Tag: Romans 5:8

How Great Thou Art

On October 4, 2024

Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. (Psa 40:5)

With all the devastation in North Carolina and Tennessee, my heart is overcome with sadness. So many have lost their lives, and there are more to come once the states are opened up to rescuers. Imagine all those people buried and have been missing. But in all of this, there are stories of people who have overcome their tragedies and given glory to God. God provides peace in the midst of a storm!

My spirit is overwhelmed with thankfulness and gratefulness to my Heavenly Father. I think on my blessings because I have a Father who loves me and cares for me. He cares for you as well! It is His face that I seek for comfort through my trials and it is this that causes me to search the Scriptures for direction.

Psa 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

There is none like my God! There is a verse in my Bible that covers exactly what I am going through. God knows me personally – He calls me by name (Isaiah 43:1) – He knows every single fiber of my being – He has the very hairs on my gray head numbered (Matthew 10:30, Luke 12:7) – He tells me that His yoke is easy (Matthew 11:30)! What is that yoke? It is the yoke of the Christian life. Once we are born again, he places His yoke upon us. The Lord does not leave us alone in our Christian walk but He walks with us in that yoke, just as the picture indicates. Farmers yoke a strong ox with a weaker one so that the weaker one doesn’t get weary. I love how Christ used word pictures like this to show His character!

Does this not excite you? It does me! This shows me that my Jesus is right there alongside me, carrying the burdens, carrying my cross with me, helping with the load of care! Oh brother and sister in Christ, isn’t that just a spirit lifter? Oh how I love Psalms. As I read them, the Lord reminds me of verses elsewhere which tie in beautifully.

Jer. 29:11-13 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. (11) Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. (12) And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (13)

Thank You, Lord, for being “right there,” and so easily accessible. I no longer have to go through a high priest, priest or Mary – I have direct access to the Father through His Precious Son, Jesus Christ, my One and Only Mediator. I don’t have to enter a church building or temple because my body is the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 6:19). Lord, you know my thoughts, my motives, my heart, my desires – there’s nothing You don’t know about me. Yet, You loved me anyway and you died for me, despite my horrid sinful nature (Romans 5:8). My heart and my mouth will never cease to praise You!

Friend, if you are in the middle of the worst trial ever, start praising! It will get easier with each song and you will feel the Lord’s presence as He calms your troubled spirit! Out of all the hymns and songs today, this is my favorite song of praise! ❤❤❤

How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God! when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Comfort During the End Times – Day 26

By Kate Plourde

On April 28, 2023

In Comfort During the End Times, Devotionals

Good morning! If you think you aren’t important to God, you have it all wrong. You are unique to God. He created you with a unique fingerprint and a unique DNA strand. The devil wants you to believe in evolution so people can believe that they are just a descendent of a blob. But God knows every thought you have ever thought or will think in your future! Those are a lot of thoughts! It doesn’t end there, my friend. God knew you even before you were in your mother’s womb!

Psa 139:13-16 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. (14) I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. (15) My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. (16) Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

Isn’t that beautiful? The same God who created the universe and all that is in it knows you intimately! He knew every body part that grew inside your mother. You are special to Him; so special that He sent Jesus Christ to take on your sins so you would be saved! (Romans 5:8) Christ did this even while you were yet a sinner! He didn’t expect you to clean up your life. If you could have done so, it would mean that your own works could get you into Heaven but we know that isn’t so. (Eph. 2:8-9) That is enough to make you praise the Lord for all He has done for us! This is enough to bring comfort to the one who is discouraged.

Are you discouraged today, Christian? If yes, reflect on the day salvation was yours and be thankful! God has not forgotten you. It may seem as though He is silent in your calamity but He is most certainly working in the background. Romans 8:28 tells us that ALL things work together for good to them that love God. However, the verse doesn’t end there… it continues to say “to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Friend, the Lord has a purpose for you. You have a purpose in life – your main priority is to fear Him (honor Him with reverence) and keep His commandments. (Ecclesiastes 12:13) As believers, we desire to sin less and to keep His commandments because the Word says that none of them are burdensome. They are there to teach us, guide us and help us to live godly lives in order to honor Him! (1 John 5:3) By doing this, others will see God in us! We are to be walking Bibles for the lost world to see.

