Good Morning Clothed in Christ and His Armor Warriors! On this day when evil and darkness are celebrated even more so than normal, let us remember who and Whose we are and cloth ourselves for battle! Check out Harvest Prayer Ministry's Blog by Km Butts and meditate on that today and dress well. Don't forget Satan dresses up and disguises himself as an angel of light. We are not play dress up! We are battling principalities and powers and spiritual forces with Christ! Stand firm and dress well! https://www.harvestprayer.com/a-family-clothed-in-christ/
Remember ODB's reminder that we are under God's wings! He will protect us and Jesus has already defeated the enemy. You were created for such a time as this and placed right where God wants you. PTL and prepare to be His light and to lead others to His sheltering love. In Christ, we are more than overcomers! Amen! Remember the darkness will not overcome the Light! The Light drives back the darkness! Partner with God to fulfill your part in that.
Here's some prayer starters for today: "Praise Jesus Christ, the Lord, the image of God (2Cor. 4:4-5). Thank God for 'making His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (4:6). Confess times of disinterest in knowing God fully. Commit yourself to thinking daily about Him and His glory. Ask God to make His Light shine more fully in your heart. Pray for God to shine through you to your family and friends, even though they know you well enough to see your weaknesses. Thank God that this shows even more clearly that the power is from Him rather than you (4:7). Pray for God's Light to shine in your community through your church's members. Ask God to help people focus on the glory of His Light rather than the failings of His Light-Bearers. Pray for those planting churches and ask God to bring His Light to more and more areas through new communities of believers. Pray for unsaved people you know to be reached through small groups and outreach efforts of your church. Ask God to use you and other believers, in spite of frailties, to bring light to many. Pray for many to be open to the Light and drawn to Him and for God to use us to lead them to Him." Amen
We have a treat for all who will come! Stand firm in Christ and His armor! Don't be tricked by the darkness. Go and bring His Light to all around you today! Shine bright!
Our Daily Bread:
Under God’s Wings
I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Psalm 61:4
READ Psalm 61
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are several Canada goose families with baby geese at the pond near our apartment complex. The little goslings are so fluffy and cute; it’s hard not to watch them when I go for a walk or run around the pond. But I’ve learned to avoid eye contact and give the geese a wide berth—otherwise, I risk a protective goose parent suspecting a threat and hissing and chasing me!
The image of a bird protecting her young is one that Scripture uses to describe God’s tender, protective love for His children (Psalm 91:4). In Psalm 61, David seems to be struggling to experience God’s care in this way. He’d experienced God as his “refuge, a strong tower” (v. 3), but now he called desperately “from the ends of the earth,” pleading, “lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (v. 2). He longed to once more “take refuge in the shelter of [God’s] wings” (v. 4).
And in bringing his pain and longing for healing to God, David took comfort in knowing that He’d heard him (v. 5). Because of God’s faithfulness, he knew he would “ever sing in praise of [His] name” (v. 8).
Like the psalmist, when we feel distant from God’s love, we can run back to His arms to be assured that even in our pain, He’s with us, protecting and caring for us as fiercely as a mother bird guards her young.
By Monica La Rose
REFLECT & PRAY
|
|
How does it encourage you to remember God’s protective care for you? How have you experienced His care?
Dear God, thank You for Your fierce, protective love for me. Help me to rest securely in Your tender care.
|
|
|
|
|
|
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
In Psalm 61, David describes his longing for God’s presence with metaphors of a “rock that is higher than I” (v. 2), a “refuge” or “strong tower” (v. 3), a “tent” and “the shelter of [God’s] wings” (v. 4). The combined reference to God’s “tent” and the “shelter of [His] wings” may allude to the cherubim wings on the tabernacle (Exodus 25:20). During God’s deliverance of His people from Egypt, He gave instructions for the building of a tabernacle through which He’d dwell with His people in a powerful and tangible way (v. 8). Later, the temple, modeled after the tabernacle, would become the centralized place to experience His presence. It also contained sculpted cherubim with wings in the inner sanctuary (1 Kings 6:23–27). Today, believers in Jesus experience God’s presence through His Spirit who dwells within us (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Monica La Rose |
|
|
|
|
|
LISTEN ONLINE
