JESUS UNDERSTANDS

He was despised and rejected ---

a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.

We turned our  backs on him and looked the other way.

He was despised, and we did not care.

- Isaiah 53:3 (NLT)

Maybe this sounds like the story of your life or at least the story of your current situation. Think no one understands? Think no one cares?

Jesus Christ: the Son of God can relate. This verse strikes me in resemblance to the "loner" type. The lonesome person no one wants to be seen with. Imagine: the only man who ever walked the earth and never sinned: despised, rejected. In other words, Jesus was hated; the social outcast, you might say. All He ever did was save, forgive, heal, and deliver people, yet He was rejected by mankind.

What if you lived during the time the Son of God walked the earth? Maybe you would have avoided him like the plague. Maybe would have felt bad for Him and befriended Him, but only in secret: never to tell your family and friends. Maybe you would have admired Him from a distance, never bold enough to follow Him. Or maybe ---- just maybe you would have dared to believe, to take up your cross and follow Him. Maybe you would have dared to leave behind everything you knew (or thought you knew!) to take this journey with the Son of the Living God; to soak in the beautiful benefits of His presence (peace, joy unspeakable, comfort, healing, freedom); to sit at His feet and drink from the Living Water (the well that never runs dry!); to wash His feet with your tears & wipe them with your hair in repentance for your sins.

I posed this question at first, in a "what if" scenario, to allow your mind to ponder, in wonder what you would have done if you had the blessed opportunity to meet Jesus in person during His earthly life. However, this is very applicable for you now, today. Do you refuse to serve Jesus and give Him your whole heart in fear of what others might think? Or perhaps because you aren't willing to let Jesus free you from your bondage to sin? Or do you serve Jesus quietly  -- fearing what your family and friends might think? Or do you from time to time ponder the possibility of following Jesus, never bold enough to commit? Or do you live boldly for the Lord Jesus, beaming as a shining, brilliant light for Him? Following your loving Savior, falling more deeply in love with Him each day? Do you courageously live your life according to God's Word (1 John 5:3, Psalm 119:9)?

DO YOU DARE TO BELIEVE IN JESUS, who remains the same: yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8, Malachi 3:6)? He still freely forgives all who repent & turn to Him (Titus 2:11-12, Ezekiel 33:11, Acts 2:38, Isaiah 55:6-7, Isaiah 1:18, 1 Timothy 2:8, Romans 10:9 & 13, 2 Peter 3:9, Isaiah 30:18), heals every sickness and every disease, because He is moved with compassion for the sick (Matt. 4:23), makes the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf talk, the mute hear, delivers all who are oppressed of the devil (Acts 10:38).

I challenge you today to let nothing stand in your way of serving Jesus with all of your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart". I challenge you to move as far away from the torment of fiery hell as possible by moving as close to Jesus as you can possibly get. 1 John 5:3 says, "In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome". I can assure you that if you fall in love with God continually and make it your focus to please Him, His commands absolutely are not burdensome. He helps us keep them (1 Corinthians 10:13). Besides, what is easier? To live this life any way you want and burn in hell forever? Or to live this life according to God's Word and live in eternal bliss with Jesus in Heaven forever?

Would you dare to believe? Would you dare to live your life for Jesus out loud, unashamed (Romans 1:16)? Would you dare to believe in His willingness, eagerness, and desire to perform miracles and healing just as He did then? Would you believe on Him to heal your broken heart, your broken life? Would you be courageous enough to have that child like faith He yearns for you to have (Matthew 18:3)? I challenge you to read/re-read Isaiah 53 & let Him minister to you. Let these words about Jesus resonate within your soul, as you read about what He did to save you and heal you.

Prayer: 

Father, in the name of Jesus, let every person who reads this be changed. Impress upon them strongly to live the Gospel and speak your truth with GREAT BOLDNESS, UNASHAMED. Let them feel the awe, wonder, amazement, majesty of Your Presence, Jesus. Let us shamelessly be "doers of Your Word" & not hearers only, because we know according to James 1:22, we are fooling ourselves if we listen to Your Word & do not do what it says. Let us proudly serve you, because you had no shame in taking on the full weight of all our sins & sicknesses, so that we may be free from sin, sickness & every evil (Psalm 91) in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Father, for your infinite love, mercy, and grace. Thank You for all that You are: Savior, Healer, Provider, Prince of Peace, and so much more. 

