Mid-Day Devotion 10/19/09

St. John the Evangelist at Patmos, Velazquez, 1618

“And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Revelations 7:13-14

The great tribulation, the great affliction amidst this world of toil and trial, hardship and despair…

We look at this temporal existence that surrounds us as we abide in this corporeal existence and we are left with a deep longing in our souls as our spirit seems to be crushed. We know pain and suffering, we feel adversity and agony, we see sorrow and troubles, as we hear the cries of those who are left in nothing but their own anguish to weep and sigh. There is darkness and grief, torture and torment in the challenges of this world. Joy is fleeting and peace elusive as we are left to wonder why and what for? As the afflicted are left in the gloomy places, in their grim estate we are left with this deep yearning as the tears run down our cheeks, and all that seems to be left to us is to call out for the Lord in His mercy and His compassion.

We want to believe, we need to believe that there is a reason and purpose for the unrighteousness, and the wickedness, the sin and iniquity that would take men and women captive with no thought or consideration to who they are, with no belief that there is anything value or worth in their lives. We want to believe there is some sort of rationale that would lead to the persecution of the weak and the trafficking of the innocent, as their flesh is bought and sold, as their bodies are used and beaten, as if there was no dignity or integrity in their lives. We want to believe because it just doesn’t make sense, it all seems so stupid or foolish or vain.

There is, after all, no other way to explain the vanity of men who would subjugate and oppress, who would let such evil guide their way and path in this world, holding humanity cheap as they rob all the goodness from a person’s life, as if it was never even there to begin with, as if it held nothing of any intrinsic value to begin with. It is a abiding sense of hatred that directs their life, and, as much as we may not be able to understand it, it affects all of our lives in the most significant of ways. It touches our spirits and our souls in the most substantial of ways. After all we may not be in the same bondage, we may not be held amidst the same captivity, yet we know that Satan, he is at work in this world, seeking to chain all people to his wickedness and iniquity, to rob us all of our peace and comfort.

His tools may be different in the lives of people, it may vary from spirit to spirit, from soul to soul, but he is at work in this world like a roaring lion seeking to devour us, like a slithering serpent seeking to deceive us. Whether through illness or poverty, disease or destitution, plague or pestilence he is at work through all things to try and ensnare us in his traps. The difference is that through the persecution and the troubles of the captives and slaves, the hostages and the prisoners we see the full manifestation of his evil in this world.

If this was all that we were to know, if this was all that we were to see or to feel or to understand we would live in such grim estate, in such abiding darkness that would overtake and overshadow us amidst this temporal existence. Yet there is hope…

There is always hope…

In the words of the hymn today we heard the glorious promise of the Lord. It is the same triumphant promise that our text today proclaims in the words of the Evangelist John who saw that great vision of the final days play out before his very eyes. Whatever affliction may come, whatever tribulation we may know there is a God above who loves and cares for His people, a Heavenly Father who abides with them throughout all of the challenges and the trials that they face. He is a loving God who shows compassion and mercy to them all of the days of their lives through the kindness and the grace that He has for them. And through the washing flood of Jesus’ blood He reconciles the poor and the afflicted, the hurt and troubled to Him, that even though they may face persecution and hardship, toil and pain, anguish and agony they shall stand before the throne of light in perfect robes of white, their souls cleansed as they dwell forever in God’s love.

Through the love of the Lamb there is an inevitable triumph that comes as he declares victory over the roaring lion and the hungry wolf that would seek to devour us all. It is a triumph of the spirit and the soul and one that can never be taken away from us, regardless what the world may throw at us. Perhaps it is our fate to be despised and scorned amidst this life, perhaps it may be our fate to know the disdain and the hatred of wicked men who work their wicked ways. Yet in the love of God shall we forever know the liberty and the freedom that the Spirit brings as it works for the cause of justice in this world.

Therefore despair not in the misery of this world and do not give up hope, do not lose heart amidst the agony and the desolation that we see amidst this present age and this current day, for these things are fleeting and they shall soon fade from existence as God shows us the path on high to the glory of His kingdom. Feel not the hurt and the pain, the suffering and the sorrow even as it seems to wash through you, the captivity and the bondage of this world shall pass and there will come a day when all those who rejected the power that this worlds slavery tried to assert over them shall stand with the blessed legions of martyrs and saints whom the Lord has drawn now close to Him. Then shall we forever and always sing salvations wondrous and miraculous refrain.

Pray for the hostages and the prisoners, the captives and the slaves, pray for all who are held in any bondage throughout this present age, and know that, whether it is in this world or the next, God shall finally grant them the peace that they have so longed for and that has remained so allusive to them. He shall, through the power of His Spirit, draw them close to Him in the love that He has for them, holding them tight even as it seems as if they are washed away to drown in this world, in this generation, by the forces of hatred and iniquity. This is never the end of the story, this is never the end of God’s grace.

Keep your faith and hold on to that abiding trust through all things, in all things, according to the wondrous love and the blessed promises He has made, knowing that He is ever faithful and ever devoted to the cause of His people, constant as a guiding star to guide us through this world once more to our Heavenly home in safety and in Love. Never, dear brothers and sisters, lose hope in that, for He shall be there always and forever for you, showing His grace in the times of His children’s greatest of needs in wisdom and in truth.

