GOOD NEWS DAILY – NOVEMBER 6

““And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” Matthew 6:5-6 (bold and underlining added)

love & blessings,

lara

Yesterday I had the experience of someone cursing and yelling at me in a park so loudly that anyone nearby could have heard. It’s not the first time. It will probably not be the last. He screamed for any to hear that I was not acting like a Christian and that what I did was why he can’t stand Christians.

I had shared the Gospel message with Him in love and was careful to explain we need to turn from our sins and believe in and follow Jesus Christ as Lord. He was pretty unfocused listening to me until I shared we all have stuff we need to let go and that he needed to let go of stuff also. Like what?

When I helped him to look at something in his life that was sin and rebellion against the Lord, he erupted into anger and stormed off. But thankfully I had already given him my Gospel tract and told him how very much I cared about him and how desperately I wanted to see him one day in heaven rather than hell. He didn’t want to receive the love of Christ and turn his life over to Him nor receive the love and care I shared with him because his sin was more important to him than the Lord and everlasting life.

Please keep praying for me as the Lord has me on the front lines telling the world Jesus Christ is Lord and died on the cross to pay our sin penalty and was raised from the dead and that the only way to everlasting life with Him is when we are born again spiritually. When we turn from a lifestyle of sin, put our faith in Him as Lord, believing the Gospel message, genuinely committing our lives to the Lord and His ways as He teaches us in the Bible.

And please pray for the hearts and lives of all to whom the Lord sends me and to those nationally and internationally who read the written messages the Lord gives me.

Prayers so very much appreciated!

love & blessings,

Lara

“This is your time with me,” the Spirit of God spoke to my heart. “Will you spend it doing this?”

No sooner had I entered into my early morning time alone with Jesus than I had become distracted and found myself on the Internet doing something. Justifying this by the fact it had to do with Jesus. But it most assuredly wasn’t spending time alone with Him, sitting at His feet so to speak, reading the Bible, praying, listening to Him.

The Lord had given me a warning. Is He giving you the same? Ever find yourself distracted from the Lord and the Bible? Not even committed to Him and the Word in the first place? Not taking the time daily with Him you know you need to take? Or taking the time but finding yourself quickly interrupted and essentially chasing distractions instead of chasing after Him? Need correction like I did? And like I do regularly?

Let’s give the Lord and the Word the time He deserves daily. Is there anyone or anything more important in the universe? No! Let’s devote ourselves to Him, friend, certainly yes!

365 BLESSINGS is a devotional book I recently wrote that will soon be available in print by the grace of the Lord for the glory of the Lord! 

Blessing #184

“And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. Then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the Lord had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.” Exodus 18:8-10

Moses tells his father-in-law Jethro how gloriously and mercifully and wonderfully the Lord delivered through him the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. How did Jethro respond? He rejoiced! When we share the awesomeness and blessedness of the Lord with others, they have the opportunity to rejoice with us and praise God with us. And when others share with us God’s beautiful and bountiful blessings in their lives, we can celebrate with them and praise God with them. May the Lord be glorified by us all as we all share with rejoicing the beauty and majesty of God almighty, hallelujah, AMEN!

“Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.” Luke 21:38

Such a simple scripture. So powerful. ALL the people IN THE MORNING came to HEAR JESUS!

Are ALL of us lovingly, humbly, reverently, thankfully, hungrily, thirstily, devotedly, diligently COMING TO JESUS  AND THE BIBLE IN THE MORNING TO HEAR HIM?

Coming to Jesus and the Bible.
In the morning.
To hear Him.

Friend, there is NOTHING and NOBODY more important in the universe than the Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible and taking the time, love, care, and commitment to be in the presence of, seek, experience, enjoy, learn from, be changed by, surrender to, and live for than THE LORD!

Rather than rush forward in the morning into the day, should not the very most important thing we do be to spend time alone with Jesus?

May it be so!

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

I used to think this verse was all about people seeing the light of Christ in those of us who follow Him. Like they would see brightness and joy and hopefully be drawn to Him through us. Then the Holy Spirit took me deeper into the verse.

* It’s OUR LIGHT – not lights. ONE LIGHT. THE LIGHT OF CHRIST. Not many lights in all of us. ONE. Jesus!

* Our LIGHT should “SO SHINE” that people see the light, right? That’s where I missed it. That they see OUR GOOD WORKS! We who follow Jesus should live such that the world sees THE GOOD WORKS borne of Christ living in us!

* Why? So people can praise and glorify us for the good we’re doing, right? Wrong! So THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY is glorified – NOT US!

Praise the Lord!