"Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me under the Shadow of thy wings." (Psalms 17:8)

This should be everyone's goal....to be the apple of God's eye, desiring Him to keep us safely protected "under the shadow of his wings."

God will stand beside those who'll stand beside Him. He'll be our protector and our defender against evil. He'll also give us strength daily to live our lives obedient and in accordance to his every will. We must look to Him and focus on the love and concern that he has for us as His children. When temptations come our way, he has promised to deliver the godly out of these temptations. He has also promised to make for us a way of escape from them. It's our duty to look or to recognize this way when God makes this provision.

"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished."  (2 Pet.2:9)

"There hath no temptation taken you but such is common to man; but, God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (I Cor.10:13)

"Abide in me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.......If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." (John 15:4-5)

From this scripture, John 15: 4-5, we can see the necessity of striving to abide in God to the best of our abilities. For, if we don't he'll not abide in us; and without Him, we will be lost eternally. As Christians, we must bear fruit. Daily we have responsibilities that we must fulfill as his servants. Without doing these things, we'll be guilty of having faith without works. As we all know, this type of faith is not pleasing unto God. God calls this faith dead, meaning useless.