Lead Me to the Rock - Psalm 61

 

Jesus Christ is our solid Rock on which we stand when the storms of adversity stir up the quick sand of life. These menacing pits of destruction attempt to swallow us whole, sucking the life right out of us inch by inch.

As our heart grows faint, we cry out to God from the lowest parts of the earth and He leads us to the Rock, which is so much higher than our debilitating circumstances (Psalm 61:1-2).

Safely entrenched on the Rock of Christ we rise far above these destructive elements from Satan, the world and the flesh, which come to rob us of our joy and peace and make our testimony for God ineffectual and tarnished.

As our refuge and strong tower, He protects us from our enemies, takes us into His dwelling place, shelters us under His wings and showers us with His blessing (Psalm 61:3-4).

He hears our vows to serve Him with our life and He gives us His heritage in exchange. He increases our days and provides for our children and grandchildren for thousands of generations in the future (Psalm 61:5-6; Exodus 20:6).

God gives us a place in His royal priesthood and shares with us the throne of Christ. He showers us with His love and faithfully protects us (Psalm 61:7).

His goodness, grace, love and mercy cause us to praise His name forever and to keep our vows to Him day after day (Psalm 61:8). We want nothing more from this life than His perfect will for us.

Prayer:

Father God we wait patiently for You and You always hear our cries. You lift us out of the slimy pit of doom, out of the mud and mire and safely stand us on the Rock of Christ (Psalm 40:1-2, 62:1-3). You put a new song in our heart, which is a testimony to everyone in our life (Psalm 40:3).

Your love fills us with peace and joy regardless of the outward circumstances attempting to beat us down and debilitate us. We look for the seed for a miracle, which You plant within every trial threatening to overcome us. We depend on Your Spirit to guide us through each moment of our day.

Thought for the Day:

When we face the issues bombarding our life, we remember that the peace of God protects us when we are firmly standing on the Rock of Christ.

The Beauty of Holiness

What most people do not realize is that there is beauty in holiness (Psalm 29:2, 96:9). There are church denominations, which add to Biblical law and fence members of their congregation into a narrow, legalistic lifestyle, which is more rigid than God ever intended. 

The standard by which we judge our behavior is not by human dogma, activities or acceptance, but the Truth of God's Word.However, there is also a tendency today to skirt Biblical directives and to partake in sinful activities, which we justify in our own heart as harmless. 

When we flirt with the flesh, the world and Satan, we walk a fine line between God's Truth and Satan's lies. We compromise our character. By our thoughts, words and deeds, we tarnish the name of our Father God.

We even shut up the Kingdom of Heaven for some, because of our hypocritical lifestyle (Matthew 23:13-14). God is holy, and He dwells within us; therefore, He desires His habitation to be a place of holiness (1 Peter 1: 15-16). 

Before He even created the world, God planned for His Saints to live a holy, blameless life before Him, out of our love for Him (Ephesians 1:4, 2:10).Human beings are so self-centered that we cannot comprehend the fullness of life beyond the grave. 

We think that we have to experience all that life on this earth has to offer, because we only have one life to live. This is a lie straight from the pit of hell. Our earthly life is merely temporary (James 4:14). It is our life in God's eternal Kingdom that is our true life.

Prayer:

Father God, our sinful habits and our sinful lifestyle spit in Your face (1 Thessalonians 4:7). We focus on issues in this life, when that is not what You are really concerned about at all. Many people wonder what Your will is for them. Your will is more about our sanctification than our place of employment, brand of car or style of clothing (1 Thessalonians 4:3). 

Giving thanks for our lot in life is also Your will for us (1 Thessalonians 5:18). You actually put us in the neighborhood and occupation in which we can further Your Kingdom, and that should be our daily focus.

Thought for the Day:

God calls us to be a living testimony of the change His presence makes in our life and as examples of righteous living to the praise of His glory. - Ephesians 1:12