“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

Last Sunday I preached from 2 Tim. 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” That verse has been one of my favorites for many years, for good reason. The world is a dangerous place and facing fear is a common thing. That’s why it is crucial that we remember Christ and what He what has provided—“power..love, and.. a sound mind.” But we also need to be reminded that we have these things because Christ Himself is within us and He is “greater” than any enemy we will ever face. Think about that for a while and it will give you courage to face the day.

Adrian Rogers wrote, “The One who created the valley is there with you! He has prepared the way through the valley. It is not a place of permanence, but a place of passage. He knows every twist and turn, every changing shadow, every den where danger lurks—that One is with you!

Focus on the light and not the darkness. God has made you to walk through shadows. When the shadow approaches, you must walk through. The One greater than death is in you! He is your Jehovah Shamah—the Lord ever-present. His grace is greater. His peace is purer. His devotion is dearer. Where Satan casts a shadow, our Sovereign Lord reigns supreme.

This is a day of hope. Meditate on 1 John 4:4 throughout the day and ask God to give you a divine appointment to share this beloved truth with someone today.”

Certainly prayer is not to be an excuse to not do anything else, but until you’ve prayed you have not done everything, not even the first thing or the best thing. We haven’t done all we could or should until we have prayed. Nothing we do is as good or as effective as it should be without prayer. Prayerlessness expresses an attitude of pride in that it says I don’t need God. When we pray we bring God into the picture and express our sense of dependence upon Him and our confidence in Him– and that always gets God’s attention!. Regardless of how good or bad our situation appears to be we ought to “pray without ceasing“. In fact we should pray as though everything depends on it, because it does! At this very moment we have dear loved ones in great need—“pray without ceasing“! As James said, “...ye have not, because ye ask not.“(Ja. 4:2)

“Who is on the Lord’s side!”– Exo 32:26.

“How long halt ye between two opinions! If the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, follow him. And the people answered him not a word.”— 1Ki 18:21.

Moses and Elijah uttered practically the same call, which is always being spoken to each fresh generation. As soon as we can think for ourselves, we are accosted by the challenge of the Divine Voice- Art thou for Me or against Me? Which side dost thou take? From the lips of our blessed Lord comes the additional challenge, which compels us to face the alternative as one that may not be trifled with or put aside: “He that is not with Me is against Me.“

How long halt ye between two opinions? We must take one side or the other. When the division-bell rings in the House of Commons, the Ayes must go to the right and the Noes to the left. A man must choose which he will take! If Jehovah, If Baal, We cannot be neutral without being stultified.

Who, then, is prepared to take sides, and to come out to Christ, without the camp, bearing His reproach? (Heb 13:13). To be on the Lord’s side is to acknowledge Him as our King as well as Saviour. It is to render to Him our reverence, obedience, love and devotion. It is to abandon all refuges and resorts to our own works and ways, and to strive for heart, mind, and life to be assimilated to His will and character. This is what our Saviour expects and asks of each of us! We are to belong wholly to God, to give Him all that we are capable of giving, to choose His cause, and to find in Him the beginning and ending, the first and last.

Jesus Christ possesses an unimpeachable and absolute right over us–the right of Creator, “it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves”; the right of Benefactor, not only in the realm of temporal but of spiritual existence; the right of Redeemer, and this is the greatest claim of all.

Our decision demands declaration. Christ will not have His followers live in secret. In the days in which we live, when there are so many temptations to compromise between the disciples of Jesus and the votaries of the world, there is overwhelming reason why we should take His side. And in that great day, He will take our side and acknowledge us before His Father and the Holy Angels!

O Lord, we acknowledge Thy dominion over us; our life, our death, our soul and body, all belong to Thee. Grant that we may willingly consecrate them all to Thee, and use them in Thy service. AMEN — F B Meyer

“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”–1 Thess. 5:16-18

Scottish minister Alexander Whyte was known for his uplifting prayers in the pulpit. That’s because he always found something for which to be grateful. One Sunday morning the weather was so gloomy that one church member thought to himself, “Certainly the preacher won’t think of anything for which to thank the Lord on a wretched day like this.”

Much to his surprise, however, Whyte began by praying, “We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this!”

Tough circumstances often make giving thanks a real challenge. And today, on a day when thankfulness is in so much focus, people around our nation and our world are experiencing unspeakable pain. So how, then, can we fulfill the mandate laid out in today’s Scripture?

While our situation might make it difficult to give thanks to God, one thing we must always remember is that God is good. And because of that, we have confidence in tough times that it won’t always be like this. A better day is coming.

When that becomes your hope, thankfulness is a natural response. So give thanks today not because of your circumstances, but because you have a God who loves you and gives you hope for better days ahead!–Senior Living

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool”– Isaiah 1:18

This verse is a parenthesis in the midst of Isaiah’s prophecy of rebuke and warning.

We might have expected for Isaiah to speak of how justified God’s judgment would be because of Israel’s sinful rebellion. But he also surprises us with this reasoning from the Lord: “if you turn to God in repentance, then all your past mistakes will be utterly washed away.”

This does not at first sound reasonable, or rational, at all. We all know that an apology cannot undo a wrong that has been committed. Saying one is sorry for adultery or murder does not undo the unfaithfulness or loss. So how then does repentance somehow make our red-handed sins clean and white before God?

The answer, the rationale, from the Lord is found later in this same prophecy. A suffering Servant would come, who would be “wounded for our transgressions;” our chastisement, our punishment would be put upon him, and with his wounds he would heal us, clean us (53:5).

You see, there is nothing you can do to take away your past sins and guiltiness before a holy God. But God has promised, when you turn to him in repentance, that your sin-stains will be washed completely away by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Come now,says the Lord, to hear and consider this promise of forgiveness. Do not distance yourself, but come; do not delay, but come now.(Baptist Bible Hour)