Teach Me Your Paths

  

Psalm 25: 1-14

 

January 11, 2022

 

 

Teach Me Your Paths

Of David.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.  O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.  Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.  Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.   Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you, I wait all the day long. Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.  Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!   Good and upright is the Lord; therefore, he instructs sinners in the way.  He leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble his way.  All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.  For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great.  Who is the man who fears the Lord?  Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.  His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.  The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him and he makes known to them his covenant.

 

I see fear being used, by just about everyone, to sell an item, control a narrative, get a political advantage, and spread lies to the masses.  I cannot recall it being more so than it is today in my lifetime, and it works.  When we see in these verses the word fear is used, is it being used like those examples above?   Who is the man who fears the Lord?  What kind of man is he, and how does he operate, how does this fear give him friendship with the Lord.  I could list hundreds of such men, but this morning I was reading a devotional and it was talking about George Mueller a man who by faith and the fear of God, allowed God to use him to clothe and feed and house 10,000 orphans in his lifetime.  Let's share his recipe for going so;

 

1)     “I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter.

 

2)     Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or a simple impression. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions. 

 

3)     I seek the will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined.

 

4)     Next, I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God’s will in connection with His Word and Spirit.

 

5)     I ask God in prayer to reveal His will to me aright.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The King of Glory

                                                                                  Psalm 24

 

January 10, 2022

 

 

The King of Glory

A Psalm of David.

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,  the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.  Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?  And who shall stand in his holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false, and does not swear deceitfully.  He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.  Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

 

Lift up your heads, O gates!  And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  Who is this King of Glory?  The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!  Lift up your heads, O gates!  And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  Who is this King of Glory?  The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah

 

What is the one thing that keeps the King of Glory, Lord, strong and mighty from coming into your life and using you as a change agent in the life of your family?  We have this account of Jesus in His hometown, in Mark’s gospel chapter 6:4-6, ^“And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.”   And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.   And he marveled because of their unbelief.”

 

What about when a ruler of the people came to Jesus and said my daughter is dead, but if you lay your hands on her she will live.  You will find Matthew 9:18-26.  As you read the account, it is verses 24-25, we want to focus on;  “he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him.   But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.”   Unbelief has to be put outside before God can touch you before He can use your life to be His.  Are you getting a small understanding of what has happened in the local church, and why it seems to be without power, in a world that needs it to be a light for them in a very dark world?

 

My friend Carroll Ray Jr. often reminded us that to remove unbelief requires a person each morning to ask the Master for instruction and do what He told you to do.  And when that is your life, Jesus the Master and you the servant, with one goal to bring glory to the Master, the King of glory will come in.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice  

The Lord Is My Shepherd

                                                                            Psalm 23:1-6

 

January 9, 2022

 

 

The Lord Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.   He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters.   He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.   Surely goodness and mercy^] shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

 

In the gospel of John 10: 27-30, we have these words from Jesus Christ; “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.   I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.   I and the Father are one.”  Early in John 10:14-15, Jesus said this about His sheep;  ^“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,  just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.”  And in verse 16, “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd.”  And in John’s gospel verses 9-10, you and I who are followers of Jesus Christ should pay close attention to, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

 

The reason when asked if I am a Christian, my answer is I am a follower of Christ.  When I entered Christ and He entered into me, Jesus was the door I entered through.  Many who go by the title of Christian, have entered through baptism, church membership, or grandmother, or mom and dad, but those doors will not make Jesus your Shepherd.   Jesus does not make sheep that or not of His flock do anything, for they have plans to bypass the death of self, and have entered into a false belief there is more than one door.  I bet some of you as a child sang this song;   “One door, and only one, And yet its sides are two, Inside and outside,  On which side are you?  One Door, and only one, And yet its sides are two, I'm on the inside, On which side are you?  One Lord, and only one  And yet the ways are two,  Right way and wrong way On which way are you?  One Lord, and only one.  And yet its ways are two I'm on the right way,  On which way are you?

 

For 26 years, I chose the cult of self, I was trying my foot in the church and the other in the world, and I bet you guess, I was just a poser, trying to get in through another door.  Many followers of Christ have not come to the Master/servant concept, my job as a servant is to bring glory to the Father.  Jesus will not make even His sheep follow Him, so when He is leading we must follow, You’re the Master and I am the servant. When that happens, His children experience the love and peace that is out of this world.

 

You may be wondering why this is so important, and the Psalmist explains it in this verse; He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.   It is all about Him, and when we the sheep understand we listen to His voice, and for His voice.

 

Have you watched, have you looked to God and His Word during this pandemic, or have you listened to the voice of fear, many a person who has come through the door of Jesus Christ, and become His sheep, has lived in victory, yet more have the choice to let the world system take control of how they lived and forgetting God’s promise to them.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.   

