“I will thank you in the great congregation;
in the mighty throng I will praise you.”
– Psalm 35:18

It is a great blessing when our relationship with God grows to the point where we can praise and thank Him even in the midst of a terrible situation. In this Psalm, David laments deep personal betrayal by those he knew well and had previously prayed for diligently. Nonetheless, despite ongoing attacks, he praises God and gives thanks.

That isn’t because David is oblivious, naive, or in denial. Reading the surrounding verses, you see that he clearly isn’t. In the previous verse, David questions how long God will leave him in his miserable state. However David’s love for God has matured beyond praising God only for what He does to help him. David’s love and praise for God isn’t situational or transactional. Rather, his love is grounded in who God is: Creator, sustainer, all-powerful, all-wise, all-good, merciful, gracious, patient, loving, faithful, righteous, just, holy, and the list goes on.

This is an excellent model for us, teaching us how to love and praise God even when we’re miserable with no relief in sight. For many, the weeks ahead will be very difficult: physically, socially, emotionally, financially. Even as we pray diligently to pass through this season of coronavirus unscathed, may we deepen in our love and praise for God and experience the profound richness of His love and presence amidst suffering!

“Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
exulting in his salvation.
All my bones shall say,
‘O Lord, who is like you,
delivering the poor
from him who is too strong for him,
the poor and needy from him who robs him?’”
– Psalm 35:9-10

Through faith in Christ, God delivers us from all that tries to overwhelm and rob us of life and joy! When we put our faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, our sin and guilt are washed away, we gain eternal life, and God’s Spirit indwells us to strengthen, convict, comfort, and transform us. His salvation is total, ending in our glorious resurrection as we spend eternity with God.

Consider just a few of the enemies that would rob us of our joy and life, but which God delivers us from through Christ:

1. He delivers us from slavery to sin that humiliates, shames, and degrades us, stealing joy and peace while pretending to give us both. Romans 6:6, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”

2. He delivers us from being separated from the God who loves us. John 1:12, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”.

3. He delivers us from loneliness. Matthew 28:20, “Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

4. He delivers us from fear. 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

5. He delivers us from anxiety. Matthew 6:31-32, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”

6. He delivers us from death. John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Remember what Jesus promised in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

“May the Lord bless you and protect you;
may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.”
– Numbers 6:24-26

God taught this ancient blessing to Moses to teach to Aaron and the priests of Israel to pronounce upon the people of God forevermore. May this profoundly beautiful blessing be upon each of you today and in the days to come!

“Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.”
– Psalm 33:22

In the Bible, the word hope means to have confident assurance of something. We often put our hope in familiar and visible structures of society, government, and authorities. We put hope in our own plans, skills, and abilities. We put hope in the notion that tomorrow will be pretty much like today. Then comes something like the coronavirus that reminds us that these are not things upon which we can have confident assurance. Strength and skill will eventually fail us. Structures and leaders will eventually fail us. Sometimes tomorrow is not like today.

Only God, who is sovereign over all things, will never fail. He is our refuge and strength. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good. He operates from an eternal perspective we can’t even comprehend and He works all things together for the good of His creation and those who love Him. It is in God alone through faith in Christ that we should place our hope, for He alone is steady through the storms and chaos, the fear and sickness. Let us place our hope firmly in God and nowhere else.

Then may God’s steadfast love – which never changes, never flickers, and never fluctuates – rest upon us. His love is not transactional or contingent, it is not self-serving or manipulative. God’s steadfast love is pure and holy, ever present and freely available to all who call on His name in Christ. In this challenging time, know that God’s love is always upon you, and we pray that you may have an especially clear sense and experience of His steadfast love throughout the days ahead!

“It seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.” – Luke 1:3-4

What a treasure we have in Scripture! Luke introduces his gospel account of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus by discussing his historical methods (interviews with eyewitnesses and consulting primary sources) and purpose in writing. He meticulously gathered the data and talked to those who were present so that all who love God (that’s what “Theophilus” literally means) could have an organized account of Jesus and complete confidence in what we read.

As followers of Jesus Christ we can have extraordinary confidence in the Bible! What we read about Jesus truly happened and these writings make it very clear: He was prophet, preacher, teacher, miracle worker, anointed messiah, Son of God, and God in the flesh. By his sin-free life, sacrificial death, and well-verified physical resurrection from the dead that our sins are forgiven, we gain eternal life, and we enjoy ongoing union with Christ once we believe in Him.