Christian devotionals, Poems and Bible Scriptures to Encourage & Inspire Others.
How powerful is the Word of God in our lives? Do we study His Word daily? Do we mediate upon it and write it upon the table of our heart? As a child of God our greatest desire should be to live as close as possible to God and His purpose for our lives. In order to live as God wants we have to know God and what His will for us is. The only way we can do that is through the Living Word of God. God’s written Word, the Holy Bible, is the most powerful book there is. It has the ability to transform us each and every day. As we study God’s Word it transforms us, it opens our eyes to our faults and failures, and it shows us how to live the way God intended for us to live, in peace and harmony with Him. Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” How do we renew our mind? We renew it by instilling the Word of God into us through the study His Word. We can read lots of books but only the Word of God reads us and allows us to see ourselves through the eyes of God. Sometimes what we see isn’t what we thought we were and we begin to see ourselves for how we really are in God’s eyes.
The Word of God cuts through all the layers of emotions we bury ourselves in, the anger, hurts, and worldly desires of our flesh. Hebrews 4:12 says: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword (it is powerful and revealing, it cuts both ways revealing who we are), piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (to the very essence of who we are).” It reveals our thoughts, our intention, our failures, it cuts away all the layers we bury our emotions in and reveals what state our heart is really in. As we read and study (mediate on) God’s Word we begin to see ourselves through the Word.
As followers of Christ we are to do our very best to live a life as close to Christ like as possible. Within ourselves we cannot accomplish this. We need His Word poured into us on a regular basis to accomplish this. I recently heard someone say, “If we put the Word of God into us when we do not need it then God will bring His Word out of us when we do need it.” How true a statement this is!
God loves us and He teaches us His will for our lives through the scriptures. When we study those scriptures we learn how to live our lives in the peace and in the joy of the Lord. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man (all people) of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” We cannot get it right within ourselves. We need the Holy Spirit and the Word of God on a regular basis to even begin to live our lives as we should. We cannot love other, forgive others, or have the kind of compassion we need for other without that Word living in us. Even Jesus, who is the Living Word, knew where His strength came from. When faced with the devil after 40 days and night of fasting in the wilderness He knew the weapon to use to defeat Satan each time Satan tried to tempt Him and that weapon was the Word of God. Jesus said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”(Matt 4:4) For each temptation Satan put before him Christ used the Word to defeat that temptation. How gloriously powerful is that same Word as we use it to defeat Satan when he comes to tempt us. Satan has no defense against God’s Word, just as he has no defense against Christ and what He did for us on the cross. John 1:1-4 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Jesus Christ is that Word. He is that light that shines to reveal the truth to all mankind. Psalms 119:105 “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” It shines a light on all things and reveals all truth and Godly direction for each of us. He is the Living Word that dwells within our hearts, minds and spirits. Without a daily relationship with Christ and His Word we cannot live a full life for Christ, yet through the Holy Spirit and God’s written Word we can live a true and faithful life for Christ. Luke 11:28, “But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”
I am so thankful for God’s Word and His love for us. I would hate to even begin to imagine how I would be, how I would think and act if it wasn’t for the Holy Spirit and His Word teaching and guiding me. I ask you as I also ask myself, “Do I fall short of studying God’s Word as often as I should and doing what God would have me to do?” For me my answer would have to be yes I do far too many times. Can I (we) change it? Yes, absolutely, as long as there is breath within our body we have the opportunity to change. So let us start today a new chapter in our lives. Let us begin each new day with the cleansing and purifying Word of God. Let us give to God the time He deserves. Let us seek His Holy Spirit and invite Him to dwell within our hearts, minds and spirits, our lives. Let us pray for Him to reveal His truth to our hearts through His Holy Written Word and the Holy Spirit; may He wash and cleans us as His church with His Word. Ephesians 5: 26-27, “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it (His people) should be holy and without blemish.” God’s Word is powerful! I pray you use it today and everyday of your life to defeat all that Satan would throw at you and to find the peace and direction for your life that only God can give you.
