The God of All Grace Settle You

August 30, 2019 ~ Suzanne Davis Harden

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” 1 Peter 5:10 KJV

I had intended this to be a short message introducing my new encouraging scripture music video about suffering that the Lord inspired me to make last week. He helped me make it to encourage myself as well as others who are suffering. The Bible assures me that I’m not the only one who endures challenges. How often we see this affirmed in our society every day.
1 Peter 5 helps me to keep it all in perspective. When I’m at my worse, I know that there are always many others out there somewhere who are worse off than I am.
God’s word exhorts us to pray for just that one who is in a deeper pit than ours when we imagine we are in the lowest depths of hell and that everyone else has it better than we do. It’s in our most painful moments that we are just certain that the Lord has left us and gone off to party with everyone else, now that He’s made our life a dung pile…tears for fears and pity poor me…:(
These are just the moments we need to turn to God’s Word because it’s in His Word that we find Him encouraging us.
Consider the verse I mentioned from 1 Peter 5:

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time:
Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5: 6-7 KJV

These verses mean that if we pray when we feel burdened or disappointed or depressed or worried or stressed that we can know God hears us; that He cares about us and our needs. God loves us. He wants us to bring our burdens to Him, to pour our troubles out on His Altar. He is real and He is listening even though we can’t see Him. We grow close to Him in our suffering when we cry out to HIM.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-9 KJV

These verses are referring to our unseen enemy who is ever seeking to undermine us spiritually and pull us away from God through any means he can. And we must resist the enemy at all costs because what is more important than our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ who suffered and died on the cross to give us peace with God? This peace is what the enemy wants to destroy. Our peace with God and our fellowship with each other.
He sows hatred, strife, and dissension. He will use any means he can.
Resist him steadfast in the faith knowing that the same afflictions are being experienced by everyone else in the world.

In other words we are not alone in our trials.
Other people are being gossiped about, abused, slandered, persecuted, mocked, lied about, dishonored, treated shamefully…we are not singled out to be treated like cow pies.
So what does that mean?
We are not really cow pies~no!
We are God’s precious children, but the Apostle John wrote it’s just that the world has not got the eyes to see how special we really are.

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as he is.” 1 John 3:1-2 KJV

But one day the sons and daughters of God will be revealed and those who have treated God’s children so shamefully will be themselves covered with shame.
Amen! God’s word assures us that we are His jewels!

Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him
for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name.
And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son that serves him.” ~ Malachi 3:16-17 KJV

Don’t take my word for it~read God’s word and encourage yourself.
This is why the Lord inspires me to make scripture videos. His word is encouraging!

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” 1 Peter 5:10 KJV

God puts a boundary on all suffering that we endure. He will not give us more than we can handle. He knows what we can tolerate. All suffering is meant to refine our faith. (See 1 Peter 1, James 1)

11 To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. “ 1 Peter 5:11 KJV

The word dominion means sovereignty or control. This verse means that God is in control over all things. Even though the enemy takes aim at us and tries to harm us, the enemy is on God’s leash and can only go but so far. He, like our suffering, has boundaries placed on him.
We serve a loving, merciful God. His love and mercy towards us reaches higher than the sky it says in Psalm 103.
Read and meditate on the verses below from Psalm 103 about God and His love for us. And then watch and listen to the scripture video He gave me to share with you. May our Heavenly Father encourage your heart with the scriptures and comfort you with His peace and love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Psalm 103:8-19 *ERV
8 The Lord is kind and merciful.
    He is patient and full of love.

9 He does not always criticize.
    He does not stay angry with us forever.

10 We sinned against Him,
    but He didn’t give us the punishment we deserved.

11 His love for His followers is
    as high above us as heaven is above the earth.

12 And He has taken our sins
    as far away from us as the east is from the west.

13 The Lord is as kind to His followers
    as a father is to his children.

14 He knows all about us.
    He knows we are made from dust.

15 He knows our lives are short, that they are like grass.
    He knows we are like a little wildflower that grows so quickly,

16 But when the hot wind blows, it dies.
    Soon, you cannot even see where the flower was.

17 But the Lord has always loved His followers,
    and He will continue to love them forever and ever!
    He will be good to all their descendants,
18 to those who are faithful to His agreement
and who remember to obey His commands.

19 The Lord set His throne up in heaven,
    and He rules over everything.” Psalm 103:8-19 *ERV

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“The God of All Grace Settle You,” All Glory to God, © Copyright 2019 by SD Harden, All rights reserved. Scripture Video, “Weeping May Endure,” All Glory to God, Copyright © 2019 by SD Harden, All rights reserved.
Scripture Verses, King James Version Bible (Public Domain)
Easy to Read Version Bible, Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International,
Scripture Paintings/Art All Glory To God, Copyright © 2019 by SD Harden
All rights reserved.