 

I must tell you God is not in the fear business, we walk by faith, and when we do we are open to His leadership.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

I Will Praise You

 

 

Psalm 22:19 31

 

January 8, 2022

 

 

But you, O Lord, do not be far off!  O you my help, come quickly to my aid!  Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!  Save me from the mouth of the lion!  You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!  I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation, I will praise you:  You who fear the Lord, praise him!  All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!  For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him but has heard when he cried to him.  From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.  The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord!  May your hearts live forever!  All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.  For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.  All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive.  Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

 

As one who looks to the Scriptures for guidons, we understand that God has told us the following Jeremiah 23:23-24, “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away?” “Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD. 

 

Could it be that David had a great understanding of the ways of God, more so than many who are in the pews each Sunday?  David knew the value of obedience and the cost of disobedience, that many today have no understanding of.  He never believed that a king was in charge of the nation, only God.

 

Now a question to all of us that go by the name Christian is; will the coming generation proclaim God’s righteousness to a people yet unborn?

 

As followers of Christ, do you ever wonder if a nation goes in the same way as a child that has not been taught the command of our Father?  When a dad does not follow the teaching of Scripture; of bringing up a child in the way they should go, and does not teach them to respect authority, both man's and God’s, but does as Samson's parents did and never says no, always caving into their wants and desires.  Could that be the model we see of Israel and how many times did they have to go into captivity to believe that God's ways are true and that a wise parent will teach them to their children? 

 

Could that be the outcome of a nation like ours that for two-generation has been consumed by being a friend and not a parent, with no respect for any authority, if you do not believe me become a teacher at a public school and you will understand, people have forgotten or never had a model of what a parent needs to be?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Prophecy about Jesus

                                                                         Psalm 22:12-18

 January 6, 2022

 

 

Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.   I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.   For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

 

What just happened, none of this happened to David, but it is an accurate account of what happened to Jesus Christ.  It is referred to as a prophetic or foretelling of events that were yet to happen.  David was born around 1040 BC and began his reign around 1000 BC. Jesus was born somewhere between 6 and 4 BC. There are about 1000 years between the two.  

 

It leaves a question of how could David have given such a precise account of what was to happen 1000 years in what we call the future?  We find the answer in Hebrews 1:1-2,

 “In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.  We also have many times in the Scriptures being told how God spoke through the prophets, such as Matthew 1:22-23, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:  “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).  And let me share one more, Zechariah 7:7, “Are not these the words which the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”

 

Often King David is referred to as a shepherd, a warrior, and a king, but we do not think of him as a prophet of God, but he was.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

                                                                           Psalm 22:1-11

 

January 5, 2022

 

 

 

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

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

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?   O, my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.  Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.  In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.  To you they cried and were rescued; in you, they trusted and were not put to shame.  But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.  All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”  Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.   On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb, you have been my God.  Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.

 

If David lived in 2022, he would be tagged with clinical depression, for he seems to go from very high to the lowest of lows.   He was a great King, and great warrior, and a very bad dad.  But a man who God said was a “Man after His Heart”.   He reminds me of the story I heard from a few pastor kids, Dad was a great pastor, a wonderful proclaimer of God’s word, but he was never there for his children.  That David’s story, a mighty warrior, and King, but not involved in the lives of his children.

 

That may have been some of his greatest regrets as he aged.  But this question pops into my thinking, David is not that much different than many of us when it comes to crying out to the Father and feeling He has forgotten us.  But that is a lie from the pit, He loves you and does hear the prayers of the righteous.  

 

Does the Bible tell us why God might not hear our prayers, and the answer is yes?  Let us look for a moment at some of them: Does God hear the prayers of an Unbeliever: this answer came from the “got question” website:  “John 9:31 declares, “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.” It has also been said that “the only prayer that God hears from a sinner is the prayer for salvation.” As a result, some believe that God does not hear and/or will never answer the prayers of an unbeliever. In context, though, John 9:31 is saying that God does not perform miracles through an unbeliever. First John 5:14-15tells us that God answers prayers based on whether they are asked according to His will. This principle, perhaps, applies to unbelievers. If an unbeliever asks a prayer of God that is according to His will, nothing prevents God from answering such a prayer—according to His will.

 

What about those who by faith that God has given them, have asked Jesus into their lives:  Husband, and in that I am one, who has in days past need often to read 1 Peter 3:7, “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you^[ of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”

 

We also must pray in faith, James 1:5-8, make that very clear.  James 1:5-8, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.  For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;  he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

I often am reminded that I cannot see past the curve, but God has the full view of my life and knows what I need and what I do not.  Ephesians 3:20,  ^“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,”  I often forget it not about me but about Him.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

he King Rejoices in the Lord's Strength

 January 3, 2022

 

Psalm 21

 

The King Rejoices in the Lord's Strength

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults!  You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.  He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever and ever.  His glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.  For you make him most blessed forever;  you make him glad with the joy of your presence.  For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High, he shall not be moved. Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you.  You will make them as a blazing oven when you appear.  The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.  You will destroy their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from among the children of man. Though they plan evil against you, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.  For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.  Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!  We will sing and praise your power.

