His Love Endures Forever

Contemplating a Thanksgiving Blog Post, the contents of Psalm 136 came to mind. I had to enlist the aid of my sister, a wonderful Bible Teacher, to lead me to the address. I knew it was a Psalm and I knew the general vicinity. Of course, this gave us a chance to talk about Jesus! Our favorite subject of conversation! The words that kept echoing through my mind were, "His Love Endures Forever". These words contain the most valuable possession of my life. Yes, I possess Jesus within my entire being. Jesus, as a man, was God incarnate and GOD is LOVE. Jesus, who is God, sent His Spirit, who is God, to dwell within me. I POSSESS LOVE! It is that LOVE, that infinite; unending; universal; forever; all encompassing; all comforting; all strengthening; all consuming; all forgiving; all merciful; all understanding; eternal LOVE that I am most grateful for on this Thanksgiving Eve and every day thereafter. We love Him because He first loved us. He drew us, he wooed us, he wanted us to be with him FOREVER! "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Send Reinforcements

May God Bless our Veterans today! I am thinking of a troop of soldiers trapped by the enemy, surrounded, with seemingly no way out and things are looking quite bleak. Then, out of the blue, literally, comes a squadron of their own country's air forces and behind the enemy troops, reinforcements on the ground. The enemy is destroyed and the entrapped soldiers, elated, shout with triumphant glee. They couldn't have been victorious without Reinforcements. Within the word Reinforcements, we have relief, rescue, sustenance, treatment, service, aid, encouragement, salvation and much more. There is an account in the Bible where Israel is fighting against Amalek. Moses, the leader of the Israelites is holding up the rod of the Lord in his hands. As long as he keeps that rod in the air, the Israelites prevail. If he drops his hands, the enemy moves into victorious position. Moses grows weary and cannot continue. Behold, Reinforcements arrive in the form of Aaron and Hur who take hold of Moses's hands and arms and lift them high into the air. They hold this position until sunset and the Israelites are delivered out of the hands of the enemy. We are called in the Book of Jude to "Contend for the Faith". There are days we become weary and feel surrounded by enemies of many kinds. We cry out for help as those troops, through our communication system. In our spiritual battle, our system is nothing greater than prayer itself. Freedom is the objective of the battle. Romans 8:2 "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, has freed me from the law of sin and of death." This is the Freedom we have received because of the sacrifice of God giving His Son, Jesus Christ for us. We become Reinforcements for one another in our daily "contending". James 5:16 Amplified Bible, "Confess to one another therefore your faults--your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins; and pray (also) for one another, that you may be healed and restored--to a spiritual tone of mind and heart. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available--dynamic in its working." At any time in life, we can either be the soldier held under fire by lies, accusations, guilt, shame, sin, all brought on by our enemy or the one coming over the hill to bring aid in the form of spoken Truth, encouragement, edification, comfort through our Risen Lord. Instead of being "given into the hands" of the enemy, let us be "rescued out of the hands" of the enemy by the weapons of confession (admitting we are weak and need support) and prayer (lifting one another up to the one who Himself admitted His own need for sufficiency through His Father and in turn intercedes for us daily). Ephesians 6:18 Amplified Bible, "Pray at all times--on every occasion, in every season--in the Spirit, with all (manner of) prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding on behalf of all the saints (God's consecrated people)". ...lifting one another up until "sunset". Then we can rest from the battle at His Return. "Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus." Revelation 22:20.