Tag Archives: In Christ

Do You Know Jesus?

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“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.” John 14:7 ESV1

Read John 14:7-14

If I asked you, “Do you know Jesus?” what would you say? If your answer is, “Yes!” how do you know Him? Do you know Him as a historical figure? A person who once lived here on Earth, taught people how to love, and reportedly did some amazing things? Do you know Him as Savior? Are you confident that Jesus, by dying on the cross and rising from the dead, took the punishment for your sins and, through your belief in Him, you have received eternal life? Do you know Him as a Friend? Do you find Him a very likable Guy, enjoy spending time with Him, and receive His encouraging words as a blessing? Do you know Him as Spouse? Do you love Him more than you love yourself, desire to please Him, and regularly experience satisfying intimate times with Him? Or do you know Him as the Head of your body? When He laughs, do you shake? When He cries, does your heart break? Are you so absorbed in Him that when people look at you, they only see Him?

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Hope for Troubled Hearts

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“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me.” John 14:1 ESV1

Read John 14:1-3

I have heard it said that there are at least 365 admonitions in Scripture to not fear. Supposedly, Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian pastor during the Second World War, searched the Scriptures for these exhortations, memorized them, and meditated upon one of them each day. Evidently, Pastor Wurmbrand found 366 such Scriptures—one for each day of the year including Leap Day. It was Leap Day when he was captured by the Communist Regime and imprisoned for his faith.

Over the last few years, as I have been reading and studying Scripture, I have been searching for all the verses that command us to be fearless. I want to make a Fear Not calendar to encourage and empower myself and other Christians so that we might valiantly face the challenges that arise before us. I found one such verse at the beginning of John 14. The words of Jesus are:

“‘Let not your hearts be troubled’” (John 14:1a).

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Seeing Jesus in Difficult Circumstances

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“Now is My soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose, I have come to this hour.” John 12:27 ESV1

Read John 12:20-37

If you are reading this, you are either one of my faithful followers who reads nearly everything I write or you are going through a difficult time right now and you desperately want the powerful working of God in it. What I have to say here is Biblical but it may not be easy to swallow. I am not going to wallow with you in self-pity, feed your doubts, or allow you to blame God. But I will walk with you through a process that actually works. If I had not in the past and if I were not currently going through a difficult situation in this way, I would have no right to tell you what to do. But since I have and am traveling along a challenging path, I can offer you a helping hand. If you are ready to traverse this trail, let’s both get on our spiritual hiking boots and climb this mountain together.

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Seemingly Random Acts of Kindness

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“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” Matthew 25:31-32 ESV1

Read Matthew 25:31-46

This morning, as I was working from a hotel room, pondering how to best put in writing what is on my heart and mind, I glanced over and read the words on a small sign next to me on the desk. It detailed the hotel’s policy for changing towels and bed linens as it related to their commitment to positively impacting the environment. The notice contained a quote from an unknown influencer.

“Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”

I know the hotel included this quote as a motivation for their guests to join them in their commitment to reduce their carbon footprint but I couldn’t help but think about how the truth of that statement applies to us as Christians and how it connects to the passage of Scripture I wish to highlight today.

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Two, Yet One

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“On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:40 ESV1

Read Matthew 22:34-40 & Mark 12:28-34

Sometimes two or more items are grouped to make one new entity. A mixture combines different elements, kinds, or quantities to form a unique blend. A merger joins two or more businesses into a single enterprise. An alloy is a composition of two or more metals, or a metal with a nonmetal, making a new substance. This incorporation of two into one is not only found in the physical realm but in the relational and spiritual realms as well. One of the interactions between Jesus and the Pharisees is evidence of this.

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Say It Isn’t So!

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Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?” Mark 12:24 ESV1

Read Matthew 22:23-33, Mark 12:18-27 & Luke 20:27-40

It might be possible for any person to use the Bible to defend any position he/she may hold. For many points of view, one would have to ignore much of the Scriptures to accomplish such a task. But it is a very real possibility as well as a significant danger for any of us, even those who are devoted Christians, to take Scriptures out of context and attempt to bend them to our purposes.

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The Answer is Always “Yes!”

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“Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24 ESV1

Read Matthew 21:18-22 & Mark 11:12-14, 20-24

I have been praying since I was a wee, little girl. My relationship with God began with prayer. And over the years, my relationship with God has been sustained by prayer. In my five decades of almost constant prayer, I have had thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of prayers answered. But that doesn’t mean I have never been disappointed in my prayer life. What often baffles me is God’s almost immediate answers to many of my little, insignificant prayers, like helping me find my lost car keys, but in other bigger, more important pleas, like healing my loved one from cancer, He doesn’t seem to hear. This is frustrating especially when God promises over and over in His word that if we will but ask, His answer will be, “Yes.”2 Following is a passage where Jesus made such a claim.

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There Are Points in Heaven for That

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“When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:13-14 ESV1

Read Luke 14:12-24

My youngest daughter has always had the heart of a servant. Continually, she has looked for small ways to bless the people around her. When she was young, she was often troubled by the fact that her acts of kindness were not reciprocated; many times, she never even received a word of thanks for her benevolence. When she would bemoan others’ lack of gratitude, I would encourage her with: “There are points in Heaven for that.” Upon hearing these words, my daughter was reminded that God saw her intentions and her actions; even if those benefitting from her kindness didn’t appreciate it, He did.

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A Day of Reckoning

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“Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.” Luke 12:37 ESV1

Read Matthew 24:45-51; Mark 13:32-37 & Luke 12:35-48

As Christ Followers, thoughts of the Rapture are almost exclusively pleasant. Though we may be troubled by the mass chaos and extreme difficulties that will be faced by those who are left behind, we usually don’t worry about our own state. We expect that Christ’s returning will be a glorious time when we are swept from this troubled Earth and deposited in Heaven where there will be nothing but peace and joy and comfort for the rest of eternity.

But Jesus made it quite clear that the Rapture won’t produce bliss for all who have chosen Him as their Lord. The Coming of Christ will include judgment on all who belong to Him. Jesus’ return will be a day of reckoning, “a time when one is called to account for one’s actions … to fulfill one’s promises or obligations.”2 This Day will be a time when each of us who have decided to follow Jesus will be held liable for how we have managed what He has placed in our care. If we have been good stewards, we will be rewarded. And if we have mismanaged our callings, we will face severe consequences. The way Jesus spoke to His closest disciples about The End of the Age and His return made it impossible for there to be any doubt concerning this truth.

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Search and Rescue

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“If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine … and go in search of the one that went astray?” Matthew 18:12 ESV1

Read Matthew 18:1-14 & Luke 15:1-7

W. Phillip Keller, in his book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, wrote, “The beautiful relationships given to us repeatedly in Scripture between God and man are those of a father to his children and a shepherd to his sheep. These concepts were first conceived in the mind of God our Father. They were made possible and practical through the work of Christ. They were confirmed and made real in me through the agency of the gracious Holy Spirit.”2 Mr. Keller continued, “It is no accident that God has chosen to call us sheep. The behavior of sheep and human beings is similar in many ways … Our mass mind (or mob instincts), our fears and timidity, our stubbornness and stupidity, our perverse habits are all parallels of profound importance. Yet despite these adverse characteristics, Christ chooses us, buys us, calls us by name, makes us His own, and delights in caring for us.”3

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