It’s time to turn the page! God has so much more ahead for you!
Turn the Page!
destiny
Salvation
“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;”. Philippians 2:12 NASB
Paul is recognizing that the Philippians followed his teachings not only while he was there among them, but even when he was absent.
Do we follow the teachings of Jesus not only when we are among our fellow Christians, but when we are out in the world?
We are to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling.” We are not working FOR our salvation. There is nothing we can do to earn it. We have been saved by God’s Grace through faith. We are able to receive salvation by what JESUS has done. Hallelujah!!
As a result of our salvation, we begin to “work out” or do the good works of God that He has prepared us to do.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV
LORD, as we go forward from our position of being saved by grace, may we never take it for granted! May we never take YOU for granted! You are Almighty, Creator, King of kings and Lord of lords! May everything we do and say in Your name be in recognition of Who You are. You are WORTHY of our deepest reverence and our highest praise!! Amen!
Living Sacrifice
A living sacrifice…are we willing to sacrifice our plans, our schedule, our desires, our lives…and put them in the hands of Almighty God?
This is worship that costs something. This is truly believing that the God of the universe has a better plan for us than we have for ourselves.
Do we trust Him that much? It is a minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, day-by-day choice.
I choose YOU to be the Master of my destiny, LORD! Your way is the best way! Your plan is the best plan! I offer myself as a living sacrifice. I am Your vessel… may You live in and through me! May You be glorified!!
FOLLOW ME!
I hear the Lord saying:
“I am looking for people who will put aside everything and follow Me. I am looking for people who will wholeheartedly seek after Me. I am looking for people who are willing to lay aside their plans for their lives and seek My plans. I am looking for people who will lay aside their insecurities and step out in faith into their calling and purpose.”
Are you one of those people?
“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” (John 12:26 NIV)
Lord, we know that Your plan for our lives is better than our own. Help us to let go of what WE think is best and step out in faith and follow You and Your will. We desire Your spiritual gifts to be manifested in and through us for Your glory! We desire to walk in Your calling! We put aside those things that would hold us back from being all that You are calling us to be! We love You, Lord!
Following after Him, Tina Roach
Thanksgiving & Prayer
“I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:15-23 NRSV
What powerful scriptures of thanksgiving and prayer! Do you ever think about using scripture as a basis for your prayers? As I read this today, I wanted to use it not only as a groundwork for writing my devotional, but to use it to pray for you.
Brothers & Sisters, I love hearing about your faith in Jesus and your love towards others as we continue on this life journey through the covid-19 season. I am indeed thankful for all you do!
I pray that as you draw closer to the Lord:
- a spirit of wisdom and revelation will enlighten the eyes of your heart.
- You may know what is the hope to which He has called you.
- You may know what are the riches of His glorious inheritance.
- You may know what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.
Father God has put this great power to work in Jesus when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in heavenly places. This is the immeasurable power that is at work for us!
Jesus is far above all rule and authority and power and dominion. He is above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.
Father God has put all things under Jesus’ feet and has made Him the head over all things for the church.
We, the church, are the body of Christ. And as His body, we have His fullness – His presence, His power, His wisdom, His revelation, and the riches of His glorious inheritance. HALLELUJAH!!
DURING THESE DAYS OF LACK…MAY WE REMIND OURSELVES OF ALL THAT WE POSSESS!!! AMEN!
RESURRECTION SUNDAY
I wasn’t really planning on doing a written post today. To be honest, I woke up a little depressed. If it were a “normal” day, I would be getting dressed in a beautiful, colorful outfit and looking forward to joining my friends at church to celebrate this special day. Of course, I know this day isn’t about me…I know that it is a day of focusing on our precious Jesus…I know this and yet I still find my thoughts drifting towards my isolation. Am I the only one?
So! At this point, I CHOOSE to refocus my thoughts…I CHOOSE to trade in my depression for the oil of gladness! I CHOOSE to celebrate the awesome resurrection of our precious Lord!
As I said, I really wasn’t planning on writing a post this morning – but the Lord had other plans. Thoughts of resurrection have been floating around in my mind and spirit. And I know I am to put it to “paper.”
