Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net
-----Original Message-----
From: "Apostle Tom" <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Thu, 17 May 2007 14:15:53 -0500
To: pressingon@hotmail.com
Subject: Morning Manna (May 18); BP: Ps. 91; RBTTY: Jn. 6:1-21; I Chron. 4-6
May 18 “God’s Stepping-Stones”
“For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.
They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a
stone.”
Psalm 91:11-12
His grace is our assurance in problems, not special immunity from them.
The Jews in Old Testament days believed every person received a
guardian angel at the time of his/her birth. This special servant of the
Lord was assigned to watch over his “charge” at all times. And, even though
there’s some debate among theologians today if each one of us actually have
a personal, guardian angel, the fact remains that we all have the Holy
Spirit with us each moment of the day if we’re born from above.
Interestingly, the devil used today’s Manna to tempt Jesus during His
40 days in the wilderness (Mt. 4:5-7). He’d taken our Lord up to the
highest point of the Temple and then quoted these verses to Him in an
attempt to get Christ to jump off. Thankfully, our Lord recognized this as
the “sin of proud presumption” (the “pride of life”—I Jn. 2:16) and refused
to heed the tempter’s voice; instead, He rebuked him (as we should do) by
saying “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”
Jesus knew the Father’s promise to “give His angels charge over us, to
keep (Heb. ‘shamar’—‘to hedge about, to guard, take heed, preserve, etc.’)
us in all our ways” didn’t mean we’d never have any problems. Simply
remembering the trials and tribulations of Job, David, Shadrach, Meshach,
Abednego, Daniel, Paul, etc., helps us remember this truth. And the
psalmist’s words “They shall bear you up lest you dash (Heb. ‘nagaph’—‘to
gore, inflict, beat, plague, stumble, etc.’) your foot against a stone” mean
much more than simply stubbing one’s toe.
Let’s face it:
Life’s full of proverbial “hard knocks.” It’s not always “fair.” And,
it’s certainly not always “easy.” However, by God’s grace we’re able to
“mount up with eagle’s wings. . . to run and not grow weary. . .to walk and
not faint” (Is. 40:31) when we “wait upon Him”—i.e., rest in His sufficient
grace.
So often we look at our problems as insurmountable obstacles. Or, we
inwardly view them as some type of punishment from the Lord to somehow
“teach us a lesson.” But, oh, dear Pilgrim, our Lord will transform our
“stumbling blocks” into “stepping stones” WHEN we view them as
“opportunities” rather than “obstacles.”
Anyone who’s ever climbed a steep mountain trail knows the steeper the
ascent, the harder the hike. This is especially so when the path is muddy
and slick. It’s during those sections of “slippery slopes” that we’re
thankful for “bumps (rocks) in the road” that give us a foothold and sure
footing.
May the Holy Spirit help us today to know our Lord will help us every
step of the way to ensure that we, like Paul, can say at the end of our
journey: “I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have
kept the faith” (II Tim. 4:7). Hallelujah!!
_________________________________________________________________
PC Magazine’s 2007 editors’ choice for best Web mail—award-winning Windows
Live Hotmail.
http://imagine-windowslive.com/hotmail/?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_HM_mini_pcmag_0507
No comments:
Post a Comment