Have you may the Lord your Dwelling Place

                                                                        Psalm 91:9-11

 

August 5, 2021

 

 

 

“Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my refuge—no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.  For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”

 

One of the men of God who mentored me as a young man was Ken Ryan, a man of the Word, and a lover of both God and men like me who needed to put my faith and hopes in God only, and as we read Scripture, he always asked this question; “Do you believe what we just read”?  I would have a quick yes, and Ken would have a quicker, that's not true, for if you did you would obey. 

 

Do you believe what you just read?

 

My nature or maybe better stated, my unique type of flesh wants a backup plan, what if God allows this to happen, and I get the virus do I have a plan?  Then this thought came into my head, has God appointed the number of days of my life, and the answer is yes. You will find the answer to this question, in many places in the Scriptures, Psalm 139:16, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”  What about Matthew 6:27, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”  We could keep going but I need to read it this morning as I lay in bed at 1:30 in the early morning under an attack of a bad judgment I made with my father-in-law and have asked God to forgive me and on that confession, I know I am forgiven. I need to read again this verse; in Luke 12:7, “Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

 

You and I have great value to God!  He has shown us how much by allowing His Son, His only Son to die for our sins and take His full wrath out on Jesus.  Ken’s question is the foundation of our faith, for without believing in what God has said, are we really His followers?

 

This morning I understand my accuser is not God the Father, but the one Jesus calls the thief, and he comes only to kill, steal, and destroy.  He also is the one who tells me I need a backup plan.  I also hear my dear brother who is basking in the pleasure of Jesus and the saints, once more asking, Bob do you believe what you just read?

 

My answer comes even quicker, I have no other “dwelling place, but the Lord most high.”  For Jan and I have made Him our refuge.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice