November 11 – From Whom Comes Victory

“For by their own sword they did not possess the land, And their own arm did not save them, But Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your presence, For You favored them.”  Psalm 44:3 (NASB)

It’s Veterans Day in the United States. On this day we honor those who have served in our armed forces. One of the ways that the Children of Israel preserved their history and it’s stories was in songs.  Psalm 44 is a song written for the purpose of remembering what God had done for them in securing the Promised Land and to offer up prayer and thanksgiving to God.  It was good for them to remember that God was the one giving them the victory.  Although God is Spirit this song says uses terms we can visualize. His right hand, His arm, and the light of His face, protects and providentially cares for us out of His love for us.  We can rejoice that God is the same today and Christians around the globe are God's children and members of His family wherever we are.  He cares for us and watches over us just as He did for the people of Israel.  As we reflect we can remember the ways God has intervened in our lives and it is by His grace and power and wisdom that we make it through day by day.

 

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October 25 – It’s Unbreakable

“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”  “–  But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” -  Romans 8:35,37 (NASB)

Paul asks another rhetorical question, to say “no one will ever be able to separate us from the love Christ has for us.”  This is not our love for Christ but Christ’s love for us. In  verse 37 Paul emphasizes that we have the victory, because we have conquered each of the threats “through Him who loved us.” The word translated ‘tribulation’ in the version we use here is also translated ‘affliction.’ In fact this Greek word means ‘persecution, affliction, and distress. Friends, each of these threats are real matters in the lives of those who believe in and profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This is not simply Paul spouting philosophical concepts. No, for if we read 2 Corinthians 11:23-29 we find Paul had already suffered the first of these seven hardships before he took to writing this letter* to Christians in Rome who were facing them as well. The apostle was speaking not only by inspiration but also from experience, therefore, when he stated that none of these things can bring about separation between believers and their Lord. He knew what he was saying!* Nothing exists that can separate us from God’s love. It is unbreakable!

 

*William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 12-13:291.

 

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April 19 – Knowing His Plan

Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; …So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”- John 18:10-11 (NASB)

Things happen and we react. Maybe we’re primed for a response that is not the right response or time to act. When we do, we often learn quickly of our overreach just as Peter does the night Jesus is arrested. Jesus had just gone three torturous rounds in prayer about the cup he was facing. Now Jesus has to ask Peter if he was trying to divert God’s plan. Impetuous Simon Peter, of course—wielding a sword! Peter was no stranger to jumping right in with both feet. He had jumped out of the boat attempting to walk on water to Christ. He had spoken his mind thinking to rebuke Christ. He had offered to lay down his life for Christ and swore he would be true, always. But shortly after stepping up to defend Jesus, fear would grip Peter and he would deny even knowing Him. Our  impatience might push us to interfere with what God had declared, with His  plans. What God has declared; He will do. Let’s learn to put away our figurative swords. Let’s trust God’s plan as we understand it and, wait on His timing. Acting on God’s command is how we serve Him best.

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March 7 – At The Cross

“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”  Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.” – John 19:26-27 (ESV)

How many people were standing around observing the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the two criminals? Some were mocking, others overwhelmed with grief. From Matthew and Mark, we know there was a good number. John was the only disciple whose presence was noted. Jesus’ mother was there with John and other women who loved and followed Jesus to the cross. In midst great pain and suffering, Jesus felt Mary’s sorrow. He honored His mother by acknowledging and entrusting her into the care of John, “The disciple who He loved,” was the way John always identified himself in the Gospel he wrote.. Jesus, as first-born of the family, did not give the responsibility of caring for His mother to His half-brothers because they were not sympathetic to His ministry nor did they yet believe in Him. In stark contrast with the cruelty and indifference of the soldiers, this group of women watched with heart-broken love and grief. The promise we find in today’s verse was one given to Mary many years before. The anguish of Jesus’ mother fulfilled the prophecy of Simeon: “A sword will pierce your own soul too.” It was a promise of Jesus’ mission. (Luke 2:35). . 

