Tag: redeemed you

52.a. Wilderness – 16.g. “Therefore be imitators of God”

 

Deu 24:17-22  “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge, but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this. “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

 Psalms 94:3-6    O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?  They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.  They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage.  They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless;

 Psalms 94:20-21    Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute?  They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

 Jeremiah 22:3    Thus says the LORD: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.

 Ezekiel 22:7     Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you.

 Ephesians 5:1-2   Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

 Isaiah 51:1     “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.

It is not hard to prove that purity, piety, justice, mercy, fair conduct, kindness to the poor and destitute, consideration for them, and generosity of spirit, are pleasing to God, and becoming in his redeemed people. The difficulty is to attend to them in our daily walk and conversation. (Henry)

It is hard for us to understand this while we live our separate lives in our ice little realm of society. We are unaffected by the homeless, fatherless, and widows. Yet, they are there if our eyes are opened and our ears listen. Our culture and society claim the unborn fatherless child as nothing more than an unwanted mass or tumor. Laws are made that give strength to this abomination. The arguments made rely on tolerance and personal rights. They will proclaim to those who do not buy into these lies as enemies of liberty and freedom and haters of others. They are very good at this. 

God’s Word is clear as the noonday sun. It is wrong to treat those in need with contempt. It is wrong to turn our eyes and ears away from them. It is wrong to be silent. 

Standing firm in the love of Jesus Christ. Do not be swayed by empty words spewed out by those who proclaim unrighteous acts of disobedience. Walk in the love of God, filled with the Holy Spirit, and with ears trained and seeking to know the will of God for whatever might come each day.

51.a. Wilderness – 15.g. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God”

 

Deu 13:1-5  “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

 1 Kings 13:18     And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him.

 Jeremiah 6:13    “For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.

 Jeremiah 23:11    “Both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in my house I have found their evil, declares the LORD.

 Ezekiel 13:2-3     “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the LORD!’  Thus says the Lord GOD, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

 Matthew 7:15   “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

 Matthew 24:11     And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

 Luke 6:26  “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

 2 Peter 2:1  But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

 1 John 4:1    Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Dreams can be from God (as in Numbers 12:6, or in Genesis 37:5-11), or they can be false prophesies (as in Jeremiah 23:25-26). We must be careful to not put too much stock in dreams, and instead allow God to bring confirmation to any dream we believe brings a message from Him. It would be very unusual for God to speak alone through a dream, without other confirmation. Moses warned the people that there may arise from among them prophets or workers of signs who could also produce a sign or a wonder. This sobering fact is ignored by many Christians in our age which neglects discernment. The fact is that signs and wonders can never be the evidence of truth or God’s hand. Those who are immediately convinced at the sight of supernatural power or reality are in danger of great deception. 2 Thessalonians 2:9 reminds us that the coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders.

Godly discernment will always carefully examine the message of a spiritual leader, instead of the spiritual experiences which may surround him or her. One of God’s reasons in allowing such deceivers to exist among His people – to allow the hearts of His people to be tested and proven, to see if they really love the God of truth or are merely seeking a spiritual sign or experience.  Israel was first instructed to not let a deceiver succeed in leading them astray. No matter how attractive the deception, they were to keep focused on a faithful walk with God according to His truth. (Guzik)

 “And particularly there are many signs, yea, such as men may think to be wonders, which may be wrought by evil spirits, God so permitting it for divers wise and just reasons, not only for the trial of the good, as it here follows, but also for the punishment of ungodly men, who would not receive Divine truths, though attested by many evident and unquestionable miracles, and therefore are most justly exposed to these temptations to believe lies.” (Poole)

Satan is the father of all lies and able to perform signs and wonders that could lead believers away and keep those who are searching for God looking in the wrong way. We need to be mindful of Satan’s attacks which will come very subtlety. Having Holy Spirit discernment and understanding are needed to insulate yourself from false teachings. Living for Jesus and honoring and glorifying Him does not revolve around signs and wonders. He is all in all, and in Him, we find purpose and meaning while we await our eternal life in our heavenly promised home.

50.c. Wilderness – 14.i. ” Know therefore that the LORD your God is God”

 

Deu 7:6-10  “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.

