As I was saying............
Watchman
Sentinel
Friday, December 13, 2013
"A Psalm...In The Wilderness"
"O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my flesh thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water." (Psalm 63:1)
I read two articles today about two of "my" countries, North Korea and Romania (You can read them by going to our Blog listed below). While North Korea is still under a dictatorial, communist regime, and still rated as the number one persecutor of the Church, Romania has for 24 years been a relatively "free" and open democracy. The article which I read, however, reveals some disturbing trends in Romania. This battle is not over, my friend.
Our text is just one of many Biblical passages which the suffering Church has been praying for 2000 years, yes, 2000 years. Even though Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire after 300 years of persecution, those who have been committed to Jesus and His Words have never been free of persecution, albeit, the forms of that persecution have varied from generation to generation and from nation to nation. Frankly, when the US Government stood by as a court in rebellion to Jesus Christ outlawed His Prayer and His Words in the State School System, I personally saw it as an attack on me, and a very real persecution of the Church. Further, I used to, with some regularly, go into state high schools in the various parishes I served and spoke of Jesus Christ and gave invitations to receive Jesus. I am not allowed to do that now. Nearly 17 years ago, a pastor was put in prison in Lynchburg, VA. for passing out tracks on a public sidewalk to high school students. I went to visit him in prison, but was not allowed to see him! Maybe a reason we are not persecuted as much as Believers in other countries is that we have learned a "safe" version of Christianity.
It is obvious that I have been sharing my daily journey through the Psalms with you. I noted again that the title to this Psalm is, "A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah."
Or we could say of this Psalm, "A Psalm...in the wilderness...." Before I knew of any suffering, the Psalms were a sort of enigma to me. After Stephen died, they became a most treasured possession. And what about you today? Are you in need of, "A Psalm...in the wilderness..."? I pray the Bible continually for North Korea, Romania, and all of the countries I have visited in my life time, including Iran and Morocco, the latter, by the way, is also on the world wide persecution list. But I also pray the Bible for you and me. I don't say this very often, but if you are going through a "wilderness," let us know so that we can pray through the journey with you.
When Brother Andrew and I were writing to each other every month, he would sign his letters, "Yours in the fight." Nothing has changed. You and I are "in the fight." We engaged in this fight the moment we opened the door of our hearts to Jesus Christ, and, "....I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me," became a reality in us. There are an estimated 400,000+ Followers of Jesus going through unspeakable suffering in North Korea. You may be going through suffering also, but do not compare your suffering with our North Korean Church. Suffering is suffering, regardless the source, the "type," etc. Yet in it and "through it all," anyone may pray, "O God, You are my God....My soul thirsts for You...." To which He always responds, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart ('his belly, innermost being') will flow rivers of living water."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that there is no wilderness without water while I am in You and You in me. Amen.
*****************
jhs58.blogspot.com
I read two articles today about two of "my" countries, North Korea and Romania (You can read them by going to our Blog listed below). While North Korea is still under a dictatorial, communist regime, and still rated as the number one persecutor of the Church, Romania has for 24 years been a relatively "free" and open democracy. The article which I read, however, reveals some disturbing trends in Romania. This battle is not over, my friend.
Our text is just one of many Biblical passages which the suffering Church has been praying for 2000 years, yes, 2000 years. Even though Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire after 300 years of persecution, those who have been committed to Jesus and His Words have never been free of persecution, albeit, the forms of that persecution have varied from generation to generation and from nation to nation. Frankly, when the US Government stood by as a court in rebellion to Jesus Christ outlawed His Prayer and His Words in the State School System, I personally saw it as an attack on me, and a very real persecution of the Church. Further, I used to, with some regularly, go into state high schools in the various parishes I served and spoke of Jesus Christ and gave invitations to receive Jesus. I am not allowed to do that now. Nearly 17 years ago, a pastor was put in prison in Lynchburg, VA. for passing out tracks on a public sidewalk to high school students. I went to visit him in prison, but was not allowed to see him! Maybe a reason we are not persecuted as much as Believers in other countries is that we have learned a "safe" version of Christianity.
It is obvious that I have been sharing my daily journey through the Psalms with you. I noted again that the title to this Psalm is, "A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah."
Or we could say of this Psalm, "A Psalm...in the wilderness...." Before I knew of any suffering, the Psalms were a sort of enigma to me. After Stephen died, they became a most treasured possession. And what about you today? Are you in need of, "A Psalm...in the wilderness..."? I pray the Bible continually for North Korea, Romania, and all of the countries I have visited in my life time, including Iran and Morocco, the latter, by the way, is also on the world wide persecution list. But I also pray the Bible for you and me. I don't say this very often, but if you are going through a "wilderness," let us know so that we can pray through the journey with you.
