These days, it seems like war is all around us. When we’re not reading about inflation, scandal, political corruption, or the latest weather-related disaster, conflicts between nations dominate the headlines. And from reading Scripture, we know—somewhat ominously—that such will be the case as long as this earth spins. Nations ruthlessly attack others in a brazen grab for more land, more power, and more geopolitical influence. It can feel overwhelming and hopeless at times. This is the price of sin, the cost of human pride. These are the consequences for going against our good and loving Creator.
Around 2,800 years ago, the ancient nations of Israel and Judah were surrounded by conflict as well. Eventually, the fires of war consumed their lands, which God had foretold: “For the palace will be deserted, the busy city abandoned. The hill and the watchtower will become barren places forever, the joy of wild donkeys, and a pasture for flocks…” (Isaiah 32:14).
But wait! The message ended not in despair but in hope! God continued: “until the Spirit from on high is poured out on us. Then the desert will become an orchard, and the orchard will seem like a forest. Then justice will inhabit the wilderness, and righteousness will dwell in the orchard” (vv.15–16). This promise was made to God’s ancient people, and we can still hold onto it today. The King of righteousness is coming. He will heal this weary world and set up a new, never-ending kingdom. We have hope—a great, abiding, and sure hope. This hope certainly doesn’t come from ourselves or anything in this world. Our hope is in a righteous King who has announced the coming of His kingdom. And what can we look forward to in this coming kingdom?
The result of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever. Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure dwellings.
—Isaiah 32:17–18
Peace. Quiet confidence. Safe and secure dwellings. Forever. That sounds pretty good right about now, doesn’t it?
Take heart, sojourning Christian. Everything we experience, endure, lament, and fear today will be swallowed up forever when the righteous King comes and ushers in His perfect kingdom. Until then, we wait patiently, expectantly, joyfully. We wait knowing that “Indeed, a king will reign righteously, and rulers will rule justly” (v.1).
Amen. Come quickly, King of righteousness!
Written by Josh Cooley
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114 thoughts on "The Righteous Kingdom Announced"
“Until then, we wait patiently, expectantly, joyfully”. Restoration is coming. While we wait let us walk in obedience to God’s teachings to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.
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Thank you YHWH for your endless, perfect love for us. You brought your son down and put all my shame and sin on Him so that He can make me white as snow. I don’t deserve it but you still did it to make a way for me to be with you in eternity. Nothing can ever be greater than that and for that let every one of my days be in honor of you and your glory to shine in every area of my life. I want the whole world to know I am your and you are for me. Thank you Jesus Thank you Holy Spirit.. I am blessed beyond measure!!!
Amen Claudia!! There is nothing, nothing more important and sacred, and to be thankful for, then this gift.
AMEN!!
This was a reading of peace.
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The WORK of righteousness will be peace and the effect of righteous will be. QUIET CONFIDENCE! Lord do that work in me!
Amen!
Hi all,
I could use some prayers today. My husband and I have been struggling through infertility for the last few years and we are currently going through the IVF process. I have been searching for God and desperately trying to trust through this time, but have felt so far from God for so long and the gap just seems to be getting wider no matter how hard I try. I was hoping that this study would bring me closer to God, but instead it has discouraged me (which is part of how I know I’m currently far away). If you all could please pray that God would draw near to me and I to him, that would be great. Thank you all! ❤️
Dear Emma
“He Will Save Us”, is our Lenten study.
Lent…a time to slow our anxious thoughts & pray our boldest prayers. You are never abandoned or alone in your trials. You are upheld by love.
Again, He Will Save Us.
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Emma, sweet lil’ sis, I felt like you about 25 years ago after a big move. This song was popular on the radio at the time. It meant so much to me that I bought the CD. The words just spoke to me my hard to reach heart. Maybe it will help you. Praying for God to move in your situation OR move your heart to desire a closer relationship with Him. Thank you for the opportunity to lift you up. Hugs!!! ❤
“Lord Move, Or Move Me” by FFH
I can’t find the words to pray, I’m a little down today
Can You help me, Can You hold me?
I feel a million miles away, And I don’t know what to say
Can You hear me anyway?
What I need is for You to reach out Your hand
You have taught me no matter what You’d understand
[CHORUS:]
Lord move in the way, that I’ve never seen before
Cause there’s a mountain in the way and a lock on the door
I’m drifting away, waves are crashing on the shore
So Lord move (move), or move me.
