OVERCOMERS “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” —John 16:33 Jesus wants us to have peace. We will have trouble in this world, but in that trouble we can have peace in Him. He overcame the world and we also are overcomers through faith in Him— “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (I John 5:4-5).…

SAFE IN THE ALMIGHTY Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. —II Chronicles 20:6 Take heart, God is at work in this world. He is accomplishing what He desires. There may be times when we wonder about what He is doing, but we do not have the bigger picture of His overall plan. We do know the end result. We do know what He desires us to be. We do know what He desires us to be about. We do…

BEAR FRUIT BY REMAINING “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;…

MY HOME IN HEAVEN! “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the…

ABANDON AND BE ABANDONED This is what the Lord says, ‘You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you… —II Chronicles 12:5 God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts… —Romans 1:24 God gave them over to shameful lusts… —Romans 1:26 God gave them over to a depraved mind… —Romans 1:28 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. —I John 2:15-16 Prayer, Bible reading,…

DIE TO SELF TO PRODUCE SEED Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. —John 12:24-26 God’s creation design is a marvel. Seeds from a flower, fruit or vegetable put on a shelf will do nothing. But a single seed put…

ETERNALLY AWESOME! But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him? —II Chronicles 2:6 God is awesome! He is grand and magnificent! The heavens or any of creation cannot contain Him. I am overwhelmed with the thought of how immense He is. Ponder this… eternal King Jesus left His glorious abode in Heaven to enter time on this puny planet to impact our lives. He did this so we can know Him now and be with Him in His eternal…

LORD YOU ARE! Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. —I Chronicles 29:11-12 Lord, You are great! Lord, You are all powerful! Lord, You are glorious! Lord, You are majestic! Lord, You are splendorous! Lord, You are the King of your kingdom! Lord, You are exalted Head over all! Lord, You give all…

DEATH WILL BE NO MORE! Jesus wept. —John 11:35 How often we weep and feel sorrow because of death. Loved ones, friends and people we do not even know die and death brings grief. Pets die and we feel their loss and sorrow. Even when autumn comes and the leaves fall to the grown we sense loss as another season is gone forever. Death is all around us. It is estimated that about 150,000 people die every single day, about 6,000 per hour, about 105 per minute, about 2 every second or about 53 million each year or about 4.5 million each month. Each one of those numbers are people.…

GOD SECURES ME FOREVER My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for…