His Righteous Right Hand

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.
(Isaiah 41:10)

Meditation

I am one of the possibly billions of followers of Christ. I was selected by the Most High God to be one of his very own. There is nothing special about me. I was a sinner who needed saving and that’s all that mattered to God. Nothing about me warranted saving. I am only saved by the mercy and grace of the Father in heaven, and the sacrifice of his Son. God has chosen me from my tiny little corner of the world to be his servant. I am his servant and follower, not an adviser or counselor. He could have easily turned his back on me a long time ago, justifiably so, but because he loves me, he has remained faithful to his holy purpose. I am weak and easily fall back into sinful behavior all the time. God always forgives me and restores me.
I’ve read somewhere that the Bible instructs us not to fear some three hundred sixty-five times. That’s enough times to use that command every day of the year. Life is tough and getting tougher. The Day of the Lord is approaching, and the devil, knowing his time is short, is working overtime to take as many of us as he can, with him to hell. Yes, there has always been wars, and natural disasters, but the hearts of men and women seem to be harder and blacker than before. If you’re old enough to have been alive in the 1970s, when Roe vs Wade made abortion legal, it felt like most Americans didn’t look at abortion as a good thing. Today, the murder of innocent babies is being celebrated, even being called God's work. That is evil beyond anything I've ever experienced before.
The times we are living in are becoming fearful. There are great parts of the world, right now, where just being a Christian can cost you your life. God wants us to know we don’t have to fear because he is with us. The time will come when, in every part of the world, it will be deadly to be a follower of Jesus. When that time comes upon believers, God will give them the strength to see their way through. They may not survive this life, but he will carry them through into eternity with him. With everything going on in the world these days it’s easy to be very afraid. The threat of terrorism is just as great now as it’s ever been. However, we know how this story is going to end because God is always with believers everywhere. When calamity strikes, rest assured that he will strengthen and support us for his righteousness sake.




Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, you are the warm feeling in our hearts, the song in our voices, and the skip in our steps. Thank you, Lord, for keeping us in the center of your thoughts and for guarding our souls from evil. What a wonderful thing it is for us to be a servant of the Most-High God. It is your strength we fall back on when fearful times come. We thank you for always being by our sides, holding us up when we are weak. You never waiver in your steadfast love for us. Your power will protect us when terror or tragedy strike. Calm our spirits, Lord, when we’re frightened by the evil both in this country and that which is abroad. Never let us succumb to the fear that will overpower us as if we’re not in Christ. Your mighty right hand stands guard over us and holds us up in the face of every tribulation. Thank you for the peace of mind we’ve received from you that’s only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Devotional for May 12 - May 18

Image
To all my readers: I am changing this blog to a weekly format. I am being forced to do it this way because this blog site is saying my blog is too short to continue publishing. I purposely try to keep it short so you will have time to read it every day. I hope you will understand and keep reading. Thank you, Brad Hopkins May 12 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15) Meditation Before I was saved, I worked in a very competitive environment. Many of my co-workers were very jealous of the accomplishments of others. I have to confess; I too would get that green-eyed feeling if I didn’t get promoted when I thought I deserved it. Outwardly, I showed a happy face. I would congratulate the person who was recognized or promoted, but inwardly I was terribly envious. I received as many promotions as most in my career field, but I couldn’t rejoice for others because of jealousy and covetousness. I didn’t know how to deal with grief s...
Read more

Where is Your Citizenship?

Image
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, (Philippians 3:20) Not long after I decided to follow Jesus I began to realize I didn’t really fit into my old life anymore. The things I used to think were great fun had lost their appeal. The sci-fi television programs and movies I used to always want to watch, seemed inappropriate. Probably because they were literally my religion before I got saved. My friends didn’t understand why I wasn’t coming around for most of the old activities. I guess I was in the process of figuring out where my citizenship was, heaven or hell. Now I understand, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I am a citizen of heaven, I’m just a temporary visitor, to this world. My passage home to heaven has been paid for and guaranteed by my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I live my life as a resident alien and look forward to the day I move on to my permanent and eternal residence. Jesus will rescue me and the rest...
Read more

Preach the Word

Image
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Timothy 4:2) Meditation I used to think it was only the pastors job to preach the Word of God. I’m not a preacher, so it didn’t occur to me to share the gospel. However, this verse does not say, “Preachers, preach the word.” Whether you realize it or not, we are all ministers of the gospel. We have been charged with the awesome task of telling everyone about Jesus and why he went to the cross. When Jesus gave the “Great Commission,” to make disciples of all nations; he wasn’t just talking to his own disciples. He was speaking to every one of us. There is no other mission or calling more important than that for us. Even if we go to church every Sunday, but do nothing else, we’re not in the game; we’re just spectators. Jesus doesn’t want fans, he wants followers. Whether we’re in church or somewhere else, we’re responsible t...
Read more