I love Spring....and finally, Spring is bursting forth all around us. We may live in a world bound by sin right now, but the beauty of Spring reflects the beauty of our Lord and Savior.
Though Adam and Eve blew it in the Garden of Eden, when they chose to disobey the Father, Jesus made a way, when there seemed to be no way, when He came to give His life for us. Now, because He lives, we can live also. Because He lives, the moment we receive Him as our Lord, we have New Life, that will Never pass away. Aren’t you thankful for this?
1 John 3:8 says, “.....The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil has done.” You see, the devil thought he had won, when he saw the Son of God hanging on that cross! But he truly had no earthly idea what was about to happen....
You can read the accounts in the Gospels, and if you attend church this month, you will hear all about the sufferings that Jesus went through in our place, and how He was crucified and placed in a tomb, but three days later, He came forth with the keys of death, hell and the grave. But I want to share the part about the joy that was set before Him, which helped Him endure the cross and the shame. You can find this in Hebrews 12:2.
You see, Jesus knew what He had to go through on this earth, in order to get things back on track and make a way for us to be a part of His royal family. A sacrifice had to be made, and He was the only One who was qualified to make such a sacrifice. So He did! And why? Other than destroying the works of the devil, it was to usher in New Eternal Life for the children of God!
Look with me, if you will at the following verses...
Romans 6:4 “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in Newness of Life.” Jesus took our place...it was as though each one of us suffered and died on that cross. And it was like we ourselves came forth out of that tomb on the third day, free from the bondage of this world and filled with New Life and Hope!
Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine: For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.” Our part now, today, is to arise and let God’s glory shine through us and let others see that New Life in operation in us!
Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” When we receive Jesus into our hearts, the Spirit of Life comes alive within us!
Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),” This amazing Grace is God’s gift to you and me. What belongs to Jesus, now belongs to us, because of the price He paid!
Colossians 3:10 “and have put on the New man who is renewed in Knowledge according to the image of Him who created Him,” When we receive Jesus into our hearts, it’s as though we have put on a New coat (actually, it is a New Life).
Romans 6:5 “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,” Because He lives, we live!
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a New Creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become New!” Keep moving forward, for the Best is yet to come. Jesus is coming back for all who have received Him as Lord!
Romans 7:6 “But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.” When Jesus came, He presented us with the gift of Grace, which set of free from the bondage of sin, forevermore!
Lamentations 3:22-23 “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”
LORD, HOW WE THANK YOU AND PRAISE YOU...
FOR NEW LIFE!
The Lord gave me these words a while back in one of my morning devotionals....Here are just a few of the scriptures that these words came from....
Psalm 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me;.....”
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Colossians 3:1-2 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
Jeremiah 33:3
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know”.
God’s Word is so precious. Through His Word we find comfort, peace and understanding. There is hope and love and guidance filling its covers. Whatever you are searching for, whatever you need, can be found in His Word. Our world is filled with so much chaos and turmoil, but Jesus said, Be of good cheer I have overcome the world! You can find that Joy/Good Cheer in His Word.
May God richly bless you as you dig deeper in His Word this month!
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God. Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved now we are children of God: and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
1 John 3:1-2
“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sweet-smelling aroma.” Ephesians 5:1
Several weeks ago, I preached a message, entitled “I Want to Be More Like You, Jesus”. I truly feel that this should be the heart’s cry of every child of God during this New Year.
We celebrate Valentine’s Day this month, and it’s all about love. Look at the verse in 1 John above....there truly is no greater love than the Father had for us when He gave His Son, Jesus to die on the cross for us, making the way for us to become a child of God. And there is definitely no greater love than Jesus had for each of us to die and sacrifice His own life for us, paying the price for our sins and making us the righteousness of God in Himself. We call this Unconditional love. There is no way we could earn it and there is definitely no way that any of us deserved it.
John tells us that when Jesus is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.....But I want us to ask ourselves this question....How are we now, right now, in the world we are living in? Do people see Jesus and His love in us? We call ourselves children of God....are we acting like His children?
Paul says in Ephesians that we need to imitate our Heavenly Father as a little child imitates his/her Dad or Mom today. A little child will imitate and take on the characteristics of those he loves. So, as God’s children, shouldn’t our lives be a reflection of Him and Jesus? In Acts 10:38, we are told that Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. Jesus was love in action. It did not matter what He felt in this natural body, He simply chose to show love where ever He went.
