Jeremiah 1:7-8 – Confidence in Our Calling

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 1:7-8 ESV)

This was a tall order the Lord was setting before Jeremiah, as he was called to declare the coming of God’s judgement upon the nation of Judah. This would frighten anyone. Jeremiah had never done this before and appears not to have been an eloquent speaker (Jeremiah 1:6). But, God encouragingly assured he would be with him, and that is the most important to any calling, God with you. Jeremiah didn’t have to worry, because God called him to speak not on his personal authority, but on God’s.

Each of us has a calling upon our life and we all have our part to play as a member of the Body of Christ.  This can be a scary thought for us too, as we imagine the responsibility we have to other believers.  The amazing thing about God’s call though, is that it will never necessitate us to lean on our own talent and ability first and foremost, but upon him and his empowerment! God doesn’t require us to equip ourselves before he calls us. Rather, he equips us whom he has called. What has God called you to be?

Read and meditate on 1 Corinthians 12 today, and consider your calling.

LOVE WAS BORN

The Greatest Story Ever Told:  God goes to great lengths to rescue lost and hurting people. That is what The Christmas Story is all about—the story of the Bible, God’s great love affair with humanity.  The Story sweeps you into the unfolding progression of Bible characters and events from Genesis to Revelation. Using clear, accurate, and easy-to-understand text, it allows the stories, poems, and teachings of the Bible to read like a novel. And like any good story, The Story is filled with intrigue, drama, conflict, romance, and redemption—and this story is true!

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." Genesis 1: 1-2
Genesis goes on to tell us how God created light on the 1st day; water and the atmosphere on the 2nd day; the earth and vegetation on the 3rd day; the sun, the moon and the stars on the 4th day; the sea, creatures and birds on the 5th day; and man and animals on the 6th day.  Genesis 1: 26-29,31  "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.'  So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'  And God said, 'See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.  Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good."

So God created man to fellowship with Him and He provided food for them and blessed them.  He created a garden of paradise for them to live in.  "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 16-17   What a beautiful garden God made for man to fellowship with God!  He provided for all their needs.  They were able to enjoy God's fellowship, because of their innocence.  
But you see the devil was a fallen angel and he wanted to be like God, so he tempted man to rebel against God and man did sin and lost fellowship with God.  Adam's sin caused all men to be born into sin and to be in need of a Savior!  Then we see they experienced shame for the first time, because of their disobedience to God.

"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.  She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.  And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.  And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Genesis 3: 6-11
We see that God created the Heavens and the earth, man and woman, a beautiful garden filled with plenty of food for them to eat, so that He could fellowship with them and He loved them.  Because they sinned and ate of the one tree God told them not to eat, they were driven out of the garden.

God continued to love and bless His people and to speak to them through many prophets.  But man continued to rebel against God.  God knew He would have to send a Savior to pay for the sins of His people from the very beginning.  You see, Jesus was with God during the creation.  Let's look at John 1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."  John 1: 1-14

Jesus was the means to knowing God as Creator once again.  God is the subject of the Bible, and is always the subject of our study.  It is not the Bible we worship, but the living God, who came to this very earth as a human, as Jesus, to die for all of our sins.  The Son of God entered the world in the meekest way, He came as a helpless baby who was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.
There are many prophesies throughout the Bible that told of the coming of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation.  More than 700 years before the Savior was born, Isaiah prophesied: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end” Isaiah 9:6-7   "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Isaiah 7: 14  Have you ever stopped for just a moment to ponder the majesty of the word Immanuel?  It is incredible to consider that when Isaiah, the holiest man in Israel, prophesied, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and they will call Him Immanuel,” he was literally predicting that in the future the One who spoke the limitless galaxies into existence would tabernacle in flesh among men. Indeed, that is precisely what the word Immanuel means — “God with us.”  How amazing it is that God so loved us that He put Himself in human flesh to be with us — Immanuel! Today, let’s be reminded that the Messiah came not only to rescue and redeem, but to be with us because we are that dearly loved.

