“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion, your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world, are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And, after you have suffered for a while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen!”

Would you depend on Jesus when you are going through a rough time? I do! “I would have the Savior with me, for my faith at best is weak, he can whisper words of comfort that no other voice can speak. I would have the Savior with me, in the onward march of life, through the tempest and the sunshine, through the battle and the strife. I would have the Savior with me that his eye the way may guide, till I reach the vale of Jordan, till I cross the rolling side.” Thank you, Lord!

“You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law, you have fallen from grace.” Am I talking to anyone this morning?  If am I talking to you, know that you are not alone. All of us who have been saved, have fallen in one way or the other, and we question ourselves saying, “When we did not know God, we served those which by nature were not gods, but, after we were made joint heirs with Christ, after we had been redeemed, how is it, that we turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which we desire again to be in bondage?” My brothers and sisters in Christ, if you are in this situation this morning, be no longer estranged from Christ, but return to him earnestly, you are a child of promise. Stand fast therefore, in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. STAND! Not in your strength alone, but in the strength of Christ.

How many times have you been at the brink of despair and out of what seems like nowhere, light shines in your darkness? God has perfect timing, trust him! We worry so much about everything, but worrying does not change anything, but trusting in God changes everything. My brothers and sisters in Christ, let us learn to thank God for what we have, and trust him for what we need. For when God pushes us to our limits, we should trust him fully; because, he will either break our fall or show us a way out. “God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform, he plants, his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm.” Will you trust him?

There are so many things that we go through, and instead of calling upon the Lord, trusting in his faithfulness, we lose heart and stray away from his judgments. Lord, let your word be a lantern to our feet and a light to our path. Allow nothing that we go through to cause us to lose our way anymore. We are determined to keep your righteous judgments. Help us, Lord!

Too many times we have been disappointed because of one promise or the other that was made to us by our friends, family, or loved ones did not happen. We get angry or upset and that relationship sometimes is broken for life. But, is this the right attitude for us to have? No! Because Psalm 146 reminds us, that we should not put our trust in man who will fail us, but that happy is the man who has the God of Jacob for his help. My brothers and sisters in Christ, our God is not a God who will lie, for whatever promise he makes to us, will come to pass at the appointed time. Therefore, do not take it to heart when our earthly friends fail us, or when they change with the changing years, but, trust in God, whose promises are for life. He who trusts in the Lord, will never be disappointed.

“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, and will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. Fight the good fight, finish the race and keep the faith, for there will be laid up for you a crown of righteousness.”

“Jesus in sickness, and Jesus in health, Jesus in poverty, comfort and wealth, sunshine or tempest, whatever it be; He is my Safety, Jesus for me! He is my Refuge, my Rock, and my Tower. He is my Fortress, my Strength, and my Power; Life Everlasting, my Dayman is He, Blessed Redeemer, Jesus for me! He is my Prophet, my Priest, and my King, He is my Bread of Life, Fountain and Spring. Bright Sun of Righteousness, Daystar is He, Horn of Salvation, Jesus for me! Jesus in sorrow, in joy, or in pain, Jesus my Treasure, in loss or in gain, Constant Companion where’er I may be, living or dying, Jesus for me!” Oh, praise the Lord!

“He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered. The man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed. The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, and shall spread abroad like a cedar of Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the courts of our God, they shall bear fruit in old age, they shall be green and succulent, that they may show how upright is the Lord; my Rock, in whom there is no fault.”

“It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning, and of your faithfulness in the night season. Lord, how great are your works! Your thoughts are very deep. The dullard does not know, nor does the fool understands, that though the wicked grow like weeds, and all the workers of iniquity flourish, they flourish only to be destroyed forever, but, you O Lord, are exalted forevermore”