The Lord was combining the two songs together in my head for a reason. In listening to both songs, I realized that they both begin with the same sequence of notes, yet the similarity does not end there. The Lord had given me two lines in each song that are exactly the same. The lines are about Jesus Christ being our deliverer, our Rock of salvation, and our cornerstone, who was rejected by men, but he is our mighty God! And, then I noticed the dates the songs were written. One was written on May 11th and the other on September 11th, so both of them were written on the 11th of the month, and four months apart from each other. I began to feel as though the second song was just an extension of the first one, though I never got the connection before now. I don’t know what significance the date May 11th may hold, but the date of September 11th will be a date forever in my memory as a day in our history when we needed to know that God would never leave or forsake those who are truly his, even if some of the men we trusted to lead us did reject and desert us.
Never Will I Leave You / An Original Work / May 11, 2011
God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5).
“Never will I leave you, nor will I forsake you.”
Jesus is your Savior; love and comfort keep you.
He is your deliverer; Rock of your salvation;
Cornerstone, rejected by men; mighty God is He!
Hope of your salvation; He is your Redeemer.
He is living in you as your Lord and Master.
He will not forget you, nor will He neglect you.
He knows all about you; He will supply all you need.
God of your redemption’s perfect plan to save you
Sacrificed for your sin, so you’d be forgiven.
He loves and adores you; perfectly He made you
So that you might be His servant and child of the King.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PkN6_lsTJk
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 2 Timothy 4:9-22:
Personal Remarks
Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.
At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers.
The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
My Understanding: Paul was in prison. He was dying. He had said previously that the time had come for his departure, and here he stated that God would bring him safely to his heavenly kingdom. He had fought the good fight, he had finished the race, and he had kept the faith. Now he was looking forward to the crown of righteousness he would receive from the Lord. He was, as well, looking forward with great expectation, I believe, to his earthly trials and sufferings coming to a close. And, he was excited about the prospect of being with his Lord and Savior for all eternity. I empathize with those sentiments.
Paul knew his life on this earth was drawing to a close. Yet, his death was not imminent, it appeared, because he requested to have his cloak and his scrolls brought to him before the winter set in. Prisons back then were not like they are here in the USA. And, I am certain they did not have central heating and air conditioning, nor did they provide warm blankets to their guests. With the winter coming, it was going to get very cold for Paul, which is why he requested his cloak. He wanted his scrolls, too, which were probably some of the OT books. He would find much comfort in God’s words. And, he desired that his friend, Timothy, and brother in the Lord, come to be with him to comfort and encourage him, as well. It is such a blessing of God when he sends us friends to encourage us.
Paul was lonely and hurting emotionally and physically. His helpers had left and had gone off to other missions or they had deserted him or had turned against him. Demas left because he loved the world more than he loved God. Luke was still with Paul. Paul requested that Timothy bring Mark with him. Mark had been part of his ministry before, had deserted him, for what reason I do not know, and then Barnabas tried to bring him back on another missionary journey. Paul would not hear of it, so Paul and Barnabas split and went out in two teams – Paul and Silas, and Barnabas and Mark. This is the same Mark who wrote the gospel of Mark and it is the same Mark to whom Paul was referring here when he said for Timothy to bring Mark with him, because he is helpful to Paul in the ministry. Mark’s life is a wonderful testimony of the power of God to use a life that others might reject.
A man named Alexander did Paul a great deal of harm in that he stood in strong opposition to the gospel message, and must have caused a great deal of trouble for Paul as he was attempting to share the gospel. As well, Paul, evidently, was on trial, which is why he was in prison, and during his trial and defense no one came to his support, but everyone deserted him. And, then Paul said words that rung a familiar tone with me. He said, “May it not be held against them.” This reminded me of Jesus’ words on the cross when he said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” This also reminds me of the stoning of Stephen, as recorded in Acts 7:59-60:
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
So, here Paul was reflecting on his life and ministry past, on his present circumstances, and on his future glory with Christ Jesus in heaven. He was lonely and hurting. Friends and fellow workers had left, had deserted, and had not come to his defense and support when he greatly needed them. Another had opposed the gospel message and had made things difficult for Paul. Yet, Paul was also reflecting on those who had not deserted him and who were helpful to him in his ministry. Luke was still with him, and he was calling for Timothy and Mark to join him at his side, so he was not completely alone and abandoned, though it might have felt like that, at times. Perhaps you identify with some or all of what Paul was expressing here. You feel abandoned, rejected, persecuted, deserted, and/or opposed. In your time of grief and sorrow you may, as well, not be able to see that not everyone has deserted you, but you may recall that there were or are those who have encouraged and supported you, but in your loneliness and hurt you are not seeing the positive side to it all. I know I can empathize with Paul here, too, and have felt on numerous occasions the emotions and thoughts that he expressed here.