God chose Joseph, who was a godly man to be the earthly father of baby Jesus to fulfil the prophesies and chose Mary, a virgin and Joseph's fiancé, to miraculously give birth to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  
Matthew 1:18-25 "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.  But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”--which means, “God with us.”  When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.  But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Jesus died over 2000 years ago.  Nowhere has HE ever been referred to in the past tense because HE 'is' the Living God!  The Christmas season is truly a wonderful time of hope, joy, and excitement. Think of all the things we have to look forward to as we head towards Christmas day: gifts to buy, food to prepare, travel plans to make…the list goes on. But in the midst of our plans and preparations, what if we are so busy that we arrive on Christmas morning with our hearts unprepared?
The message of the cross is transcendent wherever it is preached. Deep in the heart of every man, woman and child in every culture or people group, there is an innate awareness of sin and rebellion against Almighty God.  Though many seek to suppress or deny the guilt of sin, the preaching of God’s Gospel and the convicting work of the Holy Spirit work powerfully together to redeem those who respond in repentance and faith in Christ.  As we approach Christmas, remember that the reason we celebrate is because God sent His Son to earth on a rescue mission to save sinners.  That is the real story of Christmas. There is no cradle without the cross. There are no swaddling clothes without the folded garments in the empty tomb.

Both Matthew and Isaiah depict a servant leader who would have the power to heal, but who would choose not to exercise his power to gain public recognition. Jesus quietly yet steadily proclaimed the arrival of the kingdom of God.  In Matthew 12:16 Jesus asked those whom he cured not to tell others who he was.  This is evidence of his humility and desire not to draw attention to Himself.  The Messiah came to minister to the weak and heal those sick.  These images represent people rejected by others yet embraced by the Messiah. The Gospels record many instances of Jesus reaching out to those in low social standing who were at the mercy of those with power and wealth.  Jesus’ ministry to the sick and the weak and his demonstration of humility despite his great power fulfilled the prophecy in Isaiah 42.  Matthew recognized this fulfillment and recorded Christ’s deeds for us to appraise today.  God left paradise, the splendor and majesty of Heaven to come to the world and save us from our sins.  He loved us when we, rejected him, though we are sinners, God put on flesh and came to earth to suffer and die to pay for our sins.  We don't have to be good enough, because it is not about us, it is about excepting God's gift of eternal salvation.  God loves you and has a plan for you.  Man is sinful and separated from God.

The Bible says in Romans 3:20-26, “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.  For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
The result of sin is death, spiritual separation from God, but Jesus died in our place so we could have a relationship with God and be with Him forever. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  But it didn’t end with His death on the cross. He rose again and He still lives!  "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.  After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep."  1 Corinthians 15:3-6  "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9  Jesus is the only way to God.  Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” John 14:6

Would you like to receive God’s forgiveness?  We can’t earn salvation; we are saved by God’s grace when we have faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.  Jesus knows you and He loves you unconditionally!   I ask you tonight, have you asked Jesus into your heart, to be your Lord and Savior?  Do you have a personal relationship with Him?  If you don't, I want to give you the opportunity to do that right now, because you may die tonight and lose your last chance for an eternal future.  Right where you're at, bow your heads and pray this prayer with me.
“Dear God, I know I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe Jesus is Your Son, who died for my sins and rose from the dead. I trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior. Come into my heart.  Guide my life and help me to do your will.  I pray these things in Jesus name.  Amen!"
If you prayed that prayer, we welcome you to the family of God!  May God bless you, protect you, mold you and make you into the person He wants you to be!   If you need someone to pray with you tonight or if you have any further questions about salvation, please private chat one of the mods or coaches.

Father God, we thank You for loving us so very much that You gave us the most precious gift that we could ever receive.  Father, we thank you for Jesus.  We thank you that through Jesus, we have an eternal promise and future.  We thank you for the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us.  We thank you that every day you mold us and make us into all we should be.  We love you and we praise You!   In Jesus most precious and holy name, Amen!
I want to thank you all for coming and I wish you a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!

