1 Peter 4:7-8

He Stands at Your Right Hand - Psalm 109, Hebrews 2:14-15

7:00 PM

 

Today's reading - Psalm 109, Hebrews 2:14-15

“This is a Psalm of David, and is thought to be the strongest of what are known as the imprecatory psalms, David’s songs that call down curses upon his enemies. It is important to remember that these are prayers, committing vengeance unto God. With the greater revelation of grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ, we understand that we are to pray for the good of our enemies, and not for their ruin.

Yet, we remind ourselves that David refused to act upon these curses; he left vengeance up to God. This is especially relevant regarding David, who knew what it was to take life with the sword. When David withheld vengeance, it was because he chose to, not because he lacked the opportunity, skill, or courage.” (enduringword.com)

When my husband and I married, we were the only Christians in both our families and for the first years we were the object of the hate and mockery of our closest relatives: for example: his mother hated me, and my mother hated him! This (plus other family issues) inflicted in us so much pain and this also brought problems into our marriage! It was very difficult for us to bear this situation! Only through God’s Word were we able to stand firm, love and forgive our family. Paul encourages to:

“ In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. (Eph. 6:10)

I remember a Christian friend that would say this: “he (she) is an instrument of satan!”, I could not fully grasp this, but the more I grew in His Word I could now understand why she said it:

“ Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11 AMP- emphasis mine)

Just as David we now know what it is to have to suffer from the attacks of our fiery enemies, especially those of us who are now in Christ whose first enemy is Satan, who came to steal, kill and destroy us, our families, our marriages, our faith, etc. (John 10:10), and as Paul continues to warn us:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. “ (Ephesians 6:12 AMP)

The only way we could fight back the attacks from our families was crying out to the Lord in prayer, like David did:

“O God of my praise! Do not keep silent, 2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And have fought against me without a cause.4 In return for my love, they attack me, But I am in prayer. 5 They have repaid me evil for good, And hatred for my love.” (Psalm 109:1-5 AMP)

Then some years later, our Heavenly Father literally took us away from our enemies, when we moved thousands of miles away from our families, and friends. We began attending a wonderful Church were we grew spiritually and all of a sudden we found ourselves surrounded by our spiritual family, whom we dearly loved over the years! And also over the years we learned to love and forgive our families:

“7 The end and culmination of all things is near. Therefore, be sound-minded and self-controlled for the purpose of prayer [staying balanced and focused on the things of God so that your communication will be clear, reasonable, specific and pleasing to Him.] 8 Above all, have [a]fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others].” (1 Peter 4:7-8)

We would travel back home to visit our families at least once a year and they expressed how much they missed us, and some were also willing to listen to us as we shared the Gospel!

Now, as I look back, I can only praise our Abba like David did:

“I will give great praise and thanks to the Lord with my mouth; And in the midst of many I will praise Him. 31 For He will stand at the right hand of the needy, To save him from those who judge his soul.” (Psalm 109:30-31)

 “The psalm began with addressing ‘the God of my praise’; it ends with the confidence and the vow that the singer will yet praise Him. It painted an adversary standing at the right hand of the wicked to condemn him; it ends with the assurance that Jehovah stands at the right hand of His afflicted servant, as his advocate to protect him.” (Maclaren)

Let us pray: (Psalm 34:14-19)

Heavenly Father, we thank you for Your lovingkindness and Your Word that instructs us. We humbly come to You and we ask you “14 to turn us away from evil and do good; to guide us to seek peace and pursue it. 15 For Your eyes are toward the righteous [those with moral courage and spiritual integrity] And Your ears are open to their cry. We thank You, because 16 Your Face oh Lord, is against those who do evil, and You cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17When the righteous cry [for help],  You Lord hear and rescue us from all our distress and troubles. 18 You Lord are near to the heartbroken and You save those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their sin).19Many hardships and perplexing circumstances confront the righteous, but You Lord rescue us from them all. (Psalm 34: 14-19) We praise You and give You thanks for You have promised to stand at the right hand of the needy! In Jesus’s Name we pray. Amen!

Mari


1 Peter 5:8

FREE FROM BONDAGE- Psalm 79, John 13:31-32

7:00 PM

 

Today’s reading: Psalm 79, John 13:31-32

This is a psalm by Asaph and it was clearly written after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian armies.

