Tag: #peace

A Life with Love Needs Grace

We need God’s grace to love and to be faithful to what He has called us to do. He has called us to be His children and love is to characterize our lives. We are to represent Him to others in our lives and our marriages are to show the world His plan of love for mankind. His grace and peace is multiplied to us through the knowledge of God.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; II Peter 1:2

We are powerless to love with a Godlike love apart from the Lord but can be recipients of His grace and power. We need His grace and His power to live the life He intended for us and to have the love in our marriages that He meant for us to have.

seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. II Peter 1:3

His divine power has granted us everything that we need pertaining to all of life and to live a godly life and to have a godly marriage in an ungodly world.

For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. II Peter 1:4

It is His precious and magnificent promises that allow us to become like Him and to escape the corruption that is in the world. It is His promises that give us hope that our life and marriage will not be destroyed or corrupted but will grow stronger and stronger as we grow in the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ. We no longer have to live according to our lusts but we can live according to His will which will allow us to experience His love and will bring us great joy and peace. The word “lusts” in the original language means “desires”. It is our “lusts” that destroys love in our relationships and brings death to our marriage. It is His will that nourishes love in our marriage.

But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. James 1:14,15

The Lord tells us not to let our “lusts” deceive us. He will give us His desires for our life, which are good and perfect gifts. If we had all of the knowledge to choose what is best for us then they are the good and perfect gifts that He would choose for our lives. He is the only One who is all knowing and knows what we need and what is best for us.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17,18

The lusts of the world bring corruption and destruction to our life and marriage. Love in marriage is a good and perfect gift that He wants to give to us. He will give you the grace and power to live according to His ways and to not give in to temptation. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11

The Lord is the One who gives grace and glory. If you humble yourself before Him then He will give you His grace so that you might have the power to walk uprightly, obey Him and live according to his promises. You will escape the corruption that is in the world that comes to those who seek their own will and live according to their own desires.

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6

A Life of Quietness and Tranquility

What is the home of your thoughts? In other words, when you have nothing to think about then where do your thoughts go to? Where your thoughts go to is where your heart abides. For some their thoughts abide in anxiety. They always have something to worry about and when one worry is taken care of then they will just go to another worry. They live in a state of anxiety. The Lord wants you to live in a state of quietness, tranquility and peace. It is precious to the Lord and it makes you beautiful to others. It is true beauty that clothes, jewelry and makeup can not produce.

I Peter 3:3,4 Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

It will be life to you when you learn to live in tranquility. Once you learn to abide in this kind of life you will not want to go back to the restlessness of your soul.

Proverbs 14:30 A tranquil heart is life to the body, But passion is rottenness to the bones.

Prayer is a necessary requirement for a life of tranquility. Do you pray for your leaders, the righteous and the wicked? The Bible says to pray for all and does not distinguish between the good and the bad, for no one is good but God alone.

I Timothy 2:1,2 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

It will be your strength and will give strength to others.

Isaiah 30:15 For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said, “In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength.” But you were not willing,

It comes when you do life right. If there is drama or a lack of peace and quietness then there is a lack of righteousness.

Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.

Do you listen more to God’s servants or more to the news?

Ecclesiastes 9:17 The words of the wise heard in quietness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.

What is your home like? If you have a roommate or if you are a young wife do those who live with you look forward to coming home? Many a man will think of an excuse of “things” he needs to do just to get away from the strife of a contentious wife or constantly fussing kids. A mother needs to teach her children that there is a time for quietness as well as a time for play.

Proverbs 17:1 Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it Than a house full of feasting with strife.

You will not be able to enjoy any of the good gifts that the Lord gives to you if you do not have quietness within. There will be no rest, security, peace or delight.

Job 3:26 “I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”

Job 20:20 “Because he knew no quiet within him, He does not retain anything he desires.

How can we live in the peace and tranquility that the Lord has for us? There is only one way and that is the way of the Good Shepherd, for He leads us beside quiet waters and restores our anxious soul.

Psalm 23:1-3 The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

You will be glad when you come to that life of peace, quietness and tranquility. You will live in security and confidence and will be a comfort to those around you.

Psalm 107:30 Then they were glad because they were quiet, So He guided them to their desired haven.

Your spirit will be precious to the Lord and you will radiate the beauty of the Lord as you follow the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for you so that you might live life to the fullest.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Don’t let the thief rob you of your peace, kill your quietness or destroy your tranquility. For the Lord Jesus has overcome Him.