We are going to close with a song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIB5rk5KlVk

Is America a Christian nation? Wake Up America!

We have mocked the prophets by arrogantly reminding them that we are a “Christian nation.” But the truth is that we are anything but a Christian nation. Our behavior as a nation makes a mockery of Christianity. We lead the world in every abomination known to man. And we will reap what we have sown.

Deu 28:15-20  "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:  "Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. "Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. "Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. "Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. "The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me.

Romans 1:24-25  Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 

Taquiyya - Deception when Muslims deal with non-Muslims

First, a Muslim will insist that lying is not allowed in Islam. And this is true---but there are exceptions. Taquiyya is one of those exceptions. Now, a Muslim may come back with something like, "taquiyya is simply a form of concealment used to avoid persecution." Or, they might say that taquiyya is used when a Muslim's own life is in danger. And that is indeed part of it. But when a Muslim tells you that, they are not telling you the whole truth, because, again, that is only part of it.

Islam mandates deception [taqiyya] when Muslims deal with non-Muslims. Muslims are allowed to lie to unbelievers if the lie is for the protection of Islam or the furthering of Islamic goals and objectives. So taqiyya is about deception - lulling Western people into a false sense of security, while, in reality, Islam directs Muslim immigrants to "appear integrated" while actually living as a state-within-a-state...until they take over. So taqiyya/taqqiyah is the technique of deception to advance the cause of Islam. It is part of the Jihad strategy of deceiving unbelievers by any means.

Therefore, exercising taqiyya is considered pious behavior---a holy act. So taquiyya is a religiously-sanctioned doctrine of lies and deceit – and Muslims routinely use it in order to deceive non-Muslims about the true nature of Islam. If a Muslim cannot achieve a permissible goal (such as promoting Islam in the eyes of non-Muslims, or preventing its denigration in the eyes of non-Muslims) by telling the truth, then he is actually obliged – not just permitted, but divinely commanded – to lie in order to achieve that goal.

In addition to taquiyya, there is also Tawriya (deceit by ambiguity), Kitman (deceit by omission---for example, only telling you part of what "taquiyya" includes, and leaving out the rest), and Muruna (deceit by the temporary suspension of Sharia). There are also the concepts of Taysir (deceit through facilitation), and Darura (deceit through necessity).

So, as you can see, Islam includes some highly-honed tactics of deception.Twenty years ago, psychologist Paul Ekman wrote an insightful book, “Telling Lies”, which demonstrated that people give off recognizable clues when they are practicing deceit. Their consciences cause them, involuntarily, to sweat or raise their voices or make other recognizable gestures. However, Dr. Ekman’s research was exclusively with people from Western cultures. Muslims, on the other hand, show no discernible signs when they are being deceitful, because there is no feeling of guilt. In their minds, they are doing exactly what Allah wants them to do in order to advance Islam.

That does not mean that Muslims lie all the time, or that they lie in everyday conversation. But when it comes to protecting Islam around Westerners, they are then mandated to do so if it means protecting or promoting Islam, in order to try to make more converts or to prevent its denigration in the eyes of non-Muslims. This can happen even under oath in a court of law.

For example, interfaith outreach between, say, a Jewish rabbi, a Catholic priest and a Muslim imam may be predicated on a certain amount of goodwill on all sides in order to reach a mutually-agreeable understanding. But if one realizes that the Muslim in such a situation has no interest in extending goodwill, but wishes only to advance the cause of Islam – by subterfuge and sleight-of-hand if necessary – then it becomes obvious that the entire concept of interfaith outreach concerning Islam is a futile exercise.---Jeff Jemkins -- Broadside news

Steadfast Part 6 The "I CAN"T Places

When We Come to the “I Can’ts” of Life

Good evening. Welcome to the Monday Night Bible Study. My prayer for each of us, is that we will be able to draw apart from life and all that is going on and simply “BE” with our Abba God who loves us. We all NEED times to simply “be” with Him.Today we are going to look at some verses that will help us when we come into an “I Can’t” moment or season of life.

