In His Hand

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one."  

~ John 10:27-30 ~

This is just such a wonderful scripture. It's such a comfort. It gives us a glorious promise that we, believers in Jesus Christ, have eternal life and will never be snatched out of Christ’s hand that holds us. What a reassuring promise! What a beautiful picture! We are safe in the hand of the omnipotent God and nothing can remove us from His grasp! 

The Greek word in John 10:28 used for pluck means to take by force or seize. Thus the word snatch in this verse is an action done without the consent of the recipient. In other words we could say that no one will kidnap, take by force, or seize us out of Christ’s hand. This is the promise Jesus gives us. However, we don’t live in God’s hand by default; we must choose to come to Him. As the psalmist wrote in Psalm 91:9-10...

"Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling."

 Does this mean that bad things will never happen to us? No, Christians are persecuted, martyred, and afflicted all the time. So what is the promise then? It’s that no evil shall befall us without our Heavenly Father’s permission.

By making God our dwelling place, we trust in His supreme sovereignty. He is more than able to take care of us, and the painful things that do come into our lives are lovingly filtered through His gentle fingers.

So I ask you….are YOU dwelling in God’s hand? Have YOU made Him your home and place of permanent residence?


There is no safer place to be than in the hands of the Almighty, Omnipotent, and Sovereign God. God, who has called you by name, is now inviting you into His sanctuary. It is an open invitation, and the only thing that can stop us is ourselves. Therefore, let us live in the Palm of His Hand! And let us make it our permanent and everlasting abode.

A Single Eye

--Written several years ago --- :)

Matthew 6:22 (emphasis added):
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. (KJV)


It's really important that this verse is read in the King James Version. This is one of the only translations that translates that word (I made it bold so you can see which one it is) as 'single'. (Most other translations translate it as 'good', 'healthy' or 'clear'.)

Anyway, this verse tells us that if our eye is single, our whole body will be full of light.

What do you suppose that means?

If your eye has a single focus, your whole body will be full of light. Single focus! Wow! 

So it's not saying that if our eyes are good and work as they are supposed to, we'll be able to see well. That's what a lot of people think. It's saying that if we have one goal in mind, if our eyes have a single focus, our whole body will be filled with light.

Now let's look at verse 23. "But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"

The Greek for that word I made bold is a word called poneros that can be translated to mean 'full of anxiety'. What happens if we are full of anxiety?

Our eyes flit around here, there and everywhere. We start looking in lots of directions. Isn't that the exact opposite of what we should have: an eye with a single focus?

I want to put it to you this afternoon that our single focus should be Jesus.

Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV (emphasis added):

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Blessings to you all!
Bonnie

Interview :: Mrs. Heather C

Remember this post a couple months ago? Today, we have our first interview to share with you! A huge thanks to my dear mother for joining us for this interview. :) 

~*~*~*~

JOJ (Rachel): Thank you for joining us today, Mom! :) Can you please share a bit about yourself to our readers?

Mrs. C: I am the very happy wife to my dear husband. We have been married almost 20 years. God has been very good to us and has entrusted us with 8 children. I am passionate about making our house a home of rest, creating an environment full of creativity, joy and a home where God is sought, taught, and glorified.

Rachel: Thank you! :) Now, on to address some questions our readers have submitted. What is the most encouraging thing that has ever been said to you?

Mrs. C: Probably when you said I was your best friend ~ it is the desire of every mother to have her daughter's (and children's) heart.

Rachel:  Could you share any tips you might have for time management?

Mrs. C: Conquer the procrastination monster. Say NO to being away from home for everything. Get rid of excess! Minimize and you will be so surprised how much smoother and easier it is to live a fully and truly happy life. You will enjoy cleaning! :) Also, go to bed before 10:30 pm. Stay off the computer. An orderly life is priority ~ NOT the computer. That is only after our tasks and responsibility are done well.

Rachel: What is the best thing you think a young lady can do with her time?

Mrs. C: Here are two things: Seek Jesus and HIS will for your life. Serve your family and church families...Ask mother how she needs you to help the most.

