Weeping and Shouting

Ezra 3:11

And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, 'for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever toward Israel', And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

 

 

What a glorious day! When the builders had laid the foundation for the temple, the priests came forward in their priestly vestments and with trumpets and cymbals. This was no small thing! It was a day of celebration! What had been denied them for so long was now coming to pass. The fervor escalated as they sang responsively, praising God for His love and His returning them to Jerusalem. People were shouting! Great shouts that were heard far away! Such unabashed freedom! Their praise was unhindered. But many of the older men who had seen the first house of the Lord wept with a loud voice. More raw emotion! There was nothing quiet about this day! Whether it was weeping for sadness over what once was and would never be completely duplicated, or it was shouting for joy for what was now, the sounds could not be separated. The raw emotions made the perfect blend of praise to God!

 

I treasure my times of corporate worship. What a joy is found in praising God together! But am I more concerned about others and what is the proper way to worship? Would I ever break out in shouting and loud weeping? I have felt it many times, but have held back. I know that my praise to God should not be hindered by any perceived social decorum and that it must be above all that!

 

Father,

Thank You so much for times of corporate worship, for singing glorious songs, and for praying together. Teach me to worship You exactly as you desire whether it means shouting and loud weeping or quietly seeking Your face.

In Him,

Amen

Training

I Tim. 4:7-8

Have nothing to do with irreverent silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness, for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

 

Not only is bodily training a successful business nowadays, but it has great effects for those who participate. It improves health and overall quality of life for this life, but often the dedication that it takes to be successful takes the place of what the soul needs. This verses encourages our dedication be focused on training for godliness. Certainly, exercise and be healthy! But don't let it consume your life and be your entire focus. I think in our culture it seems that even if we do good things in moderation, the thing that always gets left out or slighted is time with God, our training for godliness.

 

Training speaks to me of a plan and sticking to the plan. Training for anything is not haphazard. Instead it is focused on the goal. The goal here is promise for this life and for the life to come, a twofold benefit, temporal and eternal. This is a cautionary promise speaking to me of focus. It wouldn't have to be exercise. It could be anything that would take my focus from God and put it elsewhere.

 

Father,

Keep my eyes and my heart focused on godliness. Let me think of it first in all that I do. Convict me heavily when I stray away from the godly training.

In Him,

Amen

Praise the Lord!

Ps. 150:6

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

 

Ps. 150 is the final doxology for the book of Psalms, as well as a psalm used for a joyous celebration. It answers so many questions about praising God.

• Where
• In His sanctuary
• In His mighty heavens
• What
• For His mighty deeds
• According to His excellent greatness
• How
• With trumpet sound
• With the lute and harp
• With the tambourine and dance
• With the strings and pipe
• With the sounding cymbals
• With loud, clashing cymbals
• Who
• Everything that has breath

 

Praise should flow from the heart constantly and not just on Sunday in church. All nature provides a sanctuary in itself. This praise should be something that is unstoppable, always seeping out in any circumstance. Is my praise unstoppable?

 

Praise should include what He has done and His attributes. It is essential that believers know God intimately and have a vital relationship with God. What better way is there to know who He is, His attributes, and what He has done, not necessarily what He has done only in my life, but in the lives of others and in those lives recorded in His word. Is my praise specific to Him? Am I just praising for what He has done for me, or am I praising Him for who He is?

 

My praise can be loud and boisterous as well as quiet and reserved. All music is a gift and should be used to reflect back praise to Him? Am I using what He has given me to praise Him?

 

Finally, am I using every breath that I have to praise Him? Am I encouraging others to praise Him as well? What a joy to praise a God who loves me and who knows me personally! What a joy to praise Him knowing full well that all He has planned for my life is for my good!

