The Sufficient Savior

I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Psalm 91:2


The Psalmist speaks with full assurance and confidence here as he pens these words under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. There are two expressions of sureness that catch the attention of the reader. He says, “I will say of the Lord” and “in him will I trust.” Both leave the indelible mark that the psalmist is unshaken to the fact that he can truly trust not only upon the Lord, but also in the Lord. Dear friend, as you read, do not be taken with the attitude that the psalmist was a lunatic, that he had no idea what he was talking about, or the fact that didn’t have the problems like you or I have. Charles Spurgeon gives authorship of this psalm to Moses and we know Moses was a man acquainted with burdens, sorrow, and grief like no other man. He saw the pitfalls of sin upon his people and his own life. He had known the pain of friends and family who abandon. But he still writes and says, “in him [God] will I trust.”

The Psalmist does not leave the reader inquiring as to his faith because he gives the reasons as to why he can say with full assurance, “I will trust God”. He uses three adjectives to describe the Lord. First, he says, “He is my refuge.” This speaks to the serenity found only in the Lord. God is the one who grants peace. No wonder it was Jesus who spoke peace to the storm as the waves crashed upon the disciples. He was the one who was not overtaken by the storm but rather He walked on the water. Are you worried and weary? He stands ready to be your refuge.

The author continues by saying, “He is my fortress.” This phrase speaks to the security of the Lord’s sovereignty. Oh how badly we need the security of the Lord in our day. Is there any wonder why Noah felt safe inside the ark built to God’s specifications? It was a vessel that could handle the pressures of the outside. We need to remember that God is still the solid foundation upon which our life is built. My friend, though the winds and storms are howling, we will endure because we are safely settled in the fortress of God’s power.

The last phrase used by the Psalmist to describe the Lord is, “He is my God.” This is not a phrase of identification, but rather of attribution. The psalmist is speaking to the sufficiency of the Lord. Moses could trust in the Lord because he saw the manna fall faithfully every morning. He drank from the water that came from the rock. He watched God preserve the clothes on his back through forty years of wilderness wandering. My friend, if this man of God can put his trust in the Lord, surely you can too.

The Hurting Soul Is Welcome

Then the master of the house... said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
Luke 14:21

Never has there been a parable that so encompassed the passion, love, and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord came to seek and to save that which was lost. As the lord of this parable speaks to his servants, we can quickly see the symbolism between the lord of the parable and the Lord telling the parable. As the lord of the parable sends out his servants to invite men and women to the grand supper he is preparing, he is not partial or particular in his invitation. He simply says, Go. Go wherever the people are. If they are in the streets, go there. If they are in the lanes of the city, go there. But quickly we realize that there is something different about the invitation from this lord. He does something out of sync with the norm. His bidding is not just to the rich, but it is to the poor, maimed, halt, and blind. His mission was not to feed those who were fed, but to feed those who were hungry. He didn’t come to cover the rich, but to clothe the poor.

Oh, can we not see the love of God through this passage? The Lord of the harvest cares deeply about all men and women. He doesn’t look at the thickness of a man’s wallet. He cares for the hurting soul. He doesn’t care about the baggage a person brings with them to the feast. Emotional and physical issues are no drawback to God. If you are poor, you are welcome. If you are maimed, you are welcome. If you are halt or blind, you are welcome. The Lord of Glory bids all who will, draw near to Him. He will take your brokenness and loneliness and turn them into wholeness and companionship. He has the ability to turn your disease and sickness into wellness and health.

Also within the confines of this passage we see a mandate to God’s servants. The Lord of the parable told his servants to go where the hurting people were. Oh how often do we turn our heads from broken people in order to find a fat cat to pad our offerings? We look for the socialite who will bring notoriety to our congregation. May we turn our eyes away from the size of a man’s pocket book and turn to the need of his heart. May God show us to go where the hurting people are and may we usher them to the hospital of God’s hope.

