The day of trouble will come. I’m not trying to be a pessimist here–just realistically saying that difficult days come. Sometimes we can look out on the horizon and see them headed our way–like a menacing storm. At other times they come suddenly, like an unexpected earthquake, and cause the very foundations of our lives to shake.

Psalm 20 anticipates the day of trouble. The king is going out to war–he is marching into imminent danger. The people gather to send him off and they do so with remarkable encouragement.

May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions! (Psalm 20:1-5, ESV)

Notice what is missing in their remarks. They never mention how great the king is. They never refer to his mighty stallions, well-built chariots and well-trained army. No! May the Lord, may the name of the God of Jacob, may he…If the king returns victorious, clearly the Lord will have done it.

The king responds in verse 6.

Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. (Psalm 20:6, ESV)

The tiny word now suggests that something happened when the people spoke. The king now knew something he didn’t know before. In a 2016 article in the Atlantic, Julie Beck writes about inner speech.  “We can produce it much faster when we don’t have to go at the pace required to use tongues and lips and voice boxes. One researcher clocks inner speech at an average pace of 4,000 words per minute—10 times faster than verbal speech. And it’s often more condensed—we don’t have to use full sentences to talk to ourselves, because we know what we mean.” We aren’t privy to what the king may have been saying to himself before the people showed up with their prayer of verses 1-6, but one thing we do know…he knows something different now.

Now I know.

Who is interrupting your self talk, speaking truth, praying grace, confronting lies that you tell yourself?

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. (Psalm 20:7-8, ESV)

How important is godly interruption! How easily the king could have trusted in his own skill, his mighty army, his horses and chariots!

Now I know.

If no one is speaking truth to you, repent. Find a godly truth-teller. Ask someone to interrupt the self-deceiving inner speech that either makes you a victor in a battle you’re doomed to lose, or a loser in a battle you’re bound to win–all because you are trusting in yourself and not God. Get back to your Life Group, reach out to your accountability partner. Repent.

O Lord, save (put your name here). May he answer us when we call.

I was a senior at Wofford College when I got carried away at a basketball game and made some parents of the opposing team angry–really angry. I tried to leave the game and they cornered me and insisted that we “take it outside.” I knew immediately I was no match for them. Out of the corner of my eye I saw some football players; they knew me well enough to recognize that this wasn’t a friendly conversation. They nodded toward me and I must have pleaded with my eyes. They rushed over.

“Is there a problem here Jerry?” they asked. “They want to take it outside,” I answered, already feeling my confidence grow. “Well, you go on and we will take whatever they want to take outside and take care of it” they answered! I walked off, literally leaving them to handle it. I didn’t even bother to look back.

While I probably deserved what those parents wanted to do to me (I was a pretty rowdy basketball fan), sometimes you have to face down enemies that you didn’t make, situations you didn’t create.

David had to.

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

I love you, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies. (Psalm 18:1-3, ESV)

Saul pursued David because he was jealous, furiously jealous. David did nothing to provoke Saul’s jealousy, nothing to cause Saul to muster his troops and come after him. In Psalm 18 it is as if David feels the need to introduce his enemies to his God. Some of you need to do the same. Now I am convinced that, for most of us, our enemies aren’t real people with skin on. Most of us fight enemies within and the enemy of our soul (Satan) without.

Let me go on record by saying that Satan is furiously jealous of you. If you belong to Christ, Satan thought he had won the battle…til Jesus came out of the grave. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that Satan knows the future. He does not!

For three days he celebrated while the angels wept. But when Jesus came out of the tomb, he winced, he wiggled, he writhed in ego-devastating pain.

And he is insanely jealous of you and will do whatever it takes to take you down, or to make you down and out. Introduce him to your God. Here David uses nine words to describe his God. Let me paraphrase:

My weakness, meet my Strength. My instability, meet my Rock. My vulnerability, meet my Fortress. My addiction, meet my Deliverer. My flesh, meet my God. My insecurity, meet my Refuge. My doubts, meet my Shield. My lostness, meet my Salvation. My strongholds with a little “s”, meet my Stronghold with a big “S.”

My “I can’t” meet my “I will.” I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

Like me in that basketball arena at Wofford, you need to nod toward God. I promise you he can read your fearful face (and your troubled mind too), and He will come. Even if it was your fault.

