He is With You

"I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9 NRSV

The servant of the Lord told Joshua to be courageous, the Lord is with you wherever He sends you and no matter what He asks you to do. We are reminded that we too should be courageous in doing the Lord's will. Things will happen along the way; things that don't always feel so good. But, God has a plan. "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." (Rom 8:28)

Don't worry. Trust the Lord for He is with you wherever you go; wherever, he sends you.

God's Peace -Pr. J

Hebrews 11 - Faith Is Confidence In What We Do Not See

Hebrews 11 NIV
"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for." (vs 1-2)
 
Read all of Hebrews 11! And, remember the courageous the acts of these ancients who lived by faith in the promises of God. Much was accomplished by them as they followed the will of God rather than what the world would expect of them. They were not striving after things that they could see. They were reaching out to serve a God whom they could not see. In Moses' case, as well as others, they were reaching for a promised land. They sought the kingdom which God had promised. By faith they set forth into a barren wilderness so that they might, at the end of their journey, receive the promise of God.

"These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." (vs 39-40)

We, too, search for the promised Kingdom. We know it is there because we have God's promise. We have not seen it with our eyes; but, we have seen glimpses of it with the eyes of our hearts by faith. We push forward through a sometimes very barren and hostile wilderness so at the last our faith will be most fully realized (even more fully than our faith can fathom) in the Kingdom that has been promised us through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J
 

Matthew 14 - Lord, Save Me!

"Peter answered him, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.' He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?'" (Matt 14:28-31 NRSV)

Jesus heals the sick; feeds five thousand men plus women and children; and walks on water. I'm thinking that if one didn't believe that he is the Son of God after witnessing all that, there may have been a problem with their vision as well as their faith. 

Peter has witnessed all this and so wants to walk on the water, too. He begins, fully trusting in the LORD. But, then his faith waivers and he begins to sink. How many times do we begin a venture, trusting that God is with us? But, then we become frightened. Maybe the project is too big, the obstacles too many, and rather than to keep our trust in the LORD we begin to trust our own weakness; falling fast and hard. This is what usually happens when we trust our own abilities or inabilities over the power and ability of almighty God. We fall. We begin to sink. We so not have the power to save ourselves and so we cry out to the LORD "Lord, save me!" He will save. Have faith.

Have faith, that the LORD is with you, at all times and in all places so that you might stand. "Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong." (1 Corinth 16:13)

God's Peace - Pr. J