Day 182: "In Safekeeping"

1 Samuel 22:23

1 Samuel 22:23 ESV "Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping."

Days 180 and 181: "Never Again"

Zephaniah 3:13-15English Standard Version (ESV)

     those who are left in Israel;
they shall do no injustice
    and speak no lies,
nor shall there be found in their mouth
    a deceitful tongue.
For they shall graze and lie down,
    and none shall make them afraid.”

 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
    shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
    O daughter of Jerusalem!
 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
    he has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
    you shall never again fear evil.

DAY 173-179: "I Will Bless The Lord"

Psalm 34:4-11 English Standard Version (ESV)

 Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

 ...

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
    and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant,
    and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
    and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps
    around those who fear him, and delivers them.

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
    for those who fear him have no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

11 Come, O children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Day 172: "Choose"

Proverbs 1:28-31 English Standard Version (ESV)

28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
    they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge
    and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 would have none of my counsel
    and despised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
    and have their fill of their own devices.

Day 171: "A Great and Awesome God"

Deuteronomy 7:21 English Standard Version (ESV)

 You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.

Day 169-170: "When God Arose"

Psalm 76:6-9 English Standard Version (ESV)

 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
    both rider and horse lay stunned

But you, you are to be feared!
    Who can stand before you
    when once your anger is roused?
 From the heavens you uttered judgment;
    the earth feared and was still,
 when God arose to establish judgment,
    to save all the humble of the earth. Selah

Day 168:"Your Daughter"

Mark 5:35-36 English Standard Version (ESV)

So, today is Father's Day, which is hard for me. I wish I could tell you that spending the day praising my Heavenly Father, God was my first thought but I had plenty of moping ideas for this afternoon. Not having a dad around on Father's day is kinda like being single on Valentines Day, even when you know that God is enough, there's a whole day dedicated to celebrating this one type of person and talking about how important His role is. 

Despite the temptation to spend the day in self pity, sending needy emails and texts, God kept reminding me to spend time with Him, so eventually I flopped down on my bed with an open Bible and started to pray about some different things that have been on my mind. As I glanced at the pages next to my head, I recognized my favorite word in the English language, daughter. (I'll be sharing about why that's my favorite word on Never Fatherless soon) It seemed applicable, so I sat up and read Mark 5:21-43. I made an effort to read slowly, taking in the details provided and imagining myself in the shoes of Jairus, a Synagoge ruler, as he asked Jesus to heal his daughter and then had to wait while Jesus healed His daughter. That's right, when Jesus stopped after healing a woman, He called her "Daughter". I wondered how that struck Jairus. Mark doesn't tell us much about his feelings but here's what I imagine: Jairus is overwhelmed with relief and excitement when Jesus agrees to come and heal his daughter. He's frantically leading Jesus to his home in hopes that they will arrive in time for Jesus to heal his daughter before she dies. Then Jesus stops; he asks who touched him. Really, Jesus? Jairus thinks, My daughter is on deaths door step. I don't have time for this! And now this woman is crying at His feet and... Jesus calls her daughter. Maybe now Jairus understands. It was his father's heart that made him so anxious for his daughter to be healed and as it turns out, it was Jesus' father's heart that wanted this woman to be well, and stopped to bless her even after she was healed. Maybe that's why Jesus called her daughter, not only for her sake, that she would catch a gimps of His love but also so that Jairus could understand why He stopped, not because He didn't understand a father's love and desire for his daughter to be well, but because He does. This is when today's verse comes in:

While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”

I'll let you read the rest of the story straight from the Bible in Mark 5:21-43. It's so good!!!!! Jesus was a loving father to everyone in this story. 

I realized even more today what a truly good father God is!

Happy Fathers Day!

-L.

Days 162-167: "Fear Not, Little Flock"

Hi friends! Both L. and I are going to be gone at different camps serving this week, so we're posting a set of verses ahead of time for y'all to read and be encouraged with. This passage from Luke 12 is so heavy with encouragements from Jesus not to worry because the one who holds us knows what will happen and promises to take care of us! I pray it encourages you; I challenge you to meditate on it daily with me this week, trusting Jesus for our needs.
Love you guys! -M.

Luke 12:1-34 (ESV)

"In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first,"Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops. but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. "I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. "And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." But he said to him,"Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?" And he said to them,"Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." And he told them a parable, saying,"The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry."' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God." Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Day 161: "Come and Hear"

Psalm 66:16English Standard Version (ESV) 

Come and hear, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell what he has done for my soul.

Day 160: "Make Your Vows"

Psalm 76:11-12

Psalm 76:11-12 (ESV) "Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them; let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared, who cuts off the spirit of princes, who is to be feared by the kings of the earth."

Day 159: "One Heart and One Way"

Jeremiah 32:38-41

Jeremiah 32:38-41 (ESV) "And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul."

Day 158: "Above All gods"

Psalm 96:4-5 English Standard Version (ESV)

 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
    he is to be feared above all gods.
 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.

No one is more powerful than God. The weight of others opinions don't even compare to His. Only God is worthy of your fear.

-L.

Day 157: "Who Goes Before You"

Deuteronomy 31:8 English Standard Version (ESV)

 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Day 156: "We Persuade Others"

2 Corinthians 5:10-11 English Standard Version (ESV)

 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.

Day 155: "The Prayer of Your Servant"

Nehemiah 1:11 English Standard Version (ESV)

 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

Now I was cupbearer to the king.

Day 154: "Far From Oppression"

Isaiah 54:11-14 English Standard Version (ESV)

 “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
    behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
    and lay your foundations with sapphires.

I will make your pinnacles of agate,
    your gates of carbuncles,
    and all your wall of precious stones.
 All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
    and great shall be the peace of your children.
 In righteousness you shall be established;
    you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
    and from terror, for it shall not come near you.

Day 153: "For You Will Not Be Ashamed"

Isaiah 54:4-5 English Standard Version (ESV)

 “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;
    be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
    and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
 For your Maker is your husband,
    the Lord of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
    the God of the whole earth he is called.

Day 152: "I Myself"

Genesis 46:3-4 English Standard Version (ESV)

 Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.  I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes.”