Let God Arise!

The year was 1589. Henry of Navarre, the protestant champion of the French Huguenots, and his armies were held up in the town of Dieppe. They were threatened with destruction by the armies of the Catholic League under the Duc of Mayenne.

Weather was not favorable either for fog had begun to roll in and was keeping Henry’s artillery from taking aim on the enemy. To make matters worse reinforcements had failed to arrive. The men’s courage was gone in the face of insurmountable odds and the obvious strength of the enemy.

“Come!” said the King, “lift the psalm. It is full time.” Now above the clang of weapons there arose the melody of Psalm 68. May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him…

With the sound of the Psalm ringing in their ears the men of Dieppe forced through the royalist lines, splitting their forces. The fog lifted, and Henry’s cannon fired on the opposing ranks of soldiers, the cannon actually marking the cadence of the psalm. The League was scattered.

May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him.

Psalm 68 was a favorite of Charlemagne and Oliver Cromwell. It might just be a favorite of yours. Are you under siege; insurmountable odds; over your head? It’s time - lift the Psalm – Sing it out – Sing it Loud – fight now for the Lord has arisen – He is mighty to save.

May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him…Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Selah (Psalm 68.1, 19)

Always Enthusiastic,
Rusty Newman

The Rock of Blessing

Psalm 31:3 …you are my rock and my fortress.

Before he was the King of Israel, David sought the wisdom and protection of the cliffs, crags, crevasses. On the plains his small band of ill equipped and outnumbered men were no match for King Saul’s mighty Israeli battalions. But on the rocks, in the hills, his small band was not only safe they experienced the blessings of victory. No doubt that with every experience of safety David with this awesome heart of a worshipper saw the immediate parallel to his true “Rock of Refuge” – Jehovah!

David sings two things about His Rock Refuge God that have been described by some, weak in faith – dim witted, as illogical. He sings that God is his rock and yet asks God to be his rock. Listen to the song –

Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue;

be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.

Since you are my rock and my fortress,

for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

Low faith and no understanding of faith ask, “How, can Jehovah be and yet be asked to be a refuge at the same time?”

How much we just don’t know?! Charles Spurgeon understood that this a logic not of words but of the worshipping heart. He wrote that this teaches us to ask God that we may, “enjoy in experience what we grasp by faith.” We know by faith that Jehovah is many things, because the Bible tells us. Hearing who Jehovah is in truth and theory is much different than proving God to be those things by personal experience.

Do you believe that Jehovah is all powerful? Of course you do. Then you should pray that He prove himself strong in your weakness. Do you believe that Jehovah is wise? Then ask him to show his wisdom in ordering your life. In the very same prayer you can ask Him to be to you loving and gracious and merciful and everything else that the Bible tells us he is.

The Prayer that opens the door for blessed experience is patterned this way – “You are______________ then BE ___________________.”

Learn this, Live this, and you will step into the Rock of Refuge and discover He is a strong fortress to save.

Always Enthusiastic,
Rusty Newman

Hope in Sorrows

Do you ever have sorrow? I don’t mean – “I’m sorry I ate one more piece of pizza.” Or “I’m sorry I ran that red light – Officer!” Real sorrow something you feel deep in your soul. It can sneak up on you, but the worst kind of sorrow is that kind you can see coming from miles away. In times of sorrow we are real good at offering a biblical prayer from Psalm 69.1 “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.”

I have encouragement for you. In fact, there is a truth from Psalm 69 I wish I could implant in your mind so that in no way it would ever be removed. Hear this loud and clear:

The Lord hears the needy
and does not despise his captive people.
(Psalm 69:33)

Here’s a fact of life. In our world there is always a lot of pain and evil. It is simply the way it is like. Let’s take this fact up a notch; God does not always remove the pain or troubling times. Jesus, in the garden of Gethsemane, prayed with a great deal of agony asking that the cup he was about to drink might be taken from him. He saw the sorrow coming and God did not remove it from him. Jesus had to go through the sorrow.

God did hear his prayer and did not despise his agony. Instead He strengthened Jesus so that he could endure to expire for the Glory of God. You can not inspire until you have expired.

Be assured that this will be the case with you also. Whatever cross you are given tell God about it and know that he will hear your prayers and come to strengthen you. You will certainly praise him for it one day. Because you expire you just might inspire someone else for the Glory of God.