God determined to love us an eternity before He created us, and an eternity before we failed. In that infinite long ago, the Father said to the Son, “Will you go and pay for their sin?” The Son said, “I will.” And now, the eternity that lay before me is secure in Christ, for I have believed His love and staked my life on His sacrifice. Therefore, I will serve Him with all my heart!
– Shelli Prindle
“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God deiced in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” – (Ephesians 1:3-4, NLT)
The best thing to do with anxiety and stress, is to fall on your knees and give it straight to Jesus. He does not want us to carry that load, and He will Himself take it. His infinite nature means that He can hold the weight of all His children’s needs without flinching, while we are totally unable to stay healthy and holy with a load of care. Give it to Him; He loves you.
– Shelli Prindle
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” – (1 Peter 5:7)
Are you a blessed person? According to God, to be blessed is to not take advice from ungodly sources, to not act as the ungodly act, and to not scoff at the things of God.
Additionally, a blessed person delights in the law of God. The Bible is not the blessed person’s obligation or daily ritual; rather, it is the thrill of his heart to be in the Word of God, to study it, to ponder it, and to live by it.
The promise is that this kind of true Christian, who delights in the law of God, will stay strong in difficult times. The effectiveness of his life will be real and everlasting, not withering when the difficulty arises. When the blessed person dies, she does not simply leave behind a legacy, but rather she heads toward the everlasting treasure of lives brought into the kingdom of God; she reaches Jesus and abides with the Savior forever.
The difference between a blessed life and a failed life is the Word of God. Jesus is the living Word, and the Bible is His written Word. Do you love Him? Do you love the Word? Do you crave to be near Him? Do you long to be in His Word? Most of all, are you living by the Word?
– Shelli Prindle
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” – (Psalm 1:1-4)
To be saved necessarily means that you believe that God can do miracles, for our redemption depends on the resurrection of Christ from death! So, let us believe God for the miracles that we need in our lives. Jesus is more than able!
– Shelli Prindle
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” – (Romans 8:11)
Dear Christian, wherever you are, Jesus is with you. Whatever you’re feeling, He understands. Whatever you need, He will supply it. Whatever your sin, He will cleanse it.
– Shelli Prindle
“I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – (Matthew 28:20)
How I pray that you will know the power of the Spirit of God dwelling inside a Christian! Much of the modern “church” today has ceased to declare this vital part of the salvation of God. As the Father sent the Son to earth to pay for our sin, so the Son sent the Spirit to abide in us after He left the earth. God does not leave us to our own devices; He saves us in order to take up residence in our body, to set us on fire for His purposes, to bring us to holiness, and – believe or not – to give us discernment and the ability to both be aware of and understand the meaning of future events.
I fear that too many people are left unaware and unaffected by the reality of the Holy Spirit. In a world of Christianity that emphasizes good works, morality, comfort, and a “god” that fits into our lives instead of us fitting into His life; the true message of the Gospel (Good News) is not being proclaimed. People who “think” that they are believers, may not actually be. They may be well schooled in what a church emphasizes, but they may not actually be saved and have the Spirit of God Himself dwelling in them.
Therefore, we see churchgoers and people who say that they are Christians, going about either in fear of all that is happening in the world around us, or in a state of upheaval with those around them because of interpretations of what is occurring. However, the believer who is 1) redeemed from sin’s penalty by the blood of Jesus, and 2) is filled with the Holy Spirit (the very third Person of the Godhead), and 3) is staying in the Word of God to read and study and pray, THAT believer will be able to interpret the times. That believer will be able to feel at peace, even as end-time events unfold around them. That believer will be able to remain calm and steady and focused on Jesus in the middle of the chaos. That believer will see that everything happening is exactly what God prophesied and, therefore, that He is in full control.
I urge you today to read the text of Scripture below, and to make it a matter of personal prayer to digest what Jesus is saying. The Holy Spirit CAN give you discernment and peace concerning the future, and the Holy Spirit CAN enable you to glorify Jesus above all else in your life – no matter the tumultuous times in which we live.
– Shelli Prindle
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it you. (John 16:12-15, emphasis mine)
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
If you believe that you are right with God and on your way to Heaven, but you never really think about the blood of Jesus, then I urge you to rethink your position. The blood of Jesus Christ, that He shed on the Cross two thousand years ago, is the only thing that can pay the price for our sin and placate the wrath of God. Though churches and ministries may not speak much of the blood of Jesus anymore, it is still our hope for cleansing from sin. The end times bring with it false preaching and a watered-down “gospel.” It is our job to know God’s Word and dig deeply, as for the greatest treasure. Make it your business to know for yourself what God has said. Please, do not be deceived or lulled into a false sense of security, for that is what Satan desires.
– Shelli Prindle
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” – (Ephesians 1:7)
Here’s the thing. Christ is not a slice of life, or an influence on life, or one source of wisdom for life, or even the religious part of life. The true Christ – the real Jesus – IS LIFE. If a person is not aiming to say, “Jesus IS my life,” then a person is not understanding what the Bible says about Christ. He is it. He is the way, the truth, and the life.
– Shelli Prindle
“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” – (Colossians 3:4)
One day, God told Noah that it was time to actually get into the ark – the vessel that Noah had labored to build for around one hundred years, while the world around him ridiculed him and continued in their luxurious living, paying no heed to the warning of an unseen God. One day, before the rain started, the Lord spoke to His faithful servant and told him to get safely tucked into that ark. God was going to finally reward Noah for His tireless work through so many opposing circumstances, and for his faith in the promised end, though the sight was yet unseen.
The Bible declares that one day, after we arrive in Heaven, God will wipe all the tears from our faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth. That means that one day, we will never again be scorned for our faithfulness to an unseen God and His Word. Our sorrows will all be over, and our cause will have proved real and right, despite how very few believed us during our time of labor on earth. Our investment into God’s kingdom will finally be rewarded, though we had formerly watched the world around us build their earthly kingdoms without much thought for eternity. The sorrows of the mocking unbelievers will just begin at the return of our Savior.
Hold on, faithful servant of God. Stay in the Word, dig deeply into the promises of both the Old and New Testaments. The Lord is wanting to encourage you to continue believing – to continue walking with Him – no matter how difficult it is right now. Our day, thank Jesus, is coming!
– Shelli Prindle
“He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.” – (Isaiah 25:8)
Ultimately, the only thing that can stop evil is Jesus. God told us that the world would come to this. The Lord has a schedule, and He has a plan. When God says it’s time for history to close and Jesus to return to judge evil and evildoers, He will. Nothing can stop Him. Eternal life is just around the bend. You need to be ready. You need to be right with Jesus. Pray.
– Shelli Prindle
“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” – (Matthew 24:12-14)
Your deepest fears, your fiercest struggles, and your greatest disappointments are known and understood by God. He longs to offer His comfort in Jesus, Who will one day wrap His arms around us and say, “All pain is over; enter now into unhindered relief and joy.”
– Shelli Prindle
“You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle.” (Psalm 56:6)
Do not take your eyes off Jesus. He made the universe, He died for all of us sinners, He is holding this broken world together long enough to work His plan to vanquish evil, redeem as many people as will come to Him, and remake the universe into a home in which all is right.
Do not take your eyes off Jesus. Stay fixed on Him. Anything or anyone that distracts you from Jesus is a tool being used by the enemy of your soul.
– Shelli Prindle
“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:2)
