IN RIGHTEOUSNESS YOU SHALL BE ESTABLISHED...

joaniemarie · Mar 6, 2017

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[TD="class: yiv5571513078mcnTextContent, align: center"]In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Isaiah 54:14[/TD]
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[TD="class: yiv5571513078mcnTextContent"][h=2]- MARCH 6 -
BE ESTABLISHED IN GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS[/h][HR][/HR]Have you ever asked yourself why some Christians are constantly beset with overwhelming challenges, sicknesses and defeat if God’s promise, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper” (Isaiah 54:17), is true?

Well, this promise comes with a condition—“In righteousness you shall be established”. When you are established in righteousness, you will be far from oppression and terror, and not a single weapon formed against you will prosper!

This condition is not hard to meet. For a start, you already have righteousness! When you received Jesus as your Savior, you received the gift of righteousness which enables you to reign in life. (Romans 5:17) This righteousness does not come from you but the Lord. (Isaiah 54:17) And when you are established in His righteousness, no weapon formed against you will prosper.

But what does being established in righteousness mean? To be established in something is to have that something as your very foundation for security. So God wants you to know, be sure of and grow in the revelation that you are righteous by the blood of Jesus, by His perfect sacrifice at the cross.

When you feel as if you are in a storm, tossed here and there, and you begin to experience worry and fear, remind yourself of who you are in Christ. You are the righteousness of God in Christ and you have His righteousness!

As you do this, you will begin to notice the worry and fear slide off you, for when you are established in righteousness, “you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you”! That is why God wants you to be established in righteousness. He wants you to be free from fear, and far from oppression and terror.

So when the pressure is on, hold fast to the belief that you are the righteousness of God in Christ. That is where no weapon formed against you can prosper. As you keep believing and confessing your righteousness in Christ, revelation will break forth and you will experience the release of God’s miraculous provision, divine protection and blessings into your life.

Destined To Reign devotional for 3/6

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joaniemarie · Mar 6, 2017

Thank You Lord Jesus!

joaniemarie · Mar 6, 2017

This is an amazing revelation that becomes more and more effective in life as it is practiced daily.
It's true, if you're going through a storm in life it's a fact that worry and fear come into our minds. The remedy (as the writer of the devotional says) is to remind yourself of who you are in Jesus. If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior., we are the righteousness of God in Christ and we have His righteousness. Thinking on this seriously does free us from fear and oppression and terror. (!)

I've experienced this very landmark event myself. It becomes a major dawning experience and God shows His many provisions more each day. That spurs me on to trust Him more and the more He reveals Himself, the more the trust grows. And the more the trust grows the more He reveals. And His Word comes to pass in our lives and we can say along with the Bible "No weapon formed against you shall prosper"

I'm seeing that He does give and keeps on giving. So there is no fear of lack.

seed_time_harvest · Mar 6, 2017

Yes,we should be conscience of our right standing before GOD and not focused on feeling condemned and unworthy every time we sin.We are members of the body of CHRIST and In HIM there Is no darkness.

JESUS Is the vine and we are the branches.

lastofall · Mar 6, 2017

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." (Romans 10:4)

Depleted · Mar 6, 2017

I can think of many mighty women and men of God (on this site, IRL, and in the Bible) who would have a good laugh about the fear, oppression and terror going away simply because we are made righteous.

joaniemarie · Mar 6, 2017

Depleted said:

Fear and oppression and terror does go away when we have confidence in our righteous standing with God IN Christ. If believers don't have this amazing revelation about imputed righteousness than we need to tell them more about it. Just because a Christian has been saved many years it doesn't mean they know all their is to know about salvation. We are learning more about our salvation every day as we see Jesus.
There are many believers who are not walking in so many of the promises they desperately need now. There is no fear in love, perfect love casts out fear. Where there is no fear there is faith. Our confidence is not in ourselves but in Christ and Him alone.

stonesoffire · Mar 6, 2017

1Co 3:10　 As an expert builder using the grace that God gave me, I laid the foundation, and someone else is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it.　

