Monday, October 23, 2017

Only You Can Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled ... and Cast Your Cares on Him



"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)

For the longest time, I used to run to other people to make me feel at peace.

Oftentimes, I would run my fears and worries through other people, usually my mother and father.

For a short while, that worked.

Then I found that even their calmest assurances were not enough.

They never could be.

Consider also this passage:

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (1 Peter 5:6-7)

Notice how Peter exhorts his fellow believers to keep casting our cares on Him.

We should not be looking to other people to calm our hearts. We must not go about casting our cares on other people.

There is only One to whom we must cast our cares, and His name is Jesus!

"28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke iseasy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11: 28-30)

Jesus did not say: "Go to your friends and neighbors with your troubles." Jesus did not say: "Run to your pastor with your problems."



He said "Come to me."

Why will we not do that?

Because we do not believe that He cares for us.

Because we do not believe that He has already bequeathed His peace to us.

We need to believe Him! We need to see Him as He is, so that we may rest in His peace!

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Jesus Loves Me, and Gave His Life ... for Me!

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

I used to think it was kind of hokey for me to play up the idea: "Jesus loves me as though I am the only one."

Yet indeed Jesus loved me and gave Himself for me!

True, we read and believe that God so loved the WORLD, that He gave His only Son:

"... that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Yes, you and I are a "whosoever."

But we should not settle for seeing ourselves as just one face out of millions upon millions.

Our Daddy God sees us as little children, as His own Son!



"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)

God sees us as His own precious Son!

He loves me! He gave His Son ... for ME!

Do you really believe that?

Or do you diffuse and disperse His love for your as though it's something generic?

He is your Daddy, and He wants you to see yourself as His Beloved Son!

This is the love that we need to know about, to be more invested in!

"14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3: 14-19)

We need to understand how much He loves us!

I need to understand this!