In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Mid-Day Devotion 10/16/09

The Israel Stele, 19th Dynasty Egypt

1 The fool says in his heart,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;
there is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven
on the sons of men
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
3 Everyone has turned away,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
4 Will the evildoers never learn—
those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on God?
5 There they were, overwhelmed with dread,
where there was nothing to dread.
God scattered the bones of those who attacked you;
you put them to shame, for God despised them.
6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
Psalm 53

Throughout their history, throughout their existence and their time, there is very little that the children knew beside from captivity. There were moments of peace and comfort, there were moments of joy and happiness, of freedom and liberty as they lived their lives, and yet it was only a matter of time before some warring tribe, some foreign enemy came upon them to kidnap their people and to make them slaves. We read the story of Abraham having to go and rescue Lot, or we read the story of Joseph being cast into the pit and sold as a slave. The children of Israel, slaves in Goshen, in Egyptian territory, as the Egyptian taskmasters whipped them and held mercilessly. Tale after tale, story after story.

David, even David, sitting on the throne of Israel, the mighty, he knew it, for he was the hero of the Israelites, he was the hero of his people, whom God had chosen to deliver the people from another potential captivity as the Philistines had stood before the armies of Saul, threatening to make slaves of them under the command of their champion, Goliath. And yet by the hand of the Lord, by the might of the Lord, they were delivered from that potential captivity, they were delivered from that potential slavery, just as God had delivered them each and every step of the way throughout their history, from Abraham rescuing Lot to Moses delivering the Israelites out of the hands of the Egyptians. Each and every step of the way, He was there for them, He was in their lives, so that evil would not befall them, so that those who say that there is no God, those who dwell in their own unrighteousness, those who would abandon God and His path, those who would abandon the Lord and His divine righteousness and His gracious precepts, would not be able to triumph over them or to stand over them, to tear them apart, to rip them apart. And what a wonderful blessing, what a blessed comfort that had to be to them as they knew so much pain and suffering, so much agony and anguish in their lives.

Just as the Lord our God protected the children of Israel in those trying times of trial and tribulation, of suffering and pain, so too now does He walk beside His children, so too does He stand with His children even as they find themselves in the most brutal of captivities, the most bitter of estates, as they find that hardship is all around them and struggle is before them. For the Lord does not allow captivity to stand. He is the spirit of liberty, He is the spirit of freedom, who works with a divine sense of justice against unrighteousness, against wickedness, against iniquity, against hatred and fear and loathing, against that slavery that would bind the hearts and the souls, the spirits and the bodies of men. God does not let it stand for all ages, in all ages, through all time. Instead, what He does do is show that He is at work, weaving together the rescue of His people as He finds them in the dark, hidden places, as He finds them in places of captivity where they are held, where they are so persecuted, where they are shown nothing but brutality, but He draws them closer, showing that His love and His mercy, His compassion and His grace transcends the ages and transcends time itself in all places and through places, according to His love and mercy.

And what a blessed assurance that truly is, not just for the people who are held by pirates and by terrorists, by tyrants and dictators, but for each and every one of us, for you see, Satan tries to work his captivity over each and every person, to inflict them in the most harsh of ways, in the basest of deceptions and the basest of evil and wickedness. He tries to work his captivity in us so that he can destroy each and every one of us, yet the ultimate destruction goes to him and to those who do his bidding in this world, those who work his will in this world even if they don’t recognize it at the time they are doing it. For you see, we have a faithful assurance, a blessed promise that comes through the word of the Lord: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Through Jesus Christ our Savior, captivity was taken captive and we were all ransomed by the glorious and wondrous power of the Cross.

There is no captivity, no deception, no situation that God cannot rescue His people from, if we just put our hope and our reliance on Him, knowing that He is working His will and His way, that He is delivering us from evil, just as He promised unto us that He would, even from the earliest of days. Place your hope and your trust in those promises, in those assurances, that great and encompassing love and know that you will never be disappointed, for as He was with David, as He was with Moses, so too shall He be with you all the days of your life, never failing you or forsaking you, letting no man, no evil stand against you all the days of your life.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Mid-Day Devotion 10/15/09

Saul Attacking David, Guercino, 1646

“For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them. Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.”
2 Samuel 7:22-23

The days and the weeks, the months and the years since David left the pastures and the fields where he tended and cared for his father’s flock couldn’t have been anything he had expected. His life twisted and turned in so many significant ways. Once the great hero of the Valley of Elah as he slew the giant Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, it was not long before Saul viewed him as a threat to his power and his rule. He would look upon him with scorn and contempt, sending David into exile as he fled to places where the King’s long arm could not reach him. He knew that to stay was to risk capture, and, in that captivity, to forfeit his life.

Yet the Lord did not let that happen. He had plans for the life of His servant and He would not just give David to the hands of His enemies that his days would draw to a close, the life crushed from his lungs. He would not just abandon the same boy he had shown so much favor to in the Valley of Elah, forsaking him now in the present struggles and the current ordeals that sought to rob the life from him. He would guide him, He would protect Him, He would shelter him even as it seemed like everything he knew was coming to an end and soon so would he. There was one faithful assurance, one blessed trust that he could put all of his hope in. The Lord, his God, was by his side even in the darkest of days that now enveloped his life.

Now… now as David gave his praises to the Lord, as he called out to Him, it would not be in agony or in pain, it would not be in suffering or in trials, it would not be amidst his plight and his despair. No, for now he wore the crown of Israel, sitting upon the throne of the mighty in the halls of power, ruling over the people of God as their king. From the dank, grim caves he hid in as Saul hunted for him, to royal palace in all of its splendor the Lord had guided David all of the days of his life, showing him that He had a grand design and a wondrous plan for his life even when it seemed like everything in this world would have weighed down and crushed him amidst the heavy burdens that overtook him.

