"Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit."    -Psalm 147: 1-5

A Mighty Fortress

War is a terrible thing. It is a time of devastation, inhumanity, and great uncertainty. Yet, when people ask me if I am frightened by the prospect of war I tell them, "no." Don't misunderstand me. I don't want war anymore than anybody else does; but my 'peace' during turbulent times comes from the 'Highest Source.' "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4: 6-7). Jesus told us in Matthew 24: 4-7 (read it below) that there would be difficult times and periods of wars. But let us not live in fear or doubt. While some in this world put their faith in a strong military, 'smart' bombs, or chemical & biological weapons of mass destruction; we put our faith in the Mighty Fortress that is our God.

Martin Luther wrote the words to the great hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God many years ago. But the words to that song still ring true today! The first verse begins like this: "A Mighty fortress is our God; A bulwark never failing." Our Lord never fails! And how about verse 2?

Did we in our own strength confide
Our striving would be losing
Were not the right man on our side
The man of God's own choosing
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He
Lord Sabaoth His name
From age to age the same
And He must win the battle

Why do I not live in fear? Because I do not rely on my own strength. I place my faith in the Man of God's choosing, His Son, Jesus. Our Lord and Savior who never changes. Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever! He will win, and already has won, the battle!

Why fear? I want to encourage you today to live in the 'peace' and 'confidence' of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Whatever the battle may be from the 'wars' of this world as nation rises against nation or your own 'personal battles' that go on within you, place your faith and find comfort in our Lord. The evangelist, Paul, writes some great words of encouragement in Romans 5: 1-5. "Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us all." Remember Martin Luther's great hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God!" My hope rests in that Mighty Fortress! Amen.

I pray that all is well with you. Please let me know if you have any prayer concerns or praises. Have a great week and remember to smile :), the Lord loves you!

In Christ,

Shan D. Hartsough

Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places."
-Matthew 24: 4-7

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