Yet, Paul, in all his reflecting, stated something that was his hope in all his life circumstances, which often felt hopeless and lonely. He said that the Lord Jesus stood at his side and gave him strength, so that he could continue to give out the gospel message and all the Gentiles might hear it. God gave him the strength he needed to fight the good fight, to finish the race and to keep the faith, especially during times when I am certain he felt like the bottom literally had fallen out. He also stated that the Lord delivered him from the lion’s mouth, and that he rescued him from every evil attack against him. God does not always physically rescue us, i.e. he does not always remove us from difficult circumstances, but he will rescue and deliver us in our hearts, minds, and emotions. He can fill us with the comfort of his love and he can give us the peace of Christ to rule our hearts as we commit our ways to him and as we take our requests to him in prayer and petition, instead of worrying over them. So, all hell could be breaking loose all around us, as it often might be, and still we can have peace, strength and confidence within because of the love and power of the Holy Spirit of God within us giving us strength and encouragement.
I serve an awesome God! He knows exactly what I need when I need it. He woke me with two songs this morning about his own suffering and rejection, but how, because of what he went through for us, he has become our Rock (our fortress; strength) and our deliverer (rescuer). He is the one who holds all things together, including he holds us together so that we don’t fall to pieces when everything else around us is coming apart at the seams. And, one of the songs reminded me that he, as well, will never leave me or forsake me. He knows all about me and he will supply all I need. The Lord knew where I was going to be reading in his word today, and that I would be reading a passage of scripture about someone who had been deserted by his friends, but how God had been his support. The Lord Jesus had stood at his side, had delivered, and had rescued him from every voice that would come against him, either voices in his mind or in reality, literally rescuing him from his opponents. I find it so awesome how God, day after day, coordinates the songs he puts in my head with where I am reading in scripture that day. This is a God thing! He does this to encourage my heart, as well. He knows all about me and he supplies all I need. Amen!
If you have not put your hope and trust in the Lord Jesus to be your Rock, your deliverer, and your salvation, I pray that you will today. Jesus Christ, God the Son, came to earth, became a man, suffered as we suffer, was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin. He was rejected, persecuted, abandoned, deserted, denied, betrayed, beaten and then hung on a cross to die, as though he was a common criminal. When he died, he took all of our sins upon him so that our sins died and were buried with him. Then, he was resurrected back to life, triumphing over the grave, death, hell, Satan and sin so that we could be free – free from the ultimate penalty of sin in hell for eternity; free from the bondage to and control of sin over our daily lives; and free to worship, walk in fellowship with and obey our Lord.
We come to faith in Jesus Christ via repentance (turning from our sin) and turning to God in faith in Jesus Christ, and with a commitment to walk in obedience to him and to serve him only as our God. It is the Holy Spirit of God who transforms our hearts by God’s grace and through our faith, so that we die to our old way of life of sin and we are resurrected with Christ to a new life in which Christ lives within us and our flesh no longer reigns. And, when that transformation takes place, we enter into God’s eternal kingdom and have hope for this life here on the earth, which is Christ in us, and the hope of eternal life with our Lord in heaven. It is this hope that sustains us and it is Christ in us who gives us strength, hope, endurance and encouragement to persevere during these kinds of great trials and tests.
Open Your Hearts / An Original Work / September 11, 2011
Open your hearts to Me.
Will you not receive me?
I’m your Lord and Savior, Jesus,
I am King of kings.
Listen to Me speaking to you.
Invite Me within.
Hasten to Me calling.
I’ll keep you from falling.
I am with you, and I will
Abide with you always.
Repent of your sins and
Worship Jesus Christ today.
Come and follow your Lord.
Obey all His teachings.
Witness to your neighbors,
And tell them of Jesus Christ.
Let them know that He provided
Their sin’s sacrifice.
He is your deliv’rer;
Rock of your salvation;
Cornerstone, rejected by men,
Mighty God is He.
He will give the only hope
Of life eternally.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3NOg7tHMl8
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