Category: God’s Promises

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Labor Pains

With Mother’s Day almost here I know that Mom’s are reliving the day they gave birth to their children. Some had easy deliveries and some can go on and on about the agonies of child birth. However, the one thing we can probably all agree on is that overwhelming flood of love that filled out hearts when our babies were placed in our arms.

The pain associated with the birth experience seemed to fade away as we held that precious one for the very first time!

Kind of reminds me of Jesus…yes, Jesus. The writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter 12 that He endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him.

“We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew that later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right side of God’s throne! 3 So keep your mind on Jesus, who put up with many insults from sinners. Then you won’t get discouraged and give up.” Hebrews 12:2-3 CEV

Let me ask you, are you enduring a cross right now? Is there something in your life that is causing you pain? Maybe you are under attack from the enemy and he is trying to steal, kill and destroy or it could be that you have been disobedient to what you know God wants for you and your own disobedience has created some very unpleasant circumstances.

I can guarantee if you will look to Jesus for your help and your deliverance, you will come through this with joy! You may have tears and labor pains now but joy of new life, a life of depending on Him, will wipe all that away.

“Lord, you lifted me out of my troubles. You did not give my enemies a reason to laugh so I will praise you. 2 Lord my God, I prayed to you, and you healed me. 3 Lord, you lifted me out of the grave. I was falling into the place of death, but you saved my life. 4 Praise the Lord, you who are loyal to him! Praise his holy name! 5 His anger lasts for a little while, but then his kindness brings life. The night may be filled with tears, but in the morning we can sing for joy! 6 When I was safe and secure, I thought nothing could hurt me. 7 Yes, Lord, while you were kind to me, I felt that nothing could defeat me. But when you turned away from me, I was filled with fear. 8 So, Lord, I turned and prayed to you. I asked you, Lord, to show me mercy. 9 I said, “What good is it if I die and go down to the grave? The dead just lie in the dirt. They cannot praise you. They cannot tell anyone how faithful you are. 10 Lord, hear my prayer, and be kind to me. Lord, help me!” 11 You have changed my sorrow into dancing. You have taken away my sackcloth and clothed me with joy. 12 You wanted me to praise you and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever!” Psalm 30 CEV

Thank you Lord that you give us joy, hope and peace. Thank you for brining us through labor with renewed purpose and new life!

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The King’s Daughter

When I was a girl I wasn’t a Girl Scout but I was a King’s Daughter. That was the organization we had at church for young girls and there was also a group for the boys.

It was there I learned to memorize Bible verses. It’s been almost 55 years ago that I was in that group but occasionally I test my memory to see what I remember. The first whole chapter that I memorized was Psalm 100.

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before His presence with singing. Know that it is He who hath made us and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Be thankful unto Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His mercy endures to all generations.” Psalm 100 KJV

Not quite word for word but almost.

That Psalm reminds me to always be ready to praise the Lord. He has given me life and His goodness, mercy and truth will always endure.

Another verse I learned back then comes to mind quite frequently and still gives me guidance when I’m wondering what to do and how to do it.

“Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.” Psalm 119:11 KJV

There are many other things that I learned while in King’s Daughters but the one that has stayed with me – the one that has been life changing – is the training I received to love God’s word and to honor His promises.

Right now our daughter is teaching our little grandson how to write. He knows his letters, colors, animals, sounds, numbers, etc. The other day she sent me a picture of his writing lesson for the day. He’s really very good.

It brought back memories of when our kids were little and I was teaching them these things. It’s important to have a good education. As important as these things are, it is even more important that we know the words of our Father. They bring us life.

“Always remember what is written in that book of law. Speak about that book and study it day and night. Then you can be sure to obey what is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything you do. 9 Remember, I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9 ERV

Just as children learn from their earthly parents, it’s vital that we remember and know what the Father says. After all, we’re the King’s kids.

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Are You With Or In?

Each morning I spend quite a bit of time looking for the right image to go with each day’s blog. I hope that the image used will stick with you through the day and cause you to remember the teaching I share.

When I saw this image, I knew I had to use it. This little guy is “with” the ducks and “in” the water.

Have you ever thought about the difference between “with” and “in”?

If you have water in a glass and you take it to the table it is “with” you. But you can leave that room and leave the water behind. However, if you drink the water it is “in” you. It gives life to your cells and nourishes your body.

All through the Old Testament we find that God was “with” the people. When Jesus came one of his names was Emmanuel, God “with” us and wherever Jesus went He took God with Him. It is the presence of God that changes our lives.

