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“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” Revelation 3:20
KNOCKING—In your mind, what does knocking connote? I think of many things—Poe’s Raven persistently knocking at a door until that door is opened by a man who comes to face the truth of his never-to-end grief; the knocking of one’s knees, indicating a person is freezing cold or has extreme fear; and the knocking of a car’s engine, signaling one of three things—the incorrect balance of air and fuel in its cylinders which may be corrected with a higher octane fuel, chemical deposits in the engine needing removal, or the knocking of rods—which can signal the death of an engine. In comparison, I think of the word knocking as used throughout God’s Word and how it offers hope and life to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. I love Jesus’ words, “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” Revelation 3:20 God is pursuing us, so He knocks at our hearts to get our attention. The knocking may come as a shout or a silent whisper, but we can recognize His voice as He seeks us: “Come and answer so I may enter in…and we may be friends!” Does God give up, then, stopping after one rap? No, His knocking never is a one-time blow—it is continual! He knocks throughout our lives until He gets our answer because His compassionate desire is that we live forever with Him! Eventually we either fully surrender to Him, opening the door of our hearts; or in keeping the door closed, there is an eventual complete silence—signaling we are shutting Him out. Let this never be you! Let this never be me! Knock, knock, knock...what does God want? Possibly He sees that our engines are not firing well—that some of us are running on low-octane fuel, that of self-reliance and human rationale; that we desperately need upgrading to a higher octane gasoline. God is the source of that fuel, and we plug into His line when we ask Jesus to be our Savior. We are then filled with the Holy Spirit who empowers us to grow in our trust and reliance on God and His Word, and as we are filled with His truth, we are strengthened to live in obedience to Him. This is what I call extreme engine failure prevention! God also notes any sinful deposits in our lives that need scraping and removed, first through recognition, then through confession. “But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1 John 1:9 Now our engines are clean and purified, and we can walk through life without guilt or shame! Our rods tell a different story, however. In an engine, when the protective bearings of the rods connecting piston heads to crankshafts wear out, the metal-on-metal contact causes the telltale signs of engine failure. Our rod—our connection to God in other words-- is Jesus Christ. If we fail to accept Jesus’ great sacrifice on the cross in our place, asking Him to forgive our sins and be our Savior, our lifeline to eternal love and peace with God is forever severed—a death truly to be avoided! But when we do accept Jesus as Savior, God replaces worn out rods with His Holy Spirit, making us new creations with new life. We have a complete engine overhaul! Listen! Hear that knocking? That is God! He is asking, “Do you have engine problems? Open the door, for I am here to remove them! Are you weak with sorrow and grief, or are your knees knocking in fear and dread of something known or unknown? Are you freezing cold because you don’t have Me? Open the door, for I will give you life and the strength you need to face each day and defeat every fear and sorrow! Hear my voice and know who I AM—the beginning and the end—your Almighty God! Then watch my death, and know how I love you! Be assured, when you open the door, I will come in and be with you always. You will be a part of My Kingdom and one day you will experience only love, peace, and joy." And so it is that God knocks at the doors of our hearts, offering Himself, the answer to life and to our every needed repair and sorrow. Don’t know if you have eternal life or recognize needed areas of repair? Just ask Him, for as God knocks on our doors, we can knock on His. “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matt. 7:7-8 Never forget that God has promised wisdom to those who seek Him and ask! Now let each of us respond to God’s knocking, and in rejoicing gladness once more invite Christ into our hearts, wholly and completely, with no foot in the door allowing us to only partially surrender. Then let us all shout out, “Welcome, Father! Thank You for Your Son’s incomprehensible and great sacrifice through which You grant us salvation! To You, Almighty God and Father, be all honor and praise, and may You be glorified in our lives forever and ever. Amen!” VERSES: Romans 8:1 “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Matthew 13:16-17 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.” John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” James 1:5-6 “ If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.” PRAYER: Dear Father, today I know You knock at my door, and I freely and in anticipation open my heart to You. What is it You wish to reveal? Show me the areas of my life in which I need engine repair and whether or not there is any area of fear, sorrow, or grief that I am not turning over to You for Your needed strength and healing. I admit that examining my engine makes me feel vulnerable, and accepting what You tell me is not always—or ever—easy. So give me strength to accept what You reveal when you remove any logs blinding me from seeing Your truth. Help me then to live in total obedience to You, not because I must, but because I love you with all my heart and desire to honor You. DISCLAIMER: I am just an ordinary woman who loves Jesus, accepting Him as Savior at the age of thirty-two and digging into the Bible ever since. How could I possibly hope to develop a heart relationship with God and trust Him with my life if I didn't know who He is?! These devotionals are written to help you journey with Christ and grow in your heart relationship with Him. However, it is essential that you examine my words, and those of all other "teachers," with God's Holy Word. Therein lies the source of all truth! “Psalm 129 “From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me. Let all Israel repeat this: From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, but they have never defeated me. My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows. But the Lord is good; He has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.”
