Category Archives: Redemption Through HIS Blood

God Answers In HIS Time??? A Word From THE WORD!!! #319

29 Wednesday Jan 2025

Posted by in 'Come unto me, A Father's Love, A Form of godliness?, Faith, Faithful God--Faithful me!, Faithful is He that has Promised!, God's Time, God's ways are not our ways, Praise Encourages our Heart, Praise God Today!, Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem, PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!, Prayer, Prayer or Panic?, Redemption Through HIS Blood, The LORD GOD OMNIPOTENT Reigneth!, True Gospel, Trust God, Trusting God, Trusting Jesus, Trusting Jesus?, Truth

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God Answers In HIS Time???    A Word from THE WORD!!! #319

I want to share a simple lesson that I rehearse again and again, and I have focused on it here multiple times, yet I feel like it needs to be revisited today.  I pray that you will find hope, confidence and a renewed assurance in the sovereign plan of our God.

“And when thou prayest,

thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are:

for they love to pray

standing in the synagogues

and in the corners of the streets,

that they may be seen of men.

Verily I say unto you,

They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest,

enter into thy closet,

and when thou hast shut thy door,

pray to thy Father which is in secret;

and thy Father which seeth in secret

shall reward thee openly.

7 But when ye pray,

use not vain repetitions,

as the heathen do:

for they think that they shall be heard

for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them:

for your Father knoweth

what things ye have need of,

before ye ask him.

9 After this manner therefore pray ye:

Our Father

which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done

in earth,

as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day

our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil:

For thine is

the kingdom,

and the power,

and the glory,

for ever. Amen.”  Matthew 6:5-13

We must remember that God is God—we are not!  Neither is He a heavenly slot machine, where we drop in our request (in faith of course!), pull the handle and God is obligated to give us what we ask for!  Talk about spoiled children!  Jesus gives us the guideline for our prayer life; Jesus makes it clear that we are to ask of our heavenly Father, without demands—but requests, supplications, intercessions, and all prayed not only in faith in His ability, but also HIS timing, HIS will, HISways, which as Isaiah told us, don’t always match our ideas!

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,

saith the LORD.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways

higher than your ways,

and my thoughts

than your thoughts.”  Isaiah 55:8-9 

Oh, how hard it can be to recognize and accept that, “I don’t know it all!”  We are to learn to lean on our Lord Jesus, and the perfect will of our Father in heaven!  What He wants!  Where He wants us to be!  How He wants us to exercise our gifts, callings and ministries!  “Thy kingdom come…Thy will be done” is to be our heartbeat in prayer, in life and all we do.

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink,

or whatsoever ye do,

do all to the glory of God.”  1 Corinthians 10:31

A worthy goal, but hardly ever an easy one to accomplish consistently!  May we be reminded that we can “…do all things through Christ which strengtheth me…”!  It’s what that verse in Philippians 4:13 means!  It’s not just some abstract idea, but the truth of who and what we are and can accomplish when we will walk in God’s ways—and in HIS timing!  Ouch!  The Holy Spirit doesn’t need to wear a watch—and when we keep our eyes on Jesus, we will find peace, joy and recognize the amazing things going on around us—God’s things! We must remember the order of things, not just “ordering” things from God! John has a great reminder for us.

“He that hath the Son

hath life;

and he that hath not the Son of God

hath not life.

13 These things have I written unto you that believe

on the name of the Son of God;

that ye may know

that ye have eternal life,

and that ye may believe

on the name of the Son of God.

14 And this is the confidence that we have in him,

that, if we ask any thing according to his will,

he heareth us:

15 And if we know that he hear us,

whatsoever we ask,

we know that we have the petitions

that we desired of him.”  1 John 5:12-15

We have an awesome privilege to come before The King of kings, and our Lord of Lords, to seek HIS face and desire to know and do His will.   Yes, praying sometimes to know His will; sometimes to see His will accomplished; other times to cry out in desperation, and other times to rejoice in HIS timely answers!  I pray God’s very best for you today!  May you draw near to The One who died for our salvation.  If you don’t know Jesus, you can come to Him in repentance of your sin, and faith/belief in His substitutionary, atoning sacrifice for all of my sins and yours!  Jesus is waiting to hear from you, today!