When Brother Andrew and I were writing to each other every month, he would sign his letters, "Yours in the fight." Nothing has changed. You and I are "in the fight." We engaged in this fight the moment we opened the door of our hearts to Jesus Christ, and, "....I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me," became a reality in us. There are an estimated 400,000+ Followers of Jesus going through unspeakable suffering in North Korea. You may be going through suffering also, but do not compare your suffering with our North Korean Church. Suffering is suffering, regardless the source, the "type," etc. Yet in it and "through it all," anyone may pray, "O God, You are my God....My soul thirsts for You...." To which He always responds, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart ('his belly, innermost being') will flow rivers of living water."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that there is no wilderness without water while I am in You and You in me. Amen.
*****************
jhs58.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
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
Thursday, December 12, 2013
You And I Are Never Alone Nor Forgotten
"You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call; this I know, that God is for me." (Psalm 56:8, 9--NASB)
When we are "wandering," we are usually alone; this is a sad state. At some point during, "my wanderings," David asked the Lord to, "put my tears in Your bottle," and, "in Your book". You and I can be as sure of this Father's Love as we are sure of anything. I wonder if one of the reasons our Father, "puts my tears in [His] bottle," and, "Your book," is that some day He will show us just how faithful He always was to us, even when we could barely believe He was "there."
Psalms 50-60 are Psalms which reveal some of David's great struggles in his sojourn, struggles of adultery, murder, pursuit of his enemies, God seemingly abandoning his armies. These Psalms reflect a human being at his most basic loneliness, the loneliness brought on by sin, by victimization, by spiritual "desert wanderings." Remember his cry in Psalm 22?- "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night but I find no rest" (NIV). Now most "spiritual" people never want people to know they have gone or are going through such a time. Then I guess David was not spiritual.
"My enemies," will always attempt to take such times to defeat us, to get us to doubt the keeping power of and in Jesus Christ. Yet with David you and I can, should, must always affirm that which is truth, no matter if the whole of life seems to conspire against it, "....THIS I KNOW, THAT GOD IS FOR ME." David gave us the foundational reason for this confidence in the final verses of the Psalm, "In God, whose word (Who Is Jesus Christ) I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me? I am under vows to you, my God....For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life." My dear sibling in Christ Jesus, "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us ALL THINGS? What a rhetorical question. "If God is for us," i.e., if we are in Jesus and He in us, then no one can be, "against us." Moreover, in Jesus Christ, the Living Triune God, "will...graciously give us all things." There you have it, my friend------------------ the rest of your life is covered!
Father, in Jesus' Name, let me never forget that You are, "for me." Amen.
***************
If you are interested in a briefing of our last mission, let me know; I will send details.
When we are "wandering," we are usually alone; this is a sad state. At some point during, "my wanderings," David asked the Lord to, "put my tears in Your bottle," and, "in Your book". You and I can be as sure of this Father's Love as we are sure of anything. I wonder if one of the reasons our Father, "puts my tears in [His] bottle," and, "Your book," is that some day He will show us just how faithful He always was to us, even when we could barely believe He was "there."
Psalms 50-60 are Psalms which reveal some of David's great struggles in his sojourn, struggles of adultery, murder, pursuit of his enemies, God seemingly abandoning his armies. These Psalms reflect a human being at his most basic loneliness, the loneliness brought on by sin, by victimization, by spiritual "desert wanderings." Remember his cry in Psalm 22?- "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night but I find no rest" (NIV). Now most "spiritual" people never want people to know they have gone or are going through such a time. Then I guess David was not spiritual.
"My enemies," will always attempt to take such times to defeat us, to get us to doubt the keeping power of and in Jesus Christ. Yet with David you and I can, should, must always affirm that which is truth, no matter if the whole of life seems to conspire against it, "....THIS I KNOW, THAT GOD IS FOR ME." David gave us the foundational reason for this confidence in the final verses of the Psalm, "In God, whose word (Who Is Jesus Christ) I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me? I am under vows to you, my God....For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life." My dear sibling in Christ Jesus, "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us ALL THINGS? What a rhetorical question. "If God is for us," i.e., if we are in Jesus and He in us, then no one can be, "against us." Moreover, in Jesus Christ, the Living Triune God, "will...graciously give us all things." There you have it, my friend------------------ the rest of your life is covered!
Father, in Jesus' Name, let me never forget that You are, "for me." Amen.
***************
If you are interested in a briefing of our last mission, let me know; I will send details.