I really missed being with you all the past few weeks. The study we are going to do tonight was originally written for last Wednesday morning. It is part of the series on Isa. 26:3, He will keep in perfect peace those whose hearts are STEADFAST because they trust in him, but was not written as part of that. Events in my life have been….I don’t have a word for it….unexpected? I kind of think the series on being STEADFAST was/is in part God preparing me and maybe some of you to deal with events, He knew were arising in our lives.

Sometimes we get to a place in certain situations of life where our heart screams, “ I CANT”…Can’t do this anymore, can’t go on, can’t take one more second of whatever it is that has gotten on our last nerve. It could be something really minor but in that moment it is like the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back”. Or it could something huge, like a death or a loss of relationship with someone we cherish. It could be the process of leaving behind behaviors that were not good for us, but we have not yet learned to live without them. It could also be a sudden trauma that comes upon us with no warning at all.

Anyone else ever experienced moments like that?

I know a few weeks ago I did, twice. This very weekend a situation arose in my life where I was in a REALLY difficult “ I can’t” circumstance. My situations are different than yours but whatever we are having trouble dealing with, whatever is our own place of “ I can’t “ we can be SURE that God does see, know and care.

In fact “God Who Sees Me” is a name of God in the OT. It was given to God by Hagar. Hagar was not perfect, but a lot of the difficult turns in her life were not by her choice. She was a servant. She belonged to Sarai. She was forced to have a child by Abraham because Sarai was seemingly infertile and that child was supposed to be an heir to Abraham. However when she did become pregnant she was snooty toward Sarai. Sarai went to Abraham who gave her permission to discipline/treat Hagar as she wished. And that was a very difficult time for Hagar, even though in a way, her attitude caused it.

So Hagar ran away to the desert but God sent an angel to her and instructed her to go back, to have her child. It was there, in the desert, that Hagar encountered the Living God via an angel and it was here that the name of God, El Roi (God who sees), was proclaimed and recognized. You can read this story in Genesis 16.

Whatever we are going through, no matter how hard life is, we can trust that God does see us. He knows what we are going through and in addition, He cares. Later in the story of Hagar we find her back in the desert thinking she and her son will die and again God saves her, this time by providing a well. Genesis 21:14-21

We are going to look at some verses about God’s provision, love and care for each of us. We need these especially when we are in an “ I can’t” moment.

Whenever I am in one… and usually it just seems to fall on me suddenly, in the past I would lash out at whoever was the “cause” or nearby.
Or else I would withdraw and begin to sink down in silent despair.

But now most of the time, I go journal and scream I can’t I can’t I can’t inside my head (well truthfully lately I have been saying it outloud sometimes) and every single time, God, our Abba replies (in my mind, In my heart, in my entire being) “I know you can’t but in Me you will.” Sometimes he simply says, “I know, I love you", or "I am with you”.

Our strength comes from God. He is our Strong Tower. He is our place of refuge during every time of need. He knows we will be overwhelmed at times. He knows we will be tempted too to fall back into old ways. He is always aware of us, always with us, and always loving us. He cares. He will invite us to REST our CARES on him.

The problem is, how do we do that?

We do it by talking to Him. We do it by crying with Him. We might journal. We might turn on music LOUD or SOFT. We might need to get in the shower and let those tears flow. Or go outside either to simply sit or walk. Or get in our car and run an errand (or say we are and actually run one) but really get in the car to step away from the situation and talk to Abba. Sometimes we may need to ask a brother or sister in Christ to pray either with or for us.

Anyone like to share what “nurtures your heart/spirit”? Meaning how do you de-stress when you are about to blow…or crash…or reach an “I can’t” place?


LOOK UP VERSES:
Our Strength Comes From God:

Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

Here we see the Psalmist reminding himself of what I bet he has kind of forgotten for the moment. He says, “The LORD is my strength AND my SHIELD.”

Strength is kind of an internal gift and shield implies external.

So we see the reminder that God, the LORD is our internal strength and our external shield.

Remember that the sort of shield they are talking about is no flimsy thing. Let me show you a photo of one:

The Psalmist goes on to restate…"in Him (GOD) my heart trusts”.