If you’re a believer and reading this today, you know all these things above. But as an unbeliever, what I’ve written is foreign to you and you probably think I’m off my rocker. However, as the days are getting darker and more evil, it is all the more important that you get saved because things are about to get even darker and more evil. You will have no one to cling to as you experience the most horrific time ever.

Mark 13:19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

As believers, we must be a lighthouse to the lost – pointing them to the light of the Word of God. We must warn them of those dangerous times ahead! We have the whole manual that tells us what is to come. How comforting that is for the believer!! We are not to be caught unaware but we are to stand ready and watching for the appearance of our Lord and Saviour!

We need to give the lost hope as we have hope! Friend, don’t be willfully ignorant of the end times. (2 Peter 3:5) If you are not born-again, confess your sins and repent of them. The time is coming when it will be too late for you to repent. You will remember each opportunity you were given by God to be saved; you will remember each time you laughed it off and ignored it. Please Reader, repent and accept Christ into your life. (Act 16:31, Rom 10:9) I want to be sure that anyone who reads the posts on this blog can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are going to Heaven. Have you received Christ as your Saviour? If no, your sins are not covered by His sacrificial offering of Himself. You have not been redeemed by His blood. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!

Comfort During the End Times – Day 16

By Kate Plourde

On April 5, 2023

In Comfort During the End Times, Devotionals

Good morning, Reader! Today’s Scripture verses pricks my heart! Most believers see the Heavenly Father as a God of love and judgment. But they don’t really see Him as a God who pities those that fear Him. Furthermore, the verse 14 says that God remembers we are weak, we are as dust. Of course He would know! He is the one who made us, amen?

When the world seems to be catapulting toward destruction and we wonder how much worse it can get, we should remind ourselves of God’s compassion and what His some of His other characteristics.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

Does this not bless you??? We are not left alone to deal with the tragedies and trials of this life! As born-again believers, Christ’s Father becomes our Father! When the Father looks at us, He sees Christ and the blood He shed on the cross for our sins! We have become the “elect of God” and are able to go to the Father and plead for mercy and comfort during these difficult times! (Colossians 3:12)

In fact, the Father loves us so much that He has graven us on the palms of His hands, Christian!! I can’t help but get goosebumps when I read these verses!

Isaiah 49:15-16 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. (16) Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

Unfortunately, the one who is not born-again cannot claim this promise! The unsaved world is treading spiritual waters trying to stay afloat in a world that is going mad. Sadly, they will not stay afloat. They are treading toward the destruction of their very soul. 😥 The devil’s ability to blind the world is powerful. Many laugh at this and think it is foolishness, but the Bible specifically talks about it.

2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

John 12:40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

The sad thing is that the lost will never know the comfort, compassion and love that the Heavenly Father has awaiting for them should they accept the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. They don’t understand that Jesus is God, and He made Himself flesh so that He could be born of a virgin, live a sinless life to become the perfect sacrifice to atone for the lost’s sins! God loves the world so much that He knew we could not gain entrance into Heaven on our own merit! (Romans 5:8, Romans 3:23, Romans 3:10) God lovingly provided a way for His creation to be able to come back into fellowship with Him! He lost that fellowship when Adam and Eve chose to sin in the Garden of Eden. God had made man to live forever and He provided for them a beautiful and bountiful garden in which to live! Adam and Eve gave it all up. But the Heavenly Father wants us to return to Him and for those who do, He will provide that fellowship once again! How much love and compassion is that! If you are not certain about salvation and don’t know what to do, please go here! If you sincerely come to salvation after reading this, please leave a comment and I will be happy to help you with the next steps!