“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest

in his sight:

but all things are naked and opened

unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest,

that is passed into the heavens,

Jesus the Son of God,

let us hold fast our profession.

15 For we have not an high priest

which cannot be touched

with the feeling of our infirmities;

but was in all points tempted

like as we are,

yet without sin.

16 Let us therefore come boldly

unto the throne of grace,

that we may obtain mercy,

and find grace to help

in time of need.”  Hebrews 4:13-16

Amen and Amen!!!

A Christmas Fortnight??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #300

14 Saturday Dec 2024

Posted by in 'Come unto me, 'Tis The Season?, A Call To Look Unto Jesus!, A Father's Love, A heart of faith, By Him We Live, By His Grace, Christ IS Alive!, Christmas, Christmas IS Jesus, Christmas IS?, Come to Jesus, Come To Worship HIM, Jesus IS The Gift!, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Jesus Knows, Jesus lives today!, Jesus Saves!, Jesus SinLESS Son of God, Joy Is Contagious!, Joy To The World?, Judgment Is Coming, NOT the world's wisdom, Now is the time...., Ready or NOT Here Jesus Comes!, Real Beauty, Redemption Through HIS Blood, That They May Know, The Babe born KING, The Gospel, The greatest gift!!!, The Joy of The Lord!, The Light of The Word IS Jesus, The LORD GOD OMNIPOTENT Reigneth!, The manger leads to the cross, The Manger To The Cross, The Name of Jesus?

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A Christmas Fortnight???  A Word from THE WORD!!! #300

Continuing the reposts for Christmas due to my injured finger.

Bible Ballistics: BBs #121 A Christmas Fortnight-Cardinals and Christmas Cactus?

I love the wonderful creation of God: the trees, grass, clouds and the sunshine, the rain and snow– all wonders of God’s amazing creation.  And two of my favorite things sing the joy of Christmas to my heart: a joy of the Father’s handiwork in this awesome world — “cardinals” and “Christmas Cactus”.  They just sing “Glory to God” to my heart.  I love watching the cardinals at my feeders, and at the window where I watch them, the lovely cactus blooming–which God made so lovely– to bring joy to our hearts.  That it puts out it’s lovely pink flowers at this wondrous time of year—in winter—is a reminder that even death brings life!!!  The deadness of winter and the deadness of “sin” can receive new life.

Jesus came that we might have life.  Do you see it?  Paul reminds us of the reality in Romans 1:16-20,

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:

for it is the power of God unto salvation

to every one that believeth;

to the Jew first,

and also to the Greek.

17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed

from faith to faith:

as it is written,

The just shall live by faith.

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven

against all ungodliness

and unrighteousness

of men,

who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19 Because that which may be known of God

is manifest in them;

for God hath shewed it unto them.

20 For the invisible things of him

from the creation of the world

are clearly seen,

being understood by the things that are made,

even his eternal power and Godhead;

so that they are without excuse:”

The ‘just shall live by faith’!!!  Faith in the great corner stone—Jesus!!  We don’t believe because we are “JUST”, but we are made just because we have believed in what Jesus came to do:  to be born of a virgin, to live a sinless life in a sinful world with a body of flesh, to die for sins he didn’t commit, to be buried and to rise again, so that we would know that it is Jesus, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” (Col. 1:14)

This is why I celebrate HIS coming to earth as a baby boy.  Not just the story but also the person of Jesus Christ–who came for me, and for YOU.  He who was, is and ever will be the only way—He said so Himself in response to Thomas’ question in John 14:5-6:

“Thomas saith unto him,

Lord, we know not whither thou goest;

and how can we know the way?

6 Jesus saith unto him,

I am

the way,

the truth,

and the life:

no man cometh unto the Father,

but by me.”  One way—Only One Way!!!

Peter reiterated this in response to those questioning the miracle of the lame man in Acts 4.

Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other:

for there is none other name under heaven

given among men,

whereby we must be saved.”

No other way but Jesus.  The Lord who created my lovely cardinals, who makes the lovely cactus bloom in winter—that Lord and creator came as a baby to die on a cross for YOU!!!  Won’t you take heart from the beauty and look to the wonderful creator who came to give you real LIFE?  I pray that you’ll find Him in Christmas!!!  I also pray that those of us, who already know Him personally, will take joy and pleasure in Him and all of His beauty in creation.  Today and every day—He reminds us of His power and love!