Rachel: Thank you so much for joining us today! Do you have any closing exhortation to share with us young ladies?

Mrs. C: True contentment is great gain. Live the life God has given you and desire to be content. If you are discontent with parents, family, and direction your life is headed, Seek Jesus like you never have before. Everything will fall into place. Grace, Peace, and Joy to you!

Mommy, sister, and I :)

Stay tuned ~ We hope to have an interview with a sweet young lady out before too many months! ;)

The God-shaped Hole

I've seen many searching for answers far and wide
But I know we're all searching for answers only you can provide
'cause you know just what we need before we even say a word
- lyrics from 'Good Good Father' by Housefires


It's funny, isn't it, how people the world over are searching for answers here, there and everywhere. They want meaning. They want purpose. They want something more in the their lives.

Sometimes they have tried God. They may have had preconceived ideas of what He is like, or they may have encountered obstacles or things that put roadblocks in their minds. But they leave Him and try elsewhere for answers. They haven't earnestly sought Him with every ounce of their soul and committed to finding Him. If their hearts are lukewarm, their experience of God may be lukewarm and so they leave again, frustrated.

Sometimes they haven't tried God. They know there's an emptiness inside them that they were designed to have filled. So they search for meaning, purpose, something... to fill the void inside. To find answers to their questions. They might try new age, astrology, buddism, humanism, atheism... whatever it is, it won't be satisfying and fulfilling.

Because nothing in life is satisfying and fulfilling. Each human born onto this earth was created with a God-shaped hole in their hearts that only God Himself can fill. God is the only one that can absolutely fulfill and satisfy. To answer all our questions, to provide meaning, richness and purpose in life.

It's only God who can do it. Only God. Nothing else.

Whatsoever.

What Faith Is

Can I really?

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13

I KNOW THIS IS GOD’S REALITY FOR ME!

Lately, God has been teaching me a lot about trusting Him for strength. In June of this year I signed up for the National Bible Bee. Although I’ve competed for the past three years, I’ve never made it beyond the state level. This year I was hoping to make it to nationals – but I felt so out of focus. I lacked concentration when I studied, and I was soooo busy,

Then July came. Four of my siblings and I were supposed to volunteer at a summer camp. I was super excited about the trip when, the night before we were scheduled to leave, I got really sick. I had really, really wanted to go and I felt like God had let me down… I prayed and prayed that I would wake up the next morning and be well enough to go, but it just didn’t happen. Instead, I spent the next week in bed.

That morning as my siblings pulled out of the driveway without me, my sister leaned out the window and said, “Beth, maybe God is keeping you home from camp because you need the time to study; you’ll probably make it to Nationals!” I shook my head and thought, “No way am I going to make it… I’m only a few weeks away from my test and nowhere near ready.”

Time flew and before I knew it, the test day was only a week away. I felt so unprepared, I almost gave up altogether; but a dear friend of mine talked to me into persevering. She told me I had committed to compete and I shouldn’t’ be a quitter. I knew she was right.

During the last seven days of study, I began to pray. I prayed really hard that God would show me exactly what to study in the little time I had left. When testing day arrived, I felt completely at peace. I wasn’t nervous at all, even though I had not completed all of the study I had wanted to get done.

I WAS READY TO DO MY BEST, AND TRUST GOD FOR THE REST.

I had a lot of people praying for me that day. As I took the test, God brought all the things He had been teaching me to mind. As I clicked the “finish” button on my test,  I somehow felt like it had gone really well. In fact, I even dared to hope that maybe I had a shot at getting to nationals after all.

A week later I went to the Bible Bee awards ceremony to receive my score. I had been praying all week that God would help me to be content with where he had placed me – whether I got to go to Nationals or not. As the host read off the scores I waited for my placing fully expecting that I either wouldn’t make it all, or that if I did I would be #120 (the lowest position which can qualify). Then they said my name, followed by “you placed #88 in the nation.”

I WAS LITERALLY JUMPING UP AND DOWN… I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT.

