Tag: Jesus

Posted in Bible study, Enduring Hope, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study

Strangers and Enemies

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Based on the Love God Greatly study, Enduring Hope, w3d2

Today’s Reading: Colossians 1:9-29 / SOAP: 21-23

This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.

Colossians 1:21-23

I was saved when I was six-years-old, I grew up in a Christian home, and we went to church every Sunday, morning and evening, and Wednesday night; however, this doesn’t change the truth of what Paul says here. Before I believed in and trusted Jesus as my Savior I was “far away from God”, or as some translations say, I was a “stranger” to God. I was “separated from him by [my] evil thoughts and actions.” You see, we are born sinners, strangers and enemies of God; and because He is a holy God we are separated from him by our evil (unholy) thoughts and actions.”

So What Changed?

So, if I was unholy, a sinner separated from God – a known enemy by my thoughts and deeds – then how was I able to be saved? Paul clarifies this in verse twenty-two with the life-changing news that Christ made me right with God by His death. His sinless blood was accepted as a payment for my sin so that I am no longer an enemy or stranger but blameless and without fault. This is the evidence of John 3:16, that says – For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

The Three Marks of a Genuine Believer
  1. You continue to believe the truth of the Gospel.
  2. You stand firm in the truth.
  3. You don’t drift away from the assurance [the hope] of the Gospel.

It should be noted that these marks are not to infer that our faith/salvation can be lost or is of any work that we can do. Clearly it can not and is not, for Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 2 that, we are saved by grace through faith, not by works – so that no one can boast.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Ephesians 2:8-9
Response to the Word

Father, thank you for the gift of Your Son. Thank You Jesus that You were willing to lay down Your life for mine so that I could be made right with God. I’m no longer an enemy, no longer a stranger who is separated from Him but I can enter into His presence blameless and pure in His sight! Oh how blessed I am to know You and to be saved by You – to have placed my faith in You and share in the Hope of Your Gospel message! – In Your Name I pray and give glory to the Father – Amen!

Posted in Bible study, Enduring Hope, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time

When Hope Is No Hope At All

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Based on the LGG Study, Enduring Hope, w3d1

Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-28 / SOAP verses 16-19

And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.  In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

1 Corinthians 15:16-19

The Gospel Paul preached was: Christ crucified, dead and buried, and raised from the dead. It is this Gospel that has the power to save (Romans 1:16) – and it is through our faith in Jesus, the focus of the Gospel that God’s grace has saved us! (Ephesians 2:8) However, if Christ really hasn’t been resurrected, as some were suggesting in Paul’s day, and some still doubt today – then Paul’s preaching was a waste of time and our faith is worthless.

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is futile and your faith is empty

1 Corinthians 15:14

The bottom line is that we either believe in life after death or we don’t. For if Christ was not resurrected then no one else will be, and we are without HOPE. This means:

To place our hope in this life – is to have no hope at all!

Response to God’s Word

Father, I believe Your Word and I stand firm in the faith of the Gospel message that Christ Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried – and that on the third day he rose from the grave! I believe that after revealing Himself, in His resurrected body, to His disciples – for a period of days – He then ascended into Heaven where He is now seated at Your right hand – where, among other things, He intercedes for us in accordance with Your will. I believe that He will one day return to claim His bride, the church, that we might forever live with You! In this is my hope and strength for each new day – without this there is no hope at all. Let us not become cynical in this world of chaos and hopelessness but rather help us to stand firm in Your truth and to be lights and voices of the promised Hope of Jesus’ return and the promise of eternity with You – and this that others might come to share in our HOPE – In the name of Jesus I pray – Amen and Amen!

song of Worship

Going Deeper

Don’t forget you can get more out of today’s passage by reading the Love God Greatly Blog Post

Posted in Bible study, Enduring Hope, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time

Comfort in Trouble

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Enduring Hope, An LGG Study / Week 2 Hope In God’s Character
Today’s Reading /Psalm 119:49-64 / SOAP Psalm 119:49-50

Remember your word to your servant,
for you have given me hope.
50 This is what comforts me in my trouble,
for your promise revives me.

Psalm 119:49-50
Notes:
Verse 49:
  • God does not forget His Word
  • God’s faithfulness is known and not doubted
  • God’s Word give the Psalmist/us HOPE
  • The Psalmist honors God with and through a servant’s attitude
Verse 50:
  • God’s Word is powerful – it comforts and revives us when we need it
    • consider this: revive means to regain life, consciousness, or strength
    • give new strength or energy to.
  • We can/should use it to comfort and revive others

It is obvious that the Psalmist puts much weight into God’s Word. He has a personal relationship with God since he alludes to the fact that God has spoken to him before. He not only calls God to remember the words He had spoken to His servant, but the Psalmist declares that the words have brought him hope. When he has faced troubles, God’ hope-filled words have brought the Psalmist comfort, because he considers God’s Word to be trustworthy promises that can fill him with strength and life.

