Category: General
On September 26 our brothers and sisters in Christ will be gathering on the the National Mall in Washington D.C for a day of prayer centered on ourselves, our neighbors, our nation, and the world. Information on The Return can be found at this web site The Return.org
A group from Rockbridge Baptist will be travelling to Washington for this prayer rally and also to participate in Franklin Graham’s Prayer walk from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capital steps on the same day. Information on Franklin Graham’s prayer walk can be found here. Prayer March 2020
If you cannot join this time of prayer in Washington we ask that that you join in prayer where you are for 10 days leading up to the rally and prayer walk an until September 28th. This is a Ten Prayer Challenge .
Please take time to pray. Our churches are calling for prayer, God is expecting His children to pray. Where is your voice in this call to join with our brothers and sisters for prayer.
I wanted to share this devotion today. Because when we look at our world, our families, our neighbors we see so many who once walked with us in worship and devotion to God. This is especially true for our young people, once they have the freedom of choice, they for the most part choose a life without God. A major factor in this choice they make is that their senses have been overloaded by the world we live in, artificial delights are sought rather than the pure delight in God that our senses crave. C.H. Spurgeon wrote a daily devotion called Morning and Evening and I have copied below today’s devotion about how are senses are given by God to crave God and any other sensory input will never satisfy.
Morning, August 25 Go To Evening Reading
“His fruit was sweet to my taste.”
—Song of Solomon 2:3
Faith, in the Scripture, is spoken of under the emblem of all the senses. It is sight: “Look unto me and be ye saved.” It is hearing: “Hear, and your soul shall live.” Faith is smelling: “All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia”; “thy name is as ointment poured forth.” Faith is spiritual touch. By this faith the woman came behind and touched the hem of Christ’s garment, and by this we handle the things of the good word of life. Faith is equally the spirit’s taste. “How sweet are thy words to my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my lips.” “Except a man eat my flesh,” saith Christ, “and drink my blood, there is no life in him.”
This “taste” is faith in one of its highest operations. One of the first performances of faith is hearing. We hear the voice of God, not with the outward ear alone, but with the inward ear; we hear it as God’s Word, and we believe it to be so; that is the “hearing” of faith. Then our mind looketh upon the truth as it is presented to us; that is to say, we understand it, we perceive its meaning; that is the “seeing” of faith. Next we discover its preciousness; we begin to admire it, and find how fragrant it is; that is faith in its “smell.” Then we appropriate the mercies which are prepared for us in Christ; that is faith in its “touch.” Hence follow the enjoyments, peace, delight, communion; which are faith in its “taste.” Any one of these acts of faith is saving. To hear Christ’s voice as the sure voice of God in the soul will save us; but that which gives true enjoyment is the aspect of faith wherein Christ, by holy taste, is received into us, and made, by inward and spiritual apprehension of his sweetness and preciousness, to be the food of our souls. It is then we sit “under his shadow with great delight,” and find his fruit sweet to our taste.
Spurgeon, C. H. (1896). Morning and evening: Daily readings. London: Passmore & Alabaster.
Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? Luke 10:36.
What does it mean to be a good neighbor. A group of religious folks trying to vindicate their works a group asked Jesus this question in response to His teaching that the second greatest commandment just after loving God we are to love neighbor. The teaching was a story was about a man, a Samaritan, an enemy of the Jews who came upon a Jewish man hurt and left for dead. The Samaritan did everything he could to care for the man. Leading to the question asked by Jesus, who was the good neighbor? Do we have the heart to be a good neighbor?
There is a story about two neighbors. During a fierce storm the flood waters began to rise threatening one of the neighbors homes. He began to fill sandbags trying to turn back the waters and save his home and care for his family. His neighbor came by and spoke compassionately and being a Christian offered a prayer. He then turned to depart leaving with these words, call me if there is anything I can do. As he departed he stepped over three shovels and hundreds of bags to be filled. Did the neighbor know what needed to be done? Certainly! Yet he departed feeling justified because he offered help and he prayed. Would he have passed Jesus’ test for a good neighbor?
Call me if there is anything I can do? I have heard this so many times from God’s people. Certainly there is much work to do for the Kingdom of God, certainly there are many needs but why do God’s people ignore the needs of our neighbors, our ministries, and what our Lord loves. God’s people do so by deceiving themselves with words. We can hide behind words feeling justified, hey I offered but was never called. Scripture is clear that we are to be doers of the word and not just hearers. Jesus said, “This people honors me with their lip but their hearts are far from me.” (Matthew 15:8).
