Dear Precious Friends,
As we welcome this new day, this gift of gifts from God, we are reminded that God has us here for such a time as this for a purpose. He knew Covid 19 would happen during our lifetimes. He also knew our children and grandchildren would be here for this time. He reminds us throughout scripture to share the truth of Jesus and salvation with all we come in contact with. We have our marching orders and He when he ascended into heaven after 40 days after His resurrection, we are reminded again, Death couldn’t hold Jesus captive!
Just before ascending into heaven Jesus commanded His apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit who would come in a few days.. He said they would receive power when the Holy Spirit had come upon them. They would be witnesses to Him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;".
After the 40 days were over, Jesus was talking with His friends when suddenly He rose up into heaven. Matthew In what’s often called The Great Commission, Jesus tells his followers, “Go everywhere, make disciples, baptize, and teach about me (Matthew 28:19-20).
We’re still waiting for Jesus to come back, but while we wait, Jesus is preparing a place in heaven for all those who believe in Him!
I love todays image and reminder "She doesn't just hold on to Jesus, she clings to Him with everything within her. And as she clings to Him, He gives her new strength."
We know when we read scripture to look at who wrote the book we are in, what is in the entire chapter of the book we are in so we don't pick and choose a verse that "meets our needs".... and miss the context....
Our Lord is our strength! There are so many reminders in scripture of the strength we have in Him. The scripture I love the most about strength is "when I'm weak I'm strong".
Let's look at the entire verse so we understand where Paul is coming from:
“Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:8-10, NLT
The kingdom of God is filled with these paradoxes. How can I be weak and be strong... WELL... I know we all know the obvious answer... but let's delve in:
There are kingdom truths that are completely contrary to the thinking of the world. As believers in Christ we need to understand these kingdom truths and how to apply them in our lives.
Paul has been struggling with what he describes as a thorn in the flesh and he’s not only asked, but begged, the Lord three times to take it away. Then Paul hears the Holy Spirit tell him a mind blowing truth, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness’. The Lord actually said this back to Paul three times; each time he asked. I’ve found that when something is repeated three times in the Bible the Lord really wants us to take notice. Paul came to such a place of humility that, instead of boasting of all the wonderful heavenly visions he’d seen and the revelations he had, all he wanted to boast about was his own weakness. Why would you want to boast about your weakness? The world only wants to boast about its achievements. But Paul realizes that when he boasts of his weaknesses, then the power of Christ can work through him!
So many times in my life I've felt weak. It’s not a place that I’ve ever felt like boasting about. Life can be a real struggle. We can face so many challenges and I know sometimes what we’re facing can be too much. But in that place of weakness the Lord wants us to surrender our pride and He provides for us a heavenly exchange. We give him our weakness, then by his grace He gives us His strength.
So many of us may be feeling weak today. That’s the best place to be, because now the power of Christ can work through us. So don’t despise our weakness, but, like Paul, boast, or rejoice in it. For when we're weak then He’s strong!
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for the truth of your word and the reminder that even Paul went through great challenges after he turned his life over to follow you all of his days. Oh Lord, how we relate to him and love his amazing teaching that comes from you. Even though we know we are strong in you, there are times we when feel very weak. I thank You that You’ve provided for us a heavenly exchange - our weakness for Your strength. So right now we give You the weakness, and ask You to empower us by Your grace. Let Your power work through us. Thank You that, when we are weak, then we are strong. What a wonderful Savior You are.
Amen.
