Author: Kristi Wilson

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God Delivers

I feel compelled to bring you another message on deliverance today. Yesterday we saw how the Lord delivered Israel from the Philistines using a shepherd boy and five smooth stones.

Many years later there was another king in Judah, his name was Jehoshaphat. He honored the Lord.

“Jehoshaphat followed his father’s example and obeyed and worshiped the Lord. And so the Lord blessed Jehoshaphat 5 and helped him keep firm control of his kingdom.” II Chronicles 17:4-5 CEV

But some years later three armies came together and waged war on Jehoshaphat. He brought the nation together and they prayed for God’s guidance and deliverance.

“the Lord says that you don’t need to be afraid or let this powerful army discourage you. God will fight on your side! 16 So here’s what you must do. Tomorrow the enemy armies will march through the desert around the town of Jeruel. March down and meet them at the town of Ziz as they come up the valley. 17  You won’t even have to fight. Just take your positions and watch the Lord rescue you from your enemy. Don’t be afraid. Just do as you’re told. And as you march out tomorrow, the Lord will be there with you.18 Jehoshaphat bowed low to the ground and everyone worshiped the Lord. ” II Chronicles 20: 15-18 CEV

Now let’s jump to the end of the story.

“Listen my friends, if we trust the Lord God and believe what these prophets have told us, the Lord will help us, and we will be successful.” 21 Then he explained his plan and appointed men to march in front of the army and praise the Lord for his holy power by singing: “Praise the Lord! His love never ends.”

22 As soon as they began singing, the Lord confused the enemy camp, 23 so that the Ammonite and Moabite troops attacked and completely destroyed those from Edom. Then they turned against each other and fought until the entire camp was wiped out! II Chronicles 20:20-23 CEV

The Lord delivered them from their enemies. Their weapons were obedience and praise. The Psalms tell us that God inhabits the praises of His people. There is something about heart-felt praise that brings the power of God into our circumstances.

Now one last statement on this battle.

“ When the other nations heard how the Lord had fought against Judah’s enemies, they were too afraid 30 to invade Judah. The Lord let Jehoshaphat’s kingdom be at peace.” II Chronicles 20:29-30 CEV

I cannot repeat often enough how faithful the Lord is. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. These aren’t just nice stories; they are examples of God’s faithfulness to the people who love Him.

“ I did not give up waiting for the Lord. And He turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up out of the hole of danger, out of the mud and clay. He set my feet on a rock, making my feet sure. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and will put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:1-3 NLV

I confidently say, trust God – He delivers!

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To the Rescue

For the last three mornings I have awaken with the these words filling my heart, “I will rescue you”.

The words come from a song I hear frequently on Pandora. It’s sung by Lauren Daigle, Rescue.

“I hear you whisper underneath your breath
I hear your SOS, your SOS

I will send out an army to find you
In the middle of the darkest night
It’s true, I will rescue you
I will never stop marching to reach you
In the middle of the hardest fight
It’s true, I will rescue you

I hear the whisper underneath your breath
I hear you whisper you have nothing left

I will send out an army to find you
In the middle of the darkest night
It’s true, I will rescue you
I will never stop marching to reach you
In the middle of the hardest fight
It’s true, I will rescue you

Oh, I will rescue you”

I have dear friends and family who are going through some very trying times. Their emotions are raw, their sleep has been stolen, anxiety is high, and they need to know that the Lord has not abandon them. He’s here saying, “I will rescue you”.

Yesterday I wrote about perspective. David facing Goliath was one of the examples that I used. The odds of success seemed insurmountable in the natural way of thinking. The entire army of Israel had been sidelined with fear.

But God.

