Ephesians 6:14-20 – “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints —  19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”  NKJV

The morning began a bit later than usual, and things look vastly different when that happens.  The quietness and solitude are not so quiet, and many of God’s creatures are scurrying about.  Yet, I still enjoyed my coffee, bible reading, and conversation with the Lord.  He told me to “Get Dressed…”

I was praying for this country, her state, and what we can and should do to right the ship.  He let me ramble for a while and heard my rants, fears, concerns, and complaints, and then finally, when I took a breath, I heard in my spirit, “Get dressed to go out to Battle.  Get dressed to take a stand and not be moved.  Get ready for the battle after the battle.  Be prepared not just for the battle but for the war.”  That stopped me in my tracks and caused me to think for a while, and after about an hour, I went inside to the computer.

We are to stand “wrapped” in truth, God’s truth.  The truth that shall make us free!  The truth that leads us to life!  The truth is impeachable and impeccable!  The Good News of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the Righteous!  Wrapped in that truth is step one!  Then, we are to have on the breastplate of righteousness.  Our hearts must be covered with righteousness, not ours but His.  Our righteousness is but filthy rags, but His righteousness is whiter than the driven snow.  It is pure without human imperfections.  Seek first the kingdom of God and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS! 

That is when things happen, not before!  Take the shield of faith.  We must exhibit faith, trust, and confidence, settled assurance in Him, His word, His will, and His way.  We are to walk in Total Confidence in Him and His promises without wavering.  We must not be double-minded but steadfast in our confidence.  We are to take the helmet of salvation. 

It is most interesting that Salvation would be a helmet (head covering) because we must get our minds and thoughts right.  We are to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.  As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.  We are to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  We must immerse ourselves in God’s word and become so saturated with that word that if you cut us, we would bleed the word.  So, we are always ready to give an answer to every man for the reason of the hope that is within us.

Finally, we are to Pray, which is the vital portion of this attire.  We are to pray Always!   Praying with ALL prayer and supplication in the spirit – watching with perseverance for all the saints, and then we can stand and stand boldly!   It is then we can become unmovable, steadfast.  Dressed up and ready to go to war and ready to go home if the need be but unmovable!  Prepared for Battle!

We must fight the good fight of faith to see revival come to this world.  We must continue to pray for our leaders and our land.  We must continue to be clothed with God’s prescribed attire for battle and use the weapons of our warfare, which are mighty through God, to pull down strongholds.  The battle is before us, and the Lord is with us; the only questions are – – Will we endure to the end?  Will we, having done all to stand, stand?  As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!

May the rich and bountiful blessing of the LORD be upon you as you go through your day.  May the Lord of Hosts grant you peace and wisdom to do all that you have been commissioned to do on this beautiful day, He has made!

Proverbs 4:25-27 – “Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you.  26 Ponder the path of your feet and let all your ways be established.  27 Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.”  NKJV

It is another beautiful morning with a refreshing breeze.  It is going to be a scorcher, but right now, it is pleasant.  The sun has not yet risen over the horizon, and the creatures have not begun to stir, so I sit in solitude, thinking of the things of God.  I sit drinking my morning cup of coffee, reading my bible by the light of the book lamp and converse with the Lord.  The thought that arose in my heart was, “Ponder the path of your feet….” 

When we consider parental instructions, we almost always think in the natural realm, but we need to elevate our thinking to that of our Heavenly Father’s advice and counsel to us, His children.  These three verses are filled with incredibly valuable counsel and should be heeded daily. 

FOCUS – – The writer directs our thoughts to the need to focus on the journey and not become sidetracked by peripheral issues.  We are to keep our eyes on the Cross, the empty tomb, and turn heavenward looking for the soon appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ the Righteous.  We must “seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.”  Our focus must be maintained lest our journey takes unnecessary detours and delays in reaching our destination.  