The Angel of the Lord Encircles Me

March 15, 2018 ~ Suzanne Davis Harden

My prayer song ” The Angel of the Lord Encircles Me” was inspired by Psalm 34:7 “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them.”

According to the Strong’s Bible Concordance, the “angel of the Lord” often referred to the “theophanic angel” ~ a divine visitation of God appearing in the form of an angel.

Many bible scholars believe that the theophanic angel was the pre-incarnate Christ. The word means, “messenger of God, an angel, prophet, priest, or teacher.“

The words “encamp about” mean to “dwell in, or all around as in a circuit, on every side.”

The words in the definition convey the idea that the angel (the messenger from God who is a teacher, priest, and prophet) is building a strong fortress all around the person he is guarding.

If a person fears the Lord, (by fear, the Psalmist means, honors, is morally reverent, and afraid to dishonor or offend the Lord), and if they abide in God’s strong fortress with the angel, and if that Angel is the Lord Jesus Christ, then something truly wonderful is going to happen.

That Angel is going to deliver them.

According to the Strong’s Bible Concordance, the word deliver means: “to remove, to draw out, equip for war, rescue, be armed, to make strong, to brace, to be saved.”

What are we going to be delivered from?

Jesus is going to deliver us from whatever overwhelms, overcomes, or oppresses us.
Jesus is going to remove whatever hinders us from advancing toward fulfilling His purpose in our life.
First, Jesus saves our souls and forgives all our sins, washing them away as far as the east is from the west when we invite him into our heart to be our Lord and Savior.

“Therefore Jesus is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.” Hebrews 7:25

Jesus is going to heal us from whatever soul sickness that blinds us and keeps us from knowing and growing in Him.

“He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death.” Psalm 107:20

Jesus is committed to equipping us for spiritual battle; God is on our side~ He wants us to succeed:

“God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect.He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights.He trains my hands for battle; he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow.” Psalm 18:32-34

Jesus make us strong through helping us to read and understand His word, and giving us the grace and power to obey it:

“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” ~Philippians 2:13

Jesus delivers us so that we can overcome temptation.

“And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

Jesus is going to give us victory over what had formerly overcome us:

“For this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4

Finally, Jesus delivers us from our enemies when we put our trust in Him. He is committed to making us strong and whole.

“To them that have no might He increases strength.” Isaiah 40:29

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for sending Thy Son Jesus Christ to by my Protector and Guardian, Savior, Redeemer, and Friend, who ever guards me night and day through His Holy Spirit who lives inside my heart. May You help me to truly understand all of the wonderful things my Lord Jesus does for all who trust Him as their Savior and Lord, in Jesus holy name, amen.

“The Angel of The Lord Encircles Me” is a comforting, inspirational 2 minute 45 second Video featuring my prayer poem and original piano solo, “The Angel of the Lord Encircles Me,” from my Album and Prayer Song Book, “Paths of Love.”

Thy Word Have I Hid In My Heart

November 24, 2017November 24, 2017 ~ Suzanne Davis Harden

A couple of years ago the Lord inspired me to create an Encouraging Scripture Promise Wall Calendar based on my Encouraging Card Collection. I loved my calendar for it would encourage me each morning with a promise from God’s word.

Whenever I was discouraged all I had to do was look up at the scripture on my calendar; somehow the Lord always used the bible verse to speak to my heart.

The promises in the Bible give us hope. And no wonder, for our God is “The God of hope.”(Romans 15:13)

The next year, I had three calendars printed.

I hung one in my kitchen, one at my work chair, and one beside my bed.

Anytime I felt sad or discouraged I would look up at one of my calendars, depending on which room I was in, read the bible promise, and be filled with fresh courage.

This year the Lord inspired me to create a new Wall Calendar featuring twelve comforting Bible Promises, one for each month of the year illustrated with my scripture paintings and collages.

He impressed upon me the importance of meditating upon His word every day, reminding me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 4:4 when tempted by the devil to turn stones into bread during His wilderness Temptations. Jesus fought the temptation with scripture:

“It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

In rebuking the devil with scripture, the Lord Jesus was teaching us how to fight the enemy: with His word. In Ephesians 6:17 Paul wrote “to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” as a vital part of our spiritual armor against the deadly attacks of our unseen spiritual foe who is out to destroy our soul.

Knowledge of God’s word is not only vital to our survival as believers in spiritual warfare, but the Psalmist said, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.” Psalm 119:11

The promises of God comfort and give us hope, keep us from going astray, aid us in defeating our spiritual enemies, and they also guide us in the Lord’s paths of righteousness.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105

“Every word of God proves true…” Proverbs 30:5

The Apostle Paul wrote that we grow our faith by nourishing ourselves with a steady diet of God’s Holy Word. For it is our spiritual food, that will help us grow closer to our God if we will make it our daily habit to read it and obey it.

In this way we will learn to understand the Lord’s will for us, to discern His voice in our hearts, and find out what pleases and displeases Him.

