An "Other-Worldly" Book! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Revelation 1:17-18,

"Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."

The apostle John had heard a loud voice behind him, a loud voice like a trumpet. It told him to write some things for the seven churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum,Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

When he turned to look he beheld a breath-taking scene of Jesus Christ in all his glory, "I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance." Verses 12-16.

As John beheld this astonishing vision, he tells us he fell down as though he were dead. Jesus reached out to him, placing his right hand on John and uttered the words  above. It is the Savior, Jesus Christ! The One who holds "the keys of death and Hades." He was dead and now he is alive for ever and ever!

Although John knew Jesus well, having been a part of his group of disciples that spent years with him, and although John, along with his brother James and Peter had seen Jesus in all his glory on what we refer to as the Mount of Transfiguration (see Matthew 17:1-13), he was so stunned with Jesus that he needed to be told who he was.

This vision takes place many years after Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension into heaven. The time had come where Jesus now appeared to John to bring him a vision of revelation from God. We are told in verse 1 that God the Father gave this revelation to Jesus, and that Jesus made it known to John by sending "his angel". Today, as we read this book of Revelation, John now makes it known to us.

The book of Revelation seems so "other-worldly" precisely because it is other-worldly! It is communication from God himself to us, from the precincts of heaven to those of us here on planet earth!

Could there possibly be anything more fascinating than what we may expect to find in this book?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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God Brings Wonderful Things! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 3 John 11-12,

"Anyone who does what is good is from God… Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true."
 
I don't know who Demetrius was but I know a few things about him. As we all come into this world, he started life as someone who had a sinful nature and indulged that sinful nature as we all do - as slaves to it. He was a condemned man subject to the judgment of God as a member of the human race and unable to live life in any manner pleasing to God.
 
At some point in his life, some faithful brother or sister in the Lord shared with him the gospel message: as a sinner and enemy of God he could embrace Jesus Christ in faith, have his sins washed away, be forgiven of any wrong-doing and become a child of God. As a child of God he would receive eternal life, inherit all that heaven will bring us as a co-heirs of Jesus Christ, be indwelt with the Holy Spirit, be freed from slavery to his sin nature and have freedom to live a life both worthy of and pleasing to God (and did!).
 
How wonderful that faithful brother or sister was that shared the gospel with Demetrius. But how much more wonderful our loving and merciful God is that brought these things into Demetrius' life!! So much so that Demetrius will be eternally remembered, being captured in God's word, as "one who is well spoken of"!
 
My point isn't that Demetrius was a wonderful person. He was and received John's endorsement as one who was "from God", one who did "what is good". My point is that God is wonderful and has touched the lives of many like Demetrius over the ages, including you and me! That we should be called someone who is "from God" and someone who does "what is good" is just astonishing and only possible by the wonderful things God has brought to our lives!
 
What a God he is!!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Presence of The Truth - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 2 John 1-3,

"The elder, To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love."

I count 4 times in John's (the "elder" as he introduces himself) salutation to "the lady chosen by God and to her children" where he mentions "truth."

There is some discussion as to whether the "lady chosen by God" was a reference of John to a fellowship, or, on the other hand, a specific believing mother with her children. Nevertheless, that has little bearing on what John has to say in this short letter. The lady is chosen, whether referring to a fellowship or a specific sister in the Lord, because of her embrace of the Lord.

John says he loves the lady and her children in truth, or "the truth". He also points out that all who know the truth love her and her children as well. This love, he says, springs from "the truth", that is, because of the truth.

John says the truth lives in us and will be with us forever. He goes on to say in his benediction for her at the end of his salutation that the grace, mercy and peace he invokes for her and her children from the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ, "will be with us in truth and love."

We can see clearly that the apostle John was mindful of and had a great appreciation for truth, or "the truth." We live in a day where a vicious and violent pretense against the very existence of truth is promoted. "There is no truth" we hear, or "That is your truth, not mine", or "truth is whatever you make it to be", etc. I'm sure you have heard much the same. In a bit of humor, I always like to ask a denier of truth whether what he says is truthful or not.

As a believer for many years now, it is hard for me to envision what it was like before I came to know Jesus Christ from the standpoint of not knowing truth. In embracing Jesus Christ through the gospel message, I, as all believers do, became immersed in truth. The gospel message itself is a truthful invitation founded in truth. It introduced me to One who claimed to be truth itself. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life." John 14:6a.

