New Easter Book –

New Easter Book –

With Easter right around the corner, I hope you’ll take a look at my new book.


I like to call this special day “Resurrection Day.”

Whichever way you like it, are you looking for an Easter book—one that tells the true story of Resurrection Day? Would you like a book about the real reason the occasion is celebrated all around the world?

My latest book titled, The Lord Has Need of You, is just that. 

Though it is categorized a children’s book, many adults get it for themselves. They are enthralled by the beautiful art and love the way the story is shared through the eyes of two loveable donkeys.






Here are a few details:


- The exciting opening scene sets the stage for immediately getting acquainted with the characters and the nature of Jesus.

Jesus enters Jerusalem - Palm Sunday

- Next you walk through the last few days of Jesus’ life on Earth, beginning with His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday); He blesses children (one of my favorite pictures in the book), teaches and heals folks; you’ll witness His death, burial, and resurrection; it ends with His ascension back to Heaven.







- The donkeys’ involvement in Jesus entry into Jerusalem is truth, according to Scripture, but the rest of their involvement in The Lord Has Need of You is fictional. They play a delightful role in helping captivate the interest of children. (The mama donkey, Elpis, was the baby donkey in my previous children’s books about Jesus as an infant. Families who have those books will LOVE seeing Elpis’ colt carry Jesus!)

- The full color illustrations by Virginia artist, Lesley James, carry the story along beautifully.

- Redemption is illustrated in easy-to-understand terms.

- The Gospel is clearly stated.

- The epilogue offers encouragement to answer God’s call to serve and gives an opportunity to receive Salvation.

- The book is reasonably priced at just $10.00.

- A free crossword puzzle comes with each book ordered directly from me.

- Also, when ordering from me, (continental U.S. only), I’m happy to sign and personalize your copy if you wish. Just contact me at author@conniewohlford.com. Sales tax for Virginia orders will be added, and a nominal fee is added for shipping.

The book is also available on Amazon. Here’s the link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1687536104/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

The Blood of the Lamb -1 Peter 1:18-19

The Blood of the Lamb  -1 Peter 1:18-19   

Why blood? Why all this talk about the blood of Christ? 

For answers, let’s turn to the very best source—the Bible.

Peter explained, “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver and gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, (v. 19) but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19 NKJV).

Peter implies that his readers knew that their redemption did not come from any material wealth, good conduct, or through any kind of tradition passed down from forefathers.

This apostle wants to make it clear that salvation comes through the precious blood of Jesus, stating that Jesus was the once for all sacrificial lamb. Jews of that era were knowledgeable of the significance of the shedding of the blood of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Even the Gentiles of the day were somewhat familiar with these Jewish practices.

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About 1400 years prior to Peter’s writing God gave Moses instructions on the atonement of the sins of the people through the sacrificial shedding of the blood of an unblemished lamb. Step-by-step instructions are recorded in Leviticus 14.

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11 NKJV). This shedding of the blood of lambs and other animals was a foreshadowing of the crucifixion death and shed blood of Jesus.

Cross at Jamestown, VA

Photo by Connie 

In several places, the Bible states that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. A sacrifice is defined as offering something of value for a cause or for a specified reason. Making an atonement is offering a compensation or penitence to make amends for an offense committed. 

Therefore, the system set up by God in the Old Testament stated that those who offered and were covered by the blood sacrifice were released—set free—from the consequences of their sin. But this was only temporary and needed to be repeated periodically. 

Jesus was without sin—that is without spot or blemish. When His life’s blood was shed, He made atonement for all the sins of all Mankind once for all. His dying words proclaimed that fact: “It is finished” (John 19:30). Each person then has the option to accept or reject His sacrifice. 

The writer of Hebrews goes into detail to explain Jesus’ atoning sacrifice: “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of the creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For it the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. ... Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:11-15 ESV).

As we enter into this season of Easter, let us be mindful of the sacrificial blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus—the Lamb that was slain on behalf of sinners like you and me. I’m thankful for and rejoice in many things—especially family, freedom, home, and such. But the number one thing I’m thankful for and rejoice in is the blood of Jesus which was shed for me. Because of His atoning sacrifice my sins are washed away. My debt to God has been canceled out; I am in His own family for all eternity; and my name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. 

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Besides that, my precious loved ones, who I’m so thankful for, also have the privilege of being in God’s family and we can all be together with Jesus in Heaven. All our tears will be wiped away. There‘ll be no hurt, no sorrow, no evil of any kind. Like my friend used to sing, “There‘ll be no band-aides in Heaven—no emergency medical care ...” *

Are you covered by the blood of the Lamb? We each have the choice to accept and receive Him (Jesus) or reject and deny Him. 

Your comments are welcome.