1Co 3:11　 After all, no one can lay any other foundation than the one that is already laid, and that is Jesus the Messiah.
　
1Co 3:12　 Whether a person builds on this foundation with gold, silver, expensive stones, wood, hay, or straw,　

1Co 3:13　 the workmanship of each person will become evident, for the day of judgment will show what it is, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's action.　

stonesoffire · Mar 6, 2017

A day of judgement doesn't necessarily have to be future does it?

Depleted · Mar 6, 2017

joaniemarie said:

Okay. You're right. I miswrote that. It doesn't "go away." It "slides off."

Fear, oppression and terror should slide off when facing the probable painful death of a parent. (Likely, except that God does do miracles. Guaranteed eventually, since no one gets off this earth alive.)

Fear, oppression and terror should slide off when facing the concept that this body is deteriorating quickly and there are no more things to try medically speaking. (And before you pontificate on that one, I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about two mighty women of God on this site.)

Fear, oppression and terror should slide off when Saul was chasing David to kill him.

Fear, oppression and terror should slide off when facing overwhelming parental/spouse abuse.

Fear, oppression and terror should slide off when your spouse was just killed in a traffic accident.

Fear, oppression and terror should slide off when facing your final exam/paper for a degree you've worked 5-8 years to pursue.

Fear, oppression and terror should slide off when facing a society that is dictated by the whims of fickle men and yet the widow still needs to raise her kids when the country's unemployment rates are over 30%. Higher for women, but they don't really count anyway. (Also women who came and left this site.)

Fear, oppression and terror should slide off when facing a mugging, home invasion, rape, or someone is trying to murder you.

Where does it slide to?

I really do get God is helping us through so much, but feelings are feelings. Fear is a feeling. Often a good one when facing oppression. Definitely helpful when hitting terror. And yet, once again this is reduced to buck-up-me-mateys. This-is-on-you. Not-God.

Ultimately, God wins, so his people win. We get rid of this limiting body. We're actually being prepared to worship and enjoy him forever, so even when fear, oppression and terror hits, it is a good time to seek him. (Also good when not in those spots.) In the meantime, fear has served me to run to God and get his comfort. As has oppression. Definitely terror. It seems it worked for David, too.

Meanwhile, your "devotional" today was definitely saying anyone who gets those feelings/realities is doing something wrong. Not true. God is always doing something right for the good of his people. Even the ones in fear, oppression, and terror.

stonesoffire · Mar 6, 2017

I don't agree depleted for this reason...salvation is past, present, and future. An ongoing process...and our attitudes change with experience. Not sure if attitudes is the correct word...when the Word rises in our heart when faced with difficulties...fear etc. does go.

p_rehbein · Mar 6, 2017

I wonder if some here realize that this concept of righteousness deals with believers being obedient to Christ/God in their thoughts, words, and deeds?

Interesting Article I found:

Righteousness Definition and Meaning - Bible Dictionary

(excerpt)

The Gospel of Matthew makes clear that from the beginning Jesus' mission is to fulfill God's righteousness ( 3:15 ). This is brought to realization in his words and ministry so that the kingdom and salvation of God are in him and come through him. Alongside this is the righteousness in the new covenant, which is right thinking, feeling, speaking, and behavior on the part of disciples of the kingdom, who do what God approves and commands. This moral substance is very clear from the detailed contents of the Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 5-7), where the will of God is set forth by Jesus and is contrasted with a mere legalism. Yet what Jesus proclaims and outlines is certainly not a self-righteousness, for it is portrayed as the outflowing of a life that is centered on submitting to, worshiping, and seeking after God and confessing Jesus as the Messiah (see especially 5:17-42 ).

In the Gospel of Luke, we read of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Simeon and Joseph of Arimathea being called righteous ( 1:6 ; 2:25 ; 23:50 ) because they embody genuine religion according to the norms of the Old Covenant. They trust in and obey God. Further, Jesus himself as the Servant of Yahweh is the righteous or innocent one ( 23:47 ), even as the centurion confessed at the cross. The righteousness of the kingdom of God is practical and reverses the standards of the regular social order ( Luke 3:11 Luke 3:14 ; 6:20-26 ). At the last day it will be those who have been genuinely righteous in terms of doing the will of God who will be declared just ( 14:14 ).