” 36 I have killed both a lion and a bear; and as your servant I will kill this uncircumcised Philistine, too, since he has dared to taunt the armies of the living God. 37 The Eternal One, who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine… 45 You come to me carrying a sword and spear and javelin as your weapons, but I come armed with the name of the Eternal One, the Commander of heavenly armies, the True God of the armies of Israel, the One you have insulted. 46 This very day, the Eternal One will give you into my hands. I will strike you down and cut off your head, and I will feed the birds of the air and the wild animals of the fields with the flesh of your Philistine warriors. Then all the land will know the True God is with Israel,” I Samuel 17:35-46 VOICE

David’s enemy was huge, but God was greater. Goliath was an “uncircumcised Philistine”. This phrase is crucial to the story. You see, when God promised Abraham that He would be the God of Abraham’s descendants, the Israelites, the promise was sealed with a blood covenant of circumcision. That way, Israel would always be aware of the promise God had made them.

God has also made a promise to us.

“ Let us go with complete trust to the throne of God. We will receive His loving-kindness and have His loving-favor to help us whenever we need it.” Hebrews 4:16 NLV

“I always look to you, because you rescue me from every trap. 16 I am lonely and troubled.
Show that you care and have pity on me.” Psalm 25:15-16 CEV

These are God’s promises. Listen to His words, “I will rescue you!”

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What Do You See?

Perspective! It’s important to keep a proper perspective when going through a tough time. If we begin to look to closely at the situation it will begin to seem overwhelming. It’s important to pull back and look at things the way God’s see them.

The children of Egypt saw a sea too big to cross; God saw a stream and damned it up. Saul’s soldiers saw a giant too big to conquer; David saw a man who was no match for God. Noah saw a world filled with corruption and a devastating flood; God saw a cruise ship of salvation.

What is your perspective? Do you see things as hopeless, do you see defeat?

“God, hear my cry for help. Listen to my prayer. 2 From a faraway land I call to you for help. I feel so weak and helpless! Carry me to a high rock where no one can reach me. 3 You are my place of safety, a strong tower that protects me from my enemies. 4 I want to live in your tent forever. I want to hide where you can protect me. Selah” Psalm 61:1-4 ERV

“I must calm down and turn to God; only he can rescue me. 2 He is my Rock, the only one who can save me. He is my high place of safety, where no army can defeat me.” Psalm 62:1-2 ERV

Satan saw Jesus as a dead man, buried in a tomb but God saw the resurrection!

Don’t be discouraged or disheartened. Put your hope in God!

“I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more and more hope, and it will flow out of you by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 ERV

What do you see? Keep a godly perspective!

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Sunrise – Sunset

I hope you forgive me for being a little later with my blog this morning. Dave and I have been sitting on the patio, visiting and enjoying our morning coffee. You see, it’s a beautiful morning. 66 degrees, unusually cool for this time of year. The dove, quail, cardinals and sparrows have come to feed and are quite entertaining.

Did you have a good day with your friend, God, yesterday? I did. I’m so glad He’s in control and I’m not.

Every night the stars and the moon come out and every morning the sun comes up. To some that may seem like a monotonous repetition but to me that’s hope!

“Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same.” James 1:17 ERV

Hope that God is faithful to bring the end to one day and to bring new life to start the next. Without God’s presence we can be without direction and purpose or worse yet we try to become our own god and that means that we are responsible for making everything happen, making everything work out right and it’s simply not in our power to do so.

However, when we give up living for ourselves and find our life in Christ we can have rest from this vicious cycle of dependence on self. In Christ, we are promised a new and abundant life; life filled with joy, peace, love, forgiveness and grace.

“But we know that no one is made right with God by following the law. It is trusting in Jesus Christ that makes a person right with God. So we have put our faith in Christ Jesus, because we wanted to be made right with God. And we are right with him because we trusted in Christ—not because we followed the law. I can say this because no one can be made right with God by following the law…I died to the law so that I could live for God. I have been nailed to the cross with Christ. 20 So I am not the one living now—it is Christ living in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God. He is the one who loved me and gave himself to save me.” Galatians 2:16-20 ERV

Dave and I were talking about a friend we have who we know would do anything he possibly can for anyone of his friends if they had a need. He’s just that kind of person. If a human can have that kind of character then God definitely can and does.