PONDER – An Interesting word that, among other things, means to “roll flat,” “revolve,” or “weigh mentally.”  It is a word that could be used to describe the road-building techniques of the Romans.  They would grind to a powder and pulverize the rocks to make them into sand-like material that could be placed where they wanted the road or ramp and then roll them flat to compact them together and smooth.  We need to ponder our path or make a smooth road out of life through the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

ESTABLISHED – We must ensure that our life course is fixed, settled, determined, and prepared.  We do this through our relationship with Him, through our deep, settled commitment to Him and His purposes.  We cover every plan, desire, and purpose with prayer, seeking His face for our every move, and walk in the quiet confidence of His guidance.  We fix our eyes on Jesus, stay on the course, and run the race to its conclusion.

REMOVE – – We turn back from the past and press toward the prize of God’s High Calling in Christ Jesus.  We remove our foot from evil by our complete surrender to Him.  We resign as the captain of our fate and the master of our soul, allowing Him to be the Lord of All in our lives.  We shun the very appearance of evil and cling to Him, the author and finisher of our faith.

We cannot walk this walk, run this race, and finish the course in victory without Him leading the way and being the Lord of all.  The road is too rough, the race too long, and the path too uncertain to do it in our own strength.  We must have Him to pilot our ship through the troubled waters of life.  Jesus, you are my Captain and Lord of All to me!  Guide my life!  Guard my heart!  Give me the grace to walk before you in all things!  

May the Lord bless you as you go through your day in Him.  Have a spectacular day on this wonderful day that the Lord has created for us!

Lamentations 3:22-24 – “The lovingkindnesses of Yahweh indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. ²³ They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ²⁴ “Yahweh is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I wait for Him.”

1 Corinthians 3:21-23 – “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.” ²¹ So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, ²² whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, ²³ and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.”

As I read these two passages, my heart leaped for joy, and excitement welled up inside as I contemplated God’s goodness.  I was immediately reminded of God’s incredible love and mercy!  They NEVER end!  The love, mercy, goodness, compassion, and provisions of God are new every morning.  He is faithful, and He is our portion! 

In Lamentations 3:49, the prophet expressed his remorse over the failure of Israel and said, “My eyes pour down unceasingly without stopping.”  Then he set a time on the condition, “UNTIL Yahweh looks down from heaven and sees.”  The idea is that if He sees it, He will act on our behalf.

There are many things to be gleaned from 1 Corinthians, but the indispensable catalyst to right thinking and victory, which produces right living, is found in 1 Corinthians 3:21-23.  “For ALL THINGS belongs to you.” (v.21). What can I say but Wow?  He repeated that revelation at the end of v.22 and, in v.23, declared, “And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.”  That puts it all in perspective and is incredibly comforting.

Most of us worry over stuff!  We fret over many things.  We view our troubles, trials, difficulties, needs, lack, powerlessness, and inadequacy through the lens of our own ability.  But, if we read what the apostle says and what the prophet declared, we realize that Everything Belongs to Us! Hallelujah!

I contend that the problem is that we do not believe it experientially, only theoretically.  It is in our heads, not our hearts. The truth of that revelation has not become who we are.  We see it out there somewhere and hope that it will be ours someday.  We do not see ourselves as adequate or worthy of this promise.  We are not spiritual enough and allow the devil to steal our hope and faith, relegating that truth to what super saints can expect and enjoy.  We see it as maybe something in the sweet by and by but not for the here and now.

Hear me, please:  If this revelation is true that ALL Things belong to us because we belong to Christ and He belongs to God, why do we struggle with this promise?  The problem is that we need our minds reprogrammed to think God’s thoughts.  One of the most effective ways to do that is to guard our lips.   We must protect our ears and our eyes (what we listen to and watch).  We must be careful how and what we allow to enter our consciousness.

Additionally, we need to change how we talk!  We must train ourselves to say what God says, not what we see or hear from the devil or anyone.  We need to agree with God and say what God says through the Word and the Spirit of God.  The truth is that whatever we agree with, we give power to.