In the Gospel of John, God is righteous ( 17:25 ) and the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, has a specific role with respect to righteousness ( John 16:8 John 16:10 ). It is the unique work of the Spirit, who comes into the world in the name of Jesus the Messiah, to convince/convict the world of righteousness. The Spirit both vindicates Jesus as the Righteous One, whom the Father has raised from the dead and exalted into heaven, and also makes clear what kind of righteous life is required by, and, in grace, provided by God.

Desertsrose · Mar 6, 2017

stonesoffire said:

Hi stonesoffire,

I may be wrong, but what I'm understanding Lynn to say, in which I would agree is that weapons formed against us do prosper. And they prosper because we are, in fact, established in righteousness. Those who love the Lord and serve Him will suffer in this world.

In considering all the saints of this world who are suffering because of their faith, the weapons prepared against them do kill them.

And fear may come, oppression and terror in this type of situation where heads are being removed from the bodies of men, women and children. Christian women are being raped.

Do you think you would face this without fear or terror of any kind ever? I don't think I could. But, however, I would cry out to the one who can give me courage to face the suffering......being tortured, imprisoned, raped or whatever.

What I don't have He does. That's the whole thing about our humanness. The things we lack, He has and He can miraculously impart the things we need at the moment we need them. In ourselves we are weak.

I am established in His righteousness. I trust Him for my very life, day in and day out. I have been to all the charismatic meetings for healing, I've been before the elders anointing me with oil, I've gone through a list of who I might need to forgive, I've gone through a list of what previous sins I may not have repented of and etc, etc etc. I've done it all.

But on this earth, I'm sick. This devotional is so false. The more mature I am in Christ, the more sickness comes my way. I'm not getting better physically. God has chosen not to heal me. But I'll be healed in heaven.

joaniemarie · Mar 6, 2017

stonesoffire said:

There is no judgment for the child of God. There will be plenty of judgment going on but not for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Desertsrose · Mar 6, 2017

There is judgement for God's child, not condemnation. Instead he judges so that He can discipline us to save us from being condemned.

1 Corinthians 11:31,32

But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

joaniemarie · Mar 7, 2017

Depleted said:

What you have described here are the responses to the tribulations. It is our response to these problems that are the tribulations we were promised here on earth and are the very fears we must not allow to overtake our confidence we have in Christ. We must not allow the enemy to steal the Word of God from us that was first implanted in our hearts., but that is what his main goal is to do.

There is a responsibility on us but it is not to get ourselves through or to reason out the horror. The responsibility we have is to "believe" in the effectiveness of Jesus in our lives. Yes even now and especially while we live in these limited bodies. We won't be fighting the good fight of faith when we get to heaven. There will be no more good fights of faith to fight since we will no longer have our flesh to deal with.

How else do we learn to trust Him but when we go through such things now and give them to Him to go before us? And so it comes to pass and is true that when we are weak then it is that we are strong in Him. Can we allow ourselves the "what if" question of - should He not come to my defense, what will I do?

For myself I cannot even go there. "there" is a place I do not belong. It is a place the devil wants me to go because it's a place he can defeat me in.

All those places you mentioned are places I daily fight the good fight of faith to not go to. And it is a daily battle of the mind. It is a fight to still see with my eyes the oppression on earth and in my flesh and yet at the very same moment know I must claim by faith the promises of the Lord from the Bible instead. "but they seem soooo real!!!!!" Yes, they are real but He is more real and His promises for us are real.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will SAY of the Lord...He is my Refuge and my Fortress my God in Him shall I trust.

I was a Christian once who said those verses are not to be taken literally since we have seen with our eyes many die and be defeated. But you see, the difference between those with faith and those without faith is they take Him at His Word regardless of what others say or what theirs or our eyes see to be real. (We have much surer promises in Christ.)

Jesus can be trusted and He will come to our defense yet it is a walk of faith. I wish faith got downloaded into our brains like a computer but it doesn't. We have that daily walk and daily good fight to be engaged in. And it's progressive yes. And only we can walk our personal walk of faith with Jesus.
No one can walk it for us. So it's individually fine tuned to us. But it is also a very GOOD fight because we are not left alone. We have the Holy Spirit in us who works through us. He also gives us rivers of living water flowing in and through our inner most being so that we are strengthened and encouraged as we go to know we are loved dearly and not alone.

