Looking Back and Believing - they Obeyed

Psalm 44:1-8

“O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them. You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob! Through you we push down our foes; through your name, we tread down those who rise up against us.
 For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us. In God, we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever.” 

These thoughts came into my mind as I read this, first was our trip to Israel almost nine years ago, where we met our tour guide, Leor.  He was a young man and had already had a full heart replacement in two ways, his first was coming to know his Messiah, Jesus Christ, and this Jewish man still had a problem, he needed a new physical heart.  A Church group in Dallas who had gotten to know Leor found out about his need for a heart and arranged airfare, doctors, and a place for his wife to stay during and after the surgery.

Leor began one day telling us how in the six-day war where all of Israel’s neighbors attacked them and had air superiority and pilot after pilot reported without firing on the enemy, their plane fell from the ski.  He said on that sixth day when it looked as if they would be wiped from the face of the earth, God fought for Israel.

My second thought is what is taking place in our country in so many areas, and it is not a new thing; it has been going on since the sixties.  So for forty years, the international socialists have been filling our schools with a better way to live.  If you were to try logic and give an example of how it has never worked, no matter in what country it's applied, it matters not, and they would do it better.  But for a follower of Christ who knows Scripture, it is clear that it is godless teaching with a few holding power, and as in Venezuela, it destroyed a once prosperous nation.

When our teachers and preachers awake to who is behind this movement, it is the one Jesus called the thief in John 10:10, the one that comes to kill, steal, and destroy.  And the thief is doing a great job in that he controls, Hollywood, most Universities and is doing a great job in our public school system.  Many a person in the news media and politics are in lockstep with the devil; they go by names like progressive and Christian socialist.  Yes, they are even in roles in our Churches, and they ask questions, such as; did God say that?

So what can we who follow Christ do?  The answer is found in verses 5-8, “Through you, we push down our foes; through your name, we tread down those who rise up against us. For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us. In God, we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your Name forever.” 

The Church of the Living Christ has more power than all the weapon systems of the world, but we must pray with broken hearts and spirits, and be humble   before our Father.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

“It’s not about you.”

Psalm 43:1-5

“Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people,
from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me!  For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me?  Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?   Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!  Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.  Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation, and my God.”

This morning I attended a Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, with about 800 like-minded followers of Christ, the guest speaker did a great job of sharing his life, defeats, and successes, and how often his life was centered on self.  He shared about a book that many of us have read by Rick Warren, “The Purpose Driven Life” and may have forgotten the opening line, “It’s not about you.”  May I share the paragraph that follows the opening line?   “The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness.  It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions.   If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God.  You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.”

As a follower of Christ if you are blessed to live in the USA, and even better Texas, you should awake each day and give thanks to the Father.  In my 77 years on planet earth, I’ve seen freedom slipping away, ignorant people both in the Church and outside wanting the government to meet their needs, and the government is more than willing to do so, but at a price you will not want to pay.  I’ve also seen the evil one and those who follow him attacking the Church and any moral authority.

News flash, and it is real news, we are living in a time where good is called evil and evil is called good.  We are seeing a frontal attack on people who stand on the foundation of God’s Word and believe me they are under attack.  We are observing the hate for God’s chosen people, the Jews, and people who want once again to destroy them as a people group.  News flash, it’s not going to happen for they have a prince called the archangel Michael who will fight for them; he is just waiting for the Lord to send him.  The battle on this earth often seems to be centered on people, but that is not right, it is a spiritual battle, and you better know who to run to when the attacks begins, believe me, they have started.  News flash, it’s not a political party, they are just people on a chessboard, if you look at Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”  Many a person is willing to sell their soul to the devil for wealth and power, Washington D.C. is full of them, and so is your local and state governments.

I learned the following from Psalm 43:5, all who are in Christ are not under condemnation, and so look up and walk in victory, we are part of a great family, and our Father is Creator of all that has been or will be.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A "Roller Coaster" Life

Psalm 42:5-11

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation^, and my God.  My soul is cast down within me; therefore, I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.  Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.  By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.  I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”  As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”  Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation, and my God.”

Have you known Christian people whose life’s are like a “roller coaster,” highs and lows?  A life that goes through wild and unpredictable changes is 99.9 percent of the time lived by feelings and not by faith in the Author of all Scripture.  Often such people are a deterrent to those outside the church that are watching them.

As we explore this Psalmist, we will see that he was referring to himself and in his depression in commanding himself to hope in God, and only in God!  To my knowledge, I’ve never experienced deep depression, but I have many friends that have and some run to doctors and get drugs that change them, some have suicidal thoughts and others have taken their lives after being put on such medications.

But not this Psalmist, he ran to the only source that can change a person’s mind, he ran to God, and he also went back to his own experiences in watching God do amazing things, and he held on to those.   When you look at verse 9, you get a great picture of his state of mind, where he places his focus, on God, my rock.

The Psalmist enemies would ask, “Where is your God,” for they did not believe God cared for His people, how wrong they were.  One thing I’ve observed in watching those who oppose God is they keep going back to the same old attack, and for maybe the first time we have seen the game plan, do not acknowledge facts, keep telling the same lies often, and many will believe you.

The Psalmist gets to the answer for all who are attacked by depression, look at verse 11,” Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation, and my God.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

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The Blame Game

Psalm 42:1-4

“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When shall I come and appear before God?  My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”  These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.”

