The Fool Says, There Is No God

                                                                              Psalm 14

 

December 23, 2021

 

 

To the choirmaster. Of David.

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”  They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.  The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.  They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.  Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the Lord?  There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.   You would shame the plans of the poor, but the Lord is his refuge.  Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!  When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.”

 

It is clear that all people are religious, about something, but who is the object of your worship?  Often it is “self”!  Before you dismiss that thought, take a look in the mirror and ponder on your thought life, where you spend most of your attention, what are your true beliefs based on, and your opinion and concepts.

 

There is a good reason for such an exercise in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”  The current culture does not promote giving thought to examining oneself, but what if you're going through life with your ladder on the wrong wall.  If so what can a person do?

 

If you choose to follow the teaching of 2 Corinthians 13:5, what is going to be your plumb line, the tool you will use to make sure it gives you a totally accurate picture of who or what you are putting faith in.

 

The only one I believe gives a 100% without error is God written Word, the Bible. It tells us that God, who created all that is, has a Son named Jesus and it was Jesus who not only created all that is but also obeyed His Father and came to earth as a child, a baby, with one purpose to identify with you.  But He did not come to be a king but a servant to all people, that a big all, not just His chosen people but to die for sin, yours and mine.

 

You will find in His Word, that He loves you and has made an escape plan from the penalty of sin that you deserve, and Jesus paid for.  See it is a choice, your choice, you can do as you've been doing, and as the culture encourages you to do and let it be all about you, or you can take the test.  I took the test; it is no longer about me but about Him.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

How Long, O Lord?

                                                                           Psalm 13

 

December 22, 2021

 

 

How Long, O Lord?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?  How long will you hide your face from me?  How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?  How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?   Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;  light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy says, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.  But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.  I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me.

 

I have not met many men or women who have a personal relationship with the Father who has not at some point cried out to the Lord ``How long, O Lord?   We often call that valley experiences, but often they seem as if God has forgotten you.  I met Greg Hood when he introduced a program to Corpus Christi from Campus Crusade for Christ, later he formed the Christian Business​ ​Men's​ Committee.  I was just a baby in Christ and Greg who though younger was very strong in his faith and trusted God for everything, and I mean everything.   That group of men under his leadership witnessed God using it and Greg to bring men to a personal relationship with the Lord.  Greg walked with the Lord, listened to the Lord, and obey the Lord, until coming back from taking his son to Liberty University and had a panic attack and was not sure even of his salvation.  He resigned from his ministry and locked himself away from the men he had mentored.......and to a degree, his family but God used a local doctor that had his life changed by God, and Greg was the tool God used, that doctor took total financial care of Greg and his family for almost seven years. 

 

I sent this to Greg to make sure I was ok to share, And he shared this information with me if I wanted to use it.  "He shared this information with me, attempted suicide twice, and spent 30 days at Laurel Ridge Psychiatric Hospital following that.

 

The Psychiatrist that admitted me (Also a man I had spiritually influenced but a different one than the one above)  discharged me and called Sarah to tell her he had not been able to help me!!  So, for the remaining years of the depression, I did not take meds or get therapy.

 

On April 22, 2007, at about 11:00 AM, seven years of clinical depression miraculously ended - NEVER to return again.  I spoke with the Psychiatrist after God restored me to tell him the good news. This is what he said, "Less than 1% of people who go through what you went through for as long as you went through it ever come out of it.  Even less than that return to a productive life."  (Pointing his finger in my face he said)  "You are a miracle!"  As you know, God set me free from sexual fantasy and living for the praise of men!  What a loving Father!"

 

I believe Greg, like David, went through a time of soul searching and depression as few men have, but God, I enjoy so much using and hearing those words.  Yes, God had big plans for my friend and brother in Christ, for a while was a director for Man in the Mirror, and how God is using Greg in a big way in Reach Ministry, that seven years seem endless, I’m sure to Greg, but God had a plan for Greg’s life and need to do a cleaning,  Let tell you He also has plans for your life, and His desire is for you to seek Him. 

 

I experience an attack that for a six-month timeline in my life and looking back it was a time I brought shame on the name of my Lord, and I can testify, he restored me, I still get ahead of His will but, it is not long before I’m saying words like David; “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.  I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me.”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

A psalm of David

 

 

Psalm 12

 

December 21, 2021

 

 

For the director of music. According to Sheminith. A psalm of David.

