Here's the Truth About You

In reading Hebrews 9 from the New Testament, I was reminded of something so fantastic that the words alone can lift us up, bolster our self-esteem, and allow us to soar to greater heights in all that we seek to accomplish. It also happens to be one of God's enduring truths. Reflect on this:

Guaranteed Salvation or Judgment ~ Which Is It?

The Bible teaches us that if we believe in Jesus as the son of God and that he died on the cross for our eternal salvation, we will have eternal life with him in heaven. That is God’s promise to use. It is written:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” ~ John 3:16

This is God’s grace; it’s given to us freely. It is only through our belief in Jesus, that he is the Way, the Truth, and Life that we can redeem his promise. Nothing else we do can get us to heaven.

Okay, we might get that, but then what about this verse:

It's Friday ~ Finish Well! See How

 While reading my devotional pamphlet "Portals of Prayer" this morning, I noticed that there were prayers at the back of the booklet for each day of the week. Reading Friday's offering it occurred to me that I had more things to finish today than I had initially planned. This is what it said:

"Forgive me for not completing Your assignments and thus delaying blessings that others would have received."

What struck me about this was

Complacency in Giving vs. Our Commitment to God

Tithing can really test our commitment to God; it also can hurt us financially ~ and I don’t mean that by giving we will have less money, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

It tests our commitment to God because, per biblical scripture, we know that giving is something he’s outright asked us to do, yet we often find it difficult to part with our time, talent, or money for the benefit of others. But if we think seriously about our faith, many of us follow God and believe in Jesus because of the tremendous love we find in him. God is over-abounding with love, and his wish is that we also are over-abounding with love. Let's see what that means.

New Blog ~ Fruit on the Branch

Hello everyone,
I've been thinking about writing this blog for some time ~ that is to say that I'm sure God put it in my heart to use my gift of writing for Him, and I'm finally doing it!

I've read the bible (beginning to end took me about 1.5 years) and I've been studying and learning the word for quite some time. And now I want to share it with you!

The reasons for doing this are many, but the main reason stems from what is probably my favorite verse in the bible:

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit ~ fruit that will last.  John 15:16 

In the first part of the verse, I love that God chose me to be "his". I'd never felt completely "chosen" before and the thought of it, of someone wanting me, loving me, exactly as I am, is the coolest thing ever! I know that my words sound rather childlike in my description of how I feel, but it seems that my relationship with God has finally become one where I recognize him as my father. That was a long time coming and we will discuss that in another post.

It took me a long while to recognize the second part of the verse, being the self-centered child of God that we can be, but in my maturing, it smacked me in the head like a wet tomato. He wants me to bear fruit!  That requires doing something. It requires being in service to God, which could mean a lot of different things: using our gifts, telling others about Jesus, helping others, reaching out to the orphans and widows, etc. Doing any of those things in the name of Jesus bears fruit on the tree of life.

So, I hope with the good grace of God to do just that. Thus, the title of this blog is "Fruit on the Branch". And I want to hear from you: your thoughts, questions, concerns, the fruits you are you bearing.

Let's connect today; I'm looking forward to hearing from you! May God bless your day!