God’s love – Page 11 – Drawing Closer to Christ

Every Day With Jesus

Yesterday morning, the words of this song came to my mind, a song I remember singing years ago at church as a young girl.

You may remember these words too…

Every day with Jesus, is sweeter than the day before.

Every day with Jesus, I love him more and more.

Jesus saves and keeps me, and He’s the one I’m waiting for.

Every day with Jesus, is sweeter than the day before.

Reminiscing on those days and the words to this song brings joy to my heart. Now as an adult, I realize that walking out “every day with Jesus” is a sweet adventure but it certainly does not come without intentional effort on our part. It requires us to willingly persevere through suffering and trials. But when we are willing to pay the price of commitment, we do draw closer to Christ Jesus. Through our suffering and perseverance we grow in character and hope, and we become mature and complete, lacking nothing.

These verses in Romans and James are encouraging…

Romans 5:3-5

3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

James 1:2-4

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The words of the song are a refreshing reminder of how sweet it is to walk with Jesus daily; however, the words found in the scriptures, give us the details of what it takes on our part to fully experience that daily sweetness. Scripture tells us that learning to “love Him more and more” takes perseverance.

We live in a world that wants to shame us for following Jesus, but we are reminded in Romans 5:5, that when we choose to hope in Jesus, we will not be put to shame. Keep persevering, so that you become mature and complete, not lacking anything!

Listen to Song: Every Day With Jesus

The Lord is our Help

Take time to meditate on the following verses, in Psalm 121 and find strength, hope, comfort and peace, knowing that your help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and Earth.

Psalm 121

1 I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there?

2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!

3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.

4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.

5 The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade.

6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.

7 The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.

8 The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

**Photo by: Felix Mittermeier of Germany 🇩🇪**

Father,

Thank you for watching over us and keeping us from harm. Teach us to look to you for the help we need, you are our true Source. It’s you Lord, who satisfies our desires. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

God is Good to All

Psalm 145:9 ESV “The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”

Psalm 145:9 BSB “The LORD is good to all; His compassion rests on all He has made.”

I love the wording in both of these versions, so I decided to post them both. God’s goodness is something that I have become even more aware of in recent years. His goodness is always present. However, there are times we may fail to see it, especially when we are going through trials. We must stay intentional about asking God to open our eyes to see His goodness, so that we can avoid feelings of discontentment and discouragement.

Learning to be thankful is a major part of seeing God’s goodness. So when we have thankful hearts, we are more in tune with the way God is working in our lives, the lives of those we love, and in the world around us. We can better see the blessings He gives us everyday.

Thank you again, for your prayers after the loss of my mom. God’s goodness was certainly evident throughout the whole process of her illness and her death. The mercy and compassion He has shown me directly and through others, has left me amazed.

We are blessed that God chooses to be good to us and that His mercy and compassion rests on all that He has made.

God’s Power is Perfect

12 Corinthians 12:9-10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

These were my mom, Belle’s, favorite two verses in the Bible. She has it engraved on the cover of one of her Bibles.

We can be strong, because of the grace that is given to us through Christ. When we are weak, He is strong. His strength and power never run out.

My dear mom, went home to be with our Lord and Savior, Jesus, on the morning of January 21st. Of course I miss her, and find it hard to believe she is no longer here with us. However, I am thankful for the life she lived and the love she gave to me, my family and countless others.

Mom was ill for awhile, so I am also thankful she is no longer suffering. I can’t imagine the bliss she is now experiencing, being in God’s presence for all eternity, with a new glorified body. She loved trees, so I thought of her when I chose this picture…

God’s grace is sufficient. That is a truth that my mom lived each day and I am thankful that through Christ, we can continue to live in that truth too. Weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties, do not change who He is. His power is perfect. We are secure in His love.

We are busy planning my mom’s memorial service, plus I am still processing the reality of losing her, it’s very difficult. So, I may not post every Monday for awhile, but I will still be checking in, reading and commenting, from time to time.

I ask for your prayers during this time. May God continue to direct your path as you trust Him, and as always, thank you for your love, support, and prayers. Blessings.

Our Strength and Shield

Psalm 28:7, “The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.”

**Photo by: Luis Quintero of Panama 🇵🇦**

What a joy it is to know we can put our complete trust in the Lord and that He will help us.

Walking through the difficulties of life can be tiring and discouraging. We may even wonder when things will change, but the Lord is our strength and shield.

We can rejoice and be thankful that He will renew our strength daily. He will surround our hearts with his love.

We can cry out to Him anytime of day or night, and He will provide exactly what we need, when we need it.

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Happy New Year! Live Free in Jesus!

2 Corinthians 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

One thing that the Lord has placed on my heart for this new year, is to “live free.” In Jesus Christ, we have the freedom to live free and be all that God wants us to be. I am sure, especially over the last several years, we have all been reminded of how fragile life is. It can be here today and gone tomorrow. So we have to make the most of the time on Earth that God has given to us. When we decide to exercise our freedom in Jesus Christ, God can use us to bring His love and light to those around us.

Giving our hearts to Jesus, enables us to live free, freely giving away kindness, mercy, and compassion. We are free to live courageously. We are free to pray and study God’s Word. We are free to not compromise our faith, but instead to live a life of obedience to our God. We are free to trust Him fully. We are free to love.

We must be willing to freely give whatever God desires us to give.

We may not always want to give in the ways God tells us to; or give to the people He tells us to. But in order for us to experience all the blessings He has in store for us, we must be willing to obey His instructions, and give. He will faithfully help us.

God wants to take us higher in this new year. He wants us to live free! I pray that He will strengthen you for the year ahead and give you grace to obey Him and live free! I also pray that with every step of obedience you take, you will be blessed and that your heart will be filled with joy!

Happy New Year!

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Merry Christmas!

May you and your family have a Merry Christmas! Thank you for your love and support.

John 1:10-13 NLT

¹⁰He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. ¹¹He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. ¹²But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.¹³They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

Dear Father,

We thank you for allowing us to see another holiday season. We are thankful for the gift of Jesus, not just at Christmas, but each day of our lives. The blessings we have because of your love for us are endless. Teach us to live each day with a spirit of humility and obedience to your will. Empower us to live each day in your joy, peace, strength and love. We also pray for those who are hurting this Christmas due to some type of loss or illness. May they experience your comfort and receive the care and resources they need. Thank you Father, for being the good Father that you are; and thank you that your goodness and mercy follows us each day of our lives.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

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