Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
If we want to stand firm with God as our refuge and fortress, the first thing we do is
we believe the Truth.
Deuteronomy 10
12“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you,
but to fear the Lord your God,
to walk in all his ways,
to love him,
to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord,
which I am commanding you today for your good?
14 Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.
15 Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day.
And the writer is Moses who stood and saw the Glory of God.
Now Moses and Psalm 91 have a good deal in common. Endurance.
2 Thessalonians 2
14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
Edward and I bought our third home in the year 2000. This home is on a pond. And is home. And is so appreciated by us both. My son had an art project his senior year in high school, he was asked to show photos of his life and surroundings. We put that together from photos from over the years, and Alexander - who has lived here since 3rd grade - said, "Our home is beautiful. This really is beauty." I said, "Exactly, this is where we dwell. We want this to be cared for and clean and we paint and move things around. Yes."
After being married for 30 years and observing life for half a decade, what we have learned is this. We grow up with hope and endurance and character and Love. For 14 years we were in a 2 bedroom home. Our friends were upwardly mobile. And they thought surely life had passed us by. We had a job offer from another state, but we really did not want to loose the money from buying at a real estate peak. So we struggled on with get shoes, move shoes to the Salvation Army. Get a toy, after and before Christmas, send things to the Salvation Army.
And finally after 14 years, the endurance of holding on to our home and polishing and painting- Yielded! We doubled the size of the house, we had a more lucrative job and a new home. Merit, our dog started doing ballet jumps in the rooms we were going to move in. Merit, the dog, was very intuitive. (He used to stand and put his front paw hands in the Couple Class Prayer.) And our friends were so very happy for us. Family arrived we had an Easter Egg Decoration Party.
Within 10 months of our second home, a better job offer came to the Houston area. We were elated. And even more elated to hear that our house had gained $75,000 in 10 months. 1999 was 2 bedrooms and 2000 was three times the size, major lovely on a pond of 3 acres. And we had dinner parties and youth ministry, youth ministry, youth ministry.
The Egrets are still making majestic landings. The Wood Ducks still fly in unison. The ducks have ducklings. And we stand and appreciate what is today.
We have lived a life worth living.
My needlepoint group was filled with older ladies. We discovered that in your sixties, you either increase in gratitude for a life worth living - or you get to be bitter.
Now Moses could have been bitter. He was the Pharoah's son. This is going to be a life of luxury. And comfort. But he saw that the midwives were told to kill of human people. Without the grace of God, Moses would be dead. And something in him didn't rest for feeling he couldn't prosper seeing how hard the lives were for the Children of Israel. Moses felt that he was charged to do something. And killing the Egyptian was certainly not the best thing. The Pharoah's house was going to think he was not within a controllable range. And he fled to death. Instead, Moses found he could stand for days and watch the flocks.
Where was the bitterness? Instead, Moses had a wife, children, and interesting father in law. And a job caring for animals that need care. Moses chose to see - God was taking care of him.
Finally the Big Time arrived. I have talked to two major executives my father in law said were so high up they were the Princes of their Corporation. And both said that they worked for 15 years to get the top spot. I love living parables. They achieved the top spots and are well respected men; the same as the Biblical information on becoming a Bishop. They were hired to the top spot for their ability to do well and with the paths of goodness, not cut throat. For the same reason Moses fled the killing of the Egyptian.
And once they achieved the Top Spot, they enjoyed this as much as Moses enjoyed the Children of Israel. Both of these Princes of Industry said within the first year, the cutthroats were sniping and undercutting so ruthlessly the goal at the end of the first year, was survive to year 5 and retire. I was highly disappointed. And got grins for being disappointed. I asked them if they couldn't call on the Lord and beat back the snipers and cut throats by simply revealing the tricks of their trade. One of the Princes said, "I really love that people are so disappointed for me. People want this winning job to be fun and see me do this."
The Light shines in mankind. I am happy to report both the Princes of Industry stayed for 10 years and retired happily. And both were married to the same women for 40 years and their wives were happy they came home and both couples started exercising together. Grandchildren arrived.
We feel that the USA is in trouble, we see all of the news is grim. If you need a big dose of reality, listen to Dan Carlisle describe War. And be grateful.
What Life requires is Faith. Sad times come - life changes as people age. And in volunteering I found that people have the strength to do their lives.
Father God,
Your Mercies renew each day. Help us in times we endure - to keep enduring.
In times of prosperity, to give Thanks. And not be to twirlie.
In times of Change, to Trust.
In the day at hand, to see the good.
In times of grief and end, to live today knowing that time will ease.
To live Knowing God Loves and is our destination. In knowing that God loves us, we feel our emotions,
know our emotions, come to understand what makes each of us uniquely the Child of God. And rule over our emotions to tame them to please God. Knowing the framework Your Word gives is where happiness dwells and allows room for Joy, Peace, Encouragement, Patience and Love. Happiness is a choice. In Jesus the Lord.
Amen.
♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †
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