Safe, My Love, III
by
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (3/17/2019)
“And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound “ (St. Luke 15:27, King James Version [The prodigal son]).
Greetings in the Holy Name of Jesus,
My brothers and sisters what is it that you want from a scary world of death and desolation; wastes and destructions; but to keep safe, my love? As a father, you possibly want to provide and protect. Jehovah Jireh and Jehovah Nissi are just two Names of God that express what God can and will do for you. Jesus called you friends not servants, so I say to you, my friends, to have the Spirit of God’s grace in you at the time you need what you need to keep safe and sound, is blessed.
As a mother, you want to nourish and care for; also to have the Spirit of God—- even the Spirit off Mary, the mother of Christ Jesus, in you at the time you need what you need to keep safe and sound; free from all harm, is blessed, indeed. I, also, feel your need to keep safe, my love.
I do not need to speak of the prodigal son, for that story is the story of the candle lit in the window, with prayers —- hoping for the safe return of a love one. It is the story of a quiet desperation that aches your heart with the uncertainty of the horrors of the time we live in —- the sickening threat of the imagination exploring the unknown possibilities that could happen in an unsafe world, given to deliberate contemplations of darkness, eventually going mad —- deep into madness because of fear, forgetting no matter how desperate the need within you became more present you knew that the one you love, is safe. God says fear not for I am with you more than 360 times in the Holy Bible because God knows the human condition of weakness of flesh, needs blessed assurance —- comfort of heavenly descent, the guidance of the Holy Ghost for there are so many ways to make a believer feel unsafe in a safe place.
In reflection of Apostle Paul and all the others jumping off the sinking ship to the water making it safely to land only to later prove the presence of Christ Jesus when he gathered sticks for a fire and a snake grabbed hold of him that came out of the bundle of sticks yet he shook off the snake and remained safe, for all to witness possible condemnation or judgment of God [The Acts 27:44; 28:1-6, KJV].
Obviously, let us reason together my friends; if, the snake had taken Paul, then, Paul making it safely to land —- a contradiction of events, questioned whether Paul’s safe landing was the will of God but since Paul shook off the snake, the witnesses could not condemn or question; just rest in the blessed assurance of God’s love to keep safe, my love. The Gospel Readings in The Acts of the Apostles said, “And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land “ [27:44]. Howbeit they intently looked upon him when he should have swollen or suddenly fallen down dead, for a great while and they saw no harm came to him, so with changed minds the witnesses said Paul was a god [28:6]. I am not saying that you will shake off all things but there is a direct relationship with God’s will —- saving grace for Christ Jesus in his prayers asked God if, he could not go any further than the Garden of Gethsemane, then, to avoid the cross, for he found himself on the receiving end of a series of misfortunes. Have you ever found yourself on the receiving end of back-to-back misfortune, wondering, is it over because of the adage that a series of misfortune comes in threes?
What a dreadfully forbearing adage —- or saying, to ponder, It always comes in threes? Quite naturally, you think, how you got over; how you came out from under; how the mercy of God prevailed, leaving you feeling faint but you know you must faint not, since the first deliverance, the second deliverance, even the third deliverance for the rest of your life. Surely, you are thanking God because sometimes the dreadful three might just be that you were in the wrong place at the wrong time; you got caught up in the wrong crowd; you found yourself on the receiving end of lies spun by an enemy; or just as some say, it is your time to cry; remember Apostle Paul was on the island called Melita [The Acts 28:1, KJV]. There are so many stories of friends surviving, only to suffer and die, later on that weakens the heart, to even think about what great perils they faced and survived, only to be taken, on a later day —- Hezakiah prayers. It was Jesus story; his story—- our history that repeats itself, in a world of duplication and replication.
How do you feel safe in an unsafe world? Rhetorically speaking, sometimes I feel like a motherless child —- sometimes I feel like a fatherless child but you know to whom you belong —- you know your Heavenly Father God, Yahweh, who covers you; to protect you, Jehovah Nissi and who gave the world the only begotten Son [John 3:16]. You must remember the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who suffered because she was pregnant and unmarried until Joseph stood for her; married her. She survived condemnation from her neighbors yet she bore Christ Jesus and she was actively involved in the public ministry of her son —- the Son of God, attending meetings bringing along his sisters and brothers even when Jesus was so involved in his teachings —- his mother and siblings visited him. To God be the glory.
In closing, the people of the world feel the pain of an unsafe world but we must faint not and we must fear not for our Heavenly Father, Yahweh is with us. Even in the darkness you feel all around you and face daily, know in your heart that the God you serve is a Mighty God, God of Great Wrath to revenge and save his family through His Son, Christ Jesus. When was the last time God saved you, not forsaking the evidence of opening your eyes, each and every morning —- out of the darkness; out of your darkest hour, especially when you jumped out of the frying pan into the fire yet God’s fire consumed the fire of death in the resurrection power of Christ Jesus? Lord, thank you for Christ Jesus and for all you do and for all you will do. Amen.
