Be Strong in the Lord

    The Bible strongly urges us to be faithful and strong in the Lord.  “Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.”  (Eph 6:10-12, HCSB)
    Would you jump out of a plane without a parachute?  Would you grab a pit bull by the ears?  Would you walk blindfolded across highway 52 at rush hour?  No?  Well then, would you jump out into the world each day without praying to your Heavenly Father?  Would you neglect the Word of God and not go to Sunday School?  Will you neglect the Wednesday night Prayer and Bible Study when you have such need of prayer and encouragement?  Would you forget to pray to the Lord each day for strength, wisdom, and blessing?  How foolishcan we get?  If we do these things we are just painting a big bullseye on our chest and saying, “Come and get me devil!”
    Satan, like the roaring lion, attacks the weak and the lame of the flock.  The lion tries to separate his victim from the rest of the flock.  Satan loves to prey on those who do not go to Sunday School or Worship, or Wednesday Services and those weak in prayer.  Does he have you in his sights?
 
Oh How Wonderful!
    On the other hand, how wonderful to grow in Christ!  How glorious to love His Word and be fed from its riches each day!  Oh, what joys are ours!  What peace and love we have when we spend time talking to the Lord in prayer each day, worshipping Him and thanking Him for his goodness and kindness to us!
    What joy and comfort it is to be close to the Lord when we experience hard times and failure.  How comforting it is to know that He is there to pick us up when we stumble or when misfortune strikes.
    How marvelous it is to see our witness grow more confident, our marriage grow stronger, our family grow closer, our children grow more loving and obedient as they learn to follow Christ.  What a blessing to find a place where we can serve and have Christ work through us to bless other people.
    The Bible tells us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23, HCSB).  Is this what you need in life?  Then walk with God every day.  Pray to Him.  Read your Bible.  Be faithful to come to every service at church.  Jesus promises us, “The victor will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.” (Revelation 21:7, HCSB).  Isn’t it great to be a faithful Christian?
 
May the Lord bless you abundantly!
Pastor Pat