My Thoughts About God

There is but one living and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection ... meaning ... He has no limits or boundaries because He is a spirit.  He is eternal, with no beginning or end.  He is forever and He is absolute, working all things according to the counsel of His own righteous and perfect will.

God has all life, glory and goodness in and of Himself and is all-sufficient in and of Himself, not standing in need of anything or any creature which He has made.  He is the cause of all being, of whom, through whom, and for whom are all things.  He has sovereign dominion with supreme authority and power over all things in whatsoever He pleases.

In His sight all things are open and naked.  His knowledge is infinite ... having no limits, which makes Him infallible ... incapable of failure or error.  God is totally independent and free from external control of any kind, so as nothing to Him is uncertain or contingent on circumstances.
 
God is also immutable ... meaning He is not subject to change.  God cannot improve or become something less than He is.  God is always holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands.  To Him is due from every creature including men or angels, whatever worship, service, or obedience He is pleased to require of them.

God as the Creator of all things, upholds, directs, disposes, and governs … all … creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest event to the least, by His Sovereign Providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge, and the counsel of His own will, goodness, grace and mercy … forever.

All things come to pass according to the decree of God, who is the first cause; yet, by the same providence, He has also ordained them to fall away, change or dissolve according to the nature of second causes; either by necessity, or contingent upon conditions or circumstances.

God, within His providence, makes use of means; yet is free to work within those means, outside those means or against those means ... at His pleasure.  He has a right to give whatever He so chooses, in whatever proportions, at whatever times, and with whatever conditions He pleases.  He may therefore give or withhold any or all of His blessings, as He pleases.

Within the providence of God, the power, wisdom, goodness and love of God becomes clearly apparent with the evidence that even before the first sin, He made a way for man to be redeemed from that sin through Jesus ... His only begotten Son.

God freely ordains whatsoever comes to pass ... but what looks like permission to sin by giving man a free will and the capacity to sin knowing that man would sin … even so, the sinfulness proceeds only from the man and not from God who can neither be the author or approver of sin.

God has endued the will of man with a natural liberty and freedom of choice that is not predisposed to good or evil.  Man had the freedom and power of choice to do that which was good and pleasing to God ... but by his fall into a state of sin, lost all ability to will himself by nature to spiritual good.

So natural man, being altogether adverse to that spiritual good, is not able by his own strength to convert himself or to save himself from that sinful nature.  It is by God's grace and mercy alone that Jesus brought to sinful man, total and complete salvation to all who would believe in Him.

As to mankind in general ... God extends or withholds His grace and mercy as He pleases in accordance with His will and sovereign power over His creatures.  By doing so He ordains them to honor or dishonor in the same manner as seems good to the potter over the clay.

And so it is with us today.



My final thought that I leave with you after writing this blog these last 8 years is this ...

God loves you.  He can't help Himself.  God is love.  "God so loved the world" ... you will find that in John 3:16.  If you don't know the story ... look it up.

                                                          ~~~~~~

I dedicate this final post to my two beautiful daughters, Teresa and Tara whom I love more than life itself.  I am a blessed man, and as a father I have enjoyed watching them grow in the knowledge of God's love as they pattern their lives after the example Jesus set for them.

Thank you Teresa.  Thank you Tara.  You made me want to be a better man.
 
Love you both now and will throughout eternity.

Just A Thought

I had a new thought today about a story we all know well.  It's the story of Peter and what he does after seeing Jesus walking on water.

Peter gets out of the boat and starts his mission or goal to do what Jesus is doing ... walking on water.  In my mind, I pictured Jesus about 20 or 30 yards away from Peter.  Peter is getting wet from the blowing waves, splashing knee high or so from the storm.

As I pictured this ... a question comes to mind.

When does Peter begin to sink?  It's after he reaches Jesus, after he has fulfilled his mission and goal ... after he had arrived where he thought Jesus wanted him to be.

Peter had to have been right next to Jesus when he started to sink, for all Jesus had to do was to reach out and lift him up.  If so ... this makes it more understandable as to why Jesus asks Peter ... "Why did you doubt?"  He was standing on the water right next to Jesus.

Also notice ... they were still in the storm when Jesus brought up Peter's faith ... not the lack of it ... but the amount of it.  Jesus spoke these words to him ... "O thou of little faith." 