When we receive God’s Truth we are expected to react to it. We know that the resurrection of Jesus is true! So what should our reaction be? Hopefully, foremost our reaction should be to accept the NEW LIFE that Jesus offers to us through His death and resurrection. If anyone who reads this has not made that salvation step – I would encourage you to stop…seek the Lord…and CHOOSE to accept what Jesus did for you.
Again, what do we do with this Truth of the Resurrection of Jesus? We must DO something! I am reminded that “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26). We have faith that Jesus was indeed resurrected from the dead. What are we going to do with this knowledge? How will our lives be changed with this knowledge? How do we “walk out” this Truth?
Resurrection Power is within us! Through the Holy Spirit living within us, we walk in the same power that Jesus walked in on this earth. Sometimes it’s hard for me to wrap my brain around that Truth. But, Jesus confirms this Himself!
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” John 14:12 NASB
CHURCH! Are we walking this out in our ministries and lives? Jesus is our example. Are we seeing the works that Jesus did being manifested in our families, in our church, in our communities?
I believe that on this Resurrection Sunday, as we celebrate our risen Lord, He is calling us to be the expression of His Life on earth!! BE the hands, feet, eyes, ears, and mouth of Jesus! HE IS ALIVE and HE LIVES IN AND THROUGH US!!
Oh Jesus! We thank You for dying on the cross for us. We thank You for the resurrected life we have in You. When we accepted You as our Lord and Savior – You brought us from death in our sins to eternal life in You!! We celebrate Your resurrection on this most high and holy day! WE CELEBRATE YOU!! Amen!
~Tina K. Roach
GOOD FRIDAY
Good Friday…so why is the day that Jesus was tortured and crucified called “good?”
As we look at how Jesus was treated, I think we definitely can say that what He endured was not good.
So again…why is this day called Good Friday?
There is no Easter Sunday without Good Friday. There is no Resurrection without the Cross.
Sometimes it’s difficult to understand that what we consider a “bad” thing could actually end up achieving good results.
Jesus chose to suffer the Cross to bring about our redemption…to reinstate our position with God that was lost in the Garden. There are consequences to sin. What an awesome Love that Jesus chose to bear the consequence of our sin on the Cross. No, the suffering of Jesus wasn’t a “good” thing – but it was necessary to bring about our good standing with God once again. The result of the Cross was definitely good!
Because Jesus understands the importance of being willing to lay down our lives for a new life, He instructs us to take up OUR cross and follow Him.
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
Matthew 16:24-25 NIV
No, we don’t have to be nailed to a physical cross to be a disciple of Jesus – but, He does call us to be willing to exchange our old life for a new life in Him. And this can be a difficult thing indeed!
Are we willing to let go of our plans, our desires, our way and allow Jesus to place His life in us? If we want to have life eternal with God – then we must embrace the cross – His and our own.
Good Friday – a day to remember the GOOD that was accomplished through the absolute LOVE of JESUS!! He took our sins upon Himself so we could have eternal life with Him. And that was indeed a “good” thing!!
Ahhh, Jesus! I am overwhelmed with the revelation of what You were willing to endure for us. You chose the Cross. You chose the Cross for us so we wouldn’t have to pay the price/penalty for our sin. Lord, help me to choose to pick up my cross and follow You. May I place all of my selfish desires and my self-focus on the cross and follow in Your footsteps of humility and love. May I join You on this Day of the Cross and follow You to the Day of Resurrection! Amen!
~Tina K. Roach
God’s Will!!
Years ago, I was so blessed by the revelation that there is NOTHING that God asks us to do that He doesn’t equip us to do it!!
This takes all of the stress of saying “yes” to the Lord away. We don’t have to do it on our own. We don’t have to figure it all out. We just need to make ourselves available and trust Him to work in and through us.
What is the Lord asking you to do that you have pushed away and tried to forget because you are afraid that you can’t do it?
Brothers & Sisters, step out in the anointing of the Lord and do it!! In the doing, you will discover that God is there – He provides the strength, the knowledge, the timing, and the ability to do His will.
JUST DO IT!!
Reflection of Glory! 