Strength

“The Lord is their strength, And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭28‬:‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Recently I viewed the short film of the 21 Coptic Christians who were martyred by ISIS in 2015. These Egyptian Christians, and one man from Ghana, were beheaded on a beach in Libya while ISIS filmed it. You may be asking how could God allow such a thing to happen to His people? It is quite the opposite of some of our modern feel-good preaching, which says that a Christian should not suffer. But the truth is that there has always been suffering for the Christian. Over the centuries God’s people have given their lives in sacrifice and death for the cause of Christ. The truth is that more Christians have been martyred in the 20th century than the previous centuries combined. God’s precious people have layed down their lives in commitment to Jesus rather than deny the One who gave them their very life. 

In the short film ( you can watch it here: the21film.com), it showed how these 21 men were tortured and then ultimately killed. But what is interesting is that as ISIS was escorting these men to be killed they said they could see figures of fighters on horseback with swords drawn walking alongside the men which brought fear the ISIS terrorist. Who were they seeing? I believe they were the angels of God accompanying these men and strengthening them, that is what it says in Hebrews, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬. God was with these precious men strengthening them and giving them the courage to stand strong. 

Another thing that stood out to me was the faces of the men. There was no fear or terror on their faces as they knelt only moments before giving their lives. How could this be? Again, I believe that God was their strength, He was their refuge giving them the courage and fortitude to face death. It’s easy for me to write about these men sitting in the comfort of my home, with no real threats of persecution but I take comfort in knowing that God will never allow us to go through something that He will not help us through. “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”I Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬.

May we take comfort today to know that God is our strength and our refuge and He is with us in all our trials and difficulties. Let Him strengthen and encourage you today.

America Awakened!

The United States of America is no longer the nation that she once was, a nation that honored and feared God, that stood for righteousness and justice, a nation that fought for those who suffered from tyranny and persecution, a nation that valued and honored human life above all else. She once allowed the Scriptures to be read in her public schools and prayer could even be heard from the loudspeakers but now, she has fallen away and is struggling to regain her footing on the world's stage. Men have ravaged her, allowed her to be abused by opening her boarders wide and shed the blood of innocent children in the womb. 

In Jeremiah's day we read of the similarities that he was facing with his nation, Judah. Israel, the ten northern tribes to the north, had already been taken captive and the southern kingdom of Judah yet remained with its capital being Jerusalem. The nation had left her God and had degraded into following the wicked ways of its counterpart Israel. Jeremiah says, 

For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water (Jeremiah 2:13). 

The Israelites had forsaken God, who was the "fountain of living waters" and had made them their own cisterns to hold water. But Jeremiah says that they were broken cisterns, that cannot hold water. They are a mirage - seemingly there but not in reality. Cisterns that are broken and cannot hold water. They were living with dry cisterns, and the reason was because they had forsaken God. They had forsaken His ways and serving Him. They tried to make their own way, but in the end, it just resulted in dryness, broken cisterns that hold not water. What was the answer for them? It was to come back to the God they had forsaken to obey His commands and walk in His ways. To restore the ancient foundations. 

This I believe is a parallel to the United Sates of America. There are many changes that are happening right now in the good old US of A and many people are feeling shaken. Yet the righteous foundations are being restored, the borders are being closed to those who would seek harm to America. The years of wasteful spending are being reigned in, and corruption is being rooted out. And I believe the best days of America are to come. Living waters will flow again and she will stand strong under the mighty hand of God. Yes, I believe God spared the current President's life for this time. So that America could be saved and once again strand strong on the world's stage and be a beacon of hope once again in our world. 

May we pray for President Trump and for the United Sates, that she continues to strand strong and honor God in everything.