ARE WE A BLESSING

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

2 Corinthians 5:20

King James Version

Harper G. Smyth wrote one of my favorite hymns “Make Me A Channel of Blessing”.  “Make me a channel of blessing today, Make me a channel of blessing, I pray; My life possessing, my service blessing, Make me a channel of blessing today.”  Are we a blessing to others?  Do others know we love Jesus by our words and by our actions?

There are many people who are hurting and they need to know that someone loves them.  May God help us to be a channel of blessing to our family, our friends and to everyone we see.  We don’t know what is going on in someone’s life, what dark valleys they are going through.  All we know is what they tell us.

I don’t know about you but it is very hard for me to share with people when I am hurting.  I’m not sure why, maybe because I’m afraid people won’t understand or they will think what I am going through isn’t that important.  Jesus sees what is in our heart and He understands and He cares when we are hurting.  Jesus is a Friend beyond compare.  I have many precious friends and I have a best friend that God gave me but they are human and they can’t see into my heart.  They only know what I share with them.  Jesus always understands and He always cares when I am hurting.

We need to be encouragers to one another.  Are you encouraging people by your words and by your actions or are you discouraging them?  We read in the Bible.  “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).

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me and for adopting me into Your family.  I pray that You will help me to be an encourager to everyone I see.  Thank You for Your Son Who is the greatest Encourager of all.  Jesus, I love You with all my heart and I long for the day when I will see You face to face.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

August 14, 2019

HE STILL LOVES US

“And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.  And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.  And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.   And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.  And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.  And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.  But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”

Luke 15:11-24

King James Version

What a beautiful illustration of the unconditional love our Heavenly Father has for us!  No matter how many times we fail Him and hurt Him, our loving and compassionate Heavenly Father still loves us.  William J. Kirkpatrick wrote one of my favorite hymns “Lord, I'm Coming Home”  “I've wasted many precious years, Now I'm coming home; I now repent with bitter tears, Lord, I'm coming home.”

If you have wasted many precious years and wandered away from God, He still loves you and is waiting with His arms open wide for you to come back to Him.  He won’t hit you, scold you or tell you that you’re no good like some dads do; He will hug you and rejoice because you have come back to Him.  He loves you so much He gave His beloved Son to die on the cross for your sins.  Please don’t wait another minute.  Run into His open arms and let Him comfort you.  He really cares about you.

Heavenly Father, You are a tender compassionate loving Father.  Thank You for loving us even when we hurt You.  I pray for all who are lonely, discouraged and broken hearted.  Please comfort them as You have done for me so many times.  I pray for every pastor who is preaching the good news of our risen Saviour.  Please let them know how much You love them and appreciate their service.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

August 13, 2019

TELL JESUS

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

King James Version

Pastor Elisha A. Hoffman wrote one of my favorite hymns “I Must Tell Jesus”  I love the words in this wonderful hymn.  “I must tell Jesus all of my troubles, He is a kind, compassionate Friend; If I but ask Him, He will deliver, Make of my troubles quickly an end. I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus! I cannot bear my burdens alone; I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus! Jesus can help me, Jesus alone."

I have the greatest Pastor in the world.  How thankful I am that God allows me to have Pastor Davis as my Pastor.  I also have many wonderful friends and I have a best friend who I love very much and would die for but my Pastor and my friends can’t see into my heart.  They only know what I tell them but Jesus knows what is in my heart and He cares when I am hurting and He cares when you are hurting.

So many times we try to do things without asking Jesus to help us and then we wonder why we can’t do them.  Jesus told us why we can’t do them by ourselves.  We read in the Bible.  “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).  If we would only ask Jesus to help us, we wouldn’t have as many problems.  There was a television program that I used to watch “Father Knows Best”.  Our precious Saviour knows what is best for us if we will only trust Him and listen to what He tells us.

There were times when I disobeyed my Mother that she said to me “It doesn’t matter what I say, you’re going to do what you want to do”.  She said that to me many times and I think if we will listen with our heart we will hear Jesus say to us “It doesn’t matter what I say, you’re going to do what you want to do”.  It is time that we start trusting Jesus more than we do because when we don’t trust Him, it hurts Him and breaks His heart.

When is the last time you told Jesus that you love Him?  Jesus has feelings too and He wants us to tell Him we love Him.  If Jesus didn’t tell me every day that He loves me, it would break my heart.  Do you love Jesus?  If you do love Him, what are you doing to prove to Him that you love Him?

Joanne Lowe

August 12, 2019

OUR HAVEN

“He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.”

Psalms 107:29, 30
King James Version

Henry L. Gilmour wrote the beautiful hymn “The Haven of Rest”.  “My soul in sad exile was out on life’s sea, So burdened with sin and distressed, Till I heard a sweet voice, saying, Make Me your choice; And I entered the Haven of Rest!  I’ve anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest, I’ll sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, In Jesus I’m safe evermore.”

Webster’s Dictionary gives this definition for haven “a place of safety”.  Jesus is our Haven, a place of safety and rest.  When satan attacks us with lies and all other things to discourage us from serving Jesus, we need to remember that Jesus knows how it feels to be tempted by satan.  

