LET THE LORD BE YOUR DEFENSE

Imagine being a poor widow, a stranger in the land and holding one of the lowliest jobs in society. That was Ruth’s situation, so it would have been easy for her to feel vulnerable and defenseless. But because she trusted the Lord (see Ruth 1:16), He placed her under Boaz’s protection.

Boaz, the owner of the field she worked in, commanded his young men saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her” (see Ruth 2:15). What he was saying to his men was this: “She might be a gleaner, but because I care for her, treat her with respect and make sure she is not put to shame.”

Boaz is a picture of our Lord Jesus. If you are feeling vulnerable and defenseless right now, imagine Jesus commanding His angels, “Watch over this one who belongs to Me. Make sure he is treated with respect and not put to shame because he is someone I love and someone whom I died for.”

God’s Word tells us that if God is for us, who can be against us? (see Romans 8:31). No one who has set himself against us can prevail because when God is for us, His protection is upon us. That is why I have never answered any of the poison email messages which I have received in the course of my ministry.

My attitude is this: Jesus is my defense. If He does not defend me, it means that there are things in my life that are not to be defended, and I would be glad to find out about them now rather than later. On the other hand, because I take the Lord as my defense, and He defends me, what can those who are against me do to me?

When you defend yourself, you have only your two hands and your own human resources. But when you let Jesus take up your defense, He defends you with His nail-pierced hands and His legions of angels! The results will be amazing.

Beloved, the Lord is your defense and refuge. Trust Him to defend and provide for you!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

GOD’S GRACE TRANSFORMS US

Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you…  Isaiah 43:4, NIV

Would you agree with me that more Christians today know about the Ten Commandments than about the new covenant of God’s unmerited favor? For that matter, if you walked down Times Square in New York City and started to interview people at random, most would probably have heard about the Ten Commandments, but know nothing about the new covenant of grace that came by Jesus Christ. In fact, the world identifies Christianity with the Ten Commandments. Isn’t it sad that the world knows us by the laws that are obsolete and not by the unmerited favor that Christ died to give us?

It is no wonder we are losing a whole new generation of young people to the world! The law holds no appeal or attraction and the Bible itself calls the law obsolete (Hebrews 8:13). If we keep on shoving the Ten Commandments down the throats of our young people, don’t be surprised when they are turned off by legalistic forms of Christianity. More importantly, don’t forget that the strength of sin is the law. The law has no power to stop sin. The law will not impart to them their precious identity in Christ, which will give them the strength to abstain from premarital sex, prevent them from getting into drug abuse and stop them from losing their sexual identity. Only God’s own sacrifice on the cross can give them their new identity as a new creation in Christ Jesus!

Young people, when you catch a revelation of Jesus and just how precious you are in His sight, your lives will be supernaturally transformed. You will stop being harassed by suicidal thoughts. You will stop wanting to put yourselves at risk to “fit in” or to get the attention that you crave.

Young ladies, you will come to see and value yourselves differently as you learn to value yourselves in the same way Jesus values you. Overflowing with Jesus’ perfect love for and acceptance of you, you will not be under the illusion that you need to give your bodies away to find acceptance and love from some guy. You will love yourselves as Jesus loves you!

Young men, you will develop supernatural self-control to manage your raging hormones. You will do it not by your own willpower, but through Jesus’ power flowing through you. You will learn how to flee youthful lusts. You will know that being “cool” means respecting the opposite sex, and not putting yourselves and your girlfriends at risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and having unwanted pregnancies.

Young people, when you know that Jesus has an awesome destiny laid out for you, the desire to be involved in gangs and destructive activities such as alcohol and drug abuse and promiscuity will dissipate in Jesus’ unmerited favor and love for you. Supernaturally, your desires for the things of the world will disappear as they get replaced with the desire for Jesus! That’s the power of God’s grace (unmerited favor) and His unconditional acceptance of us through the cross. What the law could not do, God did for us by sending His own Son Jesus Christ! (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).