Tag: restore

Are You Feeling Lost?

Are You Feeling Lost?

What’s going on in your life?  Is everything good and running peacefully?  Praise the Lord!

Or are you feeling lost, alone, or hurt?  Do you feel like you’re wandering in a desert without a map?  Do you have problems at work, money troubles, or is there distress and anxiety in your life for other reasons?

LOST can mean:  beaten down; defeated; forlorn; vulnerable; alone; disoriented; off course.

As the Scriptures reveal, God is very aware of those who are lost or hurting or sick; and He is waiting to help you.  Just turn to Him and let Him know what you need.

“My people have become lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray . . .  (Jer 50:6 NASB)

All too often, our ‘shepherds’—our pastors or advisors, the people who were supposed to be watching over us and protecting us—have steered us in the wrong direction or into the wrong decision.  And we have been immeasurably injured as a result.  That was never God’s plan for you.

For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.  (Mt 18:11 NKJV)

Jesus has come to save everyone who is lost, as well as everything that has been lost.  He can restore all lost sheep and all seemingly hopeless situations. He will restore “lost” opportunities and provide better ones, praise God!

But Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a physician, but sick people do.” (Lk 5:31 ISV)

For I am the Lord who heals you.  (Exod 15:26 NKJV)

People with health problems and serious medical diagnoses need God, their Healer.  They need His wisdom, guidance, and healing power.  And Jesus loves to answer prayers and to heal the sick and the hurting.

The Son of Man came to look for and to save people who are lost.  (Lk 19:10 CEV)

Jesus is actively looking for all who are “lost” so that He may save, heal, help, and bless you.  Seek out a trustworthy and reliable Pastor or a minister of the Gospel who can help you in seeking the Lord.  God bless you!

What Is a Backslider?

What Is a Backslider?

A backslider is someone who has reversed their direction in a given area.  In terms of Christian faith and life, it usually refers to a person who at one time had a vital, meaningful relationship with Jesus as their Savior but who has turned away from the values of following Christ and living a moral, upright life. 

But the Lord says, in the verses below, that He loves the backslider, that He is married to them, and that He will heal their condition by bringing them back to Himself.  Glory to God!

Return, O backsliding children,” says the Lord; “for I am married to you.  (Jer 3:14a)

Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.  (Jer 3:22a)

I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely . . .  (Hos 14:4a)

This turning away from faith may happen if a person isn’t connected to a church or a body of believers with whom to fellowship.  It may also occur if someone becomes neglectful about Bible reading, prayer, and praise and worship.  These are all forms of communication with the Lord, and any relationship will wither and collapse without ongoing, regular communication. 

So we can’t allow our affections for the Lord to cool down by discarding the habits that uphold and sustain our faith in Jesus.  It’s always good to review our conduct occasionally to make sure that we’re making decisions that will positively impact our life of faith.  Our life habits should sustain and nurture our Christian faith, so guard them well.

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord . . . (Ac 3:19) Our sympathetic Savior is happy to restore and to revive our relationship with Him at all times.  And He says that times of refreshing will follow, times of rejuvenating the relationship with Him and pouring out grace upon you to inspire you in fresh ways.

Anyone who has backslidden from their faith in Christ has hope.  The Lord is loving, merciful, and kind.  He longs for us to return to Him and to reestablish our relationship with Him—the God who is love.  (1 Joh 4:8)  God bless you.

Come, You Burdened Ones

Come, You Burdened Ones

Jesus is calling ALL those who are weary and burdened to Himself, and He promises to give us rest.  Glory to God!  He doesn’t limit His invitation in any way—all are welcome to turn to Him.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.   (Mt 11:28-29 NIV)

Jesus’ ways are gentle because He is humble in heart, and He promises to give us rest.  Imagine it!  How much would you like to put your burdens, cares, and anxieties down?  How longingly would each one of us like to experience genuine, de-stressing rest?

For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.  (Jer 31:25 NKJV) 

In this verse, the Lord says that He has filled to satisfaction the weary one, and He has re-filled the sorrowful soul.  This is language that conveys giving the weary and the sorrowful everything that they need so that they feel contented, comforted and relaxed.  Glory to God!

All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.  (Joh 6:37 NIV)  Jesus says that anyone who comes to Him will NEVER be rejected.  Never means not once.

What has burdened you?  What has hurt you or worried you for such a long time?  How can you find genuine, lasting relief?  The Scriptures point us to Jesus, the Redeemer and Deliverer.  He has promised to deliver us from evil.   (Gal 1:4; 2 Tim 4:18) 

God says that He restores our souls.  (Ps 23:3)  Restore means to rebuild.  He will rebuild our souls—the core of who we are!  Our souls are the seat of our mind, will, and emotions.  He is the miracle-working God and He is the only One who can restore souls.

In the first Bible verse shown above, Jesus says that He will give rest to our souls.  He is saying that He will give each one of us a peace-filled rest to the depths of our very consciousness.  Praise God!  Now that’s a miracle, indeed!

Friends

Friends

Have you experienced some relationship catastrophes in your life?  Have one or two friends decided, for various purported reasons, to “unfriend” you?  Well, I want to reassure you that you have a Friend who will NEVER treat you like that!

Jesus is your Friend who sticks closer than a brother, and He told us that He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us!  (Pro 18:24; Heb 13:5)  Hallelujah!!

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. (Joh 15:15 ESV, emphasis added)

Greater love has no one than this that someone lay down his life for his friends. (Joh 15:13 ESV)

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. (Prov 17:17 ESV, emphasis added)

What kind of “friend” decides to end a relationship of many years’ standing simply because of one or two tiny incidents?  Why would they not rather choose to communicate with their friend about what happened and how they felt, in order to restore harmony and unity in the relationship?  This person would be a poor example of a friend.

Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  (Mt 28:20 NKJV)  Jesus is the friend who will never leave us.  He promises to be with us ALWAYS.  Glory to God!

Not only are these points significant, but Jesus is a very special Friend indeed.  (All verses below NKJV)

  • He is our Friend who LOADS us daily with blessings and benefits (Ps 68:19).
  • He gives us the desires of our hearts, as we delight in Him.  (Ps 37:4)
  • He gives us great and precious promises through which we be may be partakers of His divine nature.  (2 Pet 1:4)
  • He does whatever we ask Him to do!  (When we ask in His name – Joh 14:13-14)
  • In Christ Jesus, our Friend, all of God’s Biblical promises have been answered:  “Yes!” and “Make it so!”  (1 Cor 1:20)
  • If we ask anything according to God’s will (which is His Word), we know that the Lord hears our request.  And when we know that He has heard our prayer, we know that He has answered our prayer, “Yes”.  (1 Joh 5:14-15)
  • Jesus is our healer.  (Isa 53:4-5; Mt 8:17; 1 Pet 2:24)

There is no other Friend who loves us, blesses us, and cares for us like He does!