God’s Word is a time-tested treasure. It is a balm for the hurting soul, truth in the midst of confusion, wisdom in a sea of conjecture. Whatever you’re facing or however you’re feeling, his word is enough.

When you are…

Afraid: 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God gave us a spirit, not of fear, but of power and love and self control.

Insecure: Philippians 1:6, “And I’m sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Hopeless: Romans 5:3, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Lonely: Isaiah 43:2-3, “When you pass through the waters I will be with you, and through the rivers they shall not overwhelm, when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume, for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

Worried: Matthew 6:25, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Jesus)

Angry: Ephesians 4:26-27, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.”

Tempted: 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Grieving: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by our God.”

Doubting: Psalm 91:1-2, “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Depressed: Habakkuk 3:17-19, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the field yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stall; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”

Discouraged: John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Condemned: Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Prideful: Jeremiah 9:23-24, “Thus says the Lord: Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches. But let him who boasts, boast in this, that he understand knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight declares the Lord.

Impatient: Psalm 27:14, “Wait on the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord.”

Unforgiving: Ephesians 4:29, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Restless: John 15:4, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.”

Complaining: 1 Thessalonians 5:16, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Confused: James 1:5-6, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given him.”

Tested: James 1:2-4, “Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know the the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

 

I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8 ESV)

In this short verse, the Lord is both before David and beside him. To set the Lord always before you is to have Him in the front of your mind. How do you do that? Through His word. God’s word reveals His character, His ways, His dealings with people. When you get into God’s Word, God’s Word gets into you.

Because he is at my right hand. To be on someone’s right hand is to be ready to assist them in their time of greatest need. Consider these verses:

For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death. (Psalm 109:31 ESV)

The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. (Psalm 110:5 ESV)

The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. (Psalm 121:5 ESV)

God saved you, the needy one, from those who would condemn your soul to death by giving his son Jesus to die in your place for your sins.

If God will meet your greatest need (salvation), will he not meet all your lesser needs?

What’s shaking you? Worrying you? Causing you to wonder if you’re going to make it through today? Look to your right. You will discover a God who is ready to save you. You will discover a God who will shatter kings on the day of wrath! You will encounter a God who provides shade from the scorching trials assailing you.

Why are you shaking? Put your hand in His.

He’s got you.

This family’s rendition of He’s Got the Whole World is phenomenal…and very encouraging.

Psalm 21 is a royal Psalm, a classification of Psalms written by or for a king. King David wrote the Psalm from a king’s point of view. And lest you think the Psalm only applies to King David, I would encourage you to consider the apostle Peter’s words:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9, ESV)

If you belong to Jesus Christ, you are royalty (wow!). Consider the prayer of Psalm 21:1-7…and make it yours. Where you see the word “king” put the personal pronoun “I.” Here’s how that prayer would go:

O Lord, in your strength I rejoice, and in your salvation how greatly I exult! You have given me my heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of my lips. For you met me with rich blessings, you set a crown of fine gold upon my head. I asked life of you, you gave it to me, length of days forever and ever. My glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on me. For you make me most blessed forever, you make me glad with the joy of your presence. For I trust in You Lord, and through your steadfast love, the steadfast love of the Most High, I shall not be moved.

“Has God really done for me what he did for King David,” you might ask? He has, and more. The New Testament mentions five crowns!

The Crown of Life  Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12, ESV)

The Imperishable Crown Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. (1 Corinthians 9:25, ESV)

The Crown of Righteousness  Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8, ESV)

The Crown of Glory  And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:4, ESV) This crown appears to be for faithful pastors.

The Crown of Rejoicing Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. (Philippians 4:1, ESV) This crown is those you lead to the Lord, those you disciple.

So don’t quit. Years ago, in college, I came across this poem and memorized most of it. It’s worth the read.

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is strange with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a failure comes about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow—
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out—
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell just how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

John Greenleaf Whittier

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is none who does god, not even one. (Psalm 14:1-3, ESV)

Bleak. Depressing. Defeated. Hopeless. These are words one might use to describe David’s assessment of humanity in these verses. Theologians call it “total depravity.” We are tempted to think that we aren’t that bad, that we really do seek after God, that somewhere beneath the surface is something good. Psalm 14:1-3 says no. And just in case you think David is just down in the dumps, Paul quotes these verses in Romans 3 and concurs with David. As a matter of fact, Paul grabs other verses (almost all of them from the Psalms) and paints a bleak picture of humanity: we are all fools who don’t seek after God.