He won't leave us to be depleted. We feel so many things but regardless we can't allow our feelings to dictate our course. Feelings come and go and we can't give more importance and focus on our emotions when we know the Bible says Jesus loves us and will never leave us or forsake us. Sometimes it "feels" like He is not there and we are alone. The symptoms of life in a sinful world are here., And yes, it does take time to learn how to do this by faith. I'm guessing a life time since I have not mastered it by any means. I begin each day knowing there is required an expectation that He will get me through even when I fail or when I fail to feel Him. He is still there.

Grace has so much to do with that mind set. We don't deserve His power but He gifts it and uses it on us and for us. How else can we get through a day here without grace imparted? And also, our lives are not left up to anyone's whims here on earth. We are sons and daughters of God and as such we have Him on our side and He intervenes in our lives all day long. He has given His angels charge over us to help us and assist us. We are not set up to be defeated. He has set us up for victory. But we won't see it unless we learn how to by faith. And He gives us every opportunity for victories some seemingly small but not in God's eyes. We have not been left here to fend for ourselves like others have told us.

Read Psalm 23 taking it to heart. And also Psalm 91. I prefer the wordy Amplified for this.

[h=4]A Psalm of David.[/h][SUP]1 [/SUP]The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack.
[SUP]
2 [/SUP]He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters.
[SUP]
3 [/SUP]He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him—not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake.
[SUP]
4 [/SUP]Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me.
[SUP]
5 [/SUP]You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with [SUP][a][/SUP]oil; my [brimming] cup runs over.
[SUP]
6 [/SUP]Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be my dwelling place.

[h=3]Psalm 91[/h][SUP]1 [/SUP]He who [SUP][a][/SUP]dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].
[SUP]
2 [/SUP]I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!
[SUP]
3 [/SUP]For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
[SUP]
4 [/SUP][Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.
[SUP]
5 [/SUP]You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day,
[SUP]
6 [/SUP]Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.
[SUP]
7 [/SUP]A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.
[SUP]
8 [/SUP]Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked.
[SUP]
9 [/SUP]Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,
[SUP]
10 [/SUP]There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent.
[SUP]
11 [/SUP]For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service].
[SUP]
12 [/SUP]They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
[SUP]
13 [/SUP]You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot.
[SUP]
14 [/SUP]Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness—trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].
[SUP]
15 [/SUP]He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
[SUP]
16 [/SUP]With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.

Depleted · Mar 7, 2017

stonesoffire said:

How so? I see what I fear changes as I get older, but when face-to-face with new situations, it's still fear. (And we can go with the word "attitude" until/if a better word comes along.

)

Depleted · Mar 7, 2017

Desertsrose said:

Hi stonesoffire,

I may be wrong, but what I'm understanding Lynn to say, in which I would agree is that weapons formed against us do prosper. And they prosper because we are, in fact, established in righteousness. Those who love the Lord and serve Him will suffer in this world.

In considering all the saints of this world who are suffering because of their faith, the weapons prepared against them do kill them.

And fear may come, oppression and terror in this type of situation where heads are being removed from the bodies of men, women and children. Christian women are being raped.

Do you think you would face this without fear or terror of any kind ever? I don't think I could. But, however, I would cry out to the one who can give me courage to face the suffering......being tortured, imprisoned, raped or whatever.

What I don't have He does. That's the whole thing about our humanness. The things we lack, He has and He can miraculously impart the things we need at the moment we need them. In ourselves we are weak.

I am established in His righteousness. I trust Him for my very life, day in and day out. I have been to all the charismatic meetings for healing, I've been before the elders anointing me with oil, I've gone through a list of who I might need to forgive, I've gone through a list of what previous sins I may not have repented of and etc, etc etc. I've done it all.

But on this earth, I'm sick. This devotional is so false. The more mature I am in Christ, the more sickness comes my way. I'm not getting better physically. God has chosen not to heal me. But I'll be healed in heaven.