 

Father,

I praise Your name with my every breath. Thank You for loving me so much that You sent Your Son to save me. Thank You for sending Your Spirit to live in my life and to grow me minute by minute. Thank You for being such a great God, so gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

In Him,

Amen

 



Count the Cost

Lk. 14:26-27

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

 

If a man were to build a house but had not calculated if he had enough materials to finish the house, his project would be incomplete. What good is a foundation without the rest of the house? The same goes for a king who goes to battle. If he only has 10,000 soldiers, and his enemy has 20,00, it might be better if he sought terms for peace to avoid loss of life and his kingdom. What about buying groceries? I have on occasion loaded up my cart, gone to the register, only to find out I didnt have enough money. How embarrassing! Counting the cost for whatever you do is essential.

 

Jesus talked to the great crowds who followed Him. Perhaps many of them were waiting for miracles or free food, but the message they heard this day was hard. Jesus told them that if they were to follow Him, they must be willing to hate family and even their own lives.['Hate' is a Semitic term for loving less.] Normally, a person who cares deeply for family is admired, but when it comes to Jesus, He must be all in all, first place, and nothing else. He demands total commitment! When He went to the cross for me, He was totally committed! He sacrificed His life for mine! How can my commitment be any less? All followers of Jesus must sit down and count the cost. Jesus concluding sentence was, So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that He has cannot be my disciple. I wonder how quickly the crowd dwindled. Where is my heart? Is it clearly His and only His?

 

Father,

Draw me ever closer increasing my commitment day by day. I so want to be Jesus' disciple. Thank You, Jesus for Your commitment to me.

In Your name,

Amen

Love from a Pure Heart, a Good Conscience, and a Sincere Faith

I Tim. 1:6

The aim of our charge is love, that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

 

Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, his true child in the faith. How it must have blessed his heart to have this relationship! He was able to rest in the fact that his imprisonment would not halt the spread of the gospel or the spiritual growth of new believers, and he would be able to rest assured that his ministry would go on even after his eventual death. Timothy's mission was to travel to Ephesus urging the believers there to avoid teaching other doctrines and to desist pursuing myths and genealogies which promoted speculation rather than stewardship from God through faith. Instead The aim of their charge was love, that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

 

How important love is! If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have no love, I gain nothing. Any work, even though it may seem altruistic and selfless, is still just a work. Without love, the best this work or teaching can be is a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. Sadly, that's the truth! These teachers in Ephesus had swerved from the faith and gotten themselves embroiled in useless discussions, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they were saying or the things about which they made confident assertions. Perhaps they thought they appeared holy or religious, but not only were they not functioning in love, they were also not competent in their teaching. Puffed up in what they thought they knew, they became heady and strong-willed. Where was their faith and their love? Were they know by their patience and kindness or their arrogance and rudeness? The aim of Timothy's charge was sorely needed then as it is now. How easy it is to let love slide and let duty or works take its place! It feds our pride and self-worth making us forget our worth is only in the Jesus and through grace! What a gift! His love in us should be our operational mode, myself or Him, my works for His, and my life in His!

 

Father,

Teach me more about love and how to live within its confines. Growth my faith into godly sincerity and keep my conscience clear before You and men.

In the name of Jesus,

Amen

 



Two Kings: Father and Son

II Chron. 20:12

O our God, will You not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.

 

Jehoshaphat Seeks the Lord

 

A great horde from Moab and Ammon was coming against Jehoshaphat. He was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord. After proclaiming a fast throughout Judah, all assembled to seek help from the Lord. He stood in the assembly and prayed aloud, In Your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand. Did You not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel...O God will You no execute judgment on them?  For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.

 

The prophet, Jahaziel (son of Zechariah) spoke the word of the Lord. The Lord said, Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but Gods...You will not need to fight this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf...The Lord will be with you. All who were gathered bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord.

 

The next day they went to the battle field. Soon they came to the watchtower of the wilderness to look for the horde. What did they find? Dead bodies lying on the ground. None of the enemy had escaped.  Jehoshaphat and the people came and took the spoil for 3 days. On the 4th day, they blessed the Lord in the Valley of Beracah. So the reign of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for His God gave him rest all around. 

 

How wonderful to see God's provision when a heart seeks Him! Jehoshaphat's words are such an example to me. When I am in a tight spot, I don't need to figure out a plan. I need to pray saying, I am powerless and do not know what to do, but my eyes are on You. Then I need to wait and let the Lord work without fear. He doesn't need my help. I need His! I need to stand firm and hold my position and trust the Lord, my salvation to work as He always has in the past.

