Our Rescuing God

February 24, 2019 Background Scripture: Psalm 91:1 – 16 Lesson Passage: Psalm 91:1 – 8, 11 – 16 Satan quoted from Psalm 91 while tempting Jesus. This temptation occurred after Jesus had fasted for forty days. Psalm 91 speaks of God’s deliverance, or rescue, of His own by way of His angels. This psalm has lots of reassuring statements for children of God. It has a list to remind us of God’s providential care and endless love for His own. The only condition listed for the recipient of this divine blessing is making God our habitation or abiding under His shadow. This condition, simply put, means that God’s children should continuously seek to be in the presence of God. God’s presence provides all of the benefits listed in this psalm. There is no wonder that it has been noted that the scriptures do not present a single occasion where someone died in the presence of Jesus. Even on the cross, the two thieves outlived Jesus and had their legs broken. When Peter cut off Malchus’ ear in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jesus’ presence, Jesus touched the ear and healed it. Malchus was healed in spite of the fact that he was part of the mob that had come as an enemy to arrest Jesus. Jesus addressed many evils that occurred in his presence. There are many benefits to being in the presence of God. In this psalm, the writer takes time to enumerate several of those benefits. First and foremost, the presence of God provides shelter and protection (refuge and fortress). There is no safer place to be found than the presence of God. There is protection from the elements and the enemy. There is no fear in this because God is trustworthy. If one were to be overtaken by the enemy’s trap or some dreaded affliction, God would deliver them even from these. Even as a hen protects her chicks by spreading her wings to receive them, God graciously opens His arms to receive us from any threat of danger. His word is a standard that protects us from attack by the enemy. When the enemy dares to rush in like a flood, God lifts a barrier that stops the enemy’s advances. God’s protection is continuous. God watches over His children day and night—in the brightness of a noonday as well as the darkness of midnight. Although war, destruction, and death may be all around us, they will pose no threat to God’s children. We may see calamities, but we will not be harmed by them. Guardian angels are tasked with watching over and protecting the people of God. This is the reference that Satan quoted to Jesus. Satan was confused by who Jesus was, but he was not confused about what God said or what God meant by what He said. Of course, Satan stopped short of the stanza of the psalm that speaks about the Son of Man trampling the serpent under his foot. Satan knows that part too since it was spoken to him in the Garden of Eden. At this point, the psalm changes from speaking in the third person to speaking in the first person. The remainder of the psalm is a statement from God concerning His response to the one who loves Him. God will answer their prayers, be with them in the time of trouble, bestow honor on him, give long life and eternal salvation. He is our God who rescues us. Robert C. Hudson January 30, 2019

Press On in Christ

February 3, 2019 Background Scripture: Philippians 3:1 – 16 Lesson Passage: Philippians 3:7 – 14 It can be very difficult to let go of the past—especially when we can recall some measure of success or achievement. The Apostle Paul reflects on this as he writes this letter of joy to the church at Philippi. That congregation was established by Paul on his second missionary journey out of Antioch. By the time of this letter, the congregation was fairly organized in that they had officers, bishops and deacons, among them. Paul must have been most proud of them. There was no doubt about the Holy Ghost’s involvement in the founding of that congregation. Paul had an itinerary that did not include visiting the area, but his itinerary was changed in a vision that redirected him into Europe. There, Paul met the first group down by a river having prayer. Paul began the work of evangelism among them and that led to the establishment of a Christian congregation as well as beatings and imprisonment for Paul and Silas. Through it all, the congregation had survived and even thrived. They were organized and were continuing the work Paul started among them. Paul was writing to encourage them to continue to press on in the work and personal spiritual development. In this letter, Paul shared with the church his motivation and methodology for pressing on in Christ. Paul was motivated by the conversion experience he had. Jesus had laid hold on Paul and now Paul was attempting to reach the goal Jesus had set before him. Paul was determined to become more and more like Christ. He was willing to suffer for Christ so that he might experience the resurrection that Christ had experienced. Paul wanted all of his priorities to be focused on this future event for him. That type of focus on the future requires letting go of the past. It can be easy to let go of the pain and suffering of the past. In fact, we try hard to do that anyway. The challenge is letting go of past successes. When we have obtained a degree of wealth, positions of prominence, and the favor of our society, we like to linger in those times. And when those times are over, we like to reminisce about the “good old days”. It is not so easy to let go of our past perceived success. But Paul exhorted the church that if they were going to press on in Christ, then even the success of the past must be released. Paul enumerated many of his own successes as an example of what he was willing to discount in exchange for the future promises of Christ. Paul had a clear pedigree as far as family lineage was concerned. He knew which tribe of Israel he was from. He knew he was properly circumcised as required by the Law. He knew that he had a clean record and reputation among the religious leaders of Israel in terms of his lifestyle. He had even become one of the respected leaders of Israel’s religious community. All of those successes, Paul was willing to count as trash in exchange for the knowledge he had received of Christ. Paul knew that none of those things could provide the future promises that Christ was offering. Therefore, pressing on in Christ required relinquishing the joy of the past so that his focus would be totally on his future calling. He had to forget those things and press on. Robert C. Hudson January 7, 2019