“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Ephesians 2:13
I was once far away from God! Thanks to Jesus shed blood on the cross He has brought me so near to God that now I am a child of God and will be with Him for eternity! Yes I am thankful for the blood of Jesus covering me! How about you???
Tom
I am reading a book by Bonhoeffer called The Cost of Dicipleship. Very good read. It will stomp your toes! Look him up if you don’t know who he is…killed for his standing up to the Nazi’s for his faith. I challenge you to read Chapter 12 on revenge. You won’t regret it. I included the link to book below.
Tom
Simeon said as he had finally in his old age seen baby Jesus:
“ ““Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation”
Luke 2:29-30
Let us heed the words of Simeon:
1. Depart (die) in peace…we will only have peace when we truly meet the Savior.
2. According to your word….everything in our life needs to be based on the word of God.
3. My eyes have seen Your salvation….spirituality speaking have you seen Jesus? He is our salvation! The only salvation God has provided!
Tom
“Be still, and know that I am God;
Psalms 46:10a
I’m the busyness of life God’s word tells us…Be Still! We need to take time everyday to just be still and spend it with God because we know God to be true!!!! Praise Him, thank Him, and spend time with Him. It is important and good for the soul!!!
Be still at some point today and know God is still there!
Tom
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”
John 10:27
According to Jesus those who follow Him will hear, know, and follow Him! Do you hear when Jesus speaks? Does He know you because you have a personal relationship with Him? Do you do what He says? All of these are of utmost importance if you claim to be a follower of Jesus!
Chew on this today and he sure you do these things!
Tom
“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”
Ephesians 5:2
As a follower of Jesus I am to do as He did setting the example for us. First He loved! So much so that he laid down His life to cover my sins. Do I love others that much? Secondly He gave His life as a sacrifice to God! Doing God’s will in every area of His life. Do I sacrifice in every area of my life to do God’s will for His glory?
Chew on that today!
Tom
“In my distress I cried to the Lord, And He heard me.”
Psalms 120:1
I want to give praise to the Lord this morning for being a loving personal God who listens to my prays and answers in a way that is always best for me. It may be a yes, it may be a no, or it maybe a wait, but I trust and know He answers out of love for me and what is best for His glory!!
Thank you Lord for all your blessings! I love you!
Tom
“For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”
I Corinthians 14:33
“Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”
Luke 6:36
We will run into a situation soon in which we can be like Jesus and show someone some mercy or we can give the person what they deserve. May we chose to be like Jesus for He does not give us what we deserve when we are following Him!!!
Tom
“whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”
James 4:14
God has a plan for your life. First you must become His child by following Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Then you are to serve Him by following His Word and fulfilling His will in your life until He calls you home. As the verse above tells us life is short so we must ask ourselves….am I doing what God has told me to do???
Tom
Finally, I confessed all my sins to You and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And You forgave me! All my guilt is gone. - Psalm 32:5
When we come to the Lord for salvation an absolutely necessary step is to confess we are sinners, repent of those sins, and then receive the forgiveness of those sins by the shed blood of Jesus! There is no other way! We also need to confess any sin committed after that as told in 1John 1:9.
Thank you Lord for you love and forgiveness!
Tom
"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)
Chew on this verse today. God has shown us in His Word what is good and what we are to do. It is our duty to do what He says.
Are we?
Tom
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;”
I Peter 3:15
The Lord tells us to be ready to defend why your hope is in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Are you ready? Can you tell someone why you are a follower of Jesus and what He has done for you upon the cross? This is why we must be reading and studying His Word! Not only to defend ourselves but to give hope to others!!
Be ready brothers and sisters!!!
Tom
“Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”
Psalms 29:2
Take time today just to chew on this verse and then do what it says. You can do it anywhere. Give the Lord the glory due His name!!!! He deserves all the honor, praise, prestige, and uplifting we can muster up! Also worship Him as He desires us to do for He is the Almighty God!!!
Tom