In Jesus Name,

Amen

In God's Infinite Compassion,

Rachel Marie

JESUS IS COMING BACK: Are you ready or will you get left behind?

by Rachel Marie

"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

- Jesus in Mark 13:32 (NIV)

This verse clearly tells us that NO ONE knows the DAY or the HOUR that JESUS is COMING BACK, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but ONLY GOD THE FATHER. What we do know for sure is this: Jesus is definitely coming back. No doubt, whatsoever. It is what the Bible tells us. The day of the LORD will come like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:16, 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 16:15).

However, we do not know when the LORD's coming will be. So what can we do? We find the answer in verse 33 of Mark chapter 13.

"Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come"

- Jesus in Mark 13:33

We are supposed to "be on guard"! We are supposed to "be alert". We are to be prepared for HIS COMING! Are you ready? Are you living for Jesus? Are you living in a way that is pleasing to Him? Or will you get left behind when Jesus comes to get His people?

We are to seek God daily. Stay in the Word of God (the Bible). Read the Scriptures every day. It is vital to your walk as a Christian. Regardless of how much you know of the Bible or how much you have read, we have to "feed" on the Word. I love the way Kenneth and Gloria Copeland put it once, "Just as the physical body cannot go for days on memory of it's last meal (physical food), your spirit cannot go for days on memory of your spiritual food (last Bible reading, memorized verses, etc.). That's not verbatim, but that is something I read from them once.

If you just don't have that desire yet to feed on the Word daily, ask God to give you "spiritual tastebuds" for His Word (I learned this in a devotional once). Begin reading the Bible daily. First, it will be something you do daily in obedience to God, but as you persevere to keep this time with God, you will begin to crave it and enjoy it thoroughly. You will look forward to it. You will be refreshed by His Word. It will a relaxing learning experience for you. God will meet you there. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

If you have never received Christ, you can do so now. Regardless of you past, you can start over right now. You can give your life to Jesus. "For everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved" (Romans 10:13). This means you make a commitment to serving God through His Son, Jesus Christ.  This means you begin to read His Word. You begin to get to know just who He is (through His Word and as He reveals Himself to you). You strive to live in ways that please Him. The first step though, is just coming to Him. Afterwards, He will help you, show you, and guide you in the way He wants you to live, which is ALWAYS according to what THE BIBLE SAYS! If you are just learning about God, you can begin in the Gospel of John (after Mark, in the New Testament).

Salvation: In the Bible

Here are a couple of things the Bible says about salvation:

That if you CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH, "Jesus is Lord," and BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART that GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU WILL BE SAVED.

- Romans 10:9 (NIV, emphasis, mine)

For it is with your HEART that you BELIEVE and are JUSTIFIED, and it is with YOUR MOUTH that you CONFESS and are saved.

- Romans 10:10 (NIV, emphasis, mine)

Also, as mentioned above EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED (Romans 10:13). Not one, not a few, not some, but EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people."

- Titus 2:11 (NIV)

The grace of GOD offers salvation to ALL PEOPLE! Jesus is the way the truth, and the life (John 14:6). No one comes to the Father, except through Him (John 14:6, continued). If you would like to give your life to Christ, you can do this:

1) Confess that you are a sinner. Ask for forgiveness of your sins

2) Acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God and came to die on the cross to offer us salvation through Him, as well as healing (John 3:16-17, 1 Peter 2:24)

3) Ask Jesus to come into your heart. Surrender your life to Him.

**Now, begin reading the Bible daily and living according to what the Bible says, as you learn to do so :)

--

Back to the return of Jesus Christ, my LORD and Savior! I hope He is yours, too. If He is not yet, He is willing to be, if you just call on His name and surrender your life to Him. No one knows when the LORD is coming back for His people, as pointed out in the verse above. Here is more of the Scripture:

v. 34) "It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

35) Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back---whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36) If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37) What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!' "

- Jesus in Mark 13:34-37 (NIV)

The Day of the LORD

(See 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)

According to 1 Thessalonians,

verse 2: "for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night."

verse 3: "While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."

For those of you who are following Jesus:

verse 4):  "But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5) You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6) So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and SOBER.  9) For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

- 1 Thessalonians 5: 2-6, 9

Those of us who follow Jesus have nothing to fear. The coming of the LORD is soon. Those of us who are followers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ will go to Heaven with Jesus when He comes to get us :)

Are you ready?

God's Love is All-Consuming, Passionate, and Fulfilling,

Rachel Marie