In Psalm 109 David is crying out to God for vengeance on his enemies who have been persecuting him. He goes into great detail about how he feels because of what has happened to him. We can be tempted to wonder, too, if God is EVER going to act on our behalf when it comes to the enemy! We need to remember that God's timing is different than ours! His reasons for delaying (in our eyes) the answer almost always have to do with the timing that will affect either another's eternal future, or our blessing here on earth! We need to let God BE God and trust Him to get it right! Be a doer of verse 30-31:
30 I will give great praise and thanks to the LORD with my mouth; yes I will praise Him among the multitude. 31 For He will stand at the right hand of the poor and needy, to save him from those who condemn his life.
I found this in the Bible Exposition Commentary - New Testament and I love it!
First Peter was written to Christians who were experiencing various forms of persecution, men and women whose stand for Jesus Christ made them aliens and strangers in the midst of a pagan society. Peter exhorted these Christians to steadfast endurance and exemplary behavior. The warmth of his expressions combined with his practical instructions make this epistle a unique source of encouragement for all believers who live in conflict with their culture.
That is exactly the position that most Christians are in today, even in THIS country! Read through 1 Peter with this in mind and I'm very confident that you will get some much needed encouragement for these days we're living in! Verses 3-5:
3 Praised (honored, blessed) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)! By His boundless mercy we have been born again to an ever-living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 [Born anew] into an inheritance which is beyond the reach of change and decay [imperishable], unsullied and unfading, reserved in Heaven for you, 5 Who are being guarded (garrisoned) by God's power through [your] faith [till you fully inherit that final] salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the last time.
That's US! We are being guarded during these perilous times! We should be walking through each day on earth fully confident in HIS protection, provision and safety from ALL the works of the enemy! We should be fulfilling HIS plan and purpose for us each day on earth, all the time storing up the rewards of obedience to be revealed to us in the next life! But we SHOULD be able to hear, each day, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" And then we have full confidence in His Word, knowing and acting on verse 25:
25 But the Word of the Lord (Divine instruction, the Gospel) endures forever. And this Word is the Good News which was preached to you.
Treasure the Word of God! AMEN!
There were 20 rulers who ruled over Judah and only 8 of them were called "good"! These were:
- Asa
- Jehoshaphat
- Joash
- Amaziah
- Uzziah
- Jotham
- Hezekiah
- Josiah
2 He did right in the sight of the LORD and walked in all the ways of David his [forefather], and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.
That's a GREAT testimony for Josiah, but he DID neglect something that he should have seen to! He DID NOT bring up His son in the way he should go! How do we know this? 2 Kings 23:34a & 37:
34a Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of Josiah and changed his name to Jehoiakim. 37 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, like all his [forefathers] had done.
If you are a parent, your #1 job is to make sure that you are training your children in the way that they should go! Proverbs 22:6:
6 Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it.
There's the promise parents! Now do YOUR part and God will MOST CERTAINLY do his! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
