Tag: assurance

LOVE

LOVE

As we know, 1 John 4:8 teaches us that God is love.  The love of God gives us stability and assurance in our faith.  It surrounds us and upholds us in our daily lives.  But God’s love accomplishes many other things as well.

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.  (Pro 3:3 ESV) 

We need to write God’s steadfast love and faithfulness upon our hearts, and one way of doing that is to memorize Bible verses about Him and His love.  His Word is truth.

Mercy and truth preserve the king, and by lovingkindness he upholds his throne.  (Pro 20:28 NKJV)

God’s lovingkindness actually supports, maintains and sustains His throne.  Wow!  What an idea worthy of meditation.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.  (Eph 5:1-2 NASB)

We should walk in love, allowing it to motivate us, to lead us, and to flow from us towards other people.  As we live in this way, we are being transformed by the example of our Lord and Savior.

If I give away everything I own, and if I give over my body in order to boast, but do not have love, I receive no benefit.  (1 Cor 13:3 NET)

As 1 Corinthians reminds us, without love for God, for ourselves and for others, we have received nothing.  This is quite an enormous truth to wrap our thoughts around, so take some time in the weeks to come to meditate upon today’s topic.  God bless you.

Don’t Make Yourself God’s Enemy

Don’t Make Yourself God’s Enemy

As believers in Jesus Christ, we have chosen to follow Christ above all things, especially above the world.  Jesus taught that we cannot be loved by this world because we are not truly a part of it.

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.  (Mt 6:24 CEB) 

The Bible reminds us that we can’t serve two different masters.  So we must make a clear and firm choice about our allegiance.

 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, the world therefore hates you.  (Joh 15:19 MEV)

The world hates Christians because Jesus chose us out of the world, and we chose Jesus.  We have put Jesus first above all other relationships, alliances, and commitments.

Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  (Jam 4:4 NKJV) 

Friendship with the world equals hostility toward God and the Word of God. Many in the world malign and ridicule believers, and all those who value the Bible.

Stop loving the world and the things that are in the world. If anyone persists in loving the world, the Father’s love is not in him. 16 For everything that is in the world—the desire for fleshly gratification, the desire for possessions, and worldly arrogance—is not from the Father but is from the world.  (1 Joh 2:15-16 ISV)

Everything—EVERYTHING—that is in the world [ambition, avariciousness, passions, arrogance] is connected with this world’s way of doing things; and does not connect to a love of God the Father.

As we continue to choose to follow Jesus and to obey God’s Word, we would do well to seek God’s face and ask Him for continuing grace to live a holy life.  We know that God hears and answers our prayers, so we may pray with confidence and assurance.  God bless you.

God Supports & Sustains Each Believer

<strong>God Supports & Sustains Each Believer</strong>

God blesses each and every follower and disciple of Jesus Christ daily.  He supports us by giving us enabling and empowering grace to encourage us to endure trials and tests.  He maintains [sustains] our very life, health, strength, and faith, as well.  We may safely hope in Him.

When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.  (Ps 94:18 NIV)  He supports us by His unfailing love and mercy.  Thank You, Jesus!

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.  (Ps 121:3 KJV)  God, our Sustainer, never slumbers nor changes His will.  He keeps us from stumbling.

A man’s steps are established by the Lord, and the Lord delights in his way.  24 Though he stumbles, he will not fall down flat, for the Lord will hold up his hand.  (Ps 37:23-24  ISV)  The delights in our lives, and establishes our steps.  He holds us up with His hand so that we won’t fall down.

. . . but I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail; and you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”  (Lk 22:32 NASB)  Jesus prayed for us, that our faith would not fail.  And we are encouraged to strengthen and support our fellow believers.

. . . who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  (1 Pet 1:5 NKJV)  We are KEPT by the mighty power of God which means that we are preserved, sheltered, and kept separate unto God.  He will not let us go, so long as we do not reject our Savior and Redeemer.  He has given us such hope and assurance.

This is how valuable we are, individually, to God.  Think about having such a Friend and supporter as the Living God.  Hallelujah!

Overcomers Acknowledge Jesus

Overcomers Acknowledge Jesus

Overcomers are people who are born of God and have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  We acknowledge Christ—both who He is and what He has accomplished on the earth.  Let’s see what the Bible says.

