The Samaritan woman’s divine appointment with Jesus at the well had so impacted her that she hurried back to tell everyone, “Come, see a man who has told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” And the scriptures say that many believed because of her testimony. Her testimony…her unique story of how Jesus came into her life and changed it for the better. Her testimony was what drew the people to Jesus, but each then had their own encounter with the Savior…receiving not only eternal life, but their own unique story…their own testimony to share with others.
Month: January 2015
Malachi 4:2 ” But for you who revere My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.”
Any Believer will honestly attest that life isn’t always fair. People will hurt you, disappoint you, and cause you more heartache than you think you can bear. But this verse gives us all encouragement today, for when the sun comes up tomorrow it will be a brand new day…full of newness and promise – and hope. And that hope will provide the ability to persevere. For hope in itself, is just like warm, sunshine on your face at sunrise. Have faith…tomorrow is coming.
Isaiah 43: 18 ” Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past…”
“How many times do we become preoccupied with the past, lingering in the comfort and happiness of fond memories, while the present passes us by? When we’re focused on yesterday, we can miss out on ” God moments” today… those times when the Lord places someone across our path in order to encourage, bless, or guide them. But more importantly, when we’re focused on the past, God can’t prepare us for the future.
John 17: 25-26 ” Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that You have sent Me. I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I Myself may be in them. “
We will know who God is by learning and experiencing His love through His Son, Jesus Christ. This ” Agape” love reaches far beyond our realm of understanding in that…God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall never perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) God loves you, because you believe in His Son.
John 17:24 ” Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world.”
You are a co-heir with Jesus… a co-heir to the glorious inheritance that was prepared for you before the world began. (Matt. 25:34) And in this prayer for all Believers, Jesus wants us to not only behold His glory … but then realize, this glory is for us also.
John 17: 22-23 ” I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.”
In this prayer for all Believers, Jesus establishes that we possess the promise of future glory by the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit. And through perfect unity and unconditional love one for another, the world will see through us, Believers… that Jesus came to save.
John 17: 20-21 ” My prayer is not for them alone, I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.”
Jesus was praying for those who would believe in Him in the future through the words of His Disciples. This prayer, from the Upper Room, was one of the last that He prayed that night with them. Jesus was praying for the Believers to come…those who after listening and reading the Gospels would accept Jesus as their Savior. In other words – He prayed for you in mind that night.
Psalm 34:14 ” Turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.”
The word peace in this verse essentially denotes a satisfied condition, a state of peacefulness, a sense of wellbeing. So why wouldn’t we want to strive for that in our lives? We are told in this Psalm to not only seek peace, but to go after it. Peace is attainable, achievable, and something that can be realized deep within.
Isaiah 25:1 ” O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.”
God has a plan for your life…it was created and prepared long before you were even born. He has a purpose for your life…designed and perfected before the earth was even formed. Within our Lord’s loving-kindness and favor towards you, He has planned it – so it will be, He has purposed it – so it will stand. (Isaiah 14:24)
Psalm 15:8 ” I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
When the Lord is constantly and continually in my thoughts, that worldly junk can’t seep in and take over my mind. When God is foremost in my thought pattern, anxiety and fear can’t control my emotions. When I place the Lord always before me…He’ll be ahead of me, leading the way.
Safetypinlove 