Wonderful Jesus!

Isaiah 50:4- “The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary…”
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    • Precious Promises

      Posted at 2:47 pm by wonderfuljesus8, on March 31, 2021

      2 Peter 1: 3-4- “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

      A Precious Promise

      I well remember the day my husband proposed to me. We were on our way to visit my family. Suddenly he pulled off at a rest stop and we got out. Instead of going to the facilities, he went to a picnic bench and sat down. He waited until I sat down and then began talking about our future. The next thing I knew, he was down on one knee asking me to marry him! Needless to say, our trip home was slightly delayed! Years later, he purchased a new diamond band for my engagement ring, as an anniversary gift. However, my rings from the wedding are so special to me, that I found myself ignoring the newer band for my old wedding ensemble. Some things are so precious, they are truly irreplaceable.

      I’ve been sharing from this verse for several days now. I started out by mentioning that as we are approaching Resurrection Sunday, or Easter Sunday, it was a good time to talk about our salvation. We all know that we have been saved by grace through faith and it is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). I still rejoice over my salvation, many times with tears. Having said that, as I was thinking about Resurrection Sunday, I read this text and felt a real need to expound on it at this time. If you haven’t read the previous blogs or heard the previous podcasts regarding this text, I encourage you to do so to get the full picture.

      Peter wrote that God’s promises are exceedingly great and precious promises. Exceedingly in the Vine’s dictionary is rendered “very great, or greatest”. The definition for “precious” in the Vine’s is “held in honor, especially dear, as of a great price”. That means to me that God’s promises are the greatest, of a great price, held in honor, and therefore are not to be dismissed as if they are of no value. Or as if man spoke these promises and there is no weight behind them. His exceedingly great promises are mind blowing, hard to conceptualize as truth to the ordinary person. But they are also very precious, made with purpose and intent, and signed with the Blood of Jesus, making them extremely valuable. Charles Spurgeon is quoted in the Blue Letter Bible by David Guzik as having said this:

      “Many things are great which are not precious, such as great rocks, which are of little value; on the other hand, many things are precious which are not great-such as diamonds and other jewels, which cannot be very great if they be very precious. But here we have promises which are so great, that they are not less than infinite, and so precious, that they are not less than divine.”

      Blueletterbible.org

      As Christians, we tend to stay with the comfortable topics and messages of scripture. We’re fine with being saved, being blessed, and even suffering. However, when we begin to discuss the gospel message in terms of God really wanting to make us more like Him, in glory and virtue, we turn off. Don’t turn off, turn on, because His promises are both great (hard to believe) and precious (because they are verified in the Blood). And they are made to us!

      As noted already, we become new beings when we are born again. Our new life is as supernatural as the birth of Christ, for we are

      …born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever…

      1 Peter 1:23 NKJV

      Within the word of God, there are “precious promises” in regards to our life in Christ. Promises that are forever promises. Much, in the same way, as an engagement ring is a promise of marriage, which leads to a promise of forever. (Don’t go cynical on me. We know it is not always so, but it is the premise upon which we exchange vows). Our forever, til death do us part, is different from God’s forever, because His promises are eternal.

      When my husband, then boyfriend, made his proposal to me, it was a turning point in our relationship. My yes to him, was also a placing of my faith in him and his word to bring that promise of forever into manifestation. God’s promises are based on his glory and virtue. Every promise that He has made to us He is able to fulfill and bring into manifestation because His Person and His power backs everyone of them!

      This salvation that God has promised us is far greater than what we have imagined. Ezekiel spoke of our salvation when he penned these words:

      Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

      Ezekiel 36:25-27 NKJV

      This salvation sounds glorious! Amazing! Life changing! And yet many, who are saved, struggle in their walk with God and their love for Him. We find it difficult to trust His word, and difficult to trust His love.

      Paul shares a precious promise with us who are new creatures in Christ Jesus:

      “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

      2 Corinthians 6:18 NKJV

      Surely God meant what He said! We are His sons and daughters. Adopted into His family in a greater way than a natural adoption. In a natural adoption you become part of a family in every way possible, except DNA. However, in this adoption into the family of God, He places His Spirit within us, allowing our DNA to merge with His DNA. We have watered down the gospel to fit our shabby lives, yet the gospel is a great gospel, delivered to us, through His glory and His virtue. He is personally involved in our salvation through Jesus, and has invested Himself in bringing us to glory.

