"O my God, I trust, lean on, rely on and am confident in You. Let me not be put to shame or [my hope in You] be disappointed; let not my enemies triumph over me....Redeem Israel, O God, out of all their troubles." (Psalm 25:2 & 22, Amplified Bible)
The psalmists reveal that their concern was for themselves and their People, the Jews. Here David prays for himself and the nation. You and I must have such a heart.
9 years after the National Socialists won the German National Election, and just 10 days after the infamous "Wannsee Conference," Hitler made a speech in the Sports Palace in Berlin. The following quote from his speech is not hearsay. It is from the Allied monitoring service: "They (the Jews) are our old enemy as it is, they have experienced at our hands an upsetting of their ideas....The war will not end as the Jews imagine it will, namely with the uprooting of the Aryans, but the result of this war will be the complete annihilation of the Jews....And the hour will come when the most evil universal enemy of all time will be finished, at least for a thousand years."
This did not happen. Instead, Germany itself was almost totally annihilated. Every major city had been reduced to mostly nothing but debris. Berlin was so devastated that the government seriously considered leveling the city completely and moving the inhabitants to Hamburg. The German was reduced to a beggar people, people nearly starving, millions homeless. Later in the Psalm the supplicant says, "let them be ashamed who forsake the right or deal treacherously without cause." They were, as are many still.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is, "The Lord," of the Bible, of life, of the Universe. Jesus is, "the Shepherd," as in, "The Lord is my shepherd." Jesus' love, Jesus' promises, Jesus' power, Jesus' faithfulness to His Words and to His People is constant, everlasting/eternal. You and I face the same Enemy which the Jews of Europe faced in the 1930s and 40s. His "face" may have many different looks, but he is always out to destroy what Jesus has created. He is not dumb, even though he knows this: "His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, one little word shall feel him", and, of course, that Word is Jesus Himself. Pray the Psalms, my friend, they are yours, because Jesus is yours and you are His. And, as the song writer said, "Jesus Never Fails."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I continually pray, "Redeem Israel, O God, out of all their troubles." Amen.
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In case any wonder, Sarah and I do not "get rich" from contributions to our missions. We had a surplus from our last mission and sent $1500.00 to help meet the dire need of some American First Nations People, aka, Indians.
The psalmists reveal that their concern was for themselves and their People, the Jews. Here David prays for himself and the nation. You and I must have such a heart.
9 years after the National Socialists won the German National Election, and just 10 days after the infamous "Wannsee Conference," Hitler made a speech in the Sports Palace in Berlin. The following quote from his speech is not hearsay. It is from the Allied monitoring service: "They (the Jews) are our old enemy as it is, they have experienced at our hands an upsetting of their ideas....The war will not end as the Jews imagine it will, namely with the uprooting of the Aryans, but the result of this war will be the complete annihilation of the Jews....And the hour will come when the most evil universal enemy of all time will be finished, at least for a thousand years."
This did not happen. Instead, Germany itself was almost totally annihilated. Every major city had been reduced to mostly nothing but debris. Berlin was so devastated that the government seriously considered leveling the city completely and moving the inhabitants to Hamburg. The German was reduced to a beggar people, people nearly starving, millions homeless. Later in the Psalm the supplicant says, "let them be ashamed who forsake the right or deal treacherously without cause." They were, as are many still.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is, "The Lord," of the Bible, of life, of the Universe. Jesus is, "the Shepherd," as in, "The Lord is my shepherd." Jesus' love, Jesus' promises, Jesus' power, Jesus' faithfulness to His Words and to His People is constant, everlasting/eternal. You and I face the same Enemy which the Jews of Europe faced in the 1930s and 40s. His "face" may have many different looks, but he is always out to destroy what Jesus has created. He is not dumb, even though he knows this: "His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, one little word shall feel him", and, of course, that Word is Jesus Himself. Pray the Psalms, my friend, they are yours, because Jesus is yours and you are His. And, as the song writer said, "Jesus Never Fails."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I continually pray, "Redeem Israel, O God, out of all their troubles." Amen.
**********************
In case any wonder, Sarah and I do not "get rich" from contributions to our missions. We had a surplus from our last mission and sent $1500.00 to help meet the dire need of some American First Nations People, aka, Indians.
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