God Bless each of you! ~Jeanette
Pappaw’s barn now stands so still
Filled with fond memories oh so real
I can see him now as yesterday
Filling that old barn with bales of hay
Memories of a man so dear
His gentle voice I still can hear
Telling me of days gone by
Of how he worked the land to survive
Cows mooing softly on the hill
While he calls them to their evening meal
As he walks with me slowly down the lane
We can see Mammaw peeking through the window pane
These two taught me of a simpler life
One filled with the Lord not earthly strife
How I miss those precious days gone by
Memories made in Pappaw’s barn always bring a gentle sigh
Copyright By Jeanette Kelley
“Never be a prisoner to your past, it is just a lesson not a life sentence.”
I recently read this sentence and it seemed to speak volumes to me. So often we become prisoners to our past mistakes or hurts and we never really become what God created us to be because we will not accept and forgive our past failures or the past failures of those who have hurt us.
Recently when I was in prayer for a situation my husband and I are going through the Lord impressed upon my heart that we all are a product of our past either for the good or for the bad depending on whether or not we have dealt with the things in our past that has hurt or offended us. Whether we want to admit it or not we all have done or had things done to us that have hurt us and still affect us today. We build walls around our heart and our emotions, walls that we put there because we feel we need to protect ourselves from being hurt again. We live in fear, fear of being hurt again. Yet fear is not from the Lord. It actually is from Satan who uses it to control us and keep us from becoming who we were made to be according God’s plan for our lives.
As I prayed many people came to my mind. Myself first, then those family members and friends who I have seen go through destructive behavior because they felt they could not deal with the pain from past hurts. I saw the drug addict who wants to bury their pain beneath the drugs they feel helps them deal with all the pain buried deep within their soul. I saw the insecure, sometimes angry, hateful person who buries their pain beneath a facade of aggression. I saw the depressed who feel they have nothing to live for, who give up on life to the point they want to take their own life. I saw the broken hearts and broken relationships of so many hurting who don’t know how to get past the hurt and pain that grips their hearts and minds.
As I continued to pray the Lord began to impress more and more upon my heart that I needed to be praying not just for the bondage of pain we are in to be broken but for the person affected by the bondage of hurt and pain to come to a place where they can face their past with the hurt and pain they have endured. So often we just put a band aid on our pain and never really deal it. God spoke to my heart that the healing cannot take place until our past is faced and dealt with through the help of our Lord.
I can honestly say I, as so many others, walk through that same pain and hurt. I build walls to guard my heart. One of the hardest things in life is opening up to a person who has wounded your heart, soul, and spirit. Sometimes we don’t have the opportunity to open up to them, maybe they are not around anymore or maybe it is just not safe to be near them. So many times it is the fear being hurt that holds us back from opening up our hearts again. Either way we have to be willing to open up and expose our pain for our healing to take place.
So how do we face all the hurt and pain that has brought us to where we are now? I don’t have an easy simple answer but one thing I do know whatever we face we will never face it alone. The Lord has promised to be with us if we will just invite Him into whatever we are facing. He is our healer and I believe the first thing we need to do is be willing to give our hurt to the Lord. Easier said than done I know and I realize it is a process, one we have to work through little by little. Sometimes we need to take baby steps, one day at a time. One faith step after another until without realizing it we have walked through that dark tunnel of pain and hurt until one day we step out on the other side into the glorious light of peace and forgiveness, forgiveness for ourselves first and forgiveness for those who have caused us so much pain and hurt.
Am I there yet? I can honestly say no. I am a work in progress. Yet I have found that if I stay grounded in the Lord through prayer and the study of His word which washes me and allows me to see myself and others more clearly each step gets a little easier. It is by the grace of God that I am here today. Through Him I can find peace. I don’t walk this road alone and neither do any of you. We and others are not perfect but we have a perfect Savior, one who was willing to sacrifice everything, including His life for all of us. His love is a love like no other. He loves us no matter what we do or say therefore we can always trust Him. His love is a love we can depend upon no matter what we are facing in our lives. He will never leave or forsake us. He will bring us healing if we will trust Him and follow His lead. We have to believe this deep within our hearts, minds and spirits. We have to cling to it in the darkness of hurts and pain.
