“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them;

for the Lordyour God, He is the One who goes with you.

He will not leave you nor forsake you”Deuteronomy 31:6, NKJV).

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lordrequire of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

(Micah 6:8, NKJV)

            I’ve always loved this verse, but lately it’s been rolling around in my heart and mind a lot, stirring up thoughts and feelings I hadn’t considered before.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14, NKJV).

But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions…what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me (2 Timothy 3:10-11, NKJV).

Your own eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD

which He did (Deuteronomy 11:7, NASB).

            I was 26 years old before I came to know the Lord personally. Prior to that I knew and, to some extent, believed the basic tenets of Christianity, including that Jesus “died for the sins of the world.” Unfortunately that didn’t impact me until I understood that He died for ME, for MY sins. That changed everything.

Bestill, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth (Psalm 46:10, NKJV).

How lovely is your dwelling place, LORD Almighty (Psalm 84:1)!

            I’m in a season of traveling right now, flying in and out of national and international airports, speaking here and teaching there, promoting and signing books, staying in hotels or with friends, and often eating on the run. Each time I complete a trip and the plane’s wheels touch down on the runway, I think, “There’s no place like home!”

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise,

and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame

the things which are mighty(1 Corinthians 1:27, NKJV).

The Lordof hosts has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought,

so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand”

(Isaiah 14:24, NKJV).

The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent (Exodus 14:14, NASB).