Safe in the arms of Jesus!

Safe in the arms of Jesus!

Are you safe in Him? Have you trusted in the finished work of Christ on the cross? Your sin debt was paid in full by One who was literally dying to know you! Jesus paid it all my friend, but you cannot experience this freedom until you come to Him in full surrender. He is patiently waiting for you now, “…not willing that ANY should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) 

“For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:24-28, ESV) 

Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe on His gentle breast;
There by His love o’ershaded,
Sweetly my soul shall rest.
Hark! ’tis the voice of angels
Borne in a song to me,
Over the fields of glory,
Over the jasper sea.

Refrain:
Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe on His gentle breast;
There by His love o’ershaded,
Sweetly my soul shall rest.

Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe from corroding care,
Safe from the world’s temptations;
Sin cannot harm me there.
Free from the blight of sorrow,
Free from my doubts and fears;
Only a few more trials,
Only a few more tears!

Jesus, my heart’s dear Refuge,
Jesus has died for me;
Firm on the Rock of Ages
Ever my trust shall be.
Here let me wait with patience,
Wait till the night is o’er;
Wait till I see the morning
Break on the golden shore.

-Frances J. Crosby

Are you saved?

“You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—

In these ways we continue;

And we need to be saved.” (Isaiah 64:5) 🙇‍♀️

 “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31)

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:17, 18) 

“Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:22)

I once was blind

As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.

And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”

And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.

So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. (Mark 10:46-52)

Just as Jesus gave physical sight to blind Bartimaeus, so He offers spiritual sight to you and I. Hear Him asking, “What do you want me to do for you?” The only appropriate answer is to cry out, “Lord, that I may receive my sight!” Notice that it was his faith that made him well. Faith in the Son of God. 

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8, 9) 

“Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:13, 17)

The disease of sin

I’ve been a nurse now for, going on 21 years. I’ve seen a lot of diseases, and there are some pretty awful ones, but the worse disease that I know of is sin in the human heart, for it separates us from God! 

But we can give thanks to the Lord for the remedy He has provided in the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, for ALL who believe! 

Have you put your trust in Him? Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) 

“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.” (Mark 7:21-22) 

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) 

Jesus answered and said to him, (Nicodemus) “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

“For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” -Jesus (Matthew 26:28)

“…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Luke 5:32)

“…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

“…the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

The hem of His garment

Jesus, the wonderful One! More importantly than any physical healing though, ❤️‍🩹 is the spiritual healing He came to give! “By His stripes we are healed…,” (Isaiah 53:5) indeed, the forgiveness of our sins! 

“Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13) Reach out to Him by faith my friend! 

Then they came to Him, (Jesus) bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 

And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. 

So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. 

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 

But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?

“Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”--He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 

Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

-Mark 2:3-12

What shall it profit?

If I gained the world, but lost the Saviour,

Were my life worth living for a day?

Could my yearning heart find rest and comfort

In the things that soon must pass away?

If I gained the world, but had no Saviour,

Would my gain be worth the lifelong strife?

Are all earthly pleasures worth comparing

For a moment with a Christ-filled life?

Had I wealth and love in fullest measure,

And a name revered both far and near,

Yet no hope beyond, no harbor waiting,

Where my storm-tossed vessel I could steer;

If I gained the world, but had no Saviour,

Who endured the cross and died for me,

Could then all the world afford a refuge,

Whither, in my anguish, I might flee?

O what emptiness!— without the Savior

’Mid the sins and sorrows here below!

And eternity, how dark without Him!

Only night and tears and endless woe!

What, tho' I might live without the Saviour,

When I come to die, how would it be?

O to face the valley’s gloom without Him!

And without Him all eternity!

O the joy of having all in Jesus!

What a balm the broken heart to heal!

Ne’er a sin so great, but He’ll forgive it,

Nor a sorrow that He does not feel!

If I have but Jesus, only Jesus,

Nothing else in all the world beside—

O then ev'rything is mine in Jesus;

For my needs and more He will provide.

-Anna Ölander (1904)

Redeemed

No greater joy my friend, than to be REDEEMED, bought back, ransomed, set free! 

“…knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood 🩸 of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19) 

Blind Fanny Crosby had these beautiful words published in 1882,

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;

Redeemed through His infinite mercy,

His child and forever I am.

Refrain:

Redeemed, redeemed,

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;

Redeemed, redeemed,

His child and forever I am.

Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus,

No language my rapture can tell;

I know that the light of His presence (Psalm 16:11) With me doth continually dwell.

I think of my blessed Redeemer,

I think of Him all the day long:

I sing, for I cannot be silent;

His love is the theme of my song.

I know I shall see in His beauty

The King in whose law I delight;

Who lovingly guardeth my footsteps,

And giveth me songs in the night.

I know there’s a crown that is waiting

In yonder bright mansion for me,

And soon, with the spirits made perfect,

At home with the Lord I shall be.

Brokenness

Our world is broken. Broken homes, broken relationships, broken hearts. 

Even as I layed down to sleep tonight, I could hear shouting from the apartment above me, and then these words, “GET OUT!”  

There is only one remedy for our broken World. Found in a person. Found in Christ Jesus. The One who came into the world to save sinners. (1 Timothy 1:15) The One who will never cast out those who come to Him! (John 6:37) The One who was broken for us, for me, for you. 

Jesus from the cross would say, “Reproach has broken my heart, And I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” (Psalms 69:20, 21) 

If anyone understands brokenness, it is my Saviour, and thankfully, “He is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) 

The words from the following song say it so well, 

I'm forgiven because you were forsaken

I'm accepted, you were condemned

I'm alive and well

Your spirit is within me

Because you died and rose again

Amazing love how can it be

That you, my king would die for me

Amazing love, I know its true

It's my joy to honor you

Amazing love how can it be?

That you, my king, would die for me

Amazing love, I know its true

Its my joy to honor you

In all I do I honor you

You are my king

You are my king

Jesus, You are my king

Jesus, You are my king

-Chris Tomlin 

Longings

Longings. We all have them, but to what or to whom do we turn to get them met? Unless we are looking to the Lord to meet our needs, we will be disappointed every time, “For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” (Psalms 107:9) Clara T. Williams understood this when she wrote these words in 1875, 

All my life I had a longing

For a drink from some clear spring,

That I hoped would quench the burning

Of the thirst I felt within.

Refrain:

Hallelujah! I have found Him

Whom my soul so long has craved!

Jesus satisfies my longings,

Through His blood I now am saved.

Feeding on the husks around me,

Till my strength was almost gone,

Longed my soul for something better,

Only still to hunger on.

Poor I was, and sought for riches,

Something that would satisfy,

But the dust I gathered round me

Only mocked my soul’s sad cry.

Well of water, ever springing,

Bread of life so rich and free,

Untold wealth that never faileth,

My Redeemer is to me.

In a Fog!

Last night I was driving in deep, dark fog. I could hardly see the road in front of me. This morning the world was bright and full of light, and beauty! 

All I could think of was the words of Jesus who said, “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.” (John 12:46-46) 

“God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5) 

The Psalmist said of God’s word, “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.” (Psalm 119:130)

If you are looking for light in your soul my friend, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace!” 🎵 

“Those who look to the Lord are radiant!” (Psalm 34:5)