"If the Lord had not been on our side (let all Israel admit it), if the Lord had not been on our side, we would have been swallowed alive by our enemies, destroyed by their anger....Our help is from the Lord who made heaven and earth." (From Psalm 124- Living Bible)
The testimony of our text, indeed, that of all Scripture, is the testimony of not just the Jews and Christians; it is the testimony of the human race. History just affirms the Bible. As I read Psalm 124 today, I came to the conclusion that it could be the Israeli "National Anthem," the motto of the Jews, and indeed, that of Followers of Jesus Christ through the centuries. "Our help is from the Lord [Jesus Christ]." Moreover the Church of Jesus Christ today faces the same battle, the same, "wrath...kindled against us," as the Covenant People through the ages.
The biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer which I am currently reading has gone to the top five books I have read in my life time. In it the author says of the rise of National Socialism what is a dire warning to the Earth's people groups today, "No one dreamed how quickly and dramatically things would change;" and the greatest "change" would come in the form of the infamous "Jewish Question," that which would soon become the defining "change" of the Third Reich. In this hellish atmosphere, Bonhoeffer's challenge to the German Church rings in our ears today-- "What is at stake is by no means whether our German members of congregations can still tolerate church fellowship with the Jews. It is rather the task of Christian preaching to say, here is the church, where Jew and German stand together under the Word of God, here is the proof whether a church is still the church or not."
Yes, "Our help is in the name of the Lord," but you and I are called to participate in the, "help." Today, where is the Church in America, yea, the world, "when men rose up against us", i.e., the Jews and indeed the Believers in Jesus Christ throughout the earth, especially in persecuted lands? Unmistakably "It is...the task of Christian preaching to say,.. here is the proof whether a church is still the church or not."
Father, in Jesus' Name, when life would swallow me, You're my Help. Amen.
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See Article on Obama Losing Jewish Support: www.apf327.blogspot.com
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
