Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Devotional 121 - Tough As Nails

"...God's decrees are putting iron in our souls..."   Beth Moore

Psalm 119:175 "Invigorate my soul so I can praise you well, use your decrees to put iron in my soul." The Message

Psalm 119:175 "Let my soul live and it shall praise You; and let Your judgments help me."  NKJV

I read about my "tough as nails" brothers and sisters every month when my periodicals arrive...Voice of the Martyrs, Open Doors, and International Christian Concern. I hear the stories of my sisters in Iraq who watch their husbands refuse to deny Christ and are beheaded right in front of them. I read about Kallol, his wife, and his two teen daughters who, this summer, were beaten by Hindus because they had been sharing the gospel with their neighbors and friends. How about this three year old Nigerian boy, Joel, who valued his little Bible so much, that after it was thrown in the fire by Muslim extremists, ran over to scoot it out with a stick, and was thrown into the fire also? He survives and is being helped to recover by Christian medical workers.

These are ones whom God has put iron into their souls...my "tough as nails" brothers and sisters. They are all over the world. They are out there and they are here. Let us not forget them! Pray for them! Hebrews 13:3 "Remember the prisoners as if chained with them - those who are mistreated - since you yourselves are in the body also." 

And may we be so invigorated by His word, so enamored with praise for His beauty, His sovereignty, His loving justice, His holiness, that we, too, will be "tough as nails" for Jesus Christ. May God put iron into our souls. May you and I be ready in life or in death to live for Jesus.

" And they overcame Him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."  Revelation 12:11 NKJV