Scripture
For the king [David] trusts in the LORD . The unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling.
~Psalm 21:7, NLT
Quote
“I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved that He did it gladly.”
~Timothy Keller
Psalm 21 is a celebration after the LORD gave David and Israel victory on the battle field. As true believers of Jesus Christ, we must realize that we have enemies and their will be conflicts. Stands must be taken and battles must be fought if we are to remain true to our LORD. You and I have witnessed the secularization of the American culture and our environment is growing increasingly hostile to our Christian beliefs. This world system gets hostile when we Christians refuse to conform to their ways. Seagulls are the most jealous creatures in God’s creation. If you capture a Seagull, tie a red ribbon around it’s leg and release it, the other Seagulls will kill it in a matter of minutes. They will persecute the bird because it has a marking that makes it different. True believers are holy, not perfect but holy. The word holy means set a part and it also means peculiar or different. Our present culture doesn’t appreciate our difference. They demand our approval of their deviant behavior and when we refuse to give it, they persecute. We may not be fighting the same kind of battles that David was fighting but all who live Godly in Christ Jesus will engage in conflict.
As we said yesterday, David was a great leader because he had a bold confidence in God and he also understood VICTORY BELONGS TO GOD. David was able to stand against his enemies because he found his identity in his relationship with God. David knew who he was; he was “God’s servant.” We do not get our identity from our parents, job, social or economic status: we get our identity from the One who created us and redeemed us. For twenty years, Peter was Simon son of John but then he met Jesus. The first thing Jesus did was change his name to Peter [rock, stone]. When Peter addressed the exiles in Asia Minor he introduced himself as Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. He found his true identify in Christ. It was a grace job from start to finish but Jesus transformed Simon [unstable, impulsive] the fisherman into Peter the fisher of men.
What’s true of Peter is true of you and I, Jesus sees our full potential, He looks beyond our faults and sees the real person that God created us to be. Peter got more than a new name, he got a new purpose and calling and so do we. I love the way John 13 begins…Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Jesus had no insecurity. He was fully confident in who He was and therefore he had no concern about what others thought and this enabled Him to humble Himself and serve. Someone was picking at me just the other day about being the “Biggest Loser” and they were not talking about weight. Hey, I laughed with them. A part from Christ, they would be exactly right but I find my identify in HIM and so I am anything but a loser. It is those who reject Him that are losers. Evil has no future.
- School is out, imagine that! I know Sue is thrilled, not!
- I wish we would get about 6 inches of snow and then it melt and get up into the 60’s and stay there for a week or two.