Month: May 2020

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.”  Isaiah‬ ‭26:3‬ ‭KJV‬‬  We are living in a time of great chaos and trouble. The hearts of many people are disturbed and fearful. And how can it be otherwise when God says, “There is no peace to the wicked”? But for those who trust God, who have their minds turned to God and their thoughts upon Who God is, we can have perfect peace! But we should realize, this takes a great effort to keep our minds stayed on Him. Our enemy will do everything he can to distract us with all the trouble that is around us, because his purpose is to get us focused on the trouble rather than our God! So if we truly want to live with His peace in our hearts, then we must lift our eyes to Jesus! We must know that He is greater than all of the problems. Look to Him, trust Him, and peace will be yours.

“Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it.”       Ezekiel‬ ‭36:36‬ ‭KJV‬‬. There are times we look around at our society, at other people and even at ourselves, and we wonder, “If anything can be done? If there is still hope for all this mess and ruin?” Today we are living in such a time. Many people, even some of God’s people, have given up hope for a brighter day. They look only at our feeble abilities and resources. But may God help us today, to realize, that our God is able to do far more than our minds can comprehend! He can rebuild the ruined places! He can replant that which has been uprooted and unsettled. And because He said it, He will do it! Don’t lose hope, dear ones, we serve a Mighty God.

““Blessed be the LORD, Who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise…”
‭‭I Kings‬ ‭8:56‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.  We live in a world where everyday we are surrounded by failure. Failure in people, failure in governments, failure in business, and failure in ourselves. And yet, we have this blessed assurance, that not one word, not one promise of God has ever failed! Nothing God has ever done or spoken has failed, because He is the Unfailing God! May we be encouraged to put our faith and trust, our hopes and dreams, all of our lives, in Him Who cannot fail. Let us stand on His unfailing promises.

“Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind…”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭8:35‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This is another example of the power of Jesus to totally transform a life. This man, moments ago, was filled with devils, living like a wild animal, naked, and disturbed in his mind, now has met Jesus. He experiences what the songwriter says “All things were changed when HE found me!”. Now he is peaceful and calm, sitting at Jesus’ feet. Now he is clothed and acting as a man should act. Now he is in his right mind! Oh may we never forget, Jesus still has power to change lives today! Nothing is impossible to Him! He is just the same today!

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psa.‬ ‭27:1‬ ‭KJV‬‬ There are times, when we come face to face with our own weakness and inadequacy, that we wonder, how are we going to make it? There are so many pressures against us and so many problems around us that we question if our limited resources will be enough. But the good news is, our Heavenly Father did not call us to do this on our own! He promises that He will be the strength of of lives! He will be our light in the darkness. He will be our unfailing Resource. And because of Who He is to us, we do not have to fear. We don’t have to worry about our lack. The eternal God, the great I AM, He is the One we can depend on.

“The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…”.    Deut.‬ ‭33:27‬ ‭KJV‬‬.  Many times in this life people worry because they feel alone and insecure. We wonder if there will be anyone to catch us when we fall, or to lift us up when we’re down? But we are reminded here, that God Himself, the eternal, unfailing God, He is our refuge and His mighty arms are beneath us! When we stumble or fall, He is there to catch us. When we get weary, He is there to hold us up. When our soul needs rest, He is our resting place. When we’re fearful, His everlasting arms are our safe retreat. For the soul whose faith is in Him, we need never doubt, because our faithful God is greater than any problem we have! His strength far exceeds our weakness. The question for us is, will we trust Him? Will we learn to lean on His strong arms?

“And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” Acts‬ ‭24:25‬ ‭KJV‬‬ As Paul spoke to Felix about the needs of his soul, he was greatly moved. He was convicted so much that he trembled. And yet, he would not change! He said “Go away for now, maybe later when things are more ‘convenient’ for me, then I will do what I should”. Today we warn the unsaved about putting things off, but how often have we said that to God? He reveals our need and we see it is true! We know what God wants us to do! And yet, we tell Him, “Maybe later, at a better time for me???” May we realize the danger of putting off till later what God is calling us to today.

“Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty” Job‬ ‭5:17‬ ‭KJV
People may wonder, how we can be glad about receiving correction? But when we know that we need it, and it is always for our good, and it comes from the loving hand of a perfect Father, then, we can be thankful for it. Then we can be glad that our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He will always do what is best for us. So let us humble ourselves under His mighty hand, trusting His perfect love, and He will lift us up.

“…but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.” Deut.‬ ‭23:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.
One of the great blessings of walking in the love of God, is that our God watches over us and will keep us from the evil devices of men. What evil men try to use to curse and harm us with, our God has the Power to turn the curse into a blessing! That means to work all things for good to those who love Him. What a joy to know that such Almighty Power works with Perfect Love to keep us safe! May we do our part to keep ourselves in His love.

“And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
‭‭John‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.  The word translated ‘comprehend’ means that it could not be overcome. When the light of Christ shined into this sin darkened world, it could not and will not ever be overcome! Likewise, when His light shines into our souls, it will not be overcome. So a part of our job, is to keep ourselves in a place where His light can continue shining in us. To always remain close to the Light. To keep our minds open everyday, to His Word, through which shines the Light of Christ. And as we do this, the Light of Christ will be shining through our lives, so those in darkness around us, can see the Light.