Help Quickly!

In you, O Lord, I seek refuge;

    do not let me ever be put to shame;

    in your righteousness deliver me.

Incline your ear to me;

    rescue me speedily.

Be a rock of refuge for me,

    a strong fortress to save me.

You are indeed my rock and my fortress;

    for your name’s sake lead me and guide me,

take me out of the net that is hidden for me,

    for you are my refuge.

Into your hand I commit my spirit;

    you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.

Psalm 31:1-5 NRSV

Quickly, Lord; right now; ASAP! I cannot even begin to count the times, just this past week, I have found myself asking the Lord to help and to help quickly!

Whenever we stand on the name of Jesus or strive to do the will of God in opposition to the will of the world, we can pretty much expect to be attacked. There are those in this world who just do not appreciate God's will being done when it interferes with their personal comfort zones. So, I find myself praying for myself, my family, and my congregation a lot. "Rescue us quickly. You who are our rock and our fortress remove the trap that has been set for us. And... Into your hands I commit our spirits."

Thanks be to God! The Lord hears our prayers and has answered! He is our rock and our fortress. His righteousness has delivered us.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Be Still And Know The Great "I Am"

The Lord of Hosts is with you.

"He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
Be still, and know that I am God!
    I am exalted among the nations,
    I am exalted in the earth.”
 The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our refuge."

                                              Psalm 46:9-11

 

In the midst of the darkest days and the most tumultuous nights; when we find ourselves restless; and wandering aimlessly; let us remember that the God of peace, the great "I AM" is with us. 

 

We can have peace of heart and mind in the knowledge that no matter what is going on around us the Lord of hosts is with us. Through every storm and battle, God has a plan. It is a plan for good. It is a plan for peace. Even while the battle yet rages, we can know the peace of heart and mind that surpasses all understanding. Be still in His presence; trusting that He will make the battle cease,  break the bow, and shatter the spear. He is our refuge and strength!

 

When your heart and soul become restless; find stillness in the presence of the Lord and in the knowledge that the great "I AM" is God and He is with you and He is for you.  

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

The Rock

Be to me a rock of refuge,
    a strong fortress, to save me,
    for you are my rock and my fortress.

Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
    from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.

                                            Psalm 71:3-4 NRSV

 

Sully is a huge English Mastiff. He is a rock. He goes about his business steady and sure. You can nudge him; but, unless he wants to move, it's not going to happen. Fortunately, he is a gentle giant and listens quite well. He is totally non-aggressive; but, if he's standing by your side, most people would think twice about approaching you in any manner other than in a most amiable way. 

 

Jesus is our rock of refuge. He is our fortress. The unjust and cruel will not prevail over those who dwell within the walls of that fortress, which is the Body of Christ. As much as I trust that by Sully's side I will be safe; I only see him a few times a year. But, Jesus is with me always. It is he who will save and keep us for all eternity.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J 

Joel 3 - Valley of Decision

Joel 3 brings us a picture of something many of us are quite familiar with. It is the valley of decision. It refers to the day when God will judge all nations. He will try all nations for what has been done to His people.

"Multitudes, multitudes
    in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
    in the valley of decision.
The sun and moon will be darkened,
    and the stars no longer shine.
The Lord will roar from Zion
    and thunder from Jerusalem;
    the earth and the heavens will tremble.
But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,
    a stronghold for the people of Israel.

“Then you will know that I, the Lord your God,
    dwell in Zion, my holy hill.
Jerusalem will be holy;
    never again will foreigners invade her.

“In that day the mountains will drip new wine,
    and the hills will flow with milk;
    all the ravines of Judah will run with water.
A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house    and will water the valley of acacias."  (Joel 3:14-18 NIV)

For those who persecute God's people, these words should bring a sobering thought. But, for God's people these words provide hope. The same Word brings condemnation to those who refuse God's word and good news to those who receive it (Him).

God is our refuge and strength...

God's Peace - Pr. J

Isaiah 32 - Fruit Of Christ's Righteousness Is Peace

Our Worship and Music Committee spent a little bit of time after Worship yesterday selecting hymns for the months of July through September. "When Peace Like A River" was selected as a favorite hymn for most of the month of September.  A few of those lessons during September are pictures of anything but peace. Even as we thought about changing the hymn, we remembered that the peace that Christ brings is not the same peace that the world strives for. The peace of God is more like a calmness of heart or spirit in the midst of a storm. There may be trouble in the world, but there is peace within the one who knows Jesus.

It doesn't sound so good for Israel. Isaiah prophecies a storm. There is trouble brewing. The Assyrians will definitely bring chaos to the complacent people of the land who have felt secure in themselves. They may as well get rid of their fancy clothes now and beat their breasts for a storm is about to rage in on them.

But, there is hope. A king is coming (in our case has come and will come again). He will reign with righteousness and justice. He is our refuge in all storms. And... as the LORD promised through Isaiah:

"The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert,
his righteousness live in the fertile field.
The fruit of that righteousness will be peace;
its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.
My people will live in peaceful dwelling places,
in secure homes,
in undisturbed places of rest.
Though hail flattens the forest
and the city is leveled completely,
how blessed you will be,
sowing your seed by every stream,and letting your cattle and donkeys range free." (Isa 32:16-20 NIV)

Peace is the fruit of the righteousness of Christ. We know peace within when we know Christ, even if and while the world is in a raging war.  