Here I was, ready to give up altogether, discouraged because I had missed camp…shaking my head in disbelief when my sister had suggested that maybe God was keeping me home so I could study… and now I was on my way to nationals!

I wasn’t ready when testing day came along, but God showed me that He can take my weaknesses and use His strength to show himself strong. As Christians when we are facing an “impossible” task, we don’t need to fear because we serve a God who does the “impossible” all the time.

“For we know that with men this is impossible. But with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

A huge thank you to my dear friend, Bethany Stelzl, for sharing with us. :) I am so excited that we made it to Nationals together...I can't wait to compete with you in November! :D Bethany occasionally blogs over at 1 Love for Christ. 

Photo Credit: Flickr

Fear of the Future

I was talking to a friend a few months ago, and I was surprised to discover that he was actually afraid of the future at times. I was only surprised because I suffered from that same fear (and still do, sometimes) not very long ago.

I meant to post this sooner, but I actually forgot all about it. Sorry! I don't know how many others out there are afraid of the future, but for those who are, I hope this is helpful in some small way.

My fear of the future consisted of being worried whenever I'd hear someone reading in the book of Revelation. I didn't like hearing about the antichrist, or verses where it talked about anything bad happening to the church. I got worried when I thought about what might happen in the future. Because I like to know what's going to happen. And I don't know what's going to happen in the future.

It got so bad that I'd purposefully try not to think about the future. If I heard someone talking about it, I'd purposefully try not to listen because I didn't want to hear about it and be scared. I didn't think of it as a 'fear' as such, just something I didn't like to think about.

Until I realized it was a full-blown fear. I'd blown it way out of proportion. Sure, some uncomfortable things may end up happening to me, and sure, I might not like them very much, but the truth of the matter is that God is in control, whatever happens. And I can trust Him. It sounds so easy and simple, and it's difficult to believe because we like to have our fingers in every pie, so to speak. We like to have our futures under our control.

And something we have to accept is that our future is not in our control. If we have a fear about the future, the only way we will be delivered from the fear is to speak the truth. And the truth in this situation is that God is in control. We have to accept that He's in charge. We have to give him the reigns and say, "Lord, I have a fear of my future. I'm struggling to trust you and I'm struggling to trust that you have a good plan for my future. I'm struggling to accept everything you have planned for me.  But I want to trust you. Help me to trust you and give me a peace that whatever happens comes from you. Replace all my wrong thoughts with the truth. I choose to believe in the truth of your word no matter what my mind tells me. I love you and know that you have a good plan for my life. Amen."

You might not feel very confident after praying that prayer. But you'll need to consciously pray something along those lines every time you experience fear or doubt about the future. Every time you face fear, pray, give the fear to God, and leave it with him. He can handle it. And then eventually, when you think of it, you'll feel peace, because you'll know he's in charge.

Something I did when I had fear of the future is to write up a whole lot of inspiring verses about not being afraid, and having peace through trusting Jesus. Then I'd go back through the list of verses (I have them sitting here in front of me, actually) and read them aloud, declaring the promises of Jesus. That helped me not feel so fearful. My list is like three whole pages long.

Maybe doing something like that will help for you. Here are five or six of my very favourite 'do not fear' verses, copied straight off the list in front of me.


Psalm 3:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

Exodus 14:13-14
Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

Deut 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Psalm 27:1-3
The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.

Daniel 10:19
"Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed," he said. "Peace! Be strong now; be strong."

Isaiah 43:1-3
Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts you.


In summary, here's my list of things I recommend to do when you feel fear for the future (or any fear of anything at all, for that matter!)

• Pray, give your fear to the Lord, and ask Him to fill you with His peace.
• Go into Scripture. Read over your list of encouraging and inspiring verses for situations like this.
• Believe the truth. Don't tell yourself that the future is scary, because it isn't. I heard somewhere that worry is fear of the future without God in it.
• Know that others before you have struggled with this. I have, and still do, sometimes.
• Remember that  no matter what happens, God's in charge, and he will never let you down.
• Put a smile on your face and go to meet your fears with the confidence that God's sovereignty brings!