 

Jehoram Seeks Evil

 

Jehoram was the firstborn son of Jehoshaphat and took the throne when his father died. He immediately killed all his brothers and some of the princes in the land. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and as the house of Ahab. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the covenant He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever. He made high places in the hill country and led Jerusalem into whoredom and made Judah go astray.

 

Elijah sent him a letter that said, because you have killed your brothers, walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and enticed Judah into whoredom,  you will have a plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions, and you yourself will have a severe sickness with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the disease, day to day. [Rough stuff!] And in the course of time (2 years), his bowels came out and he died in great agony. He was 32 when he began to reign, and he reigned 8 years in Jerusalem,. And he departed with no one's regret.

 

How tragic is that story! He was the son of the king who loved and worshiped the Lord. As a boy, he saw the great things that they Lord had done, yet he turned away and put Judah and Israel into a hopeless situation and led them away from God.

• Jehoshaphat had military victories without fighting at all and Jehoram had defeat.
• Jehoshaphat's eyes were on the Lord while Jehoram's were on himself.
• Health and rest were Jehoshaphat's while Jehoram endured great pain and death.

Not really a choice! Health and peace or pain, agony and death... How sad to die to depart with no one's regret...

Father,
Teach me daily to keep my eyes on You and to realize that I am helpless to function without You. Give me a heart that has eyes only for You. Thank You Lord for Your great love and salvation.
In His name,
Amen



Continual Praise

Ps. 145:21

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever.

 

What a glorious psalm of praise! Memorizing and praying this psalm has been a blessing this entire year.  After memorizing it last August, I have prayed it nightly before I fall asleep. My purpose was to  praise God no matter what the day had brought, sickness, complications, pain, etc. And this year has been full of sickness, pain, and complications! I know that all God has planned for me is for my good and for His glory, but some days are harder than others.

 

This psalm teaches so many things about God and His relationship to man:

• God and King
• Unsearchable greatness
• God is greatly to be praised
• Mighty awesome deeds
• abundant goodness
• righteous
• gracious and merciful
• slow to anger
• abounding in steadfast love
• good to all
• mercy over all creation
• glorious kingdom
• everlasting kingdom
• dominion endures through all generations
• faithful in His words
• kind in His works
• upholds all who are falling
• raises up all who are bowed down
• gives food in due season
• satisfies the desire of every living thing
• righteous in all His ways
• near to all who call on Him in truth
• fulfills the desire of those who fear Him, hears their cry and saves them
• preserves all who love Him
• the wicked He will destroy

Like David, I open my heart to God, extolling Him as my God and King. I bless His name every day and praise Him. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. Using this psalm has truly impacted my heart.

Several weeks ago, John and I were going to a worship conference in CA. Before the conference began I rushed John to the hospital with a GI bleed where he stayed the duration of the conference. I got the stomach flu and various other things and neither one of us were able to go to the conference at all. Amazingly, my heart was praising God. I did not even fall into a downcast pity party even though it was a costly trip. Still on our way home, we got kicked off the plane in Oakland and had to spend another night in a hotel, but this time with no luggage. My heart was still praising Him. I praise Him for this! It was all Him and the power of His word. I love this psalm and will keep it as my evening prayer.

Father,
Thank You for who You are and Your amazing works in my life. You are gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
In Him,
Amen

Blessed be the Lord!

Ps. 144 1-2

Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and He in whom I take refuge, who subdues people under me.

 

I love the contrast in this psalm. David begins with a declaration of love for a God that exceeds all human expectations. His God is so many things: his foundation, his protection, his love, his hiding place, his constant deliverer, his personal deflector for the jabs and darts of evil. How glorious! He praises God for this things because he has personally experienced them.

 

Then in the next verses he looks at himself pondering why God would choose to be there for him. What does he have to offer God? Is he of value to God? He knows full well that he is nothing. .. O Lord, what is man that You regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath, his days are like a passing shadow. That is the beauty of God! He chooses to be their for David regardless of what he is. He chooses to shower his steadfast love and grace upon man not because man has anything to offer but for His own good pleasure and to bring glory to His name.