Response to God’s Word

Father, Your hope-filled words comfort me when I’m in trouble – I trust in Your Words – I consider them gold, pure gold, sure and TRUE – so they revive me when I’m weak or “fainting” from fear, trouble, doubt , worry, and the like. For this I am most thankful. Help me to use Your Word to comfort others, to help them regain strength and life in times of trouble. – In Jesus’ Name – Amen!

Posted in Bible study, Enduring Hope, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time

His Loyal Love Endures

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Enduring Hope, An LGG Study / Week 2 Hope In GOd’s Character
Today’s Reading /Psalm 136 / SOAP Psalm 136:23-26

to the one who remembered us when we were down,
for his loyal love endures,
24 and snatched us away from our enemies,
for his loyal love endures,
25 to the one who gives food to all living things,
for his loyal love endures.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his loyal love endures!

Psalm 136:23-26

How sweet and comforting it is to know God’s love is loyal and it endures. I can’t help but think how beneficial it would be for us to imitate the Psalmist and make a list of reasons to thank Him and to follow each reason with the phrase – for His loyal love endures – if for no other reason than to rehearse it in our minds so that when there doesn’t seem to be any miraculous deeds or creation seems to be crumbling rather than ‘awing’ us. Or when chaos and our needs are overwhelming us, or we find ourselves wandering in a desert or walking into battle, even then may we say – to God belongs all thanks and praise because His loyal love endures!

To endure is to abide … to last … to remain … to continue …
in other words … God’s love is forever

Me – from the Inside out 🦋

It’s also a healthy exercise to reverse the order of the Psalmist’s wording. For instance,

  • ‘Because your loyal love endures, God remembers us when we are down -‘
  • ‘Because His loyal love endures, God saved us from our enemies’ – or
  • ‘Because his loyal love endures, He provides our food.’

This is what I call a biblical perspective that impacts or changes everything! When this is our perspective we find strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow! And, we find countless reasons to praise the father.

Reflection Question

What’s something you have to thank Him for?

Posted in Bible study, Enduring Hope, From the Insideout, LGG Study, Quiet Time

The Goodness of God

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Enduring Hope, An LGG Study / Week 2 Hope In GOd’s Character
Today’s Reading /Ruth 1; 4:14-22; Matthew 7:7-11 / SOAP Matthew 7:11

If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Matthew 7:11

Borrowing from today’s LGG Journal/Devotional – “We serve a good God. He never changes. But sometimes, life doesn’t turn out the way we hoped it would. How do we reconcile our difficulties with God’s goodness in those times? How do we know that He really cares about us when we don’t feel like anything that’s happening to us [or those we love] could possibly be good?

Naomi had experienced incredible loss. She knew who God was, she was convinced of His character – that He was sovereign, ever-present, and good – but she had stopped believing He was good to her.”

If you didn’t read today’s passages from Ruth, I encourage you to do so. We may know the story from reading or hearing it before but let it fall fresh on you and watch for the ways God cared for Naomi – even in the midst of her loss and bitterness. In chapter one we see her forced to leave her homeland, friends, and all she knew for another land and people. Once there she lost her husband and her two sons, but not before gaining two daughters-in-law. One of which, Ruth, adopted Naomi’s God as her God and despite the fact that Naomi released her from her ‘obligation’ to live out her days with her – Ruth makes the declaration: “Stop urging me to abandon you! For wherever you go, I will go,. Wherever you live, I will live. Your people will become my people, and your God will become my God. Wherever you die, I will die – and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me severely if I do not keep my promise! Only death will be able to separate me from you!”

The rest of the story is a beautiful love story of God for His daughter and the longevity of His people. It is a wonderful testimony of His Great Faithfulness and evidence of the work of His hand! To miss it is to miss out on a visual piece of the rich history of God’s people.

It is also a wonderful example of today’s focus verse – in demonstrating how “[our] Father in heaven gives good gifts to those who ask him!”

If you’re wondering why the LGG Team combined the Ruth passage with the Matthew passage – note in Ruth 1:8-9 how Naomi had prayed in general for both Ruth and Orpah, but then she prays specifically for Boaz, who has recently shown interest in Ruth –

“And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ‘May [Boaz] be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!

Ruth 2:4-19

And then, the beautiful declaration of praise from the lips of the village women, when they saw how God had answered Ruth’s prayer –

“May the LORD be praised because he has not left you without a guardian today!”

Ruth 4:14

Consider this, not only had God provided Naomi with a guardian, He was continuing to carry out His plan to gift us with a Savior! – Oh the vast, immeasurable goodness of God!