 

 

 

A Life of An Encourager

We all need hope and encouragement brings hope and the courage to press on. Discouragement means that we have lost our courage. There are times in a person’s life when they want to quit. If you are an encourager you will never lack friends or a ministry. The Christian and the nonChristian will always need encouragement.

I Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another,  just as you also are doing.

The Lord is the One who gives encouragement so that we might persevere and not give up. He wants us to be of the same mind with one another, that is, to have the mind of Christ.

Romans 15:5 Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,

Today, when you have the opportunity, encourage someone. You may not get the chance tomorrow. Sin deceives and we need one another to keep from being deceived and falling. Encouragement to someone who is downcast is like giving a cup of cold water to one who is thirsty. Their soul is quenched and encouragement refreshes their soul.

Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Daniel was an encouragement to the one he worked for and was a blessing to him.

Daniel 11:1 In the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him.

Barnabas was an encouragement to the Christians.

Acts 4:36 Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),

Acts 11:22-24 The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.

Jonathan encouraged his best friend, David. Encourage your friends so that they might thrive.

I Samuel 23:16 And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God.

Encourage the exhausted. Those who are in the battle for the Lord get weary and exhausted. They need you. New mothers need encouragement and young wives need it also. We all need encouragement.

Isaiah 35:3 Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.

Encourage your leaders who lead you spiritually that they may be strengthened  in the Lord.

Deuteronomy 1:38 Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter there; encourage him, for he will cause Israel to inherit it.

The Scripture was given to us to encourage us and give us hope. Read the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.

Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

When we take refuge in the Lord then we come away with encouragement.

Hebrews 6:18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

The Lord gives us encouragement so that we also might give encouragement to others. When you look to Jesus then He will show you those around you who need encouragement. The world is filled with hungry and thirsty souls who need the encouragement and refreshment that you can give them.

Proverbs 11:25 The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered.

If the Lord calls you to be married then your husband will desperately need your encouragement and so will your children. Learn now how to encourage others as a way of life. Learn from others who are an example to you in this area. As you learn to encourage your friends, family and leaders then all of you will be built up together in the Lord.

 

A Life that Responds

The Lord has called the single men to be the initiators in relationships with single women. Women are called to be responders. If she is interested in the young man and he is suitable for her then she learns to respond to him. The young lady is not the initiator. For this way of life to be for a young lady she must put her trust in the Lord. If she will learn to live in His presence and put her trust in Him then she will thrive in life. If she trusts in herself then she will be constantly frustrated and defeated.

Psalm 52:8 But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.

The Lord is the One who directs the hearts of all men.

Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.

If she does not trust the Lord then she will be tempted to initiate or manipulate concerning young men. Either of these options are not God’s way. If she initiates or manipulates and she gets what she wants then she will never know if it is what the Lord wanted for her. When the trials come in the relationship then she will be tempted to doubt and in her time of need she will not have the assurance that the Lord brought about the relationship.

Proverbs 7:7-15 And I saw among the naive,
And discerned among the youths
A young man lacking sense,
Passing through the street near her corner;
And he takes the way to her house,
In the twilight, in the evening,
In the middle of the night and in the darkness.
And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
Dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart.
She is boisterous and rebellious,
Her feet do not remain at home;
She is now in the streets, now in the squares,
And lurks by every corner.
So she seizes him and kisses him
And with a brazen face she says to him:
“I was due to offer peace offerings;
Today I have paid my vows.
“Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you.

The immoral woman is an initiator and manipulator. Often she also will have a pretense of religion, of being a good girl. However, the Bible says that her way is death.

Proverbs 2:16-19 To deliver you from the strange woman,
From the adulteress who flatters with her words;
That leaves the companion of her youth
And forgets the covenant of her God;
For her house sinks down to death
And her tracks lead to the dead;
None who go to her return again,
Nor do they reach the paths of life.

It is when we are struggling and doubting that we are tempted to take things into our hands and “make it happen”. The attitude that nobody else is looking after you so you need to look after yourself is against God’s ways. Abraham’s wife, Sarah, in the Old Testament came up with an idea to get a baby, rather than wait upon the Lord. It brought her much grief.

Genesis 16:3,4 After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight.