 

At the young age of 79+ and the many blessings that God has bestowed on my life, being born in Corpus Christi, Texas, to parents that were poor in many ways but love Jesus and taught us how to look to the Father.  To be taught at an early age the value of work and doing a job right the first time.  To have a barber who could cut a great flat-top and who asked me at the age of 26 to attend a bible study.  To enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and enter into the family of God.  At the age of 23, to marry Jan and a year after I received Jesus Jan also entered into Christ and He entered into her.  At the age of 24, to be hired by 3M as a territory salesperson, and spent 41 years doing a job I enjoyed, and God blessed me and move me up in sales.  Was allowed to travel in the Gulf area and work with our people both in Saudi, and that whole Gulf area, and in Egypt, then Europe with England and Germany.

 

To be blessed with a daughter Natalie, and to have her marry a man who loves Jesus, and for them to have two amazing young boys that have been such a blessing in our lives, and they have a personal relationship with Jesus.  And to be blessed with many people who we had gone to school with and have such a love for, to have some very special people who have taught us, and a ​few ​mentors that both of us needed.​ Also,​ those we taught, a few men that I had the honor of being a mentor to, and Jan also with many young ladies.  And to have a brother and sister that I love and Jan and her family that is such a blessing.  Also, to have neighbors that care for us and we for them.

 

For Jan and I to travel on amazing trips all over the world, and do things we were so blessed to do, and many were with other very special friends, and family.  Before asking Jesus into our life, we were two very young people who did not have any plans or dreams, just trying to make it in marriage.  But God and God's grace change us to become people of faith, not in ourselves, (note: but often I’ve been down that rabbit hole) but in God.  And all the many blessings from a Father who loves to pour out His blessing on His children, Jan and I have come to understand, it would be an empty life if we had not learned this truth, Jesus loves us, this we know, for the Bible tells us so.  And we applied it to our lives and it guided us through many areas, and the Helper that Jesus Father has sent into our lives has encouraged and rebuked us, and we have grown to listen to His voice. 

 

This blessed man would like to agree with King David; O Lord, in your strength, Jan and I rejoice, and in your salvation how greatly we exult You.

 

How precious are you, Lord Jesus, our Redeemer.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God

 

Psalm 20

 

January 2, 2022

 

 

Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!  May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!   May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion!  May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

 

May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans!   May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners!  May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!   Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand.  Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.  They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.  O Lord, save the king!  May he answer us when we call.

 

We were sound asleep it’s Jan’s birthday, and it had been a great Sunday, with me making breakfast, going to a worship service at church, having brunch at a friend’s house with members of the adult class we share our lives with each Sunday morning, and coming home and having a neighbor brings over a card and flowers for Jan, and ending the day with reading in the book of Genesis the first three chapters.  And then our times of giving thanks for the blessing of God.  In doing so we share some desires of our heart, they were not for us but for some people very close to us whom we love and want then to have a personal relationship with our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.  Our sweet daughter called about 10:40, waking up both of us, wanting to wish her mother a happy birthday, and I was not able to go back to sleep.  Not a very thankful spirit till I began to read Psalm 20, and WOW, what a Father and He always keeps His word.

 

I’m not sure you notice, but we kind of are living in a time of trouble, and God has protected both of us.  But it was the opening verse of the second paragraph that woke me up, “May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans!”  The desire of our hearts is not for stuff, but for those, we love to have a personal relationship with Jesus, and we understand each person makes that choice, God will not force His love or desire on any of us. 

 

I’m not sure what you are trusting in on this new year of 2022, but let me share that if it is anything other than the grace of God, and the free gift of His Salvation, its faith with a big hole in it, Jan and I have our trust in the name of the Lord our God.  So, to say I’m sure happy Jan got that call, and I got to tell you that Psalm 20, is a great wake-up call, a reminder of our God never sleeps nor does He slumber, and He will always answer our calls.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

P.S. We had no knowledge of what January 26, was going to bring in our lives, but God, did and was faithful.  Two months later almost three, I came home very weak in my body and mind still looking to our God to do it all for us.

 

The Law of the Lord Is Perfect

                                                                           Psalm 19

 

January 1, 2022

 

 

The Law of the Lord Is Perfect

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.  Day-to-day pours out speech, and night-to-night reveals knowledge.  There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.  Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.  In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.  Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.  

 

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.  Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.  

 

Who can discern his errors?  Declare me innocent from hidden faults.  Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. 

 

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock, and my redeemer.

 

In the first paragraph “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”   God's Word always gives us insight into things of great importance and the Father give a clear understanding of this in Romans 1:18-20, “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.”

 

As you go to the second paragraph, you will see the word precepts, which I often what to have a better understanding of the meaning of a word, I looked up the word precept; “a general rule intended to regulate  behavior or thought.”  Our Father knew we would have a desire for self-rule over being under God-rule so He gave us precepts to give order to our lives.”  It does not matter what some theologian has to say, God has made clear His word is pure and perfect and will guide us into right living, which is called righteousness in the Bible.

 

If you’re a mess like I am, and I believe we all really are, it's just something the flesh does not like to accept.  David asks a great question; Who can discern his errors?  Once more the Father understood that and gave all who are in Christ a Helper, to live in them, and the Helper is none other than the Holy Spirit of God.  It is the Helper that discerns our errors and will guide us to the right living.  It is always a choice, many have shut their ears to him, and have allowed the desire of the world to lead them into foolishness.

 

The cry of this mess of a man is the last two sentences of this Psalm, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock, and my redeemer.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

God is the real Warrior

 

Psalm 18:37-50

 

December 31, 2021

 

 

I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed.  I thrust them through so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet.   For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.  You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed.  They cried for help, but there was none to save; they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.  I beat them fine as dust before the wind;  I cast them out like the mire of the streets.  

 

You delivered me from strife with the people; you made me the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.  As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me; foreigners came cringing to me.  Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses. The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation—the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me, who rescued me from my enemies;  yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from the man of violence.  For this, I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,  and sing to your name.  Great salvation he brings to his king and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.

 

As you read the first six verses you might misunderstand, for it comes across as if David believes he did all of this with a rag-tag army of a small number of men compared to the army of King Saul.  No that is not true, but you are hearing the voice of a warrior, talking like a warrior. 

 

But the next 12 verses highlighted in yellow tell the real story of a warrior who knew it was God who was the real Warrior and gave the victory to David.  Tonight, as Jan and I were watching a movie on a woman’s faith, I was overcome with all that God has done for a couple of kids that had no vision, no goals, and few dreams.  How He blessed a mess like me and first with Jan, and Natalie our daughter, with a son-in-law who loves God and two grandsons.  After being at a little Baptist Church where most of the time you were getting hellfire and damnation sermons, at 27 in a hotel room in Victoria, Texas I open a Bible and read from Romans 10:9-10, And it was at that moment, I understood that God was speaking to a Rascal like me, and asking me to seek His forgiveness and ask Him to take over and be my God and He did.   Romans 10:9-10, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

 

My first mentor was Jack Archer, and Jack was used by God to teach me a wonderful truth, God loves me!  I had no doubt He loved you, but I knew how often I messed up and it was hard for me to believe God who knew me really could love me.  I hope you understand that God loves you, and trust Him to take​ over the management of your life.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

-- 

The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress

 

Psalm 18:21-37

 

December 30, 2021

 

 

The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress

 

For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.  For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me.  I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt.  So, the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.  With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.  For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness.  For by you, I can run against a troop, and by my God, I can leap over a wall.  This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.  For who is God, but the Lord?  And who is a rock, except our God?—the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.  He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.  He trains my hands for war so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.  You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.  You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip. I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed.

 

For many years now I have understood I live in a world where it is all about me.  I was introduced to a concept when I joined the Electrical Markets sales team, it was called “WIIFM”  (What is in it for Me) and as I looked at the culture, it became clear it was not a sales term, it was a world view.  Growing up in the 40^th and 50^th, we never use the term I’m bored, we did not have much, but even as a child we learned to value what was important, family, friends,  God, and work, and we entertained ourselves, no TV, but we sure enjoyed the radio and we had a vivid imagination of what Roy Rogers and Dale, and Trigger looked like.  But things began to change in the sixties and stuff became more important than it had ever been, Mom's were getting jobs not baking cookies, and training their children in how to value family, friends, God, and work, they may have been quilted for not doing so, so the replace what was value in the past with stuff.

 

But as we read these 16 verses of Psalm 18, we see a different picture with David, it was all about God and what God his rock, and salvation have done.  Dave understood, and you and I must also if we hope to live victorious lives on planet Earth, that our hope is found in God alone.  I have always enjoyed this quote from Major Ian Thomas, “I can’t You never said I could, You can and you promise You would.”  David had a great understanding of that, and from a small boy watching his dad’s sheep knew it was God who would give him the tools and skill to win the battles, no matter if it were against a bear or a king that wanted his life.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice