A Life that Has a Great Reward

The Lord offers a great reward to the person who will obey Him and keep his commandments.

Psalm 19:7-11 The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.

Not only is there a great reward for keeping His commandments but the Lord says that your soul will be restored, you will receive wisdom, your heart will rejoice and your eyes will be enlightened. Do you need healing in your soul or wisdom and joy? Do you want insight? Then you must keep His commandments. You will have a great reward.

Matthew 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

If and when you keep His commandments you will be persecuted. Again, your reward will be great and when you see the Lord you will only wish that you had obeyed more than you did. Do not fear. He will be with you.

Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

When you love your enemies then you will have a great reward. Trust the Lord and do what He says. You will be glad.

Hebrews 10:35,36 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

Keep trusting Him and do not throw away your confidence in Him. When you have done the will of God for your life then you will receive what He has promised. His promises are sure. So, there are three things that if you do you will receive a great reward and these are keeping his commandments, being persecuted for your faith, loving your enemies and keeping your confidence in Christ who is faithful.

 

A Life that Is Strong

The Lord says that the one whose strength is in Him is blessed. The only way to be truly strong is to be strong in the Lord. You will be blessed if your strength is not in yourself but in the Lord.

Psalm 84:5 How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
In whose heart are the highways to Zion!

It is His command that we be strong in the Lord and that it should be in the strength of His might.

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

He must be our strength and the sooner that we realize it the more we will quit trying to be strong in ourselves.

Psalm 18:1 “I love You, O Lord, my strength.”

It is in our weakness that His power is perfected. He is glorified in our weakness.

II Corinthians 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

The Bible says woe to those who put their strength in anything other than the Lord.

Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord!

How do we become strong in the Lord. It is when we acknowledge our weakness to Him. A prayer that you can pray says, “Lord, I can’t, You never said I could, You can and You always said You would.” The Lord wants to help you. He is a very present help and is waiting for you to ask Him for help. Humility is acknowledging that you can not do it. His grace is available to all who call on Him. Ask Him today to help you do what He wants you to do.

Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Life that is Fulfilled

A life that is fulfilled is a life that is full. It is a life that is overflowing. A life apart from the filling of the Holy Spirit is a life that is empty. It may be full of something else but whatever else it is filled with it will leave an emptiness and a lack of satisfaction. If it is filled with yourself then your life will be miserable. If it is filled with the pursuit of money then it will leave you with the feeling of never enough. If it is filled with wine and other mind numbing substances then it will also leave you with a deeper emptiness after whatever it is wears off. The Lord said to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

The word dissipation means self indulgence or wasteful expenditure. The Lord wants us to be filled with Him and the way that we are filled with Him is to be filled with His Spirit. Any intoxication of anything artificial means is a self indulgence and is a substitute to being filled with the Lord.

Habakkuk 2:5 Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man, So that he does not stay at home. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied.

Anything that we look to fulfill us or that controls us is an idol and will blind us to the truth of the One who is the true God.

Psalm 115:4-8 Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of man’s hands.
They have mouths, but they cannot speak;
They have eyes, but they cannot see;
They have ears, but they cannot hear;
They have noses, but they cannot smell;
They have hands, but they cannot feel;
They have feet, but they cannot walk;
They cannot make a sound with their throat.
Those who make them will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.

All other gods can not speak, see, hear, smell, feel or walk. If we trust in anything other than the Lord then we will become blind and will not see Him and we will become deaf to the things of the Lord and will no longer hear His voice. We will not feel because our heart will become hardened. We will have feet but we will not go where we need to go. We will become like what we trust in.

Joel 2:19 The Lord will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied in full with them; And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations.

Trust Him to fill you. He wants to supply your needs. He will also satisfy you and you will be full. He will not let you be put to shame. He loves you. Trust Him to fulfill not only your needs but your desires.

Joel 2:26 “You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame.

The one who is right with the Lord is considered righteous and that one will be glad in the Lord. Your life will be full and meaningful and you will have the glory of the Lord.

Psalm 64:10 The righteous man will be glad in the Lord and will take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will glory.

 

 

 

A Life that is Greatly Loved

You are greatly loved if you belong to Him and if you have not yet given your life to Him then He wants to love you greatly. The Lord says that “Today” is the day of salvation so if you have not yet surrendered your life to Him then today is a great day to become born again into His family.

I John 3:1,2 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

This is one of the most beautiful verses because it talks about His great love that He has bestowed on us that we are called His children. He has adopted us because He felt compassion for us and sent His Son to die for us so that we might live forever with Him. He wants you and me! Can there be a greater privilege than to be called by His name and to be His beloved? No, it is a great love that He has bestowed on us. This is the Father’s greatest expression of love, to send His Son to die for you so that you might become His child and be called by His name.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

There is no greater love that Jesus could have shown you than to go to the cross for you and take your punishment that you deserve and then to forgive you. Amazing love that we can not fully comprehend.

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

The Father calls you His child and Jesus calls you His friend. You are a friend of God! Amazing love that we can only accept.

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

The Holy Spirit has been sent to live in our hearts and to communicate the love of God and to lead us into the truth. He is our guide and comforter. He communicates the love of the Father and the Son to us. He is part of the trinity and He is God and can be grieved.

Deuteronomy 33:26-29 “There is none like the God of Jeshurun,
Who rides the heavens to your help,
And through the skies in His majesty.
“The eternal God is a dwelling place,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;
And He drove out the enemy from before you,
And said, ‘Destroy!’
 “So Israel dwells in security,
The fountain of Jacob secluded,
In a land of grain and new wine;
His heavens also drop down dew.
“Blessed are you, O Israel;
Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,
Who is the shield of your help
And the sword of your majesty!
So your enemies will cringe before you,
And you will tread upon their high places.”

You are Jeshurun if you given your life to Him. Jeshurun is another word for Israel, “His people”, and if you belong to Him then you have been adopted into His family and you are one of His people.  He rides the heavens to your help. Underneath you are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you so that you may dwell in security. You are so blessed and there is none like you, saved by the Lord. He is the your shield and sword. Your enemies are defeated because of Him and you will tread them down. You are greatly loved and this love is offered to everyone but only those who receive His Son, Jesus Christ, will experience this love.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

For God so loved you…that He gave His Son, so that you might become His child and live in His love for all eternity. See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us that He has called us His child! We belong to Him.

 

A Life that is Holy

The Lord has made clear to us His command in that He wants us to be holy.

I Peter 1:14-16 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

As noted this command is only for His children for those who do not belong to Him can not be holy. You can only be holy if you have the Holy One dwelling within you. However, if you are His child, then He expects you to be holy. It is a testimony of your obedience to Him. Is there anything in your life that would be considered unholy? If Jesus returned at any moment would He find you doing something that you would be ashamed of or wearing clothes that were shameful, in other words, clothes that could cause a man to desire you physically? Is your speech holy? What about what you laugh at or the movies you watch or the music you listen to…would Jesus engage in these activities? The Lord is holy and wants His children to be holy. He told His people in the Old and the New testaments that they were to be holy.

Exodus 22:31a You shall be holy men to Me,

The only way that you can be holy is if you regard the Lord as holy. He is to be your fear and He is to be your dread. If He is these things to you then He will become your sanctuary. He will be a refuge for those who regard Him as holy. If you do not regard Him as holy then His Words will become a stumbling block to you.

Isaiah 8:13-15 “It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy.
And He shall be your fear,
And He shall be your dread.
“Then He shall become a sanctuary;
But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over,
And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
“Many will stumble over them,
Then they will fall and be broken;
They will even be snared and caught.”

God the Father is holy, Jesus is holy and the Spirit is called the Holy Spirit. Everything about God is holy. He wants you to be holy.

Luke 1:35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

It is our unbelief that causes us to not treat God as holy. It is our unbelief that prevents us from entering and living in the promised land. However, regardless of how we treat the Lord, He still proves Himself to be holy amongst us.

Numbers 20:12,13 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” Those were the waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them.

For what reason does the Lord want us to be holy and why does He prove Himself to be holy amongst us in the sight of others? It is because he wants the world to know that He is the Lord. When you are not holy then the world can say that God must not be real because “they are no different than us who do not claim to follow God”.