But once we accept Jesus as our Saviour the Scriptures says that we are “in” Him.

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding [ain it with thanksgiving.

8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead ]bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” Colossians 2:6-10 NKJV

His fullness fills us with His life, His love, His character. Wherever we go we take Christ in us. We bring His nature, His life to every circumstance and person we come in contact with.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in heaven. 4 In Christ, he chose us before the world was made. He chose us in love to be his holy people—people who could stand before him without any fault. 5 And before the world was made, God decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. This was what God wanted, and it pleased him to do it. 6 And this brings praise to God because of his wonderful grace. God gave that grace to us freely. He gave us that grace in Christ, the one he loves.” Ephesians 1:3-6 ERV

We don’t need to beg God for be “with us”. We need to be aware, vitally aware, He is always “in us” because we are “in Christ”. He goes with us everywhere, we can’t ever be separated from Him.

“This message is the secret truth that was hidden since the beginning of time. It was hidden from everyone for ages, but now it has been made known to God’s holy people. 27 God decided to let his people know just how rich and glorious that truth is. That secret truth, which is for all people, is that Christ lives in you, his people. He is our hope for glory. 28 So we continue to tell people about Christ. We use all wisdom to counsel every person and teach every person. We are trying to bring everyone before God as people who have grown to be spiritually mature in Christ.” Colossians 1:26-28 ERV

He lives “in” us so that we can take Him to the world! Let the Lord shine through you today.

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Victory Is Ours

Yesterday we celebrated the ultimate victory, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead! He defeated death for us and in turn, brought us to a place of new life. Our new life in Christ is one of victory.

The Christian life is not for the passive or timid. Each day we will need to stand strong against our enemy when he attacks. The difference with our war is that we win IF we continue to stand and not give up. It doesn’t matter how big the enemy MAY appear, God is greater and He has secured our victory with the power of His word.

The weapons that our enemy uses most are lies, discouragement, fear, and deception. Those have been his tactics from the beginning. He used the same arsenal of weapons on Jesus so why should we think it will be any different with us.

The Apostle Paul tells us what to do when such weapons are being used. “We live in this world, but we don’t fight our battles in the same way the world does. 4 The weapons we use are not human ones. Our weapons have power from God and can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments, 5 and we tear down every proud idea that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We also capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.” II Corinthians 10:3-5

We must protect what thoughts we allow to enter and reside in our minds. Whenever thoughts that are contrary to God’s Word show up we must immediately capture that thought and replace it with one that does reflect Christ. Best way I’ve found to do that is to begin praising God for what I know is true. Tell the enemy you know who he is and that he is a liar; always has been and always will be. He’s never told the truth yet and then begin to praise God that His word is true; always has been always will be.

“To end my letter I tell you, be strong in the Lord and in his great power. 11 Wear the full armor of God. Wear God’s armor so that you can fight against the devil’s clever tricks. 12 Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly places. 13 That is why you need to get God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil, you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing.” Ephesians 6:10-13 ERV

Stand strong today and when you’ve done all you know to do stand on the promises of God. STAND!!

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The Power of Resurrection

As we approach Easter, our thinking has to be centered on the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. “Christ in you the hope of glory” as the Apostle Paul said. Truly think about that – Christ living in me! His life, His power, His provision, His strength!!!

What if Jesus had gone to the cross with the same attitude as many Christians today? “Father God, I know you said in your word that I would rise on the third day – I certainly hope so. I hope I’ve been good enough for you to do a miracle for me; I hope that I’ve been reading the Torah every day and that my tithes are paid up and that I’m spending enough time in prayer each day for you to keep your word! I hope my WORKS have made me worthy to receive from you.”

Hogwash!! Again to quote the Apostle Paul, “we are saved by grace through faith; it is not by works lest any man should boast but it the gift of God”. Period, end of story!

The new life we have in Christ is God’s gift to us – a gift! We receive it by faith and believe that God in His unconditional love and everlasting mercy has given it with no strings attached.

Now I can hear some saying “yes, God the Father did that for Jesus but I’m not Jesus”. You’re right you’re not but if you are born again, Jesus is living in you. Look at what Paul wrote to the Romans about living in the power of God.

