I Am Able To Keep You From ...

I AM ABLE TO KEEP YOU FROM Stumbling.  I know how weak you are:  how easily you would stumble if I were not holding on to you.  I can also present you faultless before the Presence of My Glory.  You are growing in grace, but complete freedom from sin will not be possible till you leave this fallen world.  Nonetheless, because you truly trust Me as Savior I keep you from stumbling in the ultimate sense:  I won't let you lose your salvation.

I am able to present you faultless - blameless, perfect, unblemished - before the Presence of My Glory because I have clothed you with garments of salvation and arrayed you in a robe of righteousness.  I want you to wear this royal robe with confidence.  You are absolutely secure because it is My righteousness that saves you - not yours.

Exceeding Joy is for both you and me.  I delight in you now, but this Joy will be astronomically magnified when you join Me in Glory.  The Joy you will experience in heaven is so far beyond anything you have known on earth that it is indescribable.  Nothing can rob you of this glorious inheritance, which is imperishable and will not fade away.  Rejoice!

- Jesus

(Jesus Lives / Sarah Young)

Scripture Insight:  Jude 24:25; Isaiah 61:10 and 1 Peter 1:3-4

Though You May Not Be Much Of A ...

THOUGH YOU MAY NOT BE MUCH OF A Risk Taker, be willing to go out on a limb with Me.  If that is where I am leading you, it is the safest place to be.  I want you to follow wherever I lead- even if it's out of your comfort zone.  I will help you learn to follow me confidently rather than fearfully.

Bring all your fears to Me.  Fears that are not dealt with tend to magnify themselves.  Expose them to the revealing Light of My Presence, and they will shrink to manageable proportions.  Some of them may even appear comical in this Light.

As fearfulness loosens its grip on you, you are freed to follow Me.  Grasp My hand tightly as we edge our way onto the limb.  Since I go before you in this adventure, you can keep your eyes on Me as you step out in faith.  Soon we will get to a resting place, and then you can look back and see how far you have already come.  While gripping My hand to steady yourself, dare to venture a look toward the horizon; enjoy the view from this new perspective!

You are actually safer here - out on this limb with Me - than you would be on the ground.  In this new, challenging environment you stay alert: communicating with Me continually, holding My hand for support.  Overly familiar surroundings may feel more secure, but they can lull you into sleepy self-reliance.  That is when you tend to forget about Me; it's also when you are most likely to fall.  Follow Me confidently wherever I lead, and the shelter of My Presence will keep you safe.

- Jesus

(Jesus Lives / Sarah Young)

Scripture Insight:  Psalm 37:23-24; Hebrews 12:2 and Psalm 31:20

The More Intimately You Experience ...

THE MORE INTIMATELY YOU EXPERIENCE Me, the more convinced you become of My goodness.  You've known this intellectually for years, having been taught since childhood that I am good. However, that teaching did not change you significantly.  Eventually you became a Christian and tasted goodness, yet it was only a taste because you still did not know Me very deeply.  As a result, when things went badly in your life, you tended to resent My ways with you.  Only when you began investing time in seeking My Face did you start to know Me intimately. 

You are on a quest to know Me more fully, but I have actually been pursuing you for quite some time.  Long before you became a believer, I was working to reveal Myself to you.  I placed experiences in our life that exposed your deep need to know Me.  I brought you people in whom you could see the Light of My Presence.  Even after you trusted Me as Savior I continued to pursue your heart, which was divided between Me and worldly goals.  Finally, you began seeking Me with your whole heart, and I rejoiced!

Your wholeheartedness has opened the way for genuine intimacy between us.  You have tasted My goodness, and you want more.  I have responded to this desire in several ways:  I've allowed suffering in your life so that you can learn to trust Me more.  Also, I have blessed you with intimate experiences of My Presence - to boost your confidence in My perfection.  My goal is for you to become so convinced of My goodness that nothing can shake your trust in Me.  Then, your soul will be deeply satisfied as with the richest of foods.

- Jesus

(Jesus Lives / Sarah Young)

Scripture Insight:  Psalm 34:8; Jeremiah 29:13; Psalm 19:2
and Psalm 63:5

Forget The Former Things; Do Not Dwell On The ...

FORGET THE FORMER THINGS; DO NOT DWELL ON THE Past.  See, I am doing a new thing!  I am a God of surprises - infinitely more creative than you can imagine.  The universe displays some of My creativity, but there is more - much more.  I am making a new heaven and a new earth.  Moreover, I am preparing My people - all around the world - to live there with Me in endless ecstasy.  Let this eternal perspective strengthen and encourage you.