*If you wish, you can hear the song, “No Band-Aids in Heaven,” on You-Tube.  It’s an adorable child’s song!



©Copyright 2019 Connie Wohlford

My Twelve “Rs” of the Great Pursuit – Part 2 of 2

My Twelve “Rs” of the Great Pursuit – Part 2 of 2

Again, I ask: What is your great pursuit—that quest that grips you?

You think about it every day. Visions of what it could look like live continuously in the crevices of your mind.

If you’re an exceptional soccer player, maybe it’s your dream to be offered a full-ride college scholarship. If you’re an ROTC college student, perhaps your goal is to become a general someday. If you’re a parent, possibly your greatest desire is that your children walk in the truth of God’s Word (3 John 1:4).

If you’re a serious follower of Jesus—a Christian—maybe your deep desire is to grow more like Him every day and show others the way of Salvation. In The Fire That Never Sleeps, Dr. Michael Brown encourages us to let God Himself be our “great pursuit.”  

Here are the last six of My “Twelve “Rs” of the Great Pursuit.” (The first six were listed in my previous blog post.)

7- Reflect. Consider the two-fold definitions of reflect. It means to deeply think on something—to ponder. As well, it means to be a reflection of or mirror something. Let’s do both.

Ponder the attributes of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. God’s three main attributes are omnipotence (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), and omnipresence (ever-present everywhere). My goodness, we could spend a lifetime contemplating these traits.

God’s Word, Paul gives wonderful instruction on what we should reflect on in our thought life. He told the Philippian , “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these thing” (Philippians 4:8 NASV).

The 1980s Christian rock band, Petra, recorded a song focusing on this passage. If you wish, you may check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=VxdGfO1ZYKk

Now consider reflecting Jesus in the sense of mirroring Him. Paul suggested that we, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1 NASV).

Let’s learn Jesus by reading the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. When was the last time you read through all these books in the Bible? As we get into this new year, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the attributes of Jesus Christ so we can reflect Him better. Then go ahead and read the Book of Acts, which follows, and reflect on the amazing attributes of God’s Holy Spirit. 

As we sincerely reflect on our mighty God, in both senses of the word, lets earnestly move forward in our great pursuit of Him.

8- Respond. If we wholeheartedly endeavor to do the previous seven “Rs” we will surely respond in some way. That is to give a reply or a reaction. We must do something.

If you’ve never responded to God’s invitation to receive salvation, now is the time. If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and what the Bible says about Him, then pray, (talk to God), and profess your belief to Him and receive Jesus into your heart.

If you’ve already become a follower of Jesus, now how will you respond?

Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall” (Matthew 7:24-27 NASV).

Our Lord also said, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32 NASV).

O, hallelujah! When God is our great pursuit and we respond to Him as He intends, then we will have the security like to man who built his house on the rock and we’ll be free like Jesus spoke of, “So if the Son sets you free’ you will be free indeed” (John 8:36 NIV).   

9- Relationship. When we received Christ Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we came into relationship with Him. That means we are interconnected with Him. Not only that—because He and Father God are one, we are in relationship—that is, in fellowship—with God, our Heavenly Father—our Creator.

Our sin separated had us from God and we were on our way to eternal Hell, with no hope. But when Jesus paid our penalty on the cross, He stepped up and took our place. He took the punishment for the sin of each of us. When we accept Jesus, we receive this amazing free gift.

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions (sins) from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him…” (Psalm 103:11-13 ESV).

As we continue our great pursuit of God, we will bond closer to Him and go deeper in relationship with Him.

10- Responsibility. Yes, Jesus paid it all to redeem us from our sin debt. But we needn’t think that’s the end all. Our born-again experience is just the beginning. It is then our responsibility to do something with this amazing grace and salvation we’ve been given.

God has created each of us with a plan and purpose in mind—His mind. The psalmist says, “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; … Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them” (Psalm 139: 13-16 NASB). *

God has done so much for us and as our great pursuit for Him expands, our desire to take on, following His lead, the responsibilities He wants us to endeavor will also expand and we will accomplish much for the Kingdom of God, in Jesus name.

Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 ESV).

11- Rise up. I’ve heard it said, “You can’t rise up if you don’t bow down.”

Saul was knocked off his feet by the glory of Jesus. Then the Lord told him to rise up and go … (Acts 9). Ezekiel fell before the Spirit of God and the Spirit lifted him up and gave him his prophetic assignment (Ezekiel 3).

We’ve established that we each have an assignment from God. In order to know why we are to rise up, we need to search God through prayer and praise. When we bow before, acknowledging who He is and our desperate need for Him we put ourselves in a place to hear from Him. Acknowledge what we just read in John 15:5—without Him, we can do nothing.

