Be Strong and of Good Courage…

 

1 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?

2 When the wicked came against me

To eat up my flesh,

My enemies and foes,

They stumbled and fell.

3 Though an army may encamp against me,

My heart shall not fear;

Though war may rise against me,

In this I will be confident.

4 One thing I have desired of the LORD,

That will I seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the LORD

All the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the LORD,

And to inquire in His temple.

5 For in the time of trouble

He shall hide me in His pavilion;

In the secret place of His tabernacle

He shall hide me;

He shall set me high upon a rock.

6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;

Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.

7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!

Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

8 When You said, "Seek My face,"

My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."

9 Do not hide Your face from me;

Do not turn Your servant away in anger;

You have been my help;

Do not leave me nor forsake me,

O God of my salvation.

10 When my father and my mother forsake me,

Then the LORD will take care of me.

11 Teach me Your way, O LORD,

And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.

12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;

For false witnesses have risen against me,

And such as breathe out violence.

13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed

That I would see the goodness of the LORD

In the land of the living.

14 Wait on the LORD;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the LORD!—Psalm 27

“Be strong and of good courage”

I usually so dislike when someone says this to me, but that is because I forget that our God is not like the world.  In Him, I do not have to pull myself up by my bootstraps and, as the King James says, "quit like a man."   Our God does not ask us to be strong in ourselves and in our own power...He asks us to be strong in Him!  He is the one who does it all.

We walk by faith and not by sight.  It is so easy to think we know better than God....especially when our circumstances look impossible and we have not been washing ourselves daily with His truth.  Faith does not look at what is seen.  Faith obeys no matter how things look from a human perspective.  Faith puts its trust in God.  It surrenders all!

Psalm 27:14 tells us to wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He shall strengthen our heart.  What a place of rest we come to when we can truly place all the issues of life in His hands.  No fretting...no matter what happens we are trusting God.  We are standing fast in Him!  Immersed in His word and aware of His presence we cannot be thrown off balance by anything the enemy might throw at us!  We fight from victory and it is not our battle...it is the Lord's.

“For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

The presence of the Lord eradicates fear and faint-heartedness.  It is His courage and strength that we walk in.  He is there.  He is with us.  He upholds us and bears us up.  

Our God prepares us for whatever we will face as we diligently study His word daily.  He arms us with His strength, His knowledge and His presence. 

I will end with some verses from Daniel Chapter 10 that always bring tears to my eyes. 

Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me.  And he said, “O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!”

So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

How beautiful is that?  The awareness of God...His voice, His touch, His presence with us and His love for us strengthens us and brings us peace.

Be of good courage...be strong, stay in the word and stand fast for the people God has placed in our lives.  We are in a battle...eternity is at stake.  Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh.  And may the Lord do what is good in His sight!

Abide…

 

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[b] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.—John 15:4-8

Oh, Father...give me a living faith...a faith that though small is growing daily by my nearness to you. May I be so filled with Your fullness that You would dominate my every thought and my every action. 

Grant me, according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might through Your Spirit in my inner man, that Christ may dwell in my heart through FAITH; that I, being rooted and grounded in love, might be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and heigh of Your love which passes knowledge. Fill me with the fullness of You!

Speaking with Grace...

 

Let your speech always be with grace seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. --Colossians 4:6

grace - that which affords pleasure, joy, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness, favor, good will.  

Graceful speech is that which reflects the merciful kindness of God, exerting His holy influence upon souls. It is the kind of speech that turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.  It is speech that is filled with psalms, hymns, spiritual songs and much thanksgiving.

Seasoned with salt:

salt is a purifier..it disinfects

salt adds flavor

salt preserves food unchanged

salt is a symbol of lasting concord

in classical writing salt is spoken of as the wit or sense (wisdom) with which conversation is flavored

Psalm 45:2 - The Lord Jesus represented...

You are fairer than the sons of men;

Grace is poured upon Your lips;

Therefore God has blessed You forever.

Here is what our heart should be about so His grace will be on our lips:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.--Deuteronomy 6:4-9

May His grace be poured out on our lips because His word is in our hearts for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  

Love Will Cover A Multitude of Sins…

 

But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”—1 Peter 4:7-8

To My Sweet Daughters,

"And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”  I have spent so much time in the Scriptures in the verses that speak to love and have come to the conclusion that love truly is the answer to all things.  God is love and if we put on His love and surrender to His Spirit whose love is shed abroad in our hearts our relationship with Him and with those around us will be, as much as depends on us, peaceable and pure. For those that Peter was writing to who were facing persecution putting on love was especially important so as not to let Satan gain any foothold and stir up divisions and discord.