Ezekiel 36:23 I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight.

When we are God’s people and represent Him as a holy people then we will be a soothing aroma to Him.

Ezekiel 20:41 As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will prove Myself holy among you in the sight of the nations.

Therefore, as an obedient child, do not be conformed to this world but present yourself to Him as a living and holy sacrifice, which He has promised to accept.

Romans 12:1,2 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Now this is truly grace. For it is by grace that we have been saved through faith and not of ourselves. It is by grace through faith that we offer ourselves to Him. And He accepts us! What an incredible privilege and gift!

Ephesians 2:8  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

A Life that Resists

The devil has already been defeated but he is still trying to cause as much grief as he can. For this reason he is called the evil one. The word evil means to cause grief and the Bible says that hell is one of the things that is never satisfied. Sheol is another word for hell.

Proverbs 27:20a Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,

Satan is going to be cast into hell with all the demons and he is trying to take as many people as possible.

Matthew 25:41 Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;

As mentioned earlier the devil was defeated when Christ went to the cross. This was spoken of in Genesis and is the first reference to Jesus Christ coming. He came to bruise the devil on the head.

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

The Bible says that the devil roams to and fro throughout the earth looking for someone to destroy.

I Peter 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Satan comes like a thief, when you least expect him and when you are at a weak moment. If he can not rob you of salvation then he will seek to rob you of your joy and cause you to be a defeated Christian. Christians are defeated when they compromise.

John 10:10a The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

Christians are useless in the kingdom of God when they compromise. A stream that has been trampled by animals is worthless to drink out of and so is a polluted well.

Proverbs 25:26 Like a trampled spring and a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

However, the Lord tells us to resist the devil and he will flee.

I Peter 5:9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

We resist the devil through the Word of God. It is the sword of the Spirit and Jesus Himself used the Word of God when He was tempted by the devil.

Matthew 4:3-10 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” Then the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, He will command His angels concerning You’; and‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”

After you have suffered a little while then the Lord Himself will come to you and comfort you. Resist the devil by keeping firm in your faith and standing on the Word of God. Don’t compromise. Cry out to the Lord to help you. Quote the Word of God out loud or read it out loud.

I Peter 5:10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

After you have seen His love and faithfulness you will be strengthened in your faith and now you are to strengthen and encourage other Christians. We need each other.

Luke 22:31,32 Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

Jesus is praying for you that your faith will not fail.

 

 

 

 

A Life with A Hope

Christians are the only ones who have a hope in this life and a promise for the life to come. The Lord has caused us to born again to a living hope.

I Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Since you have a hope, the Lord tells us to fix our hope completely on the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

I Peter 1:13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The Lord wants us to be ready always to give an account of the hope that is within us, which is Jesus Christ. Do you know how to share the Gospel with someone who does not have that hope? The word Gospel means good news. You have good news that you can share because you have hope. The world is hopelessly lost and many do not even realize it. They will spend eternity in hell because Jesus Christ is the only hope for eternal life.

I Peter 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

Hold fast to the Lord so that you also will be faithful to the end. He is our confidence and hope, but we must cling to Him.

Hebrews 3:6 but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.

The hope that we have is sure and steadfast. Jesus is the anchor of your soul.

Hebrews 6:19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,

If you find yourself filled with doubts and fears then go to Him. He will calm your soul and hold you up. He never changes and is faithful to the end.

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;

The Lord wants us to look to Him and to be looking for Him, who is coming again.

Titus 2:13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,

Are you ready for His return? Will He find you being faithful to Him and doing the work that He has called you to do? If He came at any moment in your life would you be ashamed in anyway? Just as the bride lives for the moment that she will be with the bridegroom so we too are to live for the moment that we see Him face to face.

I John 3:2,3 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

This will help you live a pure and holy life…if you are living for when you will see Him face to face. If your heart is pure then you will be ready when He comes for you and not only that, but you will see Him before He comes for the Lord Himself said, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”.

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

 

 

A Life that Is Not Afraid

Fear can be such a debilitating thing for a young lady and for any one else who struggles with it. He knows our weakness and our tendencies and He comforts us and helps us. However, we need to know what He says.