Becoming a child of God, I now had at my disposal a revelation of God himself in the prophetic writings of Scripture, my Bible, 2 Peter 1:20-21. Sixty-six books of unadulterated truth!

In John's first letter he points out that the unsaved are lost in a darkness, they stumble about and have no clue as to where they are going because the darkness has blinded them - they do not have the truth!

Today I worship my God who has brought truth that shines brightly in the darkness! "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned." Isaiah 9:2. Truth has come and exists amongst us!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.  

God Only Asks That We Trust in Him! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 John 5:1a,

"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God…"

This is really astonishing to me as I look at things from a "bird's eye" perspective!

In Genesis three I read of Adam and Eve, our progenitors, turning their backs on the God who created them. God told them if they ate from the tree in the garden or even touched it they would die. Rather than taking God at his word, Eve and then Adam rejected what God had to say and followed the serpent's suggestion. Paul's observation on this act is found in Romans 5:12, 16b, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned… The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation…" As Adam's offspring, we are now under condemnation as we all face death in the judgment of God. Adam and Eve were given fair warning by God, they turned their backs on him anyway, and it resulted in death for them as well as all their offspring.

"But…" as Paul wrote Titus, in 3:4-5, "when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy." And just what does he require of us to be saved from our eventual certain deaths? To simply believe in him! To simply acknowledge the existence of our creator (imagine that!) and what he has to say. As John puts it in his gospel, 1:12, "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."

As I say, to me this is just astonishing! Look at it from God's perspective… having given us existence, he now asks those he has created to acknowledge his existence! Having provided truth and light in his creation he now asks us to believe in him! Having sent his Son to die a miserable death to pay for the penalty of our sins, that is, to satisfy his own sense of justice, he asks us to believe in him!

I just find it truly remarkable! He could have asked us to measure up to certain standards, that he would take only the best, the brightest, the most beautiful, the most talented of us to be his. He might have established standards of behavior for us to earn our way into eternal life, to demonstrate we really "deserve" it. But he doesn't. He holds his arms out to us and simply asks us to believe in him!

I don't think that is too much for our creator to ask of us! What do you think?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 John 4:16b,

"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."

Just what is meant by "living in God"? John here is providing us an insight that only those who love know God, so "whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."

I suspect that many of us have differing perceptions of what it means to "live in God." Some may view living in God as living a life that God finds acceptable, "good behavior" so to speak. Moral and ethical behavior, "victory" over the particular sins or temptations one finds himself beset with. Others may view living in God as having done a great work for God as in participating in establishing a mega-church sized fellowship complete with multimillion dollar facilities, a successful praise and worship band, etc. Or possibly establishing a missions board that fields workers in third world countries spreading the gospel message.

While these kinds of things might demonstrate hard work and zeal for the gospel and reflect efforts to do those things thought to be pleasing to God, my thoughts drift elsewhere this morning as I consider what it means to live in God. It seems to me, to live in God is life itself. Living in God to me carries the notion of living life in a "God-centric" framework as opposed to "me-centric" – what I accomplish, what I am doing. Life in God seems to me to be not so much about me, my accomplishments and what I do but more about God – who he is and what he does, his purposes, his desires, his joy. Not that what we do is not important. After all, it is the things we do that express what is in the heart. Heartfelt love and devotion to God finds its expression in the things we do for him.

To live in God seems to me to be tuned into God himself. I suspect many of us have known those who have done things for God but for some reason don't seem to experience an intimacy with him, even as they set themselves to a task for him. Maybe we have been that person at times in our own lives. I know I have. Living in God surely carries the idea of knowing what God is thinking as we immerse ourselves in his self-disclosure of himself to us in the pages of Scripture. Communing with him in prayer in a way that we begin to sense, as we are guided by the Scriptures, what he might be feeling about things. We grieve when we sense God is grieved over something. We rejoice when we encounter that which we know brings joy to God's heart. We desire what it is that God desires, not just for ourselves but for him and those around us.

John presents living in God as a fact, not a goal, not something to pursue. Either we live in God or we don't. Either we belong to God or we don't. From what John says here, we as believers do live in God and if we can take a break in beating ourselves up for a moment, I think we all would acknowledge that our hearts are drawn hopelessly to him. We love and adore our Savior and it is he we seek to please, it is his desires we are drawn to and his purposes we long to labor at. Truly our lives are lived in him, we live in God and he lives in us!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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We Are Called Children of God! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 John 3:1a,

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"

As I think of my participation in the kingdom of God many thoughts come to mind. In some ways I can liken it to membership in other organizations where I am "accorded the rights, privileges and responsibilities thereto." But, as we all know, our participation in the kingdom of God is so much more than that.