 

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.   Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts.  May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue—those who say, “By our tongues, we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”   “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord. “I will protect them from those who malign them.”  And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible like gold refined seven times. You, Lord, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked,  who freely strut about when what is vile is honored by the human race.

 

As a nation, we have lost sight of two Whom we seek in times of trouble, and even many who go by the title of Christian are looking for a man to lead us out of this darkness of looking to a socialist government and a media that is part of the Democrat party.  I never would have been able to express my thoughts better than King David has done in Psalm 12 about our current President, whoever they are, and the media that is pushing an agenda of looking to the government, and not to our Lord.   Listen to David’s word to the LORD, and should this not be our prayer?  “By our tongues, we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”   Have no doubt they have an agenda, to remake our nations and it is not a good plan, it is a plan to remove all the markers that God has established to keep our eyes on Him and no one else.

 

I have the highest respect for the job President Trump did, he kept his promises, but I’m sure not looking to President Trump, nor any other man or woman to return us to a great nation.  Money is not the answer, that is the little god that many in both parties have put their faith in.

 

 I, like David, am praying this prayer to the Lord, You, Lord, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked, who freely strut about when what is vile is honored by the human race.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Why Do You Hide Yourself?

                                                                              Psalm 10

December 18, 2021

 

Why Do You Hide Yourself?

Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?  Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?   In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.  For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounce the Lord.  In the pride of his face, the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”   His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.  He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations, I shall not meet adversity.”   His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places, he murders the innocent.  His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.  The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.  He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”   Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted.  Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?   But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you, the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless.   Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.  The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land.  O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

 

Have you heard the term; “The old is forever new” is what we are exploring today in Psalm 10, there is nothing new under the sun.  I’ve often heard of people who have a personal relationship with God, as I myself do. Let be clear it is not because of my acts of righteousness or their's, it is all because of Jesus and His acts of righteousness, and by the faith, He has given me to put my trust in Him.  Now with that said, let us return to those of us who in times of trouble, or Chaos, as we see our nation, under the Biden socialist agenda, call out to our Father and Lord and ask why do You hide ​in times of trouble.

 

As stated above we are at this time repeating what David is talking about in his day.  ^“For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.  In the pride of his face, the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”  They do have gods, like power, and wealth, but those gods will stand condemned at God’s Judgment seat.  Hell is a real thing and eternal Punishment makes this shadow life we now live seem like a few days.  But all who choose that will only know a punishment that is endless and never was intended for man but the devil and his angels.  But the fool says in his heart there is no God.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice   

 

The Lord is in His Holy Temple

                                                                                 Psalm 11

 

December 20, 2021

 

 

The Lord Is in His Holy Temple

To the choirmaster. Of David.

In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain, for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

 

The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.  The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.  Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.  For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.

 

I believe many are wondering if the wicked are not stopped soon the foundations we have built our lives on will be destroyed.  And many have allowed this like of trust in the Lord who is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven to look at the ways of the world system to keep this from taking place.  Is that what the Scriptures teach?

 

What pops into my small mind is this verse in Isaiah 40:31, “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

 

Waiting is not most American Christian strong point; we want it now and look for ways outside of Jesus Christ to get our desires.  When we do such we will not walk in victory, no we will not renew our strength; run and not be weary, nor walk and not faint.  Most of us and I am sure in that number, all you have to do is put me in the driver's seat of a car, and it becomes apparent, Bob needs to pray for patience.  Yes, what I need is found in Psalm 37:7, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways when they carry out their wicked schemes.”  I have come to understand that Psalm 40:1, is a great way for me to get behind the steering wheel of a car, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.”  Yes, it always goes better when I ask the Lord to control my driving and to not expect others to obey the road rules.