This year the Lord has inspired me to study and meditate on the bible promises on my calendars each month in a new way.

Each morning I plan to meditate on the bible promise for the month and pray about how it applies to me and where I am on my life’s journey with the Lord.

I’m going to ask the Holy Spirit to teach me new insights as I study the scripture more in depth along with other bible study tools, like the Strong’s concordance, the Matthew Henry Bible Commentary, and my Study Bible.

I plan to pray over the scripture throughout the month and ask the Lord to teach me new things about that promise each day. I have learned that we can never exhaust all of the riches to be found in God’s holy word!

“In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3

I hope by studying God’s promises in this way, that by the end of each month I will have memorized each of the bible promises featured on the calendar.

By the year’s end, if I meditate on these verses daily, then I will make them all my very own, for the Lord has shown me that this is one very good way to hide His word in my heart and make it my treasure.

I would be so honored if you would get one of my scripture calendars and join me in studying God’s promises each day.

May the Lord bless you!

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Help me to hide Thy word in my heart every day. Please use Thy word to help me become more like Thy Son Jesus Christ. Help me to always obey everything that You teach me from Your word, so that it doesn’t just go in one ear and out the other. I ask that You let Your word be my treasure now and for always. Thank you, Lord, I love you, In Jesus mighty name, amen.

For more information about my Bible Promise Calendar and Encouraging Scripture Promise Calendar see my Etsy Shop Listings below: (Links will take you to my Etsy Shop.)

2018 Comforting Bible Promise Calendar

The 2018 Encouraging Scripture Promise Calendar

Thy Word Have I Hid In My Heart, Angel Song © 2017 SD Harden All rights reserved. Scripture Paintings (Thy Word Is a Lamp To My Feet, Thy Word Have I Hid In My Heart, Faith Comes By Hearing © SD Harden 2017 All rights reserved./ Every Word of God Proves True via Pinterest/ Scripture Quotations KJV Bible/ 2018 Comforting Bible Promise Calendar & 2018 Encouraging Scripture Promise Calendar © SD Harden All Rights Reserved.

Put On Your Spiritual Armor

March 1, 2016 ~ Suzanne Davis Harden ~ 2 Comments

Dear Friends,

The following message was written by my friend Deborah Mac Manes. It’s an excellent meditation on Paul’s metaphor about our spiritual armor that we need to wear daily for, as the apostle writes in his epistle to the Ephesians, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood.”

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Debby’s Message

Scripture tells us that a Roman guard was stationed with Paul in his prison cell. Paul must have seen this guard put on his suit of armor many times, which is why he wrote the metaphor about winning the spiritual battle with spiritual armor.

I would like to elaborate on my, daily, prayer with a more in-depth meaning behind each piece of armor:

I wear the helmet of salvation to filter my thoughts … The spiritual battle begins with a thought that enters our mind. If it is an evil thought and we dismiss it, we have won that fight. If we retain the thought and dwell on it, we are entertaining Satan’s whisper. Finally, if we act upon this evil thought, Satan has won this particular battle, we have sinned, and we have grieved the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of us. The helmet of eternal salvation is to protect our thoughts right from the start.

I put on the breastplate of righteousness to protect my heart … The old testament High Priest would wear a breastplate of judgement. Inside this pouch were two stones called the Urim and Thummin that he would, sometimes, use to determine God’s will. Since Christ is our Lord, Savior, High Priest, and King, our breastplate is of righteousness in Christ Jesus and our hearts are protected in Christ Jesus from this unbelieving and evil world.

I am protected by the shield of faith from the flaming missiles of Satan .., Satan attacks us with fiery darts and our steadfast faith in Christ Jesus is the shield that protects us against anything that he is allowed to throw at us. We need to fight the good fight of the faith.

I carry the sword of the Holy Spirit, the Word of the living God … A sword is both an offensive and defensive weapon. We carry the sword of the Scriptures or Bible which is God’s Word. We need to live and breathe God’s Word so that we will be strong and effective in helping to save souls, along with strengthening the souls who have been saved. We need to be able to wield the ‘truth’ in whatever direction the Lord leads us. We can, only, do this with a firm understanding of His Word.

I am belted with truth and righteousness, to glorify you, Holy Father, while walking in the Gospel of peace … Our fight is a spiritual one; not physical. The bible tells us to live a quiet and peaceful life, and we are to mind our own business. Our responsibility in this life is to walk in the shoes of peace and be the light of the world. We are to carry His teachings in our minds and hearts, spread and abide by His Word wherever we go, and give all glory and honor to our Holy Father through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. All glory to Him!

The author of this message, Deborah Mac Manes, is a bible study teacher and servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. As captain and founder of the Spiritual Elegance Team, she moderates this online ministry group which is part of the Etsy marketplace. Deborah is the creative artist and owner of Designs by DM Candles located at designsbydmcandles.etsy.com.