 Titus 2:14    who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

 1 Peter 2:9    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

 Malachi 3:17    “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Israel was holy in their standing before God before they were holy in their conduct. They were set apart unto God by His choosing (God has chosen you to be a people for Himself) and were then called to live as chosen people. As much as anything, their election meant the LORD set His love on them. Their motivation for such a total obedience was to be that they knew God loved them. (Guzik)

A proper understanding of the evil of sin, and of the mystery of a crucified Saviour, will enable us to perceive the justice of God in all his punishments, temporal and eternal. We must deal decidedly with our lusts that war against our souls; let us not show them any mercy, but mortify, and crucify, and utterly destroy them. Thousands in the world that now is, have been undone by ungodly marriages; for there is more likelihood that the good will be perverted, than that the bad will be converted. Those who, in choosing yoke-fellows, keep not within the bounds of a profession of religion, cannot promise themselves helps meet for them. (Henry)

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God—that is, set apart to the service of God, or chosen to execute the important purposes of His providence. Their selection to this high destiny was neither on account of their numerical amount (for, till after the death of Joseph, they were but a handful of people); nor because of their extraordinary merits (for they had often pursued a most perverse and unworthy conduct); but it was in consequence of the covenant or promise made with their pious forefathers; and the motives that led to that special act were such as tended not only to vindicate God’s wisdom, but to illustrate His glory in diffusing the best and most precious blessings to all mankind. (Brown)

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God,…. Not sanctified in a spiritual sense, or having principles of grace and holiness in them, from whence holy actions sprang, at least not all of them; but they were separated from all other people in the world to the pure worship and service of God in an external manner, and therefore were to avoid all idolatry, and every appearance of it: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that are upon the face of the earth; for special service and worship, and to enjoy special privileges and benefits, civil and religious; though they were not chosen to special grace here, and eternal glory hereafter; at least not all of them, only a remnant, according to the election of grace; yet they were typical of the chosen people of God in a special sense; who are chosen out of the world to be a peculiar people, to be holy here and happy hereafter; to enjoy communion with God in this life and that to come, as well as to serve and glorify him now and for evermore. (Gill)

13.z. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated.”

Malachi 1:2  “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’” Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!”

Deuteronomy 7:6-8    “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth  It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,  but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Jeremiah 31:3   the LORD appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

We see the love of God and the heart of God.  To fall under the hate of God is dreadful.  On earth being hated by God comes with worry, anxiousness, calamity, always seeking but never finding satisfaction in self, others, or things.  Things you plan will come to nothing even after you have accomplished them.  The end will be apart from God and in this whatever your plans you have or completed will lose all satisfaction.  To be loved by God and to seek and desire Him we find satisfaction the world can never fulfill.  To be loved by God gives us joy in this world and peace and hope in the world to come.   Eternity awaits each of us.  Few will end up in heaven and many will end up in hell.  The choice to be loved by God and to trust Jesus Christ for this love is clear.  To trust Jesus is to love Him, rely on Him, cling to Him, and faithfully follow and obey Him.  This is a choice and intentional choice.  Likewise to reject Him is to deny God’s love and in this rejection, there is only God’s hate, wrath, anger, judgment, and His rejection of you.  Who wants to be hated by God?  However, many do this by rejecting His Son, Jesus Christ, the redeemer, and the savior.  There are consequences for rejecting God and blessings of the love of God for trusting Jesus Christ.   Delaying this choice is living in continued rejection of His love.  Choosing to trust Jesus Christ is to immediately be in and under God’s love.

2.l. But with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles

2 Chronicles 20:15  And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.

Exodus 14:13-14     And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.  The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Deuteronomy 1:29-30    Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them.  The LORD your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,

Isaiah 41:10-16    fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.  You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all.  For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

Psalms 17:1-2   Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!  From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right!

Isaiah 43:1-2    But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Deuteronomy 31:8    It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

2 Chronicles 32:8    With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

The battle is not ours.  We may not be fighting a typical war but we do have battles don’t we?  We battle with addiction, greed, pride, complacency, lust, hate, coveting, health, relationships, finances, employment, sickness, self-centeredness, etc…..  We may not be facing an overwhelming army but the battles we face are none the less overpowering and seemingly uncontrollable.  We are made aware of some of these battles as we read God’s word, those that reside inside of our heart, mind, and soul.  The battles with self and our yielding to its sinful desires.  We also battle with attacks from Satan and his deceptions, lies, temptations.

