"If the Lord Had Not Been on Our Side,..We Would Have Been Swallowed Alive"

"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

"The Church of God Has Only One Altar" (Bonhoeffer)

"But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world." (1 Corinthians 11:32)

There is the way of Jesus Christ, and then there is the way not of Jesus Christ.  This is the simple, fearful, clear division of humanity.  It is not tags and cliches, not catch phrases, and insider talk.  It obedience to Jesus Christ and His Word, the Bible, which determines condemnation or freedom from condemnation.  What keeps me in this thinking is the "God-Breathed" Word Himself.  Regular, daily reading, not just of favorite passages, but a reading which takes me frequently through the Bible keeps me focused on, "not my will, but Yours be done."

The battle of the Church historically always has been the conflict between the will/agenda of Jesus Christ and the will/agenda of men.  Indeed, impure men have attempted to use the Church of Christ for their own purposes, their own will, their own "kingdoms" since the beginning.  During his rise in the German political scene and even after his election to the German Chancellery, Adolph Hitler used Christianity to further seduce the German people.  "We are determined, as leaders of the nation, to fulfill as a national government the task which has been given to us, swearing fidelity only to God, our conscience, and our Volk."  He would declare, that his government would make Christianity "the basis of our collective morality.....May God Almighty take our work into his grace, give true form to our will, bless our insight, and endow us with the trust of our Volk."  History is the judge. 

Yet in these same days, Bonhoeffer was also rising to prominence in Germany.  He once stated, "The church has only one altar, the altar of the Almighty... before which all creatures must kneel.  Whoever seeks something other than this must keep away, he cannot join us in the house of God....The church has only one pulpit, and from that pulpit, faith in God will be preached, and no other faith, and no other will than the will of God, however well-intentioned."

It is no different today, politicians, friends, religionists attempting to use smooth talk to seduce, and men of God proclaiming the Truth of the Word of God.  I have lost friends over the years because of this.  We all have sin in our lives and sooner or later the Word of God will deal with it in our lives.  Now we can choose to attempt to justify ourselves, and in the process deceive ourselves, or we can face the Word of God and embrace Him, His purposes, His will, His "assessment" of our lives, and the victorious way out.  This struggle will either unite us or divide us.  I pray God, it will be the former.

Father, in Jesus' Name, if I ever try to justify my sin or the sin of others, convict me deeply.  Amen.
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Prophetic News at:     www.apf327.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day 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