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
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
In Jesus Christ There Is No Tottering, No Shaking, No Slipping
"Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved," literally, "totter, shake, slip." (Psalm 55:22)
The word for, "cast," means, "throw, fling." Go ahead today; "cast (throw, fling) your burden on the Lord Jesus Christ," right now, right there, in the midst of whatever. In other words, get rid of it. It is not yours; it is Jesus Christ's. Matthew 11 tells us that Jesus later told humanity, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden." The word for, "heavy laden," is the same root word for, "my burden," of which He later speaks, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light." It is as though Jesus is saying to humanity, "Exchange your burden for mine. Mine is not like yours. 'For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light.'" Our burdens do not give us, "rest for your souls." Neither are they, "easy and...light." They weigh us down, immune to all man's attempts to lighten them, to get rid of them.
The word for, "cast," means, "throw, fling." Go ahead today; "cast (throw, fling) your burden on the Lord Jesus Christ," right now, right there, in the midst of whatever. In other words, get rid of it. It is not yours; it is Jesus Christ's. Matthew 11 tells us that Jesus later told humanity, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden." The word for, "heavy laden," is the same root word for, "my burden," of which He later speaks, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light." It is as though Jesus is saying to humanity, "Exchange your burden for mine. Mine is not like yours. 'For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light.'" Our burdens do not give us, "rest for your souls." Neither are they, "easy and...light." They weigh us down, immune to all man's attempts to lighten them, to get rid of them.
What a "close" to my Psalm reading today. The day before me, not knowing what the day will bring, and Our Father in Jesus, Word of the Father, speaks His invitational, comforting Word. He is saying right now the same Word to you, no matter what your time zone, no matter what the circumstance in which you are reading this, The Blessed Trinity, "shall never permit the righteous to be moved"--------------------to totter, to shake, to slip."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I so thank You for, "He shall sustain you," that You, "shall never permit [me] to be moved."
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
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
When Man Is A Beast
"A man who is in honor (esteem), yet does not understand is like the beasts that perish." (Psalm 49:20)
The word for, "beasts," in our text simply means, "animal, cattle." Not at all flattering to a proud race, nor an acceptable concept for "nice" religious people. The word for, "perish," is also translated elsewhere as, "undone," a description of the human race without our Lord Jesus Christ.
Most people do not believe our text. Most people whom man has honored, held in high esteem over the centuries are people who come under the category, "yet does not understand." They were/are folk heroes, people whom unregenerate man need for heroes, yet they are people who have rejected Jesus Christ and are, "like the animals that perish." They are the, "does not understand," of humanity.
In John 9 we read of a blind man who was drilled by such people as to how Jesus healed him and why the blind man believed in Jesus. His response did not and does not satisfy those who are, "like the animals that perish." Of his encounter with Jesus the blind man said, "One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see." His contemporaries wanted what most people want today. They want answers/responses which satisfy their "intellect," their understanding, what "makes sense" to them, what their limited minds can grasp. In short, if it doesn't make sense, reject it; they are, "....like the animals that perish."
The, "understand," of the blind man was the, "understand," of relationship with Jesus Christ, a relationship of faith which says, "I believe You, Jesus."
Father, in Jesus' Name, My, "understand," is You alone. Amen.
****************
Be sure to let us know if you will come to our Berlin, Albania, Jerusalem briefing on January 16 at 19:00.
The word for, "beasts," in our text simply means, "animal, cattle." Not at all flattering to a proud race, nor an acceptable concept for "nice" religious people. The word for, "perish," is also translated elsewhere as, "undone," a description of the human race without our Lord Jesus Christ.
Most people do not believe our text. Most people whom man has honored, held in high esteem over the centuries are people who come under the category, "yet does not understand." They were/are folk heroes, people whom unregenerate man need for heroes, yet they are people who have rejected Jesus Christ and are, "like the animals that perish." They are the, "does not understand," of humanity.
In John 9 we read of a blind man who was drilled by such people as to how Jesus healed him and why the blind man believed in Jesus. His response did not and does not satisfy those who are, "like the animals that perish." Of his encounter with Jesus the blind man said, "One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see." His contemporaries wanted what most people want today. They want answers/responses which satisfy their "intellect," their understanding, what "makes sense" to them, what their limited minds can grasp. In short, if it doesn't make sense, reject it; they are, "....like the animals that perish."
The, "understand," of the blind man was the, "understand," of relationship with Jesus Christ, a relationship of faith which says, "I believe You, Jesus."
Father, in Jesus' Name, My, "understand," is You alone. Amen.
****************
Be sure to let us know if you will come to our Berlin, Albania, Jerusalem briefing on January 16 at 19:00.
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
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
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