Tag: Jesus is Love

Blessed Is The One Who Trusts In the Lord

Jeremiah 17:7-8 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

“It has no worries in a year of drought…”  I would call 2020 a year of drought. Wouldn’t you? Drought does not just mean a lack or absence of rainfall. I looked it up and one definition of drought is “a prolonged absence of a specified thing.”

So far in 2020 we have had a prolonged absence of employment, personal contact with others, and in-person worship. For a while there was a drought of toilet paper, cleaning supplies and meat. I am sure everyone reading this devotion can add something to the list. But the Bible tells us in Jeremiah 17 and Psalm 1 (they are remarkably similar verses) that if we put our trust (our confidence) in the Lord, we will not fear when the heat comes. Not only will we not fear but we will continue to bear fruit.

In times of trouble, those who do not trust in the Lord will be spiritually weak so they will have no strength to draw on. But those who trust in the Lord will have abundant strength not only for themselves but for others too. So, which one are you? Are you diving into the word of God so that your roots are firmly planted near the stream of life? Are your leaves always green so the weak can rest in your shade? Are you bearing fruit by sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with them? Remember, those who do not know the Lord will see something different in you. They will see the love of Jesus pouring out of you. Then when they ask you about it (and they will) you can tell them all about how Jesus came to earth and died for them so that they can be reconciled with God.

Dear Lord, I trust in you and you give me strength. Please open my eyes to the people in my life that need to hear about you. Fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit so that your words come out of my mouth, not my own. Amen

Will You Give Me A Drink?

John 4:7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”

This question may not seem like a big deal to you. All Jesus did was ask for a drink of water. But this one small question opened a conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman that lead to the woman and many people in her town being saved.

So, why was this a big deal? Well to start, Jesus was a Jew and the woman was a Samaritan. Jews and Samaritans did not associate with each other. More than 700 years before this meeting at the well, another county, Assyria, invaded and conquered Samaria and deported most of the Jewish people that lived there. Assyria sent foreigners to Samaria to settle the land and help keep the peace. The intermarriage between those foreigners and the remaining Jews resulted in a mixed race. The “pure” Jews hated this mixed race called the Samaritans because they felt that their fellow Jews who had intermarried had betrayed their people and nation.

Secondly, the woman was alone. Women did not typically go to the well alone. Twice each day, in the morning and the evening, women would come to the well to draw water. Yet this woman came alone around noon. Why? Probably to avoid the other women that knew her reputation. They did not accept her or want to be around her because she had been married 5 times and was currently living with a man that was not her husband. So, she risked her own safety to avoid the other women and went to the well alone.

She was an outcast woman of an outcast nation. But despite that, Jesus spoke to her. Jesus spoke to the woman because the gospel is for everyone, no matter what your race, social position, or past sins. Jesus crossed all barriers to share the gospel and we must be willing to do the same thing. We must be willing to start a conversation with a friend, a neighbor, our children or even a stranger. Just a simple question can open the door to Jesus.

Dear Lord, please give us the courage to step outside our comfort zone and start a conversation with one of your children. Open our eyes to see who you are putting in our path and use the opportunity to share the gospel. Amen

It Is Well, With My Soul

1 Peter 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

This morning I was asking God to speak to me, to give me a word that he wanted me to study. My eyes fell on a picture in my bedroom that says, “It is well, with my soul.” This phrase always gave me comfort and I started to wonder where it came from. I tried looking it up in the Bible, but it is not there. So, I googled the phrase and it is a song. I guess I knew it was a song, but I had never looked at the words of the song. One verse really stood out to me; it goes like this:

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

We are all sinners. Good people, bad people, Christians, and non-believers; we are all sinners. This sin separates from God. That is unbearable to God. He loves us, like a parent loves their child. The separation had to be repaired. But how? Our sins make us dirty. Our thoughts are unclean. Our desires are for worldly possessions. How can we approach God? I will tell you how. Jesus!

Jesus came to earth to repair the separation. He came with a mission and his mission was you. He wants you to be saved. Jesus died for you. He took your blame, your sins, and your punishment to the cross. He wiped the slate clean so that you will no longer be separated from God. Your sin has been nailed to the cross and you bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Because of Jesus, you are no longer separated from God. You have been adopted into the family. You can go directly to God through prayer and let your requests be made known to Him. Prayer is the most powerful tool in your toolbox. Every one of your prayers is heard. Every one of your prayers are answered. But just as a parent, knowing what is best for their children, will not always tell them yes, neither does God always say yes. God has a plan for you, and it is good.

Thank you, Jesus, for making a way. Thank you for your sacrifice so that I can be a child of God. My heart if full and it is well with my soul. Amen.

Martha, Dear Martha

Luke 10:40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparation that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

Today is Father’s Day. Fathers are such a blessing to a family. They are a gift from God. Today is also the day that I publish my devotionals. I usually write them on Saturday but I was out of town yesterday so I decided I would write it this morning. But my folks are coming over today to celebrate Father’s Day, so I have been distracted. I have been grocery shopping and cleaning and trying to make sure everything is just “right”. So, when I sat down to start writing, my mind was all over the place. I asked God to give me the words to share with you and he said, “Mary and Martha”.

I went to the YouVersion app on my phone and typed in Mary and Martha.  I like to read the Message version of the Bible and this is what it said:

As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. “Master, don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand.”  The Master said, “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it – it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”

Believe it or not, both Mary AND Martha were serving the Lord in this story. Martha was serving him with her actions and Mary was serving him with her time and attention. Jesus did not berate Martha for being concerned about the food, he just wanted her to set priorities. Food will always be there to prepare, cook and eat but Jesus would not. He was passing through and what he was teaching would feed her for life.

Sometimes we are so busy doing things FOR Jesus that we are not spending any time WITH Jesus. In order to hear from Jesus, we need to spend time with Him. Just like any other relationship you have, it requires you to spend time together, to share your day with each other and to be open and honest with each other. I encourage you to remove yourself from distractions and to spend time with Jesus today.

Lord, thank you for wanting to spend time with me. Help me to make you a priority in my day. Amen.