      As a matter of truth, Paul wrote:

      So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

      2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT

      Did you hear the first part? All of us who have had that veil removed! What veil? The veil that covers our minds and keeps us from understanding the truth of the what God promises us! The expectation is that as we grow in Christ, we are being changed into His glorious image. If Paul had written that we would be changed into His image, that would have been shocking enough; but he wrote that we would be changed into His glorious image! Wow! Saints, when we as the church gets this, we are going to do some real damage to the kingdom of darkness!

      Think about this for a minute! Going back to a previous blog, how can you be transformed into His image, from one degree of glory to another, without knowing Him? You can’t! This is why knowing Him through His word is so important! Not only will you learn about Him, but you will begin to see His promises for what they are, exceedingly great and precious!

      We have little difficulty in realizing that we are to walk in love, peace, joy, goodness, and righteousness as Jesus did. But that’s not all He did! He healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons, stood against religious leaders, championed the underdog, and loved all people. Of course, we know He did so much more, but my time and space is limited!

      Living life, knowing that the omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God is living on the inside of you, has a way of changing how you live. As you come to truly believe that

      He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world,

      1 John 4:4

      your entire attitude about sin and the devil begins to change. Not only are you more easily acceptable to the truth that sin loses it power over you, but you also begin to realize that you have power over it! Now we are getting somewhere!

      The greatest thing we can do to celebrate His resurrection this holiday season, is to realize that He is really alive and He lives in us! And oh how He loves us! Wonderful Jesus!

      Posted in 2 Peter 1:3-4, Creation, Divine Nature, love of God, Promises of God | 0 Comments | Tagged cleansed, glory and virtue, God's love, godliness, Holy Spirit, image of Jesus, incorruptible seed, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, power over sin, precious promises, sexual immorality
    • The Spirit of Love!

      Posted at 10:23 am by wonderfuljesus8, on December 11, 2020

      Luke 2:11-12 -For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” NKJV

      the-spirit-of-love_.mp3

      In two weeks people all over the world will be celebrating the birth of Jesus. I know there are many who like to think of this time as just a fun holiday, celebrated with gifts, family, food and good times. They want to X Jesus right out of the season. They are more excited about teaching their children about a fairy tale man who will come down the chimney and leave them a bunch of toys. They don’t want to “lie” to their children about a Savior being born, but they will lie about Santa Claus coming to town! The logic of some!

      I remember when I first told my mom that I didn’t believe in Santa Claus. She seemed surprised that not only did I not believe in him, but that I didn’t have any desire to participate in the lie of a non-existent man bringing me toys. It hurt her more than it hurt me. He’s my least favorite part of Christmas! But that’s my personal bias!

      What makes this season so special, is the Spirit of love! Everything about the birth of Jesus was centered in the love of God for mankind.

      John 3:16-17 -For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. NKJV

      Right here, in this most familiar verse, is the truth of what the Spirit of love is all about. God wrapped Himself in His love, placed His Seed into Mary, and birthed Him into this earth, that He might save mankind. I love verse 17 as much as verse 16! God didn’t send His Son to condemn the world, but that the world through Him, might be saved! Spectacular! Love so freely released and so abundant, it was capable of being extended to the entire world, for ages to come.

      Here’s another power packed duo of verses about God’s love for us:

      In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:9-10

      On that day, when our Savior was born, the Spirit of Love was made manifest! God would now be able to tangibly touch His people with love in a way that He had not been able to touch them before. No more do we need to have a fearful, we can’t say His name because it’s too holy, outlook on the God of the universe! He is now touchable, relatable, and visible. No more standing afar off from Him because He came to be up close and personal. No more wondering what He meant, or if He could really love us, because He came to assure us of this truth! We are loved by God and He wants us to know it!

      Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 3, that his heart was that we would know the love of God which passes all understanding. That love brought Jesus from heaven to earth! That agape love, that is unconditional, not based on us, but on Him, was released in a profound way, on the day Jesus was born!

      Jesus was a wonderful example of love when He walked this earth. He demonstrated daily a new kind of love. When the woman was caught in adultery, Jesus didn’t say, “I love you” with His words. But His actions spoke loud and clear of His love. When the widow of Nain was headed to the burial sight with her own son, Jesus didn’t say, “I love you” with His words, but His actions expressed His love with no problem. The way He cared for people, the way He embraced men, women, and children, the way He reached out to the “commoners” and the “sinners” without judgment; all demonstrated His love.

