Rescue Plan

Rescue Plan

2 Peter 2: ⁴ God did not spare the angels who sinned, but threw them into hell, where they are kept chained in darkness, waiting for the Day of Judgment. ⁵ God did not spare the ancient world, but brought the flood on the world of godless people; the only ones he saved were Noah, who preached righteousness, and seven other people. ⁶ God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying them with fire, and made them an example of what will happen to the godless. ⁷ He rescued Lot, a good man, who was distressed by the immoral conduct of lawless people. ⁸ That good man lived among them, and day after day he suffered agony as he saw and heard their evil actions. ⁹ And so the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials and how to keep the wicked under punishment for the Day of Judgment, ¹⁰ especially those who follow their filthy bodily lusts and despise God's authority.

 

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“You look miserable” someone said to me. I did not know it was showing on my face. The pressures of the position weighed heavily on me. Meanwhile, it seemed like some people, who I felt were cutthroat, were getting away with lies and manipulation.

 

• It seemed like there was no hope.
• It seemed like there would be no relief.
• It seemed like a good time to give up because powerful bullies were getting their way.

 

Peter goes into theology that most do not want to hear. He partially explains the wrath of GOD on those who are determined to do evil. He gives a few examples of how GOD takes sin seriously. But he also gives hope.

 

My Observations:

• I was lost in my many sins, BUT GOD gave me a gift which is eternal life through JESUS CHRIST our LORD.
• GOD saved me from all my sins, past, present and future.
• GOD’s authority is to be welcomed in my life so HE can correct me any time HE wants.

 

Falling down is not the problem, it is getting back up that is hard. I mean, when I fall to sin and it seems like my world is falling apart, at one time I had no place to turn. BUT GOD gave me a solution.

 

JESUS forgave me for my sins and gave me a COMFORTER who is willing to guide me daily. HE protects me from those who try to harm me, and HE protects me from myself. I am glad GOD has a rescue plan for me when thing look bleak.

 

Challenge

• Why does the writer explain this side of GOD?
• Have you ever been in a miserable situation where it seemed like there was no way out?
• Will you turn your eyes to GOD’s love for you and accept HIS plan of rescue by believing in HIS SON JESUS, who volunteered to save you and me today?

Rescue from Above

Isaiah 31: ⁴ This is what the Lord says to me:

“As a lion growls,
    a great lion over its prey—
and though a whole band of shepherds
    is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
    or disturbed by their clamor—
so the Lord Almighty will come down
    to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
⁵ Like birds hovering overhead,
    the Lord Almighty will shield Jerusalem;
he will shield it and deliver it,
    he will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it.”

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“How are we going to make it to the bus?” I thought. I mean there were gang-bangers everywhere this day. One of my classmates, who lived in the neighborhood, whistled a very distinct whistle. Suddenly I noticed the gangsters retreat.

• There were times when it seemed like this is going to be “it.”
• There were times when it seemed like the situation could not get any worse.
• There were times when it seemed like I was going to meet my demise.

Still frightened, I stepped outside with my friends. We walked safely to the bus stop and amazingly got on the bus without harm. Our classmate knew the thugs and with one whistle, told them to retreat. We were watched over.

• GOD says to me “I AM watching over you on a daily basis even when you don’t feel it.”
• GOD says to me “I AM the almighty and I will do battle for you.”
• GOD says to me “I AM rescuing you every day so do not be afraid.”

Looking at the problem too long makes me frightened. I mean as I stare at the calamity, I am no longer looking at GOD. HE is the one who shows me the way. GOD put my classmate there, at the right place, at the right time. GOD watches over me daily and I praise HIM!

• Are you scared?
• Are you frightened?
• Can you put your trust in GOD rather than your knowledge?
• Won’t you stop fighting GOD by spreading your ways and follow HIS?

Rescue is Only a Question Away

Psalm 144: ¹⁰ to the One who gives victory to kings,
    who delivers his servant David.

From the deadly sword ¹¹ deliver me;
    rescue me from the hands of foreigners
whose mouths are full of lies,
    whose right hands are deceitful.

