“I have chosen you.” (John 15:16a, KJV )
Today, a reminder from Oswald Chambers’ devotional, “My Utmost for His Highest”: “Keep that note of greatness in your creed. It is not that you have got God, but that He has got you.” – Luther
“Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life, but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.” (Proverbs 19:16, NIV)
There is an old saying: “Learn from the mistakes of others; you won’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”
The commandments of God are the best way to avoid the mistakes of others because God’s commandments have two purposes: To protect us; and to provide for us.
So many otherwise intelligent, talented, and resourceful people come to grief because they chose to ignore God’s wisdom and God’s commandments. Trying to learn everything from personal experience, they destroy themselves long before reaching the end of every list of lessons.
Keeping God’s commandments does not inhibit living. On the contrary, it provides the length of days that makes living possible. – Luther
“Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” (Psalm 62:8, NIV)
Most of us never give a moment’s thought to the necessity of refuge — until we encounter a force of nature.
When our serene life becomes an angry tempest, we yearn for the safety of the harbor. When the sunshine disappears behind the darkest clouds, we take cover. When the air we breathe becomes a gale and uproots the features of our landscape that we thought would never change, we flee to our refuge.
Because, in a figurative sense, all of us have been, will be, or will again be, refugees; we need to remember that not all places of refuge are able with withstand the forces. The scripture reminds us of this when it tells us not to trust in ourselves; nor in others; nor in wealth or possessions.
In every situation, and “at all times, pour out your hearts to Him.” God is our refuge! He is our secure shelter. – Luther
Daily Encouragement 