This word "little" that Jesus used is "oligopistos" in the original Greek Bible, pronounced (ol-ig-op'-is-tos) meaning lacking confidence, or puny.  It can also mean "incredulous" ... a person unwilling or unable to believe something.  Could it be that walking on water was something that Peter's life at this time was unable to grasp spiritually.  

But let's not be too hard on Peter.  He is the only one of the disciples who comes down out of the ship based only on the one word from Jesus ... "Come."  (Matthew 14:29)  It is a bold undertaking based on no foundation, no support, no possibility of walking on water ... there is nothing but faith which looks to Jesus for walking on the water.  Peter, as a mere man should sink by the very fact of being there.  But he doesn't yet.

If we can walk on the water, it's by faith ... the storm or the calm makes no difference.  Often circumstances make us forget to keep our eyes upon Jesus, where faith in Him ought to enable us to overcome any storm. 

Notice ...

It was after Peter reached Jesus ... that failure came.  Is there a lesson here?  We should never think that we have arrived or accomplished anything by ourselves.  It's always Jesus.  

Just a thought ...

And The Napkin

John, the disciple that may have had a closer relationship with Jesus than the others usually has something more to say in his narrative about Jesus than the other gospel writers, or at least in my opinion it seems that way.  Once again we find this is the case in the following portion of Scripture ... John 20:1-8 (edited for clarity.)

"The first day of the week, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb where Jesus was placed and finds the stone that sealed the entrance has been rolled away.  She runs to Peter and John and tells them that the body of Jesus is gone.  John being younger outruns Peter to the tomb but stops at the entrance and only looks in.  When Peter arrives moments later, he goes right on inside as John follows behind him but they find no body, only the linen burial clothes that Jesus had been wrapped in."

The way John writes about this makes me think that like Peter, he saw the linen clothes the body was wrapped in first, evidently because it made a bigger pile.  Then they notice off to the side something strange.  I'll pick up with John's words as he is standing at the entrance waiting for Peter to arrive ...

"Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that was about His head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself."  

Many Bible scholars have tried to explain why the napkin that had wrapped the head of Jesus was placed off to the side, apart from the rest of the burial clothes.  I will share the following as one example ...

"God through His providence arranged that the napkin would be folded and neatly placed separately in a place by itself as proof that the body of Christ could not have been stolen by the disciples as the chief priests would later say.  If someone would have stolen His body, they would have snatched it away quickly without taking the time to strip the burial clothes from His body and lay them in separate places in an orderly fashion as the napkin was."    

This reasoning does have some merit ... it does sound reasonable.  But I read something the other day that caught my attention.

Back in Jewish society during meal time, before, during, and even after the time of Christ,  people of wealth had maids or kitchen help to serve the meals in the home.  If the man of the house was called away from the meal for any reason he would leave the servants a sign as to what they should expect from him.

If he was finished with his meal he would use his napkin to wipe his mouth and fingers and leave the napkin in a heap by his plate.  But if he intended to return to the table ... he would neatly fold the napkin and place it flat by his plate as a sign to show ... he would return.

Could this be the real reason Jesus folded up the napkin and laid it in a separate place by itself, away from the other linen clothes?  Was He showing the world that He would return again?

Just a thought ...

You Still Win

For a couple of years now, the church that Peg and I attend have been praying for one of our members to be healed of cancer.  But for reasons unknown to us, that was not to be.  She went to be with Jesus a few days ago.

God is in charge of what happens, when it happens, how it happens and why it happens.  This is true of all events from the beginning of time.  He does this for our good and His glory.


Although God is not the author of sin, sickness or disease, He still allows it to operate in the world.  We’re not supposed to understand all this ... we’re simply supposed to accept it.

I have written about this same thing before.  Many times in the past when the outcome was different than what we prayed for, I have asked ... "Why?  Where is the healing?  Isn't God true to His Word?"  Shame on me ... of course He is.

So, what's the answer to the question why?  Honestly, I have to say ... I don't know.  But the Word of God alludes to a few reasons I want to share with you today.

Deuteronomy 29:29 … "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but the things which are revealed belong to us …" 

In this verse we see a distinction is made between the secret things and the revealed things.  I believe God only reveals to us what we need to know.  Some things remain hidden from us.  Things like why someone isn't healed.