This is a choice we make. One time at salvation then every time we need to as we go through life. He says, “I am helped”.

You know back in the OT they would build what is called an “altar of remembrance” when God showed up in a special way. We can do that personally and I would encourage you to do that either in a notebook or on your computer. To record the times you had a special touch or revelation from God. Then, just as this Psalmist did, you can “remember” when things are difficult.

Anyone thinking of one you would like  to share? These things help us hold fast during times of stress, trial or other difficulty.

Then the Psalmist goes on to say, “My heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to HIM….. a little praise can work miracles in lifting our mood and helping us focus on God again instead of the situation.

Let me show you something. Take your hand and make your hand out, palm open. Draw it up close to your face while you focus on something across the room. Then take your hand away. Do you see how whatever you focus on becomes THE FOCUS. When the hand is up close it looks huge and blocks the thing in the distance, but when your hand is further away, it does not.

We get to CHOOSE.
Sometimes it's hard to choose what to focus on, think about and talk about…. our problem or our God.

I believe that when the Psalmist wrote this and began to remember what God has promised and what God had done in the past and then began to FOCUS on God by singing in this case, the problem took its right perspective. I am certain that is true for me. I can focus on my current things I don’t have, or can’t do or I can focus on God and other things….Make sense?

Next verse:
Psalm 121 We are going to just read/listen to the entire thing, then break it down.
 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.  The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.


 I lift up my eyes to the hills.( I CHOOSE my focus, what to set my concentration upon).

 From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. ( We REMIND ourselves of truth, past, present and future. Our HELP comes from GOD.)

He will not let your foot be moved; (He will be our stability) he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. ( HE DOES NOT SLEEP ON THE JOB. This is a good verse if we are in a time where sleep is difficult for us)

The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. ( Promise reminders of truth)

 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. (No matter what had happened to us in the past, or what is going on right this moment, or what will happen in the future, God KEEPS us. In part this reflects that whatever horrible things did happen in the past, here we are….right now tonight…. alive today. Also at the end of our time on earth, we WILL BE SAFE with GOD in HEAVEN)
 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Forevermore is a long long time…it is eternity.


God Is Our Strong Tower:

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 61:3 For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.

Psalm 91:2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”


Let’s look at what a strong tower meant back in bible times and what it means today…I am using a source from a site called “Building Your Spirit. I was looking for the actual biblical definition but this next bit is great so I am sharing all of it. Sometimes we hear terms like “strong tower”, “refuge” etc and it has very little meaning for us personally. It helps to know what “everyone knew” back when the text was written.
Here is a picture of a strong tower:

In my town, or near me, in St Augustine there is a fort called Castillo de San Marco. It is made of limestone called coquina and has towers. When pirates attacked an alarm would sound and residents would hurry to the fort for safety. It is made out of a sort of rock like material that is actually harvested near there on the beach and composed of tiny shells. Coquina is unique because instead of breaking from cannon balls, it absorbed the shock and the balls actually lodged in the walls and did no or very little damage. Still standing since 1600s.
What is a Strong Tower? A tower is not a modern day skyscraper or any tall building. A Strong tower is a place of safe refuge. It fights more enemies in its range, it causes more damage to the enemies, and can take more damage than the normal watch tower. A strong tower has large areas to sleep large amounts of men, and can hold and store a large amount of food. Its huge and heavily fortified. They are built of thick stone blocks and they are tough.

Now the spiritual similarities: Strong towers have thick stone blocks and are enormous. Our God is a rock, He is our fortress, Our stronghold. In fact in  Psalm 61:3, David says of the Lord been his refuge and strong tower against the foe. How true. Our God is so huge. In Jeremiah 23:24 our Lord declares He fills the Heavens and the Earth. That's how big our God is. He fills it ALL. No situation is too Big for him. Luke 1:37 says ' For with God all things are possible'.

