DAY 129

Redeemed

She opened her eyes. Nudged awake by the ache in her womb, she stared at the date and knew why. Seven years ago today, she’d lain on that table. Her heart pounded as hard now as it did then. And like that day, she recited the reasons she’d agreed to the termination. It had all made such perfect sense.

Her barren womb screamed otherwise. There would be no children. Any future offspring were ripped apart along with what would have been their firstborn sibling. All those that were to be - died that day.

The woman struggled through the day. Would the stain on her soul ever be wiped away? She spent her weekends at the soup kitchens, her vacations building homes for the homeless. What more could she do? How could she pay the price for her sin?

A familiar hiss whispered in her ear, “Nothing, you are condemned. You destroyed a life.”

She shivered. That same whisper had urged her into the cold room, held her captive while the doctor killed her unborn child. Hopelessness seized her heart. She could never feed enough hungry people or do enough good works to pay for what she’d done. There was no way for her to undo her sin. The burden too heavy, she dropped to her knees. “God help me. Oh, Jesus, I knew you when I was small. Forgive me.”

Silence filled the room.

The accusing whisperer fled.

Holding her breath, she stayed, knees to the floor, head bent. Quiet.

In her mind’s eye, she saw One come toward her. Jesus.

He held out his hands, scars visible on His wrists. “Woman, I paid the price.”

She stood on shaking legs.

The Lord took off His robe of righteousness and wrapped it around her shoulders. “In Me, you are clean. Your sin has been wiped away.” And He was gone.

Peace reigned over her. And for the first time since that day seven years ago, she felt clean. Redeemed.

Romans 5:6-8 “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

DAY 128

Hebrews 1:3

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:”

The Three in One. One God. Three persons.

Hard to understand, but then how can we, who are but a vapor and creation of His own hand, understand a Majestic Almighty God?

Matthew 28:19
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

1 John 4:14
And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Three in One

DAY 127

Looking up to Jesus, our example, just what would Jesus do?

Luke 4:18-19 ¹⁸The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, ¹⁹To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

John 14:12
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in (Jesus) Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.

Jesus made the blind to see, the lame to walk, the dumb to speak, healed the sick, set free the captives, and raised the dead, and preached the gospel. That is what Jesus did, that is what we are to be doing.

Raised any dead lately?

Me either. What do we do about that? Seek Him. Daily, cling to the Lord and ask, knock, and seek. Study His word and listen. Invite the Holy Spirit into your lives and follow His lead. As you Hear and See what the Lord would have you say and do, step out in faith and obey.

The world is dying for the church to walk as Jesus walked.

DAY 126

Isaiah 60:1
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

John 1:3-5

In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

John 8:11-13

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 12:45-47

I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
Matthew 5:14

Ye are the light of the world.

Jesus is our light. When we believe in Him we should turn our backs on darkness and follow that light. We may stumble, but if we but cry out and look to the Light, He will pick us up and show us the way.

Walk in the Light of the Lord, showing others the way. For His glory has risen upon us.

DAY 125

On the level?

We hear much about balance in the Christian life. What does that mean? Should we cut our lives like pieces of pie? One for the Lord, one for the family, one for work and one for fun?

That sounds way too much like what man would make up. You know the finger thing Christians do so they can remember their priorities.

Although it is wise to understand that the Lord did give us our authorities, like them or not. And we are to obey them as long as they don't go against the Lord

So how are we to be in balance?

Jesus did and said only what the Father told Him

John 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

John 5:19
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

1 John 3:1
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Balance will be found in seeking the Lord, being quiet before Him and listening. And He will set our days. Do as He says and you don't need to worry if you are balanced or not. We live to please Him, not man.

DAY 124

GRACE

Romans 3:24
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Romans 5:2
By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Many try to reach perfection by works, but that is not possible. You can't do enough good to get into heaven.

Praise the Lord! God sent His son to become perfection for us. Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Son of God and died and was resurrected on the third day, to them grace flows and with it eternal life. The abundant life that flows from heaven even now. Living waters that bring life.

Walk in His grace. And as it is given unto you, give it to others. Grace, can't live without it.

DAY 123

Thunder, lightning, rain, and hail last night. Today sun and wind and clouds.

Spring, so full of life and unpredictable.

And that is life. We know winds will blow, troubles arise, and uncertainty attempt to rule over us.

BUT - believers, those who have been born again by the Spirit, the children of promise and heirs with Christ, have a strong anchor.

