More on “Your faithfulness will be my shield and my rampart….” Psalm 91:4b

I praise you, O Elohim, that in your power and faithfulness you consistently shield my head in the battle of each day. You always stand as the rampart between me and the attack of the enemy; I can rest in you.

You are the Most-High, the All-knowing, the All-present One, so you are never caught off guard, are never late, are never out-witted by the enemy.

Your defenses are impregnable, your presence is unassailable, your plans are impenetrable: the enemy can never get by you without your permission; you are always the Victor in the end! You are my Shepherd  a rod and a staff to protect and guide me.

So, in the daily battle I can press ahead with my responsibilities knowing that I am in your hand and you will carry me through whatever you allow. May I honor you with praise in faith in all.

This is a very unusual posting for me, as I don’t touch on such subjects, but this is more about aligning with God’s wisdom than anything else.

What would you think of voting for a candidate who as a young man had a practice of wiping out entire villages, killing everyone there, who hung out with outlaws, who was a womanizer, took other men’s wives, and even murdered one faithful follower. He also let one son get away with rape and another with murder without real punishment. Who would vote for him?

Or what about one noted for his explosive temper, who was impetuous, who killed people just for their clothes, who spent a lot of time with prostitutes, and frequently chose to do what he knew was wrong? How many would vote for him to be their leader?

There’s a saying: democracy is the process of picking the best of the worst. These two men I mentioned above were flawed, in fact, they could actually be called criminals. And yet God picked them, putting them in charge of his people. One was David the king, the other was Samson the judge. They weren’t elected, they were chosen, but the principle remains. As someone said, God can draw straight lines with a crooked stick.

We will never get perfect people to vote for; in fact, in my opinion, we shouldn’t vote for people at all anyway. Instead of voting for a person, we should vote for policy. A man we don’t like personally may have very good policies, one we like may have very bad policies.

Think of what biblical values you support (pro-life, pro-marriage, pro-two genders, pro-women, pro-religion, pro-common sense, pro-America, pro-free speech, etc.) and vote for the ones who have implemented those values in the past, and see what God does.

He, of course, has the final say, but, as usual, wants us to join Him in what He’s doing, so it is good  to vote. And not just for the president, but also for the congressmen, senators and local people running for offices. They all make a difference and so can we.

“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires [“lusts” as KJV says] that battle within you?” James 4:1

I was unhappy, very unhappy–and didn’t know why. I snapped at my wife and was impatient with my boys. I felt very tired. There was no sweet spirit of peace and pleasantness flowing out of my heart; instead there was the acrid stench of selfishness.

Situations like this explode out of me periodically and I am taken by surprise when I act so badly. However, our gracious Lord, who knows all and controls all, was simply giving me another lesson in faith.

While this upheaval was going on, 1 Peter 1 came up in my devotions; verses 6 and 7 spoke clearly to this situation: “…for a little while you have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials, those have come so that your faith…may be proved genuine…”

Aha! One reason for the coming of these inner pressures is the Lord showing me where my faith is not genuine. I expect myself to be “spiritual” when in actuality I am a redeemed but desperately wicked sinner in need of God’s constant grace.

Turning to James, I read in chapter 1, “Consider it pure joy, brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (Jam. 1:2-3).  Again, here is the truth: God was using this distress to make me grow by giving new revelation of the depravity of my heart.

This was the essence of revival!  And my responsibility? To give thanks even though I felt the opposite, and then ask forgiveness from God and from those I’ve trampled on and to repent, being kind to them instead.  More to come on this.

Here is an amazing statement from John 15:

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.”!!!

The question we should ask is, “So, HOW has the Father loved Jesus His Son? Here’s a partial list. The Father loves Jesus:Whole-heartedly, powerfully, consistently, faithfully, unconditionally, eternally, excitedly, passionately, exuberantly, strongly, purely, deeply, completely, unreservedly, enthusiastically, tenderly, graciously, acceptingly, mercifully, intimately, kindly, wonderfully, well, perfectly, unendingly, thoughtfully, carefully, warmly….

And that is how Jesus loves us! Think on that–and if you ever feel unloved by others, remember this inexhaustible, ever flowing, marvelous love that flows over you, in you, and let it flow through you to others!

“… he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways….”  Psalm 91:11

To you, Lord Jesus, the God of creation, the Guardian of Truth, the Giver of grace and the Guide of believers, to you be glory and honor this day. You are the great One: great in purity, in wisdom, in knowledge, in power, in might, in strength. There is no good you cannot do, there is no evil you can do.

You are Yahweh, the eternal I Am:

–sharply separate from your creation,

–utterly other than your creatures,

–gloriously unique in your holiness,

–majestically mighty in your strength,

–astoundingly outstanding in Your awesomeness,

— beautifully bright in your brilliance.

You are all knowing, all seeing, all hearing. You are intensely, intimately involved what is happening in the lives of each of your children, carefully filtering events, protecting and guiding in each one, sometimes leading us through the valley of the shadow of death, and out the other side

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As we make you our dwelling place, “the Most High, who is my refuge….he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone” (Ps. 91:9,11)

How true this has been in my experience, Lord Jesus, my Shepherd and Protector. How often while I was driving have you prevented me from changing lanes, when if I had, I would have hit a car in my blind spot. You caused me to hesitate, or to look over my shoulder, or to sense that a car was there when I could not see it. You send your angels to help, guide and protect.

I think of the dark evening when I was about to cross a small street  with no street lights, but for no apparent reason hesitated, and suddenly a black car with no lights flew by. If I’d stepped out as I had planned, I would have been run down.

And then recently I backed down a steep bank onto the road, but instead of turning and steeping into the road, I hesitated. Suddenly a car came by at a high speed and missed me by 2 inches! God protected me!

Help us to remember in the midst of difficulty that you are there, you have a plan and will whatever comes to us He will use for good!