Psalm 119:81-87 ESV
My soul longs for your salvation;
I hope in your word.
My eyes long for your promise;
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
How long must your servant endure?
When will you judge those who persecute me?
The insolent have dug pitfalls for me;
they do not live according to your law.
All your commandments are sure;
they persecute me with falsehood; help me!
They have almost made an end of me on earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
In your steadfast love give me life,
that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth.
All of us go through times in our lives when we must face difficult trials and tribulations which try our faith. Some people appear to have little of these, while others seem to get more than their fair share.
For some of us, these trials may be ongoing over a very long period of time, maybe even a lifetime. We long for deliverance from them, for a reprieve, for our circumstances to change, and for the burden to be lifted from our shoulders. But, the trials continue. They are ongoing. We are sorrowful over our circumstances and we hope and pray for a miracle of God to rescue us.
We wonder how much longer we must endure such persecution or hardship or difficulty. How much longer must this go on? Will we ever see the light of day regarding these afflictions?
Lust and Lewdness
For, those whose lives are given over to lust and lewdness, to contemptuous conduct, to fulfilling the lusts of their flesh without regard for who gets hurt in the process, are plentiful in numbers. They take advantage of others for their own selfish gain. They think only or mainly of themselves and what their flesh dictates, and so they will stomp on other’s fundamental rights and freedoms to get what they want, and few have even a conscience about it.
One of the ways in which this persecution takes place is through physical abuse, mistreatment and even murder. Some of it is out in the open, so it is obvious, apparent to all. But, much of it is hidden behind closed doors, secretive, and concealed. And, a lot of that is persecution which leaves no physical marks, so no real evidence that abuse is taking place. For much of this persecution is emotional, mental and spiritual in nature.
In today’s world, much of this comes in the form of manipulation, trickery, deception, intimidation, and persuasion in the form of trying to shame people into compliance. The purpose of it all is to try to deceive people to leave the truth and to follow after the lies. Or, it is to bring confusion to their minds, or to keep them unbalanced, never knowing what is going to hit them next. Or, it is to try to make them fearful so they will doubt God.
Powers That Be
World powers are at force here creating much of this conflict, confusion and intimidation. They fake uprisings, incite discord, promote violence, and fuel hatred and prejudice, and all for the purpose so that they can come in as “saviors” with a preconceived plan for world dominance and subjugation.
I have seen them do this in country after country after country over a span of maybe 20 years, though I am certain this has been going on much longer than that. They follow the same modus operandi in nation after nation, and we are now seeing the mirror image of that taking place in the USA, too. And, it is all scripted in a plan which they call “Agenda 21.”
If we are discerning at all, we can read between the lines in these news stories, and we can see how these things are being stirred up at high levels of government. And, it is manipulative, and this is trickery, and it is deception, for their intention is to bring all of us under the rule of the New World Order “beast.”
Not Forsaken
But, we are to hold on to God through it all. We are to hold on to the truths of his Word and to all of his promises, even if our eyes have not yet seen the fulfillment of all of those promises take place. We must surrender our lives to the Lord, and follow his lead, and believe what he says even when all hell seems to be breaking loose all around us.
For, he didn’t promise us an easy life, did he? No! He promised us that we would be hated and persecuted without cause. He promised us that they would persecute us, and say all manner of evil against us, and that we would be falsely accused of wrongdoing when we have done no wrong. He foretold the times in which we are now living, many, many years ago, so we knew that this was coming. So, it should not take us by surprise when it unfolds before our eyes. Yet, we must be so guarded in our hearts and minds so we don’t fall for the deception.
We must remain steadfast in faith, holding on to the truth of the scriptures, and we must not falter out of fear of the “what ifs” which may become a reality. For, fear is the opposite of faith. And, fear never changes anything, does it? Worry only makes matters worse. It never makes our circumstances improve. So, instead of worrying about what may come our way, we just need to pray, bathe our minds with the Word of God, and keep trusting in the Lord, for he is faithful in all that he does, and his word is trustworthy.
Psalm 119:89-96 ESV
Forever, O Lord, your word
is firmly fixed in the heavens.
Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
By your appointment they stand this day,
for all things are your servants.
If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have given me life.
I am yours; save me,
for I have sought your precepts.
The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
but I consider your testimonies.
I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but your commandment is exceedingly broad.
When the world is coming apart at the seams due to the trickery of men in their deceitful scheming, our hearts must not fail. We must stay fixed on God’s Words. But, we must also know that humankind will twist the scriptures to their advantage and to our disadvantage, so we must know what the scriptures teach so that we can stand strong on the Word of God and not be lead astray by the trickery of humans.
And, I say a hearty “Amen” to this verse: “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” For, I know that it was God who sustained me through it all, and who continues to carry me through every difficulty, and every hardship that comes my way. His Word truly is my delight, and I rest in its promises and its instructions, too. The Word of God continues to comfort and encourage me and to fill my heart with hope.
