Friday, September 19, 2014

The Way, the Truth, the Life


“I am the way and the truth and the life.
 No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6 (NIV)

The disciples were confused. They didn’t understand what their Master had told them. Thomas responded, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (John 14:5)          

Jesus answers with words that allow faith in the heart of believers. He tells the disciples three facts of who He is.

THE WAY: God sent His Son to earth in order so you and I to have a way to be able to be with Him when our time on earth is over. In order for us to have a place in heaven, God had to give Jesus over to our sins—each sin for each person who would ever walk this earth.
THE TRUTH: God is truth. Jesus is His Son; therefore, Jesus is truth. People want to look good to others; they embellish their qualities before others. Jesus doesn’t do that because He doesn’t have to; He told his followers, “I AM. . . THE TRUTH.”
THE LIFE: God gives us life, both physically and spiritually. Jesus enhanced our spiritual life by sacrificing His physical body to our sins. Because of this one selfless act; we have eternal life-a life with God. Because we have a future life in heaven, we choose to live for Jesus while we are here on earth. We learn to rely on Him for our daily needs and those that enter our lives unforeseen.  


Wednesday, September 17, 2014

God Speaks

“After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’” Genesis 15:1(NIV)




I find this verse speaks to my heart. The God of the universe thought so much of Abram that He appeared to him in a vision.


I can’t say I have had a visual experience like Abram but I do know that God has spoken to me in times of my need. At a low time in my life, God spoke through His Word. He told me to ‘Choose life.’ No, I was not thinking thoughts of doing danger to myself. I was looking at a circumstance in my life that had taken me into prolonged depression.

He recently spoke to me through a friend from church. His wife had undergone a sixth surgery in just over a year. I had called him to get a report on how the procedure went. We got to talking about other things. I expressed my desire to attend a conference to see how I could improve my writing. We usually had been working together in a group on a project at church each fall. If the project was going to happen this fall, I knew I had to be committed to working on it every weekend for three months.

His words were straight from the LORD. “If you think that going to that conference will help you progress in your writing skills, then, by all means, go.”

At other times, God speaks to me audibly. I sometimes find myself making a phone call to a friend and that friend will say, “I was just thinking about calling you.” And then we do some serious talking about her situation or about mine.

I learned several years ago that, if I had a person’s name comes to my mind three times; God wants me to pray for him or her. When I check up on that person, I find the person’s name came to mind because I needed to pray for them.

I don’t worry that God hasn’t approached me in the same way He did Abram. I’m thankful He sees fit to speak to me in any way He chooses.

What have experiences have you had with God speaking to you?



Monday, September 15, 2014

I AM Your Shield



“After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’” Genesis 15:1

God spoke words of comfort to Abram, He telling him to not fear. Just prior to this, Abram had stood for God in dealing with the king of Sodom. (Genesis 14:21-24)

“Do not be afraid. . . “God says very comforting words here. He tells Abram to trust Him. A person’s fears seem to mould one’s personality or at least their mindset. I have found that a lot of people’s peculiar behavior stems from their fears or their hurts.

“I am your shield. . .” God then tells Abram. A shield protects us from the elements. We have windshields in our cars. We carry umbrellas to use when it rains. I carry one in my purse, just in case. In olden times the soldiers carried shields to protect themselves when they were in battle.

“. . . very great reward.” God also identifies Himself as Abram’s reward. The Creator of the universe cared enough about the stand Abram took to give him a special relationship as a reward for how he approached one who was from the world.


God’s rewards to us are many. He forgives us of our sins and we receive eternal life when we allow His Son into our hearts. He gives us peace and confidence that we belong to Him. He gives us blessings every day. God is good to His children.

God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...