Yeah, like that, with one change. The weapons can, and often do, work. In the end, we prosper through God. Dying still terrifies me. (I hate pain.) Death is victory in Christ though. So lop off my head, and I suspect I'd empty my bowels a moment before hand, (utterly terrified), but a moment after I'm in Paradise with Jesus.

But besides that one thing, yup. Like that. This is what I meant.

Depleted · Mar 7, 2017

joaniemarie said:

What you have described here are the responses to the tribulations. It is our response to these problems that are the tribulations we were promised here on earth and are the very fears we must not allow to overtake our confidence we have in Christ. We must not allow the enemy to steal the Word of God from us that was first implanted in our hearts., but that is what his main goal is to do.

There is a responsibility on us but it is not to get ourselves through or to reason out the horror. The responsibility we have is to "believe" in the effectiveness of Jesus in our lives. Yes even now and especially while we live in these limited bodies. We won't be fighting the good fight of faith when we get to heaven. There will be no more good fights of faith to fight since we will no longer have our flesh to deal with.

How else do we learn to trust Him but when we go through such things now and give them to Him to go before us? And so it comes to pass and is true that when we are weak then it is that we are strong in Him. Can we allow ourselves the "what if" question of - should He not come to my defense, what will I do?

For myself I cannot even go there. "there" is a place I do not belong. It is a place the devil wants me to go because it's a place he can defeat me in.

All those places you mentioned are places I daily fight the good fight of faith to not go to. And it is a daily battle of the mind. It is a fight to still see with my eyes the oppression on earth and in my flesh and yet at the very same moment know I must claim by faith the promises of the Lord from the Bible instead. "but they seem soooo real!!!!!" Yes, they are real but He is more real and His promises for us are real.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will SAY of the Lord...He is my Refuge and my Fortress my God in Him shall I trust.

I was a Christian once who said those verses are not to be taken literally since we have seen with our eyes many die and be defeated. But you see, the difference between those with faith and those without faith is they take Him at His Word regardless of what others say or what theirs or our eyes see to be real. (We have much surer promises in Christ.)

Jesus can be trusted and He will come to our defense yet it is a walk of faith. I wish faith got downloaded into our brains like a computer but it doesn't. We have that daily walk and daily good fight to be engaged in. And it's progressive yes. And only we can walk our personal walk of faith with Jesus.
No one can walk it for us. So it's individually fine tuned to us. But it is also a very GOOD fight because we are not left alone. We have the Holy Spirit in us who works through us. He also gives us rivers of living water flowing in and through our inner most being so that we are strengthened and encouraged as we go to know we are loved dearly and not alone.

He won't leave us to be depleted. We feel so many things but regardless we can't allow our feelings to dictate our course. Feelings come and go and we can't give more importance and focus on our emotions when we know the Bible says Jesus loves us and will never leave us or forsake us. Sometimes it "feels" like He is not there and we are alone. The symptoms of life in a sinful world are here., And yes, it does take time to learn how to do this by faith. I'm guessing a life time since I have not mastered it by any means. I begin each day knowing there is required an expectation that He will get me through even when I fail or when I fail to feel Him. He is still there.

Grace has so much to do with that mind set. We don't deserve His power but He gifts it and uses it on us and for us. How else can we get through a day here without grace imparted? And also, our lives are not left up to anyone's whims here on earth. We are sons and daughters of God and as such we have Him on our side and He intervenes in our lives all day long. He has given His angels charge over us to help us and assist us. We are not set up to be defeated. He has set us up for victory. But we won't see it unless we learn how to by faith. And He gives us every opportunity for victories some seemingly small but not in God's eyes. We have not been left here to fend for ourselves like others have told us.

Read Psalm 23 taking it to heart. And also Psalm 91. I prefer the wordy Amplified for this.

A Psalm of David.

[SUP]1 [/SUP]The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack.
[SUP]
2 [/SUP]He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters.
[SUP]
3 [/SUP]He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him—not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake.
[SUP]
4 [/SUP]Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me.
[SUP]
5 [/SUP]You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with [SUP][a][/SUP]oil; my [brimming] cup runs over.
[SUP]
6 [/SUP]Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord [and His presence] shall be my dwelling place.

