THERE’S STILL ROOM

“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”

Colossians 1:20 KJV

Pastor Ira Stanphill wrote “Room at the Cross”.  I’m so glad the heart touching and inspiring words in this beautiful hymn are still true today.  “There's room at the cross for you There's room at the cross for you Though millions have come, there's still room for one Yes there's room at the cross for you.”

If you have never opened the door of your heart and invited Jesus in to be your personal Saviour, I urge you, I plead with you to do it now.  Jesus could come back for us even as you read this devotion.  Your family and loved ones can’t do it for you.  Salvation is personal between Jesus and you.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).  The most important decision you will ever make is where you will spend eternity.  You’ll either spend it in Heaven or you’ll spend it in hell.

If you are saved and have wandered away from God, He is waiting with open arms for you to come back to Him.  William J. Kirkpatrick wrote “LORD, I’M COMING HOME”.  “I’ve wandered far away from God, Now I’m coming home; The paths of sin too long I’ve trod, Lord, I’m coming home.”

Don’t let your pride or fear of what someone will say keep you from going home to our Heavenly Father.  He’ll forgive you and hold you close to His loving heart.  He loves you so much He gave His beloved Son to die on the cross.  Go home to God now!

Joanne Lowe

January 31, 2019

THE DESIRE OF MY HEART

“The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD?”

1 Chronicles 29:5 KJV

Rev. M. Homer Cummings wrote a beautiful hymn “I Want My Life to Count for Jesus”.  It is the desire of my heart and should be the desire of every Christian that our life count for Jesus by the things we do and the things we say.  May God help us to lead others to Jesus by our loving actions and words. 

I love the words in this inspiring and heart touching hymn.  “I want my life to speak for Jesus, In words of love and cheer, That lonely hearts by grief o’ertaken May feel His blessèd presence near. I want my life to speak for Him, In service every day; In all I do, in all I say, I want my life to speak for Him.”

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”.  We need to be encouragers to one another and especially for our pastors and deacons and their families. 

I don’t know about you but it is very difficult for me to share what is in my heart because I think people won’t understand or will laugh at me.  There is good news.  We can tell Jesus anything.  Jesus can see into our heart and He knows how we feel but He wants us to share our heart with Him.

Heavenly Father, the desire of my heart is to make Jesus happy.  I pray You will search my heart and if there is anything that hurts You, I’m sorry.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

January 30, 2019

NO WORDS

“(A Psalm of David.) Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.  Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”

Psalms 29:1,2 KJV

Andrae' Crouch wrote the beautiful hymn “My Tribute”.  “How can I say thanks for the things You have done for me Things so undeserved Yet You give to prove Your love for me The voices of a million angels Could not express my gratitude All that I am and ever hope to be I owe it all to Thee.”

There are no words to express how much God and Jesus love us and all that They have done for us.  One day, God opened His heart of unconditional love and compassion for us and gave His beloved Son to die on the cross and pay the debt for our sins that we could never have paid.

Would you send your son to war knowing in advance he was going to be killed?  Of course, you wouldn’t but that is exactly what our Heavenly Father did for us.  God knew His Son was going to be beaten beyond recognition, spat on, cursed, rejected and left alone to die on the cross but God still gave Him for us.

Evangelist Ellis J. Crum wrote the hymn “He Paid a Debt He Did Not Owe”.  “He paid a debt He did not owe.  I owed a debt I could not pay.  I needed someone to wash my sins away, And now I sing a brand new song, Amazing grace all day long.  Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.”

There is nothing that we could do to deserve the unconditional love, mercy and compassion that Jesus gave us when He died on the cross for our sins.  What a Saviour!  What a Friend, this Jesus of Nazareth!  Please join me in praising Him.

Joanne Lowe

January 29, 2019

IMPOSSIBLE

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:”

1 Peter 1:7,8 KJV

Pastor Barney E. Warren wrote one of my favorite hymns “Joy Unspeakable”.  The words in this beautiful hymn describe the Joy I have since Jesus came into my heart.  “I have found the joy no tongue can tell, How its waves of glory roll! It is like a great o’erflowing well, Springing up within my soul.”

It is impossible for me to tell you the difference that Jesus has made in my heart and in my life.  Before Jesus came into my heart, I was a very selfish person.  I had been beaten, cursed, raped and told that I didn’t have a right to live.  I hated everybody and was afraid of everyone and everything.