The word fervent in this verse means to be stretched to the limit...stretched like a rubber band to its breaking point.  THAT is a lot of love.  It is the kind of love that is self-sacrificing and puts others needs and spiritual good ahead of our own...despite...and this is so important...how we are treated.  Christ is our perfect example here. (Read Isaiah 50,  Isaiah 52 and 53, read the gospel accounts of His suffering and death.)  We are to put on love even when we are being treated unkindly, ungraciously, or even with hostility. We are to have mercy with the faults of others and be patient and not retaliate even when we are being mistreated. That girls is a very tall order and obviously cannot be done in our own strength. It is loving others with His supernatural love and remembering why....because the end of all things is at hand.  Show others Christ...Show them His love....bring them to Him who can save them from an eternity without Him. In the end it is all that matters.

Anything done without self giving love is empty and vain.  Anything done in the love that God pours out in our hearts for us will not fail.  It will bring about the purpose that He intended for it.  God's love is everlasting and permanent. His love outlasts all failures.  Even if I do the wrong thing but I do it in Him it will have an effect for good.

Just to be clear here is the Scriptural definition of love. This is from John MacArthur's commentary on First  Corinthians 13:4-7.   

"Positively, love is patient with people and gracious to them with generosity.  Negatively love never envies, or brags, or is arrogant, since that is the opposite of selfless service to others. It is never rude or overbearing, love never wants its own way, is not irritated or angered in personal offense, and finds no pleasure in someone else's sin, even the sin of an enemy.  On the positive side again, love is devoted to the truth in everything.  With regard to "all things" within God's righteous and gracious will, love protects, believes, hopes, and endures what others reject. Love outlasts all failures.  Love is divine...it is from Him. 

Love will cover a multitude of sins is quoted from Proverbs 10:12 which says, "Hatred stirs up strife but love will cover all sins."  God's love covered our sins even when we were still His enemies.  Romans 5:8 says this:  "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." We are to be forgiving to those Christ has placed in our lives as He was and is. We are especially called to overlook sins and offenses against us and always be ready to forgive them when they occur. We are not to keep the pot boiling returning evil for evil, but instead we are to love our enemies and do good to those who spitefully use us.  Why?  Because our job is to be about His business...we are to reflect Him in all we do.  This life is not about us.  It is about Him...it is His story.  For us to get in the way with our own offenses is wrong. There are people dying without Christ. We are to be looking to shine His light not to justify ourselves.  Christ is the just and the justifier.  Commit yourself to Him. who judges righteously.  Let Him fight your battles for you.....You hold your peace.

Love does not dismiss sin and these verses do not preclude the discipline of a sinning church member. (see Matthew 18:15-18 and 1 Cor 5)   If someone we love is sinning, we are grieved for them because we know they are hurting not only themselves but others also. James 5:20 speaks to this also.

"Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,  let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. 

As much as depends on us, we are to live peaceably.  The sins of others should not be broadcast about. They should not be gossiped about or told in detail to others so that they can "pray with more knowledge."  When we love another, we cover his faults.  We turn our eyes away or throw a blanket on them so to speak. We pray for those involved and remember what Jesus said in the gospel of Luke.

" Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

Love suffers long and is kind...it bears all things.  Our God is the God who sees...their sins are not hidden from Him." They will be brought to light in His timing.  Your job is to cover them in love and to remember that evil is overcome by good. A Christ follower should be KNOWN by the love he has for His God and the love he shows to his brethren.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”--John 13:34-35

Love

Mom

Much of what was written above was learned from listening to John MacArthur’s sermons on love.  They are wonderful!  

When Anxious Thoughts Threaten…

 

Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.—Mark 4:18-19

These explanatory words of Jesus in regard to The Parable of the Sower got me thinking. My heart belongs to Jesus but there are times in my life that my anxious  thoughts threaten to overtake my heart and my peace.  It helps me to remember that these cares and concerns I have are not mine but His. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. 

Beloved…There is no one but Christ who is sufficient for the distresses and troubles of this life. It is by His grace that we as believers, are what we are and it is by His grace in us that our lives on this earth bear fruit. 

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Today, I will give each and every one of my cares to Him as His word so kindly and graciously tells me to do because the best way for me to maintain my joy is to keep in constant communion with my Father in heaven. 

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

What a gift He gives us in that, as we commit our care into His hands, He brings His supernatural peace to our hearts. Therefore, I will rejoice in my God. I will let my gentleness…my willingness to yield to Him in all things…be made manifest to those around me. I can because He is near. I can because He cares for me. He is my Immanuel. His grace is sufficient for all that I face, and His goodness and mercy ALWAYS follow hard after me. 