Hebrews 6:18-20 ¹⁸That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

¹⁹Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

²⁰Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Stand fast in the faith. Look neither to the right nor to the left, but to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Though the earth shake and the sky fall, we can stand and know that God is good and for us. And that we have life eternal.

Stand fast. Resist the devil and he will flee.

Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Stand Fast. Stay the course. And know that God has only good for you. Trust God.

DAY 122

Hebrews 12

¹Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

²Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We are not alone. Heaven cheers us on. Hear the roar of the Heavenly Host as you run your race. Keep your eyes on Jesus and run.

DAY 121

Another spring surprise.

Psalm 149:5
Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.

Isaiah 60:1
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Ahh, waking to a new day, new mercies, new joy in the Lord.

Shrug off yesterday's failures and disappointments. Reach toward the goodness of God and rejoice that He is good.

Today is a new day!

DAY 120

Friends! I love them. They're gifts from God. Wonderful creations of the Most High, bought by the blood of His Son, and each a special glimpse into the image of God.

I've heard it said that at times we need God with skin on...that is a description of what our Godly friends are to us.

Reach out to a friend today. Give them some of God's love wrapped in flesh.

Proverbs 17:17
A friend loveth at all times...

Proverbs 27:17
Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

John 15:13-15

¹³Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

¹⁴Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

¹⁵Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

And the most awesome friend we have is Jesus.

What a friend we have in Jesus.

DAY 119

Purple craze of Spring.

I love the colors and life that seems to spring instant from trees and ground this time of year. Resurrection time.

A reminder that Jesus died for our sins, but that wasn't the end of the story. For in three days, He rose from the dead. Resurrection! Jesus' dead body alive and alive forevermore. The First Born of the dead.

And we too will come alive. When we hear the trumpet and our Master calls we will change from mortal to immortal.

So what do we have to do? What are the rules of our Christian life? How do we get in on this life everlasting?

John 3:15
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:36
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Jesus left us with two rules - Luke 10:27

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

Don't stress. For the Father sent us His Holy Spirit.

John 14:26
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Believe in Jesus the only begotten Son of God. Ask and you shall Receive.

Walk humbly, seek God, and listen to His Spirit. And do as He says.

The days of this earth are growing short, but life everlasting awaits anyone who cries out to the Lord in the name of Jesus.

Don't wait.

DAY 118

Isaiah 40:8
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

The Word, God's letters to us. Our instruction manual from our Maker.

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God

Luke 4:4
And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

Proverbs 30:5
Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Psalm 119:105
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

How important is the Word of God? If Bibles were outlawed, how much of God's Word would you know? IF our Bibles were changed - would we know?

2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

We live in perilous times. We need to know the Word. Start small. Find a verse that speaks to your heart. Study it. Let it go deep inside you, in your heart, in your mind. And ask the Holy Spirit to help you.

DAY 117

Fall from Grace

Weeds. They started fresh and green trumpeting Spring's arrival. Then they turned yellow, mildewed.

And so I found in my heart weeds of fleshly sin. I took the Grace, the gift God gave me, and threw it at another person. Not with love or out of compassion, but with irritation, as in 'why are you bothering me - take this.'

Hours later, my heart was pierced by Holy Spirit's light. I'd sinned. I'd recklessly tossed a gift from my Heavenly Father at another.

I sympathized with Moses, who took his gift of grace and beat the rock in anger. He missed out on the promised land for that act.

Yikes. I repented. Genuinely cut to the core, I asked for forgiveness for taking something so precious and tossing it like it was something I had any right to use in such a way. And then with such little care at another living breathing soul that my Savior died for.

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Praise the Lord, He picked my up, dusted me off and forgave me. I am clean, now, wiser now.

Treasure the gifts He gives you. And have compassion on those you are to pass the gift on to. We are earthen vessels but through God's grace we can pass His gifts onto others.

Walk in His Grace mindful that Grace is God's given to us to pass on to others.

DAY 116

The air tingles with the newness of life. Overnight leaves bud out, flourishing the trees with vibrant greens.

Romans 6:4
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Awesome how our Father in heaven uses even the trees and grasses to point to the way of salvation. Every year, they 'die' and then are raised anew with the spring.

How should we walk in the newness of life? Read Romans 6.

Keep your eyes on Jesus and guard your heart and walk in the newness of life. Not bound by the past, by sin, but free to live for Him, in Him, and by Him.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Receive the gift and walk in the newness of life.