¹² Then our sons in their youth
    will be like well-nurtured plants,
and our daughters will be like pillars
    carved to adorn a palace.
¹³ Our barns will be filled
    with every kind of provision.
Our sheep will increase by thousands,
    by tens of thousands in our fields;
¹⁴     our oxen will draw heavy loads.
There will be no breaching of walls,
    no going into captivity,
    no cry of distress in our streets.
¹⁵ Blessed is the people of whom this is true;
    blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.

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David was fleeing for his life and a few times this was true for me. From being chased by bullies, thugs and gang members, running became a solution of necessity. As an adult I remember running from other bullies in companies, creditors and collection agencies. Fear filled my bones, BUT GOD was always there.

• GOD tells me “Stand still and watch the salvation of the LORD.”
• GOD says to me “I AM the only path to deliverance.”
• GOD whispers to me “I AM the gate; no one gets into the kingdom but by ME.”

The LORD is truly my shepherd, I shall not want. HE gives me peace and restores me even when I don’t deserve it. I am excited that I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever!

• Can you place your full trust in GOD today?
• Will you stand still and watch the deliverance of the LORD?
• Can you be honest with GOD and let HIM know your needs without stating them in anger?
• Will you let GOD be your LORD today?

Getting out of the Trap

Psalm 129: ¹ “They have greatly oppressed me from my youth,”
    let Israel say;
² “they have greatly oppressed me from my youth,
    but they have not gained the victory over me.
³ Plowmen have plowed my back
    and made their furrows long.
⁴ But the Lord is righteous;
    he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.”

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“Will I ever get out of here?” I sat and thought. Bullies on the left and poverty on the right, was a thought I had in eighth grade. “Will I ever get out of here?” I sat and thought. This time, difficult teachers and no help or direction prompted my thinking in high school. “Will I ever get out of here?” I sat and thought. This time I had a very boring job in a town I despised and I had no contacts.

• There are some places in life that seemed like I would remain forever.
• There are some places in life that seemed like I would never leave.
• There are some places in life that seemed as if I was stuck with no way out.

Looking forward during those difficult times, the road seemed endless. I mean who can do four whole years of high school, my young mind could not conceive. Looking back at that trial is only laughable compared to the trials of an adult. GOD had a plan for me.

• GOD is always there for me when I question the road HE has me on.
• GOD is always there for me when the road seems bleak and I have nothing inside of “me” to resolve the current situation.
• GOD is always there for me when things seem impossible to me.

When I look at my power and assess my skills I quickly get nervous. I compare what I know with what’s ahead of me and immediately feel like giving up, BUT GOD has shown to be ever faithful. HE says “When you are weakest, MY strength is made perfect.” GOD is my salvation, whom shall I fear?

• Are you nervous?
• Are you feeling frightened by your surroundings?
• Can you be still for a moment today and listen to GOD?
• Will you accept the peace HE has for you this day?

Narrow Escapes are the Norm

Psalm 124: ¹ If the Lord had not been on our side—
    let Israel say—
² if the Lord had not been on our side
    when people attacked us,
³ they would have swallowed us alive
    when their anger flared against us;
⁴ the flood would have engulfed us,
    the torrent would have swept over us,
⁵ the raging waters
    would have swept us away.

⁶ Praise be to the Lord,
    who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
⁷ We have escaped like a bird
    from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
    and we have escaped.
⁸ Our help is in the name of the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

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Like Hollywood I “woke up” just in the nick of time as I drove my car off the expressway and onto an exit ramp! Another time my friend and I made it onto the bus just in the nick of time, as a fight broke out amongst the thugs the driver closed the door behind us. A speeding car almost crashed into mine once.  I was told not to travel the week prior to every plane being grounded due to terrorist attacks. The list goes on and on.

• People have said to me “You are lucky.”
• People have said to me “You have skill.”
• People have said to me “You must be living right.”

Life-threatening narrow escapes have happened to me many times throughout the years. Looking back, I don’t know that I have always been thankful.

• GOD wants me to acknowledge that HE was the one who brought me through all of my troubles.
• GOD wants me to recognize that only HE can protect me even in the direst situation.
• GOD wants me to open my mouth and praise HIM for the way HE is handling things during my trials, not after.

I love what the writer says “Our hope is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Only HE can pull off safety and security. Nothing on this earth provides protection like GOD. HE breaks chains made by humans and enables freedom from traps.

