Psalm 121

Look at those mountains! YOWZA!!! This is the view out of my office window today...

I couldn't help but think of one of my favorite Psalms...

God obviously knows I needed to be reminded of this today...HE IS SO GOOD!!!

Psalm 121:1-8 (NLT)
A song for the ascent to Jerusalem.

I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
2My help comes from the Lord,
who made the heavens and the earth!

3He will not let you stumble and fall;
the one who watches over you will not sleep.
4Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never tires and never sleeps.

5The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6The sun will not hurt you by day,
nor the moon at night.
7The Lord keeps you from all evil
and preserves your life.
8The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.

"I WILL GO!"...Rebekah

I've been reading in Genesis about Rebekah this week. You've heard of the unsinkable Molly Brown? Well, I call Rebekah..."I will go", Rebekah! That seemed to be her attitude. What a woman! She possessed a trait that seems to be rare these days...diligence. But what exactly is diligence? How do you get it? Does it have a down side?

Gary took our car into the dealership this week for a repair that he knew was still under warranty. Gary was being merciful by taking it to the dealership, because the last time he was there, the service writer told him that the work he was having done, was not covered under our warranty. But Gary knew that it was, and in the end, turned out to be right, which the service writer in the end, fully admitted. Now, you would think when this same service writer saw Gary coming, he would put his "diligence" hat on...but sadly, no. The exact same thing happened. He told Gary that the work isn't covered under the warranty, and in the end, it turned out that it indeed was covered.

So, in the end...
Gary = Diligent
Service Writer = Not Diligent

This is what I'm going to be speaking about in our Sunday - 8:30am Contemporary Service. No, not about the evils of having your car fixed at the dealership, but about the rare quality of diligence. But when it comes to diligence, as in most other qualities...there's a downside to be careful of that we'll be talking about too.

I CHOOSE!

THIS IS THE ACCOUNT OF ____________.

(Insert your name here)

This is how Genesis 6 begins to talk about Noah. I started thinking about our lives.

What if we inserted our name in the blank? This is my topic for our Sunday 8:30am Contemporary Service this Sunday.

Can you imagine generations of people reading all about your life the way we read about Noah's?

Well, it may frighten us to think about it, but the way we live our lives is impacting our own generation and future generations.

God is faithful to point us to the right path, but the decision to get on that path, and to stay on it is ours.

Calvin Miller says it this way, "When choosing which road we shall travel, we are also picking a traveling companion. Jesus beckons us down one road and Satan down the other. Jesus is poorly dressed and is standing next to His own cross while beckoning toward a second cross that He clearly means for us to carry. Satan on the other road is in a sequined jacket holding bank bags {and whatever else may tempt us} and nodding to us with a 'come hither' look. Christ aims to make us useful, Satan to make us a star. WE CHOOSE!..."

Joshua 24:14-15, "Now fear the LORD and serve Him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped...and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve....But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."