We read in the Bible.  “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).  We have a compassionate Saviour Who loves us and He loves us unconditionally.  If you feel like you can’t take another step or give another smile, tell Jesus.  He will pick you up in His loving arms and will carry you through all the dark valleys in your life and will set you once again on the  mountain top of happiness.

Yes, our precious Saviour understands when we are hurting and discouraged.  He knows how it feels to be discouraged and He cares when we are going through dark valleys.  John W. Peterson wrote the beautiful and inspiring hymn “NO ONE UNDERSTANDS LIKE JESUS”.  I’m so glad the words in this hymn are true.  “No one understands like Jesus; Ev'ry woe He sees and feels; Tenderly He whispers comfort, And the broken heart He heals.”

Our family, our loved ones and our friends can’t heal our broken heart as much as they want to do so.  Only Jesus can heal a broken heart.  What a Saviour!  What a Friend, this Jesus of Nazareth!  Please join me in praising the One Who loves you so much He died for you and suffered pain and anguish that you and I will never know.  O how I love Jesus and one day I will have the privilege of seeing Him face to face.

Joanne Lowe

August 11, 2019

EVERYTHING

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 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 28:18-20

King James Version

Mary D. James wrote one of my favorite hymns “All for Jesus”.  I love these words.  “All for Jesus, all for Jesus! All my being’s ransomed powers: All my thoughts and words and doings, All my days and all my hours.”  Yes, every thing that we do or say should be for Jesus.  The heart’s desire of every Christian should be to make Jesus happy.  Are you making Jesus happy? 

Evangelist Judson W. Van DeVenter wrote the beautiful hymn “I Surrender All”  “All to Jesus, I surrender; All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live.”  Have we surrendered all to Jesus or are we still allowing resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, hatred, jealousy and envy to remain in our heart?

If we would only realize that when we have resentment, unforgiveness, jealousy, hatred and envy in our heart, it hurts Jesus and breaks His heart, I believe we would forgive those who have hurt us.  The ones we are so angry with and don’t forgive are ones who Jesus died for just as He died for us.  May God help us to be like Jesus and forgive as He forgives us.

Someone said “She doesn’t deserve to be forgiven for what she did”.  I submit to you on the authority of the Word of God that none of us deserve to be forgiven.  We read in the Bible.  “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  It is only because Jesus died for our sins on the cross that any of us can be forgiven.  How dare we ask God to forgive us if we refuse to forgive the ones who have hurt us.

Heavenly Father, I pray You will speak to those who refuse to forgive and melt their hardened heart.  Help us to remember that without the blood of Jesus applied to our heart for the forgiveness of our sins, all of us would be on our way to hell.  Thank You for loving us so much You gave Your beloved Son to die for our sins.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

August 10, 2019

HIS NAME

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Philippians 2:5-11

King James Version

Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote one of my very favorite hymns “There’s Something About That Name”.  I love these words in this beautiful inspiring and heart touching hymn.  “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; there's just something about that name. Master, Savior, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain; Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all Heaven and earth proclaim Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, But there's something about that name. Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, But there's something about that name.”

I submit to you on the authority of the Word of God that there is no other name except Jesus that can fill our heart with joy and happiness and one happy day we will see our precious Saviour face to face when He comes back for us.  What a wonderful day of rejoicing and happiness that will be when we see the One Who loves us so much He died for us.

One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord and He will finally get the praise that He deserves.  What a beautiful scene that is going to be when people bow their knee and admit that Jesus is Lord.  If ever someone deserves to be praised and adored, it is Jesus, the “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS’.  Please join me in praising the One Who loves us so much He willingly walked that long lonely road to Calvary and allowed them to crucify Him for your sins and for my sins. 

If you ever think no one loves you, remember the cross that Jesus died on for your sins because He loves you so much.  No one loves us like Jesus loves us and nobody ever will.  There is nothing you could ever do that would make Jesus stop loving you.  He loved you yesterday.  He loves you today and He will love you tomorrow.  You are very precious to Jesus.  He rejoices with you when you are happy and He weeps with you when you are sad.  He sits beside our bed and holds our hand when the night seems so long and tells us that He loves us.  What a Friend!  What a Saviour, this Jesus of Nazareth!  O how I love Jesus and one day I am going to have the privilege of seeing Him face to face.

Joanne Lowe

August 9, 2019

BECAUSE 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

King James Version

My best friend is having surgery today.  When I was praying for her I said “Heavenly Father, I love her and I don’t want her to hurt.  I wish I could have the pain instead of her.”  God spoke to my heart and said “That is why I gave My Son to die on the cross for your sins because I love you and that is why He stayed on the cross when He could have come down because He loves you so much.

I have said this many times and will keep saying it until God calls me home.  Nobody loves us like Jesus loves us and nobody ever will.  Yes, our Heavenly Father and Jesus love us and they have proved how much They love us.  What a privilege it is to be loved by Them and to be part of the family of God.

If you are discouraged and lonely and feel like giving up and going to bed and staying there, tell Jesus.  He will pick you up and carry you through all the dark valleys in your life and will set you once again on the mountain top of happiness.  Jesus cares when you are hurting.  What a Saviour!  What a Friend, this Jesus of Nazareth!  All hail, King Jesus!  Worthy is the Lamb of God!  He is the “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”. 

Joanne Lowe

August 8, 2019