Perhaps, at moments, the young David had wondered, after all he raised up his voice crying out to the Lord and His mercies on more occasions than he perhaps now cared to remember. He was left to feel the hurt and the misery of what had seemed to be such a hopeless estate. There were times when it had to feel like there was no light at the end of the tunnel for which he could look upon and chart the course of his spirit towards. Yet, even as the spirit seemed amidst desolation and despair, the soul… the soul, God strengthened and preserved until that time when David could see the fullness of God’s plan for him.

The hope and the trust, the faith and the belief that David had in his confidence in the Lord would never be disappointed. As he relied on God with all of his expectations, placing all of his fears and his doubts, all of his hurt and sorrow, all of his grief and agony at His feet, he shown that God does not just abandon His people, nor does He just leave them to their suffering. As he once proclaimed to Saul, “The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee” (1 Samuel 17:37) so now the Lord once more showed him in his life.

The nature of God and the love that He has for His people, it does not change. The mercy and the compassion that He shows, it does not just fade away as one generation fades to the next or one age gives way to another. As He was there for David, guiding him all of the days of his life, protecting and sheltering him through all that He faced and all that He knew so too does He guide the lives of His people in the present age and in the current world. He is there showing His devotion and His grace, giving strength to them in their hour of need and saying unto them that He has a plan and a design for their lives.

Like it was for David, it is perhaps hard at times, in a world so prone to chaos and suffering, to see that plan or to see those designs. As evil seems to be on the rise and wickedness on the march it is perhaps hard to believe that God could possibly be there working His will and His ways. There is a brutal captivity in this temporal existence that seeks to make slaves of men and women, and rob them of their lives and their assurances. It comes in many forms, from the captivity of tyrants and terrorists who subjugate and murder, persecute and hold hostage, and the slavery of those who rob the innocence and the life from their victims, to the captivity of the spirit and the body that the Devil inflicts through sickness and poverty and disease and pestilence and addiction. There are just so many ways that the old Adversary, through his corruption and iniquity, seeks to ensnare us all.

We see the signs of this struggle and this despair in the world all around as we battle not just the worldly wickedness, and pray not just for those taken prisoner and captive in far off lands, but for all who are held in captivity throughout the world regardless of what that captivity may be. There is so much agony and pain, so much suffering and sorrow and it just seems to be everywhere around us as challenges mark our way and turmoil guides our days.

Yet we have hope. We have a transcending, encompassing hope that surpasses all human knowledge, wisdom and understanding. It is the hope that we gain in our reliance in God and our faith that He shall be there to guide us through the days of struggle and hardship, pain and hurt. It is the confidence we have that He shall deliver us just as He delivered David. Through His Son, our Savior, Christ Jesus, we have been reconciled unto Him, delivered from the dark hold that sin, death and the Devil had over us. In that same love He guides us through all of the days of our life, shining His grace in our lives making us strong where we had been weak, and giving us courage where we found nothing but fear.

Regardless then of what the Devil may throw our way, regardless of what captivities may seek to grab a hold of us, regardless of what power this world may seek to assert over us, we know that in His love God is there for us through all that we are and all that we do. He has a plan for us, and He leads us to it according to His righteousness. There is nothing in this world or of this world, there is no evil or wickedness, no iniquity that can be inflicted that can separate us from that truth of His encompassing love and compassion, His overshadowing mercy and grace for His people.

Whatever then the world may bring, whatever captivity it may seek to ensnare you with, trust in the promises of the Lord and the wonders of His love, knowing that He shall never fail you or forsake you. He will deliver and He will do so in strength even when it seems like all of the courage has fled from us. This we shall always know, this we shall always have hope in and it is a wondrous blessing of freedom and liberty for our spirits that will forever guide our souls to the promises of His assurances for our life.

In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Mid-Day Devotion 10/13/09

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
Jeremiah 29:11

To have lived amidst the trials and the tribulations of the prophet Jeremiah, those dark, mournful days of struggle and adversity where his life was held in such contempt, the hands of his enemies forever seeming to be raised against him in the challenges that we before him. He would cry out as the grim and somber reminders of his life given to the great battles for his faith were all around him. It would almost seem as they were ready to swallow him whole as they overshadowed him. You could hear the sorrow in his voice as he wondered about his every existence, feeling the gloom and the despair almost overtake him, leaving him with nothing more than the shattered frame of a broken spirit and a crushed soul.

It was wickedness and iniquity that he saw all around him as men turned from God’s law, from God’s path to pursue their own selfish ambition and self righteousness. They worshipped at the feet of idols that we blind to the evil that they could do and that we deaf to the cries of those whom they afflicted. They gave their lives over to their own lusts and desires that would burn inside of them and bring pain to whomever they touched, destroying whatever they set themselves upon. Their fall may have been complete yet they seemed as if their strength was unmatched as they lifted themselves up above all else in creation.

To be called amidst these days wore at Jeremiah, as he felt the life and the energy drain from him. His heart was wounded by the hurt that could be inflicted by one man against another and on the Lord their God as the people turned so quickly from Him. His life was taken into his own hands as people of power and wealth, influence and authority rose up against him. They sought his death, his demise, as they plotted and schemed against this servant of God and the call to righteousness that escaped from his lips to their ears. There was nothing but pain and agony, hurt and sorrow in this world, in this temporal existence for Jeremiah.