A strong tower is also a place of  abundance. There is a great storage of food and provision. Our Lord is a provider. He says cast all your burdens on Me because I care. Psalm 23 says the, 'The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want'! Matthew 6:31-33 says' Do not worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink? or what shall we wear? for the pagans run after these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom and righteousness , and all these things will be given to you as well'. Jehovah Jireh is His name, the Lord our provider in times of great need. The Lord will supply all your needs according to His great riches.

Wasn’t that fun information?

He is our place of refuge during every time of need.

Psalm 146:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.

He is our REFUGE and STRENGTH. A very PRESENT help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear….and then it says Selah which means… pause and think on this (truth).


And yet again in Psalm 144:2 He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.
Did you notice a CHOICE and an ACTION?
We CAN go after “them”. We can plot revenge. Or we can CHOOSE to pray for them, release them and forgive them and THAT places US securely in the refuge of and under the DEFENSE of God.
I remember a long time ago when it finally got into my stubborn mind that God is a LOT better at taking care of ME and of taking care of “them” or “the situation” than I am.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
This is a powerful yet simple statement, isn’t it?
Anyone like to share a story of a time when God was YOUR refuge/strength/help in a time of trouble?

He knows we will be overwhelmed at times.
My favorite verse for this comes from Psalms.
Psalm 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto you, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
WHEN not if, WHEN then we simply call out to Jesus and ADMIT exactly how we are feeling…
Another one is Jesus’ own invitation in Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
If we were not going to ever be burdened and weary, aka overwhelmed, then WHY would Jesus offer this invitation to us?

A premeditated solution is found in Philippians 4:8.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)

He knows we will be tempted too to fall back into old ways.
He even addresses that temptation in 1 Corinthians 4:8 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

He is always aware of us, always with us, and always loving us.
2 chronicles 16:9a For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
Deu 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

He cares. He will invite us to REST our CARES on him. It says so in 1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Tonight… let’s leave here with a heart that is assured of His loving care for us.
Let’s go knowing that when, not if, when, we are overwhelmed or when we need to go say/scream I CANT, we have a God who understands. He not only understands, He cares. He not only cares, He is WITH us and He is not only WITH us, He is UPHOLDING us.

  Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. and Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you, saying, 'Destroy them!’
And this my friends, includes the crafty enemy of fear and despair which wants us to think I CANT is the end, but in reality when our heart cries I CANT, it is the beginning of GOD reaching out to us, with HIS I CAN.

Prayer by Sylvia

Plead The Promises Sylvia Gunter Save

Good morning. Welcome to the Midweek Oasis Bible Study. My prayer for each of us, is that we will be able to draw apart from life and all that is going on and simply “BE” with our Abba God who loves us. We all NEED times to simply “be” with Him. For now we are using devotionals by Syliva Gunter. They are always full of Word and truth.

Format:

Welcome

Song

Prayer

Sharing

Closing

Let’s listen to the opening song. It is one that I dearly love and is kind of a prayer and a praise at the same time.

Song OnMy Knees https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5BnVuEl1jY

When I don't know what I need
I need to get on my knees
When waves of doubt crash over me
I need to get on my knees

On my knees I find refuge
On my knees I find grace
On my knees I can feel You
Like we're meeting face to face
When I don't know what I need
I need to get on my knees

When I don't have strength to stand
I need to reach for Your hand
When life feels like sinking sand
I need to reach for Your hand

In Your hand I find refuge
In Your hand I find grace
In Your hand I can feel You
Like we're meeting face to face
When I don't have strength to stand
I need to reach for Your hand

When life leaves me with no choice
I must listen for Your voice
When lies confuse me with their noise
I must listen for Your voice

In Your voice I find refuge
In Your voice I find grace
In Your voice I can feel You
Like we're meeting face to face
When life leaves me with no choice
I will listen for Your voice

On my knees I find refuge
On my knees I find grace
On my knees I can feel You
Like we're meeting face to face
When I don't know what I need
I need to get on my knees

Dear God help us to remember that when we have a need, we have YOU the One who desires to meet our every need. Lord would you touch every heart here today in the just perfect for them way? Would you help us to pause and simply “be” with you? We thank you for loving us, in Jesus name amen.