In the first 4 verses he cries out his lamentation for such terrible suffering and all the images he and his people had witnessed from this destruction… the horrific scenes described in this psalm… such images his mind could not fanthom!

These same images of horror and cruelty have been a reality for so many people in this world whose countries are burdened with war and famine: for example, the people of Ukraine who for the last 10 months have suffered from the war caused by the Russian invasion!

Asaph after pouring out his heart out to God with cry and lamentation then focused his attention on His Might, Mercies, and Faithfulness in this beautiful prayer:

 “How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy [which cannot endure a divided allegiance] burn like fire? 6 Pour out Your wrath on the [Gentile] nations that do not know You, And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name. 7 For they have devoured Jacob and made his pasture desolate.8 O do not remember against us the sins and guilt of our forefathers. Let Your compassion and mercy come quickly to meet us, For we have been brought very low. 9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; Rescue us, forgive us our sins for Your name’s sake. 10 Why should the [Gentile] nations say, “Where is their God?” Let there be known [without delay] among the nations in our sight [and to this generation], Your vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been poured out.11 Let the groaning and sighing of the prisoner come before You; According to the greatness of Your power keep safe those who are doomed to die. 12 And return into the lap of our neighbors sevenfold the taunts with which they have taunted You, O Lord.” (verses 5-12 AMP emphasis mine).

 

Verse 11 stood out to me, reminding me that before I surrendered my life to Jesus I was also a prisoner of my sins: sighing for all the weight of the burdens I carried in my heart, walking in the direction of eternal doom! What would have been of my life without His Saving Grace? Now I have Life and Purpose as Paul vividly wrote in Romans 6:17-19:

 

“But thank God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed. 18 And having been set free from sin, you have become the slaves of righteousness [of conformity to God’s will and purpose]. 19 I am speaking in [familiar] human terms because of your natural limitations [your spiritual immaturity]. For just as you presented your bodily members as slaves to impurity and to [moral] lawlessness, leading to further lawlessness, so now offer your members [your abilities, your talents] as slaves to righteousness, leading to [d]sanctification [that is, being set apart for God’s purpose].”

 

Yes, we’ve been set apart for a divine and eternal Purpose!



“How consoling is it to desponding believers to reflect that God can preserve even those who bear the sentence of death in themselves. Men and devils may consign us to perdition, while sickness drags us to the grave, and sorrow sinks us in the dust; but, there is One who can keep our soul alive, ay, and bring it up again from the depths of despair. A lamb shall live between the lion's jaws if the Lord wills it. Even in the charnel, life shall vanquish death if God be near.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Many of us have had very difficult seasons in our lives. Many have felt these seasons have been of some kind of captivity or oppression. We -as Asaph’s community- also have also dealt with a ferocious enemy, as Jesus warned us in John 10:10a -“ The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy.”

Yes, Satan will always find the opportunity to have us fall in some kind of bondage, by stealing our peace, killing our faith and even destroying our lives and families, if we let him!  This world is so filled with temptations and in some point of our lives we can turn away from His paths and fall in the trap of some kind of bondage:

-Bondage of fear; bound by health issues; by finances; by oppression; by pain from the past; obsessions; people pleasing; bound by any kind of addictions and even by the circumstances we might facing at the time! Satan will try to keep God’s people in bondage, as much as he has kept those who do not know God!

But Jesus gave us the solution: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29)

Again Paul exhorts us to: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1)

Paul also reminds us of the spiritual battles we continually face, and the importance to put on His Armor ( Ephesians 6:1-18); and Peter exhorts to be sober and vigilant (1 Peter 5:8) 

We must wholly surrender our lives to Him and always follow Him as our Good Pastor, declaring just as Asaph did, in the last verse of this psalm:

“So we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks forever; We will declare and publish Your praise from generation to generation.” (verse 13)

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for the amazing love you have lavished over us by the Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus! Thank you for delivering us from eternal death and giving us a new life in Jesus! Please Lord, set the captives free! I pray for: _________.Thank you for being our Good Pastor: one who will guide us, protect us, provide for us and carry us through in whatever circumstance we may face while we live on this earth, until You take us home! May we declare with our lips to our generations that You Live and are Worthy of All Honor and Glory!! Amen!

Blessings,

Mari