He Will Rescue!

“The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (2 Timothy 4:18 NIV)

How could Paul state with such clarity and definitiveness that The Lord would rescue him when he knew his life was in jeopardy at the hands of an evil ruler (Nero)?

First we have to understand what “rescue” means–to free or deliver from confinement or liberate. How does rescue take place? Sometimes, in a way that we would not normally see or define it, but we must remember that our ways are not God’s ways, neither are our thoughts, His thoughts. So, when we define anything–it may not match God’s definition. Was Paul rescued? Absolutely! He was liberated from his physical body to be with The Lord!

As hard as it is to accept–sometimes healing and deliverance are achieved through a person’s physical death–when they are saved! I’m not saying this to be “hard-hearted” but to demonstrate that God’s method of healing, deliverance and rescue or not necessarily the methods we would choose, but when we trust Him, we have to know–He knows best.

This is not to say that people who kill people deliberately are acting on God’s behalf. They are fools and God will have the final word about them.

As it pertains to Paul–he understood that whatever a man sows, that only only can he reap. He understood that what he had done before belief, still had consequences and he knew without a doubt–that he would reap what he had sown. He understood that God’s forgiveness does not negate the consequences of our actions.

What do the rest of us have to look forward to? The Lord will deliver us from every evil thought or plan devised by those who do not know Him! How He chooses to deliver us is up to Him, but do not doubt–that He will deliver us.

When we pray for someone to be healed or delivered from illness and disease, when or if they die–they are no longer suffering from whatever plagued them. Sometimes, we pray amiss for those we love. Rather than watch them suffer, we can pray that God delivers them from their illness and pain and release them in our hearts and God will receive them, healed and delivered! It’s okay to mourn, but if someone you know has suffered any illness for a long time–rejoice in their rescue! Hallelujah!

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Help in Every Situation!

“My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!” (Psalm 121:2 NLT)

I know a number of people who are always looking for someone to come to their rescue, when they need help. Some people are gifted to help others–whether with a kind word, encouragement, or comfort–whether with financial contributions, or other tangibles--the gifting comes from The Lord.

When we are in Relationship with God, Holy Spirit speaks and we hear and obey and do what The Lord tells us. It is The Lord speaking to people to “help” others that keeps us going, no matter how dire the situation might be.

Some people think–“God helps those who help themselves” is scriptural when it is not. God never designed us to live independent of Him–He wants us dependent on Him and through Him, He speaks and we obtain the help we need.

When I see suffering in other countries because the leadership in those countries are too greedy to help their own people, I pray that God will give the leaders a heart of compassion. After all, if they are too blinded by their own greed that people starve and die needlessly, the suffering of the people shall be on their heads.

While I admire those in this country who have hearts as large as the universe and who are always giving, I often wonder just how much of what is given is actually reaching those in need. When corrupt leadership smacks its lips and rubs its grubby hands at the mere thought of obtaining more riches through the auspices of the kindhearted, are the needs of the people really served?

I am not against helping those in need and have–with The Lord’s guidance–given far beyond my means to help others, but it is only when I hear The Lord speaks–not the commercials–designed to tug on hearts. I have–with careful observation and through prayer for truth–detected deception in much of the public service announcements. One only needs a discerning spirit to notice.

We have to remember–that it is The Lord–who is our provider and He will also provide for others through us, when He speaks to our hearts. It is He who is our help in every situation and since He is not a respecter of persons, will He not help others who are open to hearing Him?

Lord, in every country, region, state, city,  and village all over this world, speak to the hearts of leaders and create in them a heart of compassion to see to the needs of their people. Let every decision in every situation be a result of direct counsel from You and not dependence by deceptive means. Only You, Lord can change the landscape of every heart and see that no one who loves You, shall be hungry or thirsty or in need of shelter, ever again. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen!

We Are Protected!

“The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.” (Psalm 91:14 NLT)

Many of us find ourselves in need of being rescued from various situations in life–car breakdowns, relationship breakdowns, financial breakdowns, and some even from fire or water hazards. Most of those rescues could have been avoided if we had simply made wiser decisions and not put our trust in people or things.

Sometimes, we think we know what we’re doing when we purchase certain types of things, but when we do not maintain the things, they will break down on us.

Sometimes, we think we know what we’re doing when we decide where to work or with whom we get into relationships, but then we realize we have made a mistake and we either get fired or get so frustrated we quit the job and end relationships.

How about this–let’s seek God for every decision we have to make and trust His judgment and guidance in our lives! When we trust Him, we won’t have to worry about making wrong decisions.

If we listen to Holy Spirit, He’ll remind us when to get the oil checked, the tire pressure checked, and other regular maintenance on a car. He’ll whisper in our ears when we’re in the wrong places trying to seek employment. He’ll also tell us when we’re with the wrong people–if we listen.

Loving Him, and trusting Him puts us in a good position to be protected by Him and we can avoid the need for being rescued. However, if our love for Him is real, He will rescue us from ourselves and yet protect us from the unwise decisions we make.

Being in a relationship with God does not mean that we have reached perfection, but it does mean that we should be mindful of those things of which He’s trying to warn us. When situations occur over which we have no control, He will rescue us!

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have His protection than the best insurance money can buy. He can do things and protect us from things that cannot be equated with monetary value. He deserves my trust and love beyond any other because It is He who gives me life and reason to keep going forward.

“I really love The Lord! Way back on Calvary, He gave me the victory and I really love The Lord!”

Hope For The Lost!

Holding out hope for the lost can be time consuming and frustrating, but worth it when rescue occurs.

Unless we have had our heads buried in places that have kept us from hearing or seeing recent events unfold in the news, we have to understand the joy of the families who have just had returned to them, those who they thought were lost.  Three women–physically rescued–from their captor who had been thought dead after a decade of losing hope, are now free to enjoy life as God intended.

Do we dare hold onto the hope some of us have for the “spiritually lost” that no matter have long they have been lost, there is hope for a rescue?

Until the end comes for them in the natural state of death or Jesus returns–we must continue to hold onto hope–for a rescue for lost loved ones who are being held captive by the enemy of their souls. There is someone out there who is willing to go the extra mile to secure rescue–is it you?  We can rescue the lost–spiritually–by our conduct and love towards those who need to know and understand God’s love for them.  Our lifestyle should be witness to them, our hope a life-line, and our faith the door to which Jesus can enter in and rescue their souls.

There are many who are lost–either physically or spiritually–and we can rejoice in their rescue–either physically or spiritually–as the angels in heaven rejoice over every soul who is rescued from the fiery pits of the enemy’s domain–free to enjoy life as God intended.  Rejoice and never lose sight of hope!