It is no stretch to say that this is a reality in our day and time, i.e. that the wicked truly are out to destroy the righteous in God’s sight. And, they will do it in many different ways, too, for they are the devil’s workmen (and women) who do his bidding. If they can’t get us to compromise the truth of God’s Word and to follow their lies, then they will use all kinds of tricks and schemes to try to get us to give up and to bail ship.
They Serve a Purpose
Yet, though humans will fail us, and we will even fail ourselves, at times, God will not fail, and his Word will not fail, but they will be true and they will be steadfast to the end and beyond. So, although there is not much we can count on in this world of ours, we can always depend on God and on His Word to remain steadfast, faithful and true at all times, and in all ways.
We may look to God to rescue us from our distress, from our trials and tribulations, and we may get discouraged or feel disheartened when it seems there is no end in sight to what we are having to endure. But, the Lord uses these difficulties and these trying times in our lives to mature us in our walks of faith, to draw us closer to him, and to bring about in our lives steadfastness of spirit. Through our trials the Lord is making us holy, and he is conforming us to his likeness, when we submit our lives to him.
But, the Lord will always rescue us spiritually and emotionally from our difficulties, though not necessarily from harm or persecution, but from the effects of such persecution on our lives. In other words, he will uphold us, and strengthen us, give us courage and determination, put hope in our hearts, and bring light to our eyes, and joy in our spirits despite all that is going on all around us. He will give us a peace which surpasses all human comprehension, because it is everlasting peace. Praise Jesus! Amen!
He Reached Down
An Original Work / February 3, 2014
Based off Psalm 18
How I love You, Lord, my Rock and my strength.
My God is my fortress; I hide in Him.
He is my shield and the horn of
My salvation, whom I praise.
I have found my refuge in Him.
He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
Drew me out of waters so deep, I’d sink.
He delivered me from Satan
And my slavery to sin;
Gave me hope of heaven with Him.
My God turned my darkness into His light;
Opened up my blinded eyes; gave me sight.
As for God, his way is perfect.
He gives strength to stand secure.
I have found my vict’ry in Him.
My Lord lives! Praise be to my Savior God,
Jesus Christ, who died on a cruel cross.
He is my Rock and the source
Of my salvation, whom I trust.
I will give praise always to Him.
Monday, July 29, 2019
My soul longs for your salvation;
I hope in your word.
My eyes long for your promise;
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
How long must your servant endure?
When will you judge those who persecute me?
The insolent have dug pitfalls for me;
they do not live according to your law.
All your commandments are sure;
they persecute me with falsehood; help me!
They have almost made an end of me on earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
In your steadfast love give me life,
that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth.
All of us go through times in our lives when we must face difficult trials and tribulations which try our faith. Some people appear to have little of these, while others seem to get more than their fair share.
For some of us, these trials may be ongoing over a very long period of time, maybe even a lifetime. We long for deliverance from them, for a reprieve, for our circumstances to change, and for the burden to be lifted from our shoulders. But, the trials continue. They are ongoing. We are sorrowful over our circumstances and we hope and pray for a miracle of God to rescue us.
We wonder how much longer we must endure such persecution or hardship or difficulty. How much longer must this go on? Will we ever see the light of day regarding these afflictions?
Lust and Lewdness
For, those whose lives are given over to lust and lewdness, to contemptuous conduct, to fulfilling the lusts of their flesh without regard for who gets hurt in the process, are plentiful in numbers. They take advantage of others for their own selfish gain. They think only or mainly of themselves and what their flesh dictates, and so they will stomp on other’s fundamental rights and freedoms to get what they want, and few have even a conscience about it.
One of the ways in which this persecution takes place is through physical abuse, mistreatment and even murder. Some of it is out in the open, so it is obvious, apparent to all. But, much of it is hidden behind closed doors, secretive, and concealed. And, a lot of that is persecution which leaves no physical marks, so no real evidence that abuse is taking place. For much of this persecution is emotional, mental and spiritual in nature.
In today’s world, much of this comes in the form of manipulation, trickery, deception, intimidation, and persuasion in the form of trying to shame people into compliance. The purpose of it all is to try to deceive people to leave the truth and to follow after the lies. Or, it is to bring confusion to their minds, or to keep them unbalanced, never knowing what is going to hit them next. Or, it is to try to make them fearful so they will doubt God.
Powers That Be
World powers are at force here creating much of this conflict, confusion and intimidation. They fake uprisings, incite discord, promote violence, and fuel hatred and prejudice, and all for the purpose so that they can come in as “saviors” with a preconceived plan for world dominance and subjugation.
I have seen them do this in country after country after country over a span of maybe 20 years, though I am certain this has been going on much longer than that. They follow the same modus operandi in nation after nation, and we are now seeing the mirror image of that taking place in the USA, too. And, it is all scripted in a plan which they call “Agenda 21.”
If we are discerning at all, we can read between the lines in these news stories, and we can see how these things are being stirred up at high levels of government. And, it is manipulative, and this is trickery, and it is deception, for their intention is to bring all of us under the rule of the New World Order “beast.”
Not Forsaken
But, we are to hold on to God through it all. We are to hold on to the truths of his Word and to all of his promises, even if our eyes have not yet seen the fulfillment of all of those promises take place. We must surrender our lives to the Lord, and follow his lead, and believe what he says even when all hell seems to be breaking loose all around us.
For, he didn’t promise us an easy life, did he? No! He promised us that we would be hated and persecuted without cause. He promised us that they would persecute us, and say all manner of evil against us, and that we would be falsely accused of wrongdoing when we have done no wrong. He foretold the times in which we are now living, many, many years ago, so we knew that this was coming. So, it should not take us by surprise when it unfolds before our eyes. Yet, we must be so guarded in our hearts and minds so we don’t fall for the deception.
We must remain steadfast in faith, holding on to the truth of the scriptures, and we must not falter out of fear of the “what ifs” which may become a reality. For, fear is the opposite of faith. And, fear never changes anything, does it? Worry only makes matters worse. It never makes our circumstances improve. So, instead of worrying about what may come our way, we just need to pray, bathe our minds with the Word of God, and keep trusting in the Lord, for he is faithful in all that he does, and his word is trustworthy.
Psalm 119:89-96 ESV
Forever, O Lord, your word
is firmly fixed in the heavens.
Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
By your appointment they stand this day,
for all things are your servants.
If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have given me life.
I am yours; save me,
for I have sought your precepts.
The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
but I consider your testimonies.
I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but your commandment is exceedingly broad.
When the world is coming apart at the seams due to the trickery of men in their deceitful scheming, our hearts must not fail. We must stay fixed on God’s Words. But, we must also know that humankind will twist the scriptures to their advantage and to our disadvantage, so we must know what the scriptures teach so that we can stand strong on the Word of God and not be lead astray by the trickery of humans.
And, I say a hearty “Amen” to this verse: “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” For, I know that it was God who sustained me through it all, and who continues to carry me through every difficulty, and every hardship that comes my way. His Word truly is my delight, and I rest in its promises and its instructions, too. The Word of God continues to comfort and encourage me and to fill my heart with hope.
It is no stretch to say that this is a reality in our day and time, i.e. that the wicked truly are out to destroy the righteous in God’s sight. And, they will do it in many different ways, too, for they are the devil’s workmen (and women) who do his bidding. If they can’t get us to compromise the truth of God’s Word and to follow their lies, then they will use all kinds of tricks and schemes to try to get us to give up and to bail ship.
They Serve a Purpose
Yet, though humans will fail us, and we will even fail ourselves, at times, God will not fail, and his Word will not fail, but they will be true and they will be steadfast to the end and beyond. So, although there is not much we can count on in this world of ours, we can always depend on God and on His Word to remain steadfast, faithful and true at all times, and in all ways.
We may look to God to rescue us from our distress, from our trials and tribulations, and we may get discouraged or feel disheartened when it seems there is no end in sight to what we are having to endure. But, the Lord uses these difficulties and these trying times in our lives to mature us in our walks of faith, to draw us closer to him, and to bring about in our lives steadfastness of spirit. Through our trials the Lord is making us holy, and he is conforming us to his likeness, when we submit our lives to him.
But, the Lord will always rescue us spiritually and emotionally from our difficulties, though not necessarily from harm or persecution, but from the effects of such persecution on our lives. In other words, he will uphold us, and strengthen us, give us courage and determination, put hope in our hearts, and bring light to our eyes, and joy in our spirits despite all that is going on all around us. He will give us a peace which surpasses all human comprehension, because it is everlasting peace. Praise Jesus! Amen!
He Reached Down
An Original Work / February 3, 2014
Based off Psalm 18
How I love You, Lord, my Rock and my strength.
My God is my fortress; I hide in Him.
He is my shield and the horn of
My salvation, whom I praise.
I have found my refuge in Him.
He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
Drew me out of waters so deep, I’d sink.
He delivered me from Satan
And my slavery to sin;
Gave me hope of heaven with Him.
My God turned my darkness into His light;
Opened up my blinded eyes; gave me sight.
As for God, his way is perfect.
He gives strength to stand secure.
I have found my vict’ry in Him.
My Lord lives! Praise be to my Savior God,
Jesus Christ, who died on a cruel cross.
He is my Rock and the source
Of my salvation, whom I trust.
I will give praise always to Him.
Monday, July 29, 2019