Yet, from the Lord, the same God who knew him whilst he was still in the womb, and laid out His grand design and plan for him (Jeremiah 1:5) there would come a promise. Looking to the life and the struggles that were before Him God would not turn His eyes from him. He would not, like the idols of this world, look upon him with eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear and lips that could not speak. He would know the plight and the struggle, the trial and the turmoil that was before him and He would give His Spirit unto Him, standing beside him, walking beside him all of the days of his life with a compassion and a mercy, a love and a peace that would transcend all human understanding, all worldly wisdom and knowledge.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

The world that Jeremiah knew is not that different from the world that we know. We look around us and we see evil on the rise, we see wickedness on the march and we know that there are men of brutal iniquity seeking to set the world ablaze. They bow before the gods and the idols that they create in their own image that somehow make their hatred and their contempt for their fellow man alright as they bind them in the dark chains of bitter slavery and captivity. They rob the innocence from our children, and the life from our people with no thought or consideration beyond their own self righteousness and selfish ambition as they bring nothing more than hurt and pain with their steps.

And like Jeremiah, we are called to do more than just watch, we are called to do more than just look upon their acts and their actions, then turn from it, no longer to see or to hear what it is that is actually going on. We are called to do more than just pretend as if whatever it is, whatever it may be, it’s all just alright as suffering and oppression are used as weapons of brutality. Whatever the risk, whatever the challenge, regardless of the trials that may be faced, we are called to do more than just sit back from places of safety and comfort as such great evil is done in this world.

In faith and by faith we are called to be the messengers of God, to proclaim His word and His commands, to proclaim His love and His direction. Ours is to be advocates for the freedom and the liberty that He declares through His Word and His grace. Never ignoring the plight and the struggle of those held in the dark and hidden places of captivity ours is a calling to be the voice of those whose cries are muffled by the bleak and sorrowful places where they are kept. Ours must be to announce the justice and the judgment of the Lord, telling those that take prisoners and hostages, captives and slaves that their way is not His way and their will is not His will, that their self righteousness shall be met with the righteousness of the Lord and it shall find that theirs shall not stand.

Perhaps it is a struggle that is hard at times as we find that it seems like our words fall on deaf ears, or that the challenges still seem like they are before us. Yet we can always take confidence, we can always have trust in the knowledge that God is ever devoted and ever vigilant, contending forever with the cause of His people. He never fails them or forsakes them, He never abandons them or leaves them to the paw of the loin or the mouth of the wolf, to be devoured by this world. In His mercy He is there for them, giving them His Spirit and sheltering them with His wings.

Draw comfort and peace in that knowledge even as the days of struggle and turmoil trial and hardship are before you, knowing that just as He spoke unto Jeremiah so too does He speak unto us, telling unto His people “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” It is then that we know that we have lived according to the calling of the Lord and the design that He has for our lives even amidst the greatest of struggles for the cause of His people. It is then that we know that we have, through the power of His Spirit, shown the strength that He has given unto us for the deeper service we are to offer unto our fellow man in the greatest of challenges that threaten to crush their spirit and their soul.

Regardless of the trials and the turmoil, regardless of how hard the days may seem, draw comfort from that assurance, knowing there shall come a day when God’s justice shall come to bear and the victory shall be claimed by His Holy and righteous hand regardless of the power those wicked men of brutal iniquity may seem to hold in their hands. God shall be the ultimate authority, and we the vessels, and the instrument of His word and His will in this world through all of the days of our life.

Live therefore in that service, in that love, taking your comfort in the Lord, knowing that He shall guide even the most lost of souls, even the most captive of spirits to the blessed air of freedom through His divine precepts and wondrous blessings, of which this world has no strength or supremacy over.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end, Amen.

Mid-Day Devotion 10/12/09

David Playing the Harp, Marc Chagall, 1956

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.”
Psalm 27:1-5

There is an ancient and transcending belief. It is one that carried prophets and kings, saints and apostles, disciples and martyrs for generations. It guided their lives and their paths according to the wonders and the righteousness that could come to encompass their lives in even the harshest of times, even in the most difficult of challenges while it seemed like darkness surrounded them. Their bodies bruised and broken, their frame left crumbled on the ground, their life held cheap by their enemies as they raised their hands against them in brutal oppression and subjugation, they knew one fundamental and basic truth. It would be a hope and a faith that would carry them through all the days of their lives.

They knew that there was God who presided from above. He was not just some far distant deity who watched from isolated places, from desolate locations, unable or unwilling to intervene in the plight and the struggle of men. He did not just sit atop a perch somewhere on some lonely mountain, watching as events unfolding, indifferent to the cries and the calls of those who were in need, those who found themselves held in dark places. He did not just let pain and agony, anguish and hurt, suffering and sorrow encompass their life until there was nothing left for them but the grim realities of this mortal existence. He did not just let the grim and brutal grief of this temporal plane overshadow their lives as they dwelt amidst the torment of another man’s hand raised against them.

He was the light of their salvation, the strength of their lives. When the wicked rose against them, seeking to devour them when they stumbled, when their enemies rose up against them in the darkest of days to destroy them their God would never forsake them or abandon them. He would never leave them to the evil devices of iniquities grim hold over their lives. Devoted to them in the love that He had for His children He would guide them and lead them according to His righteousness all of the days of their lives. This would be His faithful assurance to them as His love was made manifest in their lives through His grace according to His great compassion and mercy.

Perhaps they were not perfect men and women. Who amongst any of us are? We all sin and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23) our righteousness reliant solely on His righteousness, our salvation based solely on that which is granted through His Son, our Savior Christ Jesus. Yet to our Heavenly Father, that was inconsequential, as He guided and sheltered the life of His people, protecting them against the transgressions of their fellow man as they sought to oppress. His love, undeserved, yet inalterable, would offer to them all that they needed even as their world seemed to come crumbling down all around them and they were left to feel the deep gnawing of the impending chaos all around them.