When you read today’s headlines, do you feel the enemy, Satan and His demons, attacking you personally or our country’s beginning ideals? Do you feel the opposition to God’s plan for mankind and the commands He gave designed for our welfare and relationship with Him? Have you worried over the shift in America away from respecting the rights of Christian religious views and the respectful, quality debate of ideas? Indeed, there has been a shift in the United States! When public schools were first begun in America, the Bible was the basis of teachings, with lessons in books such as McGuffy Readers being based on Bible passages. In 1953 and 1954, when I was in the first and second grades, my class began the day with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. By the third grade, many years before the Supreme Court ruling that officially removed prayer from public schools in 1962, prayer had already disappeared from my classroom. Even I, as a child, noticed the difference! Then there were the Christmas plays that disappeared after my third grade. I remember this vividly as I played Mary in grades two and three. GONE! Removed from schools were prayer and the teaching of what Jesus summarized as the two greatest commandments: “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” Later, in addition to schools, prayer and God’s commandments were removed from our government’s buildings, policies, and legislation. This had a disastrous effect on our nation, because now Satan could shift focus away from God’s morality and commands into the divisiveness that he knew would arise from the rationale of man and those set on evil. How Satan has delighted in this shift, his goal always being the downfall of Christianity and the permanent separation of many from the love and peace found in eternity with God. Today we see the enemy’s workings, with hatred, mob violence, and the aforementioned divisiveness being evidenced everywhere. Christian views on morality are being ignored or threatened; evangelical Christians are being termed homophobic, racially prejudiced, white privileged, etc. Cancel culture, critical race theory, and multi-gender theories are running rampant. Though Christians are not sought out and martyred in America as they are in other parts of the world*, we are, it would seem, experiencing the birth pangs of persecution. This is to be expected, as God promised persecution: “Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” 1 Timothy 3:12 This is REALITY! We know end times must come—they are part of God’s plan of redemption, and prayerfully, through the persecution of those days, many will come to repentance. We know this is God’s desire, for He wishes no man to perish! (2 Peter 3:9) LET US NEVER FEAR, however! As we face future days and possible personal persecution, we are not to be afraid! As verse 2 in Psalm 129 says: “my enemies…have never defeated me . . .” How beautiful are those words! Take them to heart! Also, focus on the next words that describe Jesus: “My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.” Jesus was whipped until He was unrecognizable: “But many were amazed when they saw Him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.” Isaiah 52:1 Yet Jesus was willing to submit Himself to this torture because His heart knew “. . . the LORD is good; He has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.” WOW! Jesus rose from the dead to be the King He always was! These truths are for you! Know that, in whatever you may fear, are going through now or will face in the future, God is GOOD! He is with you, and when you trust in Him, He will free you from the ungodly. He will place your feet on solid ground and steady you on the path of His truth and righteousness, giving you a new, heavenly song to sing! (Psalm 40:1-3) Dwell on the following verses this week, and let them lighten your heart and spirit, removing all fear! Our God has earned the title of ALMIGHTY (think of the parting of the Red Sea)! Your God is all-powerful, all-trustworthy, and desires with all His heart to affirm your hope In Him that will guide you into eternity with Him. May you never doubt God’s unconditional love for you, His presence in your life, and His faithfulness to His promises! VERSES: Is 59:15-16 “Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked. The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was no justice. He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So He Himself stepped in to save them with His strong arm, and His justice sustained Him.” Isaiah 43:13 “No one can snatch you out of My hand. No one can undo what I have done.” Isaiah 51:7-8 “Listen to Me, you who know right from wrong, you who cherish My law in your hearts. Do not be afraid of people’s scorn, nor fear their insults. For the moth will devour them as it devours clothing. The worm