Pocket Thoughts - 3/28/25

God * will help us * pours out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground * is the Rock – there is no other besides Him.

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In Jesus’ day, to refuse a wedding invitation was a great insult. An enormous amount of planning and preparation was involved for the wedding festival, which customarily lasted for several days. The Lord has been preparing a seat for you at the table of His wedding banquet since before the beginning of time. Honor His invitation to be a part of His kingdom family with your humble, joyous, grateful, “Yes, Lord!” – TV

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How do you insulate yourself from fear? What do you put your faith in to avoid facing hard things? Making more money to combat the fear of not having enough? Getting in more trips to the gym in the hope of pushing back the inevitability of aging? Surrounding yourself with crowds of people to avoid loneliness? In the end, the only thing we really need to fear is separation from God for all eternity. When we recognize the futility of our efforts to gain salvation on our own and instead call on the name of the Lord, that fear is dispelled. We find peace, freedom, and assurance. God will meet our needs and conquer our fears – in this life and the next. – TV

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Nothing is more refreshing on a hot summer day than a tall glass of ice water! And nothing is more filling that a dinner plate full of comfort food! As wise stewards of our bodies, we care for and nourish ourselves when we experience thirst or hunger. But are we as attentive to our spiritual thirst and hunger? God tells us that He is “the fountain of living water.” Then Jesus tells the Samaritan woman in John 4 that He provides “living water” from a well that never runs dry. Clearly, God desires that your soul be well-watered. Diligently seek out the Source of all satisfaction, and you’ll always find He’s available and full to overflowing of everything your soul longs for. – TV

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The struggle to live righteously in the midst of a dark culture isn’t a new struggle. The early church was birthed in an area of the world rife with immorality and idolatry. In His letters to the churches as recorded in Revelation, Jesus encouraged His people to be faithful and to persevere. He acknowledged their challenges as well as their good deeds, love, service, and perseverance; however, He also chastised them for coddling sinful people among the body of Christ who were leading others into their same sins. To survive and thrive, the members of the Church must link arms and journey toward heaven together. In love, we must protect each other from detours toward sin and its deadly effects. Obedience is easier when we have the support and accountability of people who love us. Jesus offers rich rewards to those who heed His Word. With the help of community, may we obey out of our deep love for Him. – TV

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“We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there’s nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all. Most of us would prefer, however, to spend our time doing something that will get immediate results. We don’t want to wait for God to resolve matters in His good time because His idea of ‘good time’ is seldom in sync with ours.” – Oswald Chambers

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“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, Whom He has given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:1-8