“Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.” (Psalm 62:5-8)
Bringing everything to God in prayer is one of the most common missing elements in Christian Service.
Prayer, or its absence, affects everything we think and do.
“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (I John 4:4)
This simple verse carries a wealth of meaning on so many levels.
Many times I have found comfort from this when walking in some dark place at night; wondering what else might be lurking around me. Dark things physical as well as spiritual.
But that is only one part of the meaning.
Consider how this relates to the personal struggles we each wage against sin in our lives. And how we are often so beaten down, and torn apart by our own temptations and failures.
“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” (II Timothy 4:8)
When the Lord comes for us, will we “love his appearing“?
I believe the answer to that is based on our daily relationship to the Lord. Which, like any close relationship, involves our daily transparency and communion with Christ.
But how can we look forward, with joy, to seeing someone that we don’t know? Or, of whom we are afraid?
“This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)
It’s hard to say that verse without hearing the song that has become so closely associated with it. It is a joyous phrase. One that comes to mind, at least for me, primarily in those times when I am low and fearful of what lies ahead.
But, recently, in the midst of a lot of physical ailments I’ve been dealing with in this “summer of pain” (Sorry. I probably sound like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh) it occurred to me that this verse is an everyday verse.
Not just a good-day verse.
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” (Zechariah 9:9)
This last weekend, the church celebrated Palm Sunday. Which is the day we have chosen to commemorate when the Lord rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Which was the fulfillment of a prophecy made approximately 500 years earlier by the prophet, Zechariah.
Shortly following that event, the Lord was crucified on a Roman cross outside the Holy City. Crucified “without the gate“, as the scriptures say. (Hebrews 13:11-13)
“. . . but Christ is all, and in all.” (Colossians 3:11 & I Corinth. 15:28)
A couple thoughts at the end of the year.
One is that the Lord is drawing us to Himself.
This is at the core of all things that the Lord does. All things.
Last summer, I had a discussion with someone close to me who has been struggling with cancer. We talked about healing. And what the Bible says about it.
I tried to listen carefully before I opened my big mouth. Something I don’t always do. And, as a result, I learned something.
“It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places.” (Psalm 18:32,33)
The world simply does not grasp the reality of Jesus Christ.
Within the wide, religious realms of Christian profession, there is very little personal relationship with Christ. He is merely a concept, a tradition or a dogma — an impersonal figure around whom religious observances revolve.
A book sells largely because of its title and cover. When I was a kid, I remember checking a few books out of the library based on the title. I thought one of those books was about werewolves.
Boy, was I disappointed when I got home. The best I can remember, it was some fiction book out of the adult section. Probably about psychology or something. Too bad. Werewolves would have been better.
There’s a principle of life for you: Werewolves would better. Apply it as you see fit.
Eternal Approach 
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