And yet, so many times we give in to the feelings and emotions of the flesh. We get angry, and don’t seem to care who knows it. We tend to feel sorry for ourselves. And so many times we just pass by those who are hurting or may be in need of something that we are well able to give them. Lord, Jesus, please open the eyes of our hearts and help us to begin to operate more and more like Jesus did when He walked here on the same earth we live on, in a body just like ours. He is our prime example on how to walk in love in our daily lives. It wasn’t so much the miracles that made Jesus who He was, it was that He chose to go about His daily life reaching out to others and doing good!
So do you really want to be more like Jesus? Then start looking around and see who you can be a blessing to. Be willing to forget about yourself and be the blessing God has anointed you to be.
LOVE one another for,
LOVE is of God and,
GOD IS LOVE!
By Jonelle Hammack 11/30/2020
Take My hand, child
As you begin your journey today.
Let Me share in every encounter
You face along the way!
Call unto Me
And know that I hear!
I’ll show you mighty things,
For I am always near.
Listen to Me
So you can live in Peace, unafraid.
The price for your safety and freedom
Has already been paid.
Every good and perfect gift
Comes to you with My love.
So put your trust in Me, child,
And lift your eyes to Me, above!
Be a doer of My Word
If you want true liberty.
Continue in it and don’t forget,
And Blessed beyond measure you’ll be.
I am the Alpha and Omega,
The Beginning and the End.
I am for you not against you,
So won’t you please take My hand!
I will lead, guide and direct you.
I will protect you in My arms of love.
I’ll be your Shelter in these times of trouble.
Until I take you to My home above.
Pastor Brad recently preached a message about “The Gift That Keeps On Giving”. He talked about how Jesus brought something into this world that will never wear out...never grow old....never pass away. We need to focus on Him. We must let go of the world’s traditions. These will drag you down and keep you in a rut all through life. But when you focus on Jesus, the Supernatural One begins to live and work inside of you, and you will begin to experience a Peace and a Joy like you’ve never known before..
We need to start living as the eternal beings that we are!
Jesus showed us what a man can do when he is full of the Word. And His Spirit lives within me, which causes me to live forever. This body may pass away, but my spirit will Never pass away.
The little song says “I’m Gonna live Forever, I’m Gonna die NO Never!”
What are you focused on? What is your vision? We need to focus on Jesus and look beyond what is going on in this mixed up world! Jesus is the gift that keeps on giving and Nothing in this life matters compared to what we have inherited in Jesus! Jesus needs to be your Supernatural Hero!
Get your focus on who you are, in Christ and His power that is at work with in you! You have Eternal Life in Jesus and Jesus Never stops giving!
John 4:10 says that He is always with us. He told the woman at the well that she did not know the gift of God who was speaking to her. Jesus IS the gift of God. He is our Living Water.
Living water springs from an unfailing source and it Never stops flowing! This is our Jesus! The world cannot stop Him! Put your focus on Him!
Get your focus off the world. Get your focus off all your troubles in life. Get your focus off yourself and get your focus on the Gift of God, Jesus, your King of kings and your Lord of lords. He will never leave you or forsake you. And whatever you need, He will meet that need....Because Jesus is the Gift that will keep on giving! Focus on Him and follow Him into 2022!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
By Jonelle Hammack 9-10-2020
Jesus is my Rock and my fortress,
My Shield and the Strength of my life.
I can call upon Him during any trouble
And He will deliver me from all strife.
When I am surrounded by the enemy,
And fear is flooding my soul,
I cry out to my forever Hero
Knowing that He will make me whole.
Jesus is my deliverance and victory.
He is with me where ever I go.
His loving arms support and keep me,
He lifts me up above every foe.
He makes the darkness turn to light.
He makes the crooked places straight.
His ways are always perfect,
And He is never late!
He enlarges the path before me,
So that my feet will not slip along the way.
He holds me up with His righteousness.
He is with me every day.
He delivers me from the striving people.
He makes me the head and not the tail.
As I put my trust in Him alone,
Victory will always prevail.
Yes, Jesus is my forever Hero.
He is always by my side.
He brings me through every situation,
As long as in Him and His Word I abide!