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.  (1 Joh 5:5 NIV, emphasis added)

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.  (1 Joh 4:15 NIV)

So you will be saved, if you honestly say, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death.  (Rom 10:9 CEV)

“But I tell you, the Son of Man will acknowledge before God’s angels everyone who acknowledges me before people.”  (Lk 12:8 ISV)

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.  (1 Joh 5:1 NKJV)

Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer has made us overcomers through Him.  We are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19), and His presence is always with us.

As we continue to live in wholehearted faith and in obedience to the Word of God, we have assurance of eternal salvation.  We are therefore, called, the children of God.  (Joh 1:12; Rom 8:16; 1 Joh 3:1; 4:4; 5:2)  Glory to God!

The Lord’s Swift Help

The Lord’s Swift Help

Here are Bible verses that remind us that when we need God’s help, we may need it suddenly and abruptly! 

Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.  (Ps 38:22 NIV)

Be pleased to save me, Lord; come quickly, Lord, to help me.  (Ps 40:13 NIV)

Come closer, God! Please hurry and help.  (Ps 71:12 CEV)

Lord, I cry out to You; make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.  (Ps 141:1)

The above verses show human beings calling upon the Lord for immediate and speedy help.  We all turn to God in fear and anguish when we are facing some sort of crisis in our lives.  But remember, God has already declared Himself as our Savior and Redeemer.  (Isa 49:26; 60:16). 

So we can have complete assurance that He hears and answers our prayers. (Pro 15:29; Joh 16:24; 1 Joh 5:14-15)  Look up some of these verses and meditate upon them to build your faith.

Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud, and will come into Egypt; the idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, and the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.  (Isa 19:1, emphasis added) 

The word “totter” means to stagger, wobble, quake, or lurch.  When God’s power comes into a circumstance or a life, every false god and demon quakes and falls in fear and defeat.  They recognize that Jesus is the Victorious One.  (Joh 16:33; Col 2:15)

Notice that the imagery in Isaiah 19:1 mentions a swift cloud, which gives us a clue as to the decisiveness of the Lord when He has determined to take action on behalf of His people. So, in your moment of need, trust in the Lord and in His abiding and perfect love for you.  Understand that the Lord will move swiftly (instantly) on your behalf at exactly the best moment—the one that He knows will bring about the most blessings for you.

As a matter of fact, the Bible tells us that the Lord LEADS US IN TRIUMPH in Christ.  (2 Cor 2:14)  Hallelujah!  Allow Him (trust Him) to lead you triumphantly in every situation. 

Feet of a Deer: Hind’s Feet

Feet of a Deer: Hind’s Feet

The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to tread on the heights.  (Hab 3:19 NIV)

The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places.  (Hab 3:19 KJV)

In Habakkuk 3:17-18, the prophet says:

17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Verses 17 and 18 show us that Habakkuk chooses to praise the Lord and to be joyful in Him in spite of life’s challenging circumstances. 

He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places.  (2 Sam 22:34 & Ps 18:33 KJV)

So what is the significance of hind’s feet?  A hind is a female deer (or a gazelle) who is able to place her back feet unerringly where her front feet have walked.  Because of this, a hind is able to run unreservedly on the roughest terrain.  In times of peril, the hind can run securely and stay on course.  Because the hind can scale high places, it can elude predators.

The spiritual lesson for us is that, despite our circumstances, when we are truly anchored by faith in Jesus, we’ll be able to run with joy the race that is set before us.  The Word reminds us that God Himself is our strength, and in Him our spiritual feet have become as sure-footed, nimble, and fast as the hind. 

The strength that God gives to us is an inward strength—confidence and assurance and courageousness in the face of all external afflictions and trials.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  (Phil 4:13 NKJV) 

. . . that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man . . .  (Eph 3:16 NKJV)

We are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19), and the strength of the Lord is within each one of us.  Glory to God!

Did Jesus Truly Show His Love?

Did Jesus Truly Show His Love?

Ponder this:  did Jesus truly show His love for mankind?  Do you have assurance of God the Father’s love for you?  Here are some Scriptures for you to consider:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  (John 3:16)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (Romans 5:8)

. . . nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:39, underscoring added)

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  (Galatians 2:20)

All of these Bible verses talk about the love of God for us and the love of Jesus for us.  It is very easy to understand it through these passages.

Jesus, our Savior, demonstrated His great love for mankind and for His Father by offering His own life and blood in order to reconcile all of mankind to our Father God.   Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  (Joh 15:13)  Jesus absolutely loved us—He gave His life for us!

With this understanding of Jesus’ love, which is a reflection of God the Father’s love, I believe it should seem like a reasonable service for us to put God in first place in our lives.