It is Time to make The Lord our Refuge.

God is our place of safety. He gives us strength. He is our help in time of trouble. Psalm 46:1

The days we are currently living in are the darkest that have been since the days of Noah and they are only going to get darker. It is critical that we become strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. No other power on earth can protect or save us from the darkness that is encroaching. It Is the last days and I am compelled by the Lord to speak to the body of believers about learning to be strong in Him.

We take refuge in the Lord by knowing Him, as we learn Who He is and How much we are loved by Him we are able to trust Him and His Word..  In my relationship with the Lord I have learned little by little, and through each and every experience of my life, that I can trust Him. I have learned that I must,
'Only Believe' as Jesus told Jairus in Mark 5:36.  When Jesus heard the evil report that Jairus daughter was already dead just after Jairus had asked him to come pray for his daughter, this is what He said; "But Jesus immediately, having heard the word spoken, says to Jairus, Fear not; only believe." We too, can make the choice to Fear not.

This must be our response to every evil report. An evil report can come from many diverse places and in many different shapes and forms. An evil report can come in the form of a fearful thought from the enemy. Have you ever had the thought come to you that one of your children might be involved in a car crash? Have you ever had a thought that you might get cancer? How about an evil report on the news that bad weather or a tornado is headed toward your home town??
I recently experienced this very thing. A tornado made a direct hit on my small home town of Kimberly. I was applying the blood of Jesus to my home and property and family. It ripped the roof off of Kimberly Church of God  a mile from my house. It destroyed the fire station less than a mile from my house. It uprooted huge trees and destroyed roofs, trees and buildings that cut a path straight to within a block of my home. There was no damage to my home, property or family.  Psalm 112:7-8  tells us how those who know God and have a relationship with Him are to respond to bad news or evil reports, it says, " He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established; He will not be afraid."
We must stand our ground with the Word that God has given us. The word of God is called the sword of the Spirit. It is our weapon against the enemy and his plans for our destruction.
The word of God tells us that in this world we will have tribulations, but to be of Good cheer because Jesus has overcome the world for us! 
A lot of believers will point to the story of Job in the Bible and say that God allowed all those horrible things to happen to Job, but, in truth it was Job who allowed it to happen. Job stated himself that what He had greatly feared  had come upon him.
Fear opens a door for satan to attack us. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. So when we allow ourselves to worry and fear, we are giving our enemy an open door to walk right into our lives and wreak havoc!  2 Corinthians 10:5 say that we are to, Cast down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
The word of God tells us that we are redeemed from the curse by Jesus' blood.  The blood Jesus shed for us provides complete and total deliverance. Galatians 1:4 says that Jesus gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.

Psalm 107:2 says, "Let the redeemed of the Lord Say So, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy! Psalm 91 says that a thousand may fall at our side and ten thousand at our right hand but it will not come near us. The only requirement for that to be truth in our lives is for us to act upon it!!  How do we act upon it?? By not responding out of fear. I heard all the sirens going off during that tornado. I was standing in the open door of my home speaking to the storm. I told it that it would not touch my home. I covered my home with the blood of Jesus.  Jesus said in Mark 11:23, "I tell you the truth, if someone says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him."
When we Trust the Lord with all our hearts and lean not unto our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge Him, He directs our path!. Some people will say I was foolish for standing in the door of my home during a tornado instead of cowering in my basement. But my path was not to hide in a basement, the Lord directed my path. I refused to act in fear and follow the "wisdom" of man. This is not the first time I have stood my ground against tornadoes coming toward my home. We get lots of that weather here in Alabama. I learned how to stand my ground against tornadoes as a child watching my parents. They stood on the Word of God way back then. I remember very vividly as a child one time in particular, We had a tornado pass directly over our house too. It took the top half of a large pine tree in our yard and placed it neatly in the neighbors yard across the street, but it did not touch us, or our home.

The Lord has been showing me Psalm 34 a lot lately. It is a blueprint for us as believers. It is full of wisdom, truth and encouragement. Take a look..
 
Psalm 34

 I will bless the Lord at all times;
    his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
    the humble shall hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
    and let us exalt his name together!

 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
    and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant,
    and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
    and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps
    around those who trust Him, and delivers them.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
    for those who fear him have no lack!The young lions suffer want and hunger;
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

 Come, O children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is there who desires life
     and loves many days, that he may see good?  Keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from speaking deceit.Turn away from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous

    and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to cut off the memory of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
    and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
    and saves the crushed in spirit.

 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
    but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones;
    not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked,
    and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
    none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Trust the Lord today and every day with every thing in your life. He will never leave you and never forsake you.