Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Saturday, May 20, 2023

In the Midst of Many Liars

Psalms 57:1-3 ESV

 

“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,

    for in you my soul takes refuge;

in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,

    till the storms of destruction pass by.

I cry out to God Most High,

    to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

He will send from heaven and save me;

    he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah

 

God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

My soul is in the midst of lions;

    I lie down amid fiery beasts—

the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,

    whose tongues are sharp swords.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!

    Let your glory be over all the earth!”

 

Who is it who tramples on the saints of the Lord? Certainly it is Satan, who is our arch enemy. But this is speaking of humans. What humans, in general, are those who trample on the beloved of God, the servants of the Lord? Certainly they would be among those who are opposed to God, who are opposed to his word, and who are living in opposition to his word. But is that all? No! For many are them who also profess faith in Jesus Christ and who give the appearance of godliness while denying its power in their lives.

 

So, why are they trampling on the saints of the Lord who are following the Lord in obedience? And what is this “trampling” being done to the saints? I looked up this word “trampling” and it can also be translated as him who would “swallow me up.” It means to devour or to destroy. It also means to rage after someone, which involves violent and uncontrollable anger. And to destroy means to put an end to or to ruin someone emotionally or spiritually. It means to utterly defeat, to win a victory over someone in battle.

 

So, why is it that we have people professing faith in Jesus Christ who by their lifestyles show that they are truly opposed to God who are also coming against the Lord’s servants and messengers in order to devour them? What do they have to gain by devouring us? What they gain, if they are able to defeat us, is the silencing of our voices, for that is really what they despise, the voices of those who are bringing forth the truth of God’s Word. They don’t want to hear it, for it speaks against how they are wanting to live.

 

So, why do they go to all the trouble of professing faith in Jesus Christ while they have no intention of living for him but only for themselves? Now, I know that no one is perfect. I get that. But why do people profess faith in Jesus Christ when they don’t intend to surrender their lives to Christ? Why the sham? What do they have to gain from that? Well, many of them are wolves in sheep’s clothing, and so they work for Satan.

 

So by disguising themselves as Christians they can infiltrate the Christian community whereby they gain access to the Christians and they can deceive them. And if they are not able to deceive them, then some of them will go about trying to trip them up in order to defeat them so that they will stop speaking the truth of the gospel to the people, or else they will encourage them to leave and to go someplace else so that they will no longer be among them to influence their particular “sheep fold.”

 

Now, these who serve Satan’s purposes in trying to defeat the servants of the Lord, in order to stop them from serving the Lord Jesus, can be anyone we know or even those we don’t know but we are connected with in some way. They can be husbands, wives, parents, children, pastors, teachers, friends, neighbors, heads of organizations or of websites we might frequent, or fellow bloggers, or doctors, etc. And some do this knowingly and deliberately while others may be pawns just being used for this purpose.

 

Some of these people may be trusted people and so we are totally unaware of where their loyalties truly lie. Others may be quite obvious regarding what they are doing by how they are doing it and how often they repeat the same offenses and use the same tricks. And some of them are totally open and blatant in their attacks against us who serve the Lord, and they don’t try to hide it at all, even if they do profess faith in Jesus Christ. And sadly, it appears not many are disturbed at all by their attacks against those who are truly following Jesus Christ with their lives.

 

So, when we are under attack, we may not get any kind of support from others who call themselves Christians, for they may agree with or sympathize with those who are out to destroy us, or they may just not care. And so we seriously need to be calling upon the Lord daily for his strength to help us to remain strong and steadfast in the midst of so many who are unconcerned about how we are being treated and/or who are the ones who are mistreating us in hopes of defeating us.

 

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

 

Hear my Voice

 

An Original Work / July 9, 2012

Based off Psalm 27

 

The Lord is my great salvation.

He’s the stronghold of my life.

When my enemies attack me,

My heart will not fear at all.

Though a war break out against me,

Confident in Christ I’ll be.

Of the Lord, I ask that I may

Live with Him eternally.

 

Hear my voice, Lord, when I call you.

Merciful to me You’ll be.

Though my relatives forsake me,

My Lord God will receive me.

Teach me Your way, O my Jesus.

Lead me in Your righteousness.

I will sacrifice to my Lord.

I will sing with joyfulness.

 

I am confident that I will

See the goodness of the Lord.

All the richness of His blessings,

My Lord has for me in store.

He asks me to be of courage;

To be strong and to take heart,

Patiently as I wait for Him,

And from Him to ne’er depart.

 

https://vimeo.com/119813963

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