AUGUST 10

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES:

Psalm 31:14–16

“But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;   I say, “You are my God.   My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!”  

              ALLISTAIR BEGG:

Most of us are a mixture of emotions and experiences. The good, the bad, and the ugly wash over us regularly. The key issue is what we do with these feelings and experiences. How does being a believer shape the way in which we view our world? “My times are in your hand” is a six-word affirmation to remind Christians that despite disasters and difficulties, we are under the care of Almighty God.

In the opening verses of Psalm 31, it is apparent that David is in anguish. As we read on, we seem to find him in a position of assurance just a few verses later, only for him to return immediately to a state of distress. This cycle of pain and joy is not an unusual experience for the Christian pilgrim. In fact, the recurrence of disappointment and discomfort is fairly common along the path of faith.

In our own pilgrimages through heartache, disappointment, the loss of loved ones, and personal failures, we must trust Him.

We are not at the mercy of arbitrary, impersonal forces; we are in the hand of our loving God. He says to us, Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden. Come to Me with all your burdens, fears, panics, anxieties, and heartaches. Take My yoke upon you. Live underneath My loving rule, because My yoke is easy and My burden is light, and you will find rest for your souls, forever (see Matthew 11:28-30).

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This month we will continue the book, “Whatever Happens – How to Stand Firm in Your Faith When the World is Falling Apart.”  By a contemporary author of many best-selling Christian books, Robert J. Morgan.  He took care of his wife when she had MS, until she went home to her Savior.  “He knows of which he speaks.”  I pray that this book blesses you.

Philippians 3:20-21

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”

WHATEVER HAPPENS……PROTECT YOURSELF INTO THE FUTURE

The Bible teaches that “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death….crying….pain……for the former things are passed away”  (Revelation 21:4).

Our eyesight will be enhanced to absorb the splendor of heaven’s light.  Our ears will be tuned to catch the song of the angels.  Our strength will be greater than Samson’s, our gentleness like a hummingbird, our wisdom greater than Solomon’s and our joy as high as the distant peaks.

Rev Dunn continued:

“….the first glimpse we see of Him as we come forth from the tomb will be a transforming one.  A powerful influence shall emanate from his effulgence, which shall have an immediate and necessary effect of assimilating us into his likeness.  Our glorified body shall be like His, as it appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration, when its glory so irradiated His garments that they became as white as snow.  Like His, as Saul beheld it on his way to Damascus, when its brightness eclipsed the light of the noonday sun.  Like His, as represented to John in Patmos, when His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow, His eyes as a flame of fire and His countenance as the sun shining in all its strength.”

As I read Rev. Dunn’s sermon, I  thought of my body, sometimes bowed down with care, sick with viruses, and aging at an alarming rate.  Yes, so are you.  He continues:

“but the splendor of the resurrection body surpasses ALL OUR CONCEPTIONS.  It shall be in glory – fairer than the fairest flower, purer than the unspotted firmament, brighter than the morning star, more radiant than the midday sun, more splendid than Adam’s body in paradise, more illustrious then angels.  It shall be like the body of our Lord Jesus Christ ….Your risen body will possess the power of moving, perhaps from world to world with greater speed than the sunbeams and with greater ease than we can now pass form the chapel to our respective houses.

As the bodies of Enoch and Elijah and of our Lord went up to heaven, so shall the bodies of all the saints, unaffected by the laws of gravitation or by the pressures of the atmosphere.  We shall have the power of adapting them to every employment.  The eye may have the power of adapting them to every employment.  The eye may have the power of seeing minute objects immensely distant, and the ear of catching the faintest sounds.  We shall move without weariness, cogitate without exhaustion, contemplate the loftiest objects without difficulty.

If the body shall be so glorious, how great must be the glory of the soul!!!!

So, direct your thoughts toward the future and claim God’s promise of Isaiah 43:18-19.

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