HE CARES

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

I Peter 5:7
King James Version

Rev. Frank E. Graeff wrote the hymn "Does Jesus Care?". "Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares, His heart is touched with my grief; When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares." Yes, Jesus cares when we are hurting. He knows how it feels to be ridiculed, rejected, forsaken and forgotten and His heart is moved with compassion for us when we are hurting.

May God help us to encourage one another and let everyone know by our words and our actions that we love Jesus. Do you love Jesus? Are you serving Jesus? If not, why aren't you serving Him? Jesus left His home, His Father and all that He had to come to earth on the mission His Father gave Him. How can we do less than allow Jesus to have first place in our heart, in our time and in everything we do. O how I love Jesus!

Joanne Lowe
June 7, 2020

AND JESUS CRIES

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."

John 13:34, 35
King James Version

Jesus has told us to love one another as He loves us. Can you honestly say that you always love others unconditionally as He loves us? I can't say that I always love others unconditionally when someone hurts me. I know that I hurt Him when I don't and it breaks my heart to know that I hurt Him.

Is it easy to love others unconditionally no matter what they do that hurts us? No, it isn't easy. One the things I've found that helps me and it might help you is something that one of my pastors used to say in his sermons. The pastor would say "If you will make sure your own heart is right before God, you won't have the time to judge and condemn others". The pastor is so right because it is a full time job making sure i keep my own heart right before God.

One day we will stand before a Holy God and give an account of the way we treat His Son. I don't know about you but I don't want to have to hang my head in shame because I hurt Jesus and every time we say something cruel, something sarcastic or do something mean to someone, we are hurting Jesus. We read in the Bible. "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). May God help us to love one another unconditionally so we don't hurt Jesus.

Joanne Lowe
June 6, 2020

HAVE YOU DECIDED

"And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest."

Matthew 8:19
King James Version

Sundar Singh wrote the hymn "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus". Do we mean the words we sing in this hymn? "I have decided to follow Jesus, I have decided to follow Jesus, i have decided to follow Jesus, No turning back, no turning back." There are people who will go to another country on a mission trip but these same people won't go across town to visit people who are lonely and discouraged. You may think you don't have any talents, that you can't do anything for Jesus but all of us can encourage people and tell them that Jesus loves them.

We are either following Jesus or we're following satan. Who are you following and who are you serving. There is no middle ground. Are you serving Jesus? If not, why aren't you serving Him? Jesus left His Father, His home and all that He had to come to earth and die for us on the cross. Edith Margaret Clarkson wrote one of my favorite hymns "So Send I You". The words in this beautiful hymn touch my heart.

"So send I you to bind the bruised and broken Over wandering souls to work, to weep, to wake To bear the burdens of a world a-weary So send I you to suffer for My sake." Do you love Jesus enough to shut off the television, get out of your comfort zone and tell everyone you see how much Jesus loves them? May God help us to spread the unconditional love of Jesus to everyone we see. It will make Jesus happy.

Making Jesus happy should be the heart's desire of every Christian. We have a tender compassionate Saviour Who loves us so much He died for us.

Joanne Lowe
June 5, 2020

HOW MANY

"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."

Matthew 18:21, 22 

King James Version

A mother was yelling at her son and said "You said you weren't going to do this again. How many times do I have to forgive you?" Jesus said was are to forgive every time we are asked to forgive someone. Sometimes we act like we never do anything wrong or say anything to hurt people. I submit to you on the authority of the Word of God that there was only one perfect Person who ever lived or ever will live and His Name is Jesus.

How dare you and I go to a Holy God and ask Him to forgive us when we refuse to forgive those who have hurt us. One day we will stand before a Holy God and give an account of the way we treated Jesus and each other. How it must hurt our Heavenly Father and break His heart when He sees and hears some of the things we do and say.

Heavenly Father, please forgive me for the times when I have allowed unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment and anger to remain in my heart. I'm sorry that I hurt You. Thank You for the privilege You have given me to serve Your beloved Son. I pray for all who are hurting physically and emotionally. Please comfort and encourage them as You have done for me so many times. I love You, dear Father, and I appreciate all You do for me. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.

Joanne Lowe
June 4, 2020

THE KING

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:"

1 Thessalonians 4:16
King James Version

Andraé Crouch wrote one of my favorite hymns "Soon and Very Soon". I love the words in this beautiful hymn. "No more cryin' there we are goin' to see the King, No more cryin' there we are goin' to see the King, No more cryin' there we are goin' to see the King, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, we’re goin' to see the King!"

Yes, one happy joyful day Jesus is coming back for us and we will not only have the privilege of seeing Him face to face, we will be with Him for eternity. What a Saviour! What a Friend, this Jesus of Nazareth! All hail, King Jesus! Worthy is the Lamb of God"

Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote the beautiful hymn "Family of God" What a healing balm it is to our weary battle scarred heart to know that we are part of the family of God. "I'm so glad I'm part of the family of God. I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood! Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, For I'm part of the family, The Family of God."

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving Jesus to die on the cross for our sins so we can be saved and be part of Your family. I pray for all who are discouraged and lonely. Please comfort and encourage them as you have done for me so many times. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.

Joanne Lowe
June 3, 2020

EVERY DAY

"Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be."

Deuteronomy 33:25
King James Version

Lina Sandell wrote one of my favorite hymns "Day By Day". I love these words in this beautiful hymn. "Day by day, and with each passing moment, Strength I find, to meet my trials here; Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment, I’ve no cause for worry or for fear. He whose heart is kind beyond all measure Gives unto each day what He deems best— Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure, Mingling toil with peace and rest."

We can trust our Heavenly Father to take care of us. He loves us unconditionally and He will never yell at us, hit us or kick us out of Heaven as some dads kick their children out of their home. Our Heavenly Father is a tender compassionate Father Who loves us so much He gave His beloved Son to die on the cross for our sins so we can be saved.

Civilla D. Martin wrote the hymn "God Will Take of You" I'm so glad the words in this inspiring hymn are true. "Through days of toil when heart doth fail, God will take care of you; When dangers fierce your path assail, God will take care of you." Yes, every day our loving Heavenly Father takes care of us and He always will take care of us.

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us unconditionally even when we sometimes fail You and hurt You. I pray for all who are discouraged, lonely, hurting and who feel like giving up. Please comfort and encourage them as You have done for me so many times. Thank You for all You do for us every day. I love You, Heavenly Father. I love You, Jesus. I love You, Holy Spirit. In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.

Joanne Lowe
June 2, 2020

STILL ABLE

"If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king."

Daniel 3:17
King James Version

God Who delivered them from the fiery furnace and also delivered us from satan through the cleansing atoning blood of Jesus is still able to deliver us today. William A. Ogden wrote the hymn "He Is Able to Deliver Thee". I love these words. "Tis the grandest theme, let the tidings roll, To the guilty heart, to the sinful soul; Look to God in faith, He will make thee whole, Our God is able to deliver thee."

One day God looked down from Heaven and saw the world was in desperate need of a Saviour so He gave His beloved Son to die for our sins on the cross so we can be saved. What an amazing unconditional love Jesus gave us when He allowed them to crucify Him on the cross for your sins and for my sins. O how Jesus loves you. Thank You, Jesus, for loving us unconditionally and dying for our sins so we can be saved and go to Heaven. I love You so much, dear Jesus, and one happy joyful day I will see You face to face.

Joanne Lowe
June 1, 2020