This is a difficult season for the entire world. Life as we have known it is on hold. None of us are sure what tomorrow will bring, but ALL of us can be sure that God, who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow will be with us. And He is not caught off guard either.
Our format is Welcome, Song , Prayer, Pondering and Closing.
Song: He Will Come and Save You https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bU182HkL88
Prayer: Father God we come to you in deep gratitude for who you are and that you love and care for each of us.
Lord we thank you for family and friends and the way our churches are working to help us remain connected.
Please help us to continue to look to you for all our needs.
We also thank your for the Word and how timeless it is.
Be with us tonight as we gather around your Word. And meet each of us in the area of our deepest need. In Jesus name amen
Before we begin I wanted to share something I saw in a Bible Study by Max Lucado.
We or those of us where were part of this community back when it focused on Celebrate Recovery are fond of acronyms. This one is called:
C.A.L.M
We could write down the C.A.L.M. acronym, and place it somewhere accessible to remind ourselves that “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds.”
This is based on Philippians 4:4-8 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Celebrate God’s goodness. “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4).
How will you express your joy for God’s goodness today?
Ask God for help. “Let your requests be made known to God” (v. 6). If you don’t already keep a prayer journal, start one. Begin with today’s requests.
Leave your concerns with him. “With thanksgiving . . .” (v. 6).
At bedtime review the concerns you left with God this morning. Thank him for relieving you of your anxious thoughts.
Meditate on good things. “Think about the things that are good and worthy of praise” (v. 8 ).
Plan your day to include time alone with God.
CALM: Celebrate, Ask, Leave, Meditate
Adapted from Anxious for Nothing by Max Lucado. If you are interested in a free online study based on his book Anxious For Nothing, you can sign up here: https://www.faithgateway.com
As a disclaimer, remember do not take anything any author says as true without checking for yourself in the Word of God.
We have been considering verses to combat worry, fear and panic. They are from a poster which I will show you again this week. A few weeks ago when all this was just beginning, I saw this poster. With my sons both working in hospitals it could be easy to panic. Maybe you are listening to all those fear mongering and conflicting news stories and have become unsettled. Maybe you or those you love are in that category of “elderly” or other health impaired. Or maybe you are just trapped by the craziness going on all around, especially the lack of toilet paper and other items we are used to have an abundance of in our stores.
Maybe your income is compromised right now. Probably all of us could tell of concerns we have due to this crisis. But God, is still God. Still on the throne. Still Lord. Still Comforter. Still Redeemer. Still Savior and still Friend as well.
We are on number 16 from the poster this week. We are going to ponder some of the verses together. Please feel free to add thoughts or comments as we go along.
Here is the poster:
Dodi Note: When you are feeling afraid and/or overwhelmed, do you ever wish for someone to come along side you and wrap loving arms around you to comfort you? I know I do. Right now, unless you are married or living in a family
it is likely you are “socially isolated”. Living as a widow and old enough so that my parents are long gone, there are times when I feel very alone. Then I remember, Emmanuel is the God of ALL Comfort. And He has spoken to us many times in His Word. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 English Standard Version (ESV)
God of All Comfort
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
Notice, He does comfort us in ALL our affliction and he also does intend that we in turn comfort others. I hope these verses tonight are as comforting to each of you as they are to me.
16.Fear not.
Psalm 27:1
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
NKJV 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?
Dodi Note: Would it be taking too much liberty to think what along with whom? Or the whom could be silent or not so silent carrier of this crazy virus.
God told us ahead of time that HE is the STRONGHOLD and STRENGTH of our life and we do not need to be afraid.
Besides that remember last week when we were instructed not to worry because “who can add one cubit to his statue by worrying?
Even when the stores are out of toilet paper, we don’t need to worry. Smile.
17.God will come save us.
Isaiah 35:4
“Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”
NKJV Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
With the recompense of God;
He will come and save you.”
Dodi Note: I was reading various commentaries and the verses 1-3 are generally seemingly referring to the difficult time the church/Hebrew people have come through.
Verses 1-3 say:1The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
2it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
the majesty of our God.
3Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
In a sense, right now our local churches are doing an amazing job of keeping us connected during this crisis. Would you agree?
The enemy, I think, meant to isolate and separate us, but God had better plans. I saw people yesterday who not only meet via zoom, FB, or some other live format, but also went and watched friend’s or relatives churches. It was neat.
Sometimes our hands are weak our knees feel feeble, either literally or figuratively and our hearts or minds can become fearful…BUT GOD….who does NOT condemn us, will come and gather us up and comfort us.
And sometimes, you or I will be that person who is God’s hands, feet or voice to do just that for another. Other times, someone else will help us.