 

Such grace as this must illicit constant praise and blessing! Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord! Yes, I say, Blessed is the Lord, the Lord who is my God!

 

Father,

I am so thankful for Your grace, mercy, and steadfast love. My heart praises You and blesses You. Mold my heart to one of complete reliance on You. Teach me to choose You in every situation that comes into my life.

In Him,

Amen



Depression

Ps. 143:10

Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God! Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

 

David is desperate for God. The enemy has pursued not only his body, but also his soul. He feels crushed to the ground like he is sitting in darkness with the dead. His spirit faints, and his heart is appalled. It is from this deep depression that he petitions God to hear his prayer. What a good lesson! Many times when depression rules the soul taking action seems impossible, but not so for David. He knew that God was the answer and that prayer was the way to restoring his emotions.

 

He is assured that in faithfulness God will answer. What a great insight! He never doubts the faithfulness of God even when it seems all else has failed, and life is bleak. He realizes that he is not righteous before God (as is no one), so he asks to be spared judgment. Thankfully, I am covered in the righteousness of Christ. He has taken my judgment on Himself. What a glorious gift is redemption! The judgment I deserved has been transformed into amazing grace.

 

David then remembers the past and meditates on the great works of God. As remembering fills his soul, he reaches out for God. He stretches out his hands to God; his soul thirsts for God like a parched land. (How beautifully he describes his desperation!) The wonderful thing is that he knows where to go to cure his deep depression. God has helped him in the past, and he will help him now. But there is always the waiting which often seems unending. Thankfully, the praying is immediate. 

 

Hide not Your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of Your steadfast love, for in You I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to You for refuge. 





 

David concludes his prayer by asking God to teach him His will, to give him surety in direction. He emphatically declares that God is His God! How glorious! As God's servant, he petitions God to help Him not just for David's sake but for His name's sake. Their lives are so closely entwined that what happens to David is vitally connected to God. What a distance this prayer has gone! His depression has taken him right to God and has allowed him to place his life into the hands of His loving God!

 

Father,

I am Your servant and know Your great grace and steadfast love. When my heart begins to lose hope, draw me into Your presence. Give me Your strength to lift my hands to You and thirst for You alone. Open my eyes to Your great work in my life.

In Jesus,

Amen

 

 



Give Ear to My Voice

Ps. 141:1

O Lord, I call upon You; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to You.

 

David desires an immediate and clear conversation with God because he has important petitions that he needs to bring before the Lord. Initially, he wants his prayer to be counted as incense before the Lord and the lifting of his hands as the evening sacrifice! How beautiful! Rev. 5:8 mentions the 24 elders who fall down before the Lamb each carry a golden harp and golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of he saints. Are my prayers a sweet aroma in the nostrils of God? Do I ask the Lord to make them an acceptable offering? I think of Ps. 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Is my heart broken in sweet surrender and repentance when I come before Him?

 

Next, he desires that God set a guard over his mouth and  keep a watch over the door of his lips! How crucial is this! James 3 says that the tongue is a world of unrighteousness set among our members straining the whole body. It sets on fire the entire course of life, and is set on fire by hell. Wow! What chance do I have at controlling my tongue? None! It must be through the power and grace of God. Certainly, this should be included in my every prayer.

 

David then asks that his heart be not inclined to evil. He seems to understand the nature of evil deeds and evil companions when he calls their deeds delicacies. In the moment of temptation, he knows that evil deeds are not perceived as what they truly are, but instead as something to be prized and kept for special people and special times. How important is this request! I would want my motives and desires to be His alone, not indulging in any evil delicacies.

 

His next request is crucial but sometimes hard to endure. He asks that when he is rebuked by a righteous person, he would receive that rebuke and not refuse it. This comes down to pride! How humbling to take a rebuke from someone else who has sin in their life as well, but someone God has chosen to use in his life. David prays that God will transform this rebuke into a kindness, into oil for his head, an anointing, as it were, preparing him for the work of the Lord. What an insightful prayer! How often do I need to regard rebukes as precious oil for my head? I pray that my desire for growth would far outweigh any amount of pride in my heart.