FATHER…Give me a thankful attitude that comes from unwavering confidence that You are able and willing to do what is best for me. Keep watch over and guard my heart from anxiety, doubt, fear and distress by giving me Your peace in each and every situation I bring to You. I know the end of the story. I can return to my rest for You have dealt bountifully with me. 

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.—2 Corinthians 9:8

And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.—2 Corinthians 3:5

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.—1 Corinthians 3:5

Turn Yourself to Me!

 

16 Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me,

For I am desolate and afflicted.

17 The troubles of my heart have enlarged;

Bring me out of my distresses!

18 Look on my affliction and my pain,

And forgive all my sins.

19 Consider my enemies, for they are many;

And they hate me with cruel hatred.

20 Keep my soul, and deliver me;

Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.

21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,

For I wait for You.—Psalm 25:16-21

I was thankful this morning as I read these verses from Psalm 25.  There have been times when they would have hit me viscerally, the words resonating in my heart and making me cry out to God in overwhelming sorrow and despair. I have felt desolate and afflicted and surrounded by enemies. The circumstances of the trials that generated those feelings have not changed, but my heart which was broken from the pain of betrayal and loss, is now whole in Him.  I carry the grief with me always, but I also carry within my body the ONE who bears my grief and carries my sorrows. His sustaining and delivering grace has covered me with each cry.  I have never...not once...left His Presence bereft.

Father....Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and Your tender mercies surround me. Thank you that You are my support. You bring me out of my distresses and enlarge the path under my feet so I do not slip. You consider my troubles!  You think on me!  As one whom his mother comforts, so You comfort me!  Make my trust in You my battle cry!  Your banner over me is love. I WILL trust You.  I will look to You and be radiant...my face unashamed. Even though for now my heart is still, at times, crushed with sorrow, Your eye of compassion rests on me.  As You said to Ephraim of old, You say to me, Your child:

“I do earnestly remember him still” (Jer. 31:20)

I will wait for You, my Jesus.  May my faith be my song!  I will keep my eyes on the bow that You have placed in the cloud. My heart is steadfast, Father, You will not allow my foot to be moved. Your promises are mine...I can say with Job, though You slay me, yet will I trust in You. 

I will lift up my eyes to the hills--

From whence comes my help?

2 My help comes from the LORD,

Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD is your keeper;

The LORD is your shade at your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

8 The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.

But You, O LORD, are a shield for me,

 

LORD, how they have increased who trouble me!

Many are they who rise up against me.

Many are they who say of me,

"There is no help for him in God."

Selah

But You, O LORD, are a shield for me,

My glory and the One who lifts up my head.—Psalm 3:

I cried to the LORD with my voice,

And He heard me from His holy hill.

Selah—Psalm 3:1-4

Beloved…This morning I am rejoicing as I meditate on these inspired words of David 

“But You, O LORD, are a shield for me,”

What a beautiful truth to spend your day thinking about!

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.—Philippians 4:8

I looked up a few similar verses…

For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;

With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

The LORD is my strength and my shield;

My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;

Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,

And with my song I will praise Him.

And my favorite…

"Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."

I love thinking of the Lord as my shield. Anything that comes my way has to go through Him first. I can lean back and rest on the everlasting, wraparound presence of God today. He alone makes me dwell in safety.  

Leaving some Scripture I found on this precious truth that blessed me this morning. Praying that you will also be encouraged.

Our soul waits for the LORD;

He is our help and our shield.

For our heart shall rejoice in Him,

Because we have trusted in His holy name.

Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us,

Just as we hope in You.—Psalm 33:20

Happy are you, O Israel!

Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD,

The shield of your help

And the sword of your majesty!

Your enemies shall submit to you,

And you shall tread down their high places."—Deuteronomy 33:29

So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, "Strike this people, I pray, with blindness." And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.—2 Kings 6:16-18

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

The LORD will give grace and glory;

No good thing will He withhold

From those who walk uprightly.

O LORD of hosts,

Blessed is the man who trusts in You!—Psalm 84:11-12

O Israel, trust in the LORD;

He is their help and their shield.

O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD;

He is their help and their shield.

You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD;

He is their help and their shield.

The LORD has been mindful of us;

He will bless us;

He will bless the house of Israel;

He will bless the house of Aaron.

He will bless those who fear the LORD,

Both small and great.—Psalm 115:9-13

Every word of God is pure;

He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.—Proverbs 30:5

Now the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.—Daniel 6:23