Be strong in the Lord

Greetings, brethren, I pray all of you are growing closer to God by reading His word and continuing in prayer always; for it is by these two things that we connect with the spiritual realm. It is from this realm that we gather strength to face the realities of this physical world.

Therefore, it is important that we seek to understand what we read in God's Holy word to tap into this strength. To illustrate, lets read Ephesians 6:10, which states, " Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." This verse at first glance seems straight forward- we should stand strong in the Lord and in His might. However, if we stop and take a closer look at what God is saying, we will come to a deeper understanding.

Webster's dictionary defines strong as: to have physical or intellectual power. Strength gives one the ability to endure physical trails and cope with the mental strains of a difficult task. This definition help to spark our understanding of the above verse, but we must seek out the Bible's definition of this concept of strength. According to 2 Timothy 1:7, power or strength is the opposite of fear and is coupled with the spirit of love and a sound or strong, sober mind. These qualities are gifts given by God to His saints. Fear impedes power, because it demonstrates a lack of faith in God's ability to help overcome any difficulty. The Bible states Fear involves torment and the man that fears is not made perfect in love; perfect love cast out fear (1 John 4:18). Fearlessness through faith activates God's power. The life of Moses is an inspiring demonstration of this kind of faith. Read Hebrews 11:23-27, as evidence of this great act of strength. First, Moses parents put their faith in God realizing that their child was a unique child from God. They, through fearlessness and the mental courage to believe, rejected the kings command to drown their child in the Nile river; showing to the world the power of faith to overcome all fear. Years later, when Moses was a mature adult of 40 years, by faith and fearlessness he recognize his destiny as the prophet of God to his people Israel. He also, according to the scriptures, saw the hope coming to Israel and the world by God's messiah: Jesus Christ ( Duet. 18:15-19, Hebrews 11: 25-26). "By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible ( Hebrew 11:27)."
On the contrary, the bible is explicit regarding the fate of the fearful hearted or those not operating in God' gift of power by faith. The book of Sirach 2:12-13 states, " woe be to the fearful hearts, and faint hands, and the sinner that goeth two ways! Woe unto him that is fainthearted! for he believeth not; therefore shall he not be defended." This is an urgent message to take hold of in our current age of wars and rumors of wars. We must not let our minds be overcome by fear or the stress of these times, but look to  the word of God to develop and obtain the power that comes by faith. Romans 10:17 states that faith comes by hearing the word of God. It also states that the preacher or those sent by God are a source for us to hear His word. Yet, let us be noble, and search the holy scriptures for our selves so that we may truly know and not blindly believe ( Acts 17:10-12). If our faith is based on His word, then you and I can  truly experience the power of God in our lives.
We, brethren, have been given a great gift from God: Faith. This Faith will help us to stand strong in the Lord. It will help us like Moses, to walk in strength and fearlessness; no matter the odds we face ( Isaiah 35:4). It is also through the faith that we, who believe, will be able to endure in this great battle of good against evil and gain the victory. This battle is ultimately for our minds, which determines our true allegiances by the choices we make-before us is the choice of life with God or death by following sin(Deut. 30:19-20). I pray that you will join us or continue with us in the faith showing yourself strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

May the light of God shine on you always,

Zarach

Join Us Next Saturday September 21, 2013 @ 11am Eastern
Bible Study Conference line:
Conference Dial-in number: (712) 432-1500
Participant Access Code: 220399#

Spread God's Word-share this