Tag Archives: Protection

2012 Day 268 – Ephesians 4

24 Monday Sep 2012

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Chapter 4 of Ephesians talks extensively about unity in the body of Christ, meaning, unity with all of us as believers. It is easy to get caught up in our individualistic desires and our own sin, but God wants us to focus in on the greater good. We need to put away our struggles and sins in order to focus on being children of light for Christ. In the second half of the chapter, verses 26 and 27 were a bit convicting to me, 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. I’m a happy-go-lucky sort of guy, but when anger takes hold of me it is difficult for me to let it go. These verses have served me well (at times) in reminding me to let go of anger because it only gives the devil another means into my heart. Any time we allow sin to enter into our cracks of imperfection, it is like water running through cracks in a foundation; eventually the foundation will be ruined. We can not allow that to happen to the foundations of our lives.

2012 Day 267 – Ephesians 3

23 Sunday Sep 2012

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In today’s reading, the second half of verse 17 and all of 18 spoke to me, And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. God’s love is total. It is wide enough to cover the breadth of all our experiences. It is long enough to cover the entirety of our lives. It is high enough to reach above any elation we could ever experience without Him. And finally, it is deep enough to cover despair, discouragement, and even death we will experience at the end of our lives. No matter what happens to us, we will never be lost to God’s love.

2012 Day 227 – Acts 21

14 Tuesday Aug 2012

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I always admire Paul’s boldness when it comes to his willingness to serve Christ at any cost. Verse 13 shows that even though he was warned by the prophet Agabus, he would not be dissuaded from going to Jerusalem, Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Some may look at Paul’s actions as reckless, but the reality is that Paul was willing to lay down his life to reach people with the Gospel of Christ. There are days I won’t even risk my reputation, much less my life. I hope and pray I’d have the courage of Paul if God ever called me to stand up for Him in the same way.

2012 Day 213 – Romans 7

31 Tuesday Jul 2012

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When I read verse 15 I am encouraged and depressed at the same time, I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. If Paul feels like he has trouble controlling the influence of sin in his life, what hope do I have? To top it all off, Paul goes on to say in verse 24, What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? If Paul had left it there I would be completely without hope. However, Paul does give us hope by concluding the chapter with verse 25, Thanks be to God–through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Because of God, through Jesus Christ, we are free from the power of sin. This doesn’t mean we won’t sin, it just means we don’t need to let it control us. In yesterday’s post, my friend Brian made a great comment. In essence, he made the observation that we must seek out our Master daily so we can know His desires for our lives. The daily renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2) is what frees us from the control of sin in our lives.

2012 Day 206 – Psalm 55, 102

24 Tuesday Jul 2012

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Psalm 55:22 stood out to me today, Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. The same God that sustains us each day wants us to trust in Him and cast all of our cares on Him. God is always there and sometimes my human self feels like He is waiting to see when I screw up. The truth is He is waiting there to pick me up and dust me off and help me to continue to move forward. Nothing I could ever do could ever surprise or shock God. He knows I am a weak human being who needs Him more than I need anything else in my life. It’s time I started acting as if God is big enough for all of my cares and that I start casting my burdens on Him so He can help me. I will never be strong enough, and He will never grow tired of caring for me.

2012 Day 203 – Psalm 77, 78

21 Saturday Jul 2012

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As I started to read Psalm 78 I thought I would not have much to say about the chapter because it was mostly a recounting of the history of the Israelites through David’s reign. However, as I read and noticed how many times the people rebelled and God forgave them, it reminded me of my life. No matter how bad things I do, God always forgives me when I repent and ask Him for His forgiveness. As we fast-forward to Christ, He solidified grace and forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. It humbles and sometimes shames me to think how many times God has to forgive me. I need to be reminded daily that I need the Holy Spirit to help me and guide me through my life to stay away from my potentially sinful ways. God is merciful and full of grace, which makes me love Him all the more.

2012 Day 193 – 2 Corinthians 4

11 Wednesday Jul 2012

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One of my favorite passages to claim when I feel like everything is against me is verses 8-9 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. There are many times when I feel like my world is coming crashing down, but God never leaves me alone. I may feel like it’s coming to a head, but God is always there to ultimately protect and love me through my struggles. We should never feel abandoned because no matter how bad it gets he is right there with us. It doesn’t mean we will never feel that way, it’s just a good reminder that we don’t need to.

2012 Day 187 – Psalm 84, 105

05 Thursday Jul 2012

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I have heard or read verse Psalm 84:10 on several occasions and it always makes me stop and think, Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. God give us the privilege of being in His presence as much as we want. And it truly is better to be in His presence just a single day that a thousand anywhere else. This was a very good reminder this morning.

2012 Day 164 – Psalm 125, 127, 131

12 Tuesday Jun 2012

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Psalm 127 is a great reminder to me that nothing really matters if it is not centered around God. Verse 1 says, Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. Whatever I do outside of God’s protection and leading is done in vain.

2012 Day 148 – Psalm 16, 33

27 Sunday May 2012

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The first verse in today’s reading struck me right away. Psalm 16:1 says Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. There are so many pitfalls in life and without God’s constant protection we fall. We are imperfect beings and we need God’s perfect power to keep us safe in everything we do; whether it’s in relationships or simply driving home from vacation, we need His protection!