Psalms 93:1-2 ESV
“The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty;
the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
you are from everlasting.”
Jesus Christ, our Lord, is the King of the whole world. He
is fully sovereign and in control over all that He has made. Nothing escapes
his notice. And nothing can thwart his purposes. His purposes will stand for he
will make them stand. Although it may appear the enemy is gaining ground, God
still is King. His will and his purpose will be accomplished. Amen!
Psalms 93:3 ESV
“The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring.”
This is speaking of our enemies. For, if we are the Lord’s true
sheep, and so we are his servants and messengers, and so we are walking in
obedience to his commands, in practice, and so we are walking in holiness and
in righteousness, in his power and strength, then Satan and his demons are
against us, and any humans who are opposed to the gospel of our salvation are
also going to be opposed to us who are obeying our Lord.
And in our day and time here in America, we have multitudes
of people who are opposed to the truth of the gospel. Even many who profess
faith in Jesus Christ don’t want to hear the true gospel. So they surround
themselves with people who will tell them what their itching ears want to hear.
For they want to hear “feel good” messages which do not confront them with
their sins, and which do not call them to repentance and to obedience to our
Lord, and which do not warn them of judgment if they do not repent and obey the
Lord. And they have plenty of people willing to give them such as that.
So, the gospel message that is permeating the church here in
America teaches that we can make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and now
our sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), and now heaven is guaranteed
us upon death, regardless of how we live our lives on this earth. But that is
of man, not of God, and it is a lie, not the truth of the gospel, but it is
what the majority have bought into because they can keep on sinning.
But the truth of the gospel is that Jesus died that we might
die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. And he said that
if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily
(daily die to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our
old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if
we die with Christ to sin and we walk in righteousness, in obedience to his
commands, then we have eternal life with God (1 Peter 2:24; Luke 9:23-26;
Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10).
But that is not a very popular message today, especially
with so many institutional market-driven “churches” (businesses) now trying to
attract large crowds of people from the world to their gatherings. For they
have made many compromises with the world in order to attract the world to
their gatherings, which includes diluting the gospel message to make it more
acceptable to human flesh and to the people of the world. So they really don’t
want people in their “churches” (businesses) who might talk about repentance
and obedience and disobedience and judgment.
And so, if you are trying to follow the Lord with your life,
in obedience to his commands, but you are still in an institutional
market-driven “church,” then you are probably meeting with some resistance, and
you may be even encouraged to “go someplace else where you will be a better
fit.”
Psalms 93:4-5 ESV
“Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
mightier than the waves of the sea,
the Lord on high is mighty!
Your decrees are very trustworthy;
holiness befits your house,
O Lord, forevermore.”
Amen! Hallelujah! So, no matter how much opposition we are
coming up against because we are teaching the truth of the gospel, and not the
lies which are so popular, God is mightier than all of it! Our opposition
cannot overpower God. They cannot thwart his purposes. And he has the last word!
So, despite all their many efforts to destroy the truth of the gospel and to do
away with it, it lives on. For God’s word will never pass away (Matt 24:35).
And no matter what we are having to endure personally, because
we are holding on to a truth that so many are rejecting, our Lord is with us,
and he loves us, and he is watching over us, and he will help us through it all
if we would just surrender it all to him and let him lead and then just follow
him wherever he leads us. We can’t let what others do to us or how they speak
to us take us out. We must remain strong in our walks of faith and obedience,
and just keep on keeping on despite all opposition and any seeming setbacks.
For God is still sovereign over our lives.
And none of this takes our Lord by surprise. So whatever we
are going through, it is all in God’s hands, and he has a plan for it in our
lives in making us and in molding us into his likeness, and in making us into
the people of God he wants us to be. And sometimes when humans shut doors in
our faces, it is because God allowed it so he could open a different door for
us to walk through. Like when I was rejected by the institutional church, the
Lord just sent me to the internet to share what he is teaching me through his
word each day. But this was his plan for me all along.
So, don’t be disheartened, and don’t be discouraged if you
are facing persecution and rejection for righteousness’ sake. Just keep following
the Lord in obedience, and he will work it all out for good.
[Matt 5:10-16; Matt 10:16-25;
Matt 24:9-14; Matt 28:18-20; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19;
John 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Acts 1:8; Acts 14:22; Acts 26:18; Rom 5:3-5; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; 2 Co 1:3-11; Eph
4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Phil 3:7-11; Col 3:16; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; Heb 3:13;
Heb 12:3-12; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 2:9; 1 Pet 4:12-17]
You Loved Me
An Original Work / December 3, 2019
A song based off the poem by the same name
When I was lonely and afflicted,
You were there to pick me up.
You took me in Your arms,
And You held me tenderly.
Your love embraced me.
Your grace sustained me.
When my heart cried out to You
In my fear and my despair,
You never turned away,
But You let me know You loved me.
Your grace forgave me.
You did not shame me.
Then, when I answered the call,
“Here, Lord, send me.”
You sent me to where I must be.
Your mercy held me, did not fail me.
All this, You had planned, to use me.
And, when all trials and scorn
Came to test me.
You gave me all that I would need.
You strengthened me so I’d not fail You.
Your kindness blessed me, it touched me.
And, when I needed the church
To lift up me,
To hearten me so I’d not fail,
You blessed me with folks who would love me.
Their presence with me, Your praise hailed!
And, when I walked through the valley
Of the shadow of the death,
And tears flowed from my eyes,
Still Your kindness was there for me.
Your touch, it healed me.
For I believed You.
When now I think about the ways,
Of the many, many ways
That You in Your great love
Show me that You’ll always care for me,
My heart, it thanks You,
And gladness fills me, fills me.
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