Even at twelve years old, Jesus had the plan and purpose for His life laid out in front of Him. But He was also the young son of His parents, Mary and Joseph, and He honored them by His submission and obedience. Many times in our own life we’ll encounter situations that we just don’t understand, but we know they’re of the Lord. That’s when we submit anyway…we obey anyway…we honor anyway.
Tag: faith in Jesus
Matthew 28:6 “He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.”
Don’t look for Him in the tomb.
Don’t look for Him in the ground.
Don’t look for Him among the dead.
Don’t look for Him bound.
Jesus has risen to new life…resurrected from the grave…no longer held by the grip of death. Jesus has risen, and with Him, the hope of eternal life for us.
John 18:27 ” Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.”
Several Chapters earlier in John, Jesus had rebuked Peter’s declaration of solidarity – even to the point of dying with Jesus, by saying, “Will you really lay down your life for Me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown Me three times.” The moment that rooster crowed, Peter realized just how fickle the human race could be. And as the sound of the crowing continued, Peter began to sink deeply into fear and grief as tears fell…for he profoundly realized – he had disowned the Lord.
We’ve got to live: Faithfully in His Word
In James it says to not merely listen to the Word…but do It. In order to put your trust in the Lord, you must take what you hear and apply it to your life. You need to take that head knowledge and internalize it into heart knowledge. The Word of God is powerful and alive, but if it goes in one ear and out the other, it’s of no use to you. For just hearing God’s voice will never cause change within… unless you do something with it.
Psalm 145: 13 “…the Lord is faithful to all His promises.”
There’s no one else we can trust…no one else that we can believe in . For it says in Joshua 23:14, ” God is faithful, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands.” We then can stand firmly on that promise…for God keeps His word.
Hebrews 10: 39 ” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”
The scripture today is a continuation of the thought from yesterday…a encouraging thought for all of us… that we are stronger than we think, braver than we can ever imagine, and only need to trust the Lord in order to succeed. We are exhorted here that we are not of those who shrink back, but rather have faith. For what hangs in the balance is simple…eternal life, or eternal damnation.
In Christ Jesus…You are more than a conqueror.
” I can’t do it.” Do you know that’s music to Satan’s ears? All he has to do is whisper, “You can’t do that.” and we usually cave in. For doubt is the biggest culprit of our disobedience to the Lord. If we could somehow not only realize, but allow the concept to settle deep into our souls, that it’s God doing the work and not us, we would become invincible. So the next time Satan is spreading doubt, remind him…I can do all things with the help of Christ, for it is the Lord, not me, working out His plan and purpose in my life…so back off Satan, and watch what God and I can do!
In Christ Jesus…You are a new creation in Christ.
In II Corinthians 5:17 it says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” If Jesus dwells within you, you have been born again…a spiritual rebirth of a brand new person. But we humans like to return to the comfortable and easy things of the past rather than step forward into activities that are new, strange…and scary. As a Believer, you can’t go back to your old person, for he or she doesn’t exist anymore. You can only move forward…for the plan and purpose of God is to make you into something you’ve never been before.
In Christ Jesus…You are redeemed and forgiven.
Forgiveness. For some that’s a hard word to accept. They feel as if they need to “do” something first in order to gain God’s pardon. But to be forgiven by the Lord has nothing to do with us…for it is solely based on God’s unmerited love and mercy… His redemptive power working to heal and make us whole again.
Mark 7: 20-23 ” He went on: ‘What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean.’ “
This all started when the Pharisees saw the Disciples eating food with unwashed hands and were offended. Jesus gave the crowd a quick Anatomy/Physiology lesson when He concluded that all food (whether clean or unclean) goes into a man’s stomach, not his heart. He then instructed the crowd by saying, “Nothing outside a man can make him unclean by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean.” (Mark 7:15) I’ve heard it said, if you shake a man, you’ll see what’s in his heart. For it’s deep within our heart that all wickedness abides.
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