Stand At The Crossroads And ...

STAND AT THE CROSSROADS AND Look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it.  In order to walk in the good way, you need to be alert:  praying in the Spirit in all occasions.  With My Spirit's help you can recognize a crossroads when you come upon it, instead of rushing past the choice-point without even noticing.  If you are unsure which way to go, pause and wait with Me.  Stay in communication with Me while you're standing and looking.  Trust Me to show you the way forward in My timing.

If you follow these instructions, you will not only walk in the good way; you will also find rest for your soul.  I know how weary you are and how desperately you need soul-rest.  Even when your body is still, your thoughts tend to go hither and beyond.  If you want My help in taming those thoughts, bring them to Me.  I already know what you're thinking, so you have nothing to hide.  You need to wait in My Presence, giving Me time to help you think My thoughts.  Though you may feel as if you're wasting time, you are actually doing the opposite.  Your steps will be fewer but you will accomplish much more, for you will be staying close to Me - the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No matter how strenuous your journey, you can find soul-rest in My company.

- Jesus

(Jesus Lives / Sarah Young)

Scripture Insight:  Jeremiah 6:16; Ephesians 6:18 and John 14:6

My Followers Must Go Through Many ...

MY FOLLOWERS MUST GO THROUGH MANY Hardships.  Nonetheless, the gospel is amazingly good news, because My death as your substitute paid the full penalty for all your sins!  At conversion you began a new life: one that is both an adventure and a Love-story.  Adventure tales are never about predicable, easy situations.  They invariably contain conflicts, adversity, defeats, and triumphs.   Before I died, I warned My disciples about the tribulation, trials, distress and frustration they would have in this world.  Then I immediately reassured them:  I have overcome the world; I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.  In Me you are victorious!

Your new life is not only an adventure but also a Love-story.  As you journey toward heaven, your eternal Lover never leaves your side.  I share both your good times and your struggles.  I embrace you in My everlasting arms, helping you extract good from adversity.  I devise creative ways to reveal Myself to you, and I rejoice when you are attentive.  While using My future knowledge to prepare you for what is ahead, I train you to enjoy My Presence in the present.  When you are struggling deeply, I offer you My Peace.  At the end of your journey, you will be able to look back and see that hardships shared with Me are radiant treasures - full of Love and Glory.

- Jesus

(Jesus Lives / Sarah Young)

Scripture Insight:  Acts 14:21-22; John 16:33 and Deuteronomy 33:27

Do Not Feel Guilty About Taking Time To ...

DO NOT FEEL GUILTY ABOUT TAKING TIME TO Seek My Face; you are simply responding to the tugs of divinity within you.  I made you in My image, and I hid heaven in your heart.

Much of this world's anger is actually a longing for the perfection of heaven.  Blatant sin is often a misguided attempt to fill the emptiness created by that longing. The goal of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they search for heaven in hellish ways:  excesses and perversions of every kind.  However, great sinners can be transformed into exceptional Christians when they turn their passionate appetites toward Me.

My Love and forgiveness satisfy soul-hunger as nothing else can, so it is good that you yearn for more  than this world can provide.  You were not designed to find total satisfaction in the here-and-now, because you were crafted in My image.

Since heaven is My home, it is your ultimate home too, where all of your longings will be perfectly satisfied.  I placed a bit of heavenly matter in your heart so you would seek Me even now for a taste of that eternal reality.  Refuse to feel guilty about something that brings Me such pleasure!  I delight in your seeking heart. 

- Jesus

(Jesus Lives / Sarah Young)

Scripture Insight:  Psalm 105:4; 2 Corinthians 4:4 and Isaiah 55:2

I Designed You To Be Filled With Heavenly ...

I DESIGNED YOU TO BE FILLED WITH HEAVENLY Contents:  My Love, Joy, And Peace.  However, you are a frail earthen vessel, so these contents leak out of you.  Unless you are refilled - over and over again - you become increasingly empty.

I am eager to pour out My abundance upon and within you, but this takes time:  focused time with Me.  Come to Me and linger in My Presence.  Do not rush in, trying to grab as much blessing as you can before making a quick exit.  Instead, stay with Me awhile, enjoying the awesome privilege of communing with your King.  As you wait with Me, My very Life streams into you, filling you with heavenly substance.

