Aug

12

The bride of Christ

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God, by his grace, has proven over and over how much his people—the church—mean to him. Our Lord rejoices over us. Knowing this, we should rejoice always while serving him in our lives.

In the story of Hosea and his wife, Gomer, God delivered a powerful message to the people regarding their unfaithful behavior.  As Hosea’s wife was unfaithful to her husband, returning to a life of prostitution, God felt betrayed by Israel’s infidelity as well. However, it wasn’t the end of the story. It didn’t end in divorce.

With every covenant God has made with man from Abraham through David and on down through the ages, God has remained faithful to Israel, an unfaithful people. Though man let go of his end of the relationship and left God through sin, he has always remained faithful to us.

Though man broke the relationship through sin, God found a way to restore the intimacy. That is where Jesus enters the picture. The penalty for our sins ends at the foot of the cross. The Bride of Christ is now clothed in pure whiteness without spot or blemish thanks to Jesus. We look forward to the marriage supper that, one day, will occur. Until then, like the parable of the ten virgins, be ready to meet the bridegroom as we are his bride!

The Lord’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness” ~ Lamentations 3:22-23

 

Aug

04

How great is our God?

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We are so blessed by what our Creator lends us for life on this planet every day. There really aren’t words enough to describe or measure the goodness of the Lord. He brings the sunlight, provides food for harvesting, and His word tells us that the rain, too, falls on the just as well as the unjust. His abundant blessings are new every morning. But it doesn’t end there.

Noting the rich abundance of all he supplies, it would take an eternity to count all of the blessings God bestows; most, of which, we can’t even see! The magnificent works of the Lord are above and beyond amazing.

Take in the natural beauty of the sky, the mountains, trees, flowers or an eagle and marvel at the handiwork of our Lord. If he can be concerned for such things as the tiny ant, how much more for you?

Therefore, you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears ~ 2 Samuel 7:22.

As God has given us life more abundantly, we need to make it a priority to share the good news with others.

The goodness of God is infinitely more wonderful than we will ever be able to comprehend ~

A.W. Tozer

Jul

29

Stay in perfect peace

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Personal struggles and troubles of the day can come our way whether we’re walking with the Lord or not. It’s called life. In difficult times, Jesus—and he alone—is the only healing balm we need, though we sometimes look to the comfort of other things that often miss the mark in helping the situation. With all of the power God has, what is your life’s situation that he cannot handle for you and give you peace in your soul?

Whose burdens are you carrying that you are so weighted or overburdened and spread so thin that there’s nothing left by the end of the day, and you are worn and stressed to the point of breaking? Though in some cases a breaking point is necessary in order to lead us onto a brighter or more fulfilling path. We think we know what we want, but often it’s not what we need; sometimes, there’s something else waiting for us in the wings. Old habits die hard.

Even on your worst day, the calming peace of Jesus is there to take in. It’s like no other. He leads us beside the still waters and restores our souls. His peace is like a river, and it flows as a fountain of blessings to his faithful followers who put their trust fully in Him.

Jul

14

His goodness and mercy

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 How can we measure the goodness of the Lord? His magnificent works are above and beyond amazing. Can mere words do them justice? Is there a measuring rod or scale big enough? With the rich abundance of all he supplies, it would take an eternity to count the blessings God bestows.

Every time the earth rotates around the sun, there is a new dawn and new opportunities to praise and worship Him, our maker. We are all blessed by what our Creator lends us for life on this planet every day. He brings the sunlight, provides our food for harvesting, and His word tells us that the rain, too, falls on the just as well as the unjust.

Take a look at the natural beauty of the sky, a flower, or a butterfly, and marvel at the handiwork of our Lord. If he can be concerned for such things, how much more for you?

As God has given us life more abundantly, we need to make it a priority to share the good news with others!

Jul

08

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord

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The first official Independence Day took place in a little synagogue in Nazareth. Jesus took the book of Isaiah and read:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to announce that captives shall be released and the blind shall see, that the downtrodden shall be freed from their oppressors, and that God is ready to give blessings to all who come to him” ~ Luke 4:18-19.

 God’s first covenant with the nation Israel was through the Law where he promised the people prosperity and healing of their land if they would obey. Today, the New Covenant we have is through the sacrifice of Jesus and is a promise to all of God’s faithful children. Our promise is not necessarily the prosperity of wealth, although it could be, but more so the fulfilment of being prospered spiritually through the Holy Spirit.

In America, as we annually celebrate Independence Day in July, we are reminded of the blessings we’ve been given. We are a great nation of freedom and liberty; it’s true, there is none better. But always remember that one is only truly free through the blood of Jesus, who took the fall for us on the battlefield of that cruel Roman cross.

May your true independence come today through the healing balm of the one true God, Jesus Christ. By the stripes of his blood-stained back while on the cross, we are healed.