We should never doubt the kindness and goodness of our heavenly Father. In Christ we have been made right with Him; in Christ we have new life and in Him we have the power to live a life of purpose.

Let the sunrise and the sunset serve as a daily reminder of His faithfulness and His unchanging character.

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Amazing Friend, Amazing Grace

Do you ever just sit and ponder how much God loves you?

At first it can be uncomfortable because your mind will tell you, “He can’t really love you. Look at all you’ve done. God loves people like the pastor, Franklin Graham, Mother Theresa but really, He just puts up with you. He loves you because He loves the world but really, it isn’t anything personal and specific to just you”.

Well, if you’ve ever heard those words or something like that, that’s a lie straight from the pit of hell!

God LOVES you. GOD loves you. God loves YOU! Yes, Jesus loves me – the Bible tells me so!!

As I sit here this morning, once again, soaking in God’s love I felt prompted to re-read one of my favorite chapters in Romans.

“Right With God

5 We have been made right with God because of our faith. So we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through our faith, Christ has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are very happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory. 3 And we are also happy with the troubles we have. Why are we happy with troubles? Because we know that these troubles make us more patient. 4 And this patience is proof that we are strong. And this proof gives us hope. 5 And this hope will never disappoint us. We know this because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts through the Holy Spirit he gave us.

6 Christ died for us when we were unable to help ourselves. We were living against God, but at just the right time Christ died for us. 7 Very few people will die to save the life of someone else, even if it is for a good person. Someone might be willing to die for an especially good person. 8 But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us.

9 We have been made right with God by the blood sacrifice of Christ. So through Christ we will surely be saved from God’s anger. 10 I mean that while we were God’s enemies, he made friends with us through his Son’s death. And the fact that we are now God’s friends makes it even more certain that he will save us through his Son’s life. 11 And not only will we be saved, but we also rejoice right now in what God has done for us through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is because of Jesus that we are now God’s friends.” Romans 5:1-11 ERV

Right with God, peace with God, loved by God, friends with God. Soak that in! We were once His enemies but now we are His friends, by this God showed how much he loves us.

When I ponder how much the Father loves me I must also stop and consider how He wants me to love my enemies. He loves my enemies and He sees value in them because He created them the same as He did me. The same loving Christ that died for us, died for them.

Knowing God’s love for us will change our hearts to be more loving toward others.

I hope you have time to sit quietly after reading this. Sit quietly and hear our Father whisper in your heart, “I love you. You are my friend!”

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My Hiding Place

When I sat in the peaceful quiet of the morning, I heard my heart say, “Lord, I trust You”. Nothing earth shaking, nothing causing any fear or anxiousness, just a resolute confidence. I trust You!

And then I went to my Bible and read. There was the confidence of Samuel, Elisha, David, Jairus and the woman who had a chronic bleeding issue. They all said the same thing in one way or another. “Lord, I trust You”.

Years back there was a praise song that we sang quite often. The lyrics began to run through my mind on an endless loop. They still are. You Are My Hiding Place.

You are my hiding place
You always fill my heart
With the songs of deliverance
When ever I’m afraid
I will trust in you
I will trust in you
Let the weak say
I am strong,
With the strength of the Lord

These lyrics come from the Psalms.

“That is why your loyal followers pray to you while there is still time. Then when trouble rises like a flood, it will not reach them. 7 You are a hiding place for me. You protect me from my troubles. You surround me and protect me, so I sing about the way you saved me. Selah

8 The Lord says, “I will teach you and guide you in the way you should live. I will watch over you and be your guide.” Psalm 32:6-8 ERV

Those people I was reading about this morning – Elisha, Samuel, Jairus and the woman – all felt weak in one way or another. They all faced circumstances that seemed overwhelming but instead of letting fear control their situation, they said “Lord I will trust in You”.

“People of Israel, descendants of Jacob, you may be weak and worthless, but do not be afraid. I myself will help you.” This is what the Lord himself says. “I am the Holy One of Israel, the one who saves you.” Isaiah 41:14 ERV

Do you feel weak or afraid? Then go to your hiding place, the Lord God, and say, “I trust You”.

