Will We Act Like We Know Where Our Help Comes From?
Good Morning Friends,
The church is to be a place and people of miracles…a place of song. Today we read about the Acts of the Apostles and the Psalmist Gospel… David’s Good News that God is the omnipotent and self-existent One who preserves His people…the ever-present influence of the shadow of a great tree…a great rock in a weary land. Our focus today is on Psalm 121 and its key relevance for the Church. A church that is to be our comfort… a church that is under His wing and in His love shielding us from the searing heat of the sun, the false attraction of the moonlight. If we know the source of where our help comes, we need not fear the shifting shadows of our minds. The Body of Christ united will be our shade, protection and song. But, Will We Act Like We Know Where Our Help Comes From?
Scripture: I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.
Psalm 121:1-8 (NRSV)
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
Acts 4:32-35 (NRSV)
Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he came by. A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.
Acts 5:12-16 (NRSV)
Message: There are certain basic things that must be gotten clearly in mind if one is to comprehend the marvelous message of hope in Psalm 121. First, it is one of the keys to the Song of Ascents that includes Psalms 120-134. In the second place this psalm is cast in the form of a dialogue, which was to be sung in the services of the Temple as an antiphonal hymn, that is, responsive singing. Interestingly, Psalm 121 has a tradition related to birth. It is a Jewish tradition to put a copy of the scripture with young children as they grow up and with women in labor. Its relevance for Lent is that it was likely sung on the pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Including quite possibly with Jesus and his disciples as they walked along the Kidron Valley toward the Place of the Passover… and Calvary. Its message asks this question, “Where do you turn when you need help?” The answer is God. Friends, because our God is great we should rejoice in His power, recognize His judgment, reflect on God’s wisdom, and request His help to see and submit to His plan for us. That is the prayer that is always answered. You can always count on Jesus when it comes to love. He thinks about us even though we are so small and unworthy. He looks at us with the desire to make us into children of God. He calls us to be part of His forgiven family. He is praying for us right now pleading our case before the Father. He answers the desires of our hearts to repent and to be faithful to His will. He forgives us. He protects us. He supplies us. He cares for us. He loves us. He loves us. He loves us. He loves us no matter what. He loves us in the good times and the bad times. He loves us so much so that we can trust Him to be there for us…to be our sustainable source of strength… providing exactly what we need. From where does our help come? It comes from the Spirit of Jesus.
And So, even if we have doubts, like Thomas, when it comes to believing in the power of the Gospel and the power of sharing in unity we still need to act in faith for the good of others. We do doubt, like Thomas, when it comes to believing in the power of the Gospel and the power of sharing in unity. Multiple times Jesus faced the condition in people where they believed that they did not have enough…. enough information…enough money… enough food. We see it in the story of the loaves and fishes. The disciples saw the problem. They did not have enough food and yet Jesus tells them to give the people something to eat. The pattern is clear in other scriptures as well. The fact is that God knows what we do not have already. Because all that we have is given by him. So really, God is asking us to stop worrying about what we do not have enough of and focus on what we can do with what we have already. All of us have the tendency to focus on what we do not have enough of. And something in our hardwiring makes us always want more than what we need. We hold back ourselves because we think we do not think we have enough of time, or money or skills or talent or popularity or energy. And this can apply to us doing things collectively for God too. The fact is all of us worry about what we do not have, forgetting the power of the resurrected Christ. Friends, embrace the grace and step on in faith to believe.
Pray we realize that God is interested in what we do with what we have. Pray we realize that money is trapped energy and only has potential until used. Pray we focus on what we have and what we can do with it. Pray that we learn that the miracle of sharing multiples our love and is meant to help us learn to believe. Pray we learn to serve Christ out of our own comfort zone. Pray we have faith to build community of love with one heart and one soul in Christ. Pray we feed Christ’s sheep. Pray we experience the grace of generous giving. Pray we bear one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Pray that Christ is closer than that our shadows. Pray that we are afforded the shade from the scorching rays of the sun. Pray that under His shadow we may sit with delight and assurance. Pray that we are called from the earthly shadows of our life into the light of a relationship with Jesus who became our sin so we might live. Pray that we believe that our help comes from prayer with the Lord. Pray we trust in the Lord. Pray that as children of God we gain a vision of the will of God…a vision of the love of God. Pray that we lift our eyes up to the Lord. Pray that we believe in our hearts that He can and will save us if we but ask. Pray that we repent… trust …serve. Pray that we allow the Lord to have His way with us. Pray that we stand firm in His love. Pray that when we walk with God in the shadow of the valley of death we will discover far more than we ever even knew to ask. Pray that on our journey with Jesus we sing a song of hope responsively.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 