Proverbs 25:2 … "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing …" 

This statement can cover a whole host of things from how long we live, to what His intentions for your future are.  God doesn't want you to know everything that's going to cross your path.  God will not tell us everything or answer every question we have … including why He does this or that.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 … "Remember also your Creator, that you are not your own, but His property now …"

And is it not true that God, as the potter can make you into any vessel He chooses?  Does He not have that right?  You are His … Jesus bought you with a price … His death on the cross.  And even if you are not a believer, you still belong to God, you are not your own, if only because as your Creator, He made you. 

Isaiah 8:17 … "And I will wait for the Lord, Who is hiding His face … and I will look for and hope in Him."

This is exactly what this dear woman did for the last couple of years ... wait with an earnest hope and a sincere belief in the healing power of God through the stripes placed upon the back of Jesus before He went to the cross.

Some of the time it feels as if God is testing us by leaving us totally alone.  No, He doesn't forsake us … it just seems that way.  Especially when we or our loved ones are sick like this dear saint of God who just went to be with her Lord recently.
 
Isaiah 45:15 … "Truly You are a God who hides Himself …" 

This is the second time Isaiah said something like this.  We have no say in God's business or how He conducts Himself.  I don't know why God heals one person and not another.   

Is it the amount of faith one uses?  Does it take more faith to be healed of cancer than it does to be healed of the common cold?  If it takes great faith ... then most of us are in trouble.  I don't believe in trying to measure faith.  What's the yardstick? 

I question not ... the amount of faith ... but whether or not it is true faith. 
 
Jesus said over and over ... "If you can believe, then ask what you will ..."

1st Corinthians 2:16 … "For who has known or understood the mind and purposes of the Lord …" 

Even in healing ... it's His business and His alone. 

And if God keeps some things secret, it's because …

It's none of our business.

If God heals you ... you win.  If God takes you to Heaven ... you still win.

Keep the faith ... have no fear.

To Walk as in His Presence

Some men desire greatness in the eyes of others or fame and fortune.  But that is not so with many believers in Christ.  As Christians, our greatest desire should be a personal relationship and communion with God.  That is what Nicholas Herman believed ... so he set out to live his life exactly that way.

He wasn't a Bible scholar or even a highly educated man as far as I know.  But he knew Jesus.  Ah ... he was a smart man wasn't he.  The following statement about this man caught my attention the other day.  For me it's a simple but profound statement  ... "Theological and doctrinal debates bored him, if he noticed them at all."

He didn't want to just talk about God or listen to men debate their opinions of Him  ... that would be wasted time that could have been used ... as he put it ... "To love and fellowship with God more."  Communion with his Lord was so important to him that he didn't intentionally waste a moment doing anything else.

Understand ... Nicholas Herman wasn't a lazy man.  He worked in the kitchen of a French monastery in the seventeenth century serving others as cheerfully as if he was personally serving and cleaning up after the Lord. 

Of his time laboring for others he said ... "The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament." 

He didn't work at communion with God ... he had communion with God while he worked and did for others.

Because he endeavored ... "to walk as in His presence" ... wherever he was, and whatever he was doing, the peace and joy of the Lord was there.  Wherever he walked he considered it as hallowed ground because God was present with him.

So how does someone in today's world come to believe this way?  I found this to be one of his suggestions ... "That you should establish yourself in a sense of God's presence by continually conversing with Him."

But even during our conversation with God, as he put it ... "Useless thoughts can invade our mind and spoil our communion with God."  And when they do, he said ... "I expel them immediately  from my mind." 

This humble man believed that we needed neither, art nor science in coming to God ... only a heart resolutely determined to apply itself to know more about the love and mercy of our Lord.  He said that ... "We need only to recognize that God is intimately present with us; therefore we can address ourselves to Him every moment of our day."

He knew there would be some days when we need His assistance for knowing His will ... "in things doubtful," and for rightly performing those things which we plainly see He requires of us, and even "giving Him thanks" for allowing us to do them.

I believe Nicholas Herman's personal motto for life as stated by him was this ... "We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed."

He also said that ... "All things are possible to him who believes ... that they are less difficult to him who hopes; that they are more easy to him who loves, and still more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these three virtues."

