Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

June 14
Saturday


ROCK-SOLID

READ:
Psalm 34:15-22
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The eyes of the LORD
are on the righteous,
and His ears are open
to their cry.
__Psalm 34:15
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It was a sad day in May 2003 when "The Old Man of the Mountain" broke apart and slid down the mountainside. This 40-foot profile of an old man's face, carved by nature in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, had long been an attraction to tourists, a solid presence for residents, and the official state emblem. It was written about by Nathaniel Hawthorne in his short story "The Great stone face."

Some nearby residents were devastated when The Old Man fell. One woman said, "I grew up thinking that someone was watching over me. I feel a little less watched-over now."

There are times when a dependable presence disappears. Something or someone we've relied on is gone, and our life is shaken. Maybe it's the loss of a loved one, or a job, or good health. The loss makes us feel off-balance, unstable. We might even think that God is no longer watching over us.

But the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry" (Ps. 34:15). He "is near to those who have a broken heart" (v.18). He is the rock whose presence we can always depend on (Deut. 32:4).

God's presence is real. He continually watches over us. He is rock-solid. __Anne Cetas

`````````````````````The Rock of Ages stands secure,````````````````````
````````````````````````He always will be there;```````````````````````
``````````````````````He watches over all His own`````````````````````
```````````````````To calm their anxious care. __Keith``````````````````
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The question is not where is God, but where isn't He?

***********************Today's Bible Reading __ Psalm 34:15-22**************************

15 The eyes of the LORD
are on the righteous, and
His ears are open to their
cry. 16 The face of the
LORD is against those who
do evil, to cut off the
remembrance of them from
the earth.

17 The righteous cry out,
and the LORD hears, and
delivers them out of all
their troubles. 18 The LORD
is near to those who have a
broken heart, and saves
such as have a contrite
spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions
of the righteous, but the
LORD delivers him out of
them all. 20 He guards all
his bones; not one of them
is broken. 21 Evil shall slay
the wicked, and those who
hate the righteous shall be
condemned. 22 The LORD
redeems the soul of his
servants, and none of those
who trust in Him shall be
condemned.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Psalm 34 was written during a difficult time for David, as the
superscription indicates: "A Psalm of David when he pretended
madness before Abimelech [Achish], who drove him away, and he
departed." Recorded in 1 Samuel 21:1-15, those dark days were
not David's best as a person of faith. First, he had joined Israel's
enemies, the Philistines, as he fled from Saul. Then, when things
in Gath (Philistine country) became threatening, David pretended
madness to escape. Fear and deceit may not be characteristics
of great faith, but they are normal human responses to danger__
reminding us of our great need for God.