We consider ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ. We are followers of him – his students. We think in terms of ourselves as God's servants, belonging to him and hopefully available for his purposes to serve him and one another. As the subjects of God's kingdom we populate his kingdom and participate in his objectives. Jesus told his disciples, "You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:14-15. And, so, we consider ourselves "friends" of Jesus Christ.

All these things we are, but there is much more! Here John exclaims that we are called children of God! Jesus told Nicodemus, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." John 3:3. In 1 John 3:9 John makes a point that we have been "born of God". It is hard to miss the excitement in John's voice as he says, "How great the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God!"

This word the translators have used in this verse in the NIV says it so well, "lavished". God has "lavished" his love on us by calling us his children! The online Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "lavished" as "expending or bestowing profusely; expended or produced in abundance; marked by profusion or excess". John, in his excitement, claims that our God has poured out his love on us profusely by calling us his children!

How wonderful is this! Paul tells us in Romans 8:29, "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." To be considered as a brother or sister of Christ strains my ability to consider and yet that is told me what we are! In this same chapter of Romans in verses 16-17a we read, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ…" Wow!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Jesus Christ: Our Defense from God's Judgment! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 John 2:1,

"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One."

It is before our Heavenly Father that we are culpable for our sins. He tells us in Jeremiah 9:24, "I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight." Not just kindness but also justice and righteousness. In Revelation 20:15 we read, "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." This is the payment for sin. As we are told in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death."

But Jesus taught us in John 5:24, "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." This is how our names are entered into the "book of life". Those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith are now, and forever will be, free from the consequences of sin. We still face physical death as our bodies are yet to be redeemed (see Romans 8:23-25) but we now celebrate our eternal life because Jesus Christ has become the sacrifice of atonement for our sins.

John tells us here that if we do sin, if we disappoint God, ourselves and others, we have One who speaks to the Father in our defense. He has paid the penalty for all of our sins. John goes on to say in verse two that Jesus Christ is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Paul also tells us in Romans 8:31b-34, "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."

Jesus Christ speaks to the Father in our defense! Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us! Paul also tells us in Romans 8:26 that the indwelling Holy Spirit is also interceding for us! What a team we have on our side! He keeps us from falling and will present us before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy! Jude 24.

How could there be any more wonderful news than this?!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Eyewitness Testimony! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 John 1:1-3,

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ."

A lot of folks have a lot of ideas about just who Jesus Christ is… who he was during his earthly ministry. Some, just following his time on earth, felt he was God but only seemed like a man. Their theology at the time precluded the notion of God in human flesh as their perspective was that anything of the physical must necessarily be evil and so God could not really have become a part of physical existence. He only "seemed" to have. 

Other folks, today, acknowledge he was a gifted moral teacher as a man, but not really God who could perform the miraculous. Were they to acknowledge that Jesus Christ was God in flesh, it would necessarily impinge on the moral choices we are all faced with. If Jesus Christ be God then we are to be held accountable to him relative to his teachings for the things we think, do and say.

One of the many wonderful things I love about God is that he has provided eyewitness testimony about himself! We don't have to be lost in a muddled fog as to who or what we think Jesus Christ is. John claims what he has to say is rooted in the fact that he heard Jesus Christ! He saw Jesus Christ! He touched Jesus Christ! Now he proclaims him and passes on to us what he knows of him! Our Heavenly Father has a Son, Jesus Christ, and our fellowship is with them if we have embraced him in faith. Not a "blind faith", but a trust and confidence rooted in eyewitness testimony!

Our God has provided us this eyewitness testimony as he knows many of us need it in order to wrestle with those doubts we are challenged with at times. He has provided all we need for life and godliness! How wonderful our God has revealed himself to us through his Son Jesus Christ. As the writer of Hebrews claims, "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." Hebrews 1:1-3.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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God-Made Global Warming - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and
majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him today and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Peter 3:7,

"By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire,
being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly."

The political left has been pushing the meme of mankind's destruction
of the earth through unfettered capitalism. Global warming used to be
the big concern (now it is simply "climate change") - where a fraction
of a degree in a number of decades will melt the glaciers, the polar
caps, raise sea levels, destroy beachfront property and all the rest
of it.