Amen and Amen!!!

Redemption Or Rehearsal??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #194

06 Wednesday Mar 2024

Posted by in 'Come unto me, A Father's Love, A Form of godliness?, A heart of faith, Abiding IN Jesus or the World?, Abundant Life In Jesus, Confidence, Contentedness, Contentment, Follow Jesus, Following Jesus, Following Jesus or the World?, Greed, Green pastures, Holiness, Holy, Holy Living, I will lift up mine eyes, Inspiring Others, Prayer, Prayer or Panic?, Preach Christ and HIM crucified!, Redeemed By HIS Blood, Redemption or Rehearsal?, Redemption Through HIS Blood, Reflecting HIS glory

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Redemption Or Rehearsal??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #194

 

We live in a culture of “rehearsal”, in my opinion!  What do I mean?  Well, people are practicing to be someone else, to get to somewhere else, to work up to some other level of accomplishment, to be the fastest, the prettiest (and these days that is a totally subjective thing), the richest, the best, the most popular, the one with the most toys, awards, money, media presence, time in the spotlight, and of course most are working to get to heaven.  So, people rehearse for the role they have chosen.  I miss the days when you could just be “you” and take the ups with the downs; a day when friends loved you with or without the warts; a day when truth was more important than illusion, or facade, or performance, or “imitation anything”.  Jesus calls us to follow HIM, not the world, no matter the call of the glitter or the glamour.

One of the things that Jesus repeated over and over was and is the call to “follow me”; what followed may have varied, from person to person, but the call was to “follow” Jesus; so let’s consider a few of those calls.

“And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren,

Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother,

casting a net into the sea:

for they were fishers.

19 And he saith unto them,

Follow me,

and I will make you fishers of men.

20 And

they straightway left their nets,

and followed him.  

21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren,

James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother,

in a ship with Zebedee their father,

mending their nets;

and he called them.

22 And

they immediately left the ship and their father,

and followed him.”  Matthew 4:18-22

“And he that taketh not his cross,

and followeth after me,

is not worthy of me.”  Matthew 10:38

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples,

If any man will come after me,

let him deny himself,

and take up his cross,

and follow me.

25 For whosoever will save his life

shall lose it:

and whosoever will lose his life for my sake

shall find it.

26 For what is a man profited,

if he shall gain the whole world,

and lose his own soul?

or what shall a man give

in exchange for his soul?”  Matthew 16:24-26

In “Blanche’s Paraphrase”, you can’t rehearse your way into heaven!  There is only “One Way” to heaven and His name is Jesus; and only when we answer His call to salvation can we truly have abundant life, clear direction, and eternal life.  You can never make your own way, or rehearse to “be” good enough, rich enough, powerful enough, or successful enough to make your way into the “heaven awards”!

Paul has a lot to say about following Jesus as well.  Oh, that I had learned to follow HIM more closely and not been caught up in the rehearsal of the world!  How about you?  Have you been distracted from following Jesus by the world’s glitter—it’s a lie and not truth.  We must draw close to our Lord and Savior to know truth, seeking HIM in HIS WORD!  Help us Jesus, to hear your voice and draw nearer to You!

“Be ye followers of me,

even as I also am of Christ.”  1 Corinthians 11:1

Paul gave a great word of encouragement and challenge to his son-in-the-ministry, Timothy, from which we can learn a lot, if we will but take heed and examine ourselves rightly.

“But godliness with contentment is great gain.

7 For we brought nothing into this world,

and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

8 And having food and raiment

let us be therewith content.

9 But they that will be rich

fall into temptation and a snare,

and into many foolish and hurtful lusts,

which drown men

in destruction and perdition.

10 For the love of money

is the root of all evil:

 which while some coveted after,

they have erred from the faith,

and pierced themselves through

with many sorrows.

11 But thou, O man of God,

flee these things;

and follow after

righteousness,

godliness,

faith,

love,

patience,

meekness.”  1 Timothy 6:6-11

Contentment is almost a lost virtue, will we learn to be content rather than greedy (and yes, we all are afflicted with the ‘greedy bug’ from time to time—an affliction that we need to recognize and avoid); are we truly pursuing “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness”?