• Are you waiting on your escape?
• Has it been prolonged?
• Will you praise GOD for taking HIS time?
• Can you recognize that GOD has given you your daily bread?
• Will you look back on your life to remember the narrow escapes HE provided you?

GOD is with me

Genesis 39: ² The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. ³ When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, ⁴ Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 

⁵ From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.

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All seemed lost as my interviews hadn’t gone so well, then a recruiter appeared and I was hired for my first job out of college. I was lost on my new job and my boss’s boss took me under his wing. Lost in my work, a recruiter reached out to me with a wonderful job that I took back in my home town.

Other positions and opportunities followed all because of the right person was put in front of me when I was lost.

• Sometimes I feel lost especially when I’m not getting my way.
• There are times when I feel lost and don’t have a path to travel.
• Many times I have felt lost and despair sets in.

Joseph was thrown in a hole by his brothers who hated him. Sold into slavery, his plans and dreams seemed impossible. BUT GOD was with him. I must admit, this piece of history seemed a little too convenient. Can this happen to me?

• GOD said “I AM with you” when HE gave me HIS SON.
• GOD said “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
• GOD said “No one can take you out of my hands.”

When GOD connected with me there is no human, no demon, no situation or circumstance that can separate me from HIS love. HE is the glue that sticks to me even through sin and shame. HE gives me comfort knowing HE is with me even until the end of this age and beyond!

• Do you feel lost?
• Are you feeling a bit down?
• Can you recognize that GOD is with you?
• Won’t you let HIM take control of the situation and watch HIS power?

Why does GOD want me up so early?

Romans 7: ²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

   So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

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Seven Thirty arrived quickly after being out the night before. I heard the phone call so I picked up the receiver and hung it back up again. Then I unplugged the phone so I could sleep. My roommate said “Aren’t you supposed to go to church this morning?”

“I’ll go next time,” I said. After a while, the group stopped trying. I mean it’s just a party, why does GOD want me up so early anyway?

• Inside of me lies a sin nature that is at war with GOD.
• Inside of me contains a battle between “following my urges” and “following GOD.”
• Inside of me holds what is against GOD and what is for GOD.

Seems a little unfair that I am born with a sin nature that automatically sends me to Hell, doesn’t it? I mean what kind of GOD would create me specifically to go to Hell? Is there any way that I can be saved from this terrible end? I mean GOD cannot go back on HIS decree that anyone who sins deserves death so even HE can’t save me right? Wrong!

• GOD knew I would be born into a no win situation so HE volunteered to die in my place.
• GOD didn’t place a problem in me rather HE gave me a solution namely JESUS.
• GOD knew HE would easily win over sin so all I need to do is believe in HIM and HE will do the fighting.

Sometimes I think bad things happen to me when I “sin” and good things happen to me when I am “good” and that is probably so far from the truth, at least for me. I find that when I try to follow GOD I am actually declaring war against a being who is jealous of my relationship with GOD, namely Satan.

He hurls temptations and circumstances that would normally turn me away from GOD; BUT GOD has placed HIS HOLY SPIRIT in me to fight a victorious battle. I cannot lose with GOD!

• Do you think your sin nature is winning?
• Do you believe sin is getting the best of you?
• Can you believe that GOD has already taken care of your sin nature?
• Can you be encouraged that GOD understands your sin and loves you dearly?

One “man” rescued me!

Romans 5: ¹⁸Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. ¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

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“Liquor run” was designated to me since I had the car. Our phone rang twenty one times in ten minutes; I know this because I counted. “Where is the party” people asked. The number of people was getting too large so I coaxed a person living in my old dorm to reserve a room for us to have a “meeting.”

The night held plenty of laughter until two guys took the merriment a bit far causing a fight. I wonder if I should have held this party.

• There are times I lead a lot of people to my sin.
• There are times I drag people down to my mess.
• There are times I pull people away from GOD rather than towards HIM.

I look back at Adam and think “man, why did you eat that fruit?!” I mean now I have no alternative but to sin and die. GOD saw that sin would ruin the entire human race so HE decided to do something about it. HE volunteered to become a human and take on the challenge of living a perfect sinless life.

HE accomplished this mission and allowed HIMSELF to be murdered by HIS own creation. HE took my punishment for every sin I have ever done or will ever do. HE rescued me in spite of me turning my back on HIM time and time again.

