“Abide in My Word”

 

The Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:31-32 (NKJV)

I know we all know the last part of the above passage. However, do we focus on the first part.

The first part gives us a prerequisite, a step we have to follow in the process of getting to know Jesus.

If you abide in My word,

Abide simply means live. As His children, we are to live what we read. Before we can abide or live out the lessons, we have to believe that the lessons are true.

When we believe those words of Jesus, we learn the truth, we know the Truth, and we are set free from worry, depression, and anxiety.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus: Thank You for the lessons found in Your word. Thank You for the wisdom you impart to us as we spend time with You each day. In your Name, I pray. Amen

Counter-cultural, what does it Mean?

 

In my reading, I have come across the term, “counter-cultural” several times.

Cultural, in this sense, to me means the ways+ of our society and, yes, even our world.

As Christ-followers, we observe the habits and attitudes of people going more and more away from what God expects of us.

We are to stand for Christ. How can we do that?

1. We keep our word.

2. We honor our commitments when we can.

3. We choose our words carefully.

4. We refrain from doing or saying things that bring harm to others.

5. We honor Christ in how we live and how we talk.

6. We honor life and value the lives of others.

7. We monitor how we spend our time and resources.

Grow Into Him

 

so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. 

                                                                                                                 Ephesians.4:14-15 (ESV)

Words of Paul

Earlier in this fourth chapter Paul speaks of unity in Christ. “There is one body and one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”(4:4)

When we stand as a group for the LORD, we stand in unity with others of like minds we learn what it means that there is one LORD.

“until we all attain to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood, the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (4:13)

This knowledge of unity is available to to all of Christ-followers.

Paul speaks of the believers NOT being tossed about by winds or waves that carry children from one belief to another sprung on us by false teachers using ‘craftiness in deceitful schemes.’ As we are faced with issues the world throws in our path, we must remember that God will guide us through those times.

We are to “speak the truth in love” and “grow up in every way into him”

A dear friend of mine, a very devout Christian lady, sometimes had to “speak the truth in love” to me. I am so thankful that she cared enough about me to do that.

As we grow, we are to emulate Christ in all that we attempt to do.

Lord Bless You

 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift his countenance upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)

Words spoken by Moses to Aaron

The Lord bless you

The Lord God blesses us in so many ways.

* With His guidance

* With His love

* With His Word

* With friends

* With Spiritual gifts

*

and be gracious to you

The Lord sheds His grace on us in so many ways.

* By extending salvation to us

* By granting us rest

* By listening to our prayers

* By guiding us through hard times

* By giving us what we don’t deserve

and give you peace.

The Lord God gives each of us peace

* When we go through difficulties

* When we don’t know what to do

* When we have been deeply hurt

In our Lenten devotional readings for Sunday school, the author pointed out something that was new to me.

“The word peace in Hebrew is the word shalom. The word is vividly translated, “May all things be for you the way God always wanted them to be.” (1)

I like that meaning. In our world we see conditions that God doesn’t want for us. We must pray that God deal with these things each time they appear in our world.

___________

(1) Guided to the Cross by Ed Arle © 2024, Creative Communications, division of Bayard, Inc Fenton, MO.

The Spirit of The Lord

 

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,

And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

 The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him.

 The Spirit of wisdom and understanding.

 The Spirit of counsel and might, 

The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. 

Isaiah 11:1-2 (NKJV)

Words of Isaiah the Prophet

These words bring comfort to me.

The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him.

Jesus later tells the people of Israel and us that He follows guidance from His Father.

(John 5:30).

I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

The Spirit of wisdom and understanding.

Jesus received His wisdom and the ability to understand what the people needed from His Father. Today, followers of Christ seek wisdom and knowledge from God through prayer.

The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD

Because of God allowing His Spirit to rest on Jesus, we know God and develop great respect (fear of) for God.

Christmas is Here

 

Our New Tree 

blogspot

Shepherds visiting the Christ child.

Bed, Bath, and Beyond

bibleask.org


Merry Christmas to all.

The Gift of Life

 

lovethispic.com 

I have come that they may have life, and they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10 b (NKJV)

My best friend often reminds me that each day is a gift and even that life is also a gift. We often seem to have difficulties in our lives. However, God allows them to ultimately cause us to learn a lesson we need.

Another gift that God gives us is our very lives. I am reminded of the saying;

“God gives us each of us our life as a gift.

What we do with do with that life is our gift to Him.”

We may have had lofty ideas about what we wanted to do with our lives. God has His thoughts about what He sees as what He wants from us.

I remember one time when I was feeling pretty low about how my life was going. Someone my age in my stepfather’s family was doing some significant things with her husband, newsworthy items. My mother reminded me that I was raising a son with certain medical issues and I had nothing to be ashamed about. I had not thought of myself in that light.

God has brought our family of three through some very difficult times, all the while teaching me some very valuable things.