 

He concludes by saying, my eyes are toward You, O God, my Lord; in You do I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless! What a beautiful prayer! The word is so timeless. David's prayer of so many years ago fits my life today. His needs are mine, and hopefully, his desires are mine as well.

 

Father,

Let my prayer be sweet incense to You. May I always come broken and contrite before You. Set a guard over my mouth. Make me only Yours from the thought to the spoken word. Give me a heart of humility to receive teaching and rebuke. I want my eyes ever focused on You. Give me Your strength and grace to do that.

In Him,

Amen

Worthy

II Thess. 1:11-12

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Christ's coming will be twofold in purpose: judgment and glorification. Christ will come in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Time will be up! No more grace, just accountability! These people will suffer eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord. They will be cut off completely! However, the saints will see His glorification.Truly a marvelous sight!

 

It is to this end that Paul prayed for the Thessalonians. He asked God to make them worthy of His calling and to accomplish every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power. This is the believer's goal or purpose! The first thing that I notice is that God does all of this for me. I, like Paul, must pray that God will accomplish all this in my life which is totally different than if I go after being worthy. I must desire it with all I have and then pray, pray, and pray some more. How hard this is! It seems so much easier just to go after it in my own strength, to use my own talents and strengths. How foolish and what a waste of time! Why must it be this way? If I purpose to accomplish these things in my own strength, then I will be taking the glory, but if God works it all in me, then He has the glory. Everything in my life must bring Him the glory! He doesn't want me to offer up to Him my good works or my plan for His purpose. He wants me to give Him my self, emptied and needy. And all of this is because of the grace of God! Truly Amazing Grace!

 

Father,

I ask that You make me worthy of Your calling and help me to accomplish every resolve for good and every work of faith by Your power. Work in me so that I may bring You glory. Reveal to me any pockets of human resolve. Root them out and fill me up with Your grace.

In Him,

Amen

. 

Increasing Love and Steadfastness

II Thess. 1:3-4

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore, we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

 

Paul was intensely thankful for these believers who were visibly growing in their faith. Their abundant faith was seen in an increasing love for one another and a steadfastness in persecutions and afflictions. Their suffering did not separate or isolate them, but it drew them closer as they supported one another.  Love and endurance characterized their lives as it should the lives of all believers. What an example, so much so, that Paul was able to edify other believers in their walks by telling their story. It reminds me of when Paul was imprisoned, and he said that his imprisonment had resulted in other believers becoming bolder in their faith and in their witness. The endurance of the Thessalonians would minister to the hearts of others in a similar way. What a vital connection all believers share!

 

Their endurance in persecutions was evidence of the judgment of God. Obviously, God considered them worthy of His kingdom because He gave them the necessary grace to endure the persecutions. The more they suffered, the greater relief that He would give them. God's justice would balance the scales! In justice, He would bring affliction on the persecutors themselves.  When would believers see this? Would it necessarily be in their lifetimes? No, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is the rub! Most often we would want to see the justice applied now. But God desires our growth in faith and trust. He wants us to grow through our suffering in faith, love, trust, and dependence. He wants us to accept all as His sovereign will for us and rejoice in it. It is in the accepting and surrendering that we find the greatest grace and joy.

 

Father,

Grow my heart in faith, love, and trust. Help me immediately turn to You for all the grace that I need to endure and grow. Thank You for Your grace.

Through and In Him,

Amen



Final Instructions

I Thess. 5: 23-24

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, He will surely do it.

 

As Paul closes this letter to the Thessalonians, he gives them final instructions. There are so many that they would be overwhelming if it weren't for verses 23-24 where it states that it is God Himself who sanctifies who makes these final instructions a reality in a believer's life.

• Respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord. I wonder if people only wanted to acknowledge Paul in this manner and not the local leaders. However, respect is necessary because those who labor in this manner have a greater burden and responsibility.
• Be at peace among yourselves. Peace is crucial for relationships.
• Admonish the idle.
• Encourage the fainthearted.
• Help the weak.
• Be patient with them all. Perhaps the idle, the fainthearted and the weak are often those people who fall through the cracks. They need special care that is time consuming. So be patient with them. Bring them along gently.
• See that no one repays evil for evil. This won't happen if we are at peace. Instead of returning evil for the evil received, show grace as God showed grace to me.
• Seek to do good to one another and to everyone. As God has shown good to me, then I must show good to others
• Rejoice always. .My heart must rejoice constantly when I think of all He has done for me.
• Pray without ceasing. Unceasing prayer is necessary for me to make these final instructions a reality.
• Give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in everything. How exciting! A clear statement of the will of God. I need to give thanks in everything, especially in the adversity.
• Do not quench the Spirit. A thankful spirit will produce obedience to the leading of the Spirit. Letting Him work freely in my life means giving up of self.
• Do not despise prophecies, but test everything. Be alert. Test everything by the Word.
• Hold fast what is good. Hang on to the good. Don't be tempted with the bad.
• Abstain from every form of evil. In everything let the Spirit and the Son shine out through my life.

And all this is through the sanctification that God works in my life. He who called me, who chose me, and who saved me, will do what He has promised. He will keep me holy and blameless at the coming of Jesus.

 

Father,

Thank You for being a faithful God whose promises are true and unfailing. As You sanctify me, grow me in these areas. Give me a spirit of thanksgiving and peace.

In His name,

Amen

More Encouragment

I Thess. 5:11

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

 

 

Who doesn't think about the times and the seasons: the political arena, the economy, the loss of freedoms, the moral climate, etc.? Are all these events leading up to something devastating? But chapter 5 reminds us of what we know.

• The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
• When people are saying, There is peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. Sounds so scary! Even though this strikes fear, there is a major difference in my life. I am His child, a child of light. I have a heads up.
• But you are not in darkness, brothers, for the day to surprise you like a thief. For you are children of light, children of the day,. We are not of the darkness. Remember this fact. I am not a child of the darkness. I will not be surprised because I am ready.
• So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. I must be awake and sober, getting ready for His return, saturating myself in His word and growing more like Him.
• But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. Is my armor on? Am I neglecting anything? Am I focused and controlled by faith and love? Am I living in this reality?
• For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him. God has destined me for salvation! How wonderful is that! I need not fear for whether I have died or am still alive, I will go to be with Him, eager and ready. Just think to be destined by God. Nothing is happenstance. All is planned.

All of this is an encouragement to me. I must encourage others and build them up. Together we stand ready as His body longing for His return and unafraid of this world's circumstances and issues. Our destiny is different!

 

Father,

Thank you for my life and my destiny. Thank You for encouraging my heart. Help me to encourage and build others up. Teach me more each day about my protective armor.

In Jesus name,

Amen

 



Encouragement

I Thess. 4:18

Therefore encourage one another with these words.

 

What is more encouraging than the hope that life will be increasingly and unbelievably better! If life is filled with the hardship, adversity, illness, financial reverses, corrupt politics, injustice, relative morality, lack of absolutes, weather shifts, tragedies, disasters, persecution, etc, and it is, then wouldn't the hope of a world without these things be encouraging. Yes!  God promises to give us His strength and grace to endure and to mature through these hard things, and He does, but yet we must go through the fire to come out as gold. So hoping for Jesus' sure return is definitely my hope and my encouragement.

 

• The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. How glorious is that! Jesus Himself comes for me in great power and majesty like the King that He is!
• And the dead in Christ will rise first.
• Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air...What a reunion is this!
• and so we will always be with the Lord. Always and only with the Lord! What an eternity of blessing and praise.

Therefore, in light of all this and because of all this, I can be comforted and comfort others in the body. This should be my greatest comfort!

 

Father,

Thank you for comforting my heart this morning, for all the care and love You shed on my life. I rejoice to be Your child and I eagerly wait for Jesus' return.

Waiting for Him,

Amen