The Word Of God Is Our Rock

We can trust in the Lord forever. There will never be a moment in time we cannot trust Him. He is our Rock eternal.

"Trust in the Lord forever,

for the Lord, the Lord Himself,

is the Rock eternal."

Isaiah 26:4 (NIV)

We never have to be afraid if we are His, because there is no other Rock in this world that is as strong and stable as He — no not one. The many prophecies proclaimed and foretold long ago that have come to pass are proof of this.

"Do not tremble,

do not be afraid.

Did I not proclaim this

and foretell it long ago?

You are my witnesses.

Is there any God besides Me?

No, there is no other Rock;

I know not one."

Isaiah 44:8 (NIV)

Trust in His Word, because His Word is God, the Rock on which we stand.

"In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God."

John 1:1 (NIV)

We can know for certain that, just like all the prophecies that have been fulfilled so far, the ones yet to be fulfilled will also come about.

Why Are You Sleeping?

I love going for walks this time of year! I love seeing the trees filled with pretty pink and white blossoms, and smelling their sweet fragrance as I walk past neighbouring parks and gardens. It brings peacefulness and comfort to my soul. I can understand why Jesus went to a garden called Gethsemane to seek consolation there and pray to His Father just before He faced His tortuous death on the Cross. His disciples followed Jesus, but when the Lord asked them to pray, they soon fell asleep from exhaustion and sorrow.

"When He rose from prayer

and went back to the disciples,

He found them asleep,

exhausted from sorrow."

Luke 22:45 (NIV)

.

Jesus woke them up to remind them again to pray more.

"'Why are you sleeping?"

He asked them.

'Get up and pray

so that you will not 

fall into temptation.'"

Luke 22:46 (NIV)

Sometimes we are like those disciples. We get too tired or too depressed that we give up praying out of despair. We go to sleep to temporarily ease our discomfort when continued prayer was vital for victory. It is very important for us to listen to God's voice to know when we have triumphed in prayer for a specific need.

Wait Expectantly, Not Anxiously

When I went for a walk two nights ago, I spotted for the first time a Canada goose sitting on her eggs on the island in the center of our neighbouring lake. Normally their nests are hidden from human view. I had my camera with me, so I was able to zoom in and take this picture.

A mother Canada goose will lay two to eight eggs, and it usually takes twenty-four to twenty-eight days for her eggs to hatch. She will only leave the nest for short periods of time to feed herself. The father will stay nearby, protecting her and their goslings.

Are they anxious? They don't seem to be. They seem very relaxed and more expectant than anxious. And that is the way God's people should be too. We shouldn't be anxious about anything, but in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present our requests to God. The picture above is the father on shore.

"Do not be anxious about anything,

but in prayer and petition,

with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God."

Philippians 4:6 (NIV)

The Power Of Prayer

During the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar, the Jewish people did not have God's protection, because of their wickedness and disobedience to His laws. Therefore, the Babylonians, under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar, were able to destroy the walls surrounding Jerusalem, which left the Jews vulnerable to other surrounding enemies. As a result, Jerusalem lay for many years in ruins and destruction, and most of the Jewish people were scattered abroad, leaving only a small remnant behind.

But one hundred and forty years later, Nehemiah, a Jew and the cupbearer of King Artaxerxes, went to God in prayer with a burdensome heart to see the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt and the Jewish people gathered there once again. The problem was that King Artaxerxes had previously stopped the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Hence a miracle of God was needed to change the King's heart. This was Nehemiah's prayer.

"Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God,

who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him

and keep His commandments,

let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear

the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night

for your servants, the people of Israel.

I confess the sins we Israelites,

including myself and my father's family,

have committed against You.

We have acted very wickedly toward You.

We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws

You gave Your servant Moses.

Remember the instruction You gave Your servant Moses,

saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations,

but if you return to Me and obey My commands,

then even if Your exiled people are at the farthest horizon,

I will gather them from there

and bring them to the place I have chosen

as a dwelling for my Name.'

They are Your servants and Your people,

whom You redeemed by Your great strength

and Your mighty hand.

Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of this Your servant

and to the prayer of Your servants who delight in revering Your Name.

Give Your servant success today by granting him

favour in the presence of this man."

Nehemiah 1:5-6 (NIV)

Nehemiah begins his prayer with praise to God, followed by repentance, then a reminder to God of His promises, and finishing with his earnest request. God heard the respect and sincerity of Nehemiah's prayer and He performed a miracle. King Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah his permission and authority to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem without any argument. That is the power of prayer!

Encourage And Build One Another Up

As God's people, we are instructed by Him to strengthen one another and to build each other up. We do this by encouraging each other to do right and to trust God in all things, to speak God's Word, to pray for each other's needs, and to appreciate the valuable gifts in others.

"Therefore encourage one another

and build each other up,

just as in fact you are doing."

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)

When we encourage someone and build him/her up, we also become encouraged and built up knowing we are pleasing God who is the Father of all. There is no greater joy and blessing than loving others and obeying Him.

Esther, A Heroine?

As a young girl, whenever I was told the story of Queen Esther in Sunday School, I would sit in class completely horrified at the facts being told and befuddled at the interpretation of those facts! I couldn't understand how it could be part of God's plan for a woman to be the wife of an ungodly narcissist who sleeps with a multitude of women and who got rid of his first wife because she refused to be paraded in front of a group of drunken men. I also couldn't understand why her uncle, Mordecai, who supposedly loved and raised Esther as his own, would support this. If I was Esther I would have felt used, betrayed, and debased.

Esther may have been a heroine in the world's eyes, but she was not a heroine for a godly young woman to aspire to. Both Mordecai and Esther should have trusted God to intervene, but neither God nor prayer is ever mentioned in any of the nine chapters of Esther. I know for certain God would never ask any woman to use her sexuality to accomplish His goals and marry such a wicked man, or ask any person to go against His holy character and standards to fulfill His plan. I see the book of Esther only as a historic account of how the Jews were saved during the reign of King Xerxes, where two people executed their own plan without God — but not, I am sure, without personal negative consequences.

The Lord God is almighty, for nothing is impossible with Him.

"For nothing is impossible with God."

Luke 1:37 (NIV)

He is also holy, holy, holy!

"'Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,'

who was, and is,

and is to come."

Revelations 4:8b (NIV)

As Christians we need to study God's Word carefully and not allow man's past misconceptions of Scripture to cloud our thinking, and not instill wrong ideas of God in others. The only hero any man or woman should ever have is God alone.

"I Love You"

"I love you" are the three beautiful words a woman longs to hear from the man she is in love with. "I love you" are the three beautiful words a man yearns to hear in return from the woman he loves. There is nothing more precious to the soul, whether it belongs to a child, mother, father, wife or husband, man or woman than to hear those three words. Do you think God is any different?

The song David sang to the Lord after the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul, started with those three wonderful words, "I love you."

"For the director of music.

Of David the servant of the Lord.

He sang to the Lord

the words of this song 

when the Lord delivered him

from the hand of all his enemies

and from the hand of Saul.

He said: I love you, Lord,

my strength."

Psalm 18:1-2 (NIV)

Let's take every opportunity we can to tell God we love Him, during the hard times as well as the good times. He longs to hear those three words from each of us on a regular basis.