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Daily Promises (March 16th)
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

Reflection
My prayer: Heavenly Father, I am so grateful for Your abundant love and grace. The strong hold You have on my life is incomprehensible! Thank You for the promise that nothing can separate me from Your love. Neither spiritual nor physical forces-nothing-will ever be remotely able to separate me from Your love, O God, which is found in Christ Jesus, Your Son. Continue to make me appreciative of such mercy.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/

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For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-1

Reflection
Our struggles, our battles, our daily toiling against the forces of this present darkness are naught compared with the marvellous riches and captivating glory to which we are called and in which we will soon partake. What matter our suffering? What matter our failures? What matter any measure of suffering when held against the surpassing beauty and permanence of our heavenly hope!

https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/

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Hoekstra's Day by Day by Grace (March 18th)

The Resurrection Related to Justification and Sanctification
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/dbdbg/view.cfm?Date=03/18

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." (John 11:25-26)

It would be appropriate to again follow a pattern we have used previously, applying our present subject (the resurrection) both to our starting out with God (justification) and our going on with God (sanctification). The great value in doing such is to be repeatedly reminded that the grace of God that starts us out in this new life in Christ is the same grace that develops this life in Christ.

When Jesus proclaimed the words of our present verses, He was standing at the tomb of Lazarus. Martha, one of the sisters, was interacting with Him. She had hoped that Jesus would have arrived earlier, knowing He could have prevented this death. "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:21). Even now, with her brother in the tomb, she realizes He could yet intervene. "But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You" (verse 22). Jesus comforts her by assuring that Lazarus will be resurrected. "Your brother will rise again" (verse 23). Martha assumes that Jesus is referring to the final resurrection of the saints. "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day" (verse 24).

At this point, Jesus offers one of those glorious "I am" revelations. "I am the resurrection and the life." Then, He added two wonderful applications. First, faith in Him can even bring the dead to life, like Lazarus. "He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." Second, faith in Him can ensure eternal life to those who are yet alive. "And whoever lives and believes in Meshall never die."

Think again of the implications connected with Jesus' basic statement. "I am the resurrection and the life." Martha desired an immediate resurrection for her brother. She wanted him to live once again. Jesus revealed that He Himself was what Martha desired for her brother. He was "the resurrection and the life." Jesus provides resurrection and life, because in His very person He is resurrection life. He is the resurrection that we all need from our deadness, whether physical or spiritual. "I am the resurrection." He is the life that we need, if we are to live as God intended. "I am…the life." Knowing Christ by faith makes us partakers of what He Himself is: "the resurrection and the life." This is vital to see, because the Christian life is a resurrection life. Such a life can only be found in a resurrected Lord, and it can only be developed following a resurrected Lord.

Jesus, I bow down before You as my resurrected Lord. Apart from You, I would only know spiritual deadness as a fallen son of Adam. In You I have a spiritual resurrection to new life. Now I want to pursue You daily to see that new, resurrected life more fully developed in me. Lord Jesus, lead me, I pray, into more life, Amen.

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He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. (Proverbs 2:8)

Reflection
Take heart, O children of Abraham! The justice of God is inescapable. No fiery terror escapes His sight. No murdering tyrant hides from His eye. No perverse malcontent might flee His presence. Those who persecute and make martyrs of God's people will receive the end they deserve. In fact, they will receive the end that even we deserved-if they repent not. Pray for even the most wicked of your neighbours that they, like you, might find their justice in the blood of Christ.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/

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The LORD [is] good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. (Nahum 1:7)

Reflection
My prayer: Lord, You are so good to Your children! You have shown us the utmost tenderness and grace as You hold us in Your mighty hand. It is such a wonderful honor to be called Your people as we take delight in Your sanctuary. Thank You for Your mercy and abounding love for us!
https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=79

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That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:15-16)

Reflection
The promise of salvation is offered to those who simply believe. Eternal life is the gift to the believer who places their trust in Jesus Christ, God's one and only son.


https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=80

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United in Praise
by Anne Graham Lotz
March 20

http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God. - Isaiah 61:10, NKJV

Who is praising Jesus because you are? If your praise – and mine – is interrupted by . . .

our circumstances or our complaints,

our selfishness or our suffering,

our desires or our depression,

our indifference or our insistence,

or by anything at all . . .

the light will grow dim in our lives as we sink into the mire of self, and instead of causing others to praise Him, we will drag them down into the darkness with us.

So would you praise Him? And keep on praising Him! Praise Him for __________. You fill in the blank with an attribute of Christ.