At the end of each day, he examined himself as to how he had discharged his duty.  If he found it "well" ... he returned thanks unto God.  If he found it "otherwise" ... he asked pardon, and without being discouraged, he set his mind (in his words) "right again" ... and "Thus" said he, "by rising after my falls" ... with a perfect confidence upon the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, he proposed to himself again, to become the most perfect worshiper of God that he could possibly become ... as he hoped to be throughout all eternity.

In closing this essay about Nicholas Herman, I found this statement he made somewhat curiously interesting.  As I leave it with you, I find my heart wishing I could feel the same.

"I have no pain or difficulty about my state, because I have no will but that of God, which I endeavor to accomplish in all things, and to which I am so resigned that I would not take up a straw from the ground against His order, or from any other motive than purely that of love to Him." 

Oh ... to walk as in His presence.

Blessings ...

Have You Prayed

Peg posted this on her Blog called "Peg's Thoughts" a few weeks ago.  I thought it was so good that I decided to repost it so that those who don't read her blog have a chance to hear about how God cares enough about our small problems to answer us when we pray.

We recently had a "Celebration of Life" service for Peg's Aunt Wanda who went to be with Jesus at the age of 91.  Our daughter Tara lives in Minnesota and was unable to come to Southern Illinois for Aunt Wanda's service, so she sent the following letter to her sister Teresa to read during the "Celebration of Life" in her place.  Peg had forgotten all about this incidence but was so glad to be reminded of it and she wanted to share it with all of you.

Tara wrote ...


"I am very grateful for the legacy of faith that Aunt Wanda left.

I don't have a lot of personal history with her as we have always lived a long distance apart.  But the history I do have, I cherish.  Aunt Wanda, unknowingly touched my life in such a way that caused my faith, which at the time had grown complacent, to become completely renewed.

My mom & I had traveled to her house one weekend about 12 years ago to use her shop to recover an old recliner of mine.  (For many years Aunt Wanda had an upholstery shop in her home.)  Aunt Wanda stayed mostly in the house while mom & I worked on it.  She would come out from time to time to see if we needed anything or to chat for a bit.
 
On one of her trips out, she found my mom & me struggling, and very frustrated, over a screw that we could not, for the life of us, get to turn.  We had tried everything we could think of ... multiple screw drivers, pliers, a hammer ... nothing was working.  IT WOULD NOT BUDGE.  And until we could remove this particular screw, we could not go any further with the project.  Adding to our stress, we were also on a timeline.

Aunt Wanda happened to pop her head into the door at just that time, and she immediately saw the exasperation on our faces.  She asked what was wrong & we told her the situation.  She paused for a second while thinking, and then asked very matter-of-factly, 'Well, have you prayed?'

I'm not sure what my mom was thinking, but I thought it was the craziest notion I had ever heard.  But I kept my mouth shut, and the three of us gathered around the chair, holding hands in a prayer circle, and prayed that God would make the screw turn.  While I listened to them praying, it was all I could do not to laugh, as the only thing I could think about was how ridiculous we must look praying over A SCREW!

After we finished praying, we tried it again & the screw turned, first try!

Aunt Wanda's simple statement of faith has played over & over in my mind so many times in my life since that day.  I will never again question or doubt God's interest, ability, authority or absolute joy in the most minuet details of my life.  That one simple statement that came so naturally from her lips, has become a staple in my everyday life.

Well, have you prayed?"
 

That's my Tara.  Like me, she is always open and honest about her faith.  Over the years, I have learned to listen when she shares her heart about God.  Well ... I guess that also goes with Teresa as well.  I am blessed.

The Life and Light of Jesus Part II

In my last post I was speaking about how the Disciple John perceived and understood the truth about Jesus which caused him to write about the Lord slightly different than the other Gospel writers did.

John didn't just have revelation knowledge about Jesus, he learned who Jesus was as he walked with Him.  He got to know Him intimately as he rubbed shoulders with Him.  And I believe like any other young men in their thirties, they had to have horsed around with each other.  I have often said of these two ... if they would have had a basketball they would have shot hoops together. 

Look how John puts it in 1st John 1:1 ... "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled ..."

This man Jesus, who from before eternity was invisible as the Word of God ... now becomes visible when He was manifested in human form, and was seen and handled by John and others as He passed thru thirty three and a half years of life on this earth.

One theme John pursues in his writings, is this one ... there is life in Jesus.  He doesn't just speak about the life of Jesus ... but that "Life" itself resided within Jesus.