 

When we use the world system to get our needs met we will never obey the teaching of the Scriptures, such as 1 Thessalonians 5:14,  ^“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”  We chose frustration and not peace.  Only when you and I choose to allow Jesus to do it all for us will we be able to have life in the full?  Hebrews 12:1-2, life is this; “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder, and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

 

If we hope to finish strong then it will be Jesus doing it all for us.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds

                                                                              Psalm 9

 

December 16, 2021

 

 

I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds

To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.   I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence.  For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

 

You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name forever and ever.  The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their cities you rooted out the very memory of them has perished.   But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness.  The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.  And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!  Tell among the peoples his deeds!  For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.  Be gracious to me, O Lord!  See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death, that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion, I may rejoice in your salvation. The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.  The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah

 

The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.  For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.   Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you!   Put them in fear, O Lord!  Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah

 

When one reads the opening two sentences one sees the kind of heart that brings glory to our Lord.  David was not referring to a Sunday morning service, but as you go, about a lifestyle of giving praise and sharing with others what He has done.

 

As you read on you will be introduced to a righteous Judge, who knows all about you and me and He judges the people with uprightness.  Now that is not by your standard, but by His.  With that being a fact, would it not be wise to come to an understanding of His standards, so that on that day you will be able to stand?  I find great comfort in Him being my stronghold in times of trouble. 

 

I often feel that we who have received grace and entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ are often like the hungry person who finds where the hot meal is being freely shared but refuses to share with those he knows that are starving.  Why are we not sharing all that the Lord has done for us?

 

The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.  You will find in Romans 1:18-22, this account of the Righteous Judge charges against all people who choose evil over good, not by their standards but His.  “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them.   For His invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse.   For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.   Claiming to be wise, they became fools,”

 

I pray for our nation, and I ask for mercy, for we as a nation have forgotten God, and as you can see King David's prayer is very different from mine; The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.  Our only hope is that the Church humbles itself and seeks God, and prays for God to do mighty work in our Nation.  You and I who are in Christ are the Church, will you join me in seeking the face of God and not just His hand?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

How Majestic Is Your Name

                                                                              Psalm 8

 

December 15, 2021

 

 

 

How Majestic Is Your Name

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith.  A Psalm of David.

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  You have set your glory above the heavens.  Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.  When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?  Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.  You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.  O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

 

The word “Majestic” is a new word that attempt to explain its meaning; “noble, lordly, sovereign, exalted, august, great, awesome, awe-inspiring, marvelous, sovereign.” Not one of those tells the story of the Creator of all, that is like David as done in Psalm 8.

 

Can you grasp the full impact of David’s question when he asks God, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?  Jesus by the name David only refers to him as the son of man, yet David had been shown that the son of man was once over the heavenly beings and that God will give Him “Jesus” dominion over all that has been or will be.  The gospel of John 1:1-5 gives us a better understanding of what David is stating.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  

 

John goes on to give more insight into this Word that was God in verses 9-13,  ^“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.   He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,  who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

 

John does not leave us in the dark as to who the “Word”, or the “True Light” is in John 1:16-17, “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.   For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” 

 

If you have not met Jesus, He is very near, it only requires faith that God the Father will give to all who ask, and to come to an understanding that being in right standing with God has not one thing to do with your goodness, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”  But God sent His Son, his only Son to pay for sin, yours and mine, and today it is your choice, life or death, my prayer is you choose life, and only Jesus can give life now and forever.

 

From The Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

In You Do I Take Refuge

  Psalm 7

 

December 14, 2021

 

 

In You Do I Take Refuge

A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,  lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.   O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,  if I have repaid my friend with evil
or plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,  and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. Selah 

 

Arise, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.  Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you; over it return on high.  The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.  Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous—you who test the minds and hearts, 
O, righteous God!   My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.   God is a righteous judge and a God who feels indignation every day.  If a man^[d] does not repent, God^[will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow;  he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.   Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief, and gives birth to lies.  He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made.   His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull, his violence descends.   I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

 

Maybe if not anything else I can save you from doing the research on the word “Shiggaion” the meaning is not known.   The same is true with who was Cush, a Benjaminite.  But if it is important you can look at what learned men have guessed the answer to both of these unknowns.

In this first sentence, we could all agree that the heart each of us needs as we come before our Father, for He is the only safe refuge we have.  I would not dare pray that second sentence that many years ago, I did repay a friend with evil, and he has forgiven me and so has God.  I believe since my late thirties I have never repeated such a sin, nor have I ever repaid a friend with evil.  How many of us have asked God to; Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous?  It will happen when Jesus returns to planet earth.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

O Lord, Deliver My Life

                                                                             Psalm 6

 

December 13, 2021

 

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith.  A Psalm of David.

