Praise the Lord for this new day... fabulous and beautiful. It has been one of
the ten best days of September. This morning I walked down Main Street and met
some beautiful people. One woman, who is the librarian of the town library,
told me that hikes almost every day on her family owned property and prays for
people. By praying for others she gets her wellness and sanity she said. She
hikes faithfully and rigorously. She shared with me that there are so many
walking trails in our surrounding area, surrounded by natural beauty and
tranquility. I also stopped by the senior citizens center during their lunch
hour and met some of the sweet people there. The staff down there does a
marvelous ministry of caring and serving.
I have been
talking with our daughters this afternoon. Our little newborn granddaughters
are gaining day by day and doing very well.
We can see from
our picture window the beautiful Cortland apple tree at our neighbor's house,
bearing an abundance of large, beautiful, apples. I picked almost half a bushel
of pears from one of our pear trees this week. Praise the Lord for the
abundance of His love and grace all around us.
The world is in
turmoil and chaos all around us. In the midst of it we are invited turn our
eyes upon Jesus. The Church of Jesus Christ our Lord is at work around the
corner and around the globe serving the Lord of lords and the King of kings.
The Church is engaged in reaching out to people all over the world with the good
news of Jesus in word and deed. The church, through its manifold witness, is
standing at gap as the "First Responder", bringing the light of Jesus and the
grace of Jesus into dark, desperate, despicable places. The church is out there
on the front lines offering even "a cup of cold water" in the Name of
Jesus.
I watched one
of the representatives of World Vision in Europe being interviewed by BBC about
the work of the Gospel among the refugees fleeing to Europe. It is an exciting
time for the church to reach out to the hurting world. One of our friends who
is a retired orthopaedic surgeon has gone to Congo, Africa to serve the Lord
there. Friends and colleagues of our daughters are all over the world serving
Christ. Praise the Lord; He has called us to be His people for such time as
this.
Our church will
host a community wide dinner tomorrow beginning at 4:30 PM. It is a wonderful
opportunity to welcome our neighbors and friends into the church premises to
share with them a very special meal, to celebrate the grace and the love of the
Lord.
I preached from
Psalm 46 last Sunday. The famous hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" by Martin
Luther, is based on this hymn. When we reflect on this wonderful Psalm, we
realize that when trouble comes God is a Refuge for His people. We
further realize, according to verse five, that God is Resident among His
people. Furthermore, we realize that, according to verse four, God sends a
River of blessing to His people. It is the understanding of these three things
that equip people to cope with the trouble that either will come, or has come,
or is still here.
God is a Refuge for His
people.
All of this
suggests to us this idea of something like the Cities of Refuge that they had in
the Old Testament, which we can read about in Numbers chapter 35. In the Cities
of Refuge, there was a touch of mercy. This is the picture that we have of God
being a Refuge who is continually available to His people. We must realize that
God our Refuge is not only continually available, but He is thoroughly adequate,
for it says in this verse, God is our Refuge, but also our Strength. I love
that it says in verse one that not only is God our refuge and our strength, God
is "a very present help" in trouble.
We are reminded
lucidly that God is resident among His people. Verse 4: "There is a river, the
streams whereof, make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High
dwells. God is in the midst bf her; she shall not be moved." The term "The
City of God," as far as the psalmist was concerned, was a picture that he loved
to use of Mount Zion -- his favorite place.
We realized
that as far as the Old Testament people were concerned, this was the site of the
City of God. However, further on in the New Testament, we discover that the
City of God is another term given for the Church of Jesus Christ. In the Old
Testament, the City of God on Mount Zion, ancient Jerusalem, was a picture of
the fact that God in His Tabernacle was resident among His people. So then, we
should understand that the Church, which is the Body of Christ, is the "City of
God", and God is resident in our midst.
What is to be done in the day of
trouble? First, we must recognize and realize that God is our own Refuge.
Secondly, we reckon that God is very much alive in the fellowship of His people.
In the fellowship of His people there is support; in the fellowship of His
people there is concern and compassion, not because they are special people but
God is resident in those people.
I further believe one of the great
things we must do in the time of trouble is to realize, not only, that God is a
Refuge continually available; but we must also realize that God is resident in
the fellowship of His saints, and very much alive here on earth. He is
Emmanuel... God with us. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. In the
latter part of Psalms 46:4, David said, "The City of God is a holy
place where the Most High dwells." He is the Most High! In other words, He is
the One who is seated on the Throne above all thrones as the One who is ordering
the universe. Therefore, He is a God of power and purpose. What an exciting
thing it is to be a Christian. It doesn't mean that you are immune from
trouble. It doesn't mean that you won't have problems. It actually
may indicate that you will have more, but the exciting thing about this is
that in the midst of trouble we know what it is to have a God alive and alert
and with us, and who is seated on the Throne of the Most High.
God is characterized by overflowing
grace and overruling serenity, and He is therefore a God of power and purpose,
very much alive with us. He is our refuge . He is a resident among us and in
our midst and He is like a River to us.
Psalms
46:4, "There is a river, the streams thereof shall make glad the
city of God." God is the One who sends a river of blessing to His people. As I
look at this Scripture, I see a remarkable thing in Psalms
46:10, which surely, is a great favorite with a lot of people:
"Be still, and know that I am God!" Its context is the context of trouble. "Be
still, and know that I am God." The words, "Be still" mean literally "relax."
So, Relax!
In Christ,
Brown
