Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 86

March 27;    2 Thessalonians 3:3;     86/260(II);    ‘Established & Guarded’

2 Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is faithful.  Faithful is a wonderful word.  We can always depend on the Lord.  He is always there and never changes.  As you read God’s Word and learn of the character of Jesus and the provisions He has made for us, it fills our heart with gratitude and love.  Because the Lord is faithful, He is well able to establish us.  Establish means to strengthen.  We are given the means by the Lord to become strong spiritually.  God’s Word tells us who we are, what we have and what we can do because we are Christians.  Prayer, fellowshipping with the Lord also strengthens our lives.  The closer our fellowship with the Lord the more we are strengthened by Him.  As with so many truths of the Word, our Lord Jesus can and will establish us if we let Him.  Jesus will not come and open your Bible and hand it to you, nor will He pick you up, kneel you down so that you can pray.  These things are up to us.  Notice also that our faithful Lord will guard us from the evil one.  There are so many verses in the Bible about not being afraid and the Lord’s protection.  Once again, even though this is very true, if we are not interested in or desirous to get strong by diligent reading of the Word, the protection we have is not realized, which opens the door for satan to cause misery and pain.  The Lord Jesus even gave us authority over the devil.  Even though he is a supernatural fallen angel, he cannot use that power against us if we know our authority and use it to bind him from causing us harm.  Jesus Christ is always faithful.  Knowing this truth is wonderful. Applying this truth establishes you.