So I encourage you today with this, trust the Lord and lean on Him. I also encourage you to pray for each other and for all those who are hurting. Let us pray for the healing of past hurts and pain to take place, then the bondage of fear and despair we find ourselves in will be broken in our own lives and in the lives of all those we love.
Jeanette
2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Psalm 147:3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Revelation 21:5 And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
The Voice Of God When we hear the voice of God Speaking to our hearts, Do we obey and follow Him Or are we slow to start? For when the Lord speaks to us, We need to heed the call And do the things He wants us to, Giving to Him our all I know… Continue reading The Voice Of God
I wanted to share this article written by Pastor Jack Wellman. Hope it inspires you as much as it did me. For me I don’t worry over my age in heaven because I know I will be with the Lord and He promised me a new body made whole and perfect. God Bless to all.~Jeanette
When someone asks what my age will be in heaven, my only answer is that I know life will never end because Jesus promised, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this” (John 11:25-26). The first and most important question for them is if they have trusted in Christ. Has God brought you to repentance, and have you placed your trust in Him? The question of what age we will be in heaven is irrelevant for those who haven’t been born again. They will never know the answer to that question, and that’s the most important question of all! How you answer that determines your eternal destiny. So I would ask them if they believe in Jesus Christ and if they have trusted in Him. All other questions are insignificant compared to this one. But if you’ve been born again, then you might have wondered how old you will be in heaven. What does the Bible say about this, if anything?
Most agree that the age of 30-33 is the optimum time when we reach our mental and physical peak. At age 30 Jesus entered into His earthly ministry. Men could not even enter the Levitical priesthood until they were the age of 30. But does this mean this is the age we’ll be when we enter into glory? And what about babies who die before they’re old enough to understand what repentance and faith are (Mark 1:15)? How old will a baby who dies here on earth be in the kingdom? Besides, how can a young child know enough to be saved if they can’t even talk or read. All I know for certain is the Bible is silent on this subject. We just cannot say for certain, but many believe we’ll revert to the age of 30-33 after we die and enter the kingdom of heaven, or if Jesus returns before we die. It would seem logical because that’s the average age of a human’s greatest mental and physical potential; however, older people are still growing and can increase their spiritual or biblical knowledge. The truth is, it takes a lifetime of sanctification to grow in holiness. So old age doesn’t mean a person’s less spiritual; in fact, they may be more so as they age.
Every Christian should have the desire to be more like Christ day after day. Interestingly, the Bible teaches that we will be like Him in ways, certainly not in His resplendent glory, but we will have glorified bodies. The Apostle John wrote, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). John clearly says that we’ll be like Jesus after we’ve entered the kingdom of heaven. But what age would we be, and what age would Jesus be? Of course, in Jesus’ humanity He only lived until about 33 years of age; so we would expect that Jesus, in His physical appearance, will be like that of a 33-year-old male. But, of course, He is God too; so we can only draw our conclusion so far before we’re walking on air, having no scriptural support for what our age will be. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49). So as the Apostle John wrote, and the Apostle Paul agrees, we will be like Him (Jesus) but not in all of His magnificent glory. We will be like Him in many other ways, like having a body that can’t die or have disease anymore. We’ll never run the risk of death again; and, the best part of all, we’ll be saved to sin no more! St. Thomas Aquinas wrote many years ago that “all will rise in the condition of perfect age, which is of thirty-two or thirty-three years. This is because all who were not yet arrived at this age, did not possess this perfect age, and the old had already lost it. Hence, youths and children will be given what they lack, and what the aged once had will be restored to them.” But he did not, nor could he provide specific Bible verses to prove his point. Right now we can only guess. Since the Bible is silent on this subject, then I must be too.
Again, we return to the most important question of your life: Have you ever repented and placed your faith in Christ? Remember, Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51). So “whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). Either it’s life or it’s God’s wrath–both are eternal. Your future depends on whether you’ve believed in the Son of God or not. No other question even comes close in importance. What do you say? Have you believed? If so, you have eternal life. And what that age will be, who cares because we will be in the presence of the Lord for time without end (Revelation 21:3, 22:4). That’s satisfying enough for me, so I don’t have to worry about what age I will be in heaven. I’ll just be glad to be there.
Accepted By His Amazing Grace 