 Do you have a need that is bigger than you can solve? Are you needing more Peace, Joy, Hope, Healing, Restoration? I bet we ALL are. I know I am. Today Sylvia address prayer. But this is a specific sort of prayer. Let’s join Sylvia…..

           Prayer is like picking peas. You just get on your knees and do it. With an open Bible, praise the praises and plead the promises. Pleading the promises is a powerful form of prayer. God is a covenant-keeping God. He is faithful to His promises. I am an imperfect earthly parent, but as far as possible, I honor my promises to my children. How much more does our heavenly Father who is perfect and loves us perfectly!



           For every problem, burden, need, and circumstance, God has made you promises of His faithfulness. "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God," according to 2 Corinthians 1:20. Can you trust your heavenly Father? Absolutely.



            Use your Bible as your promise book. Ask God where to read daily. I always "pray the Bible" as I read it devotionally. I ask Him how to pray from each passage. Do Scripture searches on topics when you have a need.



            Plead the promises until you learn that everything is by prayer (Phil 4:6). God delights to fulfill His Word. Gaze at your Father through His promises and glance at your problems. When you gaze at the problem and glance at God, the problem looks bigger than God. When you focus your gaze on omnipotent God and glance at the problem, your faith increases as you see that God is more than able to abundantly meet your needs. In this way, you exalt the One who is the answer.



Here are a few of my favorite promises. Use these to start your own promise list.



2 Peter 1:3-4 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

 Dodi note: First what I am modeling here is personalizing the Word/Promise. We read it, we meditate on it, then we personalize and/or pray it back to God.

Sometimes I do not feel like I can “do this” whatever the “this” is at any given moment. But 2 Peter says that his divine POWER has GIVEN me ALL I need for life. I get that by knowing Who He is…if you have been to any of my bible studies on a regular basis, you will quickly see that is the bedrock of all of them. Knowing Who God is and who God says we are in Him.

2 Peter goes on to say, HE has given us this very great promise… that of having everything we need, so that we can escape the CORRUPTION in the world which is caused by evil desires. There is a verse which says…James 1:1-4 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

Those are in part what he means by corruptions of the world. The part I hold as a promise or reminder is “you do not have because you do not ask”. I had to learn to be willing to ask God for what i needed. Not things so much but I needed God to help me KNOW I really was loved. That it REALLY is OK, even GOOD to simply “be” who He created me to be.

2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

 Dodi note: This is an awesome promise. I/you/we are NEVER outside God’s awareness…His eyes range throughout ALL the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.  And if our heart is NOT fully committed to Him yet, we can ask him :)

Jeremiah 29:11-14a For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. When you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD.

Dodi note: another favorite one to cling to. It is a promise with a stipulation which requires an intentional choice and action on our parts. To CALL upon Him and COME to Him and pray/TALK to Him. We do this knowing and expecting that He WILL LISTEN to us. We are promised also that we will FIND Him, when we SEEK Him with all our heart. And you know what else? He also promised us a new heart in Eze that is able to seek him. Eze 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. NLT says it this way: And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.

I rather like that. A tender responsive heart. You know why? Why He does that? So we can know and obey Him. Which in turn makes life much easier and better. v 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28b you will be my people, and I will be your God.

Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

Dodi note: See the theme? We call to Him, He hears and responds.

Isaiah 40:31 But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Dodi note: Again we place our hope in HIM, he renews our strength, which is in part our ability to live the life we have been given. And He does this just cuz He loves us and we are asking Him.



Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Dodi note: HE WILL UPHOLD YOU AND ME WITH HIS RIGHTEOUS RIGHT HAND. Wow. Do you need to be held up?

Habakkuk 3:18-19 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.



1 Corinthians 9:8 God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

Dodi note: GOD is able to make ALL grace ABOUND to us..so that we will at ALL TIMES and in ALL THINGS, have ALL WE NEED and again,so we can abound in every good work.