But something happens in verse five. God steps in. Why? If we are this hopeless, why would he care? Why would he even give us a passing glance? The answer is grace. The answer is love. Robert Smith, the great African-American preacher said in a recent sermon, “Love does not define God–God defines love.”

Perhaps you have forgotten that, when God called Abraham out of Mesopotamia to follow him, Abraham worshiped foreign gods. Perhaps it has slipped your mind that, when God called Israel out of Egypt, the Israelites had begun to worship the gods of the Egyptians. Maybe you (and I) fail to remember that, with the crossing of the Red Sea in their very recent past, the Israelites threw their gold into the fire and “out came a calf.” There is none who does good, not even one.

Is there hope?

The only hope for totally depraved people is a totally righteous Savior.

In verse three, the Lord looks down. If that is all he does, we remain hopeless. In verse five, the Lord comes down–he is with the generation of the righteous. Hold up! Righteous? Where did the righteous come from! The Psalmist answers that in verse seven: Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

Salvation for Israel did come out of Zion.

Paul concurs. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law…the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:21-24, ESV)

But now…I love those words. If there has never been a but now moment in your life, you remain a sinner, hopelessly rejecting God. I say this will all due respect–you’re a fool to reject God. That’s what David says in Psalm 14:1. I lived for years as a fool, rejecting the greatest gift to the greatest sinner from the greatest Savior.

God looks down to see if anyone is looking up.

If you know Jesus, it is because one day, by God’s grace you looked up. God looked down, came down, rescued you and restored you to a right relationship with himself. My encouragement to you today: keep looking up. Fox News and CNN will not give you the best understanding of what is going on. Political pundits and medical experts are all trying to understand Covid-19.

Keep looking up.

The God who saved you is the God who keeps you. You are just as dependent on him to keep you as you were on him to save you.

Keep looking up.

This song, and how they sing it, is an affirmation of our great Savior. Take time to worship Him today.

https://youtu.be/hjvyDlm9KL8

 

 

Yesterday I shared this story in the sermon. Joe Head, part of our Grace family, loves hymns and he shared the link with me that detailed Dr. McAfee’s experience. (https://www.staugustine.com/article/20160218/LIFESTYLE/302189922) I’ve copied some of it directly for you…and added a beautiful rendition by a one-man quartet–a native Zambian who can sing all the parts, yes all the parts, by himself.

This is a tragic story. However, a wonderful song was born during the human suffering and sadness told about in this narrative. It took place in Parkville, Missouri in the early 1900s.

Dr. Cleland McAfee (1866-1944), a Presbyterian minister who served for many years on the faculty of Park College, a church-related school, was also a pastor who served several churches.

He found that unexpected problems or crises may come into our lives. We often cannot escape the pressures and shadows that accompany those problems. However, they can be faced with spiritual strength, which God provides. This is the message expressed in the song told about in this story.

When tragedy struck a family, it was natural that they would turn to McAfee, the pastor, for consolation. The affliction told about in this story came much closer to his heart and it was two-fold.

In 1903, two of his brother’s young daughters succumbed to diphtheria. They died within 24 hours of each other.

The double catastrophe broke McAfee’s heart. However, the situation was made even more difficult by the fact that his brother’s house had to be quarantined to prevent the spread of terrifying diphtheria. People were unable to go inside to express their condolences, and the family could not be permitted to leave the house to attend funeral services. You might ask, “How could it have been worse?”

McAfee sat up very late, praying and pondering what he could say in a sermon the following Sunday and what kind of music he could compose to bring comfort to his family and the congregation. The wonderful hymn presented in this story was the outcome of his meditation.

The choir learned the new song at their regular Saturday evening practice. From there, they went to the quarantined home of the Howard McAfee family and sang the new hymn beneath the darkened windows. They also shared the song with the congregation at the Communion Service, the following day.

Here are the lyrics:

There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God;
A place where sin cannot molest,
Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God;
Hold us, who wait before Thee,
Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of comfort sweet,
Near to the heart of God;
A place where we our Savior meet,
Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release,
Near to the heart of God;
A place where all is joy and peace,
Near to the heart of God.

