Tucked Securely Under God's Wings

God created us in order to share with us His awesome blessings and provision. He gave us Paradise to enjoy and will once again restore the whole earth to this euphoric condition (Revelation 20-21).

The message of the gospel is senseless to those who are lost without Christ as their Savior. In their pride and rebellion, they condemn themselves with their unbelief (John 3:18).

However, for those of us who trust Christ's redemptive work on the cross, it changes our lives (1 Corinthians 1:18-19). God's love gives us a secure foundation on which to place our faith (John 3:16-17).

As we experience and come to understand God's love, we are filled with adoration, gratitude and love for Him (1 John 4:8). As branches, we are nourished through the Vine of Christ by His love, which is our foundational roots (John 15:5).

God inspired the writers of the Bible to relate both the successes and failures of His Saints. By their examples, we learn hope, reassurance and patience (Romans 15:4).

He fills us to overflowing with the presence of His Spirit (Ephesians 3:19), which replaces our carnal nature. We gradually experience His spiritual fruit and divine nature infiltrating our thoughts, choices and feelings.

We need not fear the terror of night or the arrow that flies by day (Psalm 91:5; Ephesians 6:16). In Him we rejoice always, pray continually and see the seed for a miracle in every adventure through which He leads us (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Prayer:

Father God, we cannot help but shed tears of overwhelming joy as we sit in Your presence. Your love encompasses us on every side (Romans 8:35-38). Your wisdom protects us in every decision (Proverbs 4:5; James 1:5). Your Spirit guides our thoughts, words and deeds (John 16:13). Your angels carry us so that we do not even stub our toe (Psalm 91:12).

Thank You for the fellowship of Your Body and the guidance of Your Word, which comfort us during this life of affliction. Thank You for making us heirs with Christ of Your entire Kingdom. Eternity is not long enough for us to have the time to give You all the praise and gratitude, which You deserve.

Thought for the Day:

We are secure in every circumstance as long as we trust God and are tucked safely under the covering of His wings; even in sickness and death He gives us wisdom, provision and protection. - Psalm 91:4

End to the Beginning

Whenever I read a book, I always read the last chapter first. That way I eliminate the mystery, suspense and unpredictability of the story line. Then, I can read from the beginning, without the stress of not knowing how it will turn out.

Some of you may enjoy horror movies and suspenseful mysteries, but they cause my psyche too much anxiety. I love to watch Hallmark movies, because as my husband derisively points out, the endings are predictable. There is very little stress and suspense in these wondrously sappy romances.

I did this with the Bible too. I read Revelation first. This colorful depiction of symbolic drama gives us a bird's eye view of the culmination of time as we know it.

Revelation confirms the prophetic books of the Bible, such as Daniel, Ezekiel and Isaiah - as well as the New Testament letters such as the gospels and Thessalonians. They report to us God's intention for creation, redemption and restoration.

When we know how the end plays out, these facts remove the guesswork from life and give us a fool proof game plan to follow in our walk of faith through the Son of God.

God made His will plain and stress-free for us through the Biblical account of His clear timetable of events leading up to His final return to earth and His eternal plans for humanity.

God does not dwell in time. The 6,000 years since creation are all in the present to Him. He is not restrained, directed or controlled by the hands on the clock like we are (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8).

Our Creator and King dwells in eternity. He invites us to join Him in this place of unhindered existence through salvation in His Son. Jesus won this privilege for us by taking on the form of a man and dying in our place (Philippians 2:6-8).

God also provided us with His Word in order to afford us hope for a joyful future and instructions for living in a peaceful existence through every moment of each new day regardless of our circumstances (Jeremiah 29:11).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for Your Word, which takes the guesswork right out of life. Remind us to check with You before we do anything, so that You can direct our plans (Proverbs 3:5-6). When Satan attempts to hinder us, teach us to use spiritual warfare through the power of Christ in us to withstand his onslaughts.

Thank You for always answering our prayers, and for not always giving us what we want, but what is in our best interest. We squirm under the pressures of life and often feel like we know how to alleviate these trials; but we often jump out of the frying pan into the fire. Keep us in the center of Your will and walking in the fruit of Your righteousness.

Thought for the Day:

Our Father is God and there is no one like Him; He declared the end to the beginning. - Isaiah 4:9-11

Lift Up Your Head

Rahab hid the Israelite spies who came to scope out the land for the Israelite invasion. She was rewarded with salvation during the destruction of Jericho.

The amazing part of this story to me is that she lived in the outside wall, and God sent her deliverance before the wall fell straight down on the seventh day.

God kept her safe even through this time of destruction, as well as redeemed her from her former profession. She married Salmon; and her son, Boaz, married another gentile convert, Ruth.

Rahab is the great-grandmother of King David and is in the ancestry lineage of Jesus Christ. God truly lifted up her head and turned her ashes into a thing of beauty (Psalm 3:3-4).

Our Father God does this same thing for anyone willing to surrender their will to His will (Luke 22:42). He exalts our head above our enemies (Psalm 27:5-6).

When our soul is depressed and unsettled within us, we hope in God and praise His name, and He puts a smile on our lips and joy in our heart (Psalm 42:11).

He sets our feet to dancing (Psalm 30:11) and gives us something to shout about (Psalm 98:4). He changes our focus from the temporal to the eternal and gives us a future full of hope and blessings (Jeremiah 29:11).

Eventually, we leave this carnal earth behind and enter into the glories of Heaven, living in the presence of God for eternity and inheriting His Kingdom with Jesus (Revelation 21:23; Psalm 16:11; Romans 8:17).

Prayer:

Father God, we praise You all the days of our life and still do not have enough time to thank You for all You have done for us. We look forward to eternity and having endless eons to worship You in all of Your beauty and holiness. We give you praise, honor and glory.

Thank You for Your love for us, for holding us in the palm of Your hand and for lifting up our head when we face the trials we encounter on this earth. You fill our hearts with joy and peace; not the tentative harmony that the world offers, but Your lasting and eternal peace which surpasses our human comprehension (John 14:27).

Thought for the Day:

God leads us by His Spirit each moment of the day and fills our life full of divine appointments which make a difference in our life and in the lives He brings across our path.