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He Will Give You Strength
Andrea Lende • October 11, 2020
I Corinthians 1:8
He Will Give You Strength
You can also listen to the meditation and prayer at: https://anchor.fm/andrea-lende/episodes/He-Will-Give-Your-Strength-ektjm8
I Corinthians 1:8
“And He (Christ) will establish you to the end [keep you steadfast, give you strength, and guarantee your vindication; He will be your warrant against all accusation or indictment so that you will be] guiltless and irreproachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).”
I take comfort in our verse today.
There are days I feel a little shaky and unsure of myself.
I am thankful that, according to this verse, Jesus will keep me secure on my path.
The Amplified Bible further expands the definition of the word establish to mean steadfast.
Being steadfast means to be steadily directed and unwavering.
While I may feel a bit wobbly at times, I can depend on the Lord to keep me steady and solid on a firm foundation.
The word establish also means the Lord will strengthen us.
As we face the difficult days of now and those ahead of us, I find myself getting overwhelmed and then weakened by the enormity of it all.
Paul tells us that Jesus will provide us with strength.
There is no man or spirit stronger than our Savior.
He walked firmly and determinedly to the cross.
So, I can depend on Him for all the strength I need.
Our verse also says that Jesus will vindicate us.
He will be our “warrant against all accusation or indictment so that you will be guiltless”.
There are hardly words that describe this gift.
We are guiltless in His sight.
No accusations will be held against us.
I am so grateful Jesus willingly gave His life for us so that we may be found guiltless.
Even today we are able to go to the throne of God Almighty and be seen as clean and white as snow.
We do not have to wait until we go to heaven.
We can sit with the Lord at any minute of every day we live here on this earth.
How fortunate are we to be in relationship with the Creator of the universe?
Today I am thankful for the sacrifice of Jesus; that He willingly left the perfection of heaven to live on this earth and gave His life on the cross to save us from certain death.
May you find that Jesus makes you perfect, whole, and complete in God’s sight as you accept His sacrifice for you.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for sending Your Son to this earth to live and die for all mankind so that we may be saved from our sins and be made perfect for You. Thank You for Your plan to make us right with You even after man fell from Your grace. You could have left us to ourselves, but You didn’t. You reached down and made a way for us to know You and be loved by You. You sent Your Son so that we can be seen by You and be in relationship with You. Thank You, Lord, for caring for us so much that You would let Your Son leave heaven and temporarily leave You. Thank You for caring for us so much that You would allow Him to be the Lamb Who was sacrificed for all mankind for ever and ever. Lord, I pray You will soften the hearts of Your people and all those whom You have called to be Yours. May we kneel before You, Father, and give our whole hearts to You. May we be filled with Your love so we can love others. Have mercy upon us, Lord, and keep us as Your own. Help us bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing our prayer.
Answer: I have a plan and have called My people to Me and opened their hearts to hear me.
Response: May we heed Your call, Father.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.