Thursday, February 1, 2007
Our Source of Strength
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
—Philippians 4:13
Sheep are timid little creatures. The strange thing about them is that because of their very makeup, it is almost impossible for them to lie down unless they are free from all fear. An entire flock can go stampeding off into nowhere because a rabbit jumped out of a bush. Sheep are filled with fear.
Yet how like sheep we are. We can be afraid of so many things. We can be afraid of losing our health. We can be afraid of losing our wealth. We can be afraid of losing our loved ones. In fact, it seems we can be afraid of life itself sometimes.
Certainly there are a lot of frightening things out there in the world today. Violent crime is at epidemic levels. We wonder, Will I get on a plane and have it blown up by terrorists? Will I be robbed walking down the street? Will I contract a terminal disease? Is something else going to happen to me?
Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, will protect you. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, stands as your representative before God and the devil. Jesus Christ, who paid the price for your salvation, stands as your righteousness, giving you access into the presence of God. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, “in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him” (Ephesians 3:12), stands for us before God.
As believers, we can have boldness and authority, not because of who we are, but because Christ is there with us. He is our strength. He is the one who gives us boldness. Therefore, we don’t want to stray from Him. Instead, we want to stay as close to Him as possible.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org.
Copyright © 2007 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions,