New Beginnings.., Hope the new day finds you well and in good spirits despite your circumstances. This is the season of Emmanuel (God with us). I strongly encourage you to consider how close you are to the Lord today...He came to be with you! ...the Lord himself will choose the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel..."God is with us" Isaiah 7:14 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on His shoulders. These will be His royal titles: Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David, the passionate commitment of the LORD Almighty will guarantee this! Isaiah 9:6 When the men of the church get together to pray on Tuesday mornings we pray that you can sense His presence and the deliverance He brings with Him. The King of Israel, David understood God's deliverance and seemed to look forward to the day when his descendant (Jesus; the salvation of Yahweh) would deliver all men. In 2 Samuel 22 David devoted an entire song to God's deliverance. I believe it is essential to understand God's ability to deliver so that they can remain strong and stay the course on a narrow road in tough timees; agonizing to make it through the narrow gate. God has good reasons for delivering man and in 2 Samuel 22:26 David begins to recount God's good reasons for delivering us from danger. "To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity, To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the wicked you show yourself hostile. You rescue those who are humble, but your eyes are on the proud to humiliate them." 2 Samuel 22:26-28 David being a spiritual leader understood that God delivers us so that we can understand His character. In God's deliverance we experience His might and faithfulness, integrity, justice, purity, and His goodness. Even the crafty experience God by not being able to outwit Him. I think that is why we get grumpy when we act wickedly...we get tired of not being able to out wit Him... More next time...Blessings Pastor Greg