July 8, 2020
For the next 15 days we will be reading through the Psalms of Ascent together as a church! The Psalms of Ascent are a collection of 15 psalms (Psalms 120-134) that pilgrims would sing on their way up to Jerusalem to worship. These songs are meant to instruct and prepare the hearts of the traveler to worship the Lord! As sojourners and aliens in this world, we too need to have our hearts prepared for and instructed in the worship of our God. Let’s meditate on these psalms and allow the Spirit of the Lord to move us to true worship as we seek Him together!
In this psalm the pilgrim disciple recalls the faithfulness of the Lord, that He has not allowed Israel’s many oppressors and enemies to ultimately prevail over them. He then turns and asks God that no such oppressor would ever prevail over Israel but would instead be put to shame in their purposes against God’s people.
This is the story of God’s people! There are many who have come against the church throughout the course of history. Though it is easy for us to not see it in our culture and context, there are many in the world coming against God’s people even now, and there will yet be more in the future. We may be afflicted, but we have assurance that they will not prevail against us in the end. Victory is ours in Jesus Christ because He has gone before us and has already conquered!
The Lord is righteous and He has set us free from the oppression of the wicked. Let’s rejoice in that fact and remind ourselves of this victory no matter what may come against us!
Psalm 129
They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth
A Song of Ascents.
129 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”—
let Israel now say—
2 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,
yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed upon my back;
they made long their furrows.”
4 The Lord is righteous;
he has cut the cords of the wicked.
5 May all who hate Zion
be put to shame and turned backward!
6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops,
which withers before it grows up,
7 with which the reaper does not fill his hand
nor the binder of sheaves his arms,
8 nor do those who pass by say,
“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!
We bless you in the name of the Lord!”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Family Discussion Question:
- How does the victory and freedom that have been given us in Christ change the way that we see opposition or oppression against us on account of our faith?
God is faithful to his promises. Antisemitism is at a new height in America. But, God still curses those who curse Israel. “May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward!”
Whatever the difficulty or challenge we face today, God knows and will see us through.
Lord, we cling to you and draw strength from the power of Your Holy Spirit that lives within us. Thank you that You are our victor!
In Jesus’s name
Amen
Amen!
AMEN and HALLELUJAh!!! Dear Lord please help us through this season in our lives. Strengthen us and get us through the corona virus and the hate that we are seeing in our country. Please take this virus away. Please heal those who have this horrible disease. Please comfort those who have lost family and friends due to this virus. Help us to be strong and faithful to you. In Jesus name I pray Amen
Good morning Lord!
Thank you for today.
“If God be for us who can be against us.” Romans: 8: 31
Amen!
Dear Heavenly Father,
Our world is in chaos right now more than ever. There is hatred, disease, opposition, violence, lies, and so much more . It makes our hearts sad and yet, we , as believers, have faith that this will all be abolished in Your timing. You are not shocked by this. You saw it coming. That’s why You have made a way through belief in Jesus Christ to save us from this. By living with Christ we are able to tune out the “noise” and lift our eyes ” to the hills” from where comes our strength while we are waiting for You to come again. I know You have already conquered the world. The end has already been written. We are just waiting to leave the auditorium. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
We are waiting for Your return. In Your precious and Holy name, I pray. Amen.
We must never forget our hope in Christ’s return. Thank you Lord Jesus for winning this battle over evil. Thank you Lord for your salvation and provision. We ask dear Lord to strengthen our missionaries in their battle for souls – protect them from the evil one – hear their prayers and surround them with encouragement.
Thank you for prevailing and allowing our churches in our country to open – so that we can worship you the most high God together as a family. Thank you for providing the internet waves to bring our worship services to our home. Thank you Lord for this provision to hold us together in our battle against this virus.
Please continue to strengthen each of us as we work tirelessly to ‘populate heaven and depopulate hell’ as Pastor Trammel states. Please bless our Pastors and staff – give them wisdom in the handling of our church affairs. May our body of Christ bring you the honor and praise! Amen.
Father, you created the heavens and the earth. Praise your Holy Name. Rebuke the evil one. May the blessings of the Lord be on each who read these words. God, you are good – all the time. Thank you. Amen
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
There is so much to be thankful for! Our freedom of worship, our daily provision both physical and spiritual, most of all our hope of the second coming of our Lord Jesus to take us to be with Him forever. I take courage in the fact that what we face today is nothing compared to what we will have throughout eternity. Our struggles and challenges today as believers are nothing compared to what the 1st century believers went through. For preaching in the name of Jesus, they were persecuted, imprisoned, beaten, and stoned to death. So, I thank God because, whatever situation we are in, He has already given us the victory through His Son Jesus Christ!
That is true of Christians who live in US but not in other parts of the world
We had a missionary tells us in are LG how a man was beating severely speaking about his faith in Jesus in another country.
Because we have the Holy Spirit in us and the Lord all around us, we are able to face the opposition that is so prevalent in the world today. My life verse that the Lord gave me many years ago, James 1:2-4 has been a reminder that greater is He Who is in me than he who is in the world. We serve a God that hears our every prayer and cry of our heart. Praise His Holy Name!!
As believers in Jesus Christ, we are on the winning team and we don’t lose. Therefore, we should have no fear and not get caught up in the chaos and evil of this world. Keep our eyes on the prize and continue to pray and share the gospel. That is our purpose.
I’ve heard it said, that our story as Christians, has a happy ending. So if our story is not happy, it’s just not the end yet. Thank you Lord for revealing truth to us now, to sustain us during challenging times.