What are we praying for?  Are we focused on wealth more than holiness; focused on greed more than righteousness; has our heart been side-tracked by the world?  Jesus’ simple model prayer can be a great help, may we seek Him and His ways—following our Lord.  And if you don’t know Him, you can come to Him in repentance of sin, and faith in HIS substitutionary (in your place), atoning (making payment for a debt) sacrifice (the very payment with HIS own blood at Calvary).  If you hear His voice don’t turn Him away!

“After this manner therefore pray ye:

Our Father

which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done in earth,

as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day

our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil:

For thine is

the kingdom,

and the power,

and the glory,

for ever. Amen.”  Matthew 6:9-13

May our hearts be totally devoted to HIM who redeemed us with His own blood; rehearsal may work for a “performance”, but it won’t bring you eternal life—only Jesus can do that.  Won’t you come to Him today?  If you are HIS, won’t your draw near to Him who loves you and gave Himself for YOU?  May we live like we are part of the Redeemed of The Lord.

“And if ye call on the Father,

who without respect of persons judgeth

according to every man’s work,

pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed

with corruptible things,

as silver and gold,

from your vain conversation

received by tradition from your fathers;

19 But with the precious blood of Christ,

as of a lamb without blemish

and without spot:

20 Who verily was foreordained

before the foundation of the world,

but was manifest in these last times

for you,” 1 Peter 1:17-20

Praise to our Redeemer—forever and ever!  He’s coming for us soon!

“And they sung a new song, saying,

Thou art worthy to take the book,

and to open the seals thereof:

for thou wast slain,

and hast redeemed us

to God by thy blood out of every

kindred,

and tongue,

and people,

and nation;

10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests:

and we shall reign on the earth.”  Revelation 5:9-10

Amen and Amen!!!

The Way To Celebrate??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #163

08 Friday Dec 2023

Posted by in 'Come unto me, 'Tis The Season?, A Father's Love, Before the foundation of the world, Behold the Lamb of God, Born Again, Bow Before our God, Choose you this day?, Choosing Jesus or The World?, Christ IN YOU, Christmas, Christmas IS Jesus, Christmas IS?, Follow Jesus, Follow The Star?, Following Jesus, Following Jesus or the World?, For Such A Time As This, Ready or NOT Here Jesus Comes!, Redeemed By HIS Blood, Redemption Through HIS Blood, Remember, Repentance, Running The Race!, Salvation, The Blood of Jesus Cleanses from SIN, The blood of Jesus IS the only Way, The Broad or Narrow Way?

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The Way To Celebrate??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #163

“Jesus saith unto him,

I am

the way,

the truth,

and the life:

no man cometh unto the Father,

but by me.”  John 14:6

I know it’s not very popular today to stand by the truth that Jesus IS the only way to God—to heaven—to have eternal life!  It’s why Jesus came, and the story was ‘the story’ from “before the foundation of the world”!  The question is, “What will you do with this baby born in a barn, laid in a manger, the One who walked this earth with sinful men, yet remained sinless and walked to Calvary to pay for your sin and mine!”  What will you do with Him?  Leave Him in the manger?  Or bow before Him as your Lord and Savior?  It’s your choice, but choose wisely, there is a test!

“Father, I will that they also,

whom thou hast given me,

be with me where I am;

that they may behold my glory,

which thou hast given me:

for thou lovedst me

before the foundation of the world.”   John 17:24

Angels proclaimed the truth to Zacharias, to Mary, to Joseph, to shepherds—the good news that The Savior has come.

“And, behold,

thou shalt conceive in thy womb,

and bring forth a son,

and shalt call his name JESUS.

 32 He shall be great,

and shall be called the Son of the Highest:

and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne

of his father David:

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;

and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”   Luke 1:31-33

“And she shall bring forth a son,

and thou shalt call his name JESUS:

for he shall save his people from their sins.”  Matthew 1:21

“And the angel said unto them,

Fear not:

for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,

which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day

in the city of David

a Saviour,

which is Christ the Lord.”  Luke 2:10-11

Great news for all people, yet Jesus reminded us that there is even a greater part of that good news—when we come to HIM for this salvation, HE will not only “save his people from their sins...” but even the angels rejoice at the redemption promised to Adam and Eve, and to us.  All because this tiny baby was headed to Calvary to pay for our sin and restore us to HIS kingdom.  All this planned before “the foundation of the world”!