Never willing to abide with the slavery and the captivity of His people at the hands of wicked and brutal transgression as iniquity and pain marks their way the Lord God Almighty contended with their cause in their time of need and the hour of their adversity. He was there through all things, in all things, for those who placed their hope and trust in Him even when it seemed like all they would know was hurt and pain.

As He promises “I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed” (Malachi 3:6) so the Lord delivers.

The Lord, our God, is unchanging through the ages, and though we may live in a different world or a different generation than that age when the Psalm was first written we know that the words spoken are just as applicable today as they were in days gone by. He is there for the cause and the struggle of His people, He is there contending with their plight and their turmoil through even the times of greatest challenge and harshest adversity. He is there showing His light and His love as He proves that He is just as powerful, just as strong in this world today as He has been in days gone past.

This is the hopeful assurance, the blessed promise that the people of God, wherever they may be, whomever has a hold on them, can trust all of the days of their lives. They can place their faith and their trust in the words that He has always spoken unto them, tell them to abide in courage and strength for He walks beside them all of the days of their life. There is no wickedness, no iniquity, no evil that can be left standing when it comes up against the power and the might of the Lord, our Heavenly Father. He shall set it to flight as He ransoms His people even in the harshest of times, even in the deepest of challenges that now seem to so encompass and overshadow their lives.

Perhaps it may seem as evil is on the rise and the days of darkness are long and full of hurt and sorrow. Yet through His love and by His mercy God shall show that He is there to make way the path on high. There the march of evil and the onset of this torment shall be put to a halt as He makes His will and desire known and proves Him to be a Just God who believes in the cause of liberty and freedom throughout the world.

This is a love then that all of people can put their hope and trust in all of the days of their life, knowing that though it may seem as if the struggle is great and the challenges are enormous, He shall be there as the transformative power of liberation and emancipation in their life, abolishing the authority of the wicked and their brutal oppression as they seek to assert their evil on this world. He shall be there to show that He does not contend with their cause and that their will is not His will, their way is not His way. Just as Christ set to flight the dark bondage of our captivity to sin, death and the Devil so too shall God break the grim chains that would seek to hold prisoners and hostages, slaves and captives in this world according to the wickedness of man’s iniquity and corruption.

It will be then that, like David, we shall too be able to sing our praises to the Lord, knowing that He has heard our cries and our calls for justice and that He has delivered according to His compassion and love, His mercy and His grace. It is then that, like the host of saints and martyrs, who have come before, know that God’s triumph shall be the ultimate victory of the soul and the spirit even against all of the challenges and the struggles of this world and in this world.

Lord, grant this unto us all…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Mid-Day Devotion 10/8/09

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
Galatians 5:1

There is freedom that comes from the cross, a blessed and wondrous freedom that can only come from the salvation that was granted in Christ Jesus and his encompassing sacrifice that was made at the heights of Calvary as he died for us and all of our sins. Once where we were held in the dark bondage of slavery to sin, death and the Devil, the Messiah came, the Son of God was made man, and he set captivity captive as he ransomed each and every one of us, freeing us from that yoke that once held us in such dark and meager estates.

But then, as it was triumphantly proclaimed, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

By God’s grace, by Christ’s love, by the Spirit’s power, life is valued and preserved through the compassion that is freely shown unto each and every one of our Heavenly Father’s precious and beloved children. It is the wondrous miracle of hope, the amazing blessing of liberty that is granted through the precious blood of the Lamb that washes us clean. The bitter slavery that would chain us in our iniquity and our sins would be broken, no longer to have any power or authority over us as we came to know that there is a God in Heaven who is forever there for us and for our freedom through any and all of the challenges that we face in our life.

Knowing that do not have the strength to go it alone or to do it by ourselves, He, in the most significant of ways, showed that we never have to but that instead there was a purpose and a love that was in our lives that would guide us through the darkest chapters of it. No longer did we have to abide in fear wondering about the inevitable time of our deaths, no longer did we have to live scared believing that there was no hope in our lives as we felt the courage and the strength drain from us, knowing it will only be a matter of time before the old Adversary, in his wicked contempt, would come to claim us. We were reconciled to the Lord by the power of His light cutting through the darkness in our lives as Christ made way the path to righteousness and the Spirit led us down it.

If this is then the love that God showed us in even the greatest of challenges, if this is the power that the Lord demonstrated even in the heaviest times of trial and adversity, how much devotion He had for us even as we found ourselves so lost and hurt, then how much more authority does He demonstrate against the forces of evil and wickedness in this world as it seems to be on the rise, marching forward, setting the world ablaze in the chaos that it seeks to inflict? If this is the might of the Lord during those dark and trying times then can it really be thought that as the captives and the slaves, the prisoners and the hostages held amidst this world are going to be left to the wickedness of brutal oppression and spiteful subjugation?

The Lord God Almighty is a God of freedom who does not let His children suffer in captivity and slavery, as their lives are held cheap by the forces of evil working their wicked ways amidst this world. He is a God of freedom who has liberty in His hand and justice in His will, always and forever moving as a force for good as He shows that He is the ever present, ever vigilant strength that moves through this world, bringing the dream of freedom to fruition through the power of His might. He does not abandon His people in their hour of need, nor does He forsake them to the yoke of slavery or the bondage of captivity as they find the life is choked from them by those who would hold them in such grim estate.

