Word of God

On A Leash

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Devotional, Pug Parables , , , , , , , ,

I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.  I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.  Psalm 119: 10-11

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Sheba loves her collar and her leash.  After a bath, she gets very excited about having her collar replaced.  Why?  I don’t know.  But the leash I do understand—that means she gets to go out for a walk, and there’s nothing she loves more.  When she was younger she’d run away if she escaped without a leash, carelessly darting out in the street or playing hide and seek in a neighbor’s yard, daring us to chase her.  But maybe somewhere along the line she’s learned that it’s for her protection, because now—even without the leash—she stays close by, not wanting to stray too far from her master.

What a lesson for me! How I cherish my “leash”—the never changing Word of God. The more time I spend with it, the more I never want to be away from it, for God’s Word is where I go for comfort and direction when I’m tired or frustrated, alone or afraid.  Full of promises of God’s love that will forever amaze me; its truths pull me away from harmful temptations and give me strength to stand in the face of illness or loss, disappointment or persecution.

I love the description of “my leash” in The Message version of Hebrews 4:12-13,:

God means what he says. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey.

Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what. It draws me ever closer to my Master—and like Sheba, I never want to stray too far.

Standing Firm

Barbara Kain Parker Inspirational , , , , , , , , ,

The Word of God not only encourages us repeatedly to stand firm in our faith but also provides us with role models.  Faced with what appeared to be certain destruction by the Egyptians, Moses told the Israelites to not be afraid for if they would stand firm the LORD would deliver them and they’d never see their pursuers again.  Isaiah prophesied to King Ahaz of Judah that if he didn’t stand firm in his faith he wouldn’t stand at all.  Paul wrote over and over to the Corinthian church, advising them to stand firm in their faith—to be careful, to be on guard, to be strong, to have courage.  Jesus taught his followers that even though they would be hated because of him, the result of standing firm would be salvation and life.

We hold fast to the truth that God has gone before us—that he’s not asking us to do anything that he has not already modeled for us.  Throughout the Psalms we are comforted by the knowledge that his plans, his word, his purposes, his law and his love stand firm—they are eternal and unchanging and we can count on them.

We are also encouraged by modern-day believers whose faith has brought them through incredible trials.  But, most of all, we look to Jesus, the very source of our faith; the perfect example who, for the joy that was set before him, went to the cross and endured all of the suffering that the enemy could heap upon him.  He never lost sight of the goal, and in finishing his race he provided everything we need to finish ours.