Abraham believed God and acted in hope!  He hoped for what he believed.  His was a hopeless situation.  It was impossible in the natural, BUT GOD Said, and he chose to believe what God said.

Therefore, today would be a marvelous time to refuse to let negative and defeatist attitudes, words, or thoughts live in us.  We must determine in our hearts that if God said it, no matter how things appear, we will agree with God, even to death.  In that mindset, NOTHING will shake us from our confidence in God, His Promises, and His word!  This is a new day of victory, so rejoice!

Have a fantastic day in Jesus!  This is His day, and you are His, so it is your day!

Malachi 1:6-8 – “A son honors his father, and a servant his master; if then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. And if you say, in what have we despised thy name?⁷ In that you offer polluted bread upon my altar; and if you say, in what have we polluted it? In that you say, the table of the LORD is contemptible.⁸ And when you offer a blind animal to the altar, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick animals, is it not evil? Offer it now to your governor; will he be pleased with you or accept your person? says the LORD of hosts.” 

As I read this passage, I was forced to ask myself some questions connected to the questions God asked these people.  In it, I am forced to reexamine my personal relationship, commitment, and actions toward God and His Word. 

As I prayed over this, it was as if the veil over my understanding was lifted, and my heart was challenged and drawn to the Lord.  Here, God asked some challenging and even chastening questions.  I have had people tell me that God does not chasten us because He loves us too much.  That is diametrically opposite of love, and that is not God.  He even declares that the one He loves He chastens.  Chastening is a sign of being a daughter or a son.

His questions are germane to us today.  His first question was, “IF,” and that is the big issue “IF, as you declare, I your Father, where is the honor you should be giving Me?”  It is easy to say words that we do not mean in our hearts.  God was not looking for affirmation via words but an affirmation of that truth via actions and the condition of the heart.  These people said the right words but kept their hearts back.  God was only Father in their verbiage, not their lives.

Then, God said, “IF” that pesky little word reappears.  “You call me LORD (master); IF I am, then why don’t you have reverential fear and respect for Me?”  They were dumbfounded. After all, they attended synagogue and went to the temple.  They prayed their prayers and offered their offerings.  Yet, God revealed that something was missing.  It is not enough to attend church or even be actively involved.  God is after the heart, not words or busyness.

They evidenced their lack of honor, fear, respect, and commitment in their offerings.  God revealed that they were offering defiled food on the altar.  What is that?  In the simplest terms, it was giving God the second best or leftovers.  It was the spare change in money and heart.  It was what I call “Tipping Living.”

They were allowing the profane to thrive.  They were feasting at the tables; they should have been overturning.  God will accept no offering that is not pure (whole-heart commitment).

Malachi 2:17 – “You have wearied Me with your words.”  Wow!  That alone would be devastating, but He did not stop there. He said, “You say evil is good, and everybody and everything is okay.”  Calling evil good and good evil incurs God’s disfavor, not His blessing.

Chapter Three deals with the tithe, which is far more than a percentage.  It is about commitment, love, faith, and revelation.  God invites us to put Him to the test and allow Him to prove to us His faithfulness.  It is also a means to prove to the world God’s faithfulness.  It becomes a light shining into the darkness.

I have learned that obedience, like nothing else, opens heaven to us.  The promised blessings that He would bless UNTIL “it was beyond enough.”  Are you experiencing God’s blessings, provisions, peace, and power UNTIL “it is beyond enough?”  That indicated lavishness and abundance beyond human ability to comprehend.  It is talking about far more than the material things of life.

Then, the promise is that God will rebuke and restrain the devourer.  That sounds good to me!  Having protection from corruption is inviting and appealing.  That means we must ensure that our offerings to God (self and other things) are pure, not just our spare change or tips.  God’s promise is a perpetual cycle of blessing and protection for His Glory!  Money is not the focus; God is.  God’s purpose is.  The harvest is.  Functioning in the fullness of God is. 

We have a commission and a mission, and God, through Malachi, reveals a pathway to a greater measure of God’s presence, person, provision, and power.  Therefore, we need to determine that we will give God nothing less than our best and our whole selves.  Then, the promise kicks in that God, in return, gives us Himself, all that He is and has.  Nothing, absolutely nothing, will be impossible for us. 

What is our part?  Faith and obedience.  We need to train ourselves to expect God to do what He says He will do.  We need to expect God’s promises to be realities NOW!  We need to address our problems with God’s Word and give God our best – His Best is seen at the Cross.

Have a wonderful day, and walk in His fullness. 

Romans 6:1-7 – “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also being the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.”  NASB

A preacher recently told me, “I’m dead to sin.”  That is wonderful, and it should be our ambition, spiritually.  However, during the conversation, he began complaining about how some situation was troubling him with the temptation to sin.  He related how another problem was causing him grief and offense. 

I waited until the conversation had continued a bit more and said to him, “You said you are dead to sin, right?”  He very piously said, “ABSOLUTELY!”  I asked, “How many dead people have you seen tempted, offended, or grieved?”  He looked stunned, and I continued, “If you are truly dead to sin, then temptation should have no impact on you, nor should things offend.” 

The problem is that this is a goal or prize we should aim for and attain, but it is often just that for most of us.  We are pressing toward the mark but have not arrived.  My experience in my own life and what I see in others is that we aim for it, strive for it, and work toward it, but too often, we find that it is not a fulfilled reality in our lives, at least on some level.

Maybe we need to rethink our understanding of salvation. Perhaps we need to ask the Holy Spirit for discipline and determination to walk out in life what the Bible declares about us.  Once we come to Christ and have our sins forgiven, we enter into the newness of life.  At that point, we are not perfect but find that our spiritual life is a progression and growth experience.  We mature, develop, encounter, overcome, fail, succeed, and become more like Christ as we move through this dimension called time. 

We should not now or in the future be slaves to sin because we have been set free from its bondage and chains through the Blood of Jesus.  When we find that we are not quite as dead as we professed, it is time to head to the prayer closet, shut the door, and cry out to God for His help.  It is time to allow the Holy Spirit to identify areas of our life that need radical spiritual surgery and those areas in which we are anything but dead so we can rise to the newness of life in Jesus through death to sin.

May God be with you as you go through your day!

John 17:17 – “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” NASB

Psalm 119:160 – “The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.”  NASB

Several years ago, a dear child of God declared to me, “Jesus said it, I believe it, and that makes it so.”  I did not challenge the individual then, but I have often thought about that statement.  Is something true because Jesus said it, and we believe it? 

I contend that a word is not true because God says it but that God says it because it is True!  I also maintain that because we believe something has little to do with its veracity.  Many people believe things that are quite wrong, so this person’s statement may comfort us, but it is erroneous in its beginning and, therefore, would end up in an erroneous destination.

The Bible tells us to be capable of giving a reason for the Hope within us and to be able to do so with calmness and reason and do so grounded in truth.  Jesus’ declaration to the Father that Your Word is Truth is the basis and foundation for us. 

Paul instructed Timothy to ‘rightly handle the Word of Truth’ in his ministry and life.  We have an unshakable foundation to build our lives and faith when we conclude that God’s Word is Truth!  It is not just because something is in the Bible that we depend on, but we depend on the truth that it is in the Bible because it is Truth that we anchor our hope and faith upon.

I have complete confidence in God and His Word and believe God only speaks what is True!  I realize that some will say that I’m splitting hairs here, and maybe so, but in dealing with unbelievers, atheists, and agnostics, my approach has had more impact on them than the declaration I was told years ago. 

