Where is Jesus in Alzheimers and Dementia?

Before my mom went to be with Jesus, she suffered from Dementia and Alzheimer’s for a number of years. We watched her slowly lose interest in how she looked, in politics, and playing games with her family… Driving, a clean house. She lost interest and the memory of so many of the things that were important to her throughout her life. 

But the one thing she never lost interest in or love for, is the Lord Jesus Christ! Even when her mind couldn’t hold onto other things, Jesus was holding onto her! Her last words before she went to meet him in heaven were the words of the song "Jesus loves me". 

As I thought about this truth, I realize that those last few years were a picture of the assurance that each of us has that it’s not about us holding onto Jesus Christ, but it’s about Him holding onto us. “ For I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him, (my faith in Him), until that day!” 2 Timothy 1:12

So, where is Jesus in Alzheimers and Dementia? He's right beside your loved one! If they put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, even if they don't remember your name at times, they will not forget Jesus. In fact, these terrible diseases seem to bring a person back to the only thing that truly matters in this world and in the world to come...knowing Jesus. Be encouraged and trust Him for your eternity! 

A New Creation

 

God created us with the ability to choose several things. We must choose if we will serve God or someone else. We cannot choose to make no choice – which is simply a choice against God. Jesus said, “If you are not for Me, you are against Me” (Luke 11:23). God never promises us more than one chance. In His grace He may offer us a second chance, or even more, but it is never guaranteed. 

He created us to be loved and to want to be loved. God loves us more than we can ever imagine. His love is beyond anything we have ever seen or known, and yet His is the only love which can ever truly satisfy our need for love.

If we accept Christ as our Savior, He gives us a new, living spirit. He gives us the ability to talk with Him, hear Him, understand Him. Learning to do this well, will take the rest of our lives.

When you choose to belong to God you enter a battle zone like you’ve never experienced before because you gain an enemy more powerful than yourself, called Satan, who will hate you simply because God loves you. Before you accepted Christ, you were on Satan's side. But now you have entered the Kingdom of God and the battle is intense. Do not let this battle discourage you, for God has promised us the ultimate victory in this battle...God, now living inside of you, is far greater and more powerful than Satan (1 John 4:4). He has already won (John 16:33). 

As you allow Him to, He will change you to be like Him (Romans 12:2). Your responsibility is to get to know Him and you can only do this by reading His word (the Bible) and talking with Him (prayer). He will take you along a road filled with adventures, pain, terror, despair, love, and joy beyond anything you have ever imagined as well as indescribable peace.

Being a new creature means God will now make us into the unique person He created us to be. We must choose every moment to allow His changes to our lives, and we must also obey His every request of us, every command. Being a new creature also means we are set free from slavery to sin. This does not mean we will no longer sin, but it means we can now recognize sin in our life because the Holy Spirit is now able to point it out and we can hear Him (1 John 1:7-9). God promises He will finish what He started in you, "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

*What does the hope of promised completion give you?

*How does this encourage you today?

Prayer: Thank you Lord that You have placed Your Holy Spirit in me to lead me, to show me Your love for me and to give me the power to resist the enemy. I rest in You and I thank You Jesus for Your death and resurrection that reconciled me to You. In Your name I pray, Amen. 

What is Salvation?

  

Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-21  

The question of “Why am I here?” has haunted mankind since after the Garden of Eden. What is my purpose? Who am I? People have tried to explain this many different ways, but there is only one person who can answer this cry satisfactorily – God.

We are created by God. We are created for a purpose, created by design, created because He loved and loves us (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:20-24). He made us in His image – which means we were created to have an eternal soul, the ability to choose, a consciousness of self, and a consciousness of God. We are the only creatures on this earth with the ability to conceptualize ideas. But being made in His image also means He intended us to be His representatives in other parts of His creation. Adam and Eve were given responsibility for the garden, and later their descendants were given responsibility for the earth.

When Adam sinned it caused all of us to be born with the same defect. We are born spiritually dead. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God’s commands. They chose to know evil and to doubt God's guidance and His goodness. This resulted, as God had promised it would, in their deaths. The immediate death Adam and Eve suffered was spiritual death, and ultimately it meant physical death. This dead spirit would be passed on to their offspring. Every human being born since has been born with the same dead spirit inside.

When we accepted Jesus as our Savior, He gave us a new, living spirit. Since God is Spirit (John 4:24), it is man’s spirit that is able to interact with Him. With a dead spirit we cannot interact with Him, obey Him, trust Him, or in any way please Him. So when we are born again, with the ability to love God, it is because He made our spirit alive again.

He decided to provide a way for us to come back to Him. He provided a way, that we could choose, to become His.  With this choice, He gives our spirit eternal life (the Bible calls it salvation). With our new, living spirit we are able to talk to Him and obey Him.

There is only one way we can come to God. It is His way. It is a way which was completed without any action or effort from us. We cannot contribute a single thing to it. The Way is Jesus, God’s Son, by the death He died for us, and it is sealed – secured – by Jesus’ resurrection from death.

How can we gain this salvation? The Bible shows us the way.

*We must realize we are sinners – Romans 3:23

*We must acknowledge that all we deserve, or will ever deserve, is death – Romans 6:23

*We must believe in Jesus and confess (acknowledge) Him as Lord – Romans 10:9-10

*Accept His gift by faith – Ephesians 2:8

*We must choose to serve Him – Joshua 24:15

What is Salvation?

Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-21  

The question of “Why am I here?” has haunted mankind since after the Garden of Eden. What is my purpose? Who am I? People have tried to explain this many different ways, but there is only one person who can answer this cry satisfactorily – God.

We are created by God. We are created for a purpose, created by design, created because He loved and loves us (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:20-24). He made us in His image – which means we were created to have an eternal soul, the ability to choose, a consciousness of self, and a consciousness of God. We are the only creature on this earth with the ability to conceptualize ideas. But being made in His image also means He intended us to be His representatives in other parts of His creation. Adam and Eve were given responsibility for the garden, and later their descendants were given responsibility for the earth.

When Adam sinned it caused all of us to be born with the same defect. We are born spiritually dead. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God’s commands. This resulted, as God had promised it would, in their deaths. The immediate death Adam and Eve suffered was spiritual death, and ultimately it meant physical death. This dead spirit would be passed on to their offspring. Every human being born since has been born with the same dead spirit inside.

When we accepted Jesus as our Savior, He gave us a new, living spirit. Since God is Spirit (John 4:24), it is man’s spirit that is able to interact with Him. With a dead spirit we cannot interact with Him, obey Him, trust Him, or in any way please Him. So when we are born again, with the ability to love God, it is because He made our spirit alive again.

He decided to provide a way for us to come back to Him. He provided a way we could choose to become His and with this choice He gives our spirit eternal life (the Bible calls it salvation). With our new, living spirit we are able to talk to Him and obey Him.

There is only one way we can come to God. It is His way. It is a way which was completed without any action or effort from us. We cannot contribute a single thing to it. The Way is Jesus, God’s Son, by the death He died for us, and it is sealed – secured – by Jesus’ resurrection from death.

How can we gain this salvation? The Bible shows us the way.

*We must realize we are sinners – Romans 3:23

*We must acknowledge that all we deserve, or will ever deserve, is death – Romans 6:23

*We must believe in Jesus and confess (acknowledge) Him as Lord – Romans 10:9-10

*Accept His gift by faith – Ephesians 2:8

*We must choose to serve Him – Joshua 24:15