Elaine Campbell

 '...Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me' (Isaiah 27:5). Christ is the strength and power of God. He is our Rock of defence and a strong tower whom we can run to and be safe. By our faith in Christ, we attain righteousness - His righteousness. Therefore, we ought to look to Him and take hold of His strength, believing there is no other name by which we can be saved. The Scripture tells us that, "...Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus  Christ" (Romans 5:1). It is Christ that we lay hold of, not ourselves and He shall make peace by the blood of His cross; we then shall see ourselves as reconciled to God and be at peace with Him. We may obtain God's peace by seeking His protection, by submitting our will to Him, laying hold of His strength and in turn be save. God is our Defense and will defend His people, that no weapon formed against them will in no way pr

 'My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayers unto thee, and will look up' (Psalm 5:3). Our God is awesome, powerful and mighty and is worthy to be praise. You must purpose in your heart each day to start it waiting for His direction. You must lay your requests before Him each morning when you rise up and wait expectantly for His direction. The Psalmist, direct his prayer to God each morning and made known to Him his requests; He wait patiently with expectancy  for God's direction. David, was a man of prayer who trusted the Word of God. He prayed with expectation that God would answer his prayer. Day by day he discovered that the mercies of God were new every morning and how great was His faithfulness. When we know God we will trust in His word, delight in His laws and meditate day and night on its truth. We will experience the joy of meditating on His word as we direct our thoughts toward Him. Each morning when we are awake we m

 'For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation' (Roman's 10:10). When one accepts Jesus as their Saviour and Lord, it is with their heart they believe and is justified and declared righteous by God - meaning they are cleared of all charges against them. It is our faith in Christ that leads to salvation and it is both personal and internal. It is with our mouth that we express our faith in Christ as a result of what's happening in our heart leading us unto salvation.  We must have a willingness to confess the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in Him by faith, as the One whom God has sent to die for our sins. It is God alone who knows the thoughts and intent of the heart. He knows if our faith in Him is genuine, if we believe in His Son, who died for our sins, was buried and rose again on the third day, according to Scripture. Confession of Christ is as necessary to our salvation as our faith in Him. That is, faith

 'By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments' (1John 5:2). Jesus said if we love him we ought to keep His commandments.  A willingness to obey His Word is one of the test of our love for God. In the Garden of Eden, it was not so much the fact that Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit from the tree of life that was the issue, but it was God's test of obedience forbidding them to do so. They completely failed the test. Christ demonstrates His love for the Father by His obedience to Him and  calls us to do the same. Our willing obedience to do His will and a genuine love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, is the test of our love of God. Jesus loved us and gave His life for us; and if we walk in the way of God's love and live a life filled with His love, we would be doing the will of God. We must realise that we cannot do this of ourselves without the power of the Holy Spirit within us. We have to humbly submit to the lead

 'Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face   continually' (1 Chronicles 16:11). The Lord Almighty is our refuge and strength. He is our Maker and each one of us are created uniquely for his purpose. It was sin that separate us from God and his presence and through Christ we have been restored to Him. The text reminds us of the importance of seeking God. It is a faithful reminder that our strength is found in him, that our grace is from his loving presence and our hope is in seeing him face to face one day. When we know God we want to be near him and to be in His presence. We should look to the Lord always for direction and not follow our own path. It behoves us to reflect on the presence of God and his glory; to talk of his wondrous love and works in our homes, our place of work, our schools and social gatherings. It is important to speak more of His wondrous work then we do of men's work. We seek and worship the Lord because He is full of joy and strength; because of

 'Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me' (Micah 7:7). In Christ we have freedom. We receive the free gift of salvation by faith in Him; being redeemed by His precious blood we have hope of eternal life. Our journey in this world is not an easy one without Christ. We will stumble and fall along the way, but we have to get up and just keep going, allowing the Holy Spirit to direct our steps day by day and hour by hour, looking to Jesus the reason for our existence.  Micah challenged Israel to turn from their sinful ways, their path of destruction and look to God. He warns them of the consequences of not doing so. Christ as called His faithful people to warn the world of the sinful path they are taking, to put away evil and self and look to Him their Saviour before it is too late. We also must be mindful of not falling prey to the enticement towards worldly pursuits and be influenced by worldly and ungodly things of the w

 'Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you' (Isaiah 35:4). We are living in the last days of earth's history. We see the signs foretold of these final days happening before our eyes. Men's hearts are failing them for fear; leaders and people alike are confused and crippled with fear. Jesus is soon to come! Those who trust in the Almighty God will not fear because Christ is with us and in us. He promised in His Word to strengthen and help us in these times. We are commanded to pray without ceasing, study and search the Scriptures that testify of Him; to get ready for His second coming, calling men and women to their sense of danger of not accepting Him. There are some of God's people who are hasty of heart, inconsiderate of the promises of God or may even be having doubt in the word of God. We are to encourage them to be strong in faith, fear not the

'For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is a storm against the wall' (Isaiah 25 4). O Lord our God, be thou exalted above the heavens, and let your glory fills the earth! Lord you are worthy of all our praise and we acknowledge that there is none like you. God's people who are poor and needy in a physical and spiritual sense, look to Jesus for strength and refuge. Especially when they are afflicted; been persecuted by men and experience afflicted circumstances. The Lord God is there strength. He will direct his peole to Christ, in whom is strength and righteousness. He will strengthen our hearts  with His love, when we are in these situations and allow us to experience His power. Christ will not be only our strength, but our refuge - in a place of safety. He will keep us safe from the storms of discord and despair that rage around us; the flood 

 'My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord' (Psalm 104:34). Communication is a necessity of Life!  It is needed in order for interaction between people. It is not a one way process. So when we speak to God, we need to listen to what He has to say to us. Many a time we just have a one way conversation with Him, not stopping to listen to what He has to say and miss His important answer to our prayers. We must spend time with the Lord through His Word, in prayers, in praise, in quiet moments to hear Him speaking to us, and in quiet meditation. We can meditate upon God for His faithfulness; His love; His mercies; on His work of creation; as our Saviour and Redeemer. We can contemplate His wonderful grace and reflect upon His word of truth. In so doing He recognised that our hearts are resting on the sure foundation of peace and hope. No one knows our hearts but the Lord. He knows the thoughts of our minds, whether good or evil. He knows if our hearts are trul

 'The works of the Lord are great, sought out all them that have pleasure' (Psalm 111:1). When we love God we will obey him and seek to delight in His handiwork which is so great. The works of the Lord are great! When we look at His creation we marvelled; we stood in awe of the wonders of it all, at the immensity and variations of the works of his hand. In nature, we see the mountains with its different contours; the great oceans and seas ebbing and flowing to the command of God; the plants, flowers and fruits in their varieties and blend of colours; the function and facilities of the various animals; and man, the crowning jewel created wonderfully and beautifully in the image of the Creator, of which we cannot fathom the make up of the human body and function. We see the works of the Lord in his providence, as ruler of the whole universe. How great is the works of the Lord? We cannot fail to behold God's infinite wisdom and power in all of creation and His providence, or e

 'A friend loveth at all times but a brother is born for adversity' (Proverbs 17:17). A true friend loves at all times, in good circumstances and during difficult times and great hardships. Jesus shows us what it means to be a true friend and a loving brother in the expression of "a friend who is willing to give up his own life for a friend" - giving up his own desires and needs for his friend's.  A true friend never fails to be honest and sincere, correcting you in love and with sensitivity, because he loves and wants the best for you. A friend who loves at all times will give wise counsel and encouragement to enhance your spiritual growth; will have a genuine interest in your well being and will be there in times of adversity and prosperity. True friends will not leave you when there is a change in your condition and stay afar off from you. Christ was a friend to all men; he was a friend to His church to publican and sinners, calling them to repentance because H

 'Let brotherly love continue' (Hebrews 13:1). When we have a personal  relationship with Christ, we will genuinely love our brothers and sisters without a doubt. Jesus in John 15:12 says, "This is my commandment, that he love one another, as I have loved you." When we think of Jesus' love for us, it takes us back to Calvary and what He has done for us; even further before the very foundation of the earth, we were thought about. Our love for one another is a living power that grows from our love for God. It should lead us to be sincere and selfless, spurring us to action. John express the love we should have towards each other, "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" (1John 4:20). When we love our brethren as Christ loves us, we will pray for each other; bear each other burdens;  we would forbear and forgive each other. We would  adm

 'Til we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ' (Ephesians 4:13). Accepting Jesus as our personal Saviour from our sins is the best investment we could ever hope to make in our life. We are justified by our faith in Him on our acceptance of Him, and from that moment onwards begins the process of sanctification.  This process does not cease until we all come together in the Christian unity, spiritual maturity and the conformity of Christ, unto that day when He returns for us. The Lord Himself, has prepared a way for us to unite in faith, to grow in grace, to attain a full knowledge of Him by furnishing each believer with spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit bestowed upon us different gifts and talents to compliment and equip us for His service. Beholding   Christ, we become change and want to characterise His life; His love; His kindness; His compassion; His holiness an

 'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance' (Luke 5:32). The Jews in criticising Jesus for associating with Publicans and sinners, trusted in themselves and thought they were righteous than these people. Jesus response to their self-righteousness was, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."  We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. It means we are all sinners in need of a Saviour and that there is none, not one who is righteous. It is only through the righteousness of Christ that we can become righteous. As sinners, we all need to repent of our sins to meet the standard of righteousness God requires. We must not see ourselves better than others, because  Christ has paid the price for all of us - sinners. We ought to be thankful that God's love for us is so great that He gave up His only Son to die for us, that we can be  saved. We should be thankful that Jesus came to call us by His grace to repentance, that

 'In your patience possess ye your souls' (Luke 21:19). In the last days we will suffer afflictions, persecutions and be reproach of men. We will be betrayed even by our own families and friends, as they hand us over to our persecutors to save themselves.  God is saying to us, that we should be patient as we bear these burdens and afflictions, by possessing peace and joy in our souls which no one  cannot take away. Our hope and life is in Christ Jesus, and when we hold steadfast unto him, allowing the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and work through us; we will let nothing disturb our peace  or distress our soul. In isolation, it may seem daunting and a difficult task to be joyful and enjoy ourselves in such dire circumstances. However, when Christ is in us the Holy Spirit will empower us and give us the endurance and perseverance to enjoy our souls. The Word of God said, "...we shall be hated of all men for my name's sake; but he that endureth to the end shall be saved&quo

 'Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates unto the city' (Revelation 22:14). The commandments of God will not save us, but it points out our sins and transgressions, directing us to the One who can. Christ died for all, His precious blood was shed for all mankind to save them and reconciled them back to the Father. When we accept Christ believing He is the Son of God, we are justified by our faith in Him and our lives are transformed. As we live for him each day allowing the Holy Spirit to  work in us and through us, the process of sanctification is taking  place. We have a duty to be obedient to God, keeping His commandments and His precepts, aligning our will with his. We cannot do this of our own strength, but in the strength of Christ our Saviour and Lord. We need to acknowledge our imperfections and recognise our righteousness is like filthy rags; that it is only through Christ's righte

 'He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not' (John 1:10). Jesus the Creator of the world, came down to earth with one purpose in mind, and that was to save mankind. God was present in the form of His Son and the world didn't recognise him. Jesus Christ was the Light of all light and illuminated the whole world, but the giver of light was rejected by men. John said, "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not." How sad and heartbroken that must have been? Think about a child who rejects his parents, who did and give all they could to that child. He has made it big in the life and don't want to associate with them. Think of how heartbroken the parents would be. Well Jesus the Saviour, did all He could to save man from their sins; The Father's love for man, watch His only Son died  to give us life and hope eternal. How it pained His heart when we rejected Him, His knowledge and His Word.

 'Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy' (Psalm 33:18). God's eye is upon everyone, but is directed specially to all who fear him. We need not fear anything else!  We should learn to fix our eyes on Him in faith, as we hope in his mercy. As we walk in the fear of the Lord, the Holy Spirit will bring comfort to us and cheer our hearts. With gladness we will praise the Lord, having a sense of purpose as we lift our hearts to Him with joy and sensing His great love for us. The Lord watches over us; He guards us from danger when we fear and trust Him. He is indeed our security and provider; He knows our wants and needs; He sees our danger and protects us. He is our Saviour who has the power and ability to deliver and save us. Who then can be liken unto our God? The answer is, no one! "The eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him." The eye of His providence protects us from danger and supply us with the necessities o

 'And of some have compassion, making a difference' (Jude 22). The Lord our God is  compassionate and full of love for His people and is admonishing us to be the same for one another. God expect us to  show mercy and possess a caring compassion towards others, even to those who doubt His truth, or those who are not seeking His truth. Instead of having a judgemental attitude or anger towards them; God is saying 'Of some have compassion, making a difference.' When we show mercy and compassion; dealing patiently and with love, to those who may have been exposed to errors that could be detrimental to their salvation, but yet not totally susceptible to those teaching, we can make a difference, through the bidding of the Holy Spirit. Our kind and gentle manner may influence their decision to turn to God. While Jesus was on earth, He touched the hearts of the vilest of men, turning them into saints. His love and mercy and compassion, even when reprimanding them, captivate the

 'And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name is one' (Zechariah 14:9). The Lord our God in One - the triune God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is Sovereign and incomparable and there is none like Him. He is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent - Almighty, All-powerful and Ever-present and He reigns victoriously. In that day Jesus himself - the Incarnate Son of God will burst the clouds of heaven, as He make His appearance back to this earth. He is coming back as the King over all the earth and will be seen as the One and only true God. Every tongue shall confess Him as Lord and King and will worship and glorify Him. What a glorious day that will be! So which side are you now leaning on? May it truly be the Lord's side, because woe to the inhabitants of the earth who reject Him, when He returns as King of kings and Lord of lords, filling the earth with His glory; they will indeed be lost for ever. We ought to rejoice

 'Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken' (Jeremiah 13:15). The Lord is saying to us Listen and pay attention to Him. We should not be haughty; or lift ourselves above others in thinking we are better than them, or even dare to lift ourselves against God. If we do we shall not prosper and there will be dire consequences.  Whenever God speaks to us, we have a choice to respond in pride or humility. We can choose to reject or resist Him or humble ourselves before Him. It is in our interest to choose to be humble, because humility is the first step to obedience. This is to say, we acknowledge we are nothing without God and ascribe to Him his due benevolence. God through the prophet Jeremiah had a message for Israel. He called them to pay close attention, not disregarding what God is saying by thinking it was unimportant. If they behave proudly and not hear the Lord, it would be to their own detriment. God is speaking to us today, through His Son, Jesus Chris

 'God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect' (2 Corinthians 22:33). We all encounter difficulties, hardships and temptations at some point in our lives. Maybe for some of us on a daily basis. But it is our total reliance on God that will see us through these trying times. It is times like these we recognised that God is present; that He is right by our side. He is our strength and our present help; our power and strong tower; our way maker who makes our way perfect. Isn't God good to you? Then be thankful to Him always; align your will to His will; rejoice in God's goodness, having a heart ready at all times to praise Him for His goodness. It is in difficult times that we become overwhelmed and are in  need of a helping hand. Jesus is near us, bidding us to come to Him with all our burdens and difficulties. We can overcome these difficulties when we allow  God to clear the way; to go through that path He has open up for us. We must follow His word, keep