GOD WITH US!
Today’s Reading: Psalms 120-124
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
This is the Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu (Gallicantu = “cock crow”). It’s a Roman Catholic Church located on the eastern slope of Mount Zion commemorating Peter’s triple rejection of Jesus on the night He was arrested. According to Christian tradition, the location of this church is also the original place of the House of High Priest Caiaphas. In the distance you can see the security fence that divides Israel from Palestinian territory. And even further you can see in the haze across the Jordan valley to the mountains of Moab in Jordan. We are reminded in today’s reading to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verses: Psalm 121:5-8
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 shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.
Here are five little Psalms with big content!
Psalm 120 is written by a person of peace who did not take vengeance against those who slandered him. We can learn from these words that we should take false accusations to the Lord in prayer!
Psalm 121 teaches us that God continually watches over us. This is one of several “Songs of Ascent” to be sung as pilgrims are climbing up the mountainside to its highest point on which Jerusalem is located. As they look up they are filled with faith and expectancy as they are facing the City of God!
Psalm 122 was sung after entering the gates of Jerusalem. They realize that worship in Jerusalem would continue to be possible only if the city continued to be secure, prosperous and peaceful!
Psalm 123 was sung as they approached the Temple. Now they are lifting up their eyes to behold the Lord Himself!
Psalm 124 is sung to describe God’s interventions over the years in miraculously protecting the people of God as long as they welcomed His help, knowing that He would not intervene on their behalf if they didn’t want Him to do so. We are created in the image of the One “who made Heaven and earth.” Human free will, given to people who are made in God’s image, means that we must call for His help so that He can respond without violating our free will!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, I lift up my eyes to You. I know that You hear me! Therefore, I pray that You will preserve me from all evil! I “pray for the peace of Jerusalem!” Have “mercy on us!” Thank You that I have escaped like a bird. You have broken the trap (snare), and I am free! I pray in the name of the One who is truly on my side, Jesus Himself! Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I may have shared this before but here goes the story. My father, Roy Mainse, suffered 3 heart attacks after 21 years as a missionary in Egypt. His Doctor told him that he must return to Canada for any chance of recovering. A 300-mile car ride was necessary, from Assiut to Cairo, in the blazing June sun with no air conditioning. Dad was lying across the back seat (his nephew, Lorne Kenny was driving. Lorne for many years was the head of the Middle Eastern Studies Department at the University of Toronto). Dad told me that he felt he would faint in the intense heat. Somewhere on that trip Dad quoted out loud Psalm 121. Lorne confirmed this story to me several times. As Dad said the words of the old King James version (6a), “The sun shall not smite thee by day,” a small cloud came between the sun and the car. That cloud remained between the sun and the car for the remainder of the trip! My Dad and my cousin Lorne both assured me that Egypt, with the desert on both sides of the Nile River, does not have clouds in the sky in June! God was surely on Dad’s side that day! He lived and ministered here in Canada for another 20 years. At 76 years of age, while shovelling snow, he sat down on the steps of his Toronto home and his heart stopped. He was immediately with the One Who was truly on his side!!! Amen
Yours in recognition of the fact that when we decide to side with God, He will side with us!!!
David
P.S. I have an ostrich egg on which I had Psalm 121:5-6 inscribed in gold paint. It sits on the top shelf above me as I type. I love to show the egg to my great-grandchildren while telling them the story of their great-great-Grandfather and the Egyptian sun! Below is a photo of the egg.
I purchased this egg, emptied of its contents, in Jordan. Our guide offered to print the words of Psalm 121:5-6 in gold lettering after I had told him my Dad’s story. I look quite skinny in this picture. I’ve put on 20 pounds since this was taken! Praise the Lord!!! Thanks to all blog readers who pray for me!!!
Hello blog friends… that story about a cloud between Pastor David’s earthly father and the sun brings back memories of a cloud that formed above me as I prayed a similar prayer many years ago… if anyone is interested, I’ll share the details later…
Have a great day blog friends in Christ.
God Bless
Definitely interested, David. I, too, have a similar story. God’s blessings on you!
I’m sure all of us would love to hear your stories…David and Beverlee! Please share so we can all be encouraged.
Blessings to all!
Yes to both stories.
Amen David and Beverlee…me too!
One of my favourite posts! The Psalms, David’s story of his father, and the photo holding his inscribed egg. Brings tears to my eyes and hope to my heart. I have been memorizing Psalms of late. My favourites:
You hem me in, behind and before,
You lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
Too lofty for me to attain.
Ps 139:5-6 NIV
I must perform my vows to you, O God;
I will render thank offerings to you.
For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God,
in the light of life.
Ps 56:12-13 ESV
Blessings, fellow saints in the Lord. Praying for you, this morning, sister, Ger.