Prayer

Father God: Thank you for giving each of us the lives we have. Thank You for giving us the lessons You have given us in order that we may show Your love to others. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen

Why Did Jesus Give Thanks?

 

Fineartamerica.com 

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and broke it, and blessed it (gave thanks) and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Matthew 26:27 (NKJV)

Our Lord gave thanks to His Father at the Last Supper. He set a precedence for His children to follow. Jesus took the time to give thanks for the bread, and later the wine. The elements seem to be simple and insignificant as compared to other items we have in our lives.

Are we guilty of thinking an item is not significant because it is not important to us? Or it is too simple by our personal standards?

Could Jesus have chosen to give thanks because He knew God provided it? Could He have done this to teach those gathered in the upper room not to think they were entitled to what they were receiving? Do we feel entitled to what we have in our lives?

Prayer:

Dear Father God: Please accept our thanks for all we have that we can see around us and hold in our hands and arms. You have given us these things and these people out of your grace and abundance. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. AMEN

Paul Thanked Jesus

Sallman, Head of Christ

 

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me,

because He counted me faithful, putting me in the ministry,

I Timothy 1:12 (NKJV)

Words of Paul

Paul originally was an enemy of Christianity. The Lord confronted Paul as he was on the way to cause havoc in Damascus. Paul does not keep his past life a secret. He uses the unusual and difficult circumstances he faced to highlight how much God means to him. (see Philippians 3:1-11).

Paul counted his heritage and the “perks” that went with it as rubbish. It did not matter to him. He had difficult times after he had met the Lord. Beatings, imprisonments, shipwrecks, beatings, having to escape from the crowds were all a part of his resume.

Each of us have experienced harsh times because we belong to Christ. Some of us may have had it “thrown in our faces” that we aren’t supposed to feel a certain way because we are “Christian”. I had a family member tell me that. Also, I remember hearing a pastor’s wife who had gone through rather deep depression telling a group of us that her family told her that she shouldn’t be going through that because, “After all, you are a pastor’s wife.”

Paul gives thanks for all Jesus has given him, both the good and ‘bad’ things, because the ‘good’ things are rewards and the ‘bad’ things made him stronger. Jesus does the same for us.

Apostle's Creed

Sallman painting

 1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:

3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:

4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:

5. The third day he rose again from the dead:

6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:

7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:

8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:

9. I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints:

10. The forgiveness of sins:

1l. The resurrection of the body:

12. And the life everlasting. Amen.

Since our church's disaffiliation of our old denomination and joining a new denomination, we have been reciting The Apostle's Creed at the beginning of most services. I find this refreshing to do. These words give me a lot to think on. 

He Has Risen!

 

Jeff Jacobs

something 

I usually don't post on Sundays. However, I felt the need to share something with all of you!

God has been good to us and I want to thank Him for all He has done for our family. 

Blessed Easter to all!

Joy in His Presence

 

medium.com

You have made known to me the ways of life.

You will make me full of joy in Your presence.

Acts 2:28 (NKJV)

Words from Psalm 16:11, spoken by the apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost.

God sent His Holy Spirit to the believers. They felt His presence and became empowered to spread the Gospel message to all.

As followers of Jesus, we may often have times when we wonder if God truly knows what we go through as we traverse this world.

Yes, He does. Because we have his presence in our homes, our places of work, our places of worship, and in our places of recreation.

As our society has become “more advanced”, we seem to have pushed God away from our day today lives. In my life, I have had two relatives tell me that they were “no longer Christian.” I honestly did not know how to respond. Now, I know what I would say to them.

“God does not give up on His children, even when they give up on Him. God sometimes sees qualites in us that we don’t see, attributes He can use for His kingdom.

While initially typing this, God led me to make a phone call to a church friend who has ‘issues’ with anxiety. I had been missing her at church; usually, when I remembered I needed to call her,I felt it was too late at night.

As believers in Christ, we should find ways to bring glory to God. We can do this through prayer and fasting, through obeying His Word and direction, and through treating others as we would like to be treated.

                                                

Rest for the Heavy Laden

 

Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV)

Words spoken by Jesus.

In this passage, Jesus invites certain people to Him. Those to whom He extends His hand have fallen into a special group of society.

He addresses those who are overworked, have a lot of responsibility that has been thrust upon them, those who are under a lot of tension. There are those that have issues laid on them by others.

He tells them that He will guide them through to be stronger as they learn of Him.

“In Jesus’ day, taking the yoke of another meant coming under that person's leadership and walking in that person’s footsteps.” ¹

My best friend is going for physical therapy at this time. She goes, gets her treatment and then comes home and rests for a while. We all need to follow Jesus’ invitation when we find ourselves stretched to the limit of our endurance either physically, mentally, or emotionally.

At church this past Sunday, we sang the following hymn. I don't think I ever heard it before. I love the message.

