BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

I’ll tell you who: our wonderful, Almighty God! He not only knew in advance that things like biological warfare would become a threat, He prepared the antidote for them. God gave us a Bible full of promises so powerful they can protect us from every danger that will ever exist. He provided a refuge for us that is greater than any weapon of mass destruction the devil can devise. When we’re in that refuge, we’re completely safe. Nothing harmful can touch us. Psalm 91 assures us of this. It says: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand]. I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust! For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence” (verses 1-3, "The Amplified Bible"). In my Bible, next to the words “deadly pestilence” I wrote the words “biological warfare” to remind myself that God is well able to deliver us from diseases of every kind—even those that come out of a test tube. In fact, God is so great that ungodly human beings cannot come up with a danger He can’t handle. In the face of the worst they can do, “His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler” for those of us who trust in Him (verse 4, "AMP"). Talk about comprehensive protection! God’s shield and buckler are better than any insurance policy on earth. According to Hebrew scholars, the shield offers three-sided protection, in front and on both sides, while the buckler, which is described by a Hebrew word that means “circle,” wraps all the way around. That means when you’re wearing God’s armor, you’re completely surrounded by His mighty power. You’re living inside a supernatural circle of protection. No wonder Psalm 91:5-12, "New King James Version" says: "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone." Think of it! When you’re in the refuge of God, you have security guards with you all the time. You have angels, the Most High’s best troops, escorting you everywhere you go. If they need help to keep you safe, God will send in reinforcements because He personally made this promise to every person who loves Him. “I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation" (Psalm 91:15-16, "NKJV"). Don’t Go to Heaven Too Soon Praise God, this wonderful divine protection is ours simply because we’re in Christ Jesus! It belongs to us because He paid for it with His precious blood. But it’s important for us to remember: It doesn’t fall on us automatically just because we’re born again. Like every other benefit of salvation, if we’re going to experience it we must reach out and receive it by faith. We must be like David who wrote in Psalm 144:1-2 ("AMP"): “Blessed be the Lord, my Rock and my keen and firm Strength...my Steadfast Love and my Fortress, my High Tower and my Deliverer, my Shield and He in Whom I trust and take refuge.” Notice, David didn’t just quietly agree with God’s Psalm 91 promises. He didn’t just read them and hope everything was going to be all right. He boldly said, “I take refuge in God.” That’s what we must do, too—and we must do it by faith! If we don’t, we will be like everyone else in this world. We’ll be subject to the same dangers as unbelievers. Although we’ll still go to heaven when we die, we’re likely to go there sooner than we intended. I don’t want that to happen to me, do you? JULY '14 : 27

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