The Lord God Almighty is a God of deliverance who does not just turn a blind eye when the evil is on the rise and their wickedness is on the move, using iniquity and transgression to oppress their fellow man in the most brutal, the most spiteful of ways. He does not let those who hold the life that He has created in His divine image so cheaply and without value stand as He shows that He is on the move, forever weaving Himself through the course of human events to work miracles in the lives of those who are chained amidst the hatred of contempt filled men letting their own sin rob the dignity from the lives of others. He does not fail those who are in such desperate places, nor does He just ignore their cries and their pleas as they find themselves in such places of despair and agony as misery overtakes their spirit and soul.

The Lord God Almighty is a God of mercy forever bond to the course and the destiny of His people as He looks upon their faces with compassion and kindness in the wondrous glory of His encompassing love. He is at work, moving through this world even as cruelty seems to be all around us and everything seems so cast amidst chaos, to show that He is there and that it is His power that has authority, not just in the present age but throughout all of the generations that have since come and gone. He does not just hide His face when the challenge is on and when pain and suffering seems to be so prevalent. Rather He is there to show that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. That light just happens to be Him, putting to flight the power and the grim hold of the darkness that would seek to so overshadow and imprison people in the brutality of the hard, harsh slavery that can be inflicted onto them.

This is the wondrous miracle of God’s great love and one that all people, in all places can put all their hope and their reliance on through the promises that the Lord has made. His assurances stand even when it seems like everything around us is collapsing. It is then that His great compassion shows itself, contending with the plight of those who are held in captivity, knowing nothing more than darkness that can be afflicted against them. He is there, through the darkness to shine His light and His truth, His righteousness and His mercy showing Himself to be the Deliverer with liberty pouring forth from His hands.

And so even as the challenges seem great, even as the struggle may now seem as if it was on us, put your hope and your faith in the Lord, that God of freedom who works His will and His ways amidst this world, knowing that He will show forth His love in all things, through all things according to the great mercy that He has. Just as Christ has delivered the people from sin, ransoming that lost and fallen race whose fate was so bitterly decided as they found themselves forever held in the dark bondage of slavery to sin and iniquity as the Prince of this World asserted his dominance over us, so too now does God continue to show forth the same love against the ever present dangers that would seek to so ensnare us in this world and rob the life from them.

It is in that love, it is in that power that you can place all hope and reliance, in the faithful trust then that you have in the Lord. What a wondrous blessing that truly and richly is in all the struggles and ordeals, in all of the trials and turmoil of this world.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Ghost, Amen.

Mid-Day Devotion 10/6/09

“Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.”
Isaiah 26:4

Come what may, come what must, there is no force, there is no strength that can stand against the force or the might, the power or the authority of the Lord God Almighty. Come bitter captivity and brutal iniquity, against the will and the righteousness, the judgment and the Word of the Lord it shall have no ability to stand amidst the test of time. Come evil men in their wicked ways who act through their sinful hands to oppress and to subjugate their fellow man in fearful loathing and bitter hatred they have not the capacity to challenge the Lord God of deliverance who governs the affairs of men.

This is the faithful assurance of a loving God who, through His mercy and His compassion, contends with the cause of His children, a loving and faithful God who shows them that He shall forever by the rock in which they can anchor themselves even as evil seeks to sweep them away and drown them in a sea of affliction and pain, anguish and agony, suffering and torment. He shall be the ever present, ever vigilant force for freedom and liberty in this world as He shows that there is justice in His hands and grace in His works, forever contending with the cause of His people for the sake of their righteousness.

So much so has He shown this that even as a lost and fallen humanity found itself in held by the dark power of sin, death and the Devil, kept in that captivity that would lead to the torment and the torture of the fiery pits of hell, He, through the power of that great and encompassing sacrifice, set us all free. Through Christ Jesus, His only Son, God made manifest His great love for mankind, as they were ransomed by that Cross and in that power. No longer held hostage to iniquity and transgression, by the old adversary who took them and held them in such gloomy, grim places. It was there, only there, that they found hope. A hope that could only come through the grace of God and the love of Christ as we were led by the power of the Spirit to the blessed air of liberty.

Just as He has set the soul free from all that would seek to assert its dominance over it, all that would seek to hold it amidst the chaos and the torture that could be inflicted against it, so too does He now do battle against all that would strive to hold the body and the mind, all that would seek to break the heart and crush the spirit amidst this world as evil men try to work their wicked ways. He sets Himself to the cause of the prisoner and the captive, the slave and the hostage, showing that though this world may favor the strong, He shall always and forever favor the weak, never letting them, in their anguish, suffer through the hatred that holds their life to be cheap and without value or dignity, without any integrity attached to it.

He shall always and forever favor the weak, showing them mercy and love, compassion and kindness, as He tells unto them, whispering gently into their ears, that they will never be given more than they can handle, and through His hand, even as it seems as if it is too much, too much for them to bear, He shall give them a means of escape, a way out as He leads them to righteousness.

What a promise that truly is, what a blessing that rightly must be seen as. For even when it seems like evil is on the rise and that the slow march of hatred seems to be gaining the ground we know that that is not just the end of the story, we know that that is not just how events will run its course. Even when darkness seems to be all around us, ready to engulf us and swallow us whole we know that there is more, that there is forever and always going to be more. God will work His will and work His ways throughout this world, putting such iniquity and wickedness to flight as His Spirit gives peace and comfort, grace and solace, soothing even the most troubled and afflicted, even the most tortured and tormented of souls.