Psalm 91

[SUP]1 [/SUP]He who [SUP][a][/SUP]dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].
[SUP]
2 [/SUP]I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!
[SUP]
3 [/SUP]For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
[SUP]
4 [/SUP][Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.
[SUP]
5 [/SUP]You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day,
[SUP]
6 [/SUP]Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.
[SUP]
7 [/SUP]A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.
[SUP]
8 [/SUP]Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked.
[SUP]
9 [/SUP]Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,
[SUP]
10 [/SUP]There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent.
[SUP]
11 [/SUP]For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service].
[SUP]
12 [/SUP]They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
[SUP]
13 [/SUP]You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot.
[SUP]
14 [/SUP]Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness—trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].
[SUP]
15 [/SUP]He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
[SUP]
16 [/SUP]With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.

^ ^ ^
This

and This ...

...are two completely different things. Almost, if not complete, opposites.

Trust God that no matter what...? Yup. Been in a few situations where I know he's enabled me to do that.

Think that means "you will experience the release of God’s miraculous provision, divine protection and blessings into your life"? I've experienced healing miracles twice in my life. Hubby has experienced a huge one. Most of the time? Nope. Then again, if that was God's standard way of doing things, we'd never need the word "miracle." It would be "every day life."

And to keep thinking what we get out of this, defeats the whole purpose of being followers of Christ. This devotional keeps landing at the same spot, what God owes me.

(If you'd like, I'd be happy to just tell you why I chose this username. You didn't come close to the reason.)

joaniemarie · Mar 7, 2017

Desertsrose said:

I missed your post desertsrose last night when considering and typing a response to depleted's post. I'm sorry that you and depleted are going through these times and can appreciate the reality of life's hard and harsh situations, it has not escaped me. The hard realities in our lives are real and happening every day. And we each have them and must find a way to go through them.

How we each do that will be different I've observed through mine and the lives of others who have gone on before me. There are great Christians out there., some who I relate to and some who I don't. Some have shared experiences and some who I share no experience with. So we have to agree that none of us can know or understand the depth of everyone else's experiences. I believe that is why we are to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.

For myself, this leaves the door open for God to be God in all situations. Jesus is still the Savior and the Shepherd. He is always the healer and the lifter of our souls. He will always lead beside the still waters. He will always bring us through and out. There is a place in God where we don't fear the terror by night or the evil plots of the wicked during the daytime. It is not His will that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

For myself, this all leaves a door open for God to work out of me the things Jesus has worked in me. For how ever long it takes or for whatever experiences there are to go through, the door for Him to work is open because Jesus is God and is for me and not against me. He knows my going in and going out. He is fully intimately acquainted with all my ways. For reasons I have not understood He cares about all those things.

To remember that when I'm feeling disgusting or repulsive is a leap but none the less true. And the same is true for you and depleted because He loves you just as dearly and intimately. Whatever each one of us is going through we should appreciate their individual experiences but we can't claim them for ourselves.

For myself I have to claim the promises of Jesus since He is the only 100% true person in my life. He is the One I am learning to go to. He is the Rock that is higher than all. And so I look at myself like a horse in those races who wears those side shields on the eyes. I've also heard how the reason Noah's Ark didn't have side windows is because God wanted them to look up at all times not to the side.

There is more to this than can be typed out in a post but it's for now the best way I can describe how I get through without judging someone else's experiences or ignoring them. He promises never to leave us or forsake us. That no one can bring a charge against us because Jesus has justified us and made us righteous in God's sight.

Also, the judgment you referred to in 1 Corinthians is not about paying back action for action. It's about how we will be trained. It's God's training procedure for His children. These particular verses you refer to are about believers and non believers taking communion. Those who were unworthy in verses 27 - 29 are non believers. And the reason I take those verses that way is because I know we are worthy to take communion because we are in Christ. God doesn't judge His people with sickness and death because Jesus has already paid the price and we are celebrating that very truth in communion when we remember His death until He comes. I believe that based on my appreciation for His grace the free gift of salvation given making me righteous. It is a gift received not earned. That is my claim in all of this.

IN RIGHTEOUSNESS YOU SHALL BE ESTABLISHED...

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