I’ve looked every where to find a simple peace of mind
But, I can’t find nothing on my own
So I gotta leave myself behind, take up this cross of mine
Give away everything I hold onto
Lord I know the only way is through this
But Lord, I know I need You to help me do this
[CHORUS]
Lord move in the way, that I’ve never seen before
Cause there’s a mountain in the way and a lock on the door
I’m drifting away, waves are crashing on the shore
So Lord move (move), or move me.
Out of this place of complacency
To a place of fellowship with Thee
‘Cause I am weak, but Lord, You are so strong
And You know it’s been way too long
It’s been way too long
Lord move in the way, that I’ve never seen before
Cause there’s a mountain in the way and a lock on the door
I’m drifting away, waves are crashing on the shore
So Lord move (move)…
[CHORUS]
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credit- AZ Lyrics
I always loved FFH! ❤️
Praying for you right now.
One of the things that helps me when I am struggling is to ask myself how I can bring God glory in this situation. Even if you are feeling far from God, you are glorifying Him by continuing to study His Word, even when (and maybe especially when) you don’t feel like and He feels far. Hang on, friend. God is near.
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Emma my heart ask for you. I have lived through this. I had 6 miscarriages before having my beautiful son. “Fake it ‘till you make it” is the best advise I have for you. We are human so we tend to feel our way through all situations. You may not feel it right now but you will see He is closer then He’s ever been. Worship, sing out loud and worship Him on your most painful days. Take quiet walks just you and Him, talk to Him as you would a friend and thank Him for everythig… I mean everything. There were days I could just thank Him for the basic things I saw near me… This is so important. His plan for you and your husband is the most perfect plan… You can trust Him. Praying for you to find peace, joy and hope in the LORD.
What a testimony beautiful Claudia! Thank you for sharing your deepest hurts with us and dear Emma. That is how we give encouragement to each other and glorify God!! Keep coming Emma, when we don’t feel like it, we trust. When we are weak, he is strong. We need sisters in Christ to hold our arms up like Aron did with his brother Moses when he was weak. You will see down the road the God was right here with you in your valley. The book I’m reading right now might be good “Surrendered” by Barb Roose.
Precious Emma, your name is in my prayer journal and I have been praying for you specifically for a long time. I can’t imagine hard much it hurts to struggle with infertility. My heart breaks for you! God has a plan for you in all of this (just like He had a plan in all that happened with my precious Jack). I pray that you can trust that plan even on the hardest days. Years ago I sang in a ladies group and we sang a song Trust His Heart. Look in up and listen. It says that when you can’t trace God’s hand you can always trust His heart. ❤️
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Prayers for you and your husband. ❤️
Draw near to Him, Emma, and He will draw near to you. A good read through Hebrews might be helpful, sweet sister. ❤️
Im sorry you are walking thru such heartache. What we know to be true in our heads can often be hard to get to our hearts when we are suffering and it often means preaching Truth to our hearts even when we don’t believe it. I find the Psalms to be a great comfort and strength in the darkest of days. Hold onto Jesus, dear Emma, He is with you and He is at work. Praying for you
I want to just sit and rely on God to protect me and bring me the peace I long for. I pray that I wouldn’t rely on other things over God.
“Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech”. This word really stood out to me. There has been great temptation to be complacent, to take a long break, to “recover” and the whispering it’s okay to take a break and do nothing. I am so glad God spoke to me, it’s like He is saying, put yourself together daughter, rest is temporary, get up and get back to My Business. I will revive you. I got you. Don’t be complacent, don’t be at ease. Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. That’s the wrong direction. Will you please pray for me that I know how to balance His calling and the busyness of life? Sometimes I just want to throw in the towel (as CEE GEE put it). But the nudge from the Spirit, and the pressure from circumstances. I pray for higher capacity and wisdom to handle things and most of all God’s things. Thank you Lord for your new mercies each morning. Lifting you up in prayers. Thank you sisters.❤️❤️❤️
❤ Praying, sweet Mercy!
hugs and prayers friend!
In a smaller scale than what’s going on in the world, our family is in the midst of trusting God’s direction. Through much prayer and many conversations, my husband has made the decision to leave active duty at the end of this set or orders. While not exactly the decision we thought was coming a year ago, both of us have been given so much peace and “quiet confidence” that this is what the Lord was pressing us towards. Praying that we continue to seek His will as we have no idea about what’s next, including where we even want to live! “When he calls out to me, I will answer him” will continue to be my prayer as I pray to remain with God alone as my refuge.
Not a smaller scale at all for your family ❤️. Prayers for peace and direction Sam.
Agreeing! ❤
bBeautiful Sam as long as you both seek God’s leading every place He takes you will be home.
Dear Shes
In these strange & shattering times … destabilizing & dismantling …
power plays & pointless pursuit…
Rampant & reckless…
Within the known world.