As you journey along your life - path with Me, refuse to let the past define you or your expectations of what lies ahead.  You may feel as if the road you are on is tiresome or even a dead end.  That is because you are projecting the past into the future.  The roadblock you are straining to see up ahead is really just an illusion.  The future is in My hands, and I can do surprising things with it!

Your gravest danger is giving up:  ceasing to believe I can still do wondrous new things in you and your world.  Your assignment is to keep moving forward in trusting dependence on Me.  Stop focusing on obstacles you might encounter, and concentrate on staying in touch with Me.  As you continue taking steps of trust, expect the path before you to open up in refreshing newness.  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland!

- Jesus

(Jesus Lives / Sarah Young)

Scripture Insight:  Isaiah 43:18-19; Ephesians 3:20; Revelation 21:1 and
Psalm 25:4

I Am A Awesome God!

I AM A AWESOME GOD!  Who but I could be everywhere at every time, ceaselessly working on your behalf?  It amazes you that One so great as I would care about the many details of your life.  Yet I do!  When you ponder these glorious truths, you feel safe, knowing you are never alone.  When you don't keep these truths before you, you fall back into - your default mode: straining and striving as if outcomes were totally up to you.

What you really need is to keep Me always before you - not just truths about Me.  It's so easy for My children to confuse knowledge of Me with knowing Me experientially.  The apostle Paul understood this distinction: He wrote about needing Power,  My Spirit, to grasp how wide and long and deep is My Love - Love that surpasses knowledge!

Knowing Me is so much more than an activity of  the mind.  It is largely a matter of  trusting Me.  Sometimes you are keenly aware of My Presence; at other times, this awareness is minimal - or even absent.  When you feel alone, you need to rely on your trust in Me.  Continue to live and communicate as if I am with you, because I am! I have promised I will never leave you or forsake you.  Instead of running after other gods when you feel needy, concentrate on coming nearer to Me.  No matter what is happening, trusting Me and drawing close to Me are your best strategies for living well.

- Jesus

(Jesus Lives / Sarah Young)

Scripture Insight:  Psalm 16:8; Ephesians 3:16-19 and Hebrews 13:5

In My Unfailing Love I Will ...

IN MY UNFAILING LOVE I WILL Lead You.  Everything else, everyone else may fail you, but I never will.  You live in a world of brokenness, where promises and guarantees often come to naught.  However, My Love for you is not of this world: It is constant, perfect, and inexhaustible.  Nothing can separate you from this perpetual flow of Love, for I have redeemed you - purchased you with My blood. You belong to Me.

This bottom line of our life is that I am continually with you, holding you by your right hand.  As you follow the pathway to My holy dwelling place, be aware that you do so in my strength.  I strengthen you so that you can persevere in your journey and also glorify Me along the way.  Some of My followers bring Me Glory while enjoying vibrant health and multiple successes.  Others glorify Me in weakness and ongoing struggles - suffering well in the midst of adversity.  Know that I am smiling on you whether your path is arduous or easy at this time.  Continue your journey in My strength - which is limitless.  I assure you that your ultimate destination is none other than heaven itself!

- Jesus

(Jesus Lives / Sarah Young)

Scripture Insight:  Exodus 15:13; Deuteronomy 26:15; Psalm 73:23-24 and
Philippians 3:20

When Life Gets Really Difficult - Don't ...

WHEN LIFE GETS REALLY DIFFICULT, DON'T Jump To the Conclusion That I'm Not On The Job.  Instead, be glad you are in the thick of what I experienced.  Accept  your ordeal as a spiritual refining process, with Glory just around the corner.

There are many ways to suffer for Me.  The most obvious one is to experience persecution for presenting the gospel to others.  However, when you endure any kind of adversity in a Christ-like way because of your love for Me, I view this as suffering for Me.  So do not lose heart when the trials you are going through seem endless.  You can even rejoice that you are sharing in what I experienced as a Man of sorrows, familiar with suffering.  Invite Me into your struggles.  I understand them better than anyone else, and I want to help you with them.

When your suffering is prolonged, the  greatest temptation you face is escapism - trying to get away from your problems at all costs, even irresponsibly.  If you endure life's blows in trusting dependence on Me, I can bring much good out of them.   I make all things work together for good to those who love Me.  Consider your trials a part of your education:  a spiritual refining process.  Since you are My followers, your suffering will definitely end someday.  To help you persevere, keep focusing on your reward - Glory just around the corner!

- Jesus

(Jesus Lives / Sarah Young)

Scripture Insight:  1 Peter 4:12-13; Isaiah 53:3 and Romans 8:28