Father, when I think about Jesus suffering all that pain and anguish for my sins on the cross, it breaks my heart but it also fills my heart with joy to know He loves me so much.  Jesus, thank You for caring about me and for dying on the cross for me.  I love You so much.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.   

Joanne Lowe

October 9, 2016

DISOBEDIENCE

“And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.”

Genesis 3:17 KJV

It’s easy to blame Adam for all the problems we have because He disobeyed God.  However, you and I are not always obedient because none of us perfect.  There was only one perfect person who ever lived or ever will live and His name is Jesus.  He never sinned or did anything wrong.

My Mother used to say to me when I was young “It doesn’t matter what I say, you’re going to do what you want to do”.  I think God feels the same way about us.  If we will listen with our heart, we might hear Him say to us “It doesn’t matter what I say, you’re going to do what you want to do.”

We are the ones who say that one sin is worse than another sin.  However to God, sin is sin.  I believe if He were to say that one sin is worse than all other sins, He would say that disobedience is the worse sin.  We must always remember that what we do and say either hurts or it encourages people.

Are we an encourager to one another?  All of us need to be encouraged and all of us need to know that we are loved.  May God help us to spread the unconditional love of Jesus to everyone and to be encouragers instead of discouraging people.  When is the last time you hugged someone for Jesus?

Joanne Lowe

October 8, 2016