My God, My Rock

“To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

“I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

    my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

    and I am saved from my enemies.

“The cords of death encompassed me;

    the torrents of destruction assailed me;

the cords of Sheol entangled me;

    the snares of death confronted me.

“In my distress I called upon the Lord;

    to my God I cried for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,

    and my cry to him reached his ears.” (Psalms 18:1-6 ESV)

If we are following the Lord Jesus with our lives, in walks of surrender to him and in obedience to his commands, in doing and in saying what he wants us to do and to say, in holiness and in purity of devotion to the Lord Jesus, we are going to be opposed. We are going to have enemies. And, according to Jesus Christ, even the members of our own families and of our own households will be our enemies, and even others who profess faith in the same God that we worship, too, will come against us and will oppose us.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21]

For we live in a day and time here in America, anyway, when not only is the world opposed to us, but much of the church (or what is called “church”) is against us, too, if we are living the life God has for us to live, and if we are doing the things and speaking the messages that the word teaches us that we must do and say as children of God, and as followers of Jesus Christ. For so many have gone the way of the world and have accepted a cheapened form of God’s grace which is not demanding of them death to sin and walks of obedience to the Lord and to his commands, but which leaves them be.

So if we are speaking the words of Jesus, and of the Scriptures, and not just the stuff that feels good, but the stuff which confronts us with sin and which calls us to repentance and which warns us of eternal damnation if we do not repent and obey our Lord, then in our culture today, even in the “church” culture, we are not going to be liked by very many people, and we may even be asked to leave certain church gatherings, and we may have many other “Christians” forsake us and want nothing to do with us.

And we may have liars and manipulators coming against us, either to try to manipulate us into disobeying the Lord, or in speaking against us to others, who will try to discredit us because we do not conform to the modern market-driven “church” movement which is of the flesh of humans and not of God. And so we may be abandoned by the many, and we may have very few in support of us to encourage us in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord. And much of that opposition could be coming from “the church” and from others who profess faith in Jesus Christ.

Nonetheless, if the Lord truly is our strength, our rock, and our fortress, then we should not let what others do to us or say about us make us afraid or cause us to withdraw. We just need to take refuge in the Lord and in his strength and wisdom, and let him continue to guide and direct us in what to say and where to go, and in what to do. And we must follow what the Scriptures teach, in context, and not what other humans might be trying to convince us to believe, which is contrary to the Scriptures.

And then we need to keep speaking the truth of the gospel, despite how we are treated in return. For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our lives of living for self and in sin, we will lose them for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow Jesus in obedience to his commands, then we have eternal life with God.

[Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 6:1-23; Galatians 5:16-21]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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