• JESUS volunteered to become a human and the FATHER and HOLY SPIRIT agreed.
• JESUS became a human and lived a sinless life even though HE was tempted far more than I ever will be.
• JESUS allowed HIS own creation to murder HIM even though HE did nothing wrong.
• JESUS was raised from the dead and is now placed above everything where HE belongs.

It was JESUS who rescued me and I didn’t even know I needed to be saved. Now that I know what HE did for me, I feel driven to turn people towards HIM instead of dragging people into my sin.

• Are you causing others to fall because of your lifestyle?
• Are you dragging people down instead of picking them up?
• What are you purposefully doing for GOD?
• Are you seeking HIM because you want to avoid punishment or because you love HIM?

From bad to worse.

Acts 27: ³ Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. ⁴ When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” ⁵ But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

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Darkness seemed a little darker this particular night as my car sputtered and died on the side of the road.  I had no idea how far I was from my town and cell phones, well let’s just say, they were few years away from being sold to the masses. “Come on GOD!” “I live in a town I don’t like and now this!?”

As I sat on my trunk in the middle of nowhere I wondered if anyone would ever stop. A couple stopped, asked me if I needed help and volunteered to take me to the nearest rest stop. On the way they told me about the Great News about JESUS. “Whew” I said to myself. GOD sent them!

• Sometimes when I think I am in a bad to worse situation, I can no longer see or hear GOD.
• Sometimes when I think I am in a bad to worse situation, I think there is no way out.
• Sometimes when I think I am in a bad to worse situation, I feel pitiful.

Paul went from bad to worse, from out of a shipwreck and into a snakebite. What more could happen to him? All he was trying to do was live for GOD. Everyone around him thought he deserved the things happening to him and they just didn’t understand he was being used as an example of GOD’s power.

• GOD can handle all situations especially when things get worse.
• GOD can handle all situations especially when I take my hands off of them.
• GOD can handle all situations especially when I believe HE will use this for HIS perfect plan.

In my mind, it’s actually great when things go from bad to worse because I believe I am on the right track. The enemy wants me to stop believing GOD will deliver me so he tries harder and harder to make me give up and conform to his ways. GOD says “stand still and watch MY deliverance.” Believing in GOD’s plan grows my faith more than I know.

• Have situations gone from bad to worse for you?
• Do you think there is no way out of your circumstance?
• Will you praise GOD for HIS deliverance even before it happens?
• Can you put your trust in HIM first and then watch HIS deliverance from your trial?

GOD rescues us even when we don't know what's going on.

Acts 12:5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

 

6The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.

 

8Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

 

11Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."

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Sometimes I don't think GOD is listening to me. Things seem hopeless so during those times I give up. I mean, as far as I can see, the situation “at that time” seems to be quite impossible.

 

Then GOD delivers me and I go on my merry way. Then another problem would pop up and that issue would seem impossible and guess what? HE would deliver me from that. GOD has done some amazing things in my life.

 

• GOD protected me in dangerous situations.
• GOD led me when I had no direction.
• GOD raised me up to heights I never would have dreamed.
• GOD picked me up when I fell from those heights.

 

Peter was in prison in an impossible situation. He was sentenced to death and for days he awaited his impending doom. GOD had another plan for Peter. GOD sent an angel to rescue him and Peter couldn't believe it.

 

Peter was miraculously being rescued by GOD but he was going through the motions and had no idea that he was truly being rescued. He had lost all hope and was just sitting there. What else could he do? Meanwhile on the outside, people prayed "earnestly" for his release.

 

• GOD hears my prayers and your prayers.
• GOD has a plan to rescue me even before I get into trouble.
• GOD has a time for my rescue that is just in time and right on time.

 

Sometimes I try and try so hard to get myself out of impossible situations. I pray "at" GOD then I go on with my plans, never once asking HIM "is this the direction YOU want me to go?" Peter listened to the angel and didn't have a clue what was really going on.

 

It wasn't Peter's "lack of faith" that put him in jail and it wasn't his faith that got him out. GOD's plan for Peter was greater than any jail. HIS plan for me is greater than any problem I face on this planet.

 

• Are you facing an impossible situation?
• Do things seem to be falling apart and you have no way to fix them?
• Are you exhausted from trying too hard?
• Do you realize that GOD still performs miracles like the one performed for Peter?
• What is GOD's plan for you? Have you asked HIM?