Maybe we should instead of trying to feel good about our intentions we should feel good about picking up the shovel and doing what needs to be done. God has given us many opportunities amid the current plague to simply do what needs to be done. We should never give over our rights to worship God and hold to our faith but what if we put down the political rhetoric and cultural commentary, stop complaining and simply love our neighbor I am sure we could pass the Jesus test for being a good neighbor.
Oh and about telling someone in need to give you a call, you have been called by God. So pick up that spare shovel and fill a few sand bags.
This year has been one that has tried the heart and souls of many. It has been a year plagues, riots, and unrest. I have observed the same with nature. This year our fruit trees experienced a warmer than normal Spring. They bloomed on time and seemed to have had time to pollinate. The peach tree first, then the pear tree, and at last the apple tree all filled with blooms. However, there was not fruit set on any of these trees. Not unusual for the peach tree but pear trees are usually very hardy and have fruit when others don’t. Among all the other strangeness of the year I wondered in my own heart was God telling us something through creation. I know the farm folks from years ago would say this is a sign but of what?
Then this week as I mowed the yard I came past the apple tree to find one apple hanging beautifully from a low branch shining in the sun. It is as if God reminded me of the remnant in the Old Testament. God never fully cut off humanity for our disobedience he always left a remnant a seed from which to continue His plan to redeem a people for Himself in the blood of Christ Jesus. Remnants of the past include Noah, Joseph, the captives of Israel taken to Babylon as punishment for their sin.
OK so what does this mean? I see this as sign from God. Even though the fruit trees were barren this year which is very indicative of the world we live in where faith in God is rare just as this apple, God will bring forth new life from the remnant. The times we live in are troubling with disease and violence at every turn. God is reminding us there is a remnant of faith. Others may fall away but only the faithful will remain and God will deliver His promise to that remnant. Those who are born again in faith in the blood of Jesus. Who have repented of their sins and accepted the death of Christ as the payment for their wrongs and have been sealed under the New Covenant as children of God.
The question remains who are the remnant? Those who are praying faithfully and humbly. Those who will accept Christ to be come a born again child of God. Who are you?
Hello everyone the Bible study this week is related to the events of Holy Week as we remember and celebrate what God has done to deliver us from sin and death. The link below will take you to the study. May God Bless.
In my reading this morning Psalm 44 caused me to pause and think about my current situation and the crisis of the world. There are many people as Psalm 14 states that say there is no God and they will point to the suffering of God’s children, those who call themselves by His name, as evidence that God does not exist. This is evident in the current plague. In Psalm 44 the people cry out God are you asleep. In the midst of this plague upon the world it may seem God has turned away. I want to share with you a portion of Psalm 44 and the commentary from the Expositors Bible Commentary with my prayer that you find comfort in the steadfast love of God.
Psalm 44:17-26
All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant. Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your way; yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death. If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart. Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground. Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
Commentary
V. Prayer for Deliverance (44:23–26)
The questions of faith usually do not receive an answer. The reason for and the purpose of suffering for the people of God find no resolution in this psalm. There is neither despondency nor evidence of anger with God. The voice of collective and individual lament expresses the difficulty of suffering without cause. The mood of confidence in the Lord has been set by the two beginning strophes. It is faith that looks up to God for his deliverance.
23 The questions of faith express the conviction that a chasm exists between the promises of God and reality. It is out of their deeply felt need and, to some extent, out of wonder that the people of God ask, “Why do you sleep?” It is not that they believe that their God is asleep (cf. 121:4). It emphasizes their need of his immediate attention to their plight. They plead with him to “awake,” i.e., rouse himself up as the Divine Warrior (cf. 7:6).
24–26 The present adversity has created a darkness, because “the light” of God’s face, which their forefathers had experienced (v. 3), is hidden (v. 24; cf. 13:1; 22:24; 88:14). They ask how God can ignore them and fail to see their “misery and oppression.” In dependency on God’s favor, they prostrate themselves to the ground (v. 25). They do not have the power to rise up, but in prayer they implore their covenant God to rise up on behalf of them. The petition begins and ends with two imperatives: “Awake … Rouse yourself!” (v. 23); “Rise up and help us; redeem us” (v. 25; cf. 94:1–2).
Redemption pertains to the welfare of God’s people in body and soul. The people come to Yahweh and petition him to look again at their low estate (v. 25; cf. 119:25). In the conclusion of their prayer, they submit themselves to the love of God. He covenanted himself to the people and promised them his “unfailing love” (ḥeseḏ, v. 26; cf. 6:4; Exod 34:6–7; Mic 7:18, 20). This is also Paul’s response to suffering, when he affirms that no adversity can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:36–39).
VanGemeren, W. A. (1991). Psalms. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 5, pp. 342–343). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
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