Safety in the Lord

Regardless of our earthly circumstance, God Himself is our refuge during our trials, and our strength to make Godly choices in spite of how much pain we are experiencing. He is always ready to help us during difficulty.

We experience numerous negative issues in this life including illness, natural disasters, war, fire, loss of a loved one through death or divorce, etc.; yet, God is with us through them all, calming our fears.

Although He brings destruction on ungodly nations, He also blesses Godly nations with His glorious works. Every nation will obey Him throughout the whole world, and will bow their knee to His Lordship (Romans 14:11).

He will ultimately end all wars on the earth, and destroy the implements of war; bringing peace and His goodness on all those who honor Him with their life.

The city of God is our future dwelling place. There is a river, which brings joy to the sacred home of our most high God, and we will abide with Him forever.

The voice of the Lord can melt the earth; yet the God of angel armies is our fortress, living among us. He is our dwelling place and He also dwells within us, making our way straight and providing us with an everlasting fortress (Psalm 46).

It is a safe dwelling place and can never be destroyed, even when earthly kingdoms crumble in chaos. There is no one like our God, who rides the heavens to come to our aid with all of His majesty streaking through the skies in our defense.

His everlasting arms gird us and He drives out our enemies before us (Deuteronomy 33:26-27). We have all of God's fullness within us at the moment of our salvation; and as we surrender to His will, He manifests more of Himself through us.

His heavenly dew refreshes us in times of spiritual drought and He leads us to dwell in the land of plenty. He saves us from calamity and is our shield and sword in the face of our enemies (Deuteronomy 33:28-29).

Prayer:

Father God, I am so glad that we have all of eternity to praise and worship You for Your magnanimous blessings to us during our sojourn on this earth. Your name is our high tower and we run into it and are saved from life's evil and disappointments (Proverbs 18:10).

Only in You do we place our trust (Psalm 91:2; Proverbs 29:25). You are our loving God and there is no one else like You. You are great and Your name is great in all the earth (Psalm 144:2; Jeremiah 10:6). We give You all the praise and glory, which is due to Your name.

Thought for the Day:

Whoever surrenders to the Lord has a secure fortress in this life and the next, and He is an eternal refuge for our children and children's children. - Proverbs 14:26

We Are All Winners

We are given every opportunity as we grow up from childhood to compete with others in athletics, games, grades, hobbies and even dating. We covet the first place award, and we are so disappointed when we achieve anything less. This drive to reach perfection will drive us into an early grave. It makes us think that we can control our life and the outcome of every endeavor.

We soon learn, through a series of hard knocks, that we cannot control everything. Rather than give us relief, we allow this fact to demean us in our own eyes. We see others who always win; therefore, we must be less in every way than they are. Satan makes sure that we do not recognize that there are many others who are not in first place either.

There can only be one first place winner, and everyone else is second rate at best. Therefore, rather than allowing Satan to accuse us with this fact, allow it to be a comfort, realizing that most people do not achieve first place, but we are all winners if we are IN CHRIST. This way we can rejoice with people who do win, and comfort those who do not.

We have no reason to deride our self or to feel belittled in any way, because even the winners will lose sometimes. They cannot win at everything they try. The real goal is not to win, but to do our best. If you did your best, then no one, not even your self, can expect anything more from you than your best. It is only when we do not do our best that we deserve to come in second best. 

John warns us about the boastful pride of life and points out that this does not come from God, but from the philosophy of the world (1 John 2:16). Satan is the god of this world, and he thinks that he owns the kingdoms of this world. The truth is that God gave the government of the earth to mankind, and Adam relinquished his position by believing Satan’s lie.

We do this same thing every day. We believe Satan’s lies as truth and we discount the Word of God. In truth, King Jesus now has all power and authority both in heaven and on earth. He lives within us and we abide in Him as He abides in us. All the power of the Godhead dwells inside of our spirit; and we can tap into it and share it with the world around us.

Prayer:

Father God, open the eyes of our heart and let us see You. You are high and lifted up and the earth is simply Your footstool (Isaiah 66:1). Teach us that there is nothing in this world that is more valuable than our relationship with You. Remind us that as King’s kids, we are all winners because of what our brother Jesus did for us on Calvary’s cross (Matthew 4:10).

Thought for the Day:

Never think that you can handle life on your own; seek God in all of your circumstances, plans, goals and decisions. - Proverbs 3:5-6