Lean On Jesus

David's wife Michai, his friend Prince Jonathan, and the prophet Samuel were his major support system. Then God removed every prop he leaned on.

One day David was on top of the world, the next day he was being hunted by his enemies and fleeing for his life. He had no one to lean on.

Psalm 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

It's okay to have a support system, but we also need to learn to lean on Jesus. He may dismantle our support, one prop at a time, to grow us and teach us that He is all we need.

Sad, broken-hearted at an altar I knelt, I found a peace so serene

All that He asked was a Child-like trust and a heart that is learning to lean

Learning to lean, learning to lean, learning to lean on Jesus

Finding more power than I'd ever dreamedI'm learning to lean on Jesus 

John Stallings

The Wicked Will Cease Their Troubling

The wickedness saturating the daily news makes me want to return to the seemingly secure world of my childhood.

I'm concerned about the assault on Christianity and the persecution of Christians around the world.

Psalm 37:12 The wicked plotteth against the just and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

13. The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.

I can't wait for what God has prepared for His children. I have hope for tomorrow, but I hate waiting.

Psalm 62:7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength and my refuge is in God.

One day The Lord will bring wickedness to an end.

The wicked shall cease from troubling
The weary shall be at rest
All of the saints of the ages
Shall sit at His feet and be blessed.co

Jonah And His Longsuffering God

Jonah, a prophet of God, finds himself repenting in the putrid belly of a large fish after saying "No" to God's command to go to Nineveh.

Why Nineveh? They were pagans -- idolaters -- immoral -- Israel's enemy. Why didn't God just destroy them?

Jonah was about to learn that nobody is so bad that God can't save them.

So, after three days and nights agonizing inside the whale, he repents, the whale regurgitates, and Jonah obeys.

2 Peter 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 

It's impossible to successfully run from God. Disobedience always creates turmoil in the life of a believer. Failure doesn't disqualify a person from The Lord's service. Thank God for second chances.

Our main concern shouldn't be whether a man can live in a fish, but whether the spirit of Jonah lives in us.

The Christian Mind

Do the majority of people still believe that a personal God is guiding history, a God who one day will judge the world? I don't think so. As a whole, our culture no longer believes in absolute truth. Anything goes.

Some time ago we moved from the belief of a personal, moral God who created all things, to an unproven theory of evolution, denying the existence of God.

People need to get back to a mind that is centered on the God of the Bible.

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

The "mind of Christ" turns our will and value system upside down, away from false beliefs and tension and strife and sin and unrighteousness.

We are called to be a light in a dark world. We must let the mind of the Master be the master of our minds.

A Historical Wrestling Match

The historical all-night wrestling match between Jacob and God is preserved in Genesis, Chapter Thirty-two. You should read it.

Genesis 32:26 . . . .I will not let thee go except thou bless me.

28. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob but Israel: For as a prince hast thou power with God and with men and hast prevailed.

We have a tendency to wrestle with God when we want to set our own agenda. In our own strength we make a mess of things, but the mercy of God will rescue us if we let Him.

Family, financial or relational problems can drive us to the end of ourselves, hopefully, into the arms of a God who has revealed Himself in the person of a loving, caring Saviour, Jesus Christ.

If we would learn to surrender our lives, our wills, our dreams and our schemes to the Lordship of Christ, we would have the power of God in our lives. We would know victory.

Call Jesus

Jesus is not some remote supernatural being who is totally removed from your needs. He cares about the smallest detail of your life.

Matthew 10:30:31  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Jesus wants you to call Him in your need so He can minister to you. He wants your heart so you will serve Him.

What is your need? Do you need salvation? Believe in Jesus. Are you backslidden? Are you burdened? Are you worried about a situation with circumstances beyond your control?

Bring it to Jesus and believe that nothing is too big for Him. Dedicate your life to Him. You couldn't be in better hands. Have faith in God. Today's victory is hope for tomorrow.

Jesus loves me this I know. For the Bible tells me so.

Live For God Like There's No Tomorrow

Proverbs 27:1  Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

We should live each day as if it were our last.

The apostle Paul lived like there was no tomorrow. His plans to return to Jerusalem were risky. Chances were, he would be arrested, imprisoned, and end up losing his life. But Paul knew it was God's will.

Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

If we "sold out" for the Lord, we would find God providing our needs in greater abundance and with His resources, not ours. Focus each day to glorify God.