Scripture
I pray to You LORD. I beg for Your mercy. I tell You all of my worries and my troubles and whenever I feel low, You are there to guide me.
~Psalms 142:1-3, CEV
Quote
Our intimacy with Christ should be the highest priority of our lives and will produce the greatest impact on the lives of others.
~Charles Stanley
This Psalm was composed while David lived in a cave. Saul was hunting him as if he was wild game and David was alone in terms of human companionship. David was battling the anxiety anyone would feel whose life was being threatened. I understand David’s imperfections but one thing is very clear about his life, he had an intimate relationship with the LORD. David did not attempt to keep anything from God. He told Him all about his worries and his problems.
If you have a spouse or friend that you can be intimate with, good for you but there may come a time where you will be like David and have no human companion to confide in. Regardless to whether or not you have intimacy with humans, you need an intimate relationship with Christ. Sometimes your sins and the open confession of them can hurt others. The only person you can be truly intimate with is Christ. He can handle all your sins and He will show mercy when others will not. My sister and I [when we were kids] sang a duet, believe it or not, out of the old Broadman that went something like this…
There’s no friend to me like Jesus,
He my ev’ry need supplies;
He not only saves but keeps me,
Nothing good from me denies.
All, yes, all to me is Jesus,
Blest Redeemer, Savior, guide,
And from ev’ry foe defends me,
And in Him I’ll ever hide. [Refrain]
I will never cease to love Him,
He who died to set me free;
Now in Him I am abiding,
And some day His face I’ll see.
Refrain
Yes, in Him I’m fully trusting,
Yes, through Him I’ll conquer all;
For I know He saves and keeps me,
And He’ll never let me fall.
Read Charles Stanley’s quote one more time: Do you think it is true?
- Golden Girls meet this Saturday morning at 9:00 at Lisa Osborns.
- Tim Tebow hits a home run at his first at bat and on the first pitch. Skeptics still mocking but Tim does seem to be distracted. The world hates Tim because he loves Jesus. I hate the world and that is OK, we are not supposed to love it.
- We host the Annual Meeting of the MBA October 24. First session is 4:00-5:30…Supper 5:30-6:30 and evening session 6:30-8:00. I will preach around 7:00 and Ken Blackwood will be installed as the new DOM around 7:30.
- Our attendance for the GATHERING continues to grow. The children work on their Christmas Play on Wednesday and that doesn’t hurt. David had to work last night and Tyler took up the mantle and did a great job. What about that beard! That’s a better one than I can grow.
- I am a bit excited about September ending: it has been a hot, dry and stressful month and I am glad to see it go. I know October will produce some cooler weather and a little rain would be great. October is my third favorite month. December and November are one and two. We have some good events coming up in October. The STEW is October 26 and TRUNK-A-TREAT is October 30. We have 29 venders signed up. We are praying for 11 more!