“So now anyone who is in Christ Jesus is not judged guilty. 2 That is because in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit that brings life made you free. It made you free from the law that brings sin and death. 3 The law was without power because it was made weak by our sinful selves. But God did what the law could not do: He sent his own Son to earth with the same human life that everyone else uses for sin. God sent him to be an offering to pay for sin. So God used a human life to destroy sin. 4 He did this so that we could be right just as the law said we must be. Now we don’t live following our sinful selves. We live following the Spirit.

5 People who live following their sinful selves think only about what they want. But those who live following the Spirit are thinking about what the Spirit wants them to do. 6 If your thinking is controlled by your sinful self, there is spiritual death. But if your thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace. 7 Why is this true? Because anyone whose thinking is controlled by their sinful self is against God. They refuse to obey God’s law. And really they are not able to obey it. 8 Those who are ruled by their sinful selves cannot please God.

9 But you are not ruled by your sinful selves. You are ruled by the Spirit, if that Spirit of God really lives in you. But whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ. 10 Your body will always be dead because of sin. But if Christ is in you, then the Spirit gives you life, because Christ made you right with God. 11 God raised Jesus from death. And if God’s Spirit lives in you, he will also give life to your bodies that die. Yes, God is the one who raised Christ from death, and he will raise you to life through his Spirit living in you.” Romans 8:1-11 NIV

In Christ, we (you and I) have been set free from the law of sin and death. Yes, we will sin but we aren’t enslaved to it any longer – we have a greater power living in us, the law of the Spirit. And yes, our physical bodies will die but we will live forever with the Father. In fact, our eternal life started the day we accepted Christ as Savior. Because our spirit was born again and our spirit will never die.

Sin controls us as much as we allow it. We have power over sin.

“The Holy Spirit will give you life that comes from Christ Jesus and will set you[a] free from sin and death. 3 The Law of Moses cannot do this, because our selfish desires make the Law weak. But God set you free when he sent his own Son to be like us sinners and to be a sacrifice for our sin. God used Christ’s body to condemn sin. 4 He did this, so that we would do what the Law commands by obeying the Spirit instead of our own desires.” Vs 2-4 CEV

We were powerless but now we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. When circumstances arise that make you think you “have to sin” or that you can’t resist or overcome, remember this – you are a new creature in Christ, old things have passed away and all has become new.

Paul wrote the Book of Romans to give us all insight on how God the Father sees us. He sees us victorious and filled with power. It’s not our own work but the work of the Holy Spirit whom the Father sent. He sent the Holy Spirit to strengthen and empower Jesus and after Jesus went to heaven the Holy Spirit was sent to do the same for all believers.

“God raised Jesus from death. And if God’s Spirit lives in you, he will also give life to your bodies that die. Yes, God is the one who raised Christ from death, and he will raise you to life through his Spirit living in you.” verse 11 ERV

The same Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead, lives in us now and He is working to quicken (make alive) our mortal bodies, bringing us resurrection life over the power of sin and death.

Thank God for Jesus’ resurrection and thank God that His resurrection power lives in us!

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Told You So

Don’t you just hate hearing those words! They generally come when you’ve made a mistake and the person saying them tried to warn you about the outcome but you didn’t listen.

A few days ago I was reading about the Apostle Paul and some words of advice or warning that he gave to a ship’s captain. He told the captain not to set sail but his words of advice were ignored.

“Men, I can see that there will be a lot of trouble on this trip. The ship, everything in it, and even our lives may be lost!” 11 But the captain and the owner of the ship did not agree with Paul. So the army officer accepted what they said instead of believing Paul.” Acts 27:10-11 ERV

So they sailed on. Paul had no choice, he was a prisoner and was being escorted to Rome. Shortly after they set sail they ran into a terrible storm. The storm was so severe that the crew began to throw things overboard. They went days without seeing the sun or the stars. There was no way to navigate. They had lost their bearings but worse than that, they had lost all hope!

Hopeless!

“For many days we could not see the sun or the stars. The storm was very bad. We lost all hope of staying alive—we thought we would die.” Acts 27:20 ERV

And that’s when Paul stood up and said “I told you so”.

“The men did not eat for a long time. Then one day Paul stood up before them and said, “Men, I told you not to leave Crete. You should have listened to me. Then you would not have all this trouble and loss. 22 But now I tell you to be happy. None of you will die, but the ship will be lost. 23 Last night an angel came to me from God—the God I worship and belong to. 24 The angel said, ‘Paul, don’t be afraid! You must stand before Caesar. And God has given you this promise: He will save the lives of all those sailing with you.’ 25 So men, there is nothing to worry about. I trust God, and I am sure everything will happen just as his angel told me. 26 But we will crash on an island.” Acts 27:21-26 ERV

Kind of a good news/bad news situation. We will be saved but we will crash. Wouldn’t you love to have Paul as your traveling companion? (I say that tongue in cheek)

But here is the good news. Paul got a message from the Lord for all on the ship. Don’t be afraid – there’s nothing to worry about. I trust God and everything will be alright!