When I approach it from the point of fact that God only speaks what is right and true, there has been a greater openness to my argument than when I declare, “It is in the Bible!”  If a person does not believe the Bible, that declaration has little value. Still, when you begin to present your argument using the factual, scientific reason that what God has said is True and then rise to the point that God only speaks what is True, there is more ground to reason with them.

When I came to this way of thinking, my faith grew stronger, and my confidence in God became more pronounced.  It has helped in some challenging times and times when everything around me was designed and directed at shipwrecking my confidence in God.  The foundational conviction that God Only Speaks What is True gives me a foundational rock that life’s events cannot shake.

This may help you, and if it does, fantastic. Please consider this point of view as you face the many events of life and reach out to those who do not believe.

May God be with you as you go through your day!

John 13:5-20 – “Then He poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.”  8 Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, ” If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”  9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” 10 Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”  11 For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason, He said, “Not all of you are clean.” 

12 So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?  13 “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.  14 “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  15 “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.  16 “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.  17 “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.  18 ” I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘HE WHO EATS MY BREAD HAS LIFTED UP HIS HEEL AGAINST ME.’  19 “From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He.  20 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” NASB

The account of Jesus “washing the feet” of the disciples is incredibly powerful and meaningful both then and now.  I can easily understand their reaction and wonder at what he was doing.  They were still in a mindset of Jesus setting up an “Earthly Kingdom” and becoming “King.” 

They envisioned positions of importance in that Kingdom he would establish as he threw off the yoke of the Sanhedrin and Rome, and here The King was assuming the role of a servant.  That was more than their human nature could grasp.  It tells me also that they had lost some of their understanding or had not yet achieved the level of understanding that in this Christian Walk, we are to “serve others,” not just be the lead and out front.  We are not just to be “receivers” or “takers” but “givers” in every dimension.

I look around the church today, and too often, I hear the Lead Pastor saying, “My Church.”  When I hear that, I cringe a little on the inside because it is not his church, my church, your church, their church, or any human’s church. It is God’s Church!  Jesus said, “I will build MY CHURCH!”  

Servant Leadership was his method and should be ours.  There was never a question about his position or authority. Still, He refused to be placed on a pedestal and develop some kind of religious hierarchy that has invaded the church world of our time.  It appears that we have lost some of the vision of the Church being The Body of Christ, and a body has many parts, with each part playing a particular role and having importance for the body to function to perfection. 

When I see men of God appearing to lord, their position over people, I run the other way from that group.  I have never felt that I had to demand people recognize my position because I knew and know that whatever gift I have from God will bring me before whomever I need to be brought before. That gift will be recognized and as I walk humbly before the Lord respected.

I do not like “titles” because they tend to separate or inflate.  If you want them, that is between you and God; I will not trouble you with my personal belief.  If Christ is exhibited in my life and the gift, He has placed in me is exercised under the Anointing of the Holy Spirit, it will be recognized and given what place of respect God deems appropriate.  

Does that gift make me better than anyone else?  Absolutely Not!  It makes me unique only because it is my niche in God’s program, and you are unique in yours, and together we sow, water, nurture, and God gives the increase.  We are a Body connected by every joint and sinew spiritually, with the Blood of Jesus flowing to every individual cell bringing life and health!  That is the Glorious Church that Jesus is Building!

I pray that God will bless you as you go through your day, and I encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit to rekindle the “Spirit of Serving” in your heart in a new measure today. 

Blessings abundantly as you go through the remainder of your week in Him!

Proverbs 15:30-33 – “The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and a good report makes the bones healthy.   31 The ear that hears the rebukes of life Will abide among the wise. 32 He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, but he who heeds rebuke gets understanding. 33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility.” NKJV

We are told in Scripture that when your eyes are good, your whole body is full of light and that the light of the body is the eye (Luke 11; Matthew 6).  We have all heard that the eyes are the window of the soul, and here in Proverbs, we are told that the “light of the eyes brings joy to the heart.” 

