My Rock And Fortress

 

Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.

Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. 

                                                                  Psalm 71:3-4 KJV

Sully or Bubba as he is more often called is a huge English Mastiff. He weighs in at 210 pounds. He is becoming a bit aged and has arthritis so walking can be difficult for him at times. Yet, he remains a rock. He goes about his business with focus and determination. You can nudge him; but, unless he wants to move, it's not going to happen. Fortunately, he is a gentle giant and listens quite well. He is totally non-aggressive and most lovable. But, if he's standing by your side, most people would think twice about approaching you in any manner other than in a most amiable way. 

Jesus is our rock of refuge. He is our fortress. The unjust and cruel will not prevail over those who dwell within the walls of that fortress, which is the Body of Christ. As much as I trust that by Bubba's side I will be safe; I only see him a few times a year. But, Jesus is with me always. It is he who will save and keep us for all eternity.

God's Peace - Pr. J

One Master

“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." (Matt 6:24 NRSV)

You cannot serve God and wealth or anything else. As Christians, there is no priority greater than serving the One who created us. There is to be no greater priority that loving the one who loves us so much that He willingly gave His Son to die for us.

When my sons were young they, as most young children, would often tell me that they loved me with their whole hearts or more than anyone else. My response would be that if they did not love God more than me then they did not love me enough. Some might say that my response was cruel. But, the truth is if we do not love God more than anyone or anything else then we do not have the genuine ability to love or serve anyone else as much as we would think we do.  

Wealth cannot save us. We cannot save us. Only Christ saves; therefore, we love the and serve the one who first loved us. We serve because Christ first served us by dying on the cross for us. God is best served when we serve others according to the great love God has for us and we for Him. We can do this only by the power of the Holy Spirit.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Be Kind!

A kindhearted woman gains honor,

   but ruthless men gain only wealth.
Those who are kind benefit themselves,
   but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.
A wicked person earns deceptive wages,
   but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
Truly the righteous attain life,
   but whoever pursues evil finds death. 

                                        Prov 11:16-19

Be nice! That seems to be the gist of Proverbs 11. Being "nice;" being honest, being fair, being kind, is not only a blessing to those you are being nice to; but, in the end you also will feel blessed. "Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves."

There is good advise for daily living in these verses from Proverbs. We are warned about the negative consequences of doing what is not right and reminded of the positive consequences of doing what is right; of being kind.

Worship the LORD your God and follow in the path that He has set before you, doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong to your benefit and for the benefit of the people around you.

God's Peace - Pr. J 

The Rock

Be to me a rock of refuge,
    a strong fortress, to save me,
    for you are my rock and my fortress.

Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
    from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.

                                            Psalm 71:3-4 NRSV

 

Sully is a huge English Mastiff. He is a rock. He goes about his business steady and sure. You can nudge him; but, unless he wants to move, it's not going to happen. Fortunately, he is a gentle giant and listens quite well. He is totally non-aggressive; but, if he's standing by your side, most people would think twice about approaching you in any manner other than in a most amiable way. 

 

Jesus is our rock of refuge. He is our fortress. The unjust and cruel will not prevail over those who dwell within the walls of that fortress, which is the Body of Christ. As much as I trust that by Sully's side I will be safe; I only see him a few times a year. But, Jesus is with me always. It is he who will save and keep us for all eternity.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J 

He Holds The Children In His Hands

In you, O Lord, I take refuge;
    let me never be put to shame.

In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
    incline your ear to me and save me.
Be to me a rock of refuge,
    a strong fortress, to save me,
    for you are my rock and my fortress.

Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
    from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
For you, O Lord, are my hope,
    my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
Upon you I have leaned from my birth;
    it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you.

Psalm 71:1-6 NRSV

 

My birth family did not attend worship. I never attended Sunday School; but, thanks to some wonderful neighbor ladies I was able to go to Vacation Bible School. I was confirmed; but, that was because I wanted to affirm my baptism. I would find rides or walk the few miles to classes at the church. I attended services with my grandmother when I was very young and stayed with her quite a bit of the time. I remember some of those services being in the Finnish language, which I did not understand. But, in spite of a very minimal formal Christian education, I came to know and to trust God. He came to me when I was not able to go to Him.

 

Family life as I grew up was pretty chaotic and there were many times, as a young child, that I simply had no one to turn to. I feared for my safety and I often felt very alone. So, I turned to God for comfort and for safety and for love. There were many nights that I could not sleep because of trouble in the household. But, I must also  stress that in spite of the many times of trouble, there were also many good times. There are many children growing up today who do not have the benefit of those good times.  

 

But, where and to whom shall a child turn when they are afraid? One of the few songs that I knew from Vacation Bible School was "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands."  In order to rest without fear and to be able to fall asleep in peace, I would often envision myself laying in the comfort and safety of God's great hands. He came to me. He was and is my strong fortress to save me. He is my refuge and strength. He was and is with me always. He is with you always. 

 

There are children today who live in much greater fear than I did. My heart goes out to them and I pray that they will live and rest in the comfort and safety of God's hands.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

A Rock And Fortress

Be to me a rock of refuge,
    a strong fortress, to save me,
    for you are my rock and my fortress.

Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the

    wicked,
    from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.

                                            Psalm 71:3-4 NRSV

Sully is a huge English Mastiff. He is a rock. He goes about his business steady and sure. You can nudge him; but, unless he wants to move, it's not going to happen. Fortunately, he is a gentle giant and listens quite well. He is totally non-aggressive; but, if he's standing by your side, most people would think twice about approaching you in any manner other than in a most amiable way. 

Jesus is our rock of refuge. He is our fortress. The unjust and cruel will not prevail over those who dwell within the walls of the fortress, which is the Body of Christ. As much as I trust that by Sully's side I will be safe; I only get to be with him a few times a year. But, Jesus is with me always. It is he who will save and keep us for all eternity.

God's Peace - Pr. J