God Loves You & Keeps You – Purity 1698
Purity 1698 07/01/2025 Purity 1698 Audio Podcast
Purity 1698 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a close up view of the rocky shoreline off of West Bay Road, near the West Barrier Bar Park in Fair Haven NY, featuring a rock inscribed with the adage “God loves you” comes to us from yours truly as I captured this miraculous discovery yesterday afternoon while enjoying the wonders of Lake Ontario on day 2 of my 48 hour vacation road trip.
Well, It’s Tuesday and even though my trip out west will come to an end in just a few short hours, the time away with my wife, TammyLyn was well spent and I thank God for the blessings that He provides me with and the reminders and revelations He gives me when I sit and ponder His greatness, mercy, and love. My time away has been short but sweet and because my time is short, I will keep it short this morning.
Yesterday, I shared the first of a two-part devotion from In Touch Ministries, and today I am sharing part two, to remind us all of how God “keeps” those who put their faith in Him. Dr. Charles Stanley writes, and reminds us that:
“God Is Our Keeper
God always hears and responds to His children’s cries for help.
Psalm 121:3-8
We learned yesterday that God is our protector. David’s song in Psalm 121 also portrays the Lord as our keeper.
- “He who keeps you will not slumber” (v. 3). Many people are fearful of the dark. But thankfully, our Caretaker needs no sleep. He is always alert and attentive to our cries, even if our feelings tell us otherwise.
- “The Lord is your keeper … He will keep your soul” (vv. 5, 7). When parents must leave their children, they put a trusted person in charge to protect and provide for them. How much more invested and capable is our heavenly Father! He preserves us physically and spiritually, allowing only what He knows will be for our good. His Holy Spirit gives warnings to keep us from evil and also provides guidance, so we’ll grow in the right direction.
- “The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever” (v. 8). God is sovereign. He is with us always—protecting, guiding, and teaching. He accompanies and leads, even in the small tasks that seem insignificant.
There’s no place we could go that’s beyond the reach of our loving heavenly Father, who is our keeper. His precious love and watchful eye are constant, and He cares for us better than anyone else ever could.” – Charles Stanley
Amen. Yesterday, TammyLyn and I searched out fun along the shores of Lake Ontario and after we were sorely disappointed with the three feet of mucky and mirey algae bed that lined the sandy shores of Sodus Point Beach Park, TammyLyn encouraged me to drive us to a point on the map across the Little Sodus Bay from the Fari Haven Beach State Park that we visited the day before, where we discovered a rock covered “beach” which was absolute heaven for my wife who is a bonafide rock hound, who harvests rocks and uses them for crafting projects. The unnamed “beach” off of West Bay Road was not only a rockhound’s heaven but it also featured easy, muck free access to the waters of Lake Ontario, few people, and a spot where we could get some shade. After seeing what the beach had to offer, we quickly determined that we had found our home for the day and went about setting up our day camp beneath the shady of some trees. As I was setting up my lounge chair next to our beach blanket, my eyes were drawn to the rock in today’s photo – which welcomed me with the assurance that God loved me. Seeing this “sign’ not only confirmed for me that we had found the right spot but it also reinforced the message that I have been receiving since being born again, and particularly in the last month or so as I have been receiving encouragement from the ministry work of Mark DeJesus who emphasizes the freedom and healing we can receive when we have a heart’s knowledge of God’s love for us.
That rock and its small, inscribed message of God’s love told me that I was in the right place and that no matter where I would go God’s love would keep me safe.
One apologetic illustration regarding Jesus fulfilling all the Old testament prophecies of the Messiah, goes like this, it states that the likelihood of one person fulfilling those prophecies is as likely as covering the state of Texas in silver dollars, two feet deep (if I recall it correctly) and painting one of those silver dollars red, and then randomly drawing one of the sea of silver dollars and coming up with the one painted red – pretty unlikely, right?
Well, when I looked at the thousands of rocks up and down the coast of that rocky beach on Lake Ontario yesterday, and though about the odds of me finding that one rock that said “God loves you”, I knew that God had sovereignly directed my steps so I would see it and receive the message of God’s love once again. God is our protector and keeper and His love for us is amazing!
——————————————————————
For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
——————————————————————
Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
(While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verse comes from the section on Overcoming Evil – How to Handle It When Others Wrong You.
Romans 12:17 (ESV) Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
Today’s verse is the first of three passages of scripture that fall under the sixth point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Overcoming Evil – How to Handle It When Others Wrong You.
6. Do not seek revenge.
Today’s Bible verse tells us to resist the world’s example of taking revenge on those who do us “evil” but encourages us to think and to only do what is honorable in the sight of all who may be watching.
Paul’s advice (aka God’s instructions) in Romans reminds us that we are ambassadors of God’s kingdom and that we need to remember that we represent Him in everything we do.
Hearing that a follower of Jesus acts dishonorably reinforces the devil’s lies that our faith is a sham and although our salvation is never won because of our performance ( and our weaknesses also give glory to God’s grace), where we are able – when we think first – we have the opportunity to represent God’s kingdom with a powerful example of faith in action. When we resist our natural inclinations and do what is right according to God, we can cause people to be awed and wonder about the life-changing power that comes to someone’s life when they trust in Jesus.
So don’t repay evil with evil, because your restraint will be used to edify you and could be used to bring others to Him.
———————————————————–
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “Day by Day Along the Way” By Jay E. Adams.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Adams’ books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 197
Which of you by worrying can add one moment to his life? So then … – Luke 12:25–26
The point is clear—if we can’t do such a small thing as add one minute to our lives, why do we think that worrying over food and clothing will get us anywhere? If God cares for vegetation so as to clothe it magnificently, won’t He care for the temporal wants of His children? Worrying is, at bottom, lack of faith in God. It is an implicit complaint against His providential care. Therefore, it is wrong! Paul made it clear that worry is a double sin when he wrote, “be worried about nothing, but in everything by prayer …” When you disobey the command not to worry, you sin; when you disobey the command to pray instead, you sin. Worry only makes one less able to handle life and its tasks. People have been known to destroy their lives over worry. It is the respectable sin. People rarely think of worry as sin. But until you see it as such, you are not likely to get serious about eliminating it from your life. “So then …”[1]
———————more tomorrow——————————
The MT4Christ247 audio podcast is available on YouTube, Apple, Amazon, Spotify, iHeartradio, Podbean, Audible, and many more podcast platforms!
Subscribe to The MT4Christ247 Channel on YouTube!
Email me at m.t.clark@mt4christ.com with any questions, or comments, or to inquire about our Christian Life Coaching or Prayer Ministry Services.
“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”
Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
Support MT 4 Christ Community Freedom Ministry!
To Give via Pay Pal Go to the MT4Christ Donations Page
Or Give Via Venmo or the Cash App by scanning the QR Code below:
[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 205.
Leave a Reply