SO what should we do?

'I trust in the Lord for protection. So why
do you say to me, “Fly like a bird to the
mountains for safety! The wicked are
stringing their bows and fitting their
arrows on the bowstrings. They shoot
from the shadows at those whose
hearts are right. The foundations of
law and order have collapsed. What
can the righteous do?” But the Lord
is in his holy Temple; the Lord still
rules from heaven. He watches
everyone closely, examining every
person on earth.' Psalms 11:1-4 https://my.bible.com/bible/116/PSA.11.1-4



It is so amazing how the Lord brings verses forward in my daily reading that speak DIRECTLY to the hot topic of the day. A big question of many during this Covid 19 pandemic is should I obey the guidelines. We are being kept from worshipping together. Our country has become a LOCK DOWN state where our every move is being monitored and limited. People are being arrested for travel. They are being ordered not to play in the park or ride their motorcycles.  It is a little scary the number of freedoms we are being forced to give up in this crisis. We trust our government to do the right thing, but as time goes on, it becomes harder and harder to swallow.

ARE WE DOING THE RIGHT THING?

Many Christians have said "The Lord will protect me."  So they are ignoring the CDC guidelines. They flaunt their faith like they are superman. I agree I do not fear this virus because the Lord is with me. However, in my study of David, I have come to the conclusion that YES, WE SHOULD FOLLOW THE ADVICE OF OUR NATIONS LEADERS.

Hear me out---

When David was being pursued by Saul, he fled!  During this time in David's life he was closer to the Lord than maybe any other time in his life. He constantly prayed to God for guidance and yet, he still ran from his would be murderer. He could have said, "No, I will not flee, the Lord will protect me!" In fact, the Lord did protect him by helping him run to safety.

During this very scary time, we need to set the example. We do not need to RUN OUT OF FEAR, we need to run out of confidence that the Lord will be with us. In our "RUNNING" the Lord will help us to grow and draw closer to him. We need to continue to ask for guidance. We need to help others as we can. We need to be the hands, feet, and voice for our one and only God. We need to be the LEADERS during this tough time. We need to be patient and wait for the Lord to direct us out of our homes and back in to the world to bring people to the grace of Jesus.

Thank you Lord for our safety. Thank you Lord for the peace and confidence we have that YOU ARE IN CHARGE.

Helping the helpless?

'Arise, O Lord ! Punish the wicked,
O God! Do not ignore the helpless!' Psalms 10:12 https://my.bible.com/bible/116/PSA.10.12



I am studying the Psalms as a part of my continuing study of David. Although he did not write all of them, he did write most of them and thought this would be a great conclusion to my study. I was struck by the words in chapter 10 verse 12. The writer asked for God to NOT ignore the HELPLESS.  I wrote a note in my Bible

"Who are the helpless?"

You may not agree, but all people that are struggling in this life are NOT helpless. All those that are homeless, unemployed, and "down and out" are NOT helpless. BUT,

How can we tell?

I am so guilty of judging who is and who is not helpless. I really believe in the power that YOU are responsible for your circumstances. You are the one who can pull yourself OUT OF YOUR STRUGGLES.  I strongly believe the government can not bail you out.  Churches can not bail you out and charities can not bail you out. These organizations have a wonderfully positive impact as "stop gaps" when someone is going through tough times. They can also create a great amount of dependence and are often treated as a LONG TERM solution. It may be heartless to say our poor and hungry should not be cared for by the state.  Short term care is wonderful and so necessary. It should NOT be the final solution.

Christians NEED to help the helpless. They need to support those that have given up all hope. BUT, our responsibility is NOT to provide hope in humanity. Our lives need to be dedicated to guiding them to the only place of REAL hope.  Our REAL purpose is to direct people to JESUS, his mercy, his grace, and his love. Yes, we can provide for immediate needs, but we can not stop there. The government does exactly that, they might provide the material necessities for a time. In many instances they do a wonderful job providing for needs. The dare not good at giving real hope. THAT IS OUR JOB as followers of Christ.

We are not to judge who is and who is not helpless. We are to serve them regardless. We are to help those that need help. We are to give of ourselves and our resources to love others. We need to give of our huge homes, our six figure salaries, and our wasted leisure time. But, more important than giving those things is giving HOPE THROUGH JESUS. We need to make sure we are completely focused on getting people to rely on the Lord. HE WILL PROVIDE through eternity, not just the here and now. We need to make sure we don't ignore sharing the gospel as we help the helpless. We want to generate of mass of people who are completely DEPENDENT ON THE LORD.

Please Lord, keep me from stepping in front of a moving bus!

'Lord , have mercy on me. See how my
enemies torment me. Snatch me back from
the jaws of death.'
Psalms 9:13 https://my.bible.com/bible/116/PSA.9.13



My first thought about this verse is -- Do I have enemies? There is no question David had enemies. Saul and his armies tried to kill him. The Philistines were constantly at war with him and their greatest prize was the Head of David. The Bible talks about our enemies and loving them. But, it really made me think. Who are those enemies?  Here is the Dictionary.com definition:

a person who feels hatred for, fosters harmful designs against, or engages in antagonistic activities against another; an adversary or opponent.

an armed foe; an opposing military force:The army attacked the enemy at dawn.

a hostile nation or state.

a citizen of such a state.

Some might claim their enemies are a group of people like "liberals", "democrats", "atheists". Others might feel their own neighbors are enemies. Some have people within their own families that are enemies. It amazes me that tow REAL FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST can be enemies. But, I ask the question:

"How responsible am I for creating my list of enemies?"

Personally, I can tell you I have created most of my enemies. So many times I choose to argue, antagonize, foster harmful designs, or show real hate, toward others. I know this is not ALWAYS true. But, I believe if we really look at our lists of enemies we can look at SOME responsibility for placing people in that category.

At least part of my prayer should be for the Lord to KEEP ME FROM MAKING ENEMIES. I love the last sentence in the verse, "Snatch me back from the Jaws of Death".  I picture a parent grabbing a young child as they nearly step in front of moving car. God is trying to keep us from making enemies of his children. God does not want us to separate ourselves from others in hatred. He does not want us to antagonize or wish ill to those we disagree with. 

This has really been on my mind lately. I have had many SOCIAL MEDIA DEBATES in recent times. Please Lord, keep me from making enemies on social media. Please Lord, keep me from stepping in front of a moving bus!