John 1:4 ... "In Him was Life, and the life was the Light of men." 

The Life that was in Jesus, the true heart and soul of the young man John knew and loved, also said that Jesus ... was the Light of men.  Notice that John did not say that the Word was the light, even though Jesus was the Word and the Word is light … but rather that the "Life" that was in Jesus … was the light of men.  His breath, His spirit, His soul, His whole being, His … Life Force ... is the "Light."

The fact that men are fallen by nature and are "in the dark" about sin and the evil there is in the world has bound man in ignorance and unbelief.
 
The fact that they are "in the dark" and do not know what or who they are, where they are, or where they are going, is one reason God sent Jesus into the world so that the "Life" within Him would become the light of the world.

John 8:12 … "Once more Jesus addressed the crowd.  He said, I am the Light of the world.  He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life."
   
John is explaining one of the things that happens when a person begins to follow Jesus and His teachings ... he is no longer in the dark just wandering through life.  Why is that?  In his first letter to the Church he writes in ...

1st John 1:5 ... "This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all."

Since God is light, He must be the source of light.  What can be said of God ... must also be said of Jesus.  If God is light, then Jesus is also the light now shining in the believers soul.  This Life in Jesus that John said was the Light of men ... is the source of wisdom, knowledge, holiness and peace that Jesus brings to the heart and soul of Christians.  You know ... Christians ... sinners saved by the grace and mercy of God through the blood of Jesus.  

Just as God is not the author of sin, He is also not the cause of darkness in the world ... He is the cure for darkness.  Are you in the dark?  You don't have to be ... turn on the light.  Turn on to Jesus.

His "life," the Spirit Being within Jesus, meaning His inward man, His heart, His purpose, His will and the desire of His Soul, the hidden part that made Him who He was … the love and "Life" of God resident within Him … was the Light of men.

The Life and Light of Jesus is to the human soul, what natural light is to the world.  Without it, the world would be very uncomfortable, cold and dismal, and the terror of evil, and it's companion, the fear of death, would universally prevail over all men in a dark world.

Is it any wonder that the Apostle John lays down first this most important principle which he learned personally from observing and listening to Jesus for three and a half years.  How ever Jesus did it ... He somehow filled John's soul with the Life and Light that He carried with Him as they lived together those three short years.

And what did John receive from Jesus?  Here's his words again ...

"This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all."

If the Sun was an example of the Trinity ... the Father would be the great ball of gas burning without end ... the Holy Spirit would be the heat and energy we feel ... and Jesus?  He would be the sunshine.

Sunshine brings a smile ... sunshine brings healing ... sunshine brings warmth ... sunshine brings a rainbow after the rain ... and sunshine brings Life and Light.
 
So ... as I asked in Part I ... do people see any of Jesus in me?  If not Lord, let them at least notice a small flicker of light from your life in me.

Thank you Jesus ...

The Life and Light of Jesus

I've been thinking about my life when others get around me.  Could it be that they only see me, or can they see Jesus in me?  That's a loaded question that each of us should be concerned about.  It reminds me of the old question ... "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"

So, while I'm just talking over some things, I want to look at what "life" is, or what His life in us should be, so that Jesus can be seen in us.  Do you know why we get not only our hands dirty, but our soul as well?  It's because we are made of dirt.  Yep ... you're dirt.  So am I.

Genesis 2:7 … "Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life, and man became a living being."  (Amplified)

In the original translation, the K.J.V. should read like this …"And the LORD (Jehovah) God (Elohiym) formed (squeezed into shape) man of the dust (clay) of the ground, and breathed (to puff, or blow) into his nostrils the breath (Nesh-a-mah or wind/spirit/inspiration) of life; and man became a living soul (Nephesh or breathing creature)."    

I assume the creator had to make the dry dirt into moldable clay to form man.  I wonder if He did the same thing Jesus did in John 9:6 when He spit into the dirt and made mud before He placed it on the blind man's eyes.  Could it be that Jesus remembered spitting into the dust of the earth to make clay when He formed Adam from the dust of the earth?  Yes, I believe Jesus is the creator.

In John 1:3, the disciple is speaking about Jesus when he says … "All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being."  (Amp.) 