                            

Rest in the LORD

 

bibliatodo.com

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,

Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

                                                        Psalm 37:7 (NKJV)

A Psalm of David

David advises his readers to rest in the LORD. What does this mean to those of us reading this in 2023 A. D.? Can we do this, given our society’s ways of living?

I believe we can. However, I know we have to try in order to achieve rest in Him. People may have to give up certain practices and attitudes in order to be able to fully rest in the LORD.

Sometimes, we run ahead of the Lord. In order to rest in Him we must learn to wait patiently for Him. In order to do this we must commit (give) ourselves to Him and to follow Him and His instructions as best we can.

David also tells us, Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way. We are not to envy anyone who seems to get ahead in this world. We may be happy for them but we are not to wish any thing bad on them.

I recently read that we must not fret about what we don’t have but give thanks for the things God has provided for us. I, personally, find this helps me as I sometimes deal with depression.

Just Wanted to Say "Merry Christmas"

I know, I am breaking my blog break. However, I heard this song and thought you all would benefit from hearing this.

 Merry Christmas to all.

HE IS WITH US (and Blog Break)

 

Pinterest

Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.” Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14 (NRSV)

Do we understand the significance of the angel’s message? This message refers to a prophecy of Isaiah some 4oo years earlier. God is with us!

Even today, we see evidence of God’s presence in our world. The end of November 2017, I received a prayer request from my best friend. Her husband’s nephew had called and asked her to pray for his new-born granddaughter. The baby was born with three heart abnormalities.

The medical team waited for almost a week before performing surgery. In the meantime, several of us were praying. I requested prayer from one of my social media friends and from an online social media prayer group. This family needed to see God’s working in this circumstance. On the day I prepared this. My friend texted me a picture of the baby being held by her 3-year-old sister. She seems to have no tubes for breathing or feeding or heart monitor leads. We believed that this baby will go home very soon. God was with them throughout this past year.

UPDATE: In the fall of 2022, my friend and her husband along with their younger daughter journeyed out west and visited this nephew and his family. The little girl told my friend’s husband that she has a zipper on her chest. He told her that he has a zipper as well. The child is doing very well.

In the early part of our nation, there were people who believed that God created the world and chose to stand back and see what we would do. However, this is not the way the modern theologians teach. Those of us who have witnessed His workings know that God chooses to stand beside us in the good times and in the not-so-good times and guides us through those less than good times.

As we continue in our walk with God, let us learn to seek God in our lives and let Him lead us through the difficult times of our lives.

May this thought continue as we approach the upcoming New Year.

I am going to take a blog break until Tuesday, January 3, 2023. There are some things I need to get done here at home and also finish a bit of Christmas shopping,

Let's Remember

Do you remember the song "Do Lord" 

One memory I have of this song is that I sang it when I was in labor when our son was born. I found out several years later I sang it wrong. I thought it was " Do Lord, do you remember me?"

 

Who of us could not use a bit of joy in our hearts and lives?

I heard this Children's song as a young mother. I love the message that God can use anyone at any age to do His work.

I am trying to work on something special for children. Please pray for me as I attempt to follow God's leading in this area. I will share more with you later. I believe I am doing this out of obedience to God.

Peace and blessings to you and yours.

Pledges

node01flagstat.net

 I gave this message at church this past Sunday.  I didn't realize that some of this information was new to some of the adults. 

Children’s Moments Message

September 25, 2022

I have been thinking about promises lately, sometimes we call them pledges. A pledge is a sincere promise we make. We make one to our nation’s flag, another one to the Bible, and one to the Christian flag.

In all three pledges, we promise to be loyal to each of these.

Pledge to the American flag

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which is stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

mediaistockphoto.com

Pledge to the Bible

I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s Holy Word. A lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. It’s words I will hide in my heart, that I might not sin against God. ⁽¹⁾

node01flagstat.net

Pledge to the Christian flag

I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag and to the Savior for whose Kingdom it stands, one Savior, crucified, risen again, and coming again with life and liberty to all who believe. ⁽²⁾

We have those items in our sanctuary here at Cross Roads. I discovered something I did not know about the Christian flag. I knew there is a cross in a blue section, and the rest of the flag is white. Here’s what I learned:

#The shade of red in the Cross reminds us of Jesus’ blood that He shed because He took our sins away.

#The blue reminds us of the water of baptism. It also reminds us of Jesus’ loyalty to God.

#The white reminds us of Jesus’ purity. He was without sin until He went to the Cross for us. ⁽³⁾

^{________________________}

^1.http://www.ccabrazil.org/uploads /4/3/5/9/4359809/christian_flag__bible_pledges.pdf

2. IBID.

3. http://en.wikiepedia.org/Christian _Flag#:-text=The Christian Flag was first to arrive for the event/

Falling in Love with Jesus

 I heard a pastor sing this song this morning. I loved the words. I hope you will like it as well.

Here I Am To Worship

 

            We sang this at church last Sunday. I  love the words. I thought you would as well.