God knew we would fail, yet He had already provided for our restoration and salvation from the promised penalty of sin—death—a Savior was on the way!

“Father, I will that they also,

whom thou hast given me,

be with me where I am;

that they may behold my glory,

which thou hast given me:

for thou lovedst me

before the foundation of the world.”   John 17:24

“Blessed be the God and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings

in heavenly places

in Christ:

4 According as he hath chosen us

in him

before the foundation of the world,

that we should be holy

and without blame

before him in love:” Ephesians 1:3-4

Peter also reminds us that our hope isn’t in a manger, or stars, or miraculous events, but in the blood of Jesus that “cleanseth us from all sin”!  It’s HIS way or no way!

“And if ye call on the Father,

who without respect of persons

judgeth according to every man’s work,

pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

18 Forasmuch as ye know

that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things,

as silver and gold,

from your vain conversation

received by tradition from your fathers;

19 But with the precious blood of Christ,

as of a lamb without blemish

and without spot:

20 Who verily was foreordained

before the foundation of the world,

but was manifest in these last times for you,

21 Who by him do believe in God,

that raised him up from the dead,

and gave him glory;

that your faith and hope might be in God.” 1 Peter 1:17-21

So, I pray that you know HIM, and will “walk worthy” of His grace, His love, and the blood that HE spilled ‘on purpose’ for you and me.  I pray that you will truly remember to celebrate JESUS!  If angels rejoice, we have even more cause!

“Likewise, I say unto you,

there is joy in the presence of the angels of God

over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke15:10

While the angels do rejoice when a sinner repents, remember, Jesus warned us that repentance is necessary for all.  May we take heed to the truths of God’s Word and repent, receive and believe in the substitutionary, atoning sacrifice that the ‘babe in the manger’ came to be!  May you draw near to Jesus and celebrate His blessings of love, grace, and salvation!

“I tell you, Nay:

but, except ye repent,

ye shall all likewise perish.”  Luke 13:5

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples,

If any man will come after me,

let him deny himself,

and take up his cross,

and follow me.”  Matthew 16:24

May this lost world see us following JESUS!!!

Amen and Amen!!!

Listening NOW Is Best??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #146

23 Monday Oct 2023

Posted by in 'Come unto me, A Father's Love, A Form of godliness?, A heart of faith, Abiding In Jesus, Abundant Life In Jesus, Advice for the journey, All About Jesus!, Christ IN YOU, HOPE, Jesus Saves!, Jesus' Sacrifice, Jesus--our all in all, Redemption Through HIS Blood, Regrets, Restoration

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Listening NOW Is Best???  A Word from THE WORD!!! #146

“Finally, my brethren,

be strong

in the Lord,

and in the power of his might…

…11 Put on the whole armour of God,

that ye may be able to stand

against the wiles of the devil…

…13 Wherefore take unto you

the whole armour of God,

that ye may be able to withstand

in the evil day,

and having done all,

to stand.

14 Stand therefore…”. Portions of Ephesians 6:10-18

The armor of God is our essential to being able to “stand” for God, His truth, His Word, and His ways.  It makes me sad that today we are so deficient in teaching The Word of God not only to adults, but to our children.  We spend so much time entertaining them, giving them snacks and having ‘fun’ that there is little time to impress upon them the truths of God’s Word; and while I truly believe the the major deficiency is in the home, the church is also at fault.  It seems that we are so concerned with getting the “crowds” into our buildings, that we work to make them ‘feel good’ and forget that the convicting work of The Holy Spirit seldom ‘feels good’, but without it there will never be a real, genuine, or powerful work of God in our midst (and yes, that is my opinion).  Oh, that we might hear the voice of Jesus and turn our hearts and minds to Him that we might be able to “STAND” for truth in this “evil day”—and yes, my friends it is upon us!  Five times in this brief passage Paull reminds us to be ‘strong’ and to ‘stand’!  Will we stand on The Word of God or fail?

