“The Perfect Bedfellow”

Scripture:

Psalm 4:8
I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. (NKJV)

Observation:

This man David; a man after God’s own heart, could lie down to sleep soundly in peace even though his bed was the hard barren ground and his enemies were close by hunting him down. He was able to sleep restfully because he was confident that the Lord was protecting him (Proverbs 29:25).

Application:

We, too, even in this age, are being hunted down and pursued by a relentless enemy who wants to destroy our souls (1 Peter 5:8). Satan and this fallen world will never grow weary in the quest to destroy all that God stands for. And this sinister and powerful enemy of God will succeed in destroying your soul without the mighty protection of God’s wings over you (Psalm 17:8-9). From the moment you give our life to Christ the battle for your soul begins and you will spend the rest of your days fighting off the relentless attacks of the ungodly. As Christians we become soldiers for God; warriors for righteousness and truth. God does not want us to become complacent or comfortable in our journey to heaven because the enemy is sly and he uses deceit in order to lull us away from the Truth. God calls us to fight for those who are loosing the battle and bring them into God’s protection so they, too, will learn how to battle the enemy. Never doubt the spiritual warfare that is raging and growing in intensity as we get closer to Jesus’ return. Satan’s turmoil is surrounding us in every direction and is quickly closing in. And the only way, dear friend, that you will ever be able to lay down and sleep in peace, is by knowing (without a doubt) that the mightiest of warriors has you safely under the protection of His wings. There is no better covering, my friends, and there is no better way to find rest you so desperately need. A quiet conscience is, indeed, a good bedfellow!

Prayer:

What awesome comfort it is in knowing You are close, O LORD—so close, in fact, that all who know You can sleep in peace trusting in You alone to keep them safe and out of the hands of the Enemy. Living a fearless life in You, my God, is a far cry from what the world offers to comfort me. Thank You, from the deepest depth of my heart for the promises I can hold tight to; promises that give us battered people rest and the kind of sleep that is, indeed, heavenly.

Amen

“Nailed in Freedom”

Scripture:

Galatians 5:24
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed
the passions and desires of their sinful nature
to His cross and crucified them there. (NLT)

Observation:

Our Creator and Lord has paid a hefty price indeed, so that we can be called His sons and daughters; His very own possession (Ephesians 1:14). We should never take this truth lightly, my friends, because it has given us the freedom from the power that sin has over our lives.

Application:

When we claim Jesus as the Lord over our lives He gives us all that we need to break the chains that have bound us in our slavery to sin; giving us the freedom to nail our sin-filled past to His cross. Does that mean you will never sin again? No it does not, but the power of sin that once controlled the way you thought will have been broken (Colossians 1:13-14). What peace it brings knowing that you are no longer held in bondage to sin. And there is no greater joy in my life than knowing that our God (the Creator and Sustainer of the universe) allowed evil men to beat, torture, mock, and then nail Him to a tree to die a criminals death because He did not want me to suffer the final wrath which I deserved; the wrath that I could not have avoided on my own. It was not until I began to understand who God was and why He did what He did that I started to comprehend that which had been so graciously given to me—an incredible amazing gift of love and everlasting life. Once you know the truth of where you stand in this adventure called life and once you grasp the price that was paid in full for your salvation, you will start learning how to live a life that not only brings honor to the One who gave you life, but the Lord will return that honor to you (2 Timothy 2:21) and bless your life in ways that make living in this hard and difficult world well worth the trouble it brings.

Prayer:

You, my Lord, paid the ultimate price for the peace I now have. It will take an eternity to show my deepest gratitude for the gift of life that You paid dearly for. How anyone can turn their back on You, knowing what You did for them, I will never understand. But no matter what this fallen world does, I will always praise and honor Your Holy Name. You are my God and I am fully Yours!

Amen

“Only Two Endings”

Scripture:

Galatians 5:17
The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite
from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us
desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires.
These two forces are constantly fighting each other,
and your choices are never free from the conflict. (NLT)

Observation:

The battle for our soul begins the moment we are born into this fallen world. We have all inherited a self-indulged sinful nature that comes indirectly from the Enemy of our soul (Romans 5:12). This enemy, the Devil, is indeed the second most powerful force that must be reckoned with every second of our lives. This unseen evil has engulfed the world since the beginning of time and will be ever so present until that day when the Lord throws Satan into the Lake of Fire forever. Until that time, the battle rages on; one that we must fight until that moment we breathe our last breath; one we will most certainly lose when we live by our own understanding and power.

Application:

The only Hope we have in assuring ourselves from following Satan into his permanent residence is found in the first and foremost powerful force in existence—the Living God, Jehovah. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives that anyone can overcome the power that sin has over us. For it is by the renewing of our hearts and minds that we can fend off the fiery darts of the enemy. It is only by surrendering our will and our lives over to the care and control of Christ Jesus, that we have any chance of saving our precious souls (Romans 3:23-26)—souls that our loving God has personally and individually created for Himself. Never doubt the power of sin that Satan has over your life, and never doubt the inherent weaknesses you possess in fighting that power. For without the power of our Creator, Jesus Christ (the One who is LORD over all) living deep within your heart and guiding the way, your life will easily fall prey to the delight of Satan, whose only desire is to destroy anything and everything that is good (Genesis 1:31).

Prayer:

Thank You, LORD God, for the power to fight this sinful nature that never rests. Thank You for providing the resources needed to fend off the enemy of my soul, for without You as my shield I would have no chance of overcoming the temptations that lead to death. How I praise You, O Lord, for all the protection You provide; for it is indeed, a great and awesome blessing that’s undeserved.

Amen

“Living in Vain”

Scripture:

Psalm 127:1
Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who builds it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain. (NKJV)

Observation:

Unless we know and fear the LORD, our lives are lived in vain (Psalm 25:14). When we live our lives apart from the One who gives us life, all that we do is done in vain. Without God our lives are meaningless. Without God we are nothing (John 15:6).

Application:

It is because of the mercy and grace of God that He shares with us the secrets of life; those truths which gives life its true meaning and value. This life that we have is not an accident, my friends, but a well thought out plan of the Living God; the almighty, all knowing, all perfect, all holy and pure God. Without God our lives become unmanageable and we tend to seek after those things that are only temporal; things that we think will satisfy but always leaves us wanting more. Without God there will always be an emptiness that can never be filled. Without God we are left unprotected and helpless; left alone as fair prey for the jaws of an enemy who will devour us without mercy, for he seeks only to kill and destroy all that God has created. Our only hope lies in our dependency on His divine grace (Ephesians 2:8). We can obtain all the skills and wisdom of a master builder, but without Jehovah all that we build will crumble and be no more—we will have labored in vain without a trace of our efforts left. Whatever you are building, my dear friends, unless the Lord is in it and honored by it, it will eventually fall in hopeless ruin. You can do much and labor hard, but without the Lord it is all done in vain and accomplishes nothing.

Prayer:

Create in me, dear Lord, the desire to continue building my new life in You that honors You; a life that will reflect Your amazing glory. I know that those who hold to a world view will mock and try to discourage my new life building process, but I know that You will give me the strength and wisdom to persevere the storms that lie ahead. For I know that You, the Master Builder, only designs the perfect life for Your imperfect children.

Amen

“Message of the Cross”

Scripture:

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (NASB)

Observation:

What an incredible and freeing truth this is for anyone who can grasp its meaning and then embrace its significance as did the apostle Paul.

Application:

As flawed human beings born into this sin filled world we have both the privilege and the freedom to choose how we are to live our lives when we believe in the God of creation and the truth about eternity. We can either rely on our own abilities and power to achieve a right standing before a Holy and Righteous God or we can accept the punishment that was paid in full and nailed to the cross of the Son of God, our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. The Son of God not only took upon Himself the worst that the evil of mankind could give, but He also accepted the full punishment of God’s wrath against all the sinfulness of mankind; an indescribable punishment that we cannot even begin to imagine, and one we fully deserve. When you embrace the reality of this most amazing gift; one which was freely given and borne out of love, you will surrender your life over to the care and control of the Lord our God, Jesus Christ, and He will lead you down the only path that leads to everlasting life. Don’t believe in the lies of this desperate world, my friends, for there is only one way that anyone can live a life that is pleasing to God and stand in His Holy Presence; you must nail your old sin-filled life to the cross of Christ and let Him create in you a new creature; one that will honor and glorify the Father of Life. You must (each and every day) take up your cross and cover yourself with Christ, for the LORD came down from the Glory of Heaven to do for you what you could never do for yourself. You can either embrace this Truth or not, but you must remember that this choice will be the most important choice you will ever make, because its consequences has no end. So embrace the message of the cross with all your hearts and souls, dear friends, for the reality of the cross is the only Hope we have!

Prayer:

What You did for all of mankind, O LORD, is beyond our understanding, but brings us the hope we need to experience the peace of God; a peace that brings true joy to this difficult life. Thank You for Your mercy and grace and for taking our place in God’s wrath. You paid our debt in full so that we could come back into the Presence of the Living God. What better gift is there? None!

Amen

“Point to God”

Scripture:

Jeremiah 9:24
But let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands
and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness,
justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in theses things, declares the LORD. (NASB)

Observation:

As sin filled people living in a fallen world we have little to boast about other than the mercy and grace of our Creator. Those who hold themselves in the highest esteem are really living a life of denial by placing themselves above their Creator; the One who sustains all life (Job 34:14-15).

Application:


Billions of people have been sucked into the many lies of the Enemy, who wants us to believe that we are the captain of our souls and the driving force behind our destiny. We are not! We have two choices, my friends; we can either get behind the devil and allow him to build on our inherited sinful natures, or we can turn our lives over to the control and care of the LORD. The first choice leads to everlasting death and the second leads to everlasting life. When we choose the latter, we must fully understand that our success depends solely on the wisdom and strength of the Lord. It is He who shapes and molds us into the kind of person we were meant to be. It is He who puts the desire in our hearts to follow Him. We can do nothing good on our own (John 15:5). When we try doing what is good on own power we always fall short of God’s standard. It is impossible for us to live righteously without God’s help. The flesh is weak and our spirit is flawed and this is why we all need Jesus. It is only through our Lord, Christ Jesus, that we can be saved and transformed. So if we are to boast at all, my friends, let us boast in the LORD our God (2 Corinthians 10:17).

Prayer:

Thank You, dear Lord, for all that you are, for without You there would be no good life at all. Without the goodness that is who You are this life would be no life worth living. It is only because of You that we have the hope we have. How I praise and honor You; the Living God of all.

Amen

"Goodness of Mercy"

Scripture:

Psalm 118:1

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! Because His mercy endures forever. (NKJV)

Observation:

The Author of Life deserves every ounce of thanks and praise that we can muster, because without Him who gives us all good things (James 1:17) there would be no hope for any good things. Goodness is His essence and nature; it is who He is.

Application:

He is always to be praised, my friends, whether we are receiving anything from Him or not. If you are the kind of person who can only bring yourself to praise God in the good times you must rise to a higher note and sing songs of thanks and praise to Him no matter what your circumstances may be, because He alone is good (Matthew 19:17). We must never tolerate a moment’s unbelief as to the Lord’s goodness. Many things about this life can certainly be in question, but there remains this one absolute truth that should never be in question: Jehovah is good! His dispensations may vary, but His nature remains good. It is because of His absolute goodness that His mercies are eternal. His never ending mercies should be of the greatest importance for every human being, because without them we would be destined to death and destruction (Titus 3:5); for we are by nature—sinners. Since all of humanity is deeply guilty, yet graciously forgiven, we should remain focused on His divine mercy as the utter most center of His perfect goodness, for the greatest of earthly joys soon pass away, but not so with God’s mercy. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is the incarnation of the mercy of God, calls us to remember His goodness with thanksgiving, for His mercy and forgiveness are complete; they have no end! Oh, that we should praise His glorious Name.

Prayer:

How grateful I am, LORD God, that your mercy and forgiveness is complete and forever. I realize that no matter how hard I try I will always fall short of Your standard. Thank You for the Hope You have given this fallen world, for without it we would surely live in a hopeless state. Help us, dear Lord; to understand who You are and what a perfect gift it is that You have so graciously given to those who live in You.

Amen