You may be in a storm right now. It seems like it has been going on forever. You’ve lost your bearing and all hope is gone. You are sure you will crash on the shore and all will be lost.

But God…has a different outcome!

“Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have. 7 And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.” Philippians 4:6-7 ERV

“Finally, let the mighty strength of the Lord make you strong. 11 Put on all the armor that God gives, so you can defend yourself against the devil’s tricks. 12 We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world. 13 So put on all the armor that God gives. Then when that evil day comes, you will be able to defend yourself. And when the battle is over, you will still be standing firm.” Ephesians 6:10-13 CEV

If we trust God’s word, keep it as our primary focus, we will still be standing when the storm is over. Let God’s word be your final authority! He will save us from the storm.

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No Problem’s Too Big

I found myself praying this morning for different ones that I know are going through particularly hard times right now. That’s pretty normal for my morning prayer time. Recently I have been made aware of friends who are experiencing severe physical issues while others are facing career challenges and some are having their entire lives uprooted and their peace and joy on are the verge of destruction.

What do we do when our world seems to be falling apart?

Our God is waiting to handle each and everyone of these situations. God is able and I can hear Him saying, “Child, that’s not a problem for me. I can handle it. Trust me.”

“There is One Who can keep you from falling and can bring you before Himself free from all sin. He can give you great joy as you stand before Him in His shining-greatness. 25 He is the only God. He is the One Who saves from the punishment of sin through Jesus Christ our Lord. May He have shining-greatness and honor and power and the right to do all things. He had this before the world began, He has it now, and He will have this forever. Let it be so.” Jude 1:24-15 NLV

All through the Bible we have examples of God coming to the aid of His children. He brought them deliverance from the enemies, healing when they were sick, provision when they lacked, peace when they were in a place of fear and unrest and strength to be victorious in battle.

“My God will use his glorious riches to give you everything you need. He will do this through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 ERV

I’ve heard people make the statement, “I didn’t know what else to do so I prayed”. When they come to the end of their own strength, knowledge and resources that’s when many turn to God. I’ve been guilty of that too, however, the real time to trust God is when everything seems to be going right. Let Him take control then and He will keep us in a place of peace when the storms come.

I can hear some of you say, “Ya but you don’t know my situation”. No, but, God does!

There were three young Hebrew men who had committed their lives to follow God’s teachings and they were captured and taken as slaves to Babylon. They went through a time of training to serve in the king’s court. There was one thing they were commanded to do and they refused. They refused to worship the king as God. Their lives were threatened and here was there answer. They could give this answer because they had trusted God in the good times and they knew He would be faithful in the worst of times.

“King Nebuchadnezzar was furious. So he sent for the three young men and said, 14 “I hear that you refuse to worship my gods and the gold statue I have set up. 15 Now I am going to give you one more chance. If you bow down and worship the statue when you hear the music, everything will be all right. But if you don’t, you will at once be thrown into a flaming furnace. No god can save you from me.”

16 The three men replied, “Your Majesty, we don’t need to defend ourselves. 17 The God we worship can save us from you and your flaming furnace. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we still won’t worship your gods and the gold statue you have set up.” Daniel 3:13-18 ERV

So let me ask you again. What problem is facing you today? Is it health, work, family relationships, financial problems? Whatever it is, it’s no problem to our great God!

“So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:16 CEV

God is faithful!

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Heart To Heart

Technology is wonderful. We can send an email and receive a response in a couple of hours. Better yet, we can text and get an answer in a matter of minutes. These forms of communication are fine but nothing can compare to hearing the voice of a dear friend.

Video chats are nice, phone conversations are great but sitting and talking face to face is over the top!

Face to face conversations involve touch, eye contact, voice inflexion and quality time. These times are the best when building and keeping a relationship. That’s why I love my morning quiet times so much. I get to sit and talk with my heavenly Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. In my heart and through God’s word, I can hear them speak to me. There’s nothing that compares to these intimate moments of personal communication.

Heart to Heart!

