Well, after delays due to storms I got home at 3:45am this morning LoL. I spent 7 hours on the same airplane from Salt Lake City, to Memphis, to Atlanta. God is sovereign, and I kept a positive attitude the whole time. Hey, it beats driving from Montana to Georgia! Oh, and THE BRUINS WON THE STANLEY CUP! Wooo!
Okay, now to the Bible stuff, the stuff I originally intended this blog to be about. Hey, this blog's about what God does in my life, and what He teaches me, and this past trip was a great experience from Him :)
I memorized Psalm 15 on Sunday because apparently WFBC peeps were challenged to do so. Even though I was in Montana, I don't fall back from a challenge. If I wrote it here, you'd think I was just copying it out of my Bible, so ask me in person :P I also recited Romans 8 to my mother, brother and sister the other day, so I still have that :) "Oh Lord, who can sojourn in Your tent. Who can dwell on Your holy hill?" (Psalm 15:1). Well, obviously no one is righteous, so no one can dwell with Him. He made a way though. A line in 15:4 stuck out to me. "he swears to his own hurt and does not change." I need to be sure to know the Truth so that I have no shame in it, though others may try to shame me. Isaiah 54:17 says that I will refute any accusation brought against me in court because the Truth cannot be changed. Lies can lead to my death, as they led to Christ's, but the Truth stays true. Jesus faced the false punishments of the world and beat them. Romans 8:14 says that all who are led by God's Spirit are God's sons, which makes us heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Christ in order that we may also be glorified with Him (8:17). Paul goes on to say in Romans 8:18 that "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Romans 8:32 says that "God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?" Do you like how I tie almost everything back into Romans 8? I'm glad I memorized it :) I memorized it like a speech though, so I have to look up the exact references :/
Psalm 1 makes it clear that there will be wicked people, and they will be burned like chaff (1:4) I am like a tree planted by a stream that will bear fruit (1:3). I am worried about Satan's attacks that are sure to fall on Camp Icthus, so I pray for God's protection. Satan always undoes himself against me when I work Camp Icthus, and God always comes through. I claim that protection again for these next two weeks. God controls Satan, so I don't have to be afraid. My delight must be in the law of the Lord, and I must meditate on it day and night (1:2). He is my Shield. The theme of this blog is "Sticks and Stones" but I should probably add "Shields" to it too :) I like shields. I'll be highlighting all of the shield references I find as well.
Psalm 2 talks about how God laughs at the rulers of earth who plot against Him (2:4). In Psalm 2:8 God says, "ask of Me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession." I don't want the world, I just want a wife LoL. If God wanted me to win the nations to Him single then I'd do it. I just want His will to be done in me, so that Daddy can be proud of His adopted son. He chose me. He loves me. I want to honor Him in return. Psalm 2:11 says "serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling." It's amazing how we forget to fear God. Jesus took His wrath for us, so we don't have to fear it anymore, but God is still fearsome. His wrath is still on those who haven't accepted His Son's sacrifice and declared for His side. That wrath should drive us out of our churches and Bible study groups and into the world to show those who are still under His wrath that there is a way out! I pray God leads me to do that in some way each day, and not just at camps or in a spiritual setting. Personally, I fear being like Job and having God bring me to within an inch of my life just to make a point (LoL). I also pray that if I do fall into a situation like that that I can endure like Job did. I honestly fear suffering. I mean, come on, suffering isn't fun. "Hey, declare for Christ and suffer!" no wonder the world thinks I'm an idiot! Still, like Paul, I am convinced that the glory that is to come is greater. And, if I'm honest, I wouldn't have life any other way. The storms are going to come whether we want them to or not, but at least I have the Hope that is in Christ Jesus to help me weather those storms. And, if God wishes, He can calm the storm immediately, or not even let the clouds come closer than the horizon. Psalm 2:11 also says to "rejoice with trembling". That's weird. We rejoice because we're not afraid, because we're happy, supposedly. Right? Wrong. Joy isn't based on feelings. Joy comes from knowing and believing that God is still on His throne no matter the circumstances. So, I could be totally afraid and still filled with joy. He will do what He said He will do. He is worthy of fear.
Psalms 3 and 4 are prayers for protection. I pray I never need to plead for protection as passionately as King David did, but it's nice to already have the words. In Psalm 3:3 is the first mention of God being a Shield. Only He can shield me on all sides. If it were up to my shield of faith alone, I'd be vulnerable. I wouldn't last. In 3:4 God answers David's cry for help. I'm overwhelmed that God could hear me, care about me and answer me. His answers may not always be what I want, but He answers. The very fact that God would bother to even say "no" to me floors me. I deserve to be completely isolated from Him forever. Psalm 3:5 gets me because God sustains David as he sleeps. I've prayed for protection while I've slept many times, but my life was never in danger. "Prayer does not replace work; instead it is what makes the work effective". I got that from the footnotes in my Bible :) "Salvation belongs to the Lord" (3:8) I cannot save myself, nor do I deserve salvation. This past week was definitely a mountaintop experience. I don't want to suffer another valley. If I do, I need to be locked into the Holy Spirit and let Him shine through me to push back the darkness. He makes me bold. In Psalm 4 David asks God to answer him again, as He had done before. It's okay to keep asking God. It's better than haughtily expecting Him to answer. I must approach Him humbly, but with confidence. His wrath is no longer on me. I am His heir. A co-heir with Jesus. How will He not, with Jesus, grant me everything? (Romans 8:32). In Psalm 4:8 David mentions again that God can help him sleep. In 3:5 he thanked God for sleep protection and in 4:8 he asks for sleep protection again. This is not a "one-and-done" faith. it is a "moment-by-moment" faith. No matter how I am feeling, I must re-root myself in Scripture. I must delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night (Psalm 1:2). I memorized Psalm 1:2 in Kindergarten oh so long ago!
Psalm 5:12 is the second mention of God as a Shield :) Psalm 6 is David pleading for God to save him to the point of tears. It is a lament, and I pray I never have to pray that Psalm :/
Psalm 7 is juicy. David seeks refuge in God, but asks for Him to consider his own righteousness. He asks God to punish him for his sins if they are unforgivable. I have prayed that so many times because my sins are grievous, but they are also forgivable and forgiven :) He forgives me and blesses me, even though I don't deserve it! Why? Because of Jesus. King David lived before Jesus, but since Jesus is God and David was a man after God's own heart, he was justified by God. God chose David for His sovereign will, and He blessed and protected him. After David entrenched himself in God again, he asked God to fight for him. In 7:8 David asks God to judge him by his righteousness. But no one is righteous, right? Right. However, God grants righteousness to whom He sees fit. Abram (a.k.a. Abraham) believed God, and He credited it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6; also, in 15:1 God says He is Abram's Shield). In Psalm 7:10 David says his shield is with God. That's 4 shield sightings in 2 days :) Psalm 7:15 talks about how God will lead a wicked man to fall into the very same pit he intended to ensnare a righteous man in. Psalm 7:17 says, "I will give to the Lord the thanks due to His righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High." I do, and I will. Amen.
I have enjoyed this breather. I'm ready for battle these next two weeks. I pray God protects me. I will be out of computer contact for the next 2 weeks, so it'll be a while before I update this blog. Should give you plenty of time to read this horribly long post! I apologize, but then again I don't :P
For the Kingdom,
Stuart
No comments:
Post a Comment