Response to the Word

Oh God, how very good You are! You have gifted us with a Savior, with Your Spirit, with forgiveness, never-ending mercy and all sufficient grace. You hear and answer our prayers, You see us when we are hurting, and You provide for our needs. Yes, You allow hard and even tragic things to happen to us or around us but our hope will not be shaken for we know You are with us, You are for us, You are not against us. Help us to press into these truths and to cling to the HOPE that is ours in Christ Jesus! – Amen and amen!

Posted in Bible study, Enduring Hope, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time

This Is My Fate

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Enduring Hope, An LGG Study / Week 2 Hope In GOd’s Character
Today’s Reading /Psalm 77 / SOAP Psalm 77:9-13

Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has his anger stifled his compassion?” (Selah)

Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought
that the Most High might become inactive.
11 I will remember the works of the Lord.
Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago.
12 I will think about all you have done;
I will reflect upon your deeds.”
13  O God, your deeds are extraordinary.

Psalm 77:10-13 NET

Note the ‘I wills’ of this Psalm. These are important resolves of the believer’s life and crucial to winning the battles of lies and doubts.

While God will never leave us or forsake us, there may be times when it seems that He has. It is in these times we must resolve to REMEMBER the works of His hands. If we don’t act quickly the enemy will gain a foothold with fiery darts of lies and doubt. I truly believe God-directed praise is an assault weapon against our enemy,(2 Chronicles 20:22), both in the physical and spiritual realms. For this reason, we must stop and give God praise – and remember His great faithfulness! We must count our blessings – the things God has done for us. I have found it truly helps, as the old hymn says, to “name the blessings one-by-one”. As I do this, I find myself – not only standing in awe of what God has done but I also notice that the enemy is silenced as my focus is redirected from the fears, concerns, and temptations of this world toward God.

Whether it is the enemy or the situations of our lives we must be careful not to allow them to distract us from the truths and blessings of God.

Me from the Inside out
A Comparison

Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he slammed the door on his compassion? Interlude

10 And I said, “This is my fate;
    the Most High has turned his hand against me.”
11 But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;
    I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
12 They are constantly in my thoughts.
    I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.

13 O God, your ways are holy.
    Is there any god as mighty as you?

Psalm 77:9-13 NLT

I wanted to make sure that I was correct in my understanding of the phrase, “I am sickened by the thought that the Most High might become inactive.” So, I checked out the passage in the NLT translation and I decided to share the comparison because I think it best describes the ‘fiery darts’ of lies and doubt and why we may fall prey to the enemy. You see, when we buy the lie that God treats us as we deserve we forget that “His compassions are new every morning and His faithfulness is great”, (Lamentations 3:19-24). We forget or bury the truth that we do deserve such “a fate” – but in His great mercy He saved us and does not treat us as we deserve! Psalm 103:10-14. Both translations of Psalm 77: 9-13 make it equally clear that our response to the thought or feeling that God has somehow turned against us or become inactive in our lives must be to fix our thoughts on God, to remember who He is, what He’s done, what He has said, and what He desires. Only when we do this will we have the hope of standing against the lies of the enemy.

A Song For Worship: We will remember
Going Further

2 Chronicles 20:1-24

Lamentations 3:19-24

Psalm 103:10-14

Joshua 6

Posted in Bible study, Enduring Hope, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time

Hope in the Lord

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Enduring Hope, An LGG Study / Week 2 Hope In God’s Character
Today’s Reading / Psalm 31 / SOAP Psalm 31:24

So be strong and courageous,
    all you who put your hope in the Lord!

Psalm 31:24

Sadly, we live in a fallen world. We live in a world where we have to call out to the Lord to vindicate us, to rescue us, to deliver us, and protect us. We need a refuge to run to and a stronghold to trust in. We are reminded in today’s passage and throughout the Bible that our God, the true and living God, is faithful. We can entrust our lives to Him because He is faithful; and we can rejoice in His faithfulness for He notices our pain and is aware when we are in distress. He hears our cry for mercy and He protects us from the enemy and enables us to stand even when we are weak.

Regardless of the things or people who come against us we can trust in the Lord our God, for He determines our destiny and rescues us from the power of our enemies, both earthly and spiritual. Your loyal followers find safe shelter in You, for You hide us under the shelter of Your wing where we are safe from the treacherous plots of the enemy and the slanderous words of men. When we are attacked from every angle we do not have to fear for we know You will hear us and come to our aid. We have tasted and seen Your goodness and Your faithfulness and have known Your rich mercies so that we can be strong and confident as we hope in You Lord.


Putting our hope in the Lord requires both strength and courage –

May this trust and the confidence that it instills in us, Your faithful followers, be a light that radiates to the world around us and draws all people to You.

