February 7, 2024 … Stand Guard and Pray

February 7, 2024 … Stand Guard and Pray  

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from Roluca Bojor singing … Standing Firm Through Christ Alone …  poignantly singing of how we Christians must be willing to stand firm in our faith in Christ.     

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Highlight Passage: … Nehemiah 4:9 [NLT] … </b>

9 But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.          

… God’s people, led to pray for protection by Nehemiah, stood guard over the walls in Jerusalem, which they were rebuilding for God’s glory.  

Highlight Passage (in context): … Nehemiah 4:6-9 … USE THIS LINK … 

… God’s people in Jerusalem, led by Nehemiah, posted guards on thew walls they were rebuilding, all praying that God would guard the city.                                                                       

===============                                                                 .                                                                                                                                               

Reference Passage: … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT] …   USE THIS LINK … 

… God’s promises, thru Solomon, to provide HIS direction and protection when we’re willing to trust in God and to follow His will and His way.     

Reference Passage: …John 16:33 [NLT] … USE THIS Link …  

33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” 

… Jesus teaches His disciples (and all Christians) that they (we) must be willing to take heart in serving The Lord, Who has overcome Satan’s world. 

Reference Passage: … 1Corinthians 15:58, 16:33 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK …  

… Jesus calls on His disciples and all Christians to be courageous and stand firm against our enemies.

Reference Passage: … Ephesians 6:10-13 [NLT] …   USE THIS LINK …

…The Apostle Paul calls on fellow Christians to stand firm, wearing the full armor of God, to do battle against Satan and this dark world.  .    

Reference Passage: … 1Peter 5:7-8 [NLT] …   USE THIS LINK …

…The Apostle Peter also calls on fellow Christians to bring our concerns to God in prayer and to  watch out for the wiles of Satan who will do all he can to devour God’s people.  

My Devotional Journal: Today’s Our Daily Bread  Author , Sheridan Voysey -  AT THIS LINK -  relates about two missionaries, Wallace and Mary Brown,  who were called to rebuild the Anglican Church in Birmingham, England.  However, when they arrived and learned that a gang occupied the church home, … inspired by Nehemiah’s battles to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem (see highlight passage), the Browns enlisted church members to stand guard and pray for God’s protection and deliverance, And week-by-week, the gangs left the area, allowing the church to thrive.        

The ODB entry and the story of God’s victory by the leadership of Nehemiah, … and hearing the linked song as well as meditating on the Scriptures posted above, led me to ask myself what areas of my faith need fortifying with my commitment to stand firm against my enemies, praying for and seeking God’s empowering grace to shore up the walls of my faith.  Where do my fellow Christians, reading with me here, need to stand stronger against our enemies today?         

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for providing me with Your empowering grace, Lord, to stand firm against my enemies.      

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray. again today, that all reading here will join me, … to stand firm in Your Name and for Your glory, Lord.      Amen  

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Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.