Friday, July 31, 2009

Our Friend

. . . There is a friend that sticketh
closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

People define the term “friend” in various ways. My favorite way of thinking about a friend is this: a friend is one who listens to us, watches out for us, shelters us from harm, knows and understands us and loves us anyway. Jesus is that friend. He hears our prayers, guides us through the snares in our lives, and protects us from danger.

We, as children of God have to learn these qualities about Jesus. They ways we do this is by meditating and studying His Word and by prayer. We also learn about Him by praising Him. This allows God to reach his great arms of love down to us, scoop us up and wrap in His warm embrace.

We discover these things about God and His Son as our faith grows–deepens in love and knowledge of Him.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Our Redemption



We have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of His grace.
Ephesians 1:7

We don’t deserve to be saved, bought back from our sin. God didn’t have to delete these horrible things from our lives. We experience this phenomenon because of God’s unmerited favor given through Jesus Christ, His Son.

How many times have we gone to God with a guilty conscience? We said something we shouldn’t have. We didn’t not measure up to what we knew He expected from us. We make our confession to Him and He wraps our arms of love around us. Or he comforts us by working through someone else–a friend or even someone we don't know.

What allows God to be so loving toward us puny humans? It's His grace, love he bestows on us because we are His. He does this unconditionally–we don’t have to earn it–we can’t. We can’t purchase it–God’s grace is not for sale. He gives it to His children when they ask Him into their hearts.

We should praise God each day for his grace He bestows on His children.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Our Refuge


The eternal God is thy refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
Deuteronomy 33:27 (KJV)

We refer to a refuge as a shelter, a safe place, or a sanctuary. I like this word. I consider it a kind one. God is our refuge. He provides a safe place for us–His warm loving arms. He shelters us from harm. He protects us from disaster. We need to continually give thanks for His gracious watch–care.

God's arms are everlasting–He reaches out to us, His children all the time. He never withholds the love He promised. He is always ready to listen, to guide,to strengthen, to forgive,and to love us. His arms uphold us during our trials and times of stress. He waits for us patiently. He listens to us calmly. He loves us unconditionally.

In today's society we hear of dysfunctional families and homes. God wants the home to be a shelter whenever a person faces difficult times. His intends for families to support those who are having issues–health, loss of job, loss of home, loss of loved ones. He also expects His churches to shore up those who face these times of uncertainty.

God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...