Psalms 71:1-5 (ESV) Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent
1 In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me and save me!
3 Be to me a rock of refuge,
to which I may continually come;
you have given the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
5 For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
Do you ever spend time contemplating your journey with God? I was blessed to be raised in church. More times than not we spent the weekend “in the country” with Gram, Aunt Gogo and Uncle Red and Aunt Meno and Uncle Buddy. We met Mama and Daddy and Aunt Mamie and Uncle Thompson at church and often Uncle Jack and Aunt Ethelyn would join us. Afterwards there was singing, laughter and plenty of food.
There was never a time in my life when I did not believe. And now that I am so much older than I ever thought possible, I still believe, I still hope, and I still have an unwavering faith in my Redeemer and my Sustainer. I am so lifted up by the psalms, knowing that I have never been through any situation for which there is no guidance in God’s Word.
There are so many words in Psalm 71 that call out to me. I have no right standing on my own, but Jesus imparts His righteousness to me. I am reminded of the songs of my childhood as I read about the rock of my refuge—“Rock of Ages,” “He Hideth my Soul,” and so many others. And of course, “On Christ the solid rock I stand,” songs to remind me of all Jesus did and will continue to do.
And then there is hope! Oh, blessed hope is Christ divine, ever faithful, loving and kind.
May we place all of our hopes, all of our faith and all of our fears in the hands of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
No Fear in Love
1 John 4:15 NIV If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.
Have you ever considered that if a word is overused, perhaps its meaning is watered down? I love peanut butter fudge (who doesn’t, right?), I love purses, I love shoes…and so on and so on. But when I meditate on this verse, I begin to see the depth of the word love and I understand that it is so much more than just a word. Love is an action and it all starts with God.
We can see that God’s love produces confidence, it is perfect and therefore we who live in God’s love are complete in the knowledge and understanding that we have nothing to fear. Nothing. If we live in fear, or anger, or unforgiveness then we are not living in God’s love.
May we, today and everyday, live in the assurance of God’s love, letting our actions be the proof of His ultimate love within us ad for us.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We are not abandoned
Lamentations 3:19-25 (MSG) But there’s one other thing I remember,
and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:
22-24 GOD’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with GOD (I say it over and over).
He’s all I’ve got left.
25-27 GOD proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
I love being at home, but during this ice storm which began Jan 23, the frozen snow lingering today, Feb 3, even I am ready for a break. Both front and back yards appear to be covered in snow, but they are in fact solid ice. My husband has shoveled patches in the driveway hoping tires will grab hold of solid ground. Looking around one might feel abandoned as we huddle in our homes awaiting above freezing temperatures. But as Christ followers we are convinced that we are never alone, regardless of the circumstances.
Jeremiah the weeping prophet was sickened by the destruction of Jerusalem, yet he knew, understood and believed that God would never abandon His people. He remembered that God’s mercies were new every morning. This morning, I find myself singing that wonderful hymn by Thomas Chisolm, “Great is thy Faithfulness.”
- Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be. - Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.
May we cling to the God of our salvation who is ever faithful, knowing that we are not alone but His mercies truly are new every morning.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
This is the Gospel
John 3:16-19 (NIV) 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
John 14:6-7 (NIV) “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-4
“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” – 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
I ii’What is the gospel of Jesus Christ? Originating from the Greek, evangelion, the meaning is “good news.” And was there ever any better news than the plan of salvation?
It is crucial that we understand that salvation was not God’s response to our sin, but instead it was the original plan of redemption from the foundation of the world. As humans we sometimes have a Plan B just in case Plan A does not work. With God, there is no Plan B. Adam sinned, sin separated mankind from God, Jesus was born, He died in our place for our sins, and He was resurrected to give us new life. This is the Good News of salvation and that, as my Daddy used to say, “…is all she wrote.”
Time appears to be winding down, and the directive to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” is becoming increasingly more urgent.
May we who have received the gift of salvation ask God daily for holy boldness to share the gospel—or, as I said at the end of each service—Take the name of Jesus with you, and share Him with all you meet.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
His Love Endures Forever
Psalms 136:1-3 1 Give thanks to the LORD because he is good.
His love continues (endures) forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love continues forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His love continues forever.
In the Bible, “endure” means to bear hardship with patience and perseverance, remaining steadfast and faithful through trials, suffering, or temptation, rather than giving up or yielding, often with the promise of ultimate reward or salvation. It involves actively staying under a burden (Greek: hupomeno), bearing up under pressure, or simply lasting/remaining in a state of faithfulness.
Endurance is not just passively allowing bad things to happen n our lives. There is no passivity in serving Christ. Instead, the longer we serve Him, the greater our thirst, the stronger our hunger for His Word, His fellowship, and His constant presence.
Whether we are in a season of victory or we are in a time of suffering, let us ask God to remind us that He is our ever present help in time of need , and through him we can be sssured that we will have the ultimate victory.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and if the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 