As believers, we have so much at our fingertips to pull from for encouragement. We can read our Bibles, search out songs to encourage our hearts, and bow before the Lord of lords and Kings of kings in prayer! We can have intimate fellowship with the Creator of the universe!! But to the person who is not born-again, he has only himself to turn to and there’s no comfort in one’s own heart. The unbeliever doesn’t have the comfort that the believer does; they may be able to access the resources but that comfort just isn’t there. Friend, don’t be willfully ignorant of the end times. (2 Peter 3:5) If you are not born-again, confess your sins and repent of them. The time is coming when it will be too late for you to repent. You will remember each opportunity you were given by God to be saved; you will remember each time you laughed it off and ignored it. Please Reader, repent and accept Christ into your life. (Act 16:31, Rom 10:9) I want to be sure that anyone who reads the posts on this blog can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are going to Heaven. Have you received Christ as your Saviour? If no, your sins are not covered by His sacrificial offering of Himself. You have not been redeemed by His blood. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!

Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus – Day 10

By Kate Plourde

On September 2, 2022

In Devotionals, Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled By Jesus

Prophecy of Messiah:
Exo 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
Exo 12:13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
Exo 12:21-27 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. (22) And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. (23) For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. (24) And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. (25) And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. (26) And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? (27) That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
Exo 12:46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.

Good morning! In my personal opinion, today’s topic describes Christ and His mission as perfection and completion! Grab your favorite beverage and let’s dig deeper!

God set up the plan of salvation from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve chose to sin and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they realized their sin and tried to cover themselves by making an apron of fig leaves (Genesis 3:7). This was a covering made with their own hands; not much different than their future son Cain’s offering, amen? Instead, when God came to them, he showed them that their aprons of fig leaves were not sufficient. According to Genesis 3:21, God made them coats of skins. What skins? No animal had ever been killed up to this point. An animal was slain in order to cover Adam and Eve; but the shed blood of that animal produced that covering. From this point on, the pattern of a blood offering to cover sins was instituted. We see later in Leviticus 17:11 that it becomes an atonement for Israel’s sins. Noah Webster describes atonement as:

Atonement
ATO’NEMENT, n.
Agreement; concord; reconciliation, after enmity or controversy. Rom 5.
Expiation; satisfaction or reparation made by giving an equivalent for an injury, or by doing or suffering that which is received in satisfaction for an offense or injury; with for.
And Moses said to Aaron, go to the altar, and offer thy sin-offering, and thy burnt-offering, and make an atonement for thyself and for the people. Lev 9.
In theology, the expiation of sin made by the obedience and personal sufferings of Christ.

Today’s topic is how Jesus Christ fulfilled the sacrificial offering of a lamb in the Old Testament. Please take a moment to read through the verses above. If you are already familiar with these verses, meditate for a few moments on how you think Jesus fulfilled each of those Old Testament verses. Now let’s move on to the verses below.

Prophecy of Messiah Fulfilled:
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
Joh 19:31-36 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. (32) Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. (33) But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: (34) But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. (35) And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. (36) For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.

When we stop, sit a spell and meditate between the requirements of the Jews’ sacrificial lamb and how Jesus the Messiah fulfilled each of these requirements, we discover that He was sacrificed for both Jews and Gentiles alike! Only His blood was enough for all! John 3:16 tells us that God’s love for the “world” would be the reason that He gave His only begotten Son! The only difference between the Old Testament lamb’s blood is that it covered the Israelites. The New Testament Lamb’s blood is that His blood forgives and pardons our sins:

Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

The word remission is defined as forgiveness and pardon. Jesus Christ took the punishment for our sins so that we would not have to receive that punishment. He took our place, don’t you see? The Old Testament prophesied that He would and the New Testament revealed that He did! \o/

Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

The prophecy of Exodus is fulfilled by the One and Only Saviour of mankind, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! When God “sees the blood” of His Son over us, He passes over us and we are saved from eternal life in Hell! Jesus took the punishment so we would not have to! What a beautiful picture! The Lord said that there’s no greater love than to die for his friends (John 15:13). Then we read two verses later (John 15:15), that He calls us friend! \o/ Are you a friend of Christ? Do you know Him personally or do you only know of Him? I want to be sure that anyone who reads the posts on this blog can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are going to Heaven. Have you received Christ as your Saviour? If no, your sins are not covered by His sacrificial offering of Himself. You have not been redeemed by His blood. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!