Jesus Knows Me

 

When people ask me, "How are you?", I like to answer, "A Plus." (Because of the blood of Jesus shed for me.)

My friend, Joan Mohr, generally answers "Excited." So, this morning I asked her, "What are you excited about?" Her answer was excellent. She said, "I know Jesus, and Jesus knows me!" That last part got my attention and reminds me of the beginning of Matthew chapter 25, verse 1-11, where it is written: 

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’    Yikes! I do not know you! We don't want to hear Jesus say that to us!!

So, the question is: does Jesus know you? Yes? How do you know? No? Well, He wants to! Start talking to Him! Ask Him how you can establish a relationship with Him. It is written in the Bible. Do you have a Bible? If not, get one!

There's an old hymn that I like and the chorus goes like this:
And He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am his own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known!
The joy we share as we tarry there. That's the good life!

(Thank you, Joan!)

All scripture above is from NKJV.

Larry Carroll

Hard Or Easy

 

In this post I'm going to expand upon the scripture! I'm not going to alter or rewrite the scripture. No, that would be bad. But, well, take a look below! See if you agree or disagree with what I'm saying.

In Jeremiah chapter 32 verse 17, it is written:
'Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.'    This is such a wonderful truth, such a wonderful verse!

However, knowing that the Lord God is all powerful (omnipotent) and all knowing (omniscient), I am going to say that I believe that nothing is actually hard for Him at all! In fact, I believe everything is easy for Him! OK now, the words 'not too hard' are not the same as 'easy', are they? 'Not too hard' could imply 'I can figure this out', right? But the Lord God Almighty doesn't have to scratch His chin and say, "I can figure this out." No way!

OK, I truly believe everything is easy for the Lord God Almighty. He is, after all, almighty! 

(And oh, by the way, He loves you!)

Hallelujah!!

Larry Carroll

Little Things

 

In Matthew chapter 25, it is written:
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

He's talking to the sheep which represent believers here. And their response was basically, "What?! When did we do that?" Yes, I am reading into this a bit. However, they were truly surprised to hear this. Their response is written in verses 37 to 39.

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’

His answer is found in verse 40:
40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

So, how did they forget all that? When they were reminded, I imagine they just said, 'Oh, that was nothing!' They were just living their lives as usual. These were just little things to them!

But the Lord God didn't forget. He doesn't forget anything. (And the people that were blessed didn't forget, either!)
In Hebrews chapter 6 verse 10, it is written:

"For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister."

So, what are you gonna do?

Well, you can start by encouraging people. How many times have you said (or heard) "good job!" Now that wasn't hard, was it? (Especially if what was done was really a good job!) It's just a little thing to encourage someone this way.

 Anything else? Well, I suggest you keep your 'spiritual ears' open. Now what does that mean? It has to do with discernment which is a result of sensitivity to the Spirit. And that is affected by keeping close to the Lord God - the closer the better. And that is done by continually being filled with the Spirit of God!

Is that confusing? Well, just be assured that the Lord God is for you as it says in Psalm 118 verse 7, and He will guide you through this whole process of growth in 'working and laboring in your love for others'. If you ask Him. So, ask Him.

And through all of this you can (and will!) rejoice in the Lord! Hallelujah!!

Larry Carroll