God protects His own!
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
It should be a scary thing to go against God’s people.
Micah 7:8 8
Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;
When I fall, I will arise;
When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me.
The age of Grace and the salvation given to the Body of Christ was gifted to mankind in Jesus Christ.
Philippians 4:7 (ESV) "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Paul implored the Philippians to imitate his own practice of prayer and faith in Christ (Philippians 4:9). Paul told the Philippians to "rejoice" (Philippians 4:4) with confidence that God would act on their behalf. Prayer begins with an acknowledgment of God's faithfulness to intervene in our lives. Due to the nearness of God, Paul encourages us not to "be anxious about anything" but to approach "everything by prayer" (Philippians 4:6). Paul counsels us to take everything before God "with thanksgiving," an attitude of gratitude that He hears and will answer according to His perfect will (Philippians 4:6).
Finally, pursuing God in prayer comes with the promise that "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7). First5
I can “hear” the invitation of grace.
I can “hear my song”—and the dance (empowered by grace) that unlocks my heart, and the extraordinary gift of being restored to myself.
The arms and hands of grace, that...
...remind us we are beautiful, when we feel ugly.
...tell us we are whole, when we feel broken.
...give us the power to dance, even when we feel shattered.
...allow us to take a step, even when we feel stuck, or shut down. Sabbath Moments
The apostle Paul said, “Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life” (Galatians 6:4-5 MSG).
Before Thomas Merton followed Christ, he followed money, fame, and society. He shocked many of his colleagues when he exchanged it all for the life of a Trappist monk. Many years later a friend visited the monastery and could see no important difference in him. “Tom, he said, “you haven’t changed at all.” “Why should I? Here,” he said, “our duty is to be more like ourselves, not less.”
You know, God never called you to be anyone other than you. But he does call you to be the best you that you can be. The big question is: at your best, who are you? Max Lucado
Isaiah 8:9–10
9 “Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Give ear, all you from far countries. Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces; Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces. 10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; Speak the word, but it will not stand, For God is with us.” The New King James Version
The nations would do the will of God, but in turn would be destroyed. The Lord would defeat the purposes of Judah’s enemies; all their counsels would come to nothing. The Child whose name would mean God is with us was a sign not only of the destruction of Syria and Israel but of all of God’s enemies, including Assyria. The NKJV Study Bible
The prophet challenges the enemies of the Jews. Their efforts would be vain, and themselves broken to pieces. It concerns us, in time of trouble, to watch against all such fears as put us upon crooked courses for our own security. The believing fear of God preserves against the disquieting fear of man. If we thought rightly of the greatness and glory of God, we should see all the power of our enemies restrained. The Lord, who will be a Sanctuary to those who trust in him, will be a Stone of stumbling, and a Rock of offence, to those who make the creature their fear and their hope. If the things of God be an offence to us, they will undo us. The apostle quotes this as to all who persisted in unbelief of the gospel of Christ, 1Peter 2:8.
The crucified Emmanuel, who was and is a Stumbling-stone and Rock of offence to unbelieving Jews, is no less so to thousands who are called Christians. The preaching of the cross is foolishness in their esteem; his doctrines and precepts offend them. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Job 5:12
He frustrates the devices of the crafty,
So that their hands cannot carry out their plans.
Isaiah 7:7
thus says the Lord GOD:
“It shall not stand,
Nor shall it come to pass.
Isaiah 8:8
He will pass through Judah,
He will overflow and pass over,
He will reach up to the neck;
And the stretching out of his wings
Will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.
Isaiah 17:12
Woe to the multitude of many people
Who make a noise like the roar of the seas,
And to the rushing of nations
That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
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