When sleep refuses to come & the stomach churns.
We desperately need assurance as the psalmist declares…
“His faithfulness will be a protective shield. You will not fear the terror of the night,
The arrow that flies by day.”
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I just read this this morning from Ann Voskamp. May it bless you and frame other questions to ask when we are suffering instead of the why question.
“So maybe the question isn’t ever “Why is there suffering in my life?” …
Maybe every time there is a temptation to ask WHY – there are better questions to ask that bring a deeper and better healing…
Maybe instead of asking Why did this happen – the better questions actually are Who, What, Where, and How….
Instead of asking Why did this happen – ask: “Who is sovereign over all that happens, and isn’t He always good, and isn’t He always, always, always for us?”
Instead of asking Why did this happen – ask: “What way will we bear our suffering?”
Instead of asking Why did this happen – ask: “Where are we in proximity, vulnerability, and intimacy and relationship with God through this?”
Instead of asking Why did this happen – ask: “How will we live so that God is surely glorified, and the goodness of God is surely revealed in us through even this?”
Because maybe in many ways – it all comes down to this one question:
If we had a God small enough to understand, how could He be a great enough God to stand with us, against all that we face?
Just because you can’t see the why or the way — doesn’t mean that there isn’t one.
And we don’t so much need to pray to see the way through -– as much as we need to just pray to see more of the One Who is the Way Himself. “
So that – God would get all the glory through even this story.
❤️ thank you Heather that blessed me.
Yes, thank you so much for your perspective. It truly helps reframe everything that we face in life to remember that we never face it alone, as those who have no hope.
Very good Heather. Thank you so much for sharing.
“isn’t He always good, and isn’t He always, always, always for us?” -my favorite ♥️.
Thank you Heather! This really helped me today!
I love Isaiah 32:17: “The result of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever”. If you are ever wondering if following God is worth it, here’s your answer. Do you want peace? Live the way God wants you to. Do you want a quiet confidence? Live the way God wants you to. I can say in all the years I’ve followed Jesus, I DO NOT REGRET ever making the right decisions based on His ways. Never.
“I can say in all the years I’ve followed Jesus, I DO NOT REGRET ever making the right decisions based on His ways. Never.”
Such simplicity…says so much. Thank you, Kris!
So many great comments today! God is so faithful to keep us safe in this world! We have hope for a better day when He reigns here on earth but until then we can walk close with Him in Reading His Word, prayer, and worship!
Biblegateway verse of the day:
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (ESV)
“Blessed is the man
who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for
its leaves remain green, and
is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
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Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners,nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,but the way of the wicked will perish.
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In both of these passages we see that even when trials come fruit is still produced!
In our current reading Isaiah was warning of many trials, but the people’s ears were not open to hear his advice to trust in God not men and their inventions. If we want to produce fruit even in trials, we have to trust God, His Word, and His timing and we must stay on the path of righteousness Some days it’s tempting to throw in the towel, but hang in there, sisters! He is with us if we are with Him.
Joshua Cooley said, “Take heart, sojourning Christian. Everything we experience, endure, lament, and fear today will be swallowed up forever when the righteous King comes and ushers in His perfect kingdom. Until then, we wait patiently, expectantly, joyfully. We wait knowing that “Indeed, a king will reign righteously, and rulers will rule justly” (v.1).
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Love, hugs, and prayers on this chilly 1st day of Spring! ❤
Yes, SO good these passages!! Help me to be a daughter that trusts you Lord!
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“If we want to produce fruit even in trials, we have to trust God, His Word, and His timing and we must stay on the path of righteousness Some days it’s tempting to throw in the towel, but hang in there.”
So good Cee Gee! I need to hear this.
❤ that blessed my heart, Tami! Continued prayers sis! ❤
Yes, Cee Gee! Indeed a chilly second day of spring too. But the poetic prophecies of Isaiah are heating up the place!
That’s for sure! ❤
I love evergreen trees, especially the Alberta blue spruce (very much like the christmas tree), whose leaves don’t wither and it branches out to provide shelters for birds, shade, privacy, and its majestic shape for the garden. Thank you for this image.
Ditto! ❤
How nice would it be instead of hearing the complaining, arguing, this is right, that is wrong…that we could just exude a peace- a wonderful peace of knowing. That God was in control and continues to be in control. We put our faith and trust in him. The world is never going to be right we are told, it is never going to be utopia. That’s why we are told to be Kingdom-minded. That’s what keeps us upright and secure. Looking at what is to come, knowing that we are going to have troubles here. Yet, we struggle. We fear. Anxiety grips us. Our righteous selves start trying to fix things or tell others how they should be.
