The Inspired Box - May 2

 

PSALM 27:1

The LORD is The Strength of my life:

of whom shall I be afraid? 

    We are to be bold as lions when we testify of God's amazing grace on our lives (Proverbs 28:1). Though we are like sheep among wolves (Matthew 10:16), we are to be shrewd/wise/sensible/cunning (strategic thinking) as serpents and innocent/sincere/blameless/unsophisticated as doves. On a side note, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance describes sheep as "easily led, forward walking". 

    When we follow our Shepherd faithfully, it is entirely possible to be not only a sheep in His flock, His pasture, but also a lion following The LION OF JUDAH (Revelation 5:5). When Christ spoke to the crowds surrounding Him, He told them He could only speak what His Father was speaking. When we hear Him speak to us, we hear our Father speaking His Word over us and into us. This is our STRENGTH. What, indeed, do we have to fear from anyone? 

    Since we see that God's people are likened to sheep, we also see that the places we will go when we speak God's Word into the ears of those who hear us, will be the territories of they who will try to kill us, for that is what wolves do:they are predatory and viciously attack when least expected. Our weapon in overcoming these wolves are the same as David's: his faith in God to give him strength to defend his position and his flock.  Sometimes the wolves will be allowed to win and overcome the Christian, at other times The Word of God will cause the wolves to cower and slink away. Psalm 27:2. 

    Let us kneel before God in the privacy of our prayer closets/war rooms and find strength in His presence, seeking only to be with Him in His kingdom. And in these times of prayer with our God, let us also pray to be filled with His Light, His Word and His Spirit that we may truly walk as lions in a world filled with wolves. 

THIS IS THE AIR I BREATHE - Michael W. Smith 

CONSUMING FIRE - Hillsong    

 

The Lord Is With You

 

The Lord Is With You

ISAIAH 43:2

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you go through the rivers,

they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be scorched;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

Because the believer is called by The Lord's Name there is no cause to be afraid, nor is there any reason to be fearful of anything or anyone.

Exodus 3:12 "I will be with you."

Deuteronomy 31: 6 "Be strong and courageous."

Psalm 23:4 "The Lord is with me."

Psalm 73:23 "I am always with You."

Matthew 28:20 "I am with you always."

    Just because you may not be hearing God's voice when you want to does not mean He is not right there with you while you go through dark or shadowy valleys. He is always with us. He is our Good Shepherd, The One Who leads us beside still waters where we can drink freely in peace. The One Who guides us along rock strewn paths and dry deserts: He is still with us. The One Who feeds us from His own table in the presence of our enemies.

    The One Who fills our cups so full with the richness of His generosity that our cups overflow. The One Who feeds us from His staff of life, His heavenly Bread. The One Who guards us from all evil with His rod of justice and judgment; always watching out for us on the left and on the right. The One Who is always aware of His flock and where they are, even the untrained sheep who wander The Lord brings back to His fold.

    Even when The Lord Jesus Christ was first laid in the manger, the angels who spoke to the shepherds on the hillsides just outside of Bethlehem informed them that there was no need to fear, but to have great joy: for now The Lord Who would rule the City of David had arrived. Fear left their hearts as they journeyed to the place where the prophesied King of Israel now lay peacefully in the manger.

    Still the words go out to each and every one of us: Fear not, for I am with you always.

FEAR NOT - Carman

    We are to look not on our circumstances but focus our eyes on His Word, seeking Him out. We are to set ourselves into His Word, as He is The Foundation of our life and all of our blessings flow from His hand. We will move ahead and not look back because we are following our Shepherd our Friend. We must not let our bodies dictate our commitment levels. Yes, we are in pain. Yes, we ache and hurt and groan when we move, but move we must and follow Him we will. For He has called us to follow Him and serve Him in whatsoever capacity He places us. I serve Him from here.

    I love these little Bible studies and look forward to interactive responses. We are to encourage one another in The Word until Jesus returns to bring us home. Let us begin to do so even now.

I WILL SERvE THE LORD - Carman

    

Heart & Soul - - Faint Not, Fear Not

 

Jeremiah 51:46

Do not let your heart grow faint, and do not be afraid when the rumor is heard in the land; for a rumor will come one year—and then another the next year—of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 7401

Faint: tender, weak of heart

From the Hebrew word 'rakak' (pronounced raw-kak').

In this verse, weak of heart is defined as 'timid, fearful'. It is an important enough warning to warrant a double encouragement from The Lord. First, we are not to let our hearts grow faint. Second, we are not to be afraid of rumors of violence in our land. 

UNFAINTING HEART

    How do we prevent our hearts from becoming timid? We encourage ourselves and each other in The Word of God. 

>Allow God and Christ to encourage us: 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

>Delight ourselves in The Lord: Psalm 37:4

>Jude 1:20-21

>Encourage one another: 1 Thessalonians 5:11

>Comfort one another: 1 Thessalonians 4:18

>Exhort one another daily: Hebrews 3:13

>Gather together: Hebrews 10:25

>Edify one another: Romans 14:19

>Serve/be agreeable with our neighbor for their edification: Romans 15:2

UNFEARFUL HEART

    There are several verses in Scripture telling God's people to not be fearful, not be afraid; to fear not. From Genesis to Revelation we find much encouragement from The LORD.

> Genesis 15:1 "After these things the Word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." 

>Revelation 2:10 "Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you might be tested; and you shall have tribulation ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give to you the crown of life."

    Even now, in these latter days, in these last hours, The Word of The Lord encourages His people. We do, indeed, have much violence spread across the globe. There are, as stated in Matthew 24:6 "wars and rumors of wars".  The earth itself is in upheaval "the earth groans" Romans 8:22. Yet, we are to gain strength in The Lord and not be afraid of all that is happening around us and to us. 

    For Christ has called us to suffer with Him that we might be found worthy of Him: Matthew 10:38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." That cross our Lord and Savior was nailed to was not comfortable, nor was it pretty. It was hard, heavy and painful to be on. Think you our crosses are any less? 

    The other thing about this cross we are to take up is that we don't get to choose our cross. Taking up our cross means we need to be prepared in all ways to follow Jesus Christ where He leads us. We need to be ready to suffer, ready to serve.

     Christ prepared Himself when He prayed with His Father. He spent many, many hours in prayer. His prayer times were a source of refreshing and a place of gaining strength from His Father. Our times of refreshing are also in prayer. Alone with God we acquire His peace, His strength, His wisdom. In Christ we have access to everything He is. 

    We must remember, take to heart, the encouragement of our God:

"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’" Isaiah 41:10.

WINDS OF WORSHIP 3