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Refreshment in Refuge

    by Gina Burgess

Let's Dance
Date Posted: July 4, 2021

Here's the question...

Do you believe God is bigger than any problem?

I know beyond any doubt that God can be trusted. He has been true and faithful my whole life even during those two black years when I deliberately chose to turn my back on Him. What God says He will do, He will do. No, not one can snatch those from His hand. Fully one quarter of the Bible is prophecy and every one of the prophecies have come true so far even to the exact timing. The timing of Jesus’ birth is one of those prophecies. God told Daniel the year He would come and that is found in chapter 9 of Daniel. God told when He would come, where He would be born, how He would be rejected, when He would die...

For instance, in verse 25 of Daniel 9, Gabriel is explaining that from the time the decree goes out to rebuild Jerusalem (take note, not the Temple but the city) to the day that God’s Chosen will come would seven weeks of years (seven times seven years or 49 years, and there would be sixty-two weeks of years, 434 years). This is the exact number of years from the time the decree from Artaxerxes (445 B.C. – Nehemiah 2:1-8) to rebuild Jerusalem went out (carried along with the materials to rebuild the walls by Nehemiah) to when Jesus was born and then to when He was “cut off”, His triumphal entry into Jerusalem when we know as Palm Sunday. (Please note that our 365 day year is a bit different than the lunar year set according to Hebraic timing.)

The walls were built in 52 days by Nehemiah. Then the streets and more residences of the city were built. This most likely took 49 years to complete which would be the first seven times seven weeks of years. This also concludes the ministry of Malachi. Okay, class… How long was God silent between the Old Testament and when John the Baptist began his ministry? Exactly 400 years. And Jesus was cut off after three and one half years of His ministry which began when He was approximately 30 years old, that would equal 434 years until Jesus was crucified. Talk about perfect timing. Even with all our advanced technology and Doppler radar systems, we can only accurately predict the weather about three days in advance with no real guarantees. To promise something as huge as the rebuilding of a city which is under the rule of a foreign king is astounding, but for it to come to pass exactly as predicted is beyond comprehension if it were not for the LORD. How can we not trust that? With our finite minds, we cannot fathom this Crimson Thread which travails throughout scripture.

I am quite sure the rest of God’s promises/prophecies will come true in God's good timing.

Paul explains to us that those that wandered in the desert for 40 years all ate of the Spiritual food (manna) and all drank of the Spiritual drink (sweet water from bitter). 1 Corinthians 10. However, these people kept on complaining, kept on trying Him, kept on murmuring, they worshiped foreign gods, and the crown of their sins was that they disbelieved God. Yet... God was with them through it all. He could have so easily breathed Holy fire on them and burned them up. But, He didn't.

Nothing is greater or bigger than God. All things fall in line with Scripture and God most certainly is Who He says He is and will do exactly what He says He will do. When He says He will never leave or forsake us, He means it. I am living proof.

Our God is an awesome God.

The key to realize is that our battles begin and end in the Mind. Our thinking is a powerful tool that can, if we allow him to, be used by Satan. We must ask God to take complete authority over our hearts and our minds. We must redecorate our minds with Jesus and that will take the shackles of bondage off of us so, as that song goes, we can dance!

God is the only safe, consuming passion we have. Our Enemy is seizing technology and is trying to make evil from what God intended for good. The only way to be released from evil is to take down that tacky decor in our mind and replace it with Jesus. The drugs of constant TV and games and internet JUNK must be replaced with things that are holy and things that are pure and things that are godly. Meditate on these things and watch how the addictions of the world have no more power. It is astounding!

So put on that Helmet of Salvation and remove Satan's influence by trusting God...Believe God. Wear the Sword of the Spirit so that the evil thoughts will never be a banana peel under foot. Wear the shoes of the Gospel of Peace and dance with Him. And the Belt of Truth will keep us from tripping over our skirts when we dance. He wants to dance with us. Can you see His hand outstretched? Can you hear His sweet voice asking you to dance? We'll never be wallflowers, because our Beloved always has His protective arm around us. Turn up the music and let's dance!

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"Refreshment in Refuge" from Gina Burgess

The Servant Leader

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Biography Information:

Gina Burgess has taught Sunday School and Discipleship Training for almost three decades. (Don't tell her that makes her old.) She earned her Master's in Communication in 2013.

She is the author of several books including: When Christians Hurt Christians, The Crowns of the Believers and others available in online bookstores. She authors several columns, using her God-given talent to shine a light in a dark world. You can browse her blog at Refreshment In Refuge.

If you'd like to take a look at some Christian fiction and Christian non-fiction book reviews check out Gina's book reviews at Upon

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