By Adrian Early, Pastor of Students and Leadership Development

Breathing. We typically think nothing of it and take it for granted. That is until we have a hard time with it, or until someone we love is on their last breath. When this happens we are saddened and grieved–because the last breath means death. The last breath brings life to an end. However, when we hear the last words of Jesus before He breathed His last, there is a different emotion that should come over us. His last words were…

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Leading up to these words was a battle for the souls of humanity. From the garden of Gethsemane to the cross, Jesus had been feeling the separation from His eternal Father. This separation caused by the sin of humanity, punishable by death, was placed squarely on the shoulders of the perfect Son of God.

While hanging on the cross Jesus writhed in pain because of our sin. While hanging on the cross Jesus felt the consequences of sin for the billions who have walked this earth–and have yet to walk this earth. Yet His last phrase brought life and hope.

On the cross Jesus took His last breath, so that we could breathe our first. 

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sinsin which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1-30

The spiritually dead cannot be raised to live unless someone who is able can raise them.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved…” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Because Jesus committed His spirit to His Father in death anyone who  commits their life to following Him will have the Spirit of life breathed into them. 

As we look forward to Resurrection Sunday let the words of this song, especially this phrase, “By Your Spirit I will rise, from the ashes of defeat; the resurrected King, is resurrecting me” bring joy to you, and exaltation to Jesus.

by Mandi Pittman, Director of Outreach

After this, Jesus, knowing all that was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), “I thirst.” (John 19:28, ESV)

“I thirst”, two small words that totally show Jesus’ humanity. He had endured a trial before Pilate and His accusers, had been beaten by soldiers and then nailed to a cross. These events all took place in a single day. Now, hanging on the cross for six hours you finally hear his cry of distress. He felt the moment of exhaustion and dehydration, fulfilling the words written almost a thousand years earlier:  “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws, you lay me in the dust of death.” (Psalm 22:15, ESV)

Jesus had fought our battle, taken on our sin and shame before he ever thought of Himself. He made sure scripture had been fulfilled and He had accomplished His purpose before saying, “I thirst.” We see this from two different vantage points: a physical thirst and a spiritual thirst. Not only was Jesus physically thirsty, he also craved to be one with His Father again! He was thirsty for the only thing that could quench that deep thirst… reconciliation with the Father.

Jesus knew his suffering had a purpose, and He submitted to it. The writer of Hebrews says that, “For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross, disregarding its shame.” (Hebrews 12:2) What good came out of it! Our very salvation!

When so many things in your life are not being satisfied because they are suddenly denied, even outlawed, allow this to reveal your thirst for God. We can rest in His peace, protection and strength. He gives living water from which we will never thirst again!

by Christina Redman

Jesus’ fourth saying from the cross came at the 9th hour and darkness had filled the land since the 6th hour. It had been dark from noon until 3pm. Jesus cried out, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

This question has stumped many over the years. Why would Jesus ask this question even though He knew this was God’s plan all along? He also knew that He would be raised on the third day. He knew how this would all end yet He still cried out to the Father, “Why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus is quoting Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” Here David is crying out to God. Today that might sound more like, “God where are you? Why have you left me?”

Jesus cries out because He was truly forsaken. He was bearing the weight of the sin of the world, the weight of my sin, and the weight of yours. Not only was experiencing separation and abandonment from the Father, but He was experiencing the full wrath of God. It wasn’t just the nails of the pain of the cross that caused Him agony, His deepest agony was caused by experiencing the wrath of God.

His cry is more an expression of his anguish than an actual question. He knew this was the plan all along. He knew what would happen, but still He cried out to His Dad. He asked a question and expressed what He was feeling.

So often we don’t express what we’re really feeling to the Father because, “We should know better.” Our faith should be stronger, and we feel shame over our thoughts and feelings. We see the other Christians posting inspiring quotes and passages on Facebook and we waver. We know in our mind Romans 8:28, “that for those who love God all things work together for good,” but the things we’re living with are hard, our hearts are in anguish, and we may even wonder where God is in the middle of it all. Broken marriages are hard, depression is hard, abuse is hard, COVID-19 is hard, isolation is hard, death is hard, loss is hard.

But our hope is in a Savior who has felt what we’ve felt. 

Jesus was forsaken so we wouldn’t have to be. Jesus asked the hard questions, so we can ask the hard questions.

I pray in this Holy Week that we meet with Him, that we draw near to our suffering Savior, and ask the hard questions. 

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” – Hebrews 4:15

He already knows our thoughts, and the cries of our heart, and He is a loving Father who wants to hear from His kids.