From Pursuing MORE of Jesus

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Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in [his] goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. (Romans 11:22)

Reflection
Those who abide in the love of Christ are assured his kindness. He cares for His children, the sheep of His hand. Never shall those whom He grants drink of the living water grow faint. So trust in the Lord. Lean upon His abounding grace. Abide in the life of His vine and you shall never feel the severity of God's hand!


https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=81

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By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as [in] a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker [is] God. Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, [so many] as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of [them], and embraced [them], and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that [country] from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better [country], that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:8-16)

Reflection
God here promises not only His pleasure in those who look to the heavenlies rather than toward earthly treasure, but He also promises a holy and heavenly dwelling to His people. For all believers say the same: that they seek not a homeland with foundations of stone and metal, but one made of heavenly hands.


https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=82

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He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; (Psalm 104:14)

Reflection
The Lord is ever our provider! Never shall our souls stand in need of any necessity. When God's child lacks strength in time of trouble, the Lord shall supply it. When Abraham's son is beaten down under worldly woe, his heavenly Father shall certainly revive him. When the believer's soul is parched and dry, then shall the High King of Heaven fill him to overflowing with rivers of living water.



https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=83

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Thank Him Now
by Anne Graham Lotz
March 24, 2018

http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/?dd=0324

He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. - Isaiah 53:5, NIV

Perhaps thinking to satisfy the crowd’s thirst for blood without actually going so far as to execute Jesus, Pilate had Him flogged. The flogging would have ripped the flesh off of His back, exposing His internal organs. History records that flogging victims either passed into unconsciousness, went insane, or died. The miracle is not that Jesus survived the whipping, but that He submitted to it! How easy it would have been for Him to defy them and, without cursing but in righteous judgment, send them all to hell!

Why? Why would God allow His Son to endure such physical torture? The answer had been given years earlier, when Isaiah solemnly prophesied, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. . . . He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:4-5, NIV).

Thank Him now for bearing God’s judgment that should have been yours!

From Just Give Me Jesus

I Thank God for you Regina, for all your help with posting updates and messages on Rapture Flight to Heaven. May your rewards in Heaven be many, and may I one day meet you in our heavenly home, via the Rapture.
Much love, and hugs, in Jesus. Valerie

:revolving_hearts: :latin_cross: :heartbeat: :place_of_worship:

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And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21)

Reflection
How beautiful! How simple! Amazingly, God pours forth all His mercy, love and great blessings to those who call upon His majestic name. By placing all faith in Christ, the believer is given the ultimate promise: glorious eternity with his Creator and Saviour. This demands praise and rejoicing to the Most High God. For He is worthy.


https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=84

God bless you Valerie, I hope to meet you too. It will be better by far where the Lord Jesus is present and righteousness, peace and love will be normal. down here, its another story

:bread: :wine_glass: its almost passover, I can't help but hope for this spring :cherry_blossom:

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For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. (Psalm 18:27)

Reflection
Humble are the people of God and they will be saved! Humble are they that trust upon Christ for they have given up hope in their own worth, power, and strength to sustain themselves. All will be saved who reject themselves and trust upon the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and deity of Christ Jesus. They shall taste the life everlasting!


https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=85

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God Lifts the Pressure
by Anne Graham Lotz

March 25

http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/

The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace. - Psalm 29:11, NKJV

Do you feel overwhelmed and smothered by pressure? Are you desperate for “breathing room”? Do you try to escape the stress through . . .

an extended vacation,

therapeutic counseling,

alcohol,

drugs,

entertainment, or

a romantic liaison . . .

only to find when you stop to assess your condition you are no better than you were before, because the pressure is from within?

Only God has the power to lift the pressure from within you. Your circumstances may remain the same, but He has the power to give you breathing room. He can give your spirit peace and rest, even as He gives your life a new dimension. Just ask Him.

From God's Story

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Set Free
by Anne Graham Lotz
March 26

http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/

You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. - Romans 6:18, NIV

With blood flowing from His wounds and streaming down His face from the thorns in His brow, Jesus stood before Pilate. As part of the Passover celebration, it was Pilate’s custom to release any prisoner the crowd chose. It just so happened that “at that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So . . . Pilate asked them, ‘Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus Who is called Christ?'” (Matt. 27:16-17, NIV)

The rulers shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” (John 18:40, NIV). Barabbas! Barabbas was a thief and a murderer and a rabble-rouser! The religious leaders of Israel were demanding that Barabbas be set free and Jesus be crucified. And so Barabbas became the first person to be set free by the death of Jesus.

Jesus died, not just in the place of Barabbas, but in your place and mine. Because He died, I am free! Free from my sin and its penalty.

From Just Give Me Jesus

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Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6)

Reflection
Try as we might, there is no human satisfaction to be found in earthly things. No created thing can hope to fill us, to complete us. For all created things are finite in their very nature. Yet our longing for satisfaction is infinite and therefore can only be filled by One infinite in nature. The righteous are those who are filled by the Spirit of God—they are, therefore, satisfied.


https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=86

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And this is the promise that he hath promised us, [even] eternal life. (1 John 2:25)

Reflection
God has promised us life after death-life forever with Him. Amen!


https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=87

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The Silence of God
by Anne Graham Lotz
March 27

http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/

He who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him. - Psalm 32:10, NKJV

Is God silent in your life? What prayers has He not answered for you?

