Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,201
“For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
“’I love you, Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I have been saved from my enemies.
The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.’” (Psalms 18:1-6 ESV)
As Christians, who is our greatest enemy? Satan. And we will not be fully free from his attacks until we die and we go to be with Jesus for eternity. But the Lord does give us relief from his attacks, or I think we would not survive. The Lord does deliver us from the enemy’s attacks on our minds and on our bodies and on our hearts when we call out to him and we pray for mercy and for deliverance. But like in Job’s case, the deliverance is not always immediate, for the Lord does allow us to go through trials to test our faith.
And we will have physical enemies, too. We will have people who will be against us for one reason or another. Especially if our lives are sold out to Jesus Christ, to doing his will, we will be opposed even by others who profess faith in Jesus Christ, and even by pastors of “churches” who have surrendered to the will of the people and who are diluting the message of the gospel in order to not offend the ungodly with the truth, and so that they can “draw in large crowds of people from the world” into their gatherings.
For the “Christian world” here in America has become so worldly. Therefore, if you follow the Lord in obedience, and you take the teachings of the Scriptures (taught in context) seriously, and you walk in obedience to the commandments of the Lord with steadfastness, and so you share the truth of the gospel with the people, as a matter of practice, you are likely to be regarded as an oddball or as a non-conformist, or as a legalist or as an extremist or as being critical and not loving, because you speak the truth.
Those who “play by the rules,” according to the world, and according to society and culture, who blend in with all people, who “play it safe,” and who say nothing to “rock the boat” or to “stir up feathers,” will likely be well received and well liked and well appreciated in the world and in the worldly “church.” For they are not controversial. For they are fairly worldly themselves by how much of their lives and time is spent on the things of the world versus how much dedication they give to the Lord and to his service.
But Jesus Christ is our example that we are to follow and to model our lives after, and he didn’t play by the rules of society. He didn’t “play it safe” in order to not “ruffle feathers” or in order to not “rock the boat.” He did not blend in with the culture in order to be widely accepted and appreciated. In fact, he did the opposite. Why? Because he didn’t come to the earth to be accepted by the world. He came to deliver us from our slavery to sin so that we would now obey him and do his will and become like him in character.
And so he upset a lot of people. And he was opposed continuously by the religious and by the rulers in the temple and in the synagogues. They hated him, in fact, so much so that they went on the all out attack against him regularly. And eventually they carried out his death on a cross. But God the Father did not deliver Jesus from that death. Why? Because he came to this earth to die on that cross to put our sins to death with him so that we will now die with him to sin and walk in obedience to his commands.
And the Bible teaches us that we are destined to be hated and persecuted as he was, and that we should expect to be hated and mistreated if we are following Jesus with our lives in submission to his will and purpose. For being a follower of Jesus Christ means that we are becoming like him in character, in heart, in mind, in purpose, and in actions. So we are going to be doing the kinds of things that he did that got him hated, persecuted, and put to death. Suffering for the sake of the gospel is what we are called to do by the Lord.
So, although the Lord will deliver us through our trials and tribulations, and he will give us the strength to endure, and he will deliver us from giving in to those circumstances, and he will empower us to remain steadfast in faith despite our circumstances, we may not always see physical deliverance from our enemies, or at least not always immediate deliverance physically. So don’t let that discourage you if you have prayed and you are still suffering. Let the Lord work his will and purpose in your life, and submit to his will.
Sufferings: [Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
Caution: This link may contain ads
My Fortress and My Deliverer
An Original Work / February 4, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
“’I love you, Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I have been saved from my enemies.
The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.’” (Psalms 18:1-6 ESV)
As Christians, who is our greatest enemy? Satan. And we will not be fully free from his attacks until we die and we go to be with Jesus for eternity. But the Lord does give us relief from his attacks, or I think we would not survive. The Lord does deliver us from the enemy’s attacks on our minds and on our bodies and on our hearts when we call out to him and we pray for mercy and for deliverance. But like in Job’s case, the deliverance is not always immediate, for the Lord does allow us to go through trials to test our faith.
And we will have physical enemies, too. We will have people who will be against us for one reason or another. Especially if our lives are sold out to Jesus Christ, to doing his will, we will be opposed even by others who profess faith in Jesus Christ, and even by pastors of “churches” who have surrendered to the will of the people and who are diluting the message of the gospel in order to not offend the ungodly with the truth, and so that they can “draw in large crowds of people from the world” into their gatherings.
For the “Christian world” here in America has become so worldly. Therefore, if you follow the Lord in obedience, and you take the teachings of the Scriptures (taught in context) seriously, and you walk in obedience to the commandments of the Lord with steadfastness, and so you share the truth of the gospel with the people, as a matter of practice, you are likely to be regarded as an oddball or as a non-conformist, or as a legalist or as an extremist or as being critical and not loving, because you speak the truth.
Those who “play by the rules,” according to the world, and according to society and culture, who blend in with all people, who “play it safe,” and who say nothing to “rock the boat” or to “stir up feathers,” will likely be well received and well liked and well appreciated in the world and in the worldly “church.” For they are not controversial. For they are fairly worldly themselves by how much of their lives and time is spent on the things of the world versus how much dedication they give to the Lord and to his service.
But Jesus Christ is our example that we are to follow and to model our lives after, and he didn’t play by the rules of society. He didn’t “play it safe” in order to not “ruffle feathers” or in order to not “rock the boat.” He did not blend in with the culture in order to be widely accepted and appreciated. In fact, he did the opposite. Why? Because he didn’t come to the earth to be accepted by the world. He came to deliver us from our slavery to sin so that we would now obey him and do his will and become like him in character.
And so he upset a lot of people. And he was opposed continuously by the religious and by the rulers in the temple and in the synagogues. They hated him, in fact, so much so that they went on the all out attack against him regularly. And eventually they carried out his death on a cross. But God the Father did not deliver Jesus from that death. Why? Because he came to this earth to die on that cross to put our sins to death with him so that we will now die with him to sin and walk in obedience to his commands.
And the Bible teaches us that we are destined to be hated and persecuted as he was, and that we should expect to be hated and mistreated if we are following Jesus with our lives in submission to his will and purpose. For being a follower of Jesus Christ means that we are becoming like him in character, in heart, in mind, in purpose, and in actions. So we are going to be doing the kinds of things that he did that got him hated, persecuted, and put to death. Suffering for the sake of the gospel is what we are called to do by the Lord.
So, although the Lord will deliver us through our trials and tribulations, and he will give us the strength to endure, and he will deliver us from giving in to those circumstances, and he will empower us to remain steadfast in faith despite our circumstances, we may not always see physical deliverance from our enemies, or at least not always immediate deliverance physically. So don’t let that discourage you if you have prayed and you are still suffering. Let the Lord work his will and purpose in your life, and submit to his will.
Sufferings: [Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
Caution: This link may contain ads
My Fortress and My Deliverer
An Original Work / February 4, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