      Looking at Jesus’ life, He taught us how to love:

      • He said that anyone could love a friend, but when we loved our enemies, that was a real demonstration of love.
      • He said that there is no greater love, than the love of a friend, who will give His life for you. Then He died for us!
      • He said that we are not to just love our neighbors as ourselves, but love as He loved us. His love was without strings attached!
      • He taught us that forgiveness is steeped in love. That’s why He is so willing to forgive us.
      • He taught us that love will cause us to serve and obey Him, as it caused Him to serve and obey the Father.
      • He taught us that serving one another was an expression of love, and He washed His disciples feet!
      • And He said that if we want others to really believe that we are His, then we would show love to one another.

      Can I just say that in this climate, in which we find ourselves in America, with the political unrest, we need love sweet love. We have allowed our allegiance to political parties and individuals to override our love for one another. In the past weeks I have heard several different messages, from different ministers, reminding us of the words of Jesus: “By this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another!” John 13:5

      I believe God is speaking! I know He is speaking to my heart. I believe He is speaking to the hearts of His people. What we need right now in America is a move of the Spirit of Love, upon the church, then upon the land. We need to stop and think about how we look to Jesus, who taught us the true meaning of love, and how we look to the world, who don’t believe our God is real anyway.

      This holiday is full of the Spirit of love. Love for family and friends, and love for the Savior, who came to this earth for us. But if we aren’t loving one another, than are we truly loving Him? Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a song, “Love Take Me Over,” asking God to allow His love to take him over. Here is part of the chorus:

      Love, take these words that I’m speaking
      Love, take these thoughts that I’m thinking,
      Love, take me over.

      Today, ask the Spirit of love to overtake our hearts, His church, and our land like never before. The very last thing we want to see is our nation is another civil war. The very last thing we want to see is a greater divide in the Church. Spirit of Love begin to flow like never before! Wonderful Jesus!

      Posted in Christmas, God, Holiday Celebrations, Jesus, love of God | 0 Comments | Tagged civil war, encouragement, Forgiveness, God, God’s Spirit, Holy Spirit, Jesus, love, love of God, obedience, Salvation, Spirit of love
    • His Mission in Life!

      Posted at 4:05 pm by wonderfuljesus8, on April 2, 2020

      Luke 19:9-10 – “And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” NKJV

      If you read my blog on yesterday, you know that Jesus had much to say about who He is: teacher, prophet, Messiah, Son of God, to name a few. But today I want to share why He came. According to our verse for today, one of His primary reasons for coming was to “seek and to save” the lost. It’s one of the church’s primary mission to do the same. But in His own words, He came for so much more and I would like to share the other reasons in this blog:

      Jesus said that He came:

      • To establish His kingdom- Mark 1:14
      • To fulfill the law-Matthew 5:17
      • To forgive sins-Matthew 9:6
      • To call sinners to repentance-Matthew 9:13
      • To die on the cross-Matthew 16:21
      • To rise from the dead-Matthew 16:21
      • To bear witness to the truth-John 18:37
      • To preach the gospel to the poor-Luke 4:18
      • To heal the broken-hearted -Luke 4:18
      • To set the captive free-Luke 4:18
      • To give sight to the blind -Luke 4:18
      • To send fire on the earth-Luke 12:49
      • To bring division-Luke 12:52
      • From God-John 8:42
      • That we might have life, and that more abundantly-John 10:10

      Again, this may not be an exhaustive list. There may be other places in the gospels where Jesus talks of all He came to accomplish while in His body, but these are the ones that I found in my search.

      Why am I even blogging on who Jesus is and what He came for? During these troubled times of the world’s focus on COVID-19, I thought it would be good to take the time and focus on Jesus. Who He is to you and what He came to do in your life. When looking at Him, everything else grows dim.

      My girlfriend, and talented psalmist, wrote a song years ago: “Focus on Jesus”. In the chorus she wrote: Focus on Jesus, He’s the One who cares! No one cares for us like Jesus does. No one loves us like Jesus does. None can provide like Him. Don’t let this pandemic overtake your every thought and activity, keep your focus on Jesus!

      Some of these statements Jesus made seem to be a little hard to swallow, but that’s out of context. In context, He demonstrates over and over again that He is a loving Savior, who expresses the heart of God, through the tenderness of the Holy Spirit in all that He does.

      Years ago, I was invited to share with a group of college students during their weekly Bible study. My prayer before I went there was to show them the heart of God, the love of Jesus. As I was teaching, all I wanted was for them to fall in love with my Jesus! All I want through my blogs is for you to fall madly in love with Jesus because He is madly in love with you.