When we spend quality time with our Creator we set ourselves up for this: “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you” (Isaiah 60:1 NASV).

In our great pursuit let us do as the psalmist, “I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words (Psalm 119:147 NASV).

12- Revival. When God is our great pursuit and we wholeheartedly do all we know to do, revival will come into our spirit and soul. And it is contagious. Others around us will sense the presence of God on us and in us. Some will want it and some will resist and run away form it.

When temptation to sin comes our way, we’ll see it for what it is and have the power to resist, not because we’re so spiritual, but because we give the Holy Spirit free reign in us. Some people will not understand and even ridicule us for not wanting to go to such and such movie or participate in such and such event.

“When He becomes our great pursuit, by default, anything that does not reflect Him or honor Him will be stripped out of our lives; we simply will not tolerate it.” –Dr. Michael Brown *

We’ll realize that the Spirit of God is the very oxygen we breathe. Here is Michael W. Smith, singing “This is the Air I Breathe.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEDcKZB7r2A

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So, here are the final six of My Twelve “Rs” of the Great Pursuit. Thank you for reading my posts. I know they’ve been rather lengthy and I appreciate you for bearing with me. I pray you have benefited in some way by reading this. Let’s put God in the forefront of our minds, hearts, and souls and make Him our great pursuit. We’ll never regret it.

Your comments are welcome.

*The Fire That Never Sleeps: Keys to sustaining personal revival; by, Dr. Michael L. Brown and John Kilpatrick, with Larry Sparks; Destiny Image Publishers, Inc.; 2015; page 58.

©Copyright 2019 Connie Wohlford

God Had It All Figured Out <> 1 Peter 1:20-21

God Had It All Figured Out   1 Peter 1:20-21      

(Continuing the study of 1 Peter.)

Before the world was even created, God had it all figured out. He knew Adam and Eve would sin, setting into motion the sinful nature we all contend with every single day. And the worst consequence of that sin was that Mankind was then separated from Father God, without the power to be reconciled. 

Therefore, as part of God’s cosmic plan, He designed the one way that Mankind could be restored back to Himself. 

Internet Photo by Matt Pitt

The Apostle Peter pointed this truth out to the First Century church members, and to us as well. Speaking of Jesus, he said, “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God” (1 Peter 1:20-21).

It’s important for us to understand that God is omniscient—He is all knowing. He knows the end before the beginning in every situation. He knew we would need a Savior and that His Son, Jesus, was the only legal and worthy candidate to fill that position for us. Even though we are each created in His image, we’re still not equal to God nor to His Son. As Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 16:6).

As Peter explained, in the times in which they were living, this One who had been foretold was manifest—or revealed—in the flesh to the world. Jesus had come and had fulfilled His mission to bear the burden for the sins of Mankind. 

The writer of Hebrews gave a beautiful description of the incarnation of Jesus and His accomplishment for our benefit. “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (Hebrews 1:1-3).

Looking back again at verse 21, Peter explained that through Jesus, we have the opportunity to believe in and receive God’s redemption plan. God, who raised Jesus from the dead, gave Him glory. Now our faith and hope can rest in God through Jesus and we can be rescued from the debt requirement of our sins. --- Thank You, God!

We must understand, though, that this is not automatic. Jesus paid the debt which we owed. It is a free gift from God and Jesus. But we must receive the gift in order to activate it in our individual lives. It’s like someone reaches out to hand you a gift—but if you don’t believe it and receive it, you don’t get the gift. 

Imagine that Father God wants to give you a brand-new sports car. There sits the car—in your favorite color. God has the key in His hand and reaches it toward you. If you don’t reach out and take the key, the car does you no good—even though it has been provided for you. Instead you turn and walk away and say, “I don’t believe that key is for the car.” You have turned down the car your Father already had prepared for you and thus you never get to have and enjoy it.

But conversely, let’s say you look at God and see that He’s handing you the key. You believe Him, that that key is for the shiny new sports car. With joy and gratitude, you take the key and drive away in your wonderful new car.

Jesus is the key. The car is eternal life. 

If you have never believed in and received Jesus into your heart, I hope you will do that right this minute. Our Heavenly Father is reaching out with the key, His Son, Jesus. 

You can simply pray this prayer, (no matter where you are and you can do it silently if you need to): Father, I believe that Jesus really is who the Bible says He is and that He is the key to my salvation. I receive Him into my heart right now. Thank you, Father, for loving me so much. Thank You, God, for Jesus.

 

If you have just prayed that prayer, may God richly bless you and lead you to others who sincerely follow Jesus and to a good Bible teaching church. Get a Bible and start by reading the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, starting with John). Learn about Jesus. Pray to God every day. You can tell Him anything. Listen for Him to respond.

