He Will Never Leave Us

 Psalm 139: 9.10
 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;…Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made by our heavenly Father. The apple of His eye, He will never leave us or forsake us. We may turn away from Him, or try to flee from His presence, but He pursues us with love and mercy. Like Jonah, we cannot hide from God. His Spirit entreated us to come to Him, to turn us into His loving arms. We may feel as if He has forsaken us and has left us to suffer in our troubles, but He is always there to hold us. His hand reaches to the four corners of the earth, desiring to hold us and comfort us. Whatever life has brought us, whatever we have done to cause us to walk away from Him, He will seek us and continue to love us regardless how often we fail Him or disappoint Him. Turn to Him, He wants to hold you tight.

His Word Dwells Within Us

 Col 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

To dwell is to live in. How does the word of Christ live in us? Reading His word and committing it to memory is one aspect of His word dwelling in us, “if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee”- Prov 2:1. It is good to know the word of Christ and know His teachings. But, His word living in us must be more than a mere intellectual knowledge of knowing his teaching, it is an abiding presence that lives in us from day to day. It is a fountain of life that springs from our heart. The word is living and working in our lives every day. It is not something we do on Sunday when we go to the house of worship. His word lives in our heart and is expressed in how we live. Through prayer, mediation, singing, and reading his Word, we learn to let the word of Christ abide in our hearts, to dwell in us richly.

Who Shall Be Saved

 Romans 10:13
 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Salvation is not automatic. Christ dying on the cross for the world does not save the world, but it provides a way for the world to be saved. The world is lost in darkness and sin remains lost and without hope, unless it calls upon the Name of the Lord. The Gospel is no respecter of people. Salvation is not restricted to a selected few or some elect hand-picked by God. All people from all lands, all cultures, all languages have access to this great salvation. It is truly for whoever will. We are not born Christians, or even raised Christians, we become Christians when we call on His Name, confess with our lips that we are sinners, and make Him Lord of our life. 

One Day at a Time

 Matthew 6:26
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are ye not much better than they?

We worry about many things in life. It is the way our minds and emotions work. We worry about money, relationships, health, the wellness of others, both spiritually and physically.  Jesus tells us, “Take no thought.” Take your life one day at a time. Today God is able to provide, today, God is taking care of you. Tomorrow will be what it is, and there is nothing you can do about it today. We live in the here and now, and now is the time to believe. Now is the day when we trust God for our daily needs. “Give us this day, our daily bread.” Let us rest in knowing that He holds the future, and nothing will happen without His permission. Take no thought about tomorrow. Hold on to God today.

Wisdom From Above

 James 3:17
 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

Our relationship with people, especially those of the world, who are void of the Spirit of God must exhibit the peace of God. During the time of Covid 19 pandemic, there were many viewpoints that could cause conflict and strife among friends and family. It is given to Christians to make sure that we maintain a peaceable relationship with our neighbors and all those we come in contact with. We all have a right to our opinion, but we must be wise when and how we express it. As Paul states, “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” This does not mean that you give up your opinion, or you compromise your Bible beliefs, but it does mean that we should be willing to stand down and allow the love of Christ and the peace of God to rule in our hearts. This is the wisdom from above.

Love Others

 Galatians 5:14

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

If you love God, you will want to keep His commandments. If you love others, you are going to treat them with respect and kindness, forsaking your own wants and preferring one another. On this, hangs all of God’s law. How is this possible? We are born in sin, and the carnal nature rules our flesh. Sin has dominion and the focus is taking care of number one, “me”. All is made possible through Christ. We who have given their lives to Him have been grafted onto the Vine. Through Christ, we can do all things. There is nothing impossible to Him who believes and looks to Him for love and grace. True and selfless love comes from God. There are those who may give for humanitarian reasons, but a Christian gives to show the love of Christ. This is what it means to live in Christ, and Christ in me.

Name Written in the Book

 Luke 10: 20 

Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven…

We rejoice when we see God’s power demonstrated through those who believe in Him. He has given power to us to overcome the enemy and to face dangerous situations. But, Jesus was more concerned about humanity coming to know His love and grace. That everyone comes to know forgiveness of sin and have a new life in Him. We get excited about many things, and God’s goodness to provide for our needs and heal those we love is worthy of praise, but His power is demonstrated for one reason, that people will turn their life over to Him, and their name be written in the Book of Life.