As He walked with Moses, as He stood with David, as He contended with Elijah, as He held the hand of Isaiah, as He proved Himself with Christ Jesus, so too shall we see the light of life shining through when we put our faith and our trust in the power of the Lord and the promises that He has made in the devotion that He has for us. It is undying, unending, inalterable love that He shows and against it no hatred or fear, no loathing or detestable, repulsive behavior inflicted against our fellow man shall be able to stand.

What a blessed comfort and a wondrous assurance that truly is in the lives of all those who would be left to the hopeless and detestable state of captivity that would seek to destroy them and cast them away as if there was nothing of any value and importance about them, as if there was nothing significant in their lives, worth seeing or being respected, that should be honored or cherished .

Here then must we view the nature of God rightly, as the Rock of Salvation in which we can put all of our trust, all of our hope in, even as captivity comes, even as wicked men seem on the rise, even as evil tries to triumph, He shall move in and through this world, weaving Himself through the course of its events, showing that He is a God of righteousness and of mercy, a God of justice and a God of love, who shall always hold freedom and liberty in His hands, dispersing it to the lost and broken spirits that are in so much need of it.

Lord, grant this unto us all.

Now may the peace of the Lord, that transcending, encompassing peace, that peace that surpasses all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Mid-Day Devotion 10/5/09

Christ on the Cross, Peter Paul Reubens, 1627

“I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.”
Psalm 18:1-3

There are times of darkness, times of hardship and sorrow, agony and pain that hold the soul captive amidst this world as the spirit cries out and the body finds itself hurt and so wrought with pain, growing tired and weary in the challenges that it faces. There are times when the world, so prone to chaos, ceases to make sense and the trials and the tribulations seem so near, so overwhelming, so overshadowing as they break the heart and leave the shattered ruins of a person’s lives in its wake.

It is there that they long for some sort of comfort, for some sort of relief, as they find that their peace is ripped from their hands and their hurt has become so palpable, so real in their lives. Their voices may seem weak, almost as if a whisper or a whimper from their lips as they call out, but their cries are so loud, so real as they do, wondering where their help is, wondering if this is all that they have to expect in this life, wondering if they are going to be left to these gloomy, harsh and hard times that threaten to rob them of everything, even their life. They can’t help it as those same words called out by Christ seem to escape their lips “My God, my God, why hath thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

How could they not feel that amidst the desperation and the despair, amidst the destruction and the desolation that they see and feel and know so well?

Yet even amidst the darkness of brutal captivity and bitter tyranny, in whatever form it may take, there is hope. Even in the grim and harsh cruelty of the bondage that seeks to destroy the spirit and the soul, the body and the mind, as it tries to crush all that makes a person who they are, as it tries to lay to waste all that they dream of being, there is hope, and it is a wondrous, abiding hope that transcends the ages. In its hand it has the key to unlock the chains of slavery and lead captivity captive as it ransoms all the hostages and prisoners to evil and to wickedness who now find themselves in such evil and wicked places of iniquity, held within the grips of those dark forces in this world.

As we toil amidst this temporal existence and find ourselves in this earthly plane, there is always going to be the power that the wicked try to exert itself, there is always going to be a darkness and a chaos that they use as their weapons as they seek to set the world ablaze amidst the chaos that they reap and dwell off of. There are always going to be those who are ruled over by iniquity and hatred, fear and loathing as they hold humanity cheap and try to rob life of all of its dignity and its integrity.

Yet to live in faith is to abide in the undying and unending hope that there is an ever present help, an ever present force for good in this world that will end captivity and break the chains that would seek to bind us. It is to believe that there is an ever faithful and devoted power that contends with the cause and the plight of the people and never abandons them as they find them held by the contemptful forces of evil that can abide in this world. To live in faith is to find the hope that there is an inevitable triumph, and that to every crisis of the spirit, to every plight of the heart, every captivity that seeks to take people hostage, every captivity that seeks to ransom them off as if they were nothing more than a piece of property, or nothing of any real value or worth, there is a triumph. A triumph that comes to dwell amidst the people that shines a light through their souls as a beacon of hope.

That is to live in the hope, the strength and the truth of the Lord, and it will always and forever shelter His people in the shadow of His wings, according to His love and compassion, His mercy and His grace. He shall stand against the enemies that rise against His word and His people to show them that He is their strength and their deliverance in any and all things that they face.

What a wondrous blessing, what an amazing assurance it is that comes from the word of the Lord, as He proves Himself to be ever devoted, ever faithful to the cause of His people, regardless of the challenges they face, regardless of the trials and the turmoils that weighs deeply on them. There is no tribulation, there is no captivity, that He will let abide. He will set it all to flight as He draws His people close, holding them near and dear to His breast, as He gives them that comfort and that peace that they have so longed for, that they have so yearned for, through the power of His Spirit.

Therefore be strong and of good courage. Find strength and hope in the faith that you have in the Lord, knowing that He will never fail you or forsake you. He will never abandon you, He will never leave you, even as the wolves seek to devour, even as they seek to put an end to all your life and all that you had in it. God shall show His light and His truth, and His righteousness , and He shall lead His people down the path of His glory according to His grace and according to His name’s sake.

Through the power of Christ Jesus, His only begotten Son He proved that there is no power, no force in this world, of this world, or with this world that can stand against Him as he set His people free through that encompassing sacrifice that came at the Cross. No longer then were they held by the dark power of sin, death and the devil, but rather they were reconciled unto Him as He broke the chains of bondage and Christ led captivity captive. There may be we forever know that if this is the power of the Lord contending with the cause of His children, then how much more does He do for them amidst the pains and the trials of this world, as the iniquity of others tries to bring them pain, a pain that He has already released us from?