The day that Jesus put His arms of compassion and love around me and told me that He loved me is the greatest day of my life.  When I think about the “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” loving me, I stand amazed that He could love me as rotten as I was before I was saved.  What a compassionate Saviour!

Charles H. Gabriel wrote a hymn that describes how I feel about Jesus “I Stand Amazed in the Presence”.  “I stand amazed in the presence Of Jesus the Nazarene, And wonder how He could love me, A sinner, condemned, unclean.”  He not only loves you, He also loves me.  O how I love Jesus.  He is the Joy of my heart.

Joanne Lowe

January 28, 2019

EVERY STEP

“That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.”

1Thessalonians 2:12 KJV

When a little child starts to walk, the parents are there to help and catch the child if he or she starts to fall.  After the child learns to walk, the parents no longer holds the child’s hand.  Jesus doesn’t let us walk alone.  He holds our hand and He never lets go.  We can depend on our Saviour to never leave us.

W. Elmo Mercer, a wonderful song writer, wrote a beautiful inspiring and heart touching hymn “Each Step I Take”.  I love this hymn.  “Each step I take my Savior goes before me, And with His loving hand He leads the way. And with each breath I whisper, I adore Thee; O what joy to walk with Him each day.”

Since I invited Jesus into my heart on August 14, 1980, He has held my hand and has never left me, not even for one minute.  Have I always made Him happy?  It breaks my heart to admit it but there have been times when I hurt Him.  Every time I realize that I have done something that hurts Him, it breaks my heart.

Eliza E. Hewitt wrote another beautiful and inspiring hymn about our precious Saviour “Stepping in the Light”.  “Pressing more closely to Him who is leading, When we are tempted to turn from the way; Trusting the arm that is strong to defend us, Happy, how happy, our praises each day.”

If we will hold our Saviour’s hand and allow Him to lead us and protect us, we will have a happy and more victorious life.  We can trust Jesus because He will never fail us and He will never leave us.  We may leave Him but He has told us He will never leave us and He keeps His Word.  What a precious Saviour!

Joanne Lowe

January 27, 2019

EVERY FIVE MINUTES

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.”

Proverbs 23:7 KJV

Many years ago, I was one of several people who owned a cleaning service.  We cleaned offices after they were closed.  I cleaned the bathrooms.  I also worked at an airport cleaning bathrooms and every five minutes they were dirty again and had to be cleaned again.

Our heart sometimes gets dirty again because we allow unforgiveness, jealousy, anger, bitterness, resentment and hatred to remain in our heart.  It is okay to get angry as long as we forgive those who hurt us.  I used to ask God to forgive me for things I had done without forgiving the ones who hurt me.

One day, God took me out to His woodshed and asked me why He should forgive me for things when I was unwilling to forgive those who had hurt me.  It broke my heart and I told Him I was sorry and asked Him to help me love others unconditionally as Jesus has commanded us to love one another.

“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).

It is okay to get angry and we will because we are human but it becomes sin if we don’t forgive people.  Can you honestly say you always love people unconditionally?

Heavenly Father, please forgive me for the times when I don’t love unconditionally.  I want others to see and hear the love that Jesus has for them by the way I treat them and the words I say to them.  I pray for all who are discouraged and hurting.  Please comfort and encourage them.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen. 

Joanne Lowe

January 26, 2019

PRAY AND ENCOURAGE

“And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

Romans 10:15 KJV

It is very important we pray for and encourage our pastors.  I think we sometimes forget that they get tired just like we do.  Pastors are on call twenty four hours a day.  There are times they have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the hospital and pray with someone.

Pastors sacrifice time with their family to minister to their congregation.  I heard a sermon many years ago and the pastor said “There is a difference between pastors and preachers.  Preachers just preach but a pastor who really loves Jesus is available to their congregation all the time”.

Several years ago, I had a pastor who would call his wife to come up and stand with him.  The pastor said “Please pray for my wife as she is my biggest encourager when I am discouraged”.  It is very important that we pray for and encourage our pastor and family.

It is also very important that we pray for and encourage deacons and their wives because they get discouraged just like pastors.  A pastor said “The deacons and their wives are very important because they not only help me and pray for me, they also encourage me.  Please pray for them”.  Are we praying for them?

Heavenly Father, I pray for every pastor who is preaching the good news of our risen Saviour.  Please encourage them.  I pray for all the pastor’s wives and for all the deacons and their wives.  Please encourage them.  In Jesus’ Name, I pray.  Amen.

Joanne Lowe

January 25, 2019