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!

STOP THE MADNESS!

'“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke
and learn from Me, because I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”'
Matthew 11:28-30 https://my.bible.com/bible/72/MAT.11.28-30



WOW! This has to be the craziest time in my lifetime. As the President has said, we are at WAR. With war comes casualties and our entire goal is to win the war and eliminate casualties. Our hearts go out to those that are sick with this terrible epidemic and those on the front lines fighting this. We are ALL in the battle. Yet, even as we are a key piece to fighting the fight, we feel helpless!  What can we do?  If you are like me, you feel you should be able to do something. I see people everywhere contributing to the war efforts. Corporations, mom and pops local businesses, individuals in quarantine, young and old, are all using their great ingenuity to fight.  Stress is at an all time HIGH.  Soon, we will weary of the battle. Soon, we will loose sleep and worrying about our families and friends will drag us down. 

The answer is in the words of Matthew. 

During my EXTRA time at home, (ok, I am retired and have a LOT of extra time), I have been doing more Bible Study and reading. The book I just started really helps answer the stress we are all under right now. The book is:

The author makes a great point that we, as Americans, keep asking for peace. We want to "Get OUT of the Rat Race" but really don't know how. So we keep doing the same thing and hoping something will change. He recommends, simply, don't just FOLLOW Jesus, FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE, LEARN FROM JESUS, how to live life. He brought up a point I never thought of:  Jesus was NEVER in a hurry.  Even when ALL THOSE AROUND were stressed and frantic, he took the time to pray and share with others. We need to LEARN from that wonderful example and Jump of the TREADMILL of a life of HURRY into the arms of Jesus.

I am not saying the Lord caused this virus, but I believe he is giving us an opportunity to "STOP THE MADNESS" and slow our lives down during our time of LOCK DOWN.  He is FORCING US to step back and get a break.

PLEASE DON'T MISS THE OPPORTUNITY!

Slow down! Take a walk!  Read a BOOK!  Sit quietly with no cell phone, internet, music, tv, or 24/7 COVID 19 news. Spend time with your kids.  Talk to your spouse. Eat dinner around the table. Share a Bible time together. Watch the clouds go by. Listen to the quiet, still small voice of the Lord. 

I kind of stumbled on this as I am trying to lose some weight brought on by my Diabetes. As I have been walking and increasing my STEPS every day, I have had extra time to THINK.  I have decided to take this time and PRAY!  I have also been taking this time to not pray for STUFF, but take time to LISTEN to the LORD. I have been deeply studying the Word. Right now I am studying the life of David in 1st and 2nd Samuel. Stephanie and I have been praying together more, we also have been doing a year long Bible Study together.. WE ARE TRYING TO SLOW DOWN AND FOCUS OUR LIVES ON THE LORD.  What a difference it is making in our lives!  I want that same thing for you!!!

Please do the same thing. The PEACE I have felt through this entire CRISIS has been so evident that the LORD is certainly involved. I am "naturally" a stressed out, worrier and so IF I feel peace, it is obvious it is NOT  from me. Listen to the Lord and he will speak to you, STOP and take some dedicated time to spend with JESUS. NOW IS THE TIME!!!!!!!!!!

Living with the Enemy

'David said to himself, “One of these days
I’ll be swept away by Saul. There is nothing
better for me than to escape immediately
to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul
will stop searching for me everywhere
in Israel, and I’ll escape from him.” ' 1 Samuel 27:1 https://my.bible.com/bible/72/1SA.27.1



The other day, my wife and I attended a Yankee Spring Training game at "Fenway South".  I have to admit, I was a little nervous wearing my Yankee Baseball Cap. That nervousness soon disappeared. We had a great time at a very beautiful ball park. I am not sure the Yankee fans would be a comparable host. I ran into a gentleman yesterday, also a Yankee Fan. Guess where he has lived his entire life?  Yep, Boston. That is REALLY living in enemy territory. I can't even imagine.

I have been studying the life of David. Thus far, I have been reading about the background of his life. As a young man chosen from the pasture to be King, David spent his early life in BOOT CAMP to prepare him to rule Israel. I am so impressed with his WISDOM being so young. He was so loyal to the kingdom and he was more loyal to the God of Abraham. Yet, he spent so much of his time as an "exile" of the kingdom he loved. He had opportunity after opportunity to kill Saul. If he would have taken his small army against Saul, I suspect the warriors of Israel would have quickly defected and followed him. Yet, David was patient.  David even fled to live with his enemy. He patiently waited for the Lord to act. His relationship with God was such that he understood the PLAN. He didn't try to run ahead of God, he knew that with the Power of the Creator of this world would come through in HIS time. He trusted the Lord to protect him EVEN while living with his enemy.

When we believe STRONGLY in the Lord, when we build a relationship with him through prayer, worship, and study, we can EVEN live in the ENEMY CAMP waiting for his perfect will. It's sad to say, we ARE living in ENEMY territory right here and right now. This world, our country, is becoming more openly vicious against followers of Christ. We are under attack. Yet, the very people attacking us are the ones we are told to share the Gospel. We are CALLED to live in Enemy Territory. We are called to serve the KING OF THE PHILISTINES. Like David, we need to find a way to serve others. We need to prepare ourselves for battle. We We need to live by example. We need promote the Gospel message, and love the Lord with all our heart, while we live amongst others that want to see us killed. In all reality, sometimes it is easier to live with the enemy than it is with our own brothers and sisters in Christ. But, that thought is for another time. 

Dear Lord, we know we live in a world that shows growing hostility to your message of hope and love. We know we are called to go into ALL THE WORLD to preach your message. Lord, we ask your protection, we ask your guidance and wisdom as we live in the ENEMY CAMP. Teach us to LOVE OUR ENEMY as you LOVE us. Thank you Lord for our life! Thank you Lord for our wonderful mission and the future we look forward to. Amen!