Peter has a different concern. The fate of this world will not be
determined by the perceived excesses of mankind's productivity and
economic success, but by mankind's sinfulness. And we are not talking
about a fraction of a degree.

Peter tells us a fire is coming. A big one! This present earth is
"reserved for fire" and this at the hand of God for his day of
judgment and destruction of the ungodly. The "ungodly" are those who
reject God in this present age and bring this catastrophic episode of
"global warming".

Peter tells us, "The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements
will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it
will be laid bare." Verse 10. He goes on to say in verse 12, "That day
will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the
elements will melt in the heat."

This, my friends, is real global warming!

Peter asks a very poignant question in verse 11, "Since everything
will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?" I
think this is a very pertinent question. His answer, "You ought to
live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and
speed its coming." Verses 11-12.

I don't know about you, but man-made global warming is hardly a
concern given what is headed our way with God-made global warming!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

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me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are
receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply
and let me know.

Know the Scriptures! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Peter 2:3,

"In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories."

In Peter's observation of the false teachers that will come, he notes they exploit God's people. How are these false teachers able to exploit believers?

Peter says two things about false teachers: they "introduce destructive heresies",  and they display "depraved conduct", verse 1. As such, the predetermined and unavoidable future for these false teachers will be an eternity spent in hell, verse 9.

Peter describes these teachers as those who exploit people with lies, who follow the "corrupt desire of the flesh", they despise authority, they are bold and arrogant, they "heap abuse on celestial beings", they blaspheme, they have "eyes full of adultery", experts in greed, etc.

How are such people able to exploit God's people? In chapter three, Peter says he wrote because he wanted to remind us of "the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles." 2 Peter 3:2. This was Peter's purpose in writing. He wanted us to be spared of being exploited by these false teachers and his remedy is to remind us of the Scriptures!

As believers in Jesus Christ, it is not enough to go to church on Sunday and listen to a message by someone who has spent the week studying God's word. We need to be that person who studies God's word ourselves. All of us. Getting it second hand just isn't going to do it

And, if we ever develop the conceit that somehow we can spot the false from the true when it comes to teachers without spending time in the Scriptures ourselves, we are going to find ourselves at odds with Peter and his concerns for us today.

Paul could not have put it more clearly, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Both Peter and Paul implore us all to be studying the Scriptures for ourselves. When we don't, we ought not fool ourselves: we become available to the exploitation by false teachers. Do not let yourself be left in that position! Know the Scriptures and be equipped!

May we all open our Bibles and discover God's truth!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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All We Need For Life and Godliness - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Peter 1:3-4,

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."
 
Jesus Christ has revealed himself to us in his word, the Bible. He has also given us the Holy Spirit who dwells within each of us and who illuminates our hearts and minds as we spend time in his word. Here, Peter tells us that through our knowledge of him, his power gives us everything we need for life and godliness. Over the years I have heard plenty of folks tell me I needed something in addition, that I need some experience or someone's program or some other teaching.
 
But I read in 2 Timothy 3:15-17, "… you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
 
I want the "Real McCoy". I don't want to be side-lined chasing down the rabbit trails of other people's good ideas. This morning I am in appreciation of how simple our Lord has made our walk with him. His way provides for participation in the divine nature and provides escape from the evil desires of the world and its corruption. Our simple walk with him directed by his word (our knowledge of him) provides for "very great and precious promises" and will result in "a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
 
How wonderfully our Lord has provided for us everything we need for life and godliness!!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Casting Anxiety - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Peter 5:7,

"Cast all your anxiety on him [God] because he cares for you."

Here is a wonderful reminder. We all have issues in our lives that cause concern, and depending on their importance or what they can lead to... they can also lead to anxiety and worry.

Merriam-Webster tells us anxiety is an apprehensive uneasiness or nervousness usually over an impending or anticipated bad thing. We can often find ourselves in this lost and fallen world that is estranged from God fretting over these anticipated things we concern ourselves over.

Here, however, is a wonderful reminder from Peter: God cares for us! In that God does care for us, we know that even the bad things we may encounter in this life, he will work to our good! As Paul contemplated the painful things we may encounter in life, he said, "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28.

Here is a wonderful encouragement from Jesus, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom." He said this as he exhorted his disciples not to worry or be anxious about the things in life.

Since God has the power to make things happen, and since he cares for us, what is there that we cannot find relief from by casting our anxiety and worry on God with?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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