      There’s no way I can blog almost every day and “hit the spot” every time. But if every time you click on, you see how much I love Jesus and I can convey to you how much He loves you, then my mission has been accomplished. It’s why I am blogging, it’s what I want my life to display.

      Last night, Don Lemon, interviewed a pastor out of Florida. I was a little nervous to hear what he would say, seeing that some of them are refusing to honor the stay at home order. This particular pastor shared that he was honoring the order because he felt the necessity of honor the civil law. He also expressed how he didn’t want to see his people get sick or to carry sickness to their families. But then he said an amazing thing: He said that this didn’t mean that he and his congregation was afraid of COVID-19, because they are not. He and his congregation stand ready to assist anyone in need at this time, even at the risk of contracting the virus and potentially dying. I sensed his love for the Savior, and his desire to demonstrate that love. God’s people can be pretty amazing when called upon.

      If during this time you are presented with an opportunity, yours truly included, to demonstrate His love in a practical way, do so! The world is waiting to see Jesus do what He came to do! And they will see it through us! Wonderful Jesus!!

      Posted in Jesus, love of God | 3 Comments | Tagged Believer, Christian, coronavirus, encouragement, Forgiveness, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, love, provision
    • How Do I Love Thee?

      Posted at 1:28 pm by wonderfuljesus8, on July 16, 2019

      Galatians 2:20 – 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.

      Love is, and always has been a powerful emotion. It’s the subject of countless books, songs, poems, and movies and it’s theme never fails to put hope in us all. A person who says they are not interested in love is a liar or someone who has been so deeply hurt by its lack that they are in total denial. We were made for love!

      Elizabeth Browning Barrett wrote a poem in the 1800s that is still known and recited on some level, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…” After 40 years as a single woman, she had finally found her Prince Charming. In order to be with him she had to run away from home and elope. Her father disinherits her for leaving, but she goes on to have a son and sixteen years of marriage with the one she loved. Another key point was her love for the Father. It is said that she taught herself Hebrew in order to read the Old Testament. While she is not my focus today, I thought it would be good to give this insight about a poem that has been rewritten and used for the past 200 years. That’s a long time!

      But over 2,000 years ago, another declared His love with even greater passion, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son…” (John 3:16) and in another place He declared through Paul, “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)!

      Another personal favorite: “Who can separate us from the love of Christ” (Romans 8:35)? I can answer that one, no one can! No one and no thing can lessen His love for us or cause Him to stop loving us! Even when we toss His love in His face and walk away from Him, He still loves us. Even when we reject His Son and die and go into a Christless eternity, He still loves us, for it is the greatest love ever known. Period!

      John wrote, in 1 John 3:1- “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God…” Isn’t that something? He bestows His love on us and calls us His sons. Can I clarify something here? Although He genuine loves the whole world, only those who receives Jesus becomes a part of the family and enters into sonship! But His love invites all those who are not in the family to enter in.

      Years ago we sang a song, and I’ve been hearing it more today, that simply states:

      “O how He loves you and me!

      O how He loves you and me!

      He gave His life, what more could He give,

      O how He loves you, O how He loves me,

      O how He loves you and me!”

      Paul relishes in this love! As he writes to the Galatians and remind them of this love and why it is so hypocritical to slight one another based on heritage or for any other reason, he boils it down to it being about love. And when Paul thinks about dying to himself, being crucified with Christ and allowing Christ to live through him, Paul is basically saying, “it’s easy because He loves me so!”

      Oh how He loves us! Why? Because He is love (1 John 4:8)! Everything He has said, everything He has done, and everything He will ever do, is because He loves us so! Jeremiah wrote that He loves us with an everlasting love and He has drawn us to Him through his unfailing kindness (Jeremiah 31:3).

      The devil is constantly bombarding us with lies about who God is and why God did or didn’t do something. He has us looking at the Word, the commands of God as if they are there to spoil life for us, to bind us up and to keep us from having fun. He even tells us when our loved ones die that God needed them more than we do and that’s why He took them as if He is so selfish and so needy that He hurts us to satisfy His longings! THE DEVIL IS A LIAR! Stop choosing to listen to him over what your heart knows, GOD SO LOVES YOU!!!!

      Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down His life for His friends (John 15:13). In other words, He laid down His life for us to show us how much He loves us!! His love isn’t demonstrated in coming through for us, or in answering our prayers per se; but in dying for us! Receive it today! Wonderful Jesus!

      Posted in Galatians 2:20, love, love of God | 0 Comments | Tagged Galatians 2:20, Jesus, love
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