Other battles come into our lives very forcefully and are not necessarily brought on by something we did or didn’t do.  Some of these are just because we live in a fallen world filled with fallen people, but that does not mean they are not unknown or purposed by God.  We never fully understand and know the plans and purposes of God but we do know that  God says; “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” and “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”  God’s love is steadfast.  His grace, love, and mercy are unconditional.

We fear the unknown, overwhelming, and overpowering.  We play many scenarios out in our head and most of them have very bad outcomes.  We seem to play this tune in our head over and over again thinking that we might find some way out of our troubles.

God tells us to believe, trust, and rely on Him.  The battles are all His. If we truly believe they are His, what do we have to fear?  This is so easy to say but harder to put into practice.  Why is that?  If we are void of Him, for most of our daily lives it is very very certain He will be hard to believe in when the battle is at our door.  Living in a void of Him throughout most, if not all, of the day or week does not grow us into a mature, thankful, reliant, hopeful, faithful, obedient Christians.  In fact, living in a void of Him allows us to live and do what seems right in our own eyes.  We end up traveling far down the path of life alone and in our own wisdom and power for so long that when the battle lines form we are overwhelmed, powerless, angered, and afraid.    This is sin and sinful. So what are we to do?  How can we get off of this destructive and unfruitful path to a path of victory?

Recognize it, confess it, turn away from it, and cling to, rely on, and trust in Jesus Christ.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Purpose with all your heart, mind, soul and strength to seek, desire, honor, follow, obey, and trust Jesus Christ.  Feed on His word, think hard on it, live in His presence, and keep your heart and mind focused on Him continually.  Do not let the world entice you away from the blessings, courage, power, might, and strength found in the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

61. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Deuteronomy 31:6   Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Joshua 1:6-7     Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.

1 Chronicles 28:10     Be careful now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it.”

Ephesians 6:10    Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

2 Chronicles 32:7    “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.

1 Corinthians 16:13    Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

Psalms 27:14    Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

Zechariah 8:13    And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.”

Isaiah 43:1-5    But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Isaiah 51:12    “I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass,

Psalms 27:1   The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Hebrews 13:5    Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Isaiah 41:13-17    For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

“Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you,”  It is easy to think we are strong when there is nothing to challenge our strength.  It is easy to stand firm when there is no fire, storms, chaos, confusion, sickness, loneliness, wrongly thought of, slandered, rumored about, and abandoned by friends and family.  Yet these types of events find a way into each of our lives at some point.   There are many ways we can react to these.  We can be afraid, confused, anxious, worried, helpless, defeated, exhausted, lonely, restless, etc…..  This is what should be expected if there is no sovereign God that loves you, has plans and purposes for you, and is watching over you.   

Be strong.  Be courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not worry.  God is with you. He will not leave you.  He will not forsake you.  He has called you by name.  You are His chosen possession.  He will comfort you.

Have faith, rely on, cling to, and trust in God who is mighty, awesome, steadfast in love, powerful beyond all measure, and can do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine.

43. Many are called, but few are chosen.

Deuteronomy 7:6   “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.

Exodus 19:5-6   Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;

Psalms 50:5     “Gather to me my faithful ones

Amos 3:2     “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20     Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,  for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Titus 2:14    who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

1 Peter 2:9    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Being chosen and called is an act of God.  “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”  Being called and chosen is not enough. There must be a response to the calling of being chosen.  There must be an act of acceptance of the call and then act accordingly to that calling.  I fear too many want the benefits of being called/chosen but have no desire to live their daily lives in line with this calling.  I fear the neglect of His word has diluted the influence in their lives and leaving them blind and deaf to His calling.  Being chosen we are to be set apart from the influence of the lies of our culture, society, and worldly wisdom.  This calling and being chosen (setting apart) is more than accepting the call, for in this calling there is a call to action.  A call to make disciples, to proclaim the gospel, to proclaim the day of salvation, to proclaim the need for salvation, to proclaim hope and the reason for our faith, to humbly serve, honor, glorify, follow and obey.

