Good morning,
Praise the Lord for the season of spring. Praise the Lord for the way our Lord decorates the earth with His beauty in all seasons. He is the Lord in every season and He is the Lord of all seasons. I left home of my birth at an very early age to go to school, and later go to college, then graduate school, and eventually to travel to the States. Whenever I left home, Psalm 121 was read over me and I was prayed over. Psalm 121 was part of the readings for last Sunday. Today many people continue to recite Psalm 121 at the beginning of a journey. It has been called the “Traveler’s Psalm” because it is an affirmation of God’s powerful and providential protection.
Someone once commented, “I only pray when I’m in trouble…but I’m in trouble all the time, and so I pray all the time.” Where do we turn when we’re in trouble, when life hits us hard? Where does our help come from? There have been times in our lives when we could look back at a particular event or instance and say, “If it were not for God’s protection, I surely would have been killed.” What sustains us in our darkest hours? The reassurance of Psalm 121 brings us from fear to faith.
Many people have been blindsided by the beauty of an opening statement, only to have misunderstood the author’s intent. We picture someone being inspired by a mountain range, finding strength in the rugged, hilly landscape. Part of the problem is the King James rendering: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” Yet the hills are exactly where the psalmist does NOT find strength. He looks higher than the hills. The NIV correctly puts it in the form of a question, “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?” - Then he gives the answer: “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” One name for God is El-Shaddai, “the most high God”. He is above all others; He is our “higher power”.
Back in Bible times, as in India even today, pagan shrines were built on hilltops, called “high places”; groves of trees were planted and people were lured to these places by the false promise of spells, magic, and the immoral practices of cultic prostitution. There is no help or protection from Baal or Asherah, or any other false gods. Don’t look to the hills for your salvation — accept no substitutes.
Heathen/Gentile nations worshipped and feared the sun and the moon, and people today continue to trust in the stars (astrology/horoscopes). The psalmist looks beyond the hills, beyond the sun, moon, and stars to the One who stood on the edge of nothing and spoke the universe into existence, the Creator of the sun, the moon, the stars, and all that is. We are assured in the psalm that “the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night” (vs 4).
Wicca, Native American, and New Age religions continue to worship nature instead of its Creator. The prophet Jeremiah declared, “Truly the hills are a delusion—the idolatrous commotion on the mountains” (3:23). Jesus assures us, “I am with you always.” We don’t need any “supplemental help” from the sun or the moon.
We may not be worshipping nature or bowing down to idols, yet we are still susceptible to idolatry, which is trusting in anything other than God. An idol is anything we love, rely on, and obey more than God. Our help is heavenward, not earthbound. We cry out for help, and our help comes “from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (vs 2). To look anywhere else ends in futility and disappointment. Vs 3 declares that God “will not let your foot slip.” We find our source of security in God alone. Psalm 121 helps us to meet straight-on the issue of how to deal with fears and insecurities in a dangerous world. When the Israelites made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem their homes were unprotected. However, we are assured in vs 3 that God “will not slumber nor sleep”. He watches over us every step of the way. He is with us. Soldiers can rest from battle because guards are placed along the perimeter. In the same way, we are garrisoned by the eyes of God’s Providence night and day.
Verse 5 says that God is our “shade”. The desert is an unforgiving place; the sun burns and the unrelenting heat can sap our strength. In the Middle East it can get up to 120 degrees in the Summer months. Soldiers assigned there complain of boots and tires melting and the tarmac turning to mush. Heat injuries are a common threat. Yet God shades us, the shadow of His protection covers us.
Next, Psalm 121 tells us that the moon will not harm us by night. Over the centuries many people have feared the power of the moon to affect their minds. People still say all sorts of craziness can happen during a full moon. Being “moonstruck” is to become unstable, to lose one’s reason. The word “lunacy” comes from the word Luna, another name for the moon. If we walk with God, He will guard and renew our minds (Romans 12:1-2). He changes us from the inside-out.
Verse 7 says that God will keep us from “harm”. This could be translated “evil” (RSV). The Christian life is not a quiet escape to a garden where we can walk and talk with our Lord; it’s finding strength in the midst of trying circumstances in a difficult world. Phillips Brooks, renowned pastor of Boston’s Trinity Church, stated, “Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger people. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.”
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUf5v0VySw0
Simon Peter
A special evening worship is coming to First United Methodist Church this Saturday evening, March 26, at 6:30 PM. We will be sharing in a special kind of worship experience with the presentation of the dramatic monologue, "Simon Peter". This presentation provides us with a worship experience through sacred drama and music by sharing a part of this disciple's life with our Lord Jesus Christ. Through his monologue, Peter shares with us some of the joys and conflicts of knowing Christ as a brother, of walking and talking with Him, and of experiencing the power of His Spirit. As we listen to him we, too, can share in his agony in denial and then in his tremendous victory through forgiveness. This beautiful and inspiring dramatic monologue will be presented by Dr. James Geer, PhD, distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Binghamton University.
There will also be a meal at 5 PM preceding the presentation of "Simon Peter". The meal will be prepared by Lou Pasquale and Rodney Haines.
Please plan to attend, and invite a friend or two to come as well! .
For Information call: 607-748-6329
607-748-1358
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