One of my favourites:
Grace Will Lead Me Home – David Dunn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw2MEMnYFjc
“Grace Will Lead Me Home”
There is a place prepared for me
More beautiful than eyes have seen
When these burdens weigh me down
I won’t lose heart, I will not doubt
Grace will lead me home
Grace will lead me home
Through every trial I have come
Only your grace will lead me home
There is an end to suffering
Where I will rest in perfect peace
And in the presence of the king
My eyes will see what I’ve believed
Grace will lead me home
Grace will lead me home
Through every trial I have come
Only your grace will lead home
Lead me home, yeah-ah
When I’ve been there ten thousand years
And mercy’s dried off every tear
My debt was paid but still I’ll owe
My life to grace who led me home
Grace will lead me home
Grace will lead me home
Grace will lead me home
Grace will lead me home
Through every trial I have come
You were the shelter through every storm
God you were with me all along
Only your grace will lead me home
Only your grace will lead me home
Lead me home, lead me home, lead me home
I also have been trying to memorize the Psalms. Lately my prayer has been Ps 119:5.
“Oh that my ways would be steadfast in obeying your decrees”!
Amen, Luisa!
thanks for the link Beverlee.. Yes, Grace will lead me home, Praise God!!
Oh what a special blog. Love the story Pastor David tells of his father in Egypt. Now David is in the presense of the Lord. The Lord bless you Norma Jean and all the Mainse family as well as the staff of 100 Huntley St. Also I remember a veteran missionary quoting to me in Africa, “The moon shall not smite you by night, ” when the moon shone so brightly I couldn’t get to sleep. Have a great day everyone. I am headed for a Ladies’ Meeting.
Amen Ger!
Norma
I would like to
leave you with
Ps 121 1-8.
Ps 54 .4.
Ps 122.1
God Bless You.
This story reminds me of how Nizar Shaheen journeyed to the hospital when the Lord got his attention.The stories sometimes accentuate the Lord’s presence,even though we may not realize it at the time.(Nizar surely did though.)
Inspired by the story in this blog.
http://100words.ca/?p=29490#respond
Cloud Of Grace
Oh cloud of grace that shaded me
And made known the Lord’s smile,
You guarded me in my misery
As I traveled o’er each bumpy mile.
Over the years I can not know
How many times you smiled,
But as I had watched my children grow,
I know that You too had watched this child.
You’ve blessed us more than we can count,
For true love seeks no gain,
So we must never keep an account,
To show that we have not lived in vain.
G.W(Bill)Marshall /4 Nov, 2017
I have memorized Psalm 121 and have been saying it just about everyday. Its words comforts me.
Amen William
I love Davids personal thoughts about his dad I smile when we see his picture.
David Loewen I would love to read your story. Enjoy your day everyone
Lianne Hogg
My story did not involve a cloud but it was a Psalm given to me by the Lord before I set out for an art class in Sydenham, a half hour drive from Kingston. I kept hearing Psalm 4:25 come to me, which I looked up in the Bible: “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.” I was told to memorize those words and speak them out loud until I arrived at art class. I had no idea why I was given this, but I obeyed and drove the entire way reciting that Psalm. A terrible fog began and by the time I arrived at the main T intersection connecting to Sydenham Road, it was so thick, I did not see the stop sign. I drove right through it, directly into the driveway/lane of the house on the other side of the intersection. As I put my brakes on, I saw/heard the whiz of a vehicle whip past. If it had been two seconds later, I would have collided head on with that vehicle in the fog. The Lord our God saved me that day with the prompting of a Psalm that meant exactly what it said: “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.” That is what I was doing, intently, and when I saw I had crossed the intersection, the miracle of there being a driveway to go directly into and come to a stop was, indeed, from God. The devil was out to get me that day and the Lord knew it. Praise His Holy Name!
Thanks for sharing your story Beverlee. I am so glad that you listened to that voice.
Amen, Eleanor!
Yes, thanks for sharing that story Beverlee!
Beautiful story of God’s goodness and personal intervention in each of our lives! Thank you Beverlee for sharing with us!
What a wonderful, loving God we serve! Bless His Holy Name!
Sister Beverlee, I just read this pm that you prayed for me this morning. Thank you so much as I am at a crossroads and do need prayer so you were led by the Holy Spirit. Appreciate the song and poem too. Thank you for your faithtfulness dear sister. What a story you have of God’s love and care in your life. Thank you for sharing and would like to hear your story too David.
Our Holy Spirit, so divine; a pleasure to pray for you, sister Ger!
My favorite Psalm in today’s blog.
Beautiful blue’s in today’s photo…Reynold…thank you for the postscript!!
God’s faithfulness, love and protection comes through in David’s Dad’s story!! Praise His Holy Name!!
It should read my favorite “Psalms” in today’s blog!