Vengeance Does Not Save

I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.                                                                                                                                                                                 (Psalm 18:1-3 KJV)

Most of us have enemies; people who would do us harm. Turning to vengeance ourselves is not real helpful. The Lord will take care of you.

Spending time and energy to avenge ourselves can be like a boomerang. It could very well fly back and hit us in the face. Vengeance can cause all sorts of legal ramifications for us. And, living in anger will take away our peace. It can make us ill: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Leave the vengeance to the Lord. Trust Him for He is your rock, your fortress, deliverer, and strength. 

According to St. Paul: "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. (Rom 12:18-20)

Vengeance is God's. Trust Him and live life in peace!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

 

Our Strength; Rock; Fortress; Deliverer

I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
  my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
  my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
  so I shall be saved from my enemies.
                                            Psalm 18:1-2 NRSV

The Lord is our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer. There is no other who can or will save us from the destruction that is often brought upon by our own sinful ways.

It seems that as the years go by the world has gotten more evil, more sinful. But, I am not sure that it has. When I think about the medieval ages and the cruelty that was inflicted upon humankind by humankind, I am quite sure that the world is not worse. When I consider the arena and the  punishments of Jesus' day that included crucifixion, I am convinced that that cruelty has always existed in its evilest forms. It may seem like the world has gotten worse; but, has it really?  

But, when I consider that many would think that killing children moments before their birth; or that there are leaders and rebels who have no qualms against committing genocide against their neighbors for their personal goals, I am pretty confident that the world hasn't gotten any better, either. 

Who can we turn to in a world so fueled by ego and the desire for personal gain? There is none other than the Lord who is our strength; our rock; our fortress; our deliverer; the One in whom we can take refuge.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy upon us all.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Pray For Your Enemy

Those who surround me lift up their heads;
   let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
Let burning coals fall on them!
   Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!
Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;
   let evil speedily hunt down the violent!
                                                  Psalm 140:9-11 NRSV

We find the author of Psalms a little more than upset this morning. He wants the persecution against him stopped. He wants vengeance in a big way!

My memory tells me that I have indeed prayed this way myself. But, I know that there is a more excellent way. According to Jesus, we are to "...love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matt 5:43-45)

It is undeniable that there are many who persecute the children of God. The arrogant lay out snares for the innocent seeking to damage or utterly destroy them. But, anger and vengeance only propagates the enmity. Pray for peace; pray for protection; pray for mercy; pray that the LORD will be your strong deliverer; but, also pray for your enemy. Pray that those who hate and persecute you will repent. Pray that they will come to know the LORD and then you will have lost an enemy and gained a brother or sister in Christ.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Our Fortress and Deliverer

I love you, Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,

and I have been saved from my enemies.

                                                     Psalm 18:1-3 NIV

I cannot even begin to count how many times the Lord has saved me from those who consider me their enemy. They have tried and some continue to try. But, they have never prevailed. The Lord is my deliverer and not just from this physical world; but, from the unseen realms of darkness that would attack all who love Him. 

We give Him thanks and praise because He has saved us from our own sinful natures by sending His only begotten Son to deliver us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. 

God's peace be with you all today and every day.

Pr. J

Do Not Fear; The Lord Saves Us

 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us. (Isaiah 33:22 NIV)

We do not have to fear the false judgments of others. There is only one judge. That judge knows the truth of all things.

We do not have to fear this world at all for we are not of this world. Jesus told his followers: "As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (John 15:19) The world may be able to kill our bodies; but, it cannot destroy our souls. “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt 10:26-28)

Thanks be to God for He is the only one who can save us. He is the only one who can grant eternal life in His Kingdom and He has indeed granted all who believe that precious life in His presence forever.

Trust Him for He is our king and our deliverer. He will save us.

God's Peace - Pr. J

What Motivates Meanness?

Psalm 70 NIV

Hasten, O God, to save me;

    come quickly, Lord, to help me.

May those who want to take my life
    be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
    be turned back in disgrace.
May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
    turn back because of their shame.
But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
    “The Lord is great!”

But as for me, I am poor and needy;
    come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    Lord, do not delay

                                    

The Psalmist makes another plea for help. He prays to be saved from his enemy, again! David appears to have a lot of enemies. He faces much persecution and he faces it often.

I often find myself wondering exactly why it is that so much of humankind thinks that it is necessary to bring ruin to others. I particularly have a hard time understanding, not so much the outright meanness, but the pervasive passive-aggressive verbal, mental, and emotional abuse that is so commonly inflicted upon others. What motivates people to be so hateful? I am not sure if they even have a clue how much they hurt others, by their self-centered life-styles. If they did, would it stop, would they stop?  Or, would the meanness just get worse as they revel in their ability to persecute others?

The only thing that I can surmise is that they simply do not know the LORD. They may imply or even say that they are Christians, but the fruit does not bear witness to that claim. They know a little about Jesus, but they do not know Him.  I cannot help but feel empathy for them.  It must be a very lonely place that they are at. In the meantime, they continue to attack even those who love them.

So, for this morning, I think I shall pray: Hasten, O God to save our enemies, open ears, hearts, minds to a greater understanding of Your Word, Your good will for them and all people, that we all might be helped.  

'The LORD is great!" (vs 4) He is greater than great! He is my help and my salvation. He is your help and your salvation!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Lean On The Rock

Sully

I love you, Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 18:1-2

Sully is my grand-puppy. He is a huge English Mastiff and as solid as a rock. He is one of the most gentle breathing creatures that I have ever known. But, it is wise to be cautious around him. He may be a comfort to be around; but, he also likes to be comforted himself. He will lean against you in order to get a bit of extra attention when you are standing and unless your feet are planted firmly on the ground you may end up on the ground yourself.

We all need someone to lean on. We need someone to run to for refuge from time to time. There is one who is always there for you. The Lord, our God, is our rock and our fortress. This Rock of our Salvation loves you. He invites you to lean on Him not only when times are hard. Lean on Him when times are good; as well, that you might know the comforting peace that can only be found in His presence.

God's Peace - Pr. J

The Lord Contends

But this is what the Lord says:

“Yes, captives will be taken from warriors,
    and plunder retrieved from the fierce;
I will contend with those who contend with you,
    and your children I will save.

Isaiah 49:25

Every morning I pray: "Contend with those who contend with me" and "Open the eyes and ears and hearts of all whom I love so that they will be saved." Like the persistent widow these requests have been lifted up daily for years. I am confident that my prayers are being answered. Even though it doesn't always appear to be so; even though others may think at times that the battle is lost; I know that the Lord hears my prayers and answers according to His good will for all people.

Yesterday, at our book study we discussed the "prayer of the forsaken." One of the biggest fears of many parents is to loose their children to the evil one. It is heart-breaking to watch them fall of the path and so we pray and then we pray some more for them to turn back to the One who can save them.

Last night as I was listening to various sermons on YouTube, one of the preachers spoke on this verse from Isaiah. He reconfirmed my belief that God is with all who believe for their and their family's good. He will contend with those who contend with us. We do not have to contend with them. Stand firm, yes. But, fall back, no. Stand firmly on His word confident that God will contend with the evil that threatens to destroy our families, all whom He loves.

May God help us to stand firmly on His word. He is no less for us, than He was for David, our rock, our fortress and our deliverer; our God is our rock, in whom we take refuge, our shield and the horn of our salvation. He is our stronghold, our refuge and savior - from violent people He saves us. (2 Sam 22:2-3)

God's Peace - Pr. J