The Father wants to hear what’s on my heart and He wants to share His loving thoughts with me. The depth of that is almost incomprehensible but it’s true. Loving, Almighty God wants to speak with me.

“Call to Me, and I will answer you. And I will show you great and wonderful things which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 NLV

The Creator of the Universe is waiting to talk to me and show me the wonderful things that He has done and that He desires to do! And then, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come to remind us of the things that Jesus had taught while He was here. He knew that sometimes we have memory failure and forget so He sent the Holy Spirit to be our helper.

“I have told you all these things while I am with you. 26 But the Helper will teach you everything and cause you to remember all that I told you. This Helper is the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name.

27 “I leave you peace. It is my own peace I give you. I give you peace in a different way than the world does. So don’t be troubled. Don’t be afraid.” John 14:25-27 ERV

When we find ourselves worrying over a particular situation; work, children, health, finances, relationships, if we pray about it and ask the Lord to remind us of what we need to do, He will be faithful to give us the answers we need. He will bring peace to our lives.

We can talk heart to heart.

I’m sure we all have those close friends whose word we trust. We know they will tell us the truth, they won’t lie. We can place even greater confidence in what God says to us. In all of time, He has never lied and He never will. I remember the first time I read these verses written by John. They seemed too good to be true.

“We believe people when they say something is true. But what God says is more important. And this is what God told us: He told us the truth about his own Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the truth that God told us. But people who do not believe God make God a liar, because they do not believe what God told us about his Son. 11 This is what God told us: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

13 I write this letter to you who believe in the Son of God. I write so that you will know that you have eternal life now. 14 We can come to God with no doubts. This means that when we ask God for things (and those things agree with what God wants for us), God cares about what we say. 15 He listens to us every time we ask him. So we know that he gives us whatever we ask from him.” I John 5:9-15 ERV

When we place our confidence in Jesus and believe that God sent His Son to be our Savior we receive new life in Him. And if we know that we have new life in Christ, God’s word says we can come to Him, with no doubts, and ask Him for the things we need and He will give them to us. God isn’t looking to withhold things from us; He wants to provide for us and fill our lives with blessing.

“Jesus has the power of God. And his power has given us everything we need to live a life devoted to God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus chose us by his glory and goodness, 4 through which he also gave us the very great and rich gifts that he promised us. With these gifts you can share in being like God. And so you will escape the ruin that comes to people in the world because of the evil things they want.” II Peter 1:3-4 ERV

When we talk to the Father, heart to heart, we won’t be asking for things that are selfish or displease Him instead we will be asking for things that will make our relationship with Him stronger. That pleases Him greatly.

I want you to look at the face of the woman in this image. Do you see the contentment and joy? She is at peace spending time with Jesus. This sense of well-being doesn’t come with a quick text, a short email, a brief call; it comes from spending time face to face and heart to heart.

I’ve prayed for you this morning that you will know that same peace.

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Not Afraid of Monsters

Years ago, when the movie was first released, Dave, Koy and I went to see Monsters Inc. We were amazed by the animation; we could see every whisker and hair move, the sweat glistening on Boo’s skin and the colors were so vivid. I remember it still.

But what I remember the most was the story. It was my story!

Remember when you were little and thought there might be monsters under the bed or in the closet? As a child, I was plagued with nightmares until one night I made friends with the biggest monster in my dreams. After that, whenever I would have a nightmare I would just call on my monster friend and he would come scare off all the other monsters that were there to hurt me. When I saw the movie Monsters Inc, I was reminded of my friend because he looked a lot like Sulley.

But now I don’t make friends with monsters, instead I rely on the Father and His Word. 

“3 For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. 4 [Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.

5 You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day, 6 Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.” Psalm 91:3-6 AMP

In this day of terror plots, road rage, random shootings and all the mayhem that is loose in our world, not to mention the daily dangers we are exposed to, living in the power of God’s Word is a place of comfort and protection. 

These are the verses above from the Complete Jewish Bible translation.

“he will rescue you from the trap of the hunter and from the plague of calamities; 4 he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his truth is a shield and protection. 5 You will not fear the terrors of night or the arrow that flies by day, 6 or the plague that roams in the dark, or the scourge that wreaks havoc at noon.” Vs 3-6

The way I see it, the Lord promises to protect us from hidden peril – from the things we can’t see. A bird doesn’t see the trap until it’s caught and plagues come without advance warning. 

He also protects from disasters that can be seen. The picture in verse 4 is that of a mother hen or bird that sets herself down over the top of her chicks to protect them from danger. She risks her own life and cuddles her young under her wings. Isn’t that what Jesus did for us? He gave His own life to protect us from the ravages of sin and its effects.

“What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? 32 God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else? 33 If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? 34 Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed! Christ died and was raised to life, and now he is at God’s right side, speaking to him for us. 35 Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death?” Romans 8:31-35 CEV

No matter what time of day – night, daylight, or noon day, the Lord promises to be there and be our protection.

When our children were little, Dave and I would pray with them and over them each morning before they headed out to school. We would pray these verses over them then and we still do now. But now we’ve added their spouses and our grandchildren.  I have no idea how many times they have been protected as they go about their days. God is faithful!

We have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles, literally, in our vehicle without ever having an accident. We’ve been in the presence of danger many times and not even known it until later and then we saw how God’s hand protected us.

We can take these verses as our own and use them to bring a covering of protection for our families as well. God’s word is true; He does not lie! But it doesn’t just come automatically we have to appropriate it – we have to believe it. Just like the electricity that comes into our homes, it’s there but we will sit in the dark and the cold unless we turn on the switch and put the power to work. 

Turn on the switch in prayer and watch the power of God work in your life!

Let me end with this. God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours – His plan of protection is better than ours. As the rain is higher than the earth and comes down to cover the earth; God’s ways are higher than our thinking and He rains down His protection to cover us.

“The Lord says: ‘My thoughts and my ways are not like yours. 9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours. 10 “Rain and snow fall from the sky. But they don’t return without watering the earth that produces seeds to plant and grain to eat. 11 That’s how it is with my words. They don’t return to me without doing everything I send them to do.’

12 When you are set free, you will celebrate and travel home in peace. Mountains and hills will sing as you pass by, and trees will clap.” Isaiah 55: 8-12 CEV

God’s word will cause our lives to bring in a crop of good fruit – it will cause us to prosper and our lives to be filled with joy and peace.

As I said above, I no longer need to make friends with the monsters. God’s word is the word of my best friend and He is able to keep me safe in every situation. I trust Him and my life is filled with peace!

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Spring Forward

Most of the Nation has survived the Spring Forward Sunday of Daylight Saving Time.

Monday night there was a segment on the news about sleep. It stressed how much sleep we should all be getting at different stages in our lives. That report was followed by another study on the lack of concentration that many experience because they lose an hour of sleep from springing forward. There seems to be an excuse for everything these days. The first report stated that someone my age should be getting seven to eight hours sleep each night and if not, we will not be operating at our peak efficiency.

If that is the case, I am inefficient. I don’t think I have had a full eight hours sleep in over forty years. My internal clock isn’t wired that way. I feel I am very efficient and that most days I accomplish a great deal. But enough of that…

The second study on daylight saving time doesn’t concern me. I live in Arizona! Our clocks never spring forward or fall back. We remain the same. There’s something comforting in consistency.

Isn’t it great that Jesus is always the same?! He is consistent, He never changes.

“Remember your leaders. They taught God’s message to you. Remember how they lived and died, and copy their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Don’t let all kinds of strange teachings lead you into the wrong way. Depend only on God’s grace for spiritual strength, not on rules about foods. Obeying those rules doesn’t help anyone.” Hebrews 13:7-9 ERV

When we look at those who have gone before, those who trusted God and received His promises we see that God, the Father, has been provider, protector, deliverer, healer, a fortress, helper, bread of life, living water, calmer of the storms, blesser, comforter, a strong tower, Savior, shelter, peace giver, lover of my soul and the great I AM!

We should be excited by the example that God gave us through their lives. Each one of them was a role model of God’s faithfulness. Abraham, Moses, Noah, David, Samuel, Daniel, Jeremiah, Rahab, Esther, Ruth, Peter, John, Matthew, Paul, Timothy and Jesus’ life moments were recorded so that we could see the loving nature of God the Father. Hebrews, chapter eleven, is called the Hall of Fame of Faith. We are reminded of so many who put their trust in God’s promises and found Him faithful.

“We have all these great people around us as examples. Their lives tell us what faith means. So we, too, should run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall. 2 We must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete. He suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne. 3 Think about Jesus. He patiently endured the angry insults that sinful people were shouting at him. Think about him so that you won’t get discouraged and stop trying.” Hebrews 12:1-3 ERV

When we look at how God was, we find out how He is and how He always will be! Jesus doesn’t spring forward or fall back.

Jesus is always the same! Praise God.

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