Be lifted up.
18. Give all your cares to God. 1 Peter 5:6-9
“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.
Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.”
NKJV 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
Dodi Note: This current difficult is sure world wide.
Context: Shepherd the Flock
5 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:
2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
Submit to God, Resist the Devil
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
Dodi Note: Do you think it was easy for our pastors to navigate this current crisis? And yet many of them, with the help of the elders and other members, came up with very viable plans to keep us all connected.
I for one am very grateful for their provision.
Again a favorite verse. Actually one of my “life verses” which if you know me, you have heard many times.
I LOVE this one. (As an aside, I wonder how often I say that? The Scriptures are indeed a form of love aren’t they? Given to us by a Father who LOVES us intimately and knows just what we need.)
19. We can have perfect peace.
Isaiah 26:3
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
NKJV You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Dodi Note: What does God promise to do for us?
What is our part?
How well are we doing that right now?
How much time are we spending being in the Word, or Worship Music vs the time we are spending reading or watching doom and gloom?
What might we choose to be intentional to do this coming week? Any changes we might need to make?
20. Psalm 23:4
“Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”
NKJV Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Dodi Note: The rod and staff were used for many things by shepherds in the natural. They protected the sheep. They steered the sheep. They sometimes rescued sheep from a pit they had fallen into.
The good shepherd was (and our GOOD SHEPHERD is) always aware of the needs of the sheep. Always watching over them/us. Always with us. Emmanuel, God With Us.
Yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Can we rest better knowing that?
21. Hebrews 13:5b-6
“…God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The LORD is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”
NKJV 5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?”
Dodi note: The original compiler left out part a of verse 5. I am going to make a joke…ok? But it is serious also.
If we admonished not to covet… does that include the ones who hoarded all the toilet paper and have a huge stockpile?
Sorry couldn’t resist. If you have none it is not a joke really with empty shelves. But God has promised never to leave us or forsake us and if we do run out, I am convinced God will either provide it or give us innovative creative ways to do without.
And really…much of what we worry about is kind of like the toilet paper issues. God ALWAYS supplies ALL our needs and he always helps us both with being content, even trapped at home alone or without enough tp.
22. Psalm 56:3
“But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.”
NKJV Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
Dodi Note: David is actually talking to God about his foes. This is a verse someone, Jim Wilder I think uses as a “shalom my body” exercise. When we are beyond stressed out and about to enter full blown anxiety or panic. He suggests quoting this verse combined with intentional breathing.Like this: Startle Reflex (Moro Reflex): Arch your back and throw your arms and head back while you do a sharp intake of breath. Then bring your arms back down to a relaxed position while saying, “Whenever I am afraid I will trust in you, O Lord” (Psalm 56:3).
These are based on science data, if you want more here is a link.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/ ... Manson.pdf
23. Again Fear Not. Now for another lovely verse of comfort and hope. Isaiah 41:10
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
NKJV Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
Dodi Note: And he will. And he does. As soon as we turn to Him. When there is no other way, we can use a verse list like this one and ask God to minister to our own heart and mind.
24. Psalm 121:1-2
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”
NKJV I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
Dodi Note: To me these verses tell me, tells us to choose where our focus is. Is it on the problem? The mud, the muck, the mire of life? Where are we looking? If and when we remember the instruction in this verse, then we can turn our focus right back to God.
25. Exodus 14:14
“The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
NKJV 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
Dodi Note: This direction is great for those times when people are picking on us and treating us unfairly.
I have learned, and gotten a lot of practice, in using this verse. Say someone lies to us, deceives us, is mean to us, wrongs us….we now are confronted with a choice. We can “get back at them”. Or we can FORGIVE them, release them and us to God’s perfect care and stand back and REST in God’s provision and watch him deal with all of it. Our hurt, our sense of injustice, even actual injustice and them too.
Actually this is a quite liberating principle. God is really good at it too.
26. Psalm 55:22-23
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.”
NKJV Cast your burden on the Lord,
And He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the righteous to be moved
But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction;
Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days;
But I will trust in You.
Dodi Note: The Psalmist has been in a difficult season. He is making and proclaiming a choice to trust the LORD.
He is casting his burden, his care, his worry, his entire “self” on the Lord. When he did that God did indeed sustain him. His life was not always easy but God sustained him and now so many centuries later, his example and wisdom speak to us.
That is enough for tonight.
Father we bless you in this night.
We thank you for these lovely words of wisdom and love from your Word. As we enter the coming weeks would you help us all to “remember the truth we know” and the Truth of God With Us, Emmanuel. We ask for wisdom, protection , provision and peace and we thank you that we can gather together here in cyber land. In Jesus name amen.