O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.   Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.   My soul also is greatly troubled.  But you, O Lord—how long?   Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.   For in death, there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?   I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.   My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes.   Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.   The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.   All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

 

 

At a young age, in this mist life on planet earth, I grasp the words of David to the Lord.  When I was in my forties and even early seventies this sentence might not have struck home, but today, I understand, King David is suffering from too many battles and the old joints are deteriorating.

 

Is your soul also greatly troubled, mine is and yes it seems few have any fear of God. It seems that no one in the leadership of our nations has knowledge of God, and most people are putting their trust in a liar who tells them they must look to science and has the audacity to say he is science.  So, they put on a piece of paper or cloth on their face, take a shot that proved to not work, and are now willing to take booster after booster and even give it to their children, because a liar tells them these things work.  And they put trust in paper, cloth, and an experimental shot, but will not look to Jesus, who is the only protection one needs.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David

                                                                               Psalm 5

December 11, 2021

For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David.

Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament.   Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.   For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome.   The arrogant cannot stand in your presence.  You hate all who do wrong;  you destroy those who tell lies.  The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest.

But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence, I bow down toward your holy temple.  Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies—make your way straight before me.   Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice.  Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues, they tell lies.  Declare them guilty, O God!  Let their intrigues be their downfall.  Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.
But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy.  Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

 The word expectantly, do I really do that when I pray?  And if not why?  Could it be that I do not expect God to care and if that is not the reason, then am I not willing to wait for my Father and God to answer my request?  Then I ask Father am I really wanting your will or am I wanting my will.  This morning it is now 5:02 and I have been asking the Father many things, and one was please let me get more sleep.  So, I looked up the word  expectantly: “with an exciting feeling that something is about to happen, especially something good.”  We know that God is good, that He loves us so much that He allowed His only Son to come to earth with one purpose to pay the price we could not pay for our sins.  If you have not got connected with Jesus on a personal basis then I understand why you would not be expecting, but in that, I have and know how much He loves me why do I not wait with expectation?

 Now David is not talking about the righteous person but the wicked, when he said;  "Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. "  He not referring to the righteous person but the wicked.  We live in a fallen sinful world, where many people have set their own standards of what is acceptable to live life on planet earth, only problem is God's ways are not our ways, and to have fellowship with Him and to enter into His present one must accept His standards and Jesus makes is clear in John 14:6, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Answer Me When I Call

                                                                                Psalm 4

 

December 10, 2021

 

 

Answer Me When I Call

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!  You have given me relief when I was in distress.  Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!   O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?  How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah

But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.   Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.  There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
 Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”  You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.  In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

 

If we the Church could grasp those words that came from King David’s mouth, just five words; O God of my righteousness.  David understood that it was God who is righteous and that his only hope was not in himself but in God.  I’ve read that much of our poor health, heart issues, and other things are brought on by stress, so what did David do, he look to God and not to how the New York Times, CNN, or even Fox News had to say, could it be the answer to our fears of what is next and the unbelievable stress we are under is not found in a pill or a doctor but in setting our minds on having a discussion with our Father in heaven and the only one who knows all about us and still loves us.

 

What is faith?  Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  Take a few minutes to ponder on that, assurance of things hoped for, you do that more often than you think when we get into a commercial aircraft we assume the pilot has been trained to fly that plane, and that a plane holding a couple of hundred people will land in the airport where your ticket states.  You just put faith in a lot of unseen, the pilot, the plane, and the ground crew that made sure it would have the right amount of fuel and the mechanic were skilled and did the job needed, and yet you did not see most of those people, in fact, you got on that plane without giving thought to I hope the guys that worked on this knew what they were doing, you just assumed it had happened.  So, when someone tells me I could never put my trust in what is unseen, I find it humorous, we put trust in people but will not put trust in the Creator, which is very foolish.

 

When I seek God, I have no doubt of Him hearing me but often the answer does not come in my timing, as I reflect back on my life, God has always answered, often I was too busy with my plans to hear the answer, or it was not the answer I wanted.  But reflection is a wonderful thing in that as I reflect on my life my Father has always brought me to a place of “I can’t you never said I could, He can and He promise He would.”  Being His child and having His Son Jesus Christ who is my life, has given me sonship and a family that is out of this world.  My hope is you find the peace and assurance of faith in the only true God and His only Son Jesus Christ.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice