The Lord My Rock

I'm posting again today to test out that new email feature I described in my last post, so do two things first:

1. Read my previous post first (the one titled "The Lord Does Not Look..."

2. Read the April 15th reading first, since this is what I'm referencing

I'll skip David and Goliath, since it's a well-known story. I'll focus instead on the psalm we read, since it's an excellent introduction to the style that David uses when writing, which usually looks like this:

1. Praise and thanksgiving

2. Reasons for praise and thanksgiving

3. Promise to continue praise and thanksgiving

But in this instance, look exactly why David is praising the Lord and thanking him--because he "trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle." This verse should come instantly to mind whenever we sing "Onward, Christian Soldiers," since we ARE in battle today, the most important battle that will ever be fought, the battle for our very souls. I'm won't speak definitively on whether David was referencing physical or spiritual battle in this psalm, but there's absolutely no reason why we can't use it to our advantage and take great comfort in it.

War and battle are frequently used  as imagery in the Bible, most memorably for me in Ephesians 6, where Paul describes the armor of God. No, we're not to arm ourselves to the teeth and go out converting people to the Lord at tip of our swords, and we need to remember that the war isn't one we're waging (or in other words, that we started), but that is BEING WAGED AGAINST US. We're NOT in a battle of our choosing, and we're not instructed to lie down and be overrun. We're to defend ourselves, and this goes one step further when we discuss how we should minister and tell the story of the Lord.

If I've mentioned this before, my apologies, but while in college at the University of Iowa, there were occasions when traveling preachers would come and speak on the Pentecrest. One preacher in particular sticks in my mind, and he was very strong on the Law (and how us pagan, heathen college students were falling short) and what would happen (we were going to go "Straight....to.....HELL!"), and he seemed pretty happy about that prospect. I didn't hear a Gospel part, which to me is an important part of the message. We face the same dangers if we approach others in this confrontational manner. I'm not stating it doesn't have a place from time to time, but how often have YOU been convinced of something because someone said "You're an idiot, you're wrong, and you're going to be ruined." I'm thinking the common response isn't "You're right! Tell me what to do! I've been such a fool!"

We give testimony with our lives and how we live them. As we continue to read the psalms, try to adopt its form into your prayers. Begin with thanksgiving and praise, and you'll see the benefits David listed in Psalm 144:12-14. If indeed the Lord is our Rock, it's incumbent upon us to live lives that reflect that.

Scott