Would I be correct in my thinking if I combine Genesis 2:7 with John 1:3 and come to the conclusion that Jesus has and gives the breath of life to men?  Job seemed to believe this as well.  Compare ...

Job 27:3 … "All the while my breath (wind) is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils …"   (Hebrew for spirit is "ruach" or breath)

Job 33:4 … "The Spirit (ruach or breath) of God hath made me, and the breath (wind) of the Almighty hath given me life."

Man is a compound being, having a body, spirit and soul created separately ... the body out of the dust of the earth, and the spirit, breathed into him by God, making him a living soul.  It's just as Job declared ... "the breath of the Almighty hath given me life."
   
This proves that the soul and body are not the same thing.  The body comes from the earth and will decompose and go back to the earth … dust to dust.  When we take our last breath, we die and our spirit then leaves our body as we exhale for the last time.  The spirit of man, the life and breath that God breathed into us will go back to God whenever He gives the command to do so.  I like to think that our breath is just on loan to us.

As I have been speaking about the natural life the Lord has breathed into us, I am reminded of the time Jesus breathed upon His disciples and said unto them in John 20:22 ... "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."  By doing so, I believe Jesus was imparting more of His spiritual life unto them, the life changing power of His Holy Spirit they would need to begin building the Church of Jesus Christ around the world.

There is "life" in the breath of Jesus.  Has He breathed on you or just in you?

John speaks of himself as the disciple Jesus loved.  It's almost like John seemed to know who Jesus was before the others.  It's as if he had a closer relationship with Jesus than the rest of them.  Jesus did tell John to take care of His mother Mary before He died.

In John 1:4, he is the one who says ... "In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men."

Jesus is declared to be "life" because He is the source of life.  This attribute of …"life"… both physical and spiritual, came from "Him," the One who created all things.  The One who breathed the spirit of "life" into man … was Jesus … and John declares this with his very first sentence … 

John 1:1 … "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

If that first verse isn't perfectly clear to those who would read his written words, John leaves no doubt a few verses later in ...

John 1:14 …"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us …"
 
These two verses can only speak of one man … and that man is "Jesus."


The Life and Light of Jesus ... will be continued in Part II.

From the Kingdom Mom

I read this post the other day from Karen Cooper, on her blog ... "The Kingdom Mom."

Karen has wonderfully insightful Bible studies that really say something ... not just taking up space ... like some of mine have done in the past.  This is one of those.  It is entitled ...

WHAT MAKES YOU ... YOU?

Jesus asked his disciples who men thought he was. While some thought him to be a teacher or a prophet, Peter declared in Matthew 16:16 ... "You are the Christ the Son of the Living God."

That’s who Jesus was and is and always will be.

We all have a name. Or something that defines us.

Who do people think you are? What names define you?

I’ve had a few throughout my life. I advanced from one stage to the next as daughter, wife, mother, mother-in-law and grandmother.

EACH NEW STATUS REQUIRED A NEW NAME.

My progression of identity was based on the family God put around me. Yet I have a greater identity than what my cherished family provides. It’s found in my relationship with Jesus Christ. He tells me who I really am.

I AM THE ONE JESUS LOVES.

One of the disciples of Jesus assigned himself that title. John knew Jesus loved others, but he often referred to himself as THE ONE Jesus loved.

You and I can claim that identity as well when we come to Christ.

I love the new worship song that simply describes who God is and who we are.

"You’re a Good, Good Father. THAT’S WHO YOU ARE.
And I’m loved by You. THAT’S WHO I AM."

Our good works do not define us. Nor do our failures. Being loved by Jesus is our identity. All because of what Jesus has done for us on the Cross. If we will believe and receive.

Someday we will have a new name. It’s a mystery described in the book of Revelation.

"I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it."  Rev. 2:17

Commentaries explain that a white stone represented many things. Sometimes it proclaimed a person’s innocence when brought to trial. It also provided admission to banquets. It gave the holder their identity. Proof they belonged. I love that imagery.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we are proclaimed innocent. We are made white as snow when we confess Jesus as Lord of our lives.

King David prayed ... "Wash me and I will be whiter than snow."  Psalm 51:7

Our new name will be engraved on that white stone. Our identity will provide entrance into the Great Banquet. Who am I?

I am the one Jesus loves.

Who are you?


The easiest way to find Karen is on her Facebook page ...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/KingdomMomcom/123391564504544