©Copyright 2018 Connie Wohlford

Be Holy Like God Is Holy—Say What?! (Part 1)

Be Holy Like God Is Holy—Say What?! (Part 1)  

Today I want to continue in 1 Peter, Chapter 1. In writing to followers of Jesus, the Apostle Peter gave instructions on righteous living. Referring back to my blog post of August 30, 2017, we see Peter extolling the people to: 1- Gird up the loins of their minds—bracing up to take action. 2- Be sober—that is be watchful and self-controlled. 3- Rest in the hope and grace abundantly provided by the revelation of Christ Jesus in our spirits and lives. (1 Peter 1:13)

From Pinterest

With that in mind, let’s carry on. Peter’s exhortation and his sentence continues on to where the rubber meets the road. Verses 14-15: “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”

WOW! God is calling us to be holy like Him. We need to not freak out and loose heart at this appeal. Peter knew God and knew human nature. He was very familiar with his own weaknesses. Don’t think for a moment he had no recollection of denying Jesus three times on the night Jesus could have used his support the most.  

This is why we need to equip ourselves to be faithful followers of Jesus. Look again at the words of Peter. 

Let’s review the earlier part of this chapter and see the progression:

Through God’s mercy we were born again (v.3) → into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus (v.3) → to an incorruptible, undefiled, everlasting inheritance (v.4) → and are kept by the power of God (v.5) → though, for a short time, we’re grieved with trials (v.6) → but our genuine faith, being tested, is more precious and more lasting than gold (v.7) → giving praise, honor, and glory to Jesus who we love though we’ve not yet seen Him (v.8) → receiving the result of our faith—salvation of our souls (v.9) → of which the prophets foretold, that the grace would come to us (v.10) → and revealed beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow (v.11) → and for us the ministering of those preaching the Gospel by the Holy Spirit, sent from Heaven (v.12) → so we must gird up the loins of our minds, be sober, and rest our hope fully upon the grace of Christ (v.13) → being obedient children not returning to our past sins as ignorant sinners → but as He who called us is holy we should be holy in all our behavior (v.15) → because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Notice, we began this journey as a result of God’s great mercy—that is His amazing grace and love for us in that while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us (Romans 5:8). Then in the end we come to mature faith, aiming to be holy as He is holy.

It’s true that the moment we are born-again all our sins are washed away and we stand clean and without the stain of sin. But then as we continue living we commit sins because we still are human and have weaknesses. As we grow in knowledge and understanding of our Lord, we become more like Him and sin less often and less egregiously.  This is the process of being sanctified and equipped to live according to God’s will. In meditating on these verses it appears that the keys to being holy are five-fold:

1- Have genuine faith. Without genuine faith the desire and revelation of the value of obedience to God is simply not there. The person whose faith isn’t real will have no, or very little, yearning to follow the teachings of Jesus nor will they seek to obey Christ at all costs. Basically that person lacks passion for God and His ways.

2- Gird up the loins of our minds. We need to continuously renew our minds with God’s Word. The Word goes through our minds to get into our spirits and becomes a part of who we are. The essence of Christ becomes the essence of ourselves when we feed on and digest Scripture. We’re then girding up, strengthening our minds and wills, discarding hindrances and burdensome weights that stand in the way of freely running the race Christ sets before each of us. 

3- Be sober. This comes as we gird up the loins of our minds. We’ll become more mindful and will be cautious to recognize the wiles of the devil. The charms of Satan are his deception, trickery, and trap setting. We must be sober and watchful to avoid his crafty plans for us. And we need to soberly follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. 

This narrative may sound quite serious and void of fun but, while it’s definitely serious, it is surely not void of fun. When we follow Christ we’re embarking on a life adventure which we probably would never have imagined for ourselves. It will likely include more thrills and pure joy than we thought possible for our one small life. That’s because we’ll be doing our own part in God’s cosmic plan for His huge created universe. Oh, the far-reaching results of one person’s abandoned life of service to the Savior is beyond our imagination. Look at Billy Graham, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Mother Teresa.

4- As we do the above, we can rest in living hope, trusting our Lord with the results through Jesus Christ. 

5- And, as Peter warned, we need to be careful not to fall back into any old bad habits or former ways from when we were ignorant of Jesus and His desires for us. That would be plum stupid.

So these things we are to do to honor and obey our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as obedient children, not conforming ourselves to former lusts, as in our ignorance; but as He who called us is holy we can also be holy in all our conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

As we learn of Him, trust Him more each day, and depend on His Holy Spirit indwelling us, we can live beyond the limitations of our humanness. In my next blog post we’ll continue looking at the “how to” of being holy and overcoming the temptations of falling back into our former sins.

©Copyright 2017 Connie Wohlford