Light is Truth, and Truth brings Liberty, and Liberty brings Joy, and Joy brings Freedom and produces Rejoicing!    The result of walking in Truth and hearing not only the “Good Report of Jesus” but getting “Good Reports in Life” causes health to flow into the bones, and from the bones comes the marrow, which is crucial to health in the body like the blood.  Isn’t it amazing how powerful the truths of God’s word are?

The writer did not stop there but when on to say:

• The person who will hear life’s rebukes will abide among the wise.
• The one who disdains instruction despises his own soul.
• The one who heeds rebuke gets understanding.

It is from “understanding” that we gain “knowledge,” and from “knowledge” that we come to know the Lord, and as we develop a “reverential fear” of the Lord and follow His Instructions, we gain wisdom! 

From the position of walking in “wisdom,” we gain “humility” because we know who we are and who He is.  Out of that position comes Honor!  Everything in God is a progression. 

It is a process.  It is line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.  You do not wake up one morning a fully developed adult from an infant, nor do you instantly become a fully mature Christian from a babe in Christ – – It is a Process!  Involved along the way is “Believing the Good Report” and receiving “Good Reports of Life.”

A Good Report is invaluable in our Christian Experience, which is one reason I believe sharing our “good reports” with those around us is essential to encourage them.  When I hear what God has done in the life of another, I have several options:

• I can become jealous because He has not done the same for me.
• I can dismiss it as some delusional thought about coincidence.
• I can rejoice with them and allow that “good report” to inspire my faith and confidence in God.

I choose the latter!  So, bring on the “Good Reports” I want to rejoice with you!  I am Forgiven, and what better report could one give than that?  

May God be with you as you go through your day!  Blessings abundantly!

John 14:1-6 – “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.   3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  4 And where I go, you know, and the way you know.”   5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”  6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” NKJV

I do not know how anyone could fail to recognize that the hour in which we live is a “time of trouble,” or “troubling times.”  It seems that in many ways, mankind has slipped a little farther down the slope of depravity, become more vile, and the violence and corruption are reaching epic proportions all over the world. 

The Bible and our Lord identified the characteristics of these Last Days and gave us numerous warnings and precautions.  Here we find one of the most pertinent passages regarding “troubled times” in the Bible. 

Consider what Jesus says:

• Let not your heart be troubled…

That is an action that each of us is responsible for.  It is a choice, a decision based on a fact that is indisputable and unshakable.  It is based on reason and hope.  It is a direct command for all the followers of Christ.  Instead of succumbing to the temptation to “fret” and become “fearful,” we are to dismiss our “troubled hearts.”

• You believe in God, believe also in Me…

That is the foundation upon which the command is given – Our Faith in God and the Lord Jesus Christ.  If we genuinely believe God, then “fear” has to depart because “perfect love casts our fear,” and God is Love in Perfection.  He has and will never fail to keep His promises.  His words are more sure than anything we see or know in the natural realm.

• His Promise extends or adds to our confidence…

“In My Father’s House are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you….” The eternal abode awaits us, so what do we have to fear in this life?  Nothing! 

• “I go to prepare a place for you…”

What a promise we have that Jesus is now in preparation of our Eternal Bridal Chamber to spend eternity with him as His bride.

• “And If I go… I will come again… That where I am, there you may be also…”

The ultimate diminishing of fear and trouble of heart.

Jesus identified that to access this promise and provision, we must come “through Him.”  He is the WAY….  He is the TRUTH…. He is the LIFE…. He is the ONLY access to the Father.  There are not many roads to heaven and salvation; it is through the Blood of Jesus alone.  It is through the Atonement, the work of Christ on the Cross.  No other religion, philosophy, or act of penance, NOTHING BUT JESUS!

If you are troubled today, look inside your heart, and ask yourself if you put your entire trust and confidence in Jesus.  If not, then run to him.  May the Lord bless you as you go through your day!