How are we too except to know any of this if we daily neglect His word and take a complacent attitude toward the calling of God.  The simple truth is we will not.  We mock God if this is our approach.

We all are to be obedient to God. We cannot just accept the wonderful calling of God and continue to live a life following our own desires. We are to be the “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ”

Paul very clearly stated the responsibilities of the called: “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful”  The called and chosen must be faithful! They must continue to actively believe, obey and rely on God. The called and chosen will need to faithfully endure, both in good and in bad times.

The man in the parable who was invited to the wedding had a duty to come dressed for the occasion, which symbolically meant that he was to put on righteousness, but he didn’t do that. So Jesus made this famous statement that “many are called, but few are chosen.” Therefore, the called-out ones must be spiritually prepared and be clothed with righteousness which is a manifestation of His word in our lives.

If His word is not ever-present in our heart, mind, and soul the world will take it captive with lies and deception.

Be Strong

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”

“for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”

Deuteronomy 31:6  Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:8   It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Joshua 1:6-7     Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.  Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.

Isaiah 43:1-5     But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.  For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.  Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.  Fear not, for I am with you;

1 Chronicles 22:13     Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the LORD commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed.

Isaiah 51:12     “I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass,

Deuteronomy 4:31     For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

1 Chronicles 28:20     Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.

Isaiah 41:13-17     For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

Hebrews 13:5     Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

I wonder why fear, confusion, dread, worry, and anxiousness seem to find a way into our thoughts.  Clearly God is our helper, defender, keeper, strength, encourager, and ever present.  Yet we seem to allow circumstances diminish our trust in what He can and will do for those who love, honor and obey Him.  We do not wait to see God’s mercy, love, and care for our problems and concerns.  We want action and we want it now.

Our faith grows with every minute waiting when our waiting is in hope and trust of the love and power and sovereignty of our heavenly Father.  In him we find strength and peace for the day at hand. Be Strong in the Lord.  Trust in Him.  Rely on Him.  Cling to Him alone who is more than able to hand what ever problem or concern we face.

Give Thanks for He is good

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”

“I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.”

Psalms 107:1  Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

 1 Chronicles 16:34    Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

 Psalms 119:68   You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.

Psalms 136:1-9    Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His loving-kindness lasts forever.  Give thanks to Him Who alone does great works, for His loving-kindness lasts forever.  Give thanks to Him Who by wisdom made the heavens, for His loving-kindness lasts forever.  Give thanks to Him Who spread out the earth upon the waters, for His loving-kindness lasts forever.  Give thanks to Him Who made the great lights, for His loving-kindness lasts forever.  He made the sun to rule during the day, for His loving-kindness lasts forever.  He made the moon and stars to rule during the night, for His loving-kindness lasts forever.

 Psalms 103:17    But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children,

 Deuteronomy 7:8    but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

 Jeremiah 15:21    I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.”

 Isaiah 43:5-6   Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.

God does not change and His love is steadfast even though we walk paths apart and away from Him.  This call to give thanks includes creation, mighty awesome deeds of protection, and redemption.  We deserve none of it.  We all like sheep have gone astray seeking satisfaction and purpose apart from God.  Giving thanks should call to remembrance all that we know about God and what He has done, is doing, and will do.  Give thanks at all times and in all situations for He is worthy.

3 Shadow of your wings

Psalms 91:4  He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

Psalms 17:8     Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,

Psalms 57:1   Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.

Psalms 61:4    Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!

Ruth 2:12    The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”

Matthew 23:37     “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

Genesis 15:1     After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.

Isaiah 43:1     But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Hebrews 6:17     So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,  so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

Thank you God for giving us the promises of Your mercy, refuge, hope, strength and shelter.  Forgive us for only running to you when trouble arises.  Guide us on Your path.  Change our heart, mind and soul toward You.  Keep our eyes from straying toward things of this world that would replace time with You and Your purpose.  Strengthen and give us courage to do and say what Your spirit is speaking to us.  Use us to encourage others and confirm your steadfast love. Amen