December 19, 2024: Thursday Bible Study on Psalms 3
Blessings and Peace dear friends. This morning, I am using my new computer, so I am getting a late start. It is trying, and I assume will eventually succeed, to get all of that put back into place so that I am able to work quite a bit more quickly.
Please offer prayers of thanksgiving for the success of Kandice getting five liters of liquid removed from her body. It sounds like the doctors may well need to remove at least five more, so pray that can be done in the very near future. Della will soon be moving to memory care at the Cascades, but I am hopeful that once she gets that higher level of care, she will be able to return for worship on some Sundays. Pray for the family who will have Mom, and her two children Baptized on the 4th of January. Pray that they will consider becoming a part of our worshiping community. Pray for Jesse and myself, as we spend some time in the next two weeks getting ready for our trip back to Michigan for my brother's celebration of life. I am also asking members to bring angels from their homes that can be placed on, and around, the altar on Christmas Eve. Please bring them this Sunday, and then we will have two more Sundays on which to celebrate the Christmas Season. Please remember that Christmas Eve worship starts at 7PM. I hope we will see you there as we celebrate the greatest gift in the history of our world, the birth of the Christ child in Bethlehem.
Today we move on to Psalm 3, and we find out that not all Psalms are about gentleness and loving kindness. This Psalm may well be a Psalm of David, and if so, it would have been written around the time that David's son, Absalom, is threatening David's kingship. We do realize early on this Psalm that David places a great deal of trust in the LORD for keeping him safe from the hands of his enemies. At the same time, he has written this Psalm as an appeal to the LORD to keep him out of the hands of those who are a threat to his life, and his place as the king of Israel. (see 2 Samuel 15) Of course, many of the kings of Israel found themselves in the very same kind of place in their rule over the country. Even Saul, who was initially a pretty good king, found himself paranoid about the role that David might play in Saul's demise. It was so invasive in Saul's thinking that he could no longer help himself to find his way out of that feeling of being betrayed. It is certainly true that even in the time of the judges, those selected to lead found themselves in trouble with the people, or those who thought that they should be removed. Scripture itself shares story after story about God's deliverance for those of faith, when it looks like there is no chance to overcome the enemy. Just as an aside, you and I face an enemy too. That enemy is death. We know that we cannot defeat death on our own, but with the gift of Jesus Christ, we are able to come to that time when we know it is not far off. with a sense of calm. We appeal to God, seeking His intervention, that we might have eternal life, and the LORD has given us the answer in Christ's Resurrection from the dead, the sure and certain promise that, like Christ, when we live in faith, we too shall share in the Resurrection to eternal life.
So, how do we keep going when faced with what seems to be insurmountable odds? The people of God have always turned to the LORD for the answers to the plights of our lives. The first thing that we must do is to face the LORD with the truths, or facts of our situation. If we hope to be held on to by God, we must bring into the midst of our relationship with Him the difficult truths of what is going on. Second, when we are stressed by what is going on, or when we are confident of the overwhelming danger that we will face, we must not forget our relationship with God. Our God, David's God, is no small, puny, garden-variety god. Our God wields the greatest power we will ever know, His passion for His people! And here is the kicker, what God has done before, He will do again for His children, so rest well, knowing the one who is our defender in all the hard things of this world. God has always and will always choose to be our deliverer in all things.
Please remember that there will not be Bible Studies for a while. Studies will resume on Monday, January 20th. When I am away from doing these three studies each week, please be sure to take the time to read ahead in the Psalms, and also be sure to get a copy of the Daily Devotional at church. God Bless you and keep you safe from all harm in the month ahead.
With Love in Christ, Pastor Kim
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