Don’t ever give up on the Lord

Published 9:00 am Thursday, March 17, 2016

Let us go to God in a word of prayer. O’ Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus, seeking your forgiveness of  all my sins, and my wrongs. Lord I ask you to look down on your people that is living in this sinful world today. Lord, we are living in Sodom and Gomorrah, one of the two cities destroyed by the Lord because of their wickedness. Lord, we are living in the last and evil days on earth; but, you said in the Bible that people will love things better than they will love the word of God. It is here right before our eyes. So many people are falling by the wayside but Lord, help me to stand. 

When the problems of life cloud our vision, we have an opportunity to see our goals with the eyes of faith. The New Testament letter to the Hebrews urges us to “run with perseverance. The race marked out for us  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the perfecter of faith” (12:2-1). When we feel like quitting, this is our signal to  remember that Jesus suffered for us. But, what He now helps us to endure until the day we will see Him face to face. 

Lord help me to fix my eyes on you and trust you. We can finish strong when we focus on Christ. Don’t quit! Hold on to His unchanging hand. Look up and live. Psalm 146: 1-10, The Lord lifts up those who are low down. Ps. 146:8, When we consider God’s care, His great  power, and His living  heart, we can begin to look up and praise Him. We can walk through each day knowing that “the Lord reigns forever. He lifts us up when we are bowed down. Praise the  Lord. 

Leaning into the light,  1 Peter 2:4-10, called you out of darkness into His wonderful  light. May we never forget to lean unto the light. Salvation from sin means moving from spiritual darkness to God’s light. Numbers 14: 1-9, The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them. Caleb and Joshua stood out as men and not phased by the pain of others. 

As Israel was poised to enter the Promise Land, Moses commissioned 12 scouts to spy out the region. They all saw a beautiful territory, but 10 focused on the obstacles and discouraged the entire nation (Numbers 13: 27-33). In the process, they started a panic (14:1-4) . Only Caleb and Joshua accurately assessed the situation (vs. 6-9). They knew the history of their Father and trusted Him to bring them success. The wicked fled, though no one pursued, but the righteous are as bald as a lion, Proverbs 28:1. 

Grandma’s recipe of course. Grandma had the best recipe. But we never came around to asking Grandma. Now she is no longer with us and  her secret recipe is  gone with her. We miss Grandma, and it is sad to lose her recipe. It would be far more tragic if we were to fail to preserve the legacy of faith entrusted to us. God intends that every generation commends God’s works to another, said the  psalmist (Ps. 145:4). 

Echoing Moses’  earlier instructions to remember the days of old. Ask your Father and He will tell you, your elders and they will explain to you (Deut. 32). 

Is there someone from a different age group with whom you can share your own faith journey? How about asking someone from an older generation to share their story with you. What might we learn? What we teach our children today will influence their tomorrow. 

James Miller