Pocket Thoughts - 3/20/26

God * comforts all who mourn and provides for the grieving * frees captives from bondage and releases those imprisoned by darkness * equips His children to “rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated.”

*****

If you’ve walked with the Lord for any length of time, you’ve experienced dry seasons where you’ve felt He’s gone silent. It can be very unnerving. The enemy may try to convince you that God has abandoned you, rejected you or closed His eyes and heart to you. Nothing could be further from the truth. But if you’re not equipped with the truth, you’ll easily fall prey to the enemy’s lies. Reality is that God uses seasons of silence to enable our trust in Him to grow and our desire for His will to deepen. He uses that time to draw us into searching Scripture for His promises. He proves His faithfulness in His perfect timing. We can join David in saying, “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:13-14) – TV

*****

In the prophet Zechariah’s first vision, he encountered a man mounted on a red horse. The man was down in a ravine, surrounded by myrtle trees. Red, brown, and white horses were behind the man. As Zechariah inquired of the man, he came to realize the man was “the angel of the Lord,” a term often used in the Old Testament for the pre-incarnate Christ. The angel told Zechariah that the entire earth had been scouted and found at peace and rest while Israel had been in exile and under God’s judgment. God had used the nations as instruments of discipline for Israel, but these nations had carried the punishment of His people too far. Now God would rise up against those who had dealt severely with His own. Israel’s discipline – 70 years in exile – was finally over. The time to return and rebuild had arrived. God promise prosperity and comfort to His people after a long, hard season of correction. Every godly parent who disciplines a child longs for the day when that child’s heart changes and the child chooses a trajectory toward what’s right and good. God longs for us to choose that path as well. His path is a path that leads to life. He’ll use any and every circumstance – easy or hard - to point us in the right direction.  Surrender to His guidance and correction, knowing He deals with you from a heart of perfect love. He longs for you to enjoy the comfort and delight that come from traveling that beautiful path that leads to life. – TV

*****

The red dragon Satan doesn’t operate alone. In end times, an unholy trinity will be formed by his “beast from the sea” (known to us as “antichrist”) and his “beast from the earth” (known as the “false prophet”). Let’s take a look at the beast from the sea. He’ll emerge during a season of political chaos, taking on the role of a false messiah whose power and counterfeit miracles will impress people who are swayed by his charismatic leadership and control of the world economy. His power, rule, and authority will be given to him by Satan. Whereas the beast from the sea exercises his power to manipulate people, use them for his evil ends, and draw attention to himself, God exercises His infinitely greater power for the purposes of rescuing the lost, edifying His people, and covering them with His perfect love. The beast from the sea will be allowed power and authority by God over the earth for a limited time. His reign will be one of terror focused on the people of God. During that time, he’ll demand that the people of the world worship him. And they will – all except those sealed by God’s Holy Spirit and whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  Those who refuse to worship the blasphemous beast from the sea will suffer greatly. They may experience physical harm, imprisonment or even martyrdom. The Bible calls for “patient endurance and faithfulness.” Friend, if your name is written in the Book of Life, you’re a part of heaven’s citizenship registry. Your soul is eternally secure in Almighty God’s hands. You’re not left here with no purpose. Now and in those dreaded last days, God is charging you to respond to Satan’s work with compassionate care for the suffering and oppressed; faithful, godly living; and bold proclamation of the gospel. This is a time to passionately share the message of repentance and salvation found in Christ alone. As a child of God, you may experience temporary suffering, but your heavenly reward awaits when you enter God’s presence once and for all. Satan and his minions are powerful, but they’re no match at all for our All-Powerful God. His purposes over all creation and humanity will prevail and defeat the red dragon. – TV

*****

How grateful I am to call You “Father!” Even the best earthly father may unwittingly let his children down or have moments of impatience or frustration, but You are the perfect Father. You keep Your promises. When I question Your presence, Your plans or Your provision, I only have to remember Your sure Word. I only have to remember Your record of faithfulness. I only have to remember that You chose me, ransomed me from slavery to sin, and now call me Your child. I may feel alone, in need or unloved. But You shatter those lies with reality. You’ll never leave me nor forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:8). This daughter of the King will forever be well supplied with everything I need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). And I’m so loved – in fact, You demonstrated Your love for me in that while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me (Romans 5:8). Abba Father, You are more than enough, and I’m grateful. In the beautiful Name of Jesus, amen.

*****

“…If you seek the Lord Jesus Christ and find Him there is no need to worry about your happiness and your joy. He is our joy and our happiness, even as He is our peace. He is life, He is everything. So avoid the incitements and the temptations of Satan to give feelings this great prominence at the centre. Put at the centre the only One Who has a right to be there, the Lord of Glory, Who so loved you that He went to the Cross and bore the punishment and the shame of your sins and died for you. Seek Him, seek His face, and all other things shall be added unto you.” – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

*****

“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, Who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: ‘To Him Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’” – Revelation 5:11-13