At a time of unanswered prayer in my life years ago, my mother taught me the verse to a hymn that I still quote when I am totally baffled by events that seem to careen out of the orbit of what I have asked:

Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee,

Trust Him when thy strength is small,

Trust Him when to simply trust Him,

Seems the hardest thing of all.

Is your focus on your immediate need blinding you to a greater purpose that God is working out? Would you choose to be patient and simply trust Him? Sometimes God does not answer our immediate prayer because He has something greater in store for us.

From Pursuing MORE of Jesus

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Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:5)

Reflection
Throughout this life, we are kept safe by the power of God. All that we are is because of the power of God. The salvation that we have been given will never be complete until we reach heaven. We should strive towards that completion with all that we are.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=88

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Carrying the Cross
by Anne Graham Lotz
March 28

http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/

"Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." - Luke 14:27, NIV

Imagine what it would have been like to be Simon, and to have carried the Cross of Christ while following Him up Calvary.

What would it have been like to have shared in the humiliation of rejection as He was cast out of the city?

What would it have been like to have felt the sticky warmth of His blood from the Cross on your skin?

What would it have been like to have felt the encroaching horror as the place of execution neared?

What would it have been like to have looked up through the sweat that trickled down your face, and seen the executioners who stood waiting impassively with hammers in hand?

What would it have been like to have the burden of the Cross lifted from your back as someone said, “This is His Cross; you’re free to go now,” and He was nailed to it, not you?

From Just Give Me Jesus

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The Blood of Jesus
by Anne Graham Lotz
March 29

http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/

How much more . . . will the blood of Christ . . . cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death. - Hebrews 9:14, NIV

Do you know people who arrogantly insist that if their good works outweigh their bad works, God is somehow obligated to accept them? As you look around, what “fruit” do you see others bringing to the place of sacrifice instead of humbly approaching God through the blood of His Son? The “fruit” of

religious activity,

good works,

morality,

or philanthropy?

Many people do not want to come to the place of sacrifice, the Cross of Jesus Christ, because it intensifies the conviction of their own sin and judgment and is a reminder that heaven’s gate is closed to sinners. God warns that “a man is not justified by observing the law,” (Gal. 2:16, NIV) because “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” of sin (Heb. 9:22, NIV). So humble yourself, come to the Cross, and thank God for the blood of Jesus that is sufficient to forgive any and all sin.

From God's Story

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Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (James 4:10)

Reflection
This conditional promise can be misused by some who have ulterior motives, but when we truly humble ourselves in the Lord's sight it can in no way be for our own lifting up. True humility would put ourselves last and that is what makes this paradoxical truth so amazing. We cannot lift our own selves up; it is only God who is able to do that and He only does that when we are humbled before Him. We also saw this demonstrated in Christ who "humbled Himself to the point of death-even the death of the cross" yet "God exalted Him" (Philippians 2:8-9).

https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=89

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Clothed in His Righteousness

March 30

http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/

And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take. - Mark 15:24, NKJV

When Jesus finally arrived at the place of execution around nine o’clock in the morning, if His treatment followed standard procedure in those days, He was stripped of all His clothes. Possibly He was allowed to retain a loincloth.

Yet because Jesus was stripped “naked,” you and I can be clothed! The Bible tells us that all of our righteousness, including the very best things we ever do, are so permeated with sin and selfishness that they are like filthy rags in God’s sight (Isa. 64:6). But at the Cross, Jesus gave us His perfect, spotless robe of righteousness and took our filthy garments of sin in exchange (Phil. 3:9). On Judgment Day, you and I will be dressed in His righteousness before God because He wore the filthy garments of our sin. We will be clothed because He was stripped!

From Just Give Me Jesus

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More to Life

March 31

http://www.annegrahamlotz.org/category/messages-from-gods-word/joy-of-my-heart/

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. - John 10:10, NKJV

There is more to life . . .

than being healthy,

than being happy,

than being problem free,

than being comfortable,

than feeling good, than getting what we want,

than being healed.

There is more to life even than living!

And the “more to life” is the development of our faith to the extent that our very lives display God’s glory!

Jesus does not protect those He loves from bad things happening but uses bad things to fulfill His greater plan. He is glad, not that we suffer, but that we have the opportunity to grow in our faith and display His glory, which is the fulfillment of the very purpose for our existence. Don’t settle for less than more!

From Why?

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For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30)

Reflection
God chose those who would believe from the foundations of the world to be justified and glorified according to His purpose. Because God foreknew all things, there is nothing that can separate His children from His excellent love and grace. Even as evil powers come against us, we are made conquerors by the justification and glorification through the blood of Christ!

https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=90




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For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Reflection
By the miraculous coming of Christ, the kingdom of God was brought to man bestowing all His incredible peace and joy. His dominion shall never fade but continue to increase in all its glory and magnificence. Simply the establishment of His kingdom will proclaim righteousness and justice forevermore! Indeed, He is great and greatly to be praised!

https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/promises/index.cfm?doy=91