I want you to be all Mine - overflowing with My Love, Joy, and Peace.  Because these divine gifts leak out of you, you need Me continually for renewal.  Your neediness is not a mistake or defect:  It keeps you looking to Me, depending on Me, communicating with Me.  Though you are a frail jar of clay, I have blessed you with the most precious treasure:  the divine light of the Gospel.  Your human frailty is necessary to show that this exceedingly great Power is not from you but from Me. 

I am Christ in you, the hope of Glory.  As I fill you with My Glory-gifts, let My wondrous Light shine through you into other people's lives.

- Jesus

(Jesus Lives / Sarah Young)

Scripture Insight:  Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Corinthians 4:7; Colossians 1:27
and Matthew 5:16

Come To Me When You Are ...

COME TO ME WHEN YOU ARE Hurting, And I Will Share Your Pain.  Come to Me when you are joyful, and I will share your Joy - multiplying it many times over.

I invite you to come to Me just as you are - no matter what condition you're in.  You don't have to clean up your act first, since I already know the worst about you.  When you're hurting, you want to be with someone who understands without condemning you.  When you're happy, you delight in being with someone who loves you enough to celebrate with you.  I understand you compassionately and love you exuberantly, so bring more and more of yourself to Me.

Most people are selective about which parts of themselves they share with Me.  Some hesitate to bring Me the traits they consider shameful.  Others are so used to living with painful feelings - loneliness, fear, guilt - that it never occurs to them to ask for help in dealing with these things.  Still others get so preoccupied with their struggles that they forget I'm even here.

There are hurting parts of you that I desire to heal.  However, some of them have been with you so long that you consider them part of your identity.  You carry them with you wherever you go, with little awareness.  On occasions when you have brought some damaged portion of yourself to Me, I have helped you walk in newfound freedom.  However, you are so addicted to certain painful patterns that you cannot easily break free from them.  Only repeatedly exposing them to My healing Presence will bring you long-term freedom.  When that happens, you will be released to experience Joy in much fuller measure.  I will share your Joy and multiply it many times over.

- Jesus

(Jesus Lives / Sarah Young)

Scripture Insight:  Romans 8:1; Psalm 126:3; Psalm 118:5 and John 8:36

As You Come To Know Me More Intimately ...

AS YOU COME TO KNOW ME MORE INTIMATELY, You Grow Increasingly Aware Of Your Sins.  This presents you with a continual choice - to focus on your flaws and failures or to rejoice in My glorious gift of salvation.  When My ultimate sacrifice is your focus, you live in joyful assurance of being wondrously loved.  There is no greater Love than this, and it is yours every nanosecond of your life.  The best response to such Love is to love Me with your whole being.  Of course, your loving Me is not what saves you, but it does demonstrate your grateful awareness of how much I forgive you.

Tragically, many people think they have little - if anything - for me to forgive.  They have been deceived by the prevailing lie that there is no absolute truth.  They think good and evil are relative terms; therefore, they see no need for a Savior.  These deceived ones do not seek My forgiveness, so their sins are not forgiven and they have no love for Me.  Their minds remain darkened by the evil one's deceptions.  Only My Love-Light can penetrate that thick darkness.  As you walk in the Light of My Presence let My Love flow through you to others, shining into their darkness.  Because you are My follower, you never walk in darkness - you have the Light of Life!

- Jesus

(Jesus Lives / Sarah Young)

Scripture Insight:  Psalm 13:5-6; John 15:13; Luke 7:47 and John 8:12

I Will Never Leave You Or ...

I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU OR Forsake You.  Many of My followers think they have to jump through all the right hoops to "stay in fellowship" with Me.  If that were true, they would never be able to enjoy My Presence.  They would have to be perfect to gain an audience with Me.  Instead of striving to be good enough, I invite you to come confidently into My bright Presence.

If you walk in the Light as I am in the Light, My blood continually cleanses you from all sin.  When you become aware of sins, I want you to confess them and seek My help in making needed changes. Nonetheless, your status with Me is not based on confessing your sins quickly enough or thoroughly enough.  The only thing that keeps you right with Me is My perfect righteousness, which I gave you freely and permanently when you joined My royal family.

Walking in the Light of My Presence blesses you in many ways.  Good things are better and bad things more bearable when you share them with Me.  As you bask in My Love-Light, you are better able to love others and enjoy fellowship with them.  You are less likely to stumble or fall, because sins are garishly obvious in My holy Light.  As you walk in this Light with Me, I encourage you to exult in My righteousness.

- Jesus

(Jesus Lives / Sarah Young)

Scripture Insight: Hebrews 13:5; 1 John 1:7 and Psalm 89:15-16