will eat at them as it eats wool. But My righteousness will last forever. My salvation will continue from generation to generation.” Is 50:4-7 “He, the Sovereign Lord has given me His words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning He wakens me and opens my understanding to His will. The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me, and I have listened. I have not rebelled or turned away. I offered my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from mockery and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do His will. And I know that I will not be put to shame.” Isaiah 51:12 “I, yes I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear? PRAYER: Father God, I acknowledge that I don’t fully understand Your way of working in this world, for You have aptly taught me, “ ‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ ” says the Lord. “ ‘And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.’ ” Isaiah 55:8-9 Yet, in spite of my limited understanding, I choose to fully trust Your plan. So, as I witness persecution rising in our country, help me never to fear but to always place Your truth before me. You, and only You, are Almighty God, . . . powerful, loving, and compassionate. You will never fail me, my LORD God; You always will hold me in the palm of Your hand, and no matter what I may face in future years, You will never let me be snatched away. Although I may not feel strength now, I trust You to give me that which I will need to sustain me through any and all future trials and/or persecution until I pass from this temporary home into my permanent one with You.” I claim Your Word for my life: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 You, Father God, are “my strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow!” “Great is Thy Faithfulness” Thomas Obadiah Chisholm SONG: “Great is Thy Faithfulness” by Thomas Obadiah Chisholm Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father There is no shadow of turning with Thee Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be Great is Thy faithfulness Great is Thy faithfulness Morning by morning new mercies I see All I have needed Thy hand hath provided Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me Summer and winter and springtime and harvest Sun, moon and stars in their courses above Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love Great is Thy faithfulness Great is Thy faithfulness Morning by morning new mercies I see All I have needed Thy hand hath provided Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow Blessings all mine with 10, 000 beside Great is Thy faithfulness Great is Thy faithfulness Morning by morning new mercies I see All I have needed Thy hand hath provided Great is Thy faithfulness Great is Thy faithfulness Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me *See: https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/january/christian-persecution-2021-countries-open-doors-watch-list.html for an article with detailed analysis of Christian persecution in other countries and how to pray for those believers. DISCLAIMER: I am just an ordinary woman who loves Jesus, accepting Him as Savior at the age of thirty-two and digging into the Bible ever since. How could I possibly hope to develop a heart relationship with God and trust Him with my life if I didn't know who He is? These devotionals are written to help you journey with Christ and grow in your heart relationship with Him. However, it is essential that you examine my words, and those of all other 'teachers," with God's Holy Word. Therein lies the source of all truth! “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
A new life is coming; a babe is being born! Not THE CHILD, but a child, perhaps of a friend or relative, or perhaps your own daughter, son, or grandchild. You breathe in the baby’s sweet fragrance and study the child’s countenance. . . so pure, so innocent . . . such a blank slate on which will be written a mother’s and father’s story of love, teaching, and prayerfully wise counsel. However . . . Pure? Innocent? Blank slate? We may think these things as a child is born, but even as a toddler, the truth becomes loudly apparent. “Mine!” “NO!” And what about the time when the child is a bit older and he/she hits the floor screaming, with arms and legs flailing, “I do have self-control!” There it is! It takes only a few years to have proof that each of us is born with a sin nature, and that without something, all innocent babies will eventually grow to lose what is most important—an eternal life of love and peace with God—unless something changes their hearts. What is that something? Let’s just quickly review: After man rebelled by disobeying the only command God had given, you and I were doomed to separation from Him throughout eternity. God, however, loved us