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Trust and Obey

It was a delight to wake up again this morning to the sound of rain falling on the roof. Thank you Lord!

Everywhere I read in my Bible today, I found lessons on trust. The demon possessed man who trusted the Lord and was set free (Mark 5). The four lepers who trusted God with their lives when they headed to the Syrian camp (II Kings 7) and even the Philistines who trusted the Lord to take the plagues out of their cities when they returned the ark of covenant to the nation of Israel (I Samuel 6).

Trust in the Lord and obedience to His word brings deliverance to everyone, no matter who you are or what your circumstances are.

And the last place I was reading is one of my favorites. A set of Scriptures that I re-read regularly and have for many years.

“Please hurry, Lord, and answer my prayer. I feel hopeless. Don’t turn away and leave me here to die. 8 Each morning let me learn more about your love because I trust you. I come to you in prayer, asking for your guidance. 9 Please rescue me from my enemies, Lord! I come to you for safety. 10 You are my God. Show me what you want me to do, and let your gentle Spirit lead me in the right path. 11 Be true to your name, Lord, and keep my life safe. Use your saving power to protect me from trouble. 12 I am your servant. Show how much you love me by destroying my enemies.” Psalm 143:7-12 CEV

I love this line – each morning let me learn more about your love because I trust you!

It reminds me of the old hymn we would sing in church. Trust and Obey

“When we walk with the Lord

In the light of His word

What a glory He sheds on our way

While we do His good will

He abides with us still

And with all who will trust and obey

Trust and obey

For there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus

But to trust and obey”

Trust and obey.

In simple terms, we raise our children to obey us, their parents. Isn’t it only logical that we do the same with our heavenly Father?

The Lord’s plan is certainly the best and there is no one, NO ONE, who is more trustworthy than He!

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The Sound of Refreshing

This morning as I finished my prayer time and was getting ready to write I was still wondering what I should share.

Then I heard it – it grew louder – the sound of rain on the roof! Praise God this is what we’ve been praying for. Our desert is dry and so, this is the sound of refreshing.

“The Lord your God commands you to love him and to serve him with all your heart and soul. If you obey him, 14-15 he will send rain at the right seasons, so you will have more than enough food, wine, and olive oil, and there will be plenty of grass for your cattle.” Deuteronomy 11:13-15 CEV

My instinct is to go outside and watch it rain, like a little child I like standing in the rain but first I will finish with these thoughts from the Psalms.

“You are my God. I worship you. In my heart, I long for you, as I would long for a stream
 in a scorching desert. 2 I have seen your power and your glory in the place of worship.
3 Your love means more than life to me, and I praise you. 4 As long as I live, I will pray to you.
5 I will sing joyful praises and be filled with excitement like a guest at a banquet.

6 I think about you, God, before I go to sleep, and my thoughts turn to you during the night.
7 You have helped me, and I sing happy songs in the shadow of your wings. 8 I stay close to you, and your powerful arm supports me.” Psalm 63:1-8 CEV

If your heart has been dry and your emotions seem parched; the fruit of peace has withered then I encourage you to enter into praise. Praise the Lord for all He’s done in the past and what He will do in your future.

But also praise Him now for sending spiritual rain and refreshing at the right time to your dry and thirsty land.

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Stand Strong

Today I’m going to ask that you make this blog interactive. At the end of this writing I’m going to ask you to stand up – physically, stand up! Keep that thought in mind and read on.

The Bible is very specific in asking us to stand. We’re going to look at a few of those verses. Knowing where to stand is just as important as standing.

“To end my letter I tell you, be strong in the Lord and in his great power. 11 Wear the full armor of God. Wear God’s armor so that you can fight against the devil’s clever tricks...13 That is why you need to get God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil, you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing.” Ephesians 6:10-13 ERV

Life has its battles for sure. But God has given us His promises of strength and power to succeed in the battles and the storms. Jesus compares our lives to a house built on a firm foundation, a house that stands strong in the storms.

“Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock. 25 Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and winds beat against that house. But it was built on solid rock, and so it did not fall.” Matthew 7:24-25 CEV

The book of Mark tells us about a physical storm that Jesus and the disciples were in. Look at what Jesus did.

“A very bad wind came up on the lake. The waves were coming over the sides and into the boat, and it was almost full of water. 38 Jesus was inside the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The followers went and woke him. They said, “Teacher, don’t you care about us? We are going to drown!”

39 Jesus stood up and gave a command to the wind and the water. He said, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind stopped, and the lake became calm.” Mark 4:37-39 CEV

Here we see physical winds and waves, like the ones that were beating against the house on the rock. Jesus STOOD UP and took control. The wind ceased and the waves subsided.

Now, I have one more set of verses to share with you before we take our stand.

“I pray that his Spirit will make you become strong followers 17 and that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. Stand firm and be deeply rooted in his love.” Ephesians 3:16-17 CEV

We are never asked to stand in our own strength. We are to stand on God’s word, in the armor He provides and to stand firm in His love!

Our Father will never leave us to stand alone. Physical storms or spiritual attacks we can be victorious. Now, join me and Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus!

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Better Than Sacrifice

How hard is it for you to forgive? Sounds like a loaded question doesn’t it?

Last week Dave and I heard a heart-stirring message on forgiveness. I think I do a good job not holding a grudge or offense. It seems to be easy to forgive, for the most part. But then an old memory comes to mind and I get all churned up inside. I go to the Lord and lay it at his feet, again.

When we look at forgiveness from a strictly personal, human perspective it can seem almost impossible to forgive some and easy to forgive others. It all depends on how deeply we have been hurt or wronged.

Forgiveness seems to be based on our feelings and we often don’t want to take responsibility for letting them go.

In this morning’s reading Jesus was teaching on this very thing.

“Jesus said to his disciples: There will always be something that causes people to sin. But anyone who causes them to sin is in for trouble. A person who causes even one of my little followers to sin would be better off thrown into the ocean with a heavy stone tied around their neck. 3 So be careful what you do. Correct any followers of mine who sin, and forgive the ones who say they are sorry. 4 Even if one of them mistreats you seven times in one day and says, “I am sorry,” you should still forgive that person.

5 The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Make our faith stronger!’

6 Jesus replied: If you had faith no bigger than a tiny mustard seed, you could tell this mulberry tree to pull itself up, roots and all, and to plant itself in the ocean. And it would! 7 If your servant comes in from plowing or from taking care of the sheep, would you say, “Welcome! Come on in and have something to eat”? 8 No, you wouldn’t say that. You would say, “Fix me something to eat. Get ready to serve me, so I can have my meal. Then later on you can eat and drink.” 9 Servants don’t deserve special thanks for doing what they are supposed to do. 10 And that’s how it should be with you. When you’ve done all you should, then say, “We are merely servants, and we have simply done our duty.” Luke 17:1-10 CEV

Jesus talked to his disciples about forgiveness. They tried to make it a “faith” issue. Jesus quickly refuted that and told them they didn’t need more faith – even a small amount of faith was sufficient to make earth moving changes.

What he did talk to them about was their obedience. Verses 1 through 5 don’t seem to tie together with verses 6 through 10 but read it again and you will see the correlation. Jesus starts in verse 6 telling them their faith is sufficient and then immediately goes into a teaching on obedience, the obedience of a servant.

The disciples, servants of Jesus, are being challenged to obey what the Master has said. Forgive!

Take forgiveness out of the realm of feelings and place it where it belongs – it is an act of obedience! We don’t need to struggle with doing something we are commanded to do. Just obey!

“ But Samuel answered, “Which pleases the Lord more: burnt offerings and sacrifices or obeying his commands? It is better to obey the Lord than to offer sacrifices to him. It is better to listen to him than to offer the fat from rams” I Samuel 15:22 ERV

Obey because it’s what the Father has instructed us to do. Obey and know that we have done our duty as a servant of the most high God.

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