July 8 – Unsnatchable

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” – John 10:28 (ESV)

As faith believers when we know we are safely held and protected in the hands of Jesus, it stirs us to rejoice and give thanks to God. During the Feast of Dedication, (Hanukkah,) Jesus is teaching in the Temple. A crowd has gathered which includes the Jews. The label “the Jews” identifies the elite ruling class of the Jewish religion. They were forever asking questions of Jesus trying to trip him and have a valid accusation to charge and arrest Him. Asking again if He was the Messiah, when does He initiate the establishment of the promised Messianic Kingdom. He has told them and has demonstrated many times the validity of His claim as the Anointed One, the Messiah. In English our word Christ comes from a transliteration of Greek for Messiah. Christ = Messiah. Jesus tells the Jews that they do not understand because they are not among His sheep so they do not belong to Him. Then he makes this promise, a gift of eternal life for all His sheep and those who receive, never spiritually die. We who believe in Jesus as Savior are secure forever in His hand, we are “Unsnatchable.” 

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December 16 – Knowing Us, Loving Us

“Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.” Psalm 91:14 (NASB)

Our God is the God of love. He loves His own and He appreciates their love. Isn’t it amazing to realize how much the Lord knows about us? There is nothing about us that God does not know intimately.  Often we might think we are being overlooked but God always knows what we are doing. He hears what we say. And, since He also knows that we think He knows how we feel. Our verse reminds us that God knows each person who really loves Him. And He responds to our love in very special ways. Of course love is a part of the nature of our God. We are told that God is love! So it is not surprising that He notices very quickly how we respond to His love, nor is it unexpected that He responds to ours. Our promise to think about today is that God has promised to deliver us who love Him when we are on shaky ground or have fallen. He promises to set us securely on high ground. We can trust that. 

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April 26 – A Good Place to Be

“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.” Deuteronomy 33:12

The words of this verse were spoken by Moses and pronounced on the tribe of Benjamin just before Moses died. And these words are also for us because they are for those who are beloved of the Lord. Any who are loved by God can claim these words for themselves. We believe that the Lord loves us because He gave His Son to be our Savior. We are God’s beloved because we have believed in Jesus as Savior So we can rest secure in Him as our verse says. Each one of us can fit the picture of this verse as one loved by God resting between His shoulders. It is a good day to relax in His love, let’s be sure to do it. 

February 27 - In the Shadow of Your Wings

“Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.” Psalm 57:1 (NIV)

Some of the Psalms are like songs of praise and others are songs of prayer. Today’s verse is a bit of both. This verse has some interesting words especially in view of the fact that when David wrote this song He was hiding in a cave to save his life. David needed a place to hide from those who were chasing and hunting for him to kill him. He was saving his physical life. But David knew that he needed a refuge for his spiritual life too, for his soul. He had found that refuge in God where he could be secure and safe spiritually. No matter what happened to his body, he could trust in God to keep him safe forever. We need the same refuge and God will provide us a safe hiding place for our souls for eternity.

July 2

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.”  Hebrews 6:19-20a (NIV)

These words remind us of the curtain in the temple in Jerusalem which the Hebrew people were aware of. The curtain prevented people from entering the place where God’s glory represented His presence. Today there is no temple but the verse reminds us that Jesus, our Savior, is in the presence of God serving on our behalf. He is praying for us. That makes a big difference for us. It gives us hope. It makes life worth living. It especially makes it worthwhile to live for God. Jesus is in God’s presence interceding for us!

May 23

“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.”  Deuteronomy 33:12 (NIV)

Shortly before Moses died he pronounced a blessing on each of the tribes of Israel which he had led out of Egypt. This verse is the blessing he gave to the tribe of Benjamin. This promise can be applied not only to the tribe of Israelites, but to others, too. It is for those whom God loves. It is true that God did love the tribe of Benjamin but He loves you and me too. So let us apply these words to all who are God’s children by faith. Because He loves us we can rest secure in Him. He’ll take care of us all day today and all night too. We can “rest between His shoulders.”