too much to let that happen; He wants us with Him forever! So God needed a perfect man, one who would not sin, to take every evil, sinful thought and/or act of mankind upon Himself to end that gap of separation. The only one who could be that perfect was God Himself, so He sent the Word (the second person of the Holy Trinity) to come into our world as His only begotten Son, a baby, who would be named Jesus. (See John 1:1-14) As a baby, God’s FORM changed from the Word to that of a man, but His nature did not! He remained God always, pure and sinless. The baby grew into the God Man, Jesus, and He, in an act of perfect love, died in our place to save us from our sins on the condition we accept His sacrificial gift. What happens to you and me when we confess our sins and ask Jesus to be our Savior? It is just the opposite of what took place when God became man! We immediately become God’s children, and His Holy Spirit (the third person of the Holy Trinity) enters us. Our form (our body) remains the same, but we have an entirely new nature! This is hard to understand, because when we look in the mirror, we look the same. However, we are new creations with a new nature that desires to sin less and less and, through the strength of the Holy Spirit in us, to grow in goodness and become more like Christ. ((Adapted from “Who Is Jesus” in “Who Am I?” a Christian, Biblical Introduction to Gender Identity for Girls.) How exciting is this? A new nature! One that gives us the strength to resist temptation, to no longer be drawn to things of this world, but to things of God! “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8 We also experience the fruit of the Holy Spirit: “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 So, rather than fleshly resolutions for the year 2022, which truly can be good (I’ll get to the gym at least three times a week, eat better, lose ten pounds, etc.), might it be even better for us, for our families, for our communities and world, to make resolutions to do our part in allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us? Prayer, Bible study, fellowshipping with other believers, meditating on the Word of God—all grow our heart relationship with Him through the power of the Spirit, changing us into the children God means us to be. May you be blessed in the year 2022! May it be a year of hope and joy in the knowledge that God is with and for you, and may you grow in Christ, demonstrating to all your new nature if you have accepted Christ as your Savior! Verses: John 3:5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” THINK: Have I genuinely asked Jesus to be Lord of my life and Savior? Ephesians 4: 22-24 “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” THINK: Am I allowing the Holy Spirit to act in fullness in my life? Ezekiel 36:26-27 “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.” THINK: Do I quickly respond to God’s commandments because I love Him and obeying brings me joy? Do I respond tenderly and submissively when God answers my prayers, whether those answers be yes, no, or wait? Romans 8:6-13 “So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.” THINK: Do I let my old sinful nature or my new nature control my life? PRAYER: Dear Father, today, January 5, 2022, I affirm (or reaffirm) that I have accepted Your Son, Jesus Christ, as my Savior. I realize that the Holy Spirit was with me, pursuing me before I accepted Jesus as Savior; that the Holy Spirit came into me, creating in me a new nature desiring to do Your will when I did accept Jesus as my Savior; and that the Holy Spirit desires to fill me to overflowing each day so I may touch the lives of others for Your glory. Help me remember to pray every day to be renewed, refreshed, and filled with an overflowing level of Your Spirit. Help me to grow in You so that I may become more and more like You—kind, generous, loving, and self-controlled. And Father, thank you so very much for giving me time in a new year to bring Your joy and hope to others. May my new life and nature shine with Your love! Disclaimer: I am just an ordinary woman who loves Jesus, accepting Him as Savior at the age of thirty-two and digging into the Bible ever since. How could I possibly hope to develop a heart relationship with God and trust Him with my life if I didn't know who He is? These devotionals are written to help you journey with Christ and grow in your heart relationship with Him. However, it is essential that you examine my words, and those of all other 'teachers," with God's Holy Word. Therein lies the source of all truth! |
Author Candice Mary Thomas writes about loving God and loving people! Coming to Christ at age 32 and now in her 70's, Candice knows what a difference it makes living with or without Christ as one's personal Savior. Archives
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