Often, it is only in drought that one thirsts for God, and that is our shame.  Let your business go south, and we respond in one of two ways, one to blame God, and the other is to seek Him.  The same is right with a nation that has suffered destruction as we did in 911 and we saw people flock to houses of worship, but we also observed the blame game, those who are ignorant of the ways of God, and give no thought to Him in time of blessing, but are quick to accuse Him in times of trouble.  It happens in divorce, in the death of a child, and in so many areas, we thirst or blame God.

It makes one wonder why, and I believe the answer is like all solutions one finds in the word of God, the Bible.  But first let me make an absolute statement, only people who are indwelled by the Spirit of the living God will thirst for God.  Let me share 1 Corinthians 2:14, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”   The natural man is any person who has not by faith invited Jesus Christ into their heart.  It has not one thing to do with church membership, your goodness, or your giving to help the poor; you can do all of that and be a natural man.

Jesus made this ever so evident in John 3:3, when He is talking with Nicodemus, a Pharisees and a ruler of the Jewish people.  Old Nick, he was a good and religious man without the Spirit of God living in him, and this is what Jesus said to him.  “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”  Do you thirst for God, we have a promise from Jesus, that as He was taken up He will come again, and He always keeps His promises.  Before He left He promised this, I will send a Helper, and your version may say a Comforter.  We will find that in John 14:15-21, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me.  Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The selling of a Lie

Psalm 41:1-3

“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.”

One must not forget that God looks at the heart and not the act, so when we give it must be to bless others and not to get back from the Lord.  It is early morning, and I have had a hard time sleeping.  My mind went to a request from Samaritan's Purse; this was the request: Urgent Relief Needed for Venezuelans on the Move.  The people are leaving by the thousands, they are hungry and need help, and as a whole, they are the ones who voted for a socialist government to take from the rich and they were promised so much free stuff.  It sounds a lot like the Democratic socialist that is running for President of the United States of America.

Venezuela was one of the best economies in all of South America, and now it is a disaster.  Yes, often people will give up freedom and rights and buy into a lie when it comes to the promise of someone taking care of you.  My dad taught us that not one thing is a free gift; someone always has to pay for things.  So I hope you and I share that with the younger folks that have been pampered and believe they are entitled, they do not understand the price that was paid in blood for what they take for granted.

But this is the question, does God give me a pass on helping these people from Venezuela because they bought into a lie and I believe it is a choice, so I ask what Jesus would do?  And that’s clear from the verse above, help them in their need, be the hands and feet of Jesus.  As a follower of Christ, I must follow Jesus, and that is what Samaritan's Purse does all over the world in the name of Jesus.

The Scriptures are full of God’s direction to us who are followers of Christ on this subject.  “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”— Proverbs 31:8-9  “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”— Proverbs 11:25  “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”— Proverbs 14:31 “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.”— Proverbs 19:17  “The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.” (Proverbs 22:9)  “Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.”— Proverbs 28:27 - That is a small sampling of what God has said about the subject; a wise person will hear and obey.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

God looks at the Heart not the Act

Psalm 41:1-3

“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.”

One must not forget that God looks at the heart and not the act, so when we give it must be to bless others and not to get back from the Lord.  It is early morning and I have had a hard time sleeping.  My mind went to a request from Samaritan's Purse, this was the request: Urgent Relief Needed for Venezuelans on the Move.  The people are leaving by the thousands, they are hungry and need help, and as a whole, they are the ones who vote for a socialist government to take from the rich and they were promised so much free stuff.  Sounds a lot like the Democrat socialist who are running for President of the United States of America.

Venezuela was had one of the best economies in all of South America and now it is a disaster.  Yes, often people will give up freedom and rights and buy into a lie when it comes to the promise of someone taking care of you.  My dad taught us that not one thing is a free gift; someone always has to pay for things.  So I hope you and I share that with the younger folks that have been pampered and believe they are entitled, they do not understand the price that has been paid in blood for what they take for granted.

But this is the question, does God give me a pass on helping these people from Venezuela because they have bought into a lie; and I believe it is my choice, but what would Jesus do?  And that’s clear from the verse above, help them in their need, be the hands and feet of Jesus.  As a follower of Christ, I must follow Jesus, and that is what Samaritan's Purse does all over the world in the name of Jesus.

The Scriptures are full of God’s direction to us who are followers of Christ on this subject.  “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”— Proverbs 31:8-9  “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”— Proverbs 11:25  “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”— Proverbs 14:31 “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.”— Proverbs 19:17  “The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.” (Proverbs 22:9)  “Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.”— Proverbs 28:27 - That is a small sampling of what God has said about the subject; a wise person will hear and obey.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

King David a Wise MAN

Psalm 41:4-13

“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.

King David was a very wise man that made some foolish choices, can you identify with him in that area?  This writer does more than he often would like to admit, my flesh wants you to see me as a smart person who walks in step with the Lord.  You may wonder why I call him wise because Scripture tells us about his many moral failures.  Because any person who comes to an understanding they have broken fellowship with God because of their trying to live life on their own terms, and confesses their sin with a broken and contrite heart, and restores fellowship, that is a wise person.   David was such a man, this writer wants to be wise in the eyes of God, and let the world consider me foolish, I only need the approval of my Lord.

I can only imagine how many people desire the authority of leadership and the power that comes with it when leading a nation.  And along with that desire comes much criticism, and as we see with President Trump many a person would throw a party if he got sick, and that is how evil rains in the heart of so many in our nation as was the case with King David.

We who follow Christ would be wise to stay in the word of God and not allow the world with its fears and hate, its desire, to have us conform to its ways and not God’s.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice