Tag: stronghold
Stronghold for the oppressed!
Scripture reading for August 27th: Psalm 9:9-11 “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know Your Name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. Sing praises to the Lord, Who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples His deeds!”
John 16:23-24 “In that day you will ask nothing of Me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in My Name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in My Name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
There are many kinds of oppression in our fallen world. People are often oppressed because of prejudice against races or nationalities. They may be mocked and relegated to the lowest place in a country or people group. They may be taken advantage of or sold into slavery for labor or sexual pleasure. The psalmist declares a truth about His Lord concerning oppression and those in trouble: God is faithful! All who put their trust in Him and know His Name, calling on Him and seeking His help will never be forsaken or left to the enemy.
The Name of the Lord often declares His character and benefits. In the last devotion we found that God was our Shield, Glory, and the lifter of our heads. God is our Healer, providing remedy for disease as well as protection from disease. In the New Testament, Jesus encouraged His disciples to begin asking the Father directly in His Name for whatever they had need of and they would receive it. Our Lord Jesus is truly a ‘Stronghold’ in times of trouble or oppression. No weapon formed against us will prosper! Our God shall meet all our needs according to His riches in Glory in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Prayer: Father, in Jesus’ Name, we take You at Your Word today and ask You to lift our oppression from sickness and disease. You Alone are our Stronghold in oppression. We will worship You and tell among the peoples Your amazing deeds of answering our prayers! Amen!
The ‘religious’ Jews plot murder!
Scripture reading for February 27th: Acts 25, Psalm 41, Proverbs 10
Acts 25: 1-5 “Now three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, asking as a favor against Paul that he summon him to Jerusalem–because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way. Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. “So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.””
Paul considered himself a ‘prisoner of Jesus Christ.’ Paul knew that God had sent him to Jerusalem and that he also would go to Rome as well because the Lord Jesus had spoken to him. But the ‘religious’ leaders of the Jews had their own plots in mind. More than 40 men had pledged an oath to neither eat or drink until they had killed Paul. Religion may appear to be legitimate, but hearts that are not humble before God but proud and manipulative are being controlled by the devil. God watches over His people in every situation to work out everything for His good and His purposes. Paul’s imprisonment and this conflict enabled Him to witness to Roman authorities in Caesarea and to be taken to Rome for ministry and the government protected him and footed the bill.
Psalm 41:11-12 “By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me. But You have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in Your presence forever.”
Prayer: Father God, thank You for delighting in Your people and protecting them from enemies bent on destruction. You are the One who spins over me in delight and brings me into the rest of Your righteousness and joy. You are my stronghold in trouble and the One who will ultimately bring justice. Use me and my humble trust in You to bring Your Word of salvation to those who are lost and dying.
Proverbs 10:28-29 “The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish. The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless, but destruction to evildoers.”
God is my Stronghold!
Scripture reading for August 9th: 2nd Corinthians 10, Psalm 9, Proverbs 5
Key Scriptures: 2nd Corinthians 10:3-6 “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war in the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”
Paul knew the pressures of the world that he and the Corinthian believers lived in. The flesh and culture appealing to the outer man brought conflict in the thought life of the inner man requiring powerful weapons to combat them. Paul advised and practiced bringing his thought life and consequently his fleshly man into subjection by focusing on obeying Christ and His powerful Word. By the power of the Word and Spirit, each person could be victorious over the strongholds of worldly thinking.
Faith Confession: The weapons of my warfare are powerful through God for the pulling down of strongholds. I bring every thought into obedience to Christ and His unfailing Word with the help of the Holy Spirit. God is my Stronghold!
Psalm 9:9-10 “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know Your Name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”
God my “Stronghold”
Scripture reading for April 11: 1st Samuel 20-23, John 5
Key Scriptures: John 6:28-29 “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”
Jesus told His disciples that He would be the source of resurrection and eternal life. His voice would bring people out of their graves. But not everyone would enjoy eternal life, some who had done evil would suffer judgment and eternal punishment. God knows how to protect His people and punish those who do evil!
1st Samuel 23:14 “And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.”
Prayer: Father, thank You for the promise of resurrection life and reward and Your protection in this life. Help me to live in faith and make You my “Stronghold”. Amen.
Conquering a stronghold!
Scripture reading for March 4th: Joshua 6-8
Have you ever faced an impossible situation? My life has been a series of various impossible situations that God has brought me through and as I look back, I am amazed! One such situation was a crisis of debt in my personal life. My wife and I had started a farm business from scratch with the help of my father. We had borrowed money and found ourselves nearly $600,000 in debt in 1981. The farm economy took a turn for the worse and we had purchased land in 1979 for $2000 per acre. By 1982 it was only bringing $600! The interest rate went from six percent to sixteen percent! I saw many farmers lose farms because of this crisis. We turned to the Lord in repentance for our bad decisions and asked for help. By following instructions for seven years, we became debt-free!
In our reading today, Joshua faced a tough, walled stronghold just inside the “promised land”. As he contemplated what to do, he met up with an interesting person who identified himself as the “commander of the army of the Lord”. Joshua removed his shoes as sign of holy respect and listened for instructions. The battle plan for this stronghold included all the Israelites. They must march around the city each day for six days. (Joshua 6:2 -5) The Ark of God was to lead the procession with seven priests carrying trumpets. On the seventh day, they were to march around seven times and the priests were to blow the trumpets. As the Israelites completed the journey in obedience, there was a loud trumpet blast and a great shout by the people. The walls fell out! (Joshua 6:20)
It is important to seek the Lord when facing a stronghold. Ask for wisdom! (James 1:5-8) Listen closely! Be strong and full of courage and act on what He says. Note that God saved Rahab, the prostitute because of her obedience in gathering her family into the room in the wall and tying the red cord to the window! (Joshua 6:22-23) God is in the saving business and loves to give victory! Face whatever stronghold is in your life today with courage and confidence! The Lord will bless you with a victory!
Conquering strongholds!
Scripture reading for March 3rd: Joshua 6-8
My life has been a series of various impossible situations that God has brought me through. One such situation was a crisis of debt in my personal life. My wife and I had started a farm business from scratch with the help of my father. We had borrowed a lot of money and found ourselves nearly $600,000 in debt in 1981. The farm economy took a turn for the worse and we had purchased land in 1979 for $2000 per acre. By 1982 it was only bringing $600! The interest rate went from six percent to sixteen percent! I saw many farmers lose farms because of this crisis. We turned to the Lord in repentance for our bad decisions and asked for help. In seven years of following instructions, we were debt-free! We are still shouting about this victory!
In our reading today, Joshua faced a tough, walled stronghold just inside the “promised land”. As he contemplated what to do, he met up with an interesting person and asked him who’s side he was on. The answer “neither” was curious. Joshua removed his shoes as sign of holy respect when asked by the Lord and listened for instructions. The battle plan for this stronghold included all the Israelites. They must march around the city each day for six days. (Joshua 6:2 -5) The Ark of God was to lead the procession with seven priests carrying trumpets. On the seventh day, they were to march around seven times and the priests were to blow the trumpets. As they completed the journey, there was to be a loud trumpet blast and a great shout by the people. God promised that the walls would fall!
It is important to seek the Lord when facing a stronghold. Ask for wisdom! (James 1:5-8) Listen closely! Be strong and full of courage and act on what He says. Let God lead the way. Follow Him closely and shout the victory when the walls fall! Also note that God saved Rahab, the prostitute because of her obedience in gathering her family into the room in the wall and tying the red cord to the window! God is in the saving business and loves to give victory! Face whatever stronghold is in your life today with courage and confidence! The Lord will bless you with a victory!