Encouragement

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No matter what happens, La Moyne and I believe that we indeed have had....
(and are having) a great life!

She has lived with Lupus for over 30 yrs. plus she had a heart attack in February.
I'm a cancer survivor and have had 2 strokes....and will be 80 in July.
We believe that in Jesus, we can still have the abundant life.

An old hymn states:
"Standing on the Promises, we will not fall...standing on the promises, we will not fail".

But we MUST know the Promisor (Jesus)......and MUST also know the Promises!

In John 14:6 Jesus said,
"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by me".

John 5:24 says:
"Verily, verily I say unto you, he who hears my word and believes on Him Who sent me, has Everlasting Life and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life".

The Gospel of John is full of Scriptures on 'Jesus and the more abundant Life'.
Each chapter paints a different picture of what Jesus means to us.....
and the total is 'Life Abundant'.

John 1: Jesus is the Son of God (vs. 1)
John 2: Jesus is the Son of man (perfect humanity)
John 3: Jesus is the Divine Teacher (vs.2)
John 4: Jesus is the Soul Winner (the woman @ the well)
John 5: Jesus is the Great Physician (vs. 8-9)
John 6: Jesus is the Bread of Life (vs. 48)
John 7: Jesus is the Water of Life ( vs. 37)
John 8: Jesus is the Defender of the weak (vs. 3-11)
John 9: Jesus is the Light of the world (vs. 5)
John 10: Jesus is the Good Shepherd (vs. 11)
John 11: Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life (vs. 25)
John 12: Jesus is the King of Kings (vs. 12-15)
John 13: Jesus assumes the place of a Servant (vs. 4-5)
John 14: Jesus is The Consoler (vs. 11)
John 15: Jesus is the True Vine (vs. 1....the source of spiritual fruit)
John 16: Jesus is the Giver of the Holy Spirit (vs. 7-15)
John 17: Jesus is the Great Intercessor
John 18: Jesus is the Model Sufferer (vs. 11)
John 19: Jesus is the Uplifted Saviour (vs. 18)
John 20: Jesus is the Victor over death
John 21: Jesus is the Restorer of the Penitent (vs. 15-17)
Study I John also~

As a teenager, the great English preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)
went into a church where the preacher was preaching on 'Look and Live'.

This Spurgeon did and it was the beginning of faithful service to (and for) his Lord.
He lived less than 60 yrs. but he made those yrs. count.

He once said, "The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction".
We (as he) must keep on looking and living!

The Spiritual Life is:
1) Secured through Faith
2) Sustained by The Word ~
"Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the Lord"
(Deut. 8:3)
3) This life necessitates death to sin and self. (Galatians 2:20)
4) Christ is the Supreme Object of the Spiritual Life (Phil. 1:21)
5) Love is the demonstration of the Spiritual Life (I John 3:14)

In last week's paper, I shared that 'Jesus is Lord' means....
1) Abandoned to Him
2) Available for Him
3) Accountable to Him

Here is a 'plea from me to thee' :)
I realize that I give a lot of Scripture references.
If you don't get through all of them, keep the study with your Bible and study it....
as you would a Sunday School lesson.

One time while La Moyne was singing along with the congregation, our eldest gr'son (Jeremiah Wiginton, who was quite young at the time) looked up at her and said,
"Wow Tutu ~ You know all of the songs without even looking at the songbook!"

We're SO grateful that our parents took us to Sunday School and Church where we learned at early ages, the songs that would help to sustain (and guide) us for the rest of our lives!

One of the songs we both learned early in our lives was 'Living for Jesus'.

'Living for Jesus'
Text: T. O. Chisholm
Music: C. Harold Lowden

Living for Jesus a life that is true;
Striving to please Him in all that I do,
Yielding allegiance, gladhearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.

Living for Jesus Who died in my place,
Bearing on Calvary my sin and disgrace,
Such love constrains me to answer His call,
Follow His leading and give Him my all.

Living for Jesus wherever I am,
Doing each duty in His Holy Name,
Willing to suffer affliction or loss,
Deeming each trial a part of my cross.

Living for Jesus through earth's little while,
My dearest treasure, the light of His smile,
Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem,
Bringing the weary to find rest in Him.

Chorus:
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee;
For Thou, in Thy atonement, Didst give Thyself for me;
I own no other Master, My heart shall be Thy throne,
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ for Thee alone.

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