December 4, 2017
Psalm 34:19-22
The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all;
 he protects all his bones,
    not one of them will be broken.
Evil will slay the wicked;
    the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
 The Lord will rescue his servants;
    no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
New International Version (NIV)
               Right relationship with God does not exempt us from difficulty.  Looking back at the men and women of God in the scriptures we see that all of them faced difficulties in this life.  David wrote this Psalm when he was in exile from Saul in the courts of the Philistine King Abimelech.  To convince the King of his loyalty David had to pretend to be insane.  He knew that his righteousness did not keep him from going through hard times.  Still more, David knew that God had delivered him every time.
                In the New Testament, we find these words applied to Jesus whose bones were not broken on the cross (John 19:36).  Even the King of Righteousness endured difficulty.  But what about the wicked who seem to get through life unopposed?  David tells us their destiny is condemnation.  Not so God’s servants.  The Lord rescues his own.  We who take refuge in him may endure difficulty but we will not ultimately be condemned. 
                Paul picks up this theme in his letter to the Romans when he says in view of Christ’s victory over sin on our behalf, “Therefore there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).  In the world we will face troubles of various kinds, but in Christ Jesus we serve the one who has already overcome the world.  John wrote, “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).  
Pray with me:
Father, you alone know the troubles we have seen and will see.  Thank you for protecting us and rescuing us.  Most of all we thank you for release from all condemnation through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.
I want to invite you to join me in memorizing 52 passages this year from the 2017 set of Fighter Verses.  You can find the Fighter Verses App at the App Store on your phones or via this link  http://fighterverses.com/the-verses/fighter-verses/As we study the Bible this year, let's look at each text and learn what it says about God. 
Joyfully, 
Duane 
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