Once you Were Dead, Now you are Alive!

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV). 

It was clear, the winter had passed away and the snow had gone. But what came from underneath the snow I didn’t expect. The grass was brown and dry and it looked dead. I had no hope for our lawn. “Would it ever become green again?” I asked myself. How could it be that new life could arise from this dead grass? God is the author of creation and of life, and so day by day I saw green grass springing forth and eventually replacing the dead grass.

I made a similar observation which was also quite amazing. The rosebushes had also died in the fall. They went into a deep sleep during the wintertime, and now as spring was approaching, these bushes were also brown and lifeless. But one day something changed. I noticed that from the trunk of one of the rosebushes new life was springing forth. The brown branches suddenly changed their color. From the bottom of the bush new life was infiltrating the branch and slowly they began to change their color to green. Leaves began to grow and to my surprise, even more had sprung forth than in the last year. A miracle had taken place and the rosebush was standing there proudly as it became alive.

As Christians we have this hope and its name is Jesus Christ. Once you were dead, but now you have been made alive in Him. At an appointed time He came into your life and everything changed, didn’t it? This new life is indeed Christ in you, the hope of glory. But just as this rosebush resurrected and was filled with new life, the story doesn’t end there at all. The rosebush will eventually carry beautiful roses with an even more beautiful fragrance. Christ made you alive, that you would disperse the fragrance of His life and of the knowledge of Him. You are a miracle of God made alive to glorify His name on earth. Now rest in this knowledge and let God pour out His everlasting life through you.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!


Suzanne Tanner

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“The Gateway to Ministry”

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 NKJV) 

Working at the Front desk of a hotel I come across a lot of different people. Some guests are pretty cheerful, some are in a hurry, and others are heavy laden.

On one occasion I got to sit with a particular guest in the confined area of a small business center. I

witnessed firsthand one of his outbursts of anger and frustration about an online flight reservation that was not working properly. I was tensed not knowing if he would lash out at me, but decided to overlook a possible offense. I just said to him “It’s going to be alright Mister. I will help you”. To my surprise he calmed down immediately. In this moment the Lord opened up my spiritual eyes to see the true condition of my guest and how kindness and understanding absorbed his burdens right away.

You know, the gateway to ministry is to identify yourself with a persons need. I tell you that plenty of great opportunities will arise as you put your own needs aside and chose to be the eyes, ears and heart of Jesus. This is called compassion and it is rooted in love, the wonderful law of Christ.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Suzanne Tanner 

The God’s Heart Devotions Book is now available at the Christian Bookstore in Ottumwa and on http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Heart-Today-Devotions-everyday/dp/2940424195

It's going to be worth it!

 “Blessed it s the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12 NIV). 

I had always lived in apartments and so now that I live in America and I am married, I am blessed to have a home of my own. Along with a home comes also the privilege of enjoying the beauty of a garden. It brings a lot of joy to my heart to observe all the plants and flowers we have in the garden. I like to walk around the house and take a closer look at all the plants. I am amazed to see how much growth takes place day by day. 

And so one day the time arrived for the tulips to show up! First the leaves started to grow. For a time they were doing well, but all of a sudden there came an enemy that started to chew on the leaves and destroy them. We figured that it was a rabbit. The tulips were in danger as the leaves already looked very bad. Some tulips didn’t make it at all and were completely destroyed, but to my surprise I discovered that some in fact did make it through all that adversity, and stood the test so to speak! These tulips were standing there like proud soldiers and it was as if they were saying, “Hello. Do you see me? I’ve made it through! I persevered despite all adversity. I wasn’t discouraged and I pressed through.”

Doesn’t this story remind you a little bit of your own life? There is a constant battle going on and there is an enemy that wants to destroy the calling on your life. But like with these tulips that made it through all adversity, so the LORD would speak these words unto you: “Hold on to me, press through, endure, persevere, stand firm and don’t let the enemy put you down or lie to you. It is going to be alright and it is going to be worth it!” I encourage you today to stand the test and to fight the good fight. In due course the LORD will place upon your head something of worth. It is going to be a crown which will remain on you forever.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Suzanne Tanner

Be Fruitful!

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:5 NIV). 

Have you ever taken a close look at a pepper? It’s just amazing how many seeds this vegetable carries! It is not just a vegetable; no it carries in itself again so much potential to multiply of its own kind. After I made this discovery I decided I would collect the seeds, dry them in the sun and transplant them with much expectation into good ground.

I made a similar observation with my ivy plant in the bathroom. Ever since I have given it once a week a cup of water it has been growing non stop. It has grown in all directions and so I had to cut it a little. I put the branches into a container with water to allow them to grow roots. After a week or so they were ready to be transplanted into good soil. I have repeated this procedure already three times! But the story continues: I bought some pretty flower pots and so now I am going to transplant the ivy and give it away as a gift. Indeed, the story continues and so isn’t this is a good picture of being fruitful?

You too can be very fruitful like this pepper or ivy, because the seed that you carry is godly: it is Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Through Him you will be brought to a purposeful life again! As you remain in Him, and He in you, you will be inspired and begin to see a wonderful multiplication. Do not despise the small beginnings, take what the LORD has given you and use every opportunity to sow into the lives of others in love. Your joy will be made complete because your actions will bring glory to the Father in Heaven, and you will be called a disciple of the Most High.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!


Suzanne Tanner

I Long to be with You

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8 NIV).

Isn’t that just true that animals have a natural fear of man! I mean you just know it if you approach for example a bird that it will tremble and fly away from you. But you know what; in my hometown our wild animals are surprisingly friendly.

I recently went for a walk in the park and met with the squirrels. I observed a couple that was running around and chasing each other. It was funny to watch them playing and enjoying their fellowship. And then they suddenly realized that I was there too and so they approached me with much curiosity. They came so close to me I could have touched them. And so I decided to sit down on a bench for a while and see what they would do. And sure enough one of them even jumped up and came so close to me. It brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart that this wild animal would want to be close to me and give me a chance to observe it so closely. That’s strange, I thought, these animals have practically lost their fear of man, because they had been fed all these years. So each time they see man they remember what they had done for them and little by little they gain confidence.

This is such a good picture of our relationship with the Heavenly Father! He desires so much for us to approach Him with this love and interest for Him. He wants us to get close to Him and for us to long for Him. Through the fall of man we have learned to hide from God, but this was not the original plan. No we were created for an awesome and unique communion with the Almighty One.

And so Jesus Christ laid down His life for you, paved the way and gave you access to the Father. I encourage you to daily take this opportunity to approach your heavenly Father. See and experience the Fathers delight and pride in you. Then you will understand His longing for you and you will find peace for your soul.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Suzanne Tanner

"Warzone"

“Be self- controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering” (1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV).

 

The winter in Iowa was extremely rough. Although I grew up in Switzerland, the weather here in the Midwest caught me by surprise and I had to get used to the extreme weather conditions. One day I thought I could leave my house and walk down the road without a cap on my head. Within 5 minutes my ears were nearly frozen stiff. 

Also in my home I often had to protect myself by wearing warm clothes, woolen socks, and blankets. For months it seemed I had gone through much adaptation and change. 

And then one day in March I stepped outside well armed with a warm coat, gloves and a shawl and what happened? At once there was such a pleasant temperature in the air and I didn’t need this protection anymore. I was suspicious at first because I had been so alert all the time. But it was true, I didn’t need this protection anymore, and I tell you, that was such an awesome relief.

It is a fact that as believers we stand in a warzone. We need to wear our spiritual armor all the time and fight each day battle after battle. We resist and overcome our enemy by the blood of the Lamb. We get used to this lifestyle of a warrior very much like I did with the weather conditions. 

But there is this place in His presence where you can come freely and let go of your weapons and leave your armor behind. This is a realm where you can fellowship with the LORD Jesus Christ in absolute freedom and security. I pray for you, you mighty warrior of the LORD in shining armor. May you be always drawn to come back to that place of rest after a battle and spend time with your wonderful King.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Suzanne Tanner

The God’s Heart Devotions Book is now available at the Christian Bookstore in Ottumwa and on
http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Heart-Today-Devotions-everyday/dp/2940424195

"I Will Reward You"

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised”(Hebrews 10: 35 -36 NIV).

 

I was doing some hard working in the yard that day. My job was to rake all the old leaves from the lawn, from the flowerbeds and from underneath all the bushes that I hadn’t collected last fall! I prayed that I would be able to do this work with a good attitude and that the LORD would give me some sort of meaning to all of this. And of course He did!

And so as I was scraping all the old leaves from the top of the flowerbed I saw something so beautiful. There from underneath I saw a little green something that was springing forth out of the ground! Ah yes, of course, the wintertime was over. And so this little surprise made all my hard work worthwhile because now I understood why I had to rake. I had to make a way for the flowers to come out. It finally all made sense to me.  

Perhaps you are in a situation which doesn’t make much sense to you. Perhaps you’ve worked hard and lost all of your joy. You know what? The LORD knows about your situation and His desire for you is that you can walk in joy and hope all the time even in tough times. The truth is that He will always reward your perseverance. So just stay close to Him, press through and don’t forget to share your thoughts with Him. Just hold onto Him and sure enough you will receive your reward.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!


Suzanne Tanner