“We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, the deeds You did in their days, in days of old: You drove out the nations with Your hand, but them You planted; You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out.” [1]
The replacement in Canaan of religions that sacrificed children to idols with people who knew the Lord and loved their children was a miracle of divine intervention.
“For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, nor did their own arm save them; but it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, because You favored them. You are my King, O God, command victories for Jacob. Through You we will push down our enemies; through Your Name we will trample those who rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, nor shall my sword save me. But You have saved us from our enemies and have put to shame those who hated us. In God we boast all day long and praise Your Name forever. Selah” [2]
“It was Your right hand” – God’s right hand is Jesus. He sits at the right hand of the Father. “The light of Your countenance – Jesus is called the Word of God. The Word is a lamp unto our feet and light unto our path. Jesus is the light of the world. “You favored them” – Jesus is God’s grace or favor towards us. “You are my King” – Jesus is the King of kings and our King. “Through Your Name” – the Name by which we overcome all the works of evil is the Name of Jesus. It was in the Name of Jesus that the disciples cast out evil spirits. Evil spirits cause people to do foolish and harmful things to themselves and others. “You have saved us from our enemies” – Jesus is the Savior. “In God we boast,” “praise Your Name forever” – we testify for Jesus. [3]
The Lord’s disciples often experience trials due to evil. Job suffered unjustly. The prophets and apostles were imprisoned and in some cases martyred for speaking God’s Word. Jesus Christ was crucified. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” [4]
The Apostle Paul quoted Psalm 44:22 in Romans 8:36, “Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Then, he followed up that unhappy truth with a happy truth, writing, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [5]
Neither Job, nor the prophets, nor the apostles, nor Jesus Christ were conquered by evil. No, they were more than conquerors through Him, GOD, who loved them. This is our hope too as we labor to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
“My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore, God has blessed You forever.” [6]
It has been said that the pen is mightier than the sword. I have been writing and speaking for the Lord for many years now. I praise God that though I may be bound by particular limitations, God’s Word is not bound. Paul wrote to Timothy saying, “Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the Word of God is not bound.” [7] I praise God that people from around the world are reading what the Lord is giving me. I hope to travel to them in the future. Glory to God!
Jesus Christ is the greatest writer. He is the Word of God. No one can top what He says. His words are altogether sweet and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. His words are like silver tried in the furnace of the earth seven times purified. [8] When Jesus Christ controls our tongue and our pen, good themes, readiness to write, good compositions, and God’s grace comes forth.
“I will make Your Name to be remembered in all generations; therefore, the people shall praise You forever and ever.” [9] The Name to be remembered, and the Name to praise is Jesus Christ. He is Lord!
In regards to suffering for God’s Word and for the testimony of Jesus Christ, I want to draw your attention to the plight of people in northern Nigeria. “In any given year, the number of Christians killed by extremist groups is rarely less than 4,000 – often more than in the rest of the world combined.” [10]
According to an April 2023 report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, at least 52,250 persecuted Christians have been killed in the past 14 years. During the past 5 years, radicalized Fulani herdsmen have been killing Christians in order to steal their land.
Boko Haram has now been joined by another extremist group operative in the area, called the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). The violence has yielded over 4,000,000 refugees, mostly Christian farmers. Please pray for the Lord’s disciples in Nigeria.
[1] Psalm 44:1-2
[2] Psalm 44:3-8
[3] Hebrews 1:3, 1 Peter 3:22, Acts 2:33, 19:13; John 1:1, 3:16, 8:12; Revelation 17:14, 19:13, 16; Luke 10:17, Matthew 1:21, 12:27; Psalm 119:105, Galatians 6:14
[4] John 15:18
[5] Romans 8:37-39
[6] Psalm 45:1-2
[7] 2 Timothy 2:9
[8] Psalm 12:6, 19:10, 119:103
[9] Psalm 45:17
[10] https://globalchristianrelief.org/christian-persecution/countries/nigeria/
No comments:
Post a Comment