Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: God

Hope And Healing

Encouragement

Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.”
Isaiah 35:4

Isaiah prophesied about a time of judgment that would bring them to their knees but then God would strengthen them, raise them up, and save them. The people of Judah had committed adultery against God but God wanted to reveal His love to them.

Always remember God only chastises those whom He loves. He straightens our crooked paths and puts us back on track. He does this because He wants what is best for us.

Hebrews 12:12-13 says, “Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.” The writer of Hebrews quoted Isaiah 35 while driving home the point that after God’s chastisement there is hope and healing.

Just like ancient Judah, we need hope and healing in our country today. We need every believer strong and courageous. We strengthen ourselves when we walk with the Lord.

Even in our present trials, we have the hope of Jesus Christ to help us overcome our fearful hearts. The hope that we have is in the confidence that God will save us and redeem us.

Are you progressing in your walk with the Lord today? Are you strengthening yourself in the Father’s love? God is actively seeking you to do His great work.

Pray

Lord, I need your strength today to do fulfill Your great will. Help me to overcome my fears and failures with Your hope and healing. Help me to encourage others to progress in their Christian walk as well.

God Gives Us What We Need

Encouragement, Salvation, Trust

He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:32‬

Paul asked a question: “If God gave us His Son, then will He not give us everything else He promised us?”  How do we know if God’s goodness and love are going to be given to us?  

To answer that question we must understand that If God has given us His Son, then He will give us everything else we need.

In Genesis 22, in the Old Testament story of Abraham offering his son Isaac, God asked Abraham to sacrifice his own son. The Bible says Abraham did not spare his only son. Of course, God intervened at the last second and provided a ram for the sacrifice.  

That was a picture of what Jesus Christ would do one day on that same mountain range of Moriah when God would send His only Son, the Lamb of God, to take away the sins of the world.  Paul was essentially saying, “If God was willing to do that for us, then why wouldn’t He do anything and everything else for us?”

God did not send His own Son into the world because we were good people.  Jesus came to die for us because of our sinfulness.   That’s what makes God’s gift of salvation that much more unbelievable.  

The Bible says that while we were sinners, God sent His Son to die for us.  If while we were sinners, God sent His best and most costly gift, and now that we are His children, don’t you think He will give us everything else?  If God gave you His greatest gift while you were His enemy, what is He going to withhold from you now?  Nothing!

Prayer

Lord, thank You for giving me the best gift I could ever receive. Your love and grace gives me peace and comfort.

Peace In Times Of Difficulty

Faith, Trust

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26:3‬

In today’s verse we find a promise from God to those who trust in Him. There’s no doubt that we all need more peace in our lives today. Have you noticed when you’re nearest to God there is more peace and joy?

That is because your trust is in Him. But how can we keep that “perfect peace” when we are faced with difficulties of life?

We need to rid ourselves of the fear and doubt that intrudes our minds which ultimately affects the way we think and act.

Oswald Chambers once said, “Your mind is the greatest gift God has given you and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him. You should seek to be ‘bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…’ (2 Corinthians 10:5). This will be one of the greatest assets of your faith when a time of trial comes, because then your faith and the Spirit of God will work together.”

If we place our minds on anything else we may experience temporary and imperfect peace, but God alone is the giver of perfect peace. God is the only One who can deliver on the promise of perfect peace.

In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus calls us to build our lives on Him and to obey His words. The rain will fall, the floods will come, the winds will blow, but those who build on the foundation of Christ are like a house built on a rock that can withstand these storms. But those who put their trust in anything else other than Christ are like houses built on sand that can’t hold up and are washed away. I pray you place your mind on Christ and trust God who will provide you with peace that passes all understanding. (Philippians 4:7)

Pray

Lord, remove all doubt that I have. Give me peace that surpasses all understanding. Let my faith in You be greater than all my fears.