Author: Jack Flacco

Give praise to God for He is good. He will rescue us from plague. He will deliver us from disease. He will remove us from the presence of illness. Praise the Lord with a joyful shout. Praise His name in all the world.

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

(Psalms 33:1-3)

Our happiness is in the Lord. He has saved us from the penalty of sin. He has freely given us life through His son Jesus’ death on the cross. Our life is His and we are His. All glory belongs to God for His love for us lasts forever.

Let us raise our voices in a joyful shout. Praise God for His protection on our lives. Worship Him from border to border. Give ear to His Word, for it is good and glorifies Him in all things. He gives mercy to the merciful and gives life to the believer.

Lift your hands to the Lord our God, for He is good. He is faithful to His promises and will give peace to us in our time of need. He will always draw near to us. He will never forsake us. His love for us will never fail.

Shout for joy in the Lord!

Let us pray to the Lord our God for help. He is readily listening for our words. He wants to know us, and He wants us to trust in Him. Through Him, we are safe. Through Him, we will not perish.

Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.

(Isaiah 45:22-23)

From the first breath we took, God was there. He watches over us, making sure we will not stumble and fall. His angels surround us, protecting us in all that we do. We should not fear to have God the Father rescue us. He gave His son Jesus so that we might live.

Let us praise God for He is good. He loves us, guides us and takes care of us in our time of need. Let us praise Him for all His generous gifts. He blesses us with peace, gives us security and leads us through trial, when we need Him the most.

Let us give of our worship to the great and only God. For whatever we are suffering, He will give us rest. His love for us will never grow cold, for His love never fails. He will always look after us, and He will always be there for us.

Turn to God for help.

You will hear, “Be afraid, for the end is near. We will suffer and no one will be there to rescue us.” Do not believe it, for if there were no God the evil one would destroy the very elect; but we have salvation through Jesus. He is our shield. He is our strength.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.”

(1 John 4:18-19)

Illness may threaten us and cast doubt on our lives. Our hope, though, is in Jesus. He will provide us the encouragement to look toward a future filled with joy and happiness. If we believe He is the Son of God, we will live and will not fear of what will happen to us.

All joy is in God the Father and Christ the Son. Floodwaters may surround us, winds may toss us to and fro, but the love of our Lord and Savior will remain firm. He will never surrender us to evil. He will always protect us in the face of adversity.

Disease, be gone, for our Lord is greater. Illness, turn away, for our God is stronger. No power on earth can overcome us. No evil in this world can overtake us. We are Christ’s; we are His.

Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid.

I believe in one God, the only God, creator of heaven and earth, who made me from the dust of the ground and breathed into me the breath of life. He is the Father.

I believe Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, the Anointed One, whom the prophets had foretold would die so that I might live; through his sacrifice I no longer have the penalty of sin hanging over my head.

I believe in the resurrection, in that Jesus died on the cross, was buried and after three days and three nights rose from the dead and now sits at the right hand of the Father. I draw my hope from knowing I will one day rise also to stand before God justified.

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”

(1 John 3:16)

I believe the Holy Spirit is the Comforter God pours into His disciples to bring into remembrance all that Christ had said and done. He lives in me, is a member of the Godhead and is always there giving His church the encouragement to move forward in the face of trials and tribulations. Without Him, I am without purpose or direction.

I believe the church is the instrument into which God calls His elect. Through the church, the world has a vision of what the future will look like once God’s government reigns on the earth.

I believe in the elect, whom the prophets had written are those God had purposed from the beginning of the world to reign with God, inheriting all things.

I believe in the Kingdom of God of which the church is now a part, the government of God that will supersede all governments to reign on this earth forever.

I believe the Holy Bible is the infallible Word of God, the book and only book God has inspired, given authority, and is the guide for the church and its calling: to go to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all Jesus had taught.

I believe in miracles.

Christ Jesus has risen. The Spirit has fallen onto God’s people. We are God’s people, and we have life through the Spirit. Rivers of living water flow through us as the Holy Spirit lives in us, giving us hope in the resurrection.

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

(John 7:37-38)

The good news of the gospel is that we have salvation through Christ’s sacrifice. His life made atonement for our sins. We no longer live with a penalty over our heads for the sins we have committed, for God has poured into us His Spirit, and we are now free.

God lives in us through the Holy Spirit, guiding us throughout our walk with Christ. He provides us the courage to give when we do not have, to bless when we are not well, and to show love toward those who hate us. As His Spirit flows through us, we are His.

How wonderful God is to have given His Helper to us the Holy Spirit as a way to change our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. How great is our God to have sacrificed His life so that we might live. How generous is He to have poured into us rivers of living water.

There is no darkness in you, O Lord. There is no fear. For you uphold the righteous; you give honor to the humble and you love those who seek your ways. How blessed is the one who looks to you for guidance and strength.

For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!

(Psalms 84:10-12)

Lord God, you give me rest. Whatever ails me, you comfort me. Whatever threatens me, you protect me. You are my sail. You are my shield. I do not worry when you are by my side. I do not fear. You are a fortress to my life and a bulwark to my heart. There is no one like you, O God.

I rejoice knowing Jesus gave His life for me. He suffered in my stead. He bore my sins and died for me on a cross meant for me. He is my savior, my king and I will always remember what He did for me. I can never forget how He loved me.

You give me peace in a time of turmoil. You provide me strength in a moment of weakness. You are kind, you are gentle and you are loving toward me.

I rest in you, O Lord!

Living through these difficult days, we have assurance of one thing: we have salvation through Christ. For as disease might threaten us and calamity might surround us, God will hold true to His promise that all those who believe Jesus is the Christ will be saved.

“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8-10)

God so loved us while we were yet sinners that He surrendered eternity to live among us and die among us for our stead. Even more so, for as all who are in Adam shall die, so all who are in Christ shall live, since He died on our cross and through no other shall we live.

Knowing Jesus gave Himself for us, we are now to rejoice, to give thanks and to praise God for His gracious gift. For He has blessed us with hope, joy and peace, redeeming us to Him, through Christ, which no one can set aside.

Our hope is in God’s grace, and through God’s grace, we have salvation through Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

Amen.