Rewards
Congrats!
God wants to reward you.
He says this in Revelation 2:2: “I know how many good things you are doing. I have watched your hard work. . . .” (The Living Bible)
He knows exactly how many good things you’ve done.
Think about it: Every good thing you do is seen by your heavenly Father. And He’s hugging you for it. He’s applauding you.
He’s affirming and encouraging you because of your good deeds.
It’s easy to think no one notices when we go out of our way.
We tend to think no one cares that we took food to a sick friend,
or used a fourth tank of gas to help someone run errands.
But all these things are extremely important to God.
Why are they important?
It’s certainly not good works that saves us.
We’re saved by His grace.
But works are important to God.
In fact, we’re told in James 2:14-17 that good works are an essential ingredient to our faith. “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (English Standard Version).
The apostle James goes on to say, “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” (2:26).
Works alone won’t save us. But pretty soon after we become a Christian, God starts talking to us about getting involved in good works. He wants to use us to help those in and outside of the church.
When my dad passed away Feb. 6, I was immensely encouraged by the good works from people in the Body of Christ. Meals, flowers, phone calls, e-mails, cards and thousands of prayers were given in my behalf—and I am STILL being strengthened by those good works.
Let’s commit to involving ourselves in good works so that Christ Himself can be glorified. And know that He will reward you eternally for those works.
Thoughts?
I’m speaking at the Dallas District Ladies retreat this Friday and Saturday—and at the Church of the Nazarene in McKinney, TX on Sunday morning. I’d love to know your prayers are behind me.
We Have a Weapon
We hate satan.
And we hate it when he messes with us.
But guess what—God has given you a weapon to rip satan’s strategies to shreds.
We’re told in Ephesians 6:17 that God has gifted us with the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God.
The sword referred to in this Scripture, comes from the Greek word machaira, and it was a horrific weapon that would inflict fatal damage. It’s tip was constructed upward, and sometimes it was even twisted. So when it was thrust inside an enemy’s stomach his insides were immediately shredded when the sword was twisted.
But our Scripture in Ephesians says this sword (machaira) is also the Word of God. How do the two relate? The term word here is from the Greek word rhema. It means “a quickened word.”
And what does THAT mean?
You’ve probably experienced it but didn’t recognize it as such.
Maybe you’ve been in a tough situation and God uses His Spirit to suddenly bring a specific Scripture to your mind. That’s rhema. The Word of God is sharp. It quickly defeats satan. That’s why Christ used it as ammunition when He was tempted in the desert.
The next time you’re battling satan, make it a point to immediately draw your machaira and trust God to use His Word to defeat your enemy. This is why it’s so important to read the Bible consistently—the Holy Spirit can’t bring to your mind what you haven’t read. Will you allow this to be a loving reminder to read the Word regularly? Even reading one chapter a day will make a huge difference in your life.
Thoughts?
I’m speaking in Independence, KS this weekend and in Pittsfield, IL next week. Please pray for me.
God Holds Us Close
Many of you know that my precious Dad (Elmer B. Shellenberger) passed away a month ago. He was almost 93.
He was my hero.
When I was a little girl, I asked him to build me something:
“Daddy, will you make me one of those things that people stand behind when they speak?”
“You mean . . . a podium?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“Honey, why do you want a podium?”
“So I can speak, Daddy.”
I watched as he gathered some old wood and during the next week carefully constructed a little three-foot-podium that I could stand behind in our garage
I gathered all the kids in the neighborhood and they piled themselves between bicycles, basketballs, hula-hoops and skateboards in our garage while I stood behind my little pint-sized podium teaching them the stories of the Bible. Ha!
I have a lot of great memories of my dad (and also my mom who passed away in 2003), and I’m grateful for those.
But in the midst of wonderful stories, the path of grief remains.
Even though both parents are in heaven, I miss them on earth.
Many of you have lost someone through death, and you know first-hand how difficult the path of grief is.
I rejoice that we serve a God of extreme comfort.
He often comforts me through His Word.
He reaches right through the pages and holds me tightly in His arms.
That’s why I’ve attached this illustration today.
I want you to visually SEE what we can FEEL when we literally saturate ourselves in His Word.
Thoughts?
I’m speaking in Fortville, IN this weekend.
I’d sure appreciate your prayers.