Morning by Morning, October 5 - We Will Not Shrink Back
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You meet me in the first moments of my morning and take me on the adventure of prayer You've prepared for me each day. Here I am, Lord, ready for my adventure today. ...
"For yet 'in a very little while, the One who is coming will come and will not delay; but My righteous one will live by faith. My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.' But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved" (Hebrews 10:37-39).
"Are you a Christian?" was the question put to the students by the killer of the latest school massacre in America at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon just a few days ago. If they said "Yes" they were immediately executed with a bullet to the head. As I heard this news, sickened in my heart from the cruelty and evil, I couldn't help but remember the courage of Cassie Bernall at Columbine High School, martyred for her faith when she said "Yes" to that same question just a few years ago.
These are heroes of our faith, no less than those who faced the lions of the Romans or those who will face the inquisitors of the beast to come -- "beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the Word of God" (Revelation 20:4). Whether from sickness of mind or cruelty of heart, there will always be those who hate God and those who love Him. But give us Your grace to never shrink back from speaking the truth and holding firm to our faith, as we trust You to hold firm to us. "Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who has promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23).
In the moment of our need, whenever our faith is tested, give us the courage to overcome -- even forgiving our accusers, but never succumbing to the threat of their accusations. May our faith in You be so deeply grounded in Your love for us that we would not waver and never shrink back, holding fast the confession of our hope. We can't do that in human strength or self-will, but we can trust that "He who has promised is faithful."
You are faithful to me. I pray the courage and grace to be found faithful to You. You are the God who always reminds us, "I will never leave you or forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). "So we can say with confidence, 'The Lord is my Helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6)
"What then shall be we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ... Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!" (Romans 8:31-39 NKJV) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
I pray you will be so grounded in grace and love of God for you that you will never shrink back and always hold fast to the confession of your hope, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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