I John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

Fear is a symptom of a deeper problem. If we truly fear the Lord and trust in Him then we have no reason to fear. When we fear it is because there is something that has not been resolved in our life. He came to cast out our fears. God allows situations in our life so that we will learn to fear Him. If we fear the Lord, as He has commanded us, then we need not fear anything or anyone else.

Exodus 20:20 Moses, said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain in you, so that you may not sin.”

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil and when you fear Him then you will hate sin. You will not take it lightly and say, “Well, there is grace, and He has forgiven me.” No, rather, you will grieve as if you have hurt someone you love and who loves you. If there is no grieving over your sin then there is little fear of the Lord.

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way. The perverted mouth, I hate.

Do you take lightly your words. Do you say “OMG”? That is a great offense to the Lord. If you do not fear Him then you have great reason to be afraid. He is coming and you will have to give an account of every word that you have spoken. Repent now, while there is hope.

Hebrews 12:17 For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

He has come to you if you are a Christian and He will never leave you or forsake you. However, do not take lightly His Words and see to it that you do not neglect learning His Word. He has spoken to you and He requires repentance.

Hebrews 12:25 See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking, For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised saying, “YET ONCE MORE, I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH BUT THE HEAVEN.”

Fear the Lord and you will not fear anything else.

 

 

A Life with a Surety

A surety is a guarantee of something. For this reason the Lord says to never become surety for someone else’s debts. However, the Lord has given us a surety for our salvation, that He will come back for us. We can know for sure that we have an eternal home with Him.

I John 5:6-12This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son.The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

The water means that He was born into this world as a human being.For this reason the Lord says that someone must be born of water to become a Christian. This is the actual physical birth. Someone must be born physically to be able to be born again spiritually.

John 3:8 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.

The blood is the testimony of the cross that He died and rose again.

I Corinthians 15:3-6 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;

The testimony of God is when He spoke from heaven that Jesus was His beloved Son. These are all in agreement that Jesus is the Son of God.

Matthew 3:17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

However, for those who believe in Him, He has also given another testimony and that is His Holy Spirit. His Spirit bears witness with our Spirit that we are His child.

Romans 8:16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,

He is coming again and will come for those who believe in Him.

I Thessalonians 4:14-17 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

We have the testimony and we have the surety of our salvation. When He comes again for those who belong to Him we have the promise that He will take us with Him. The guarantee of our salvation is the Holy Spirit that He gives to us when we become a Christian.

Ephesians 1:13,14 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

You belong to Him if His Spirit lives within you. If you do not know if the Holy Spirit is within you then there is a possibility that He has not come to live within you. Give your life to Him and ask Him to come in and take possession of your life. You can trust Him completely. He loves you perfectly. You can know for sure that you are His if you have Jesus living in you through the Holy Spirit.

I John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

 

 

 

 

A Life that Is Found

The Lord says that the one who seeks finds. Just make sure that you are seeking the right things in life.

Matthew 18:11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

He came to seek and to save that which is lost and that is us.

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

There is great joy in heaven when one of His sheep is found. We too, if we belong to Him should greatly rejoice when there is one who repents and comes to Him.

Matthew 15:3-7 So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the [b]open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Do you still think about how He saved you? Is it still your favorite story of when the One who loves you so much found you?

Luke 15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

You are His treasure that He left heaven so that He might find you. He was rich but became poor so that He might buy you back. You were bought with a price and that price was the precious blood of Christ. He sold everything that He might gain you. He paid for the field that He might have you. If you were the only one on earth then He still would have died for you.

Matthew 13:44 The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

You are His pearl of great value. He died for the whole world so that you could be bought. He paid for the sins of the whole world so that you might come to Him and belong to Him.

Matthew 13:45,46 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

You are the good fish if you have come to Him. There will be much weeping and gnashing of teeth when those who belong to Him are separated from those who do not belong to Him. You may think that it is not fair but He died for you so that you might belong to Him and be saved from eternal hell. Come to Him now while you can.

I Corinthians 7:23a You were bought with a price;

You were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. He appeared in these last times for your sake, that you might be found in Christ. He is coming again to claim His own. Does He have a claim on you?

I Peter 1:18-20 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you