He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah - Psalm 62:6-8
Only God provides my salvation and He alone is able to protect me (He has done so in the past; why not trust Him in the present and the future?); He kept me from committing sins more grievous than I dared to consider and He counted me as one of His as a sinner saved by grace.
It was His grace that atoned for my sin and it was His grace that I run to as a refuge.
I love the idea of God being our refuge (I shared this earlier, with another verse that I had memorized.), but I love the idea of God being our salvation more. While we can hide in Him as a Mighty Fortress and lean on Him for He's our rock, but we can also pour our heart out before Him. He's a Comforter as well and we're to trust in Him at all times (Not occasionally and not once in a blue moon. "At all times" means constantly and consistently.). To have a God that we can trust is a blessing that is far-reaching; that truth is healing for broken bones and mending for a broken heart.
I thought the following quote from John Owen is poignant and helpful:
It is not the distance of the earth from the sun, nor the sun's withdrawing itself, that makes a dark and gloomy day; but the interposition of clouds and vaporous exhalations. Neither is thy soul beyond the reach of the promise, nor does God withdraw Himself; but the vapours of thy carnal, unbelieving heart do cloud thee. - John Owen
God doesn't withdraw from us, especially when we need to lean on Him the most. We tend to move away from Him, but He doesn't let go of us. His not letting go is the salve that we need.
To God be the glory (Soli Deo Gloria)!
12/25/11
A Blessed Advent to all!
Today happens to be two things:
1) The Lord's Day (Sunday) and
2) Christmas
I don't celebrate Christmas in the usual way (I happily celebrate the fact that my Savior was born; praise God!), but I desired to celebrate the Lord's Day.
Unfortunately, illness got in the way of joining my brothers and sisters in Christ today. Both my husband and I managed to come down with some stomach virus (Thankfully, Bee didn't get sick; she managed to hit a growth spurt instead.).
I wish everyone a blessed Lord's Day, a happy Advent and a merry Christmas (I'm covering all of the bases here...)!
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” - Isaiah 9:6
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen and amen.
1) The Lord's Day (Sunday) and
2) Christmas
I don't celebrate Christmas in the usual way (I happily celebrate the fact that my Savior was born; praise God!), but I desired to celebrate the Lord's Day.
Unfortunately, illness got in the way of joining my brothers and sisters in Christ today. Both my husband and I managed to come down with some stomach virus (Thankfully, Bee didn't get sick; she managed to hit a growth spurt instead.).
I wish everyone a blessed Lord's Day, a happy Advent and a merry Christmas (I'm covering all of the bases here...)!
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” - Isaiah 9:6
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen and amen.
12/20/11
This Week in Scripture; God is my Judge.
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. - Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
As much as we all like to believe that God is a loving God (He is, by the way!), He is also a God who judges righteously; He is a Judge and He is holy. If He wasn't holy, then He really couldn't be loving; if He never disciplined His children, then why claim Him to be loving?
That said, to discipline a child shows that you love him enough to correct ill behavior; to ignore the wrong behavior is to hate that child.
My daughter is 2; she does a lot of things that, frankly, annoy me. It is my job, as her mother, to discipline her when she does something wrong. Yet, I must discipline her when I'm not angry, otherwise she'll fear the discipline for the wrong reasons (I'd don't want her growing up in a household like mine, where we feared discipline because the person who dealt the punishment did so out of anger.).
Yet, this child was entrusted to me by God; He saw fit that I'm to care for this child and to train her in the Lord. She is to know God's commandments and statutes; she is to understand her need of a Savior and that Savior is Christ the Lord. She is also to understand that God draws us to Him and He is our Shield and Mighty Fortress when we are in need of it.
Most importantly, she is to understand that God is a just Judge, yet a merciful Father at the same time. His judgment was pronounced upon Christ, who was a sinless Man, who took our place on the cross.
God is love, but He is also just and holy. We're to adore and praise Him, but we're also to rightfully be in awe and in fear of Him.
As much as we all like to believe that God is a loving God (He is, by the way!), He is also a God who judges righteously; He is a Judge and He is holy. If He wasn't holy, then He really couldn't be loving; if He never disciplined His children, then why claim Him to be loving?
That said, to discipline a child shows that you love him enough to correct ill behavior; to ignore the wrong behavior is to hate that child.
My daughter is 2; she does a lot of things that, frankly, annoy me. It is my job, as her mother, to discipline her when she does something wrong. Yet, I must discipline her when I'm not angry, otherwise she'll fear the discipline for the wrong reasons (I'd don't want her growing up in a household like mine, where we feared discipline because the person who dealt the punishment did so out of anger.).
Yet, this child was entrusted to me by God; He saw fit that I'm to care for this child and to train her in the Lord. She is to know God's commandments and statutes; she is to understand her need of a Savior and that Savior is Christ the Lord. She is also to understand that God draws us to Him and He is our Shield and Mighty Fortress when we are in need of it.
Most importantly, she is to understand that God is a just Judge, yet a merciful Father at the same time. His judgment was pronounced upon Christ, who was a sinless Man, who took our place on the cross.
God is love, but He is also just and holy. We're to adore and praise Him, but we're also to rightfully be in awe and in fear of Him.
12/14/11
This Week in Scripture; take refuge in God!
This God - His way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him. - 2 Samuel 22:31
A friend of mine recently introduced me to a hip-hop artist named Shai Linne, who is more than versed in Reformed theology (I believe he calls it "lyrical theology"; it fits.) and is quite talented in stringing words together. Mind y'all, I do not care for rap, hip-hop or R&B (Mainly because it's mostly vile.), but I really like this (Mainly because it's theologically sound.).
like Mr. Linne, we are to take refuge in God (It's more than evident in his lyrics that he does this.); it refreshes our souls like water to a parched throat and it puts us as ease with the Creator of the universe who we call our Father (Likewise, He calls us His children.). What beautiful imagery this is! We're to run to our Father and cling to Him!
In return, the LORD is our shield; Luther called Him a Mighty Fortress. What strength this shows us! Forget asking if God can make a stone too heavy for Him to lift (Such questions are foolish.); ask if God is strong enough to protect YOU and to act as your Shield.
Chances are, He is more than strong enough; rely on Him as your Shield and Mighty Fortress (We don't have to be "strong enough"; that's why we run to Him.).
Speaking of being strong enough, one of my favorite songs is by Matthew West; he sings about this very thing (The link takes you directly to the official music video.): Matthew West's Strong Enough
A friend of mine recently introduced me to a hip-hop artist named Shai Linne, who is more than versed in Reformed theology (I believe he calls it "lyrical theology"; it fits.) and is quite talented in stringing words together. Mind y'all, I do not care for rap, hip-hop or R&B (Mainly because it's mostly vile.), but I really like this (Mainly because it's theologically sound.).
like Mr. Linne, we are to take refuge in God (It's more than evident in his lyrics that he does this.); it refreshes our souls like water to a parched throat and it puts us as ease with the Creator of the universe who we call our Father (Likewise, He calls us His children.). What beautiful imagery this is! We're to run to our Father and cling to Him!
In return, the LORD is our shield; Luther called Him a Mighty Fortress. What strength this shows us! Forget asking if God can make a stone too heavy for Him to lift (Such questions are foolish.); ask if God is strong enough to protect YOU and to act as your Shield.
Chances are, He is more than strong enough; rely on Him as your Shield and Mighty Fortress (We don't have to be "strong enough"; that's why we run to Him.).
Speaking of being strong enough, one of my favorite songs is by Matthew West; he sings about this very thing (The link takes you directly to the official music video.): Matthew West's Strong Enough
12/5/11
This Week in Scripture; live peaceably!
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. - Romans 12:17-18
The one thing that I've noticed "Christians" (Please notice the quotation marks.) do is that, once they're wronged, they lash out (and often lash out publicly).
Not only is this shameful behavior, but it goes against what both Christ and the apostle Paul have taught! Jesus taught the following:
The point of living peaceably is to point others to Christ (and to point ourselves constantly to Christ); Christ Himself lived peaceably with others, even as He rebuked hypocrisy. He did so in order to bring people to the spirit of the law (Belief.) rather than to follow the letter of the law (Legalism.). Unfortunately, legalism is alive in well; belief, fortunately, is also alive and well. Thankfully, belief in Christ trumps legalism, even if that legalism tries to bind people and enslave them in shackles.
Perhaps it's time to cling to belief and to have the Holy Spirit remove those shackles. Live peaceably with one another. :)
The one thing that I've noticed "Christians" (Please notice the quotation marks.) do is that, once they're wronged, they lash out (and often lash out publicly).
Not only is this shameful behavior, but it goes against what both Christ and the apostle Paul have taught! Jesus taught the following:
"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. - Matthew 5:38-40
The point of living peaceably is to point others to Christ (and to point ourselves constantly to Christ); Christ Himself lived peaceably with others, even as He rebuked hypocrisy. He did so in order to bring people to the spirit of the law (Belief.) rather than to follow the letter of the law (Legalism.). Unfortunately, legalism is alive in well; belief, fortunately, is also alive and well. Thankfully, belief in Christ trumps legalism, even if that legalism tries to bind people and enslave them in shackles.
Perhaps it's time to cling to belief and to have the Holy Spirit remove those shackles. Live peaceably with one another. :)
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