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Mid-Day Devotion 10/1/09

David, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1623-24

“David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.”
1 Samuel 17:37

It doesn’t matter, the challenge or the danger, the struggles or the adversity, the trial or the plight, there is no evil that can stand between the child of God and the love of the Lord that He has for them, for He is a God of deliverance that will always and forever contend with the cause of His people in all times, in all ages, throughout the world.

This was the faithful assurance that David, the young shepherd boy from Bethlehem, put so much hope in as he looked to the greatest of challenges that was now before him. He was about to march off, to go into the valley to face Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, who stood so tall and proud on the battle field, striking fear into the hearts of even the greatest of Israel’s warriors. The boy had no idea that this would set him on a journey where this would be only the first of His struggles. Saul, the King to with whom he now spoke to, would chase him through the ends of the nation, seeking his death as David was left to hide in the caves, his son Absalom would rebel against him when he would later take the throne.

He would be caught against trying days of hurt and pain that would seek to destroy him, that would search for ways to lay waste to his spirit and his soul as hope was robbed from him and courage seemed fleeting.

Yet there would never be a day when David would give up that fundamental and basic belief that he would utter first to King Saul as he prepared to stand against the enemy of his people and his God on that battlefield, knowing that the Lord would be by His side. Perhaps it defied logic and the reason. Perhaps it defied the wisdom of this world. After all, it was spears and swords that won the day, it was armor that protected the soldier in battle from death. Yet David would have none of these. He would be protected only by the armor of the Lord and the prayer that His sling would be steady and true in the moment of truth.

By all wisdom of this world, by all the knowledge of it, David should have died that day against Goliath, and his people should have been taken captive, to be made slaves to the Philistines as they were faced with the inevitable defeat that was to come.

They were not though. Faithful to His promises and His assurances, faithful to the hope that is placed in Him, the Lord stood by David, taking his fear and his doubt and casting it away, delivering him from the hands of the Philistines just as He had “delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear.” He contended with David’s cause, and even in the most trying of times He walked beside him in the same promises He made to Moses and to Joshua, whispering gently in His ear, “There shall not any man who will be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” (Joshua 1:5)

If the promise of the Lord, faithful and true, is that He will not change and that His people will not be destroyed, (Malachi 3:6) if the promise is that “Jesus Christ,” His son, our Savior, who delivers us from captivity of the Spirit and the Soul, is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), then we know that the same promises that God made unto David are the promises that He makes to His children today even amidst the days of trial and the times of struggle.

There are going to be days of challenge in this world as the forces of evil seek, through their wickedness, to take people prisoner and captive, to make them into hostages and slaves, as they laugh in the face of God and mock His righteousness and His truth through their actions. Like the Philistines they will seek to assert their dominance as they plan to take people and hold them in dark bondage. They work through this world and amidst it, asserting themselves on others and ripping their lives away from them, holding it to be cheap and without purpose or meaning, without value or integrity.

Yet God is there for His people, just as He was there for David, to deliver them from the hands of wickedness and unrighteousness, to deliver them from the dark forces of the world that would seek to hold them, that would try so desperately to destroy them. He does not just leave them amidst the dark hold of evil hands that grasp at them and choke them, draining the life and hope from them amidst their wickedness and iniquity, He does not just forget about them or say that the challenge is too hard or harsh, that the struggle is too great. He is there to shield them in His truth and His righteousness in these, their hours of greatest need, for the cause of their deliverance, in the mercy, the grace, the love and the compassion that He has for them.

So trust in the faithfulness of the Lord. Though we do not know the depth of the challenges that will be faced or the darkness that may be ahead, He shall always and forever contend blessedly with the cause of His children, offering to them hope and deliverance even in the darkest of days of trial and despair.

He is there forever, to blessedly contend with the cause of His children, offering them the miracles of His hand, for the cause of their freedom and liberty, for the cause of justice and righteousness, so that it may not fade upon this earth, among the maliced hearts and the wicked intent of unrighteous people who seek to work their will and their way, ignoring the plan of God, ignoring the love of God. He shall always and forever contend blessedly with the cause of His children, seeking their deliverance even as gloomy and dark days lay ahead, even as gloomy moments of trial and adversity, as struggle and despair lay before them, what feels like such a great weight and burden upon their soul. He will be there to lift it from them, to make light their way so that they will be delivered from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear. Just as He did for His servant David, so shall He do for His servants now, today, amidst this world.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Morning Prayer 10/1/09

Psalm 105:1-22

1 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.

2 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.

3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

4 Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always.

5 Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

6 O descendants of Abraham his servant,
O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.

7 He is the LORD our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.

8 He remembers his covenant forever,
the word he commanded, for a thousand generations,

9 the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.

10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant:

11 "To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion you will inherit."

12 When they were but few in number,
few indeed, and strangers in it,

13 they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.

14 He allowed no one to oppress them;
for their sake he rebuked kings:

15 "Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm."

16 He called down famine on the land
and destroyed all their supplies of food;

17 and he sent a man before them—
Joseph, sold as a slave.

18 They bruised his feet with shackles,
his neck was put in irons,

19 till what he foretold came to pass,
till the word of the LORD proved him true.

20 The king sent and released him,
the ruler of peoples set him free.

21 He made him master of his household,
ruler over all he possessed,

22 to instruct his princes as he pleased
and teach his elders wisdom.