God is our refuge and strength. He is the peace that has reconciled us to Him and the whole Body of Christ. The world cannot do this. Only the righteousness of Christ can.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Isaiah 28 - Jesus As The Cornerstone

"So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.
I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie,and water will overflow your hiding place." (Isa 28:16-17 NIV)

 

There is so much in today's reading, it is hard to decide where to go. The people are being rebuked. The leadership has made some bad alliances, even deadly alliances, for the people. Alliances that only drunkards could celebrate. This lesson reveals both law and gospel. It reveals the law for those who would make such deadly choices making alliances that will surely lead to death out of their arrogance and drunkenness. Hail will sweep away their refuge and the hiding place will be flooded with water. It also reveals the gospel. It reveals life for those who would rely on the cornerstone rather than trusting in their enemy who promises much and delivers nothing, but death.

 

Verses 16-17 are probably familiar to many of you. It points to Jesus the Christ. He is the "...stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame." (Rom 9:33)

 

The good news is that those who believe in Him will not fall. In fact, through faith, "...you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." (Eph 2:19-22) 

 

And...

"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—  you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:

"See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

 and,

"A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for." (1 Pet 2:4-8)

(Maybe you've figured out by now that I am trying to send a reminder that scripture supports scripture... Read it! Hear it!)  Jesus is the living cornerstone by which we either fall due to our own arrogance or are raised to be living stones within the house of God. We, along with all who believe, are the temple, within whom (or which) our LORD abides.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Isaiah 16 - Refuge For All Who Believe

"Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer. The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land. In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it— one from the house of David—one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness."  (Isaiah 16:4-5 NIV)

The LORD desires harm to no one. He offers refuge to all, even to the Moabites, who will turn from the wicked and ways and toward Him. In love, He has established a throne, upon which, our LORD Jesus the Christ sits and reigns with justice and righteousness.

The Moabites are offered an opportunity to avoid the prophesied destruction. We are all offered this opportunity to avoid destruction. In receiving that opportunity, we may find ourselves as homeless refugees in a world where we are not particularly desired. But, we will find refuge in the house of the LORD and with His people. The LORD will and has prevailed!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Psalm 91 - Shelter of the Most High

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty!" (Psalm 91:1 NIV)  One of my favorite Psalms!

I think I pray at least one of these verses almost every day and it's not always the same one.  God is our refuge and fortress.  We can find refuge and rest, under His wings, no matter what kind of storms ravage around us.

The enemy may attack, but we have no need of fear, for a thousand will fall at His side, by His right hand ten thousand will fall. Ten thousand will fall...  This part of Psalm 91, I confess I pray quite frequently.  That the enemy will not be able to come near or conquer, but by the hand of God, the enemy will be stopped in their tracks.  And... the enemy is.

What comfort it is to know that all who call on His name are afforded the love and protection of the Most High, our Almighty God, the most magnificent that ever was, is, and ever shall be.  We are His!  Thanks be to God!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Psalm 62 - None are Good

"God has spoken once, Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God. Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; For You render to each one according to his work." (Psalm 62:11,12 NKJV)

I'm never quite sure why the Psalmist thinks he is so good and everyone else is so bad.

^"'Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.'" (Luke 18:19-20)

If God rewards everyone for what we have done, we are all in big trouble.  Has anyone really followed faithfully, doing only what they ought, all the days of their lives?  If we trusted in our own good works for our relationship with God, we would not have one.  Fortunately, for us, God in His infinite grace and mercy, in His unfailing love, established a new covenant with us.  This covenant is not based on what we have done for God, but what God has done for us, through the giving of His only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ. 

I don't mean to imply that we should not be doing good. If we are truly grateful for this loving gift of eternal life, we would truly love the One who first loved us and not just pay lip service to Him. This does not mean that we are free to do anything we want to please ourselves.  It does not mean that we are free to trample on the name of the LORD, or our neighbors so that we might please ourselves.  It means that we are free, by the power of God, to love and serve God and our neighbors.  We are free to be in relationship with God and one another.  In the knowledge that we are free from the power of sin, death and the devil, we actively seek to love as God loves us. Because of the covenant God has made with us with the blood of Jesus, we are forgiven.  Our sins are blotted out.  The slate is wiped clean through faith in the One who died for us.  The only works that God will recall on that last day are those things that were not blotted out - those things that Jesus did through us. Our salvation and honor depend on God; He is our Rock and our Refuge.

"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."

Have you been refreshed, by the power of God, by the Spirit, of Christ, so that He might live in and through you, to the glory of His holy name?  All honor and power and glory belong to God.  Find rest in His unfailing love.

God's Peace - Pr. J   P.S.  Been thinking about this some more.  If the Psalmist was indeed David, David was only good in that he believed God.

Job 3 - Succumbing to Despair

Job is succumbing to despair.  He wishes to die.  He wishes that he had never been born so that he would not suffer what he now suffers.  Yet, even as he curses the day of his birth; he does not curse the name of the LORD.

At one time or another, I think that most of us come to a day when we consider that death would be preferable to the life that we live.  For some this may come in the prime of their lives and although they may have no hope at the time, they will live through those days and even grow in them.  For others it may be in the last days, weeks, years of their lives, when the old tent that they reside in is worn and ready to collapse.  How do we find hope when we can see no light at the end of the day? 

There is only one place to find hope in times like these.  Hope can be found in the light and that light is Jesus Christ.  When all is dark, the light shines.  "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5 NIV)

"Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near."  (Isaiah 55:6)  "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."  (Psalm 46:1)

Have a blessed day and may the peace of the LORD be with you all. 

Pr. J