Skip to main content

Deliver Me

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.

Psalms 71:1‭-‬4 NIV

Do you remember playing tag?  Much of my childhood I grew up on a culdesac.  There were plenty of neighborhood kids in the "circle", as we called it. Most evenings it was filled with kids playing together until moms and dads called us home.  Summers were the best.  It stayed light longer and often we were able to stay out and play after it was dark. 

We played all kinds of games and rode bikes, big wheels, and any other creation we could get our hands on.  One of my favorite games we played was good old tag. Of course, in the game someone is "it".  The object of the game is not to get tagged and become "it".  If you did become "it", you had to find someone else and tag them, making them "it".  There were all kinds of variations to rules like "no tag backs" or an established "base".

Base was a safe place where you couldn't be tagged.  As long as you were touching base you were untaggable! You could catch your breath or plot your next move.  But the base was a place of safety and rest.

When I read Psalm 71, I think of being on base when we are with God.  We have refuge from the craziness of the world surrounding us.  We are rescued and delivered to safety.  God provides a fortress to protect us from whomever is "it" in our walk on this earth.  Cruelty has no footing on our rock. 

Our rock and salvation is only found in Jesus Christ.  He endured torture and overcame death to provide us refuge.  In Jesus we find rest and protection.  In Jesus we are not defined by this world and we are delivered from its evilness and cruelty.  The king of kings provides the ultimate “base”, as his death and resurrection deliver us from eminent doom and redeem us with God.  

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,

Matt



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bold Like Stephen

I've always admired people who aren't afraid to be bold in their convictions.  It is the kind of boldness that allows them to stand out in the crowd. There is just something different about how these people view and engage the world around them.  The movie “Hacksaw Ridge” portrays a man that exemplifies what I mean by bold.  He was drafted to serve in World War II but refused to bear arms because of religious reasons. Yet, he still managed to receive the Congressional Medal of honor. Without a weapon in his hand, he saved 75 men in the Battle of Okinawa. Despite his objection to violence, he still served his country. Despite his objection to war he found a way to love his neighbor. He was bold.  When I think of bold in the Bible, I think of Stephen. Acts 6:8 says, "Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people." Stephen faced opposition to his teachings. Those that opposed his teachings couldn't ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Glow Differently

I saw this quote recently, “You glow differently when your confidence is fueled by belief in yourself instead of validation from others.” I found myself wrestling with it. I completely agree with the concept that the validation of my worth is not established by the thoughts of others. While I think a positive self image is important, I do not think that it is what really makes me “glow differently.” I hope I glow differently because of whom I believe in, rather than what I believe of myself.  The author of Titus says, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7) . Love and kindness entered the world in the form of a m...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jesus Paid It All

This morning I found myself searching for songs to add to my playlist. I have decided I want a list of songs to play while I run. As I've shared before, I don't particularly enjoy running, but we have committed to this 5K at the end of October. Running becomes tolerable when I can blast worship music and simply be with God. I was in search of particular version of a hymn from the 1800's titled "Jesus Paid it All." The Passion conference worship team did a rendition of it 5-6 years ago and I quite enjoy it. Anyway, in the search for the song, I got to reading about the lyrics.  I have always been drawn to the refrain because of it is a reminder of Jesus' incredible gift to us.  It goes: "Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow." The images portrayed by the comparison between a crimson stain and white snow are vivid. Dark red stains are the type of stains that just don't come out. Th...
Post a Comment
Read more