DAY 115

MMMM! Got to love donuts.

And then we know the saying about those unhappy souls who are always looking for the hole in the donut.

Why miss out on sooo much by looking for what you don't have? Sounds silly when we think about it, but it is so easy to do.

Advertising works on this idea. You need....

So, take it to a higher level. Is this what we do when we are refusing to be grateful? Could we even begin to list all the things we can and ought to be thankful for? I think if we were honest, this would take way longer than we would want to do.

Psalm 26:7
That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

Psalm 116:17
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.

2 Corinthians 9:11
Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.

Colossians 2:7
Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

I am thankful that I can write, have breath in my lungs, friends I adore, family that loves and supports me, a church and Pastor who is strong in the Word, a home, food, water, air, cars, and mostly for a loving heavenly Father, a mighty savior who redeems me, and life everlasting.

These are but a few of my favorite things for which I am so grateful.

DAY 114

John 1:17
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

2Corinthians 4:15

For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

GRACE - I am coming to love that word and what it means. For grace is totally a one way gift. From God to man through Jesus Christ. God's favor, pleasure, lovingkindness showered upon us.

Our response to the Grace of God - thanksgiving.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

And as we learn to walk in the Grace of God also learn to look at others through that grace.

Just whisper the word - Grace. Let it sink down deep into your soul. Let it be the window you look through, that you see others in light of God's grace.

And give thanks. In all things. At all times acknowledging to yourself and the world that God is good and worthy to be trusted, believed, and worshiped.

Walking in grace and thanksgiving will disarm the enemy of some of his key weapons. For if you walk in grace and thanksgiving when the enemy points out you lack something, you can laugh and point out all that the Lord has given and done on your behalf.

Walking in the knowledge of God's Grace toward you and responding with thanksgiving will build your faith, give you joy and peace, and open the door to the abundant life that Jesus came to give us.

DAY 113

A pure spring day. Got to love the sun, the flowers, and the perfect temperature.

We have a holy God. How can we stand before Him? His awesome majesty, brighter than a thousand suns, would turn us into crispy critters if we dared stand before Him on our own.

Praise the Lord, He sent His son, Jesus, as the final sacrifice on the cross. Jesus took our imperfection, our ugly sin, and nailed it to that cross. But He didn't stop there. No he died and went into hell and took the keys of hell and death and rose again to sit at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, conquered death that we may have eternal life.

Revelation 1:18
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

So what do we have to do? How do we come to the Father?

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

And then after we have confessed our sins we can --

Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Grace. Live in His grace. Look with eyes filled with gratitude. For the Lord has made a way where there was no way.

DAY 112

Tender leaves of spring.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God loves us. So, is there something we must do?

Believe. Like any gift, you have to receive it and believe the gift is yours.

John 15:9 (NASB) "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.

John 15:10
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

How do we abide in His love? Praise and worship the Lord. Study His Word. Pray. Rejoice in Him. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Guard your hearts and minds from the doubts the world encourages and the lies of the enemy. Give Him thanks in all things.

And as you abide in His love, you will come to know Him and the more you know Him you will desire Him more and His love will be like streams of living water flowing out of you and onto those around you.

You can't outgive God.

DAY 111

Full blown and blowing Spring. I love the new life that comes over the trees, grasses, and flowers.

Love, the love of God, how do we know He loves us?

There are times when you can feel that warm joy and peace. Maybe when you see an awesome site, or know that He worked on your behalf.

But what about the times when you feel dead, lost, alone? Is He still there and still loving you?

YES! God's love is not conditional. His grace is poured over us, like a never ending river of life, His love showers us. In those dry times, we don't see it or feel it, but it is still there. We don't see the wind, but it is there regardless.

Grab hold of His Word to sustain your faith in the dry times. These are rocks we can stand on. Truth that is not based on our feelings or circumstances.

1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

Joh 15:9 - I love you just as the Father loves me; remain in my love.

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ...

These are but a few. Search and find those that speak to your heart and memorize them.

Stand fast and do not be deceived. God loves you.

DAY 110

Ephesians 6

¹⁰Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

¹¹Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Dig into the word and put on that armor. Write down verses that speak to your heart and memorize them.

Be ready so that when the enemy comes you can raise your shield of faith and extinguish his fiery darts. And then wield your sword - The Word knowing that through Jesus we can overcome the world. And resist the devil.

Find the treasures that the Lord has provided in His Word. Polish them, cherish His Word, and believe.