God Is...

Psalm 68: 19-20
“Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation. God is to us a God of deliverances; And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death.”

I could not keep from having theses verses stand out to me in my daily reading this morning. I do not at all want to take the verses out of context since God is speaking of himself in relation to what he has done on Mount Sinai for the Israelites in relation to their enemies. But these verses not only speak to the Israelites and their experience at Mount Sinai, but they also speak to us today as the same character of God that was revealed in the Old Testament is also revealed in the New Testament.

God does daily bear my burden and he himself says so in Matthew 11:28-30. Christ states: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” The Lord knows I have been weary and heavy-laden with self-imposed work for myself. He knows that I needed to be reminded today that he is with me and he is the one who can give me rest both physically, but more importantly spiritually. He is the one who enabled me to wake up earlier this morning just so that I could meet with him before my household arose.

But that is not all these verses spoke to me. God is the God of my salvation. I have been studying in Romans with my ladies bible study class on Sunday mornings and God clearly lays out the gospel message and to what it contains in Romans 1:3-4. Paul writes that he is “set apart for the gospel (verse1) and it is a gospel that pertains to “His [God’s] Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.” God is my salvation because he sent his one and only son-Jesus Christ (John 3:16) who was fully God and because Jesus was born of the flesh as a descendant of David which made him fully man at the same time. Whereas I do not fully comprehend how Christ is fully God and fully Man, Jesus is!!

Not only that, but God is my God of deliverances (Psalm 68:20) through the power of the resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4). It is only because Christ died and ROSE from the dead that enables him to have the power to escape death and to enable others to do the same. I believe the Lord laid this on my heart this morning as I was thinking of my sister’s friend’s little seven-year old boy who is going through chemotherapy because of cancer which was confirmed as a Stage 3 Wilms tumor. Their story is one that has brought glory and honor to the Lord as well as minister to many around them. In my own family, my children have seen the power of prayer for a little boy that they have only played with a couple of times and barely remember it. However, they have been able to see the special impact their prayers are having for Little Joe and his family. My prayer this morning is for Little Joe and his family to remember that God is a God of salvation as well as a God of deliverances. Escapes from death belong to the Lord. May the power of God be shed upon Little Joe and may God daily bear the burden that this little boy is bearing. Lord, I ask that Little Joe and his family not become weary, but will lay their burden at your feet and that you will over shadow them with your rest. In Jesus Name, Amen. (If you want more information and updates about how to pray for Little Joe, please visit http://kevinandlizturner.blogspot.com)

Building a House in Vain

Today I woke up with good intentions to spend some “quality time” with the Lord. However, I did not get the opportunity the way I expected to. The kids got up early (or rather I got a later start than I wanted to) and one thing led to another and I was unable to express in writing what has been on my heart.

It has been a really long time since I have had the opportunity to sit down and reflect on what the Lord has been doing in my life. Everything from my graduation, buying and moving into a house, and Scott considering taking a job as a pastor has had me overwhelmed and busy. In fact, it has kept me so busy that I have not spent much quality time in the word or with my friend Jesus Christ. Over the last few weeks as we have been busy painting and moving things into our house, I have been filled with an urgency to get everything situated and have ignored God’s desire to get my spiritual life situated!! What a wake-up call I had through God’s word. Part of my reading included Psalm 127:

“Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.
Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward, like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate.”

This passage hit me hard, as I have been “building my house in vain.” I have gotten up early and stayed up late trying to get the house “just right.” I have focused so hard on the house and have been so stressed about getting it all done, that I have sacrificed the real gift the Lord has given to my—my family!! Lord, help me to not labor in vain, but to allow you to give to me even in my sleep. Help me to cherish the special gift of my children. Help me to spend quality time with them today so that they will know how special they are to you and to me. In Jesus Name, Amen.