His steadfast love endures forever!

 

Psalm 118:1-13

 

October 7, 2022

 

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

 

Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”  Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”  Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”  Out of my distress, I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.  The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.   What can man do to me?  The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.  It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.  It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.  All nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord, I cut them off!  They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the Lord, I cut them off!  They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns;  in the name of the Lord, I cut them off!  I was pushed hard so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me.

 

The song of the Psalm often seems to be repetitive did I not just read that, has not the last few Psalms had that theme, and the answer is yes?  But what about the question for each of us, has it become the song of our hearts?  Give some thought to the question!  How are you doing in the thankful category?  Have you grasped the richness of God’s goodness to you?  Has His steadfast love that endures forever taken root in your heart and life?  I’m not sure but it seems that both Israel and the house of Aaron have not done so at this time, but what about you, the bride of Jesus, do you and I rejoice in His steadfast Love?

 

Have you experienced the freedom that is only in Christ, if so have you shared that freedom with others?  The Lord is on my side, and that is so true, it has little to do with how you feel, or even your circumstance, it is coming to grip with His promises, in Hebrews 13:5, “Your life should be free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, I will never leave you or forsake you.”  Can any of the stuff we place value on come close to what God has promised?  If your answer is anything but “no” you have a spiritual issue, and it is one of two things, and God gives us this insight, into how the love of the world will keep us from loving God in 1 John 2:15,  ^“Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.”  He also tells us a person has to come to the understanding that all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.  We need a redeemer, someone who is without sin, to make restitution for us.  But that is a big problem, and it gets bigger for God has made clear that without the shedding of blood, there is no redemption for sin. That leaves us with a problem, it is not about what we can do, for we all sinned, and that will not meet God’s requirement, so we need one who is without sin to take our place and be willing to die for us, to buy us out of sin an make us in right standing with God.  Jesus did that, and God has given you the faith and allows His grace to ask Jesus to forgive us and come into our lives.  Romans 10:9-10 gave me an understanding of my need and God’s solution.  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.

 

Now I must tell you, the enemy of your soul is going to mess with you, he going to remind you of all the sins that are now covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.  He is a liar and deceiver and has more power than you unless you learn to let Jesus fight for you.  It often will seem as when I was keeping bees, and trying to take honey on a cloudy day, the bees would not be happy and often be all over me. 

 

So today allow this to take place in your life; Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!  

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice