Tag Archives: God’s protection

“He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.” (Proverbs 2:7, NLT)

Have you ever taken a short-cut only to discover — late — that your decision will cost you more time, more money, and more energy than the longer way ’round would have?

Have you ever thought that doing the right thing might expose you to less scrupulous people that would take advantage of you or of the situation?

The scriptures tell us that the path of honesty is the correct path — always; and that God will protect all persons of integrity.

Today, make honesty and integrity in every circumstance your goal!  – Luther

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“Then he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.'” (Mark 2:27, NIV)

We need to challenge the thought that God’s laws and commandments are designed to spoil the joy of living, in the same manner that Jesus challenged the thought that God created humanity to obey a predetermined set of rules that are independent of our benefit.

All of God’s laws and commandments have two distinct purposes: To provide for us; and to protect us.

From the day that Adam and Eve were in the garden, humanity has resented God-imposed limits or boundaries without seeking to appreciate the benefits. It is akin to resenting traffic laws without considering the benefit to order and safety that such laws provide to both motorists and pedestrians.

As our heavenly Father, God wants only to protect us from unnecessary trouble and grief so that we might have life, and have it in all of its abundance.

We were not created to keep “the rules.”  The “rules” were created to keep us. Therefore, obey the Lord with faithfulness, joy, and thanksgiving!  – Luther

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“We put our hope in the LORD. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone.” (Psalm 33:20-22, NLT)

As a culture, we esteem the privilege of having a wide variety of options from which to choose. In fact, some members of our society act as if it is a right!

The psalmist in today’s scripture declares his allegiance to only one Lord; only one God; only one Savior.  We do well to narrow our “essential list” as the psalmist did, and make our Lord the subject of our focus. Whom else has been our help and our shield? Whom else loves us with an unyielding love?  – Luther

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