He is Our Strength

Psalm 27:1-3

1The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

2When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

3Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

This passage is a definite reminder that you do not have to fear the things that come against you. Whether bad health, mental or emotional fatigue, family issues....anything.

God's Word tells us that He is Our Strength and you absolutely do not have to be afraid!

Time to Pray

In I Timothy 2:1-8, the Apostle Paul gives us instructions for prayer. In verses 1-2a, he tells us who to pray for. We are to pray for all people, especially those in authority. Paul then shows us in verses 2b-3 why we should pray for all people. We should pray for everyone, so we may have quiet, peaceable lives and this is what God would have us do.

Now, in verses 4-6, he points out some important attributes of God. Look at verse 4. He wants everyone to be saved! Then, verse 5 tells us there is one God, not many, and one mediator between God and mankind. Jesus Christ is our mediator. He is our only channel of prayer to God the Father and it is for this reason we pray in Christ's name. Verse 6 reminds us that Jesus gave His life for us. He made Himself a ransom. He took our place on the cross at Calvary so we could be reconnected with God the Father.

Paul, in verse 7, shows us why we should listen to him, his authority through Jesus Christ as an Apostle. Remember, the Apostles were men who had seen the resurrected Christ and we today are disciples or followers of Christ, not apostles.

To bring this all together, we are to: pray for everyone because God wants us to and it brings peace to our lives, pray in Jesus' name because he is our only mediator to the one and only true God, and verse 8 tells us to pray everywhere with faith that God will answer us.

Remember as you go through the week to pray for others and watch God work in not only others' lives, but your own as well.

Eternally Secure

In this devotional, we will look at the question of eternal security of believers in Christ. Our passage is Romans 8:35-39. Verse 35 poses the question, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" and gives a list of things we may think will separate us from His love. What do you think could separate us from the love of Christ? Could it be troubles, persecution, dangers, poverty, or war?

Verse 36 makes a reference to Psalm 44:22, we are killed all day for His sake and are as sheep ready for the slaughter. I know this seems like a terrible thing; however, I would like to point out the slaughtered Lamb in Revelation 5:6, Jesus Christ. We should be honored to be like Him.

Verse 37 reminds us that through Him, we are more than conquerors and are victorious over death, I Corinthians 15:57. The last verses, verses 38-39 answers our question of eternal security. Nothing and no one can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. He is the final authority and our salvation is in Him by Him and through Him and Him alone.

Take time this week to praise God for not only saving you, but for His eternal security.