Jesus called us to stand for HIM and to follow HIM not the world, or the popular, or the plans, programs, and ideas that the world uses!  Now I am not against fun, I remember great and glorious times of fun, fellowship and delight as a child, but it never took the place of Bible Study or leaning The Word of God.  I remember two- and three-week Bible Schools, and revivals that lasted that long also—not just 3 days!  Don’t faint, they were amazing times of seeing God work, and we learned Bible verses by the score, many that I remember today came from that training of childhood; but that’s not the main thing I want to consider, but I do want us to base it all on The Word of God not my words; which I hope will help you, but our main-stay must be what God says, HE IS our Lode Star (a star that leads THE way!)

“Saying,

The Son of man must suffer many things,

and be rejected

 of the elders and chief priests and scribes,

and be slain,

and be raised the third day.

23 And he said to them all,

If any man will come after me,

let him deny himself,

and take up his cross daily,

and follow me.

24 For whosoever will save his life

shall lose it:

but whosoever will lose his life for my sake,

the same shall save it.

25 For what is a man advantaged,

if he gain the whole world,

and lose himself,

or be cast away?

26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me

and of my words,

of him shall the Son of man be ashamed,

when he shall come in his own glory,

and in his Father’s,

and of the holy angels.”  Luke 9:22-26

 Let’s assess this from the bottom up, if you would, for I think we often quote these verses but miss a real part of the meaning.  We get it that denying Jesus will result in condemnation (See John 3:1-19) but we can reject Jesus in more subtle ways that we often miss, and for some that will be an eternally consequent error!  We can deny Jesus by rejecting His sacrifice, but we can also be guilty of rejecting Jesus’ Words—scripture—for living; and in our culture we are denying it wholesale—we deny the creative order of male and female and try to rewrite what Jesus said clearly and without hesitation—isn’t that denying HIS words?  We say that salvation is a “pray this prayer, say these words, and Jesus will save you”, leaving off any word of seeing sin as sin, repentance, or cross-bearing!  Would this not be denying Jesus?  What Gospel are we sharing?

We need to listen to God’s Word TODAY!  As a ‘senior citizen’ (and I’ll leave it at that, but I’ve lived a long time and have an abundance of regrets some of which I hope to help you avoid!) I have experiences that aren’t the thing I want to share, but I want to share with you the heartache of failing to heed Jesus’ Words, of delaying obedience to my Lord, of just plain missing the boat!  And I must tell you that the pain of regrets is a reality, but it has no comparison to the joy of obeying Jesus—when, where, and how HE calls us to be, do and follow Him, taking the cross to a lost and dying world.  The eternal destiny of others can be dependent upon our choice to obey or reject HIS call; what will we do with Jesus and His Word.  Are you in The Word enough to know what HE has said?  There is a joy to obeying God that has no equal.  I can’t tell you the joy I find in Jesus and obeying HIS call; but I can also tell you that the pain of regrets of failing HIM, and missing the mark are often painful reminders of my own sinful flesh—but praise God for forgiveness, cleansing and restoration to useful service!  I am so grateful that JESUS is The I AM—The One who CAN—The One who WILL!!

Don’t let the enemy come and destroy your joy over past regrets and failures—you go to 1 John 1:9 and do business with Jesus in confessing your sin and failures, asking for HIS open arms of forgiveness to wrap around you, and letting HIM cleanse you and restore whatever needs restoring (yet remembering that some times and things that we have broken, can’t be put back together, but if they can, HE will, and if not He gives us the grace to go on with open eyes to our failures, and confidence in HIS power to restore us to usefulness to HIM and HIS kingdom.  He’s waiting for you today!

“If we confess our sins,

he is faithful and just

to forgive us our sins,

and to cleanse us

 from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned,

we make him a liar,

and his word is not in us.”  1 John 1:9-10

May we accept HIS love and care for us or be lost because we cling to our own way, our own righteousness, and miss heaven by a regret!  Remember Jesus’ own message to the church at Laodicea—a church who thought they had it all, but Jesus was ‘outside’ knocking on the door!  Are you in the church, but not IN Jesus?  He’s still calling!  Won’t you open the door and let The Master save, heal, and equip you for HIS service!  Jesus does good work—as I heard once, “Jesus doesn’t make any ‘Junk’!”

“Behold,

I stand at the door,

and knock:

if any man hear my voice,

and open the door,

I will come in to him,

and will sup with him,

and he with me.”  Revelation 3:20

I pray that you will hear HIS voice and open that door!

Amen and Amen!!!