This One Thing I Do

...but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before...
Philippians 3:13

The world we live in is fast-paced to say the least. There are bills to pay, yards to mow, jobs to work, and children to feed. In the day and hour we are in church is normally put on the back burner for most people. It goes something like this; “I’ll have life, with a side of God.” Over the years, this has become a motto and lifestyle for many people who profess the name of Jesus Christ. Until recently, men in the ministry were somewhat immune to this motto. The ministry and the service of Jesus Christ were their lifestyle. They lived to pray and prayed to live. They sought God through meditation in His word. But it seems more and more across the board that we are so distracted with the hustle of life that God has been pushed to the side. The disregard for God has become so prevalent in these dark hours that our pulpits are powerless and our churches resemble mortuaries. Something is wrong and needs to change quickly.

My mentor in the faith was and still is a man I admire. Often, during our formal meetings and even during our casual conversations he would say, “this one thing I do.” I always knew what he meant. He was reminding me that as an ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ, I have one goal and aim. Event though there will be many distractions that come along my path, I must always remember that I have one purpose in life. Everything else is secondary to “this one thing I do.” The apostle Paul had a similar perspective on life, which is why he wrote, “this one thing I do” to the Philippians. Never did he want to forget why he was placed on this earth.

Often we stumble in our Christian walk and work. We retrace our steps to see what it was that caused the slip and many times we find that our failure was due to our losing sight of “this one thing I do.” Has God called you to sing? Then sing for His glory. Have you been called to preach? Then preach solely in the power and authority of the Holy Ghost. Have you been called to serve? Then serve with your whole heart. We were not placed here on earth to make money and build castles. God did not save us so that we could build our kingdom. We are to heed the command of Jesus when He said, Seek ye first the kingdom of God. When we are tempted to forget, may God always help us to remember, “this one thing I do.”

Take Heed To Yourselves

Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them... And then the LORD's wrath be kindled against you...
Deuteronomy 11:16-17

I am drawn to the book of Deuteronomy for in this book we find the final sermons of Moses. As he peered from his tent and looked upon the children of Jacob, he saw the failures of their past and surely he felt fear for their future. As we look around the world in which we live, we quickly see the same things Moses saw: failure and fear. Our nation is deplorable and our churches are dead. Oh how quickly things can change. Moses had the same thought for he had seen with his own eyes how quickly a nation could go from spiritual awakening to spiritual apathy. He saw how rapidly the people’s hearts were turned from worship to whining. Oh how quickly the people took to the wicked idolatry of the surrounding nations. Moses recalled how the people longed for the words of God at the foot of Sinai and forty days later they were perversely dancing around a golden calf made by their own hands. That is the reason Moses told the people to “take heed”. That phrase, “take heed” is a phrase of constant remembrance and action based on that remembrance. Every step the people took, they were to “take heed”, lest they feel into the trap of sin. Every meal they ate, they were to “take heed”, lest they took a blasphemous bite. Every transaction they made, they were to “take heed” lest they prostituted the land of promise. Oh but how the disregarded this simple command, “take heed”.

It is easy to glance over the sin of the children of Israel and brush past the command of Moses to “take heed”. It seems like such a cliché so we haphazardly look past it just as Israel did. Sadly, we are just as fickle as the children of Israel. One day, we are weeping over sins forgiven, and the next day we are full of debauchery and lasciviousness. One day we are hugging our parents simply because we love them and the next day we are cursing their name. One day we are “in love” with God and His word, the next day we can’t even be pulled from our bed in order to attend our local church. Oh yes, how often we should “take heed”. How often we should remember the consequences of past sins lest we fall into the snare of them once again. My dear friend, if only you could feel the burden which the Savior has for you. He longs for you to “take heed” of your actions. Don’t fall into the sin of Balaam. Don’t go in the way of Cain. Don’t slip into the sayings of Korah. “Take heed” of thy steps, lest you slip down the slopes of sin into the hands of the living God.

Because He Loved Me

The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people… But because the LORD loved you- Deuteronomy 7:8-9

The Bible is full of reminders to the child that is on the verge of something great. God never ushers you into something new until you have remembered the path that has brought you to where you are. Here in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses is delivering his last address to the children of Israel. The entire book is a great study as you look at the last words of this great man of God. For you can truly see what is of the utmost importance to a man from what he concentrates on in the concluding days of his life. It is no wonder that Moses makes the statement here to his recipients. He never wanted them to forget why it was that God brought them to the door of the Promised Land. It was not because they offered great military strength to conquer the land. It wasn’t because there were a vast number of them because when God spoke the promise to bring them into the land of promise, He spoke it to one man, Abraham. God did not set His face upon them because He knew they would yield wonderful praise and adoration for many years to come because the fact was God knew they would go astray to idols and false gods. Moses told them that the reason God brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, was because the LORD loved you. It was all because of love.

