II Samuel 21-22

David gives his God all the praise for his victories.

You could contrast David’s attitude with Saul’s and you realize why David is called a “man after God’s own heart.” When David wins a battle, he never seems to take the glory for himself. He knows that without God, he is nothing.

Yet, with God, he can do anything. He can “run through a troop and leap over a wall.”(v.30)

Now in our day, Jesus has come, and we are born again of Him. We have God’s Spirit living inside of us.

We are still taking a Promised Land, but that land is the land of promises given through Jesus. It includes blessings for our families, our health, provision, and victory over demonic forces who try to hinder us.

Still He is our rock and our deliverer. When forces come against us at work, He is our shield. When we are misunderstood and falsely accused, He is our fortress.

Our Father is the One to whom we run in times of trouble. He “draws us out of many waters, and delivers us from our strong enemy.”(V.18)

I am so thankful that we have such a wonderful God. He is all-powerful and all-knowing. Nothing catches Him by surprise. He is perfect.

Yet, this perfect God, who has all power and might, and knows everything, is also a God of love. He loves us with a love which cannot truly be comprehended. That love is greater than our minds can understand.

Oh, I praise Him today. I praise Him for delivering me from myself. I praise Him for taking my sin and nailing it to the cross.

He is my Rock, my Deliverer, and my Salvation.

Luke 18:24-43

As we read the scriptures, there are times when we come upon something so powerful, so far above our understanding, that we just pass over it – as if it weren’t there.

Verses 29 and 30 are like that. They say that if anyone has left anything for Jesus, he will receive many times as much in this life. In fact, this same incident is even elaborated on more in Mark 10:31. His account says, “100 times as much.”

There are times when following the Lord costs people. Perhaps they are called to a foreign land, and they have to leave their families for years at a time. That’s hard.

Then there are times when people are called to leave good jobs to follow the Lord’s leading. That can be hard, too.

The promise the Lord has, however, is extremely great. He says that those who have to leave something in following Him, will receive many times as much – or one hundred times as much – in this lifetime.

Many times I think that with the families, the return is in a greater relationship with those families – even though they had to be left geographically. Then too those families have greater blessing because of one person’s obedience.

As for houses and land, I personally think that it’s a matter of faith. These things can be brushed aside and ignored, or they can be pursued.

Anything that Jesus says is true. If we don’t see it happening, there’s another reason for it. It’s not because He missed it.

I want to be like the woman with the issue of blood. I want to reach out and touch the hem of His garment for every promise He has made – for myself and my children and my children’s children.

How about you?