He will give His angels charge over you

"For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways." Psalm 91:11

The security that God promises is awesome! The promises that God the Father made to His Son are the same promises our Savior shares with you and me ... as we learn to follow His Word, we learn to exercise this authority Christ shares with us! The power of His love can not be defeated by anything! This is not our salvation I'm talking about. This is growing, as mature believers, into useful servants, soldiers and ambassadors of Christ, and trusting our heavenly Father in all situations we deal with, knowing that He is faithful and will not let us down.

"You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the LORD, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place." Psalm 91:8-9

The promises leading up to the security God promised to Jesus are based upon our making the LORD our refuge. Our work at making this a real part of our life is something that is a lifelong effort. It takes work at walking away from the knowledge we grow up with. Maturity demands we grow past the biases we live with ... as the future we are promised becomes a reality for us, they are real instead of just words that we recite or mouth, or are just part of a show!

Satan quoted Psalm verse 91:11 to Jesus when the Adversary was trying to tempt the Messiah to show off God's power. People will always ask us to show off (or prove) the miraculous because we believe God's promises. As Jesus demonstrated on the cross, God's plan for us is to serve all His children and not just ourselves. The world does not understand what true love is; the world focuses on "me" or "I" instead of God and we.

Jesus' final response should sum it up for all of us! "Begone, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD your God, and worship Him only," Matthew 4:10. Jesus used the Word of God to respond to Satan's temptations. Remember ... He will give His angels charge over you!

Read Psalm 91:1-4 and Matthew 4:1-11 for more illumination.

Approach the Throne

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16

Jesus Christ is our High Priest, the person who has given us the strength and ability to approach the throne of God. We are heirs to His Sonship ... He has given us such a wonderful opportunity to approach God the Father with boldness and expectation! This is such a difference from the Old Testament, where only the high priest could go into the throne room in the Temple. He was the only person who had access to the throne room. Because of Christ's birth, death and resurrection, we have access!

Jesus Christ, as our High Priest, has made the way and set the example for all of us. As we serve our Father, we have the knowledge that whatever we have to deal with, He will be there for us! Paul tells us we need to rely upon the promises of our Father so that we may enter His rest (the promise that all who follow will be ruled by God's harmony and beauty). We are given the grace to trust in this message of salvation for our lives.

This doesn't mean we won't have problems in this world; we now have the answers to deal with these problems. Jesus has achieved the victory over our adversary and He shares His power and strength with all of us, ambassadors and soldiers for Him.

BE BOLD TODAY!

Read Ephesians 3:1-14 and Hebrews 4 for more illumination.

Paul mentoring a protege

"This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith."
1 Timothy 1:18-19

Hmmm ...having faith to fight the good fight? What does that mean?

Prophecies made in Scripture should give us the confidence to rely upon the blessings that we are able count on to live powerful, loving lives. Paul instructed Timothy to have confidence in the promises of God. We must, as well, have the faith to be inspired and aided by God's promises, relying upon the abilities He tells us we have and instructs us to use. We are more than conquerors in Christ, even when our surroundings seem to be so intimidating, bigger than we think we can handle. God promised us! We must fight the good fight by trusting God's Word ... He can not lie!

In verse 5, Paul says the goal of their insturctions was love, a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. This is what Jesus told us aboout the "greatest commandment." "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all you soul, and with all your mind." Matthew 22:37 Paul was instructing Timothy this is what would enhance his efforts ... and he should be confident in the fruit he would bear!

Read Matthew 22: 35-40, 1 Timothy 2:3-4, Acts 23:1-5, 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, Galatians 3:24, Titus 1:1-3 for more illumination.