Sometimes arrogance and pride come upon us like it did the children of Israel and we forget the real reason God came to us. He made the journey to your soul not because you had vast wealth to offer Him. He owns the cattle upon a thousand hills. He did not come to you because you had grand numbers to offer Him. Friend, He would have come if you had been for only person. No the truth of the matter is that God came to me and to you because He loved us. Because He loved you He walked the path to Calvary. Love was the only reason He stood silently while they stripped the flesh from His back. It was all love that held him fast to the cross. It was for love He died to set you free. May we cast our arrogance and pride at the feet of the crucified Savior and remember the only reason God does anything for us is because the LORD loved you.

The Cry Of The Crowd

But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him
Luke 23:21

There as Jesus stood, He heard the words that He dreaded to hear since the foundation of the worlds were laid. He knew they coming, yet they were still startling. As He stood there silently, he heard the chant of the crowd as they yelled over and over again, Crucify him, Crucify him! I am sure He thought in His mind, is this not the same crowds that were waiving palm branches less than a week ago? Are these not the blinded eyes that I have touched? Are these not the withered hands that I have healed? Yet, the Lamb stood silently before His shearers.

As I sit here and ponder this thought, it is easy to cast judgment upon those people that yelled, Crucify him! It is easy on this side of Calvary to see their wrong. It is easy to hurl accusations at them. It is easy to pile charges against them. But in my heart of hearts, I wonder; If I had been there that day among the crowds that stood in front of Pilate’s judgment hall watching Jesus of Nazareth being tried, what would I have said? Would I have stood up and declared Jesus’ innocence? Would I have run past the Roman guards that stood by and attempted to set this Healer free? Would I have walked down the Via Dolorosa in an attempt to give the Water of Life a sponge of water to drink? Or would I have been like the rest of the crowd that day and jeered, Crucify him! Would my voice have rung in the ears of the Savior as saying, Crucify! Would my mortal voice have spoken hatred into the ears of the everlasting God?

My heart cannot help but wonder about that as I sit here. I can but hope that I would have been different than the rest of the crowd. I shall never know. But I do know that I have been saved by His marvelous grace. I am a recipient of undeserved mercy. When my voice was raised in animosity toward the Savior, He still loved me. Oh what wonderful love that will not leave me. No wonder Paul wrote, Who can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus? It is a love that goes beyond our cry to Crucify. It is a love that forgives our past failures. Oh what love divine that saved a soul such as mine.

Is There A City Too Strong For The Lord?

From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us- Deuteronomy 2:36

As Moses is coming to the end of his life, he is recalling to the people of Israel all the victories the Lord had wrought for them. He is rehearsing these events for the sake of the new generation that will be the one to inhabit the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses wants to reassure this new generation of Israelites that God is more than able to escort them into the land of promise no matter how large or great the heathen inhabitants are. He assures them that there was not one city too strong for us in the past and there will not be one city too strong for you in the future. There was no enemy too strong or too bold. There was no city too impregnable or any people unconquerable. They were able to cross every obstacle the enemy threw into their path. Moses declared with confidence in his voice, there was not one city too strong for us.

Moses, the man of God was not boastful in his statement. He knew the reason why the enemies fell and the way was opened. He knew why the water flowed from the rock and the manna fell from the sky. He says, the LORD our God delivered all unto us. The God of glory was on their side. The Lord of heaven walked in their midst. He was the one that destroyed the Midianites. He was the one that delivered the heathen kings. He arranged their defeat. He organized their fall. He was the one who had the power to make the way open. Moses was careful to instruct the new generation to the fact that they could conquer the land, but only through the power of the Lord.

Have you a mountain that is too high? Have you a valley that seems too dark? Is there a river that is too rough? Do you feel your situation is too difficult? Dear friend, ask David as he stands in front of the giant, is there a city that is too strong for the Lord? Ask Elijah as he is on top of Mount Carmel, is there a city that is too strong for the Lord? Question the disciples after Pentecost, is there a city that is too strong for the Lord? My brother and sister, stand tall in the face of adversity. Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.