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November 24 – Going Deeper than Deep

“ For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12  (ESV )

The word of God is our only hope. The good news of God’s promises and the warnings of his judgment in the Bible are sharp. They are alive and active enough to drill down to the bottom of our heart and show us that the lies of sin are indeed lies. The things we do and justify doing based on our desires and fears are not capable of reaching our need and making things right. Dishonesty and false teaching can be countered by the word of God. The promises in God’s Word is like opening the windows letting in the bright morning sunlight on the roaches of sin cloaked as satisfying pleasures in our hearts. God has given us good news, his promises, his word to protect us from the deep deceptions of sin that try to harden your heart and lure it away from God. Take heart because the word of God is living, active and sharper than any two-edged sword. it will go deeper than any deception of sin has ever gone. It will reveal what is truly valuable and what is truly worth trusting and loving.

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June 9 – A Powerful Source of Change

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12  (NASB)

Our promise from God today is that His Word is not simply good literature to be considered along with other good literature in the world.  No, the Word of God, our Bible, has within it a power to change our lives.  Reading and studying the Bible brings heart changing results in our lives.  The Bible can affect our living and we are thankful that God has used this way to show us how to live a life pleasing to Him.  When we read and study the Bible we remember that God was guiding those who recorded His Word and those who passed it on to us.  As we read it we should remember that this is God speaking to us as in His living word which can bring changes in our lives.  Our verse reminds us that God's Word speaks to our souls and our spirits and that God can change our thoughts and attitudes as we pay attention to what we read and study in His Word.  

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November 11 – From Whom Comes Victory

“It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.”  Psalm 44:3 (NIV)

One of the ways that the Children of Israel would preserve their stories and their history was in songs.  This psalm was written to be sung for the purpose of remembering what God had done for them in securing the Promised Land and to offer up prayer and thanksgiving to God.  It was good for them to remember that God was the one giving them the victory.  He did so by His right hand, His arm, and the light of His face, all out of His love for them.  We can rejoice that God is the same today and while Christians are not a nation of people possessing real estate and land, they are God's children and members of His family wherever we are in the world.  He cares for us and watches over us just as He did for the people of Israel.  As we reflect we can remember the ways God has intervened in our lives and it is by His grace and power and wisdom that we make it through day by day. 

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June 27 – When Legions Stood Down

“Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:53 (ESV)

The setting of this verse is the Garden of Gethsemane just outside the walls of the City of Jerusalem.  Today, many structures have been built and many places have shrines but the night Jesus said these words, it was simply a garden at the base of the Mount of Olives.  Jesus is being arrested and one of his disciples takes up his sword to defend Jesus.  At that moment, Jesus says these words recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.  They remind us of the wonderful love of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He could have avoided suffering and dying on the cross. Thousands of angels could have been called upon to set Him free. But because God promised a means of redemption, and Jesus was the only way to accomplish that.  Jesus went with the arresting officers and then to the cross to die for us.  Why? Because He so loved us He did what He came to do – He obeyed His purpose.  In return Jesus asks us to love him and show our love by obeying Him.  Today, let's stay close to him and lets again commit to love Him with our whole heart, mind, and might. 

April 20 – Inseparable Love

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” Romans 8:35 (NIV)
“…neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:39 (NIV)

Sometimes we learn truth from the Bible through questions that are asked.  This is what our verses today do. The question is posed in verse 35 and then answered in the following verse with the powerful clear answer in verse 39. There is nothing in this world that can separate us from the love of God. We can let things in this world entangle us and encumber us and cause us to forget that God loves us but God will never cease from loving us. God will still be loving us no matter what comes in between us and Him. It is up to us to remember that God loves us and then allow him to demonstrate His love in our lives. Remember also that God’s love is inseparable from us. That is something to rejoice about. 

November 11

“It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.” Psalm 44:3 (NIV)

What a wonderful difference it makes to have a God in heaven who loves us. His love has always been a determining factor in His actions toward His people. This verse reminds us of that. It was God who did it. He brought the people of Israel into the land by His power. Why did He do it? It was because He loved them. It was not because they were perfect or because they never grumbled or complained. But He loved them and had a glorious purpose for them. That is why He did for them what they couldn’t do for themselves. And their God is our God! He will do for us what we are unable to do on our own. He loves us!

October 31

“All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”  1 Samuel 17:47 (NIV)

The event is the encounter of David with the giant Goliath. Goliath laughed at David when he saw the He was coming to fight without a sword or spear. Then David gave him this answer. The fact is that David was not trusting in his own abilities or in what he was carrying to win the victory. He knew that it was God who would be giving the victory. He was willing to be used by God. It would be God’s power, not his abilities. We can trust God the same way. Let Him show us how He is involved. We can say with David, “The battle is the Lord’s,” and then watch Him win the victory.