My word this year is “surrendered.” It keeps me coming back to it no matter what surrounds me or what happens in the world. We are only here a blip in time…then oh Glorious Day!! Time seems to be going faster every year. And the world keeps throwing new things at us. We can’t ignore, we have to fight the good fight and be the light in the darkness. But we have to know that God is in control, and has already told us Jesus will come again, in a blink of an eye..to get ready and prepared! Oh what good news that is! Will my lamp be lit in readiness, or will I be too busy caught up in worldly affairs that I can’t control? We need your help Lord to follow your will. Help us to surrender, trust and obey.
Amen! ❤
Thank you Rhonda. A little more oil for my lamp keep it burning, a little more oil for my lamp I pray… keep it burning till the break of day (one of my favourite songs lol).
One more thing. Please pray as I’m going to be sending an email to admin requesting they keep me as a para in TK. They switch out paras often. However, the teacher and I make a great team, thank you Jesus! So I advocated for myself and had my son and my former boss, whom I worked with at this school for many years, read my email and they said it’s good to go.
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You got it!
Praying
We live in such a broken down, lost world. The answer to it all is our only hope is in Jesus. We read it in scripture and today’s devotional reiterated it, – “We have hope—a great, abiding, and sure hope. This hope certainly doesn’t come from ourselves or anything in this world. Our hope is in a righteous King who has announced the coming of His kingdom.”
He is our true hope. There is countless scripture that I hold close, but Psalm 91 may be my favorite. In my worst, darkest days, weeks, and months of illness there was days when I would read or listen to Psalm 91 on repeat endlessly- I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say it has been thousands of times. Jesus was all I had to cling to in the crisis of fighting for my life, Jesus was my only hope, and He still is. Praise the Lord, my health situation is not as dire, but the truth remains, my (our) greatest hope and help is in our Jesus no matter what we face. Keep holding on to Him, dear friends, cry out, cling. Hold on. He is there.❤️
‘When he calls out to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble.I will rescue him and give him honor.’ Psalm 91:15
I can’t imagine going through that struggle, but you are such a testimony for us! In our weakness, He is strong!
Good word, Wendy! ❤
Thank you Wendy ❤️
Peace. Quiet confidence. Safe and secure dwellings. Forever. Sigh…. YES, take heart “us” sojourning Christians. And let us pray for our loved ones to join us.
Quite confidence (heart), let it be! Our hope and trust is in Him above!!
Amen!
Come quickly, King of righteousness. Amen!
Amen!
I keep coming back to these verses, “You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you. Trust in the Lord forever, because in the Lord, the Lord himself, is an everlasting rock!” Isaiah 26:3-4
“Everything we experience, endure, lament, and fear today will be swallowed up forever when the righteous King comes and ushers in His perfect kingdom.”
Praise God!
I have been filled with so many “whys” in this season of life. Why did my husband lose his job? Why do we have to move away from our support system for this new job? Why do some people seem to get to live a simple life without much turmoil, while what we thought we wanted was ripped away and we have to start over?
I know we are far from alone in our suffering. I also know that God is using this study to help me have a kingdom mindset. Instead of wallowing in the circumstances, I need to be looking at the bigger picture. God has such bigger plans than I could ever understand, and they all work toward peace, righteousness, and justice!
Praise God for His hope!
Hard things, are just so hard, aren’t they. I’m sorry you are struggling. May the Lord’s presence and encouragement lift your heart, the ways He is working be evident ❤️
Praying for your peace today, Meagan ✝️. May you rest in his arms and find strength in Him
Wow – thank you for sharing this.
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Dear Meagan C
Please accept a big hug.
With an even bigger prayer for the
peace that passes all understanding.
Praying for peace in the waiting. Hugs to you Meagan ❤️
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Jesus come quick
Come Lord Jesus, come!
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Woe to us and what sorrow awaits when we look everywhere else for help and trust anyone but the Lord. Guide us please Lord (from yesterday, This is the way, walk in it).
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God isn’t mincing words in these chapters. He is the Lord our God, the wicked will be punished and His reign of peace and restoration is coming. Lord, I am praying for the lost that are all around us, that they will hear and believe Your truth.
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Thinking of all the scrambling I do and have done to try and solve things myself, like a 2 year old asserting their ‘I do it’ independence. The commonly said phrase when I’ve/we’ve exhausted all other options comes to mind – ‘well, there’s nothing else to do but pray.’
Oh my, prayer should always be my number 1 go-to!!
