Tag: Jesus Loves You

Why Do You Need Jesus?

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

I am not the kind of person that you can just say, “Go do this” and I will do it. I need to understand the WHY behind what I am doing so that it makes sense to me. Lately I’ve been struggling with the “why” behind “Why do I need Jesus?” I believe in God; I know I am filled with the Holy Spirit. But what part did Jesus play in all this? I’ve been reading the Bible, listening to sermons online and watching documentaries about the Holy Gospel and yesterday I finally heard something that made it all fit together for me. So, I want to share it with you.

When man first sinned, we were separated from God because of our sin. So, we were given laws to follow in order to bridge that divide. But because we are sinful, we could never follow those laws perfectly. Everyone has lied, everyone has put something before God, everyone has dishonored their parents, and everyone has had lust in their heart for another person or thing. No matter how hard we try to be good, we sin. This creates despair.

But God. God does not want us to be separated from him. So, he gave the people of Israel the ability to atone for their sins through sacrifices. The blood of a lamb could be shed to wipe away their sins. But then they sinned again. So, they would make another sacrifice. But then they sinned again. So, another sacrifice was made. It would never end. So, God sent Jesus. The Lamb of God. The ultimate sacrifice. The final sacrifice. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and then he died on the cross to shed his blood for our sins.

You see, every sin ever committed by every person who has ever lived will be punished. That is required. It will either be punished everlastingly by the sinner (you) or that punishment will be borne by the blood of Jesus Christ.  His death was sufficient to pay for all your sins. Trust in Jesus. Abandon all the hope you put into your good works and what a great person you are and trust in the person and works of Jesus Christ alone. This creates peace.

Give your heart to Jesus. Today! Then tell your friends and family about Jesus. Today! Without Jesus there is no eternal life with God. There is only eternal punishment. I choose life!

Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross to save me from eternal punishment. I give my heart to you today. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit and give me the courage to tell others about you. Amen.

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

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.

I Am The Vine

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

I just love the chapter in John where Jesus talks about the vine. There are so many nuggets of gold that you can take away from what Jesus is saying. In this analogy God is the gardener, Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. When we remain in Jesus and Jesus is in us, which means we are full of the Holy Spirit, we will produce fruit. In Galatians 5:22 it says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  If your desire is to have these qualities, then you must remain in the word of God. Devote yourself to something new because a well will spring forth with blessings. Designate time with Him so that He can show you the way.

Jesus also says that God, the gardener, will prune the vine. In the first part of John 15:2, Jesus says, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit…” It is a gardener’s responsibility to care for the vines in a vineyard.  When a gardener sees a dead branch, he will cut it off from the trunk of the vine.  A dead branch is not only useless to a vine, but it can also infect the rest of the vines.  In Galatians 5:19, Paul lists the acts of the sinful nature. Then in verse 21 he says, “I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Or in short, they will be cut off from the Vine.

The second part of John 15:2 says, “…while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”  The fruitful branches are true believers that by remaining in Jesus produce much fruit.  But Jesus does not say that true believers will live happily ever after without any problems.  No, He says that true believers will be cut back too.  There will be pain.  There will be trials.  There will be sorrow.  But we can use these experiences to strengthen our character and faith.  God prunes us so that we will be even more fruitful, and this fruitfulness will glorify God.

So to recap, the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are the fruits that you will produce if He remains in you and you in Him. Jesus ends his message about the vines by saying in John 15:17, “This is my command: Love each other.”  Yep, that’s what it’s all about.

Lord, thank you for speaking to us through your word. Please fill us with the desire to lean in and linger with you every day so that we may produce fruit and glorify you. Amen