Don’t forget to visit lovegodgreatly.com for todays blog

Going Further

Psalm 34:4-8

Joshua 1:9

Proverbs 16:9

Psalm 18:2

Posted in Bible study, Enduring Hope, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time

Made Like Christ

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Enduring Hope, An LGG Study / Week 1 The Nature of Hope
Today’s Reading / 1 john 3:1-3 / SOAP 1 john 3:3

Okay ladies, the day hasn’t been bad but it had its fair share of challenges and things to get done – and well – I’m so tired my mind is muddled. I’m borrowing the devo from the LGG journal that made so much more sense of the text than I could have. My favorite part is – “as we wait , we put our hope in Jesus. He has promised to save and sanctify us, and we trust His words. When we make the active choice to put our hope in Him and His saving work in us, we are purified because we are focused on Him. And as we are made more like Christ, we grow in our understanding of God’s character, including His love –

Trust in the key. Without TRUST there is no true hope.

LGG Team Member

And everyone who has this hope focused on him purifies himself, just as Jesus is pure).

Posted in Enduring Hope, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Quiet Time

His Love Never Fails

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Enduring Hope, An LGG Study / Week 1 The Nature of Hope
Today’s Reading / 1 Corinthians 13; 1 john 4:9-11 / SOAP 1 john 4:9-11

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:9-11

What better encouragement is there than to know – that not only did God give His only son so that we may live through Him, but God’s love never fails, or as some translations put it – His love never ends?

Paul’s list of what love is and what love isn’t (or doesn’t do) is describing God’s kind of love, a love which we are to imitate according to Jesus’ words in John 13:34. It is also worth nothing that we cannot imitate God’s love if we do not know or have not received His love. As 1 John 4:9-11 points out God’s love is a deep deep love. It is a love that thought of others over self. It is a love of action and example. It is a visible love that speaks volumes of how secure our hope is in Christ. It even gives us hope that we can love like He loves – because, as John wrote, God’s love is revealed in us.

Love is not defined by our love for God, but by the actions of His love for us.

Me -from the Inside out
How do we live this out?

I think the best answer to imitating God’s love comes from Christ Himself. We find it in His words in John 13:34 when He says, “so now I’m giving you a new commandment – love each other. Just as I have loved you should love one another.” But even better, we find it on the cross, when He willingly laid down His life – not because He deserved a sinner’s cross but because He knew it would save us from the death we deserved. – “Mercy there was grace and grace was free, pardon there was multiplied to me – there my burdened soul found liberty – at Calvary.” Dare we love like this? Dare we lay down our desires for God’s or our ‘life’ for others? If we dare – I believe others will impacted and God will be glorified.

Response to God’s Word

Father, thank You for Your Love and Jesus, thank You for Your obedience to the Father. You have set a high bar for us to imitate but we have received Your Spirit who empowers us to live and love like You did when You were here on this earth. May we live lives that are rich in love and grace – to the benefit of others and to the glory of the trinity. – In Jesus’ name – Amen and amen!

Posted in Bible study, Enduring Hope, LGG Study, Quiet Time

Hope Deferred

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Enduring Hope, An LGG Study / Week 1 The Nature of Hope
Today’s Reading / proverbs 13:12 / SOAP verse 12

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
    but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

Proverbs 13:12

Such a tiny verse and such a great message. I found it helpful as I journaled to clarify a few things in order to unpack the meaning.

  • Hope is a feeling of expectation and desire or longing for a certain thing to happen.
    • examples include things like pregnancy, a much needed job, a loved one’s salvation, or the healing of a disease…
  • Deferred means to put off or postpone until a later time.
    • this is not always a controlled or chosen action (see examples above)
  • Heart, in this sentence, is not referring to our physical organ but rather to the spiritual part of us where the emotions and desires dwell.
  • Desire is another word for hope
  • Fulfilled is something accomplished or completed.
  • Tree of Life in the Scriptures signifies “renewal of life” or to be refreshed, a breath of fresh air, renewed strength or joy, encouragement …

These observations may not seem necessary since they are all familiar words or phrases; however I find them helpful in fully appreciating the warning and wisdom of this proverb. The warning being we can’t always control when or if we will receive what we desire – but we can control how we respond in the waiting. Do we allow our crushed hopes and disappointment to drive us to bitterness and anger or do we let it lead us closer to the Savior? Do we succumb to “heart sickness” – allowing ourselves to fall into despair, depression, anxiety, and even actual physical sickness? Or, do we endure the wait with our faith planted firmly in God? I believe the answer lies in whether we want our desire more than we want God’s will and His perfect timing.

When our hope is deferred, we can cling to the hope we have in Christ, the one hope that will never be deferred. –


An LGG Team Member

Father, when hope is deferred help us to trust in You, Your will and Your perfect timing – and to want these things more than the desire we seek. Help us to not give up! – Amen and amen