Pocket Thoughts - 3/27/26

God * clothes His people with garments of salvation and arrays them in robes of His righteousness * humbles us with His grace * proclaims His children to be His everlasting pride and joy.

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All over the world, we see evidence of both physical and spiritual battles taking place. Just when we can’t imagine greater atrocities, something pops up in our newsfeed to shock us even more deeply. Clearly, good and evil are at war. The apostle Paul tells us not to be surprised by what we’re witnessing but also warns us to be prepared. He tells us the war isn’t so much a physical war against flesh and blood, but a spiritual one “against the rulers, the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.” He lays out the wardrobe of those who take their stand on God’s side in Ephesians 6:10-18. John also reminds us that “greater is He Who is in us than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) Revelation 12:7-9 graphically depicts the cosmic war between God and His angels and Satan and his demons. Although God’s people may suffer great physical harm at the hands of His enemies, we who rely on the blood of the Lamb for our strength and salvation know how the story ends – God wins and we are saved. When Jesus died and rose to life again, Satan was handed his death sentence. Furious and filled with hatred, he’s doubled down on his attacks against what God treasures most – His beloved children. Satan may buffet God’s people by a plethora of means, but we experience victory through Christ because of the power of our God – a power so strong that it’s able to rescue anyone entangled in the enemy’s snares. God is stronger than Satan’s grip on a lost soul, and freedom awaits for those who cry out to Him. We become easy prey for the enemy when we’re vulnerable and weak in our faith and are isolated from other believers.  This is yet another warning for our own spiritual safety to stay near to the Lord and to our brothers and sisters in Christ. The battle is fierce and sobering. Be vigilant, prepared, and confident. The end is sure – the victory belongs to the Lord. – TV

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Grief is a strong emotion. When Nehemiah heard of the trouble and disgrace of Jerusalem, his heart was broken. But he refused to be paralyzed. He took his broken heart to God. His prayer was full of praise to God, acknowledging Him as faithful, sovereign, and holy. His prayer was full of repentance, acknowledging the years of rebellion and wickedness of the Israelites. His prayer was full of truth, reminding God of His promises to return His people to their homeland if their hearts were repentant. His prayer was full of intercession, admitting great need and calling on God’s strength, power, and faithfulness as the only answer to the problems in front of His people. Nehemiah brought his grief to the Lord, and prayer brought perspective to all he was experiencing. Then Nehemiah stood and got to work, confident that God had heard his prayer and was already actively responding. Nehemiah fought grief’s crippling hold with fervent prayer and intentional action to move forward in accordance with God’s will and purposes. Today, we grieve many things in this world – from tragedy on the global stage all the way down to personal loss and individual hearts in rebellion against God. This is no time to frantically pace the floor and immerse ourselves in worry and despair. This is the time to be on our knees, pleading with God to overcome. No matter our position or role in life, He can use us to serve Him by proclaiming and living out hope and truth. The Comforter will equip us with everything we need as we bow in humility before Him. – TV

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When Jesus entered the room for His final Passover meal, He intimately knew the men He found there, and He considered them friends. But being God, Jesus also knew that one would betray Him. Judas Iscariot had one foot in the room and the other foot out the door, headed to the religious leaders to betray his Master. Judas had given himself over to Satan. The enemy used a supposed friend and follower to pierce Jesus’ heart with sorrow. He wrongly thought he could use this betrayal to put a hard stop to God’s perfect plan to rescue mankind from sin and death. He woefully underestimated the power and sovereignty of God. Judas, under the influence of Satan, thought he was bringing about the end of Jesus’ life and ministry. In reality, he was playing into God’s hands and setting into motion one of the most crucial moments in all of history. The cross brought death to the Messiah. The empty tomb and the resurrection brought the hope of life to us all. God used betrayal to open the doors to those who seek out His Son for forgiveness and salvation. – TV

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Father, how good it is to find myself planted in the garden of my God! How blessed I am to know the warmth of Your grace, the gentle tending of Your powerful hands, the soft pouring out of Your comfort and mercy! You provide a rich environment in which I can thrive and grow, be productive for Your glory, and be fruitful for the good of Your kingdom. Surrounded by joy, peace, and purpose, I have opportunity to flourish and reflect Your beauty. You shelter me through the harsh storms of life, cultivating in me wisdom, confidence, and strength. May my roots only grow deeper in the soil of Your goodness, and may my face always tip upward to Your marvelous light. In the beautiful Name of Jesus, amen.

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“I must ‘walk in the light as He is in the light…’ – not in the light of my own conscience, but in God’s light. If I walk in there, with nothing held back or hidden, then this amazing truth is revealed to me: ‘…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses [me] from all sin’ so that God Almighty can see nothing to rebuke in me. On the conscious level it produces a keen, sorrowful knowledge of what sin really is. The love of God working in me causes me to hate, with the Holy Spirit’s hatred for sin, anything that is not in keeping with God’s holiness. To ‘walk in the light’ means that everything that is of the darkness actually drives me closer to the center of the light.” – Oswald Chambers

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“This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.” – 1 John 1:5-7