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MIA FAITH – praying as you go through today ❤️❤️
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SOPHIE M ❤️
TERESA DONLEY- ❤️ what a great attitude! praying that the issue with Amanda’s port will be resolved without further surgery.
MERCY ❤️ choose you this day, each day. Love the diamond quip.
CEE GEE – thank you for the diamond info! May we be cleaned, shined and refined by Him ❤️
GWINETH52- ❤️ ‘keen sense of misdirection’
RHONDA J – praying for your ministry with your butterflies
NADS!! ❤️ good to see you!
TRACI GENDRON – what a gift ❤️❤️❤️
Great word as always, Searching! ❤
Joining you in prayers. Thank you sweet sister ❤️
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You’re very kind ♥️
Amen
“Everything we experience, endure, lament, and fear today will be swallowed up forever when the righteous King comes and ushers in His perfect kingdom.”
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O what a glorious day that will be!
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DANIELLE B – praying for your recovery and for your sister.
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MICHELLE P – praying the Lord gives you wisdom and influence in this Muslim couple’s lives.
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TERESA DONLEY – praying Amanda’s port situation is easily fixed.
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GRATEFUL BELIEVER – hoping your first week back to work went well.
Glorious indeed, Kelly ❤️, thank you.
Thinking of the hymn by Jim Hill (1955) What A Day That Will Be (when my Jesus I shall see)
Oh my! I love that song. Brings back so many memories. ❤️
Yes, Kelly, that quote stood out to me too! A time is coming and because God is loving He continues to give time for people to see, including hopefully my sister.
I appreciate the prayers and I’m completely blown away by God’s miraculous work in my life in this season!
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Amen, Kelly!!
Amen Kelly ❤️
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Thank you, kelly ❤️
“Peace, quiet confidence, a safe and secure dwelling – forever.” Come quickly King of Righteousness!!
Amen and amen.
Be encouraged today that the Lord is our refuge and fortress until then.
Maranatha!!! Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
My Lord and my God!
Indeed; come quickly ❤️
Living in London with young children, finally drew the last straw, when waiting at the bus stop just as the senior school was pouring out, all I heard were swear words.. Every other word out of the children’s mouths were a sweat word..
I could not have my children live in that kind of environment!
So we moved to a village 120ish miles away, in the hope that it was a calmer, not so rat racy, and the children would use a lot less bad language..
Guess what?
It is a wonderful place to live, air is fresher, a slower pace in a way, and it doesn’t take an hour fighting traffic to visit 10 miles away! And the children… They can use bad language here too, but Praise God, it is not in your face every day!!!
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Here’s the thing for me, I could move til I’m blue in the face because I hear bad language, but everything else will also follow me..
The troubles, the woes, death, scandals, disaster, sickness, hopelessness.. What I’m saying is in my moving I am only solving one problem, maybe two, but the troubles and the woes still come!
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BUT GOD..
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His promise to give us peace, and safety and security in our dwellings, in part, is here, I think, though it is a taster of the forever peace, the forever safety, the forever security… The forever life with Him.
Psalm 91, gives us the Hope and promise for the here and now, as we go to Him for safety, for protection, as we trust Him, as we believe what we profess to be the truth of Who our Father God is.
There it is again, verse 14… God says.., Those two words hold more clout than any other.. When God says.. It’s a done deal..!
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As Josh Cooley says.. “Take heart, fellow sojourning Christian..” this time here on earth, is not as perfect as the promise of what is to come, but for now, whilst God is with us, and He is, we do this life as best we can, until that forever day, when Hallelujah will be the every other word on our lips, because, I don’t know about you, but when that perfect kingdom comes.. Oh boy… Nothing is gonna stop these feet from dancing..❤
Until that day.. It is well, He is near, always near to those who call on Him..
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God says in Exodus 33:14… “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest..”
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Amen..
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Happy Friday, dear hearts, happy Friday!
Much love, covered in hugs and prayers..❤❤❤❤
Amen, Tina.
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Amen Tina!
Amen❤️
Tina, I always love reading your commentary. You have a gift! Thank you more sharing your wise words and experiences. You are a blessing to us.
Amen and Amen . Happy Spring sisters!
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❤️ my heart is always so soft after reading your post. Full of wisdom sweet Tina!
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Tina, my sister and I were just talking before I started today’s study that we would love to move somewhere like a small English village, away from all the trouble of the world that surrounds us. I know that in your little English village, life may be slower, but as you said, the children can still use bad language, even there. I pray that God helps me remember that wherever I live on this earth, He is where I find my peace. And only by keeping a kingdom view will I find that perfect place to dwell forever. Thank you for sharing your thoughts as always. You help me think!