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Psalms 57:1-3 (56:2-4 LXX)

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will hope,
Until lawlessness shall pass away.
I will cry out to God most High;
My God who is my benefactor.
He sent from heaven and saved me;
He gave over to disgrace those who trample me down.

Nehemiah 4:7-8

Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall in the sheltered areas, and I positioned the people by families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember our God, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

Personal Challenge

Even though those of us who follow our Lord and desire to be like His Son acknowledge that He is the one that is always there for us and that as the Creator holds everything in the palm of His hand, we also acknowledge that we must work together with Him. Our relationship with God is a synergistic relationship. We can do nothing without Him and He will never force us to do anything against our free will. As Nehemiah pursues building the walls of the temple he makes it clear that God’s work can only be completed as the people work together with Him to do His work. Our lives are made complete as we work in synergy with our Father in heaven. Glory be to God!

Mark 14:72

A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.

Personal Challenge

So many of us are familiar with the story of Peter and his denial of his beloved Lord, but how many of us recognize the times that we too have betrayed our beloved Lord. I must confess that all too often I do this throughout my life. It may come in the form of refusing to be a witness for Him when the opportunity arises. It may be in those times that I respond to a loved one or even a stranger in a harsh or angry tone. It may be when I do not do all that I do for the glory of God but for my own good. It always happens when I choose to submit to my fleshly will and sin against my loving Lord. But as Paul Harvey used to always say, “Now for the rest of the story.” Just as Jesus later approached Peter on the beach after His resurrection and gave him the opportunity to proclaim his love for his Lord three times, once for each denial, so too does He provide me chance after chance to return to Him and have my denials forgiven. Glory be to God!

Psalms 56:3-4 (55:4-5 LXX)

I will not fear by day,
But I will hope in You.
I will praise God with my words all day long;
In God I hope; I will not be afraid; what will flesh do to me?

Encouraging Wands

Hope! What a powerful word and an even more powerful aspect of life. There are so many things that people put their hope into nowadays. As we become more and more affluent in our lives and our culture, the more things that we end up putting our hope in. Unfortunately, these things are fleeting and our hope is betrayed. However, as the Psalmist proclaims here that his hope is in the Lord, so too do I choose to put my hope in my Lord and not in the things of this world, The more that I live my life with this hope in my Lord, the more I realise that nothing in this world can overpower my Lord and the love that He has for me and my loved ones. Glory be to God!

Ezra 9:54-55 (1 Esdras 9:54-55 LXX)

Then everyone went on their way to eat and drink, to gladden themselves, to give gifts to those who were lacking, and to heartily rejoice. For they were inspired by the words which were taught to them, and they gathered together.

Personal Challenge

So often, in our modern churches, the practice of worship has become more of a form of entertainment than a form of worship and adoration of our God. Many times it is not any different than going to the movies or to a play where we walk out afterward happy that we were entertained by robust singing or articulate oratories. However, before we know it we are back into our everyday lives waiting for the next entertainment to consume. However, as this passage in Esdras (Ezra) points out we should always walk away from our times of worship of our living God changed. We should be reminded of how undeserving we are of His love, filled with love for those around us, eager to give to those in need, and inspired to the point that we do not want to leave the presence of our Lord and our fellow celebrants. Worship is of God and for God. It is not for my personal edification, but His. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner?

Mark 13:31

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

Encouraging Words

Given that we believe that Jesus Christ is the living Word of God, the Logos, then this verse makes all the more sense. No matter what happens to this physical world, whether it someday be destroyed by fire or flood, Jesus, as the living Word, transcends this physical world, since He is eternal. This is why we put our hope in Him and not just some physical collection of some of His words that are bound between to covers. The Church has given us the written text of the scriptures in order to help us to grow in the image of Christ and to build His body of believers. However, we should never substitute this for Him. The Church has also established that the interpretation and understanding of God’s Word come from within the context of the community of the Church and I do not have the authority to interpret it on my own. We are not individuals in Christ but individual parts of the body of Christ. Glory be to God!

Psalms 55:22-23 (54:23-24 LXX)

Cast your care upon the Lord,
And He shall support you;
He will never allow the righteous to be moved.
But You, O God, will bring them down into the pit of decay;
Men of blood and deceit
Shall not live even half their days.
But I will hope in You, O Lord.

Encouraging Words

No matter what happens in my life. whether it be bad choices on my part or bad choices of other people perpetrated against me, I can always cast my cares and concerns upon my Lord and He will support me. He is my rock. He is my refuge. He is my solace. His love for me endures forever and is strong enough, all-encompassing enough, and complete enough to carry me through everything that can, and will, transpire in my life. I chose to put my hope in Him regardless of what others might think or what the world would have me do. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner?

Psalms 55:16-17 (54:17-18 LXX)

But I cried out to God,
And the Lord heard me.
Evening and morning and midday, I shall tell;
I shall proclaim, and He will hear my voice.

Encouraging Words

What more can be said than what the Psalmist proclaims here? We can cry out to our God anytime, I can cry out to Him. When we cry out to Him, He hears us. No matter when we cry out to Him, He is there. Glory be to God!