 Do you remember the work God has given us to do verse? John 6:29 AMP Jesus answered, “This is the work of God: that you believe [adhere to, trust in, rely on, and have faith] in the One whom He has sent.”

I still vividly remember the day God highlighted this verse for me. It was such a relief and joy to realize I didn’t have to go to Africa or save the world, all I had to do was learn to TRUST HIM. And that was work at that time too. Hard. But God has done it for me. And when I forget for a bit, which I do he reminds me of His love and care and His presence with me ALL the days of my life.

2 Timothy 1:12 I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him.

Dodi note: Lord we/I do know Whom we have believed but sometimes I forget that you really are able to guard what ever I entrust to me. Would you show me/us any area, thing, habit, person, or circumstance we have forgotten to entrust to you? And then enable us to give it to you?





Ephesians 3:20 Now [he] is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

 Dodi note: Another “keeper”. God is ABLE to do IMMEASURABLY MORE than we can ask or imagine. How? By HIS power which is at work within us.



Philippians 1:6 I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Mine right now is Isa 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

I believe that it is important memorize at least the text of verses that remind us what our hearts need to know/remember. Then if we awake at night, or an unexpected moment arrives when we are awake we have a promise to fall back into. Another one I use is found in Psalm 56:3-4 It says when I am afraid, I will trust in you Oh God. There is a cute children song about that. I will show you after. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwEXKPaG9Vg

Song Down In the River To Pray https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Eu85pZNoWY

As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good ol' way
And who shall wear the starry crown?
Good Lord show me the way!

O sisters let's go down
Let's go down, come on down
O sisters let's go down
Down in the river to pray

As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good ol' way
And who shall wear the robe & crown?
Good Lord show me the way

O brothers let's go down
Let's go down, come on down
Come on brothers, let's go down
Down in the river to pray

As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good ol' way
And who shall wear the starry crown?
Good Lord show me the way

O fathers let's go down
Let's go down, come on down
O fathers let's go down
Down in the river to pray

As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good ol' way
And who shall wear the robe and crown?
Good Lord show me the way

O mothers let's go down
Come on down, don't you wanna go down?
Come on mothers, let's go down
Down in the river to pray

As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good ol' way
And who shall wear the starry crown?
Good Lord show me the way

O sinners, let's go down
Let's go down, come on down
O sinners, let's go down
Down in the river to pray

As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good ol' way
And who shall wear the robe and crown?
Good Lord show me the way

Matthew 14:29 – Peter And The Rest

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. (Matthew 14:29 ESV)

Thunder rolled and lightening flashed, the storm was raging,
The tiny boat shook and swayed, how long they couldn’t say.
Battered by the winds, the disciples with the oars, struggling;
Tired and weary, their Master seemed so far away.

Suddenly in the hazy darkness, on the stormy waters, a figure seemed to loom,
In wild terror shrieked out they;
Their minds sensing impending doom.
Who was this – a phantom or a ghost, come furtively to spirit them away?

“Shh, it is I. Do not be afraid” a familiar voice reassured.
Seeking to drive out their fear, ingrained deep within.
But the disciples cowered in fright, even though the Master’s voice they heard.
All, except Peter, who boldly spoke up, ignoring the din.

Eyes focused on the Lord; Obeying His Master’s call,
Into the water Peter stepped, letting go of the boat,
One step, then two, moving ahead, walking tall;
Until he shifted his gaze from Jesus and floundered; his heart leaping to his throat

‘My Lord! ‘ he cried, ‘Save me! Save me! ‘
Jesus caught ahold of him, ‘wherefore did you doubt in your mind? ‘
I am with you in the storm, you see.
I will never leave nor forsake you, let me again remind.

Am I like Peter who stepped out believing?
Eager to do as his Master bade?
Or am I like the rest, His voice not heeding;
Unable to answer, sore afraid?

Dearly beloved, let us not shift our gaze – from ‘THE MASTER.’
And fix it on the stormy sea!
For in so doing – we may falter and confront disaster.
Let us look to the ‘ONE’ – who by His spoken word, created all things to be.