Day Of Trouble

Reading from the Book of Nahum 1:7

^{Nahum 1:7} The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

Do not be surprised by trouble. Jesus said that in the world we will have tribulation and trials, but we know that He will also strengthen us and enable us to do whatever we need to do in life. God is our strength, our refuge and our stronghold in the day of trouble.

God knows those that trust Him and He already has a plan for our deliverance before our trouble ever begins. In Christ we have won the battle before it ever begins, therefore, we have no reason to be afraid of anything that comes our way.

"What will you do in the day of trouble"? I believe we are wise to make up our minds ahead of time concerning what we will do when trouble comes. We need to decide to be stable before trouble comes. Decide to stay in faith and remain thankful for what God is doing in your life. When difficulties arise, keep praising Him, and do not ever give up.

God is with us in the day of trouble.

A Prisoner Of Hope

Reading from the Book of Zechariah 9:12

¹² Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even to-day do I declare that I will

 render double unto thee.

As "prisoners of hope" we must allow ourselves to be captured by and filled 

with hope.We must think hope and we must talk hope. When you face a 

seemingly hopeless situation remember that in God, you are a prisoner of 

hope. There is no way to get away from the hope that is in Him.

What is a prisoner of hope? It is someone who refuses to stop hoping in God,

no matter how bad his or her circumstances are. Abraham was such a man. 

We learn from God's Word that all human reason for hope being gone, 

Abraham hoped on in faith that God's promise would come to pass in his life.

Godly hope is not the same quality as what the world calls "hope". Usually 

when we hear people say they are hoping something will or will not happen, 

they are vaguely hoping, but clearly doubting. They speak negatively and   

complain about almost everything and then wonder why nothing works out for

them. True biblical hope is a solid foundation. It is a springboard for our faith 

to take off from and actually take hold of the promise of God.

I know this may sound simple, but I think we can say real hope is a constant 

positive attitude that no matter what is happening currently, things will change 

for the better. Satan cannot defeat a person who refuses to stop hoping in 

God. Abraham refused to give up hope, and just as God had told him, he did 

become a father when he was to old to father children. Hope is powerful. It 

opens the door for the impossible to become possible. All things are possible 

with God, but we must cooperate with Him by being hopeful and full of faith.

God promises that He will restore double what we have lost or had stolen if we 

will stay hopeful. It does no good at all to be hopeless. It only makes us 

unhappy, critical, and grouchy. Hopelessness leads to depression and many 

other problems. Be the kind of person who absolutely refuses to be negative, 

and get ready to receive a double blessing for your former trouble.

Become a "prisoner of hope".

Nuggets of Truth

Reading from the Book of 1Peter

First Peter is such an encouragement to those of us who believe because it reminds us that we always have hope in Jesus. This letter is full of practical advice for everyday living, especially in the midst of hard times, and urges us to keep the glory of our inheritance in view while we are living here on earth.

First Peter teaches us that there is such a thing as godly suffering. Some suffering is done in Christ and some is done for Him. When a believer suffers in order to do God's will, that is causing for rejoicing. 1Peter 4:13 says, "But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."
Saying no to self and suffering in the flesh leads to the death of selfishness, and that kind of hardship yields tremendous freedom and strength.

First Peter also calls us to develop lifestyles that are holy and pleasing to the Lord. It addresses not only our behavior, but also our intentions, and causes us to examine our hearts so we can operate from pure motives.

The words of this book also give us "nuggets of truth" to fight the spiritual war and overcome the enemy.

Stand On The Word!

Reading from the Book of James 1:21-25

²¹ Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls
We see from James 1:21 that the Word has the power to save us form a life of sin, but only as it is received and welcomed in our hearts. When we pay wholehearted attention to God's Word, it becomes implanted and rooted in us.
²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
If you and I are to walk in the power of God, we need to heed the advice of verse 22 to become doers of the Word and not just hearers only. Otherwise we deceive ourselves by reasoning that is contrary to the truth.
²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
It is the truth, and the truth alone, that sets us free and keeps us free. In order for it to work in our lives, and in order to receive God's promises from the Word, we must be responsible and obedient to the Word. We cannot try to excuse away our sins and weaknesses. Instead, we must become bondservants to God and not to our human nature or to other people or things.
God is your Helper. He is your Healer. He has a personalized plan for your life. Make sure you know what it is, then begin to walk in obedience to the truth one step at a time. Obeying the Word requires consistency and diligence. It cannot be "hit and miss." You cannot just try it to see if it works, but you must have a dedication and commitment to obey the Word whatever the outcome.
Keep your mind tuned into God's Word more than anything else. Let His Word become planted deep into your heart and listen to what it tells you. Obey Him and He will bless you. Stand on the Word!

Strong, Courageous & Firm!

Reading form the Book of Deuteronomy 31:6-8

^Deuteronomy6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁷ Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. ⁸ The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”Moses told the Israelites to be strong, courageous and firm. Do you know what it means to be firm? It means to stick to what you know is right without letting anything or anyone talk you out of it".

Moses told Joshua that he was to be strong, courageous and firm because he was to lead the people into the land that the Lord had given them. He assured him that the Lord would never fail him or forsake him and that God would go with him to lead him to victory. God makes that same promise to me and you today.

Sometimes we think that we have to wait until we are no longer afraid before we try to do something. But we probably will not accomplish much for God, for others, or even for ourselves if we wait until all our fear is gone. We need to face our fear with courage and do some things despite our fear.

It is comforting to know that everywhere we go, God has been before us to prepare the way. Whatever your situation, know that God promises to go with you. Wherever you go, whatever your circumstances, ask God to go before you and prepare the way. He will do it and then all you have to do is follow. Be strong, be courageous and be firm!

An Empty Tomb

Reading from the Book of John 20:11-18

^{John 20:11} Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher") ¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. 

The tomb where they laid His body is empty. The stone has been rolled away. The Son of Man has ascended and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. This we know. This we believe. It is to this great truth that we bear witness.

We can believe this truth. This truth is the most important of all truths.Our mission will not be completed until Jesus Himself returns and reigns in righteousness and justice. Yet we undertake this mission with a sense of that same invincible hope that inspired those who peered with amazement into an empty tomb, saw the risen Savior face to face, and then proceeded to turn their world upright.

I pray that you and your family will be especially blessed this resurrection Sunday, as I say to you: He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!  Hallelujah!

Death On A Cross

Reading from the Book of Isaiah 53:3-7

³He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.⁴Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.⁵But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.⁶All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.⁷He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 

Jesus did not seem to let the fact that He was despised and rejected bother Him. He certainly did not complain about it. I am sure He felt intense pain, just as you and I do when we are rejected, but He did not allow it to prevent Him from fulfilling His purpose.

The beatings that He received, the wounds that shed His blood, the chastisement and ridicule He endured, was all for His children, that we believe in Him and turn to Him.

If condemnation is filling our consciences, it is not from God. He sent Jesus to die for us to pay the price for our sins. Jesus bore our sin and the guilty condemnation that accompanies sin. We should get rid of the sin and not keep the guilt. Once God breaks the yolk of sin from us, He removes the guilt too. He is faithful and just to forgive all of our sins and to continuously cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

His "death on a cross" with the shedding of His blood is the way to remove all our sin.