John 1:12-13
Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Yesterday was such a blessing to me. My family, my work family, and my original church family all got to gather together to worship the Lord!!! It was such a blessing to see different parts of my story all come together to worship and praise the Lord. I realized that some of these people have known me for 30 years and some for 30 days, but we all had one thing in common: we were all there to worship and serve the same God!!!
It’s so amazing to me how God can take such a diverse group of people and make them one family in Him. Our pasts may be different, but our future is the same if we are in Christ Jesus!!! I looked out on the sanctuary yesterday, and what I saw amazed me. I didn’t see a bunch of different families, but one family, worshipping one God, our living God!!! Every face I saw was shining, and it was more than just voices being lifted up. I felt like each person I saw was lifting up their hearts saying, “Here I am, Lord. Here is my heart, and it belongs to you!!!” It was a beautiful and encouraging experience, to say the least. Yesterday, I could feel God’s presence in the building, and it brought me to tears!!! I could feel our God smiling. I could feel His love and joy as we were worshipping Him in Spirit and in Truth.
If you’re not involved in something like that, I encourage you to reach out, and one of God’s children will point you in the right direction. Heaven is going to be amazing, but you don’t have to wait till you get there to experience the love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!!! You can experience Him with your new family today, and I promise you it will change you!!! You can’t feel God’s smile and stay the same!!!
Be encouraged and be encouraging!!! I love you all, God bless, and glory to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit!!!
Galatians 5:1 - For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Be encouraged and be encouraging!!! I love you all, God bless!!! Glory to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit!!!
John 1:29
The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
I’m not proud of it, but I have taken a lot of things away from people in my lifetime. I have taken their time, their energy, their money, their trust, and the list goes on and on. But only Jesus has taken away and paid for the entire world's sins in an act of pure humility and love! In one day, He wiped our slates clean, but it’s up to us whether we chose to accept and walk in that freedom.
Imagine the pure joy John felt as he saw Jesus approaching, knowing that the Son of God, the Lamb slain from the creation of the earth, the one who was promised to Abraham, the one the prophets foretold was right there. In front of him! The joy, the peace, the hope, the excitement, the relief, and the freedom he must have felt! Well, guess what? That same Jesus is standing right in front of you today, still waiting to call you His own! He is saying, “I paid for you; it is finished. I know, child – I saw what happened to you, and it broke My heart, but you don’t have to live in that pain anymore!”
We need not be afraid of Him if we belong to Him! We need not run from His hand but to be protected by it! If we turn toward Him instead of away from Him, then we would find that which we are looking for, eternal rest in His Presence! And that rest can start today! I believe one of the biggest lies of the enemy is that God is far off and that you have to wait until you’re dead to experience Him and His Presence, but I’m here to tell you that you can walk in that fullness today! Taste and see that the Lord is good, faithful, and true. I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Psalm 116:9 - And so I walk in the LORD’s presence as I live here on earth!
1 John 1:19 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
God bless! Glory, Honor, and Praise starting today and for all eternity to God Almighty, Jesus Christ the Lamb of God, and the Spirit of Truth the Holy Spirit!
John 1:39-42
"Come," He replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where He was staying, and they spent that day with Him. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter).
Do we have this same urgency to share Christ with those around us? The very first thing Andrew did after spending time with Jesus was to go tell someone else about Him! Andrew could have gone and served the poor in Christ's name, he could of went to the synagogue and studied the Scriptures more and more, he could have written a lengthy discourse of his encounter with Christ, and though these are all good things, they pale in comparison to personally sharing Christ and leading others to Him!
It's so vitally important that we go to those He sends us to. Think about it like this: who's testimony about Christ would have been weightier, his brother Andrew's testimony or some random stranger on the street? Of course, his brother’s, right? Well, the same can be said about us. There are people God has put in our lives for a reason, and that reason is to share Christ and all that He is with them! There are people in each one of our lives that we, more than others, have their ear and their attention. So, what are we filling them with? The love and truth of Jesus Christ or worthless garbage from the world?
Andrew spent a day with Christ, and before he went anywhere else, he went to Peter with the greatest news ever: “The Messiah is here, so let's go and see Him!” Who can we take to Christ today?
1 Peter 2:9- But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
God bless! I love you all, but His love leads us to share Him with others! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!
John 1:41,42
The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
From the world's perspective, Peter only got a new name. From Christ’s perspective, Peter got a new name and a new life in Him!
When Jesus calls us to Himself and sets us free, He doesn’t just give us a new name but a new life, real life, and full life in Him. He doesn’t just call us something different but starts changing us from the outside in. Jesus is telling Peter, “You are one of mine now,” and I imagine Peter’s heart about burst with emotions he couldn’t explain or duplicate.
I believe this because when Christ set me free, I couldn’t explain it, but I was different. Something inside of me had been changed, and it wasn’t something I could do on my own or fabricate for someone else. Jesus had literally come into my life and broke chains that I never thought breakable, healed parts of my heart long since forgotten and buried, opened eyes that had been blind for many years, and He did it not because I deserved it or who I was but simply and profoundly because of Who He is, and that’s what He does!
I am 36, almost 37 years old, and last night, my two brothers and I got to go out on a guy's night that involved no drugs, no alcohol, no women. We had the best time! The Lord revealed to me that it was the first time the three of us had ever been out like that, and it was only made possible by Jesus Christ and His great love, mercy, and grace. I’m just a sinner saved by grace, and today, I’m grateful and thankful that He changed my name and my life! I’m no longer a child of wrath but blessed to be a child of God!
Ephesians 2:3-5 - All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
God bless! I love you all, but He loves you so much more! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!
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