O Lord, Be Gracious to Me

                                                                             Psalm, 41

 

June  5, 2023

 

O Lord, Be Gracious to Me

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Blessed is the one who considers the poor!  In the day of trouble, the Lord delivers him; the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;
he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness, you restore him to full health.  As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!”  My enemies say of me in malice,
“When will he die, and his name perish?”  And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad.  All who hate me whisper together about me;
they imagine the worst for me.   They say, “A deadly thing is poured out on him; he will not rise again from where he lies.” Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.  But you, O Lord, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them!  By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.  But you have upheld me because of my integrity and set me in your presence forever. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.

 

I’ve known a few leaders with a passion for the under-resourced, but Pastor Ray Still of Oakwood is in a class all alone.  He has a heart for those who do not have the financial resources to get proper health care, so he challenges the Church at Oakwood in New Braunfels to raise two million dollars, to build a clinic and local doctors and dentists, and nurses’ staff it on their free time.

 

He has also led the Church to buy a building that houses a Christian counseling center and an old school that looks great after being refurbished by men of the Church.  It is called Kid Club, and it has teachers that work with the first thru third graders to help them with the area they need help in.  Most are single moms and all need help.  They are picked up at school and bused to Kids Club, they get refreshments and time to play, then a short devotional, and into a classroom with a teacher or a reading buddy that works on that skill set.  Before leaving they get a good meal, and many times their mothers join them in the meal.

 

I have witnessed that God’s blessings are on our pastor, and many other Churches have joined in to help with what is called Kid’s Club. 

 

I wonder if more pastor leads their local Churches to do what God has told us to do in His written word, would the world have such distance for Christians?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Ric