In the same way, you will bring yourself grief also, if you take matters into your own hands. You may get what you “want” but will not want it in the end nor will it bring you any joy.

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

When a young lady responds to a young man then it makes him feel like a king. If you make a man feel like a king then he will want you to be his queen. It is well worth it to wait for God’s man and for God’s timing. If a man sees a young lady as a queen he will treat her as such.

Psalm 52:9 I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it,
And I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.

In the end, if a young lady will trust in the Lord then she will give thanks to Him because she will know that He is the One who did it.

James 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

 

A Life that Pleases God

There is only One whom we can please all of the time if we will only trust Him. The righteous person shall live by faith. The most fulfilling life is a life of faith. A life of faith is what pleases the Lord and you can not please Him without faith.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

A lack of faith is the only thing the Lord reproved His disciples for when He spent time with them.

Matthew 8:26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.

To increase their faith is what His disciples requested from Him.

Luke 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

What is faith? Faith is believing what you can not see. A conviction means that it defines your life.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Faith comes through God’s Word. If you want to increase your faith then increase your time in His Word. Ask the Lord to increase your faith as you spend time with Him in his Word.

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

There are degrees of faith. The Lord talks about great faith and little faith. If faith is what pleases the One who loves you more than you can comprehend then don’t you want to have great faith?

Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.

However, even if you have little faith then He can increase it if you come to Him. Faith can grow, it is like a mustard seed.

Matthew 17:20 And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

Faith is believing what the Lord said. It is not wishing something will happen and if you wish hard enough then you have faith that it will happen. Faith comes from hearing the Lord speak to you through His Word. It is based on His promises. You must spend time in His Word and then your faith will grow. Faith is believing the Lord and believing that what He said is true. You will be blessed if you believe in Him and His Word.

John 20:29  Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

It is through faith in Jesus Christ that we receive the righteousness of God and are declared “not guilty” because Jesus Christ has justified us because of His righteousness.

Romans 4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,

Jesus lived by faith more than anyone. He lived a life of perfect faith. He never doubted the Father. He laid aside His God powers and trusted the Father completely. Jesus went to the cross trusting the Father to raise Him from the dead according to the Father’s promise.

Colossians 2:12 in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the  working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

Faith is not a passive intellectual assent to the claims of Christ but a dynamic living out of obedience to His Word believing that one day He is coming again and is a rewarder of those who seek Him, as was mentioned earlier.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

A Life without Excuses

Some of the most powerful words that Jesus spoke are recorded in John 15. He takes away all excuses that we have not to obey Him.

John 15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.

Have you ever felt that God was speaking to you? Yes, we have all felt that at some time God was trying to get our attention. He made us to have fellowship with Him and He desires that all men come to know Him. When we respond to the light that He gives us then we receive more light.

John 15:24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin;

Has anything ever happened in your life that there was no other explanation other than it was a “God thing”. Again, this is the Lord who is seeking you out. The Lord wants to have a relationship with you and fellowship with you.

Revelation 3:19-22 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

The Lord promises those who respond to Him on earth will reign with Him in heaven. It is your choice. Will you receive His invitation and fellowship with Him and live for Him? The choice is yours.

Psalm 36:1 Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart;
There is no fear of God before his eyes.

If you do not listen to Him then your sin will speak to your heart and bring you torment. What do you choose…comfort or torment? Your choice on earth determines your eternal destiny. He allows us to taste of hell through torment here on earth or to taste of heaven through fellowship with Him on earth. When you lay your head on your pillow at night are your thoughts of your sin or unfaithfulness or of the love and faithfulness of the Lord for that day?

I Peter 2:6-8 For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone,
And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the very corner stone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

There will be no excuse when we see Him. He has tried to speak to all of us and to make Himself known to us. The Bible says that the kindness of God leads us to repentance. He loves you. Is there something in the Bible that you struggle with and it is a stumbling block that is keeping you from a totally surrendered life to Him? Ask Him to help you with it. His plans for you are good and you can trust Him.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the plans that I have for you,’  declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Seek Him while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near before it is too late and you have no hope. It is appointed unto man to die and then comes judgment the Bible says.

 

 

A Life with Love Does Not Judge

Judging someone is the opposite of loving someone. The Lord has not called us to judge but to love. There is only One Lawgiver and Judge.

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor? James 4:12

The Lord has called us to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul and mind and our neighbor as ourselves, that is, how we would want someone else to love us. We can not love and judge at the same time. When we are judging someone then we are presuming something about someone else when we do not have all of the facts. We are not all knowing. There is only One who is all knowing and He will judge righteously.

Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. James 4:11

The Lord has called us to be a doer of His word and not a judge of it. If we are only a hearer of the word and not a doer then we are only deceiving ourselves and His truth and love is not in us.

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. James 1:22

When Adam and Eve sinned they became a judge of God and His Word and not a lover of God and a doer of His Word. They presumed about the Lord and His character and so they hid themselves.

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” Genesis 2:8-10

Adam was afraid because he know longer knew the Lord. His view of God became distorted because of his sin and Adam began making a judgment of God of what he thought God was like. Everything that you and I do is a response to our view of God. Everything that every person in the world does is a response to their view of God. For this reason, our greatest need is to have the correct view of God. God is not who we judge Him to be but God is who God is, whether we know Him or not. When the Bible uses the word “know” someone, it means an intimate knowledge of the person. Adam lost his intimacy with God when he sinned. He no longer knew Him and Adam’s judgment of God became twisted. God is not twisted but Adam’s view of God became distorted and twisted.

With the pure You show Yourself pure,
And with the crooked You show Yourself twisted. Psalm 18:26

Only God can cleanse our heart. Our heart becomes clean when we are forgiven of our sin. Only God can forgive us of our sin. Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross to forgive us of our sin, to forgive us for wanting and trying to be like God. He came to forgive us of judging God and everyone else.

And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22

The correct view of God will only come when our heart has been cleansed and is pure. A pure heart is a heart that by faith is single minded in its purpose to trust and obey God.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8

The Lord wants to reveal Himself to all of us but He waits until we have drawn near to Him through faith, by His grace, and have had our hearts cleansed through the blood of Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross to forgive us of our sins. He took all of our sins and gave us all of His righteousness that we might once again be restored to a loving relationship with God and know God intimately.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8

A Life with Love is Relational

Love is about relationships. The Lord made us to be in a relationship with Him and in relationship with others. It is not good to alone. It is love that makes the relationships alive and meaningful and the relationships that we have define our lives. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God then their relationship with God changed and they changed.

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food,and that it was a delight to the eyes,and that the tree was desirable to make wise,she took from its fruit and ate;and she gave also to her husband with her,and he ate.Then the eyes of both of them were opened,and they knew that they were naked;and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. Genesis 3:6,7

Sin always changes people and relationships. Something within us is destroyed and we no longer enjoy the freedom and security that we had before we sinned. Adam and Eve were ashamed and insecure. They tried to cover themselves up.

Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people. Proverbs 14:34

Sin also makes us fearful. The only problem was that there was nothing that they needed to be afraid of but sin distorts reality in our mind and we start responding not to the Lord and His Word but to our fears. When we respond to our fears then our life becomes anxious and even more insecure. Those who obey the Lord have no need to fear. They know the Lord and have put their trust in Him.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.
“For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit. Jeremiah 17:7,8

Sin brings guilt and guilt changes our thoughts and our actions. The guilt in our lives will change the path that we take so that we can avoid any reminder of the guilt. God made man so that he can not live without love and in the same way, God made man so that he can not live with guilt. Man will do anything that he can to try to get rid of the guilt or to block it out. Since man can not get rid of his own guilt, his actions only lead to more guilt. It is a horrible life.

The way of a guilty man is crooked,
But as for the pure, his conduct is upright. Proverbs 21:8

The path of the guilty is no longer straight but it is crooked. His conduct becomes even more crooked just as the saying goes, “the leg of a lie gets longer and longer”. The guilt in a person’s life will twist their view of everything. They will no longer see clearly and will become suspicious of even those who have done them no wrong. Even their view of God becomes distorted.

With the kind You show Yourself kind;
With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
With the pure You show Yourself pure,
And with the crooked You show Yourself twisted. Psalm 18:25,26

The Lord is good and loving. He is kind and blameless. However, to the guilty and crooked person He becomes twisted in their mind and eyes. The most important thing in a person’s life is their view of God. Everything that man does is a response to his view of God. God is not who you think that He is, He is who He is and He reveals Himself to those who seek Him with a pure heart. The view that you have of God is not an indication of who He is but it is more an indication of the purity of your heart.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8

There is only One who can take your sin and guilt away and give you a clean heart and that is Jesus Christ.

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29

He came to earth, died on the cross and rose again to take the punishment that all of us deserve, to forgive us of our sin and to restore us to a relationship with God.

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, I Peter 3:18a

A Life that Has a Refuge

A refuge is a safe place. We all need a refuge. The Lord has a refuge for the Christian lady where she will always be safe. It is very important for a young lady to understand this truth. The Bible says that the Lord keeps us and the devil can not touch us.

I John 5:18 He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.

If a young Christian lady is any danger it is very important that she runs to the Lord. She must speak the name of Jesus Christ in her situation. People have to block out God in order to do evil.

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.

Pour out your heart to the Lord. He will come to you. Seek refuge in Him.

Psalm 62:8 Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.

He will be a shield to all who take refuge in Him. Don’t go where you should not go but if you find yourself being attacked in your thought life or by the accusations of others then go to the Lord and call on His name. He will help you and be a shield for you to extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one. If you are in physical danger He will be a shield for you. Nothing can touch you unless it first comes through Him.

Psalm 37:40 The Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, Because they take refuge in Him.

He is a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

There are many verses in the Bible about the Lord being a refuge for the Christian. However, unless we believe them they do not help us.

Hebrews 4:2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.

If we take His Word and believe what He says then we will possess His promises. They will become ours and we will have faith, hope and courage.

Hebrews 6:18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

The book of Hebrews was written to the Christians whose homes had been taken from them and they had to flee Rome during the times of the early church. They were able to persevere under very trying circumstances only because they put their hope in Him.

James 1:12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

We are not to shrink back in the day of trial but we are to take refuge in Him and persevere so that we shall not be ashamed. It is the little trials that prepare us for the bigger trials. The Lord is a present help in time of trouble but you must call on Him.

Hebrews 10:37-39 For yet in a very little while,
He who is coming will come, and will not delay.
But My righteous one shall live by faith;
And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.

But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.

Faith is taking refuge in Him and believing what He says is true. When our faith is strong then our courage is strong and we are able to persevere. Discouragement means that we have lost our courage. The Lord says to be strong and courageous. He is coming again and His reward is with Him and for all who were faithful.

 

A Life with Love Brings Satisfaction

Love brings satisfaction to others by helping them to become the person that God designed them to be and to do the things that God wants them to do. A person can only do this if they have the love of God abiding in them. When Eve disobeyed God she no longer was a helpmate to Adam but she became his mate who hurt him. Her life no longer helped him grow closer to God but she hurt his relationship with the Lord by wanting him to sin just as she had sinned. Sin has a ripple effect and will always bring hurt to the people around the one doing the sinning.

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her and he ate. Genesis 3:6

If you love someone then you will not want to be a stumbling block to them but will want to help them grow in their relationship with the Lord. You are either pointing people to the Lord through your life or you are pointing them away from the Lord. A person who is disobedient to what the Lord says will not only stumble themselves but they will put a stumbling block before others. God’s Word is offensive to the one who does not want to obey it. The disobedient person will often want others to do the same as they have done. It does not lessen their guilt but only increases it.

For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the very corner stone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. I Peter 2:6-8

“Indeed, did God say…” is what the devil said to Eve. He caused her to question God’s Word and then she twisted what the Lord said and then she disobeyed God’s Word. She disobeyed God’s Word to her own destruction, to the destruction of her marriage and home and to the destruction of her relationship with God. The Lord had given Adam and Eve everything that man and woman could possibly want. Yet, they were not satisfied. You will never be satisfied if you look elsewhere for satisfaction, other than to the Lord. There will always be something prettier, better, more advantageous and anything else that we think would bring us happiness.

Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied. Proverbs 27:20

Sheol and Abaddon are other names for hell. The devil is never satisfied as to how many people he can get to go to hell with him. He is never satisfied with how many marriages he can destroy or how many lives he has destroyed. When your marriage is destroyed and dies then something within you also dies. You will never be the same. In the same way, the eyes of men and women are never satisfied. They will always want more.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew 5:6

As you learn to hunger and thirst for the Lord and to hunger and thirst after righteousness then you will be satisfied. Righteousness is believing what God said by faith and acting on it by obeying His Word. It may seem impossible but it is true. The word “blessed” means happy. You will be happy and satisfied in life, in your marriage and you will be a blessing to your spouse and to others.