Scripture
Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations! May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
~Psalm 61:6-7, NRSV
Quote
Our security is in a Person, not a place.
~Ya’akov
We all long to be safe. June was telling me at lunch yesterday that another murder had been committed in Decatur, that makes two in one week. I find this news a bit disturbing. Chicago has had 394 murders in 2017, 55 in the current month and we have another week to go. Sunday Chicago had three where Decatur had one. Anyone want to move to Chicago? To be honest with you, I find it hard to believe that anyone would stay in such a dangerous place. Actually people are leaving by the hundreds. The Land of Lincoln is losing one person to out-migration every five minutes. This rate is so rapid it has caused the population of the entire state to shrink two years in a row, while the population of every other state in the region has grown. What is happening to Chicago? People are afraid to live there and they are moving to a safer environment and who could blame them. We all want to feel safe and secure.
David wrote Psalm 61 which is a prayer for the king. David is the king but prays for himself in third person. He prays for the king as if he was one of the king’s concerned subjects. He prays for long life and for two body guards: Mercy and Truth. In the first part of the Psalm, David prays, “Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I; for You are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me abide in Your tent forever, find refuge under the shelter of your wings.” David did not simply pray for security, he asked for eternal security. To David, the ROCK was not a place but a person. The word ‘rock’ is used some 28 times in Psalms and 25 of the 28 times it refers to the ROCK, Jesus. Lord willing, we will say more about this tomorrow but for now let us understand the truth: our eternal security is not in a place although some places are safer than others. I had rather live in Decatur than Chicago but I prefer Danville over Decatur. Ultimately our security is in CHRIST and CHRIST alone. Perhaps you have had the thought, “If I can just get to heaven, I will be safe.” Not really, the devil was once in heaven. Our security is in a person, the Person Christ Jesus and He is everywhere. He is our ROCK, High Tower, Refuge, Shelter, Tent, and our Hiding Place.
I know we are concerned about murders, thieves, and outlaws but the thing we should fear most is the wrath of God which will be poured out on judgment day. There is only one shelter from that wrath and that is Jesus. If you are not in Christ, you are not safe. If you are in Christ, you are eternally secure no matter what your location. Again, I am not discounting the importance of location. If a Realtor called me today and offered me a three story house in Chicago for 1$ with the stipulation that I have to live in the house, I would turn it down in a heart beat. You would too! Yes, I had rather be in our worship center surrounded by our NRA members than to be in Northwest Decatur but I am eternally secure no matter where I am and that is because of Jesus.
So You Think You Have Problems
- Gregg was making our coffee Sunday morning and accidentally scolded his hand. Get well soon Gregg.
- June got a new computer, a dell and it has crashed twice in the first week. They didn’t give it to me either, it cost $600 bucks.
- It could be worse, you could owe a 2016 Troybilt Pressure washer from Lowe’s. You would have a piece of crap courtesy of the Environmental Destruction Agency. We are so indebted to our Big Brother in Washington, the all powerful federal government with more departments and agencies than Carter has liver pills. They fowl up every thing they touch. There new emission standards have ruined small engines. Do they care? Of course not! They have retarded public education, they have the postal service head over heels in debt, they have made welfare a chaotic mess. It cost tax payers 90 cents to give away a dime. They are bureaucratic parasites; totally worthless to society. Give us National Defense, a Treasury and law and order. Leave the rest to the States and the people. We have too much government. They have no answer for welfare or healthcare. The best thing they can do for us is leave us alone and let us take care of our own welfare and healtcare.
- So what does “BRAND NEW” mean today? Absolutely nothing!
- PRAISE JESUS–We got a 2 inch rain yesterday evening, it was wonderful.
- Today is a BP preparation day as we make our annual pilgrimage to SAMS. What I hate is that we have to eat at Cheddars but someone has got to do it. BP offering was good Sunday, we have over $13,000 for the BP with one more offering to go.
- THE GATHERING Wednesday night at 6:30.
- TEAM GUATEMALA leaves at 3:00 am Thursday morning. I am glad that I am a prayer partner.
Brother Jack I have a pressure washer just like that, I had a hard time starting it every time, but I’ve learned to open the air filter door pull out the sponge and start it, let it run like that a while then put it back together and it works every time.