Blessed Be The Lord, My Rock, My Fortress

Psalm 144

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Blessed be the Lord my Rock, Who trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle—

2 My lovingkindness and my fortress, My high tower and my deliverer,
My shield and the One in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me.

3 Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?

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4 Man is like a breath;  His days are like a passing shadow.

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5 Bow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.

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6 Flash forth lightning and scatter them;
Shoot out Your arrows and destroy them.

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7 Stretch out Your hand from above;
Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters,
From the hand of foreigners,

8 Whose mouth speaks lying words,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

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9 I will sing a new song to You, O God;
On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,

10 The One who gives salvation to kings,
Who delivers David His servant
From the deadly sword.

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11 Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners,
Whose mouth speaks lying words,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood—

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12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth;
That our daughters may be as pillars,
Sculptured in palace style;

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13 That our barns may be full,
Supplying all kinds of produce;
That our sheep may bring forth thousands
And ten thousands in our fields;

14 That our oxen may be well laden;
That there be no breaking in or going out;
That there be no outcry in our streets.

15 Happy are the people who are in such a state;
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!


“Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord”


“I’ll Fly Away Played by Alison Krauss (With Lyrics)”

28 thoughts on “Blessed Be The Lord, My Rock, My Fortress

  1. The passage the Lord teacheth My hand to war is something of an no go zone in modern christianity where clergy response teams teaches subjugation to authority. Christ laid the example for meekness towards fellow humans.

    The bible says that the vengeance is the Lords, but looking through history especially in the cases of Israel and America open warfare was used to bring civilization.

    So christianity is pacifistic at nature but When the Lord moves he moves with swiftness and force that leaves little pacifism about it.

    Of course the Lord is longsuffering and i assume IF the population that is targeted is redeemable then he will give them their chance.

    The Lord is a warrior and teacheth his people to war and i assume in peace its verbally and in war IT is real war Based on use of weapons. This is a topic that is oftenly pussyfooted about in Christian circles.

    Jesus Even told his disciples to have a sword with them as they left out to spread the gospel!

    Any thoughts on this?

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    1. Stig, I think that’s where we all need guidance from the Holy Spirit. I do know that Jesus said that the first thing commanded is Love. We all know we need “The Full Armor of God” and can expect demonic influence to get worse during the End Times. We can take power in authority over them in the name of Jesus, but we must make sure we have no doubt.

      I mention the “demonic influence”, because it’s possible we will see large masses in this state and may be lead in different ways there. Remember that we should always pray for our enemies.

      I believe some of us will be called into physical battles and others will be called into spiritual battles.
      Here’s a post someone did about spiritual battles:
      http://www.riggedreality.net/-34/107—Spiritual-Discernment-And-Battle-For-The-Body-4986

      The Lord knows the outcomes of everything, including where a person will be spending all eternity. Each situation we encounter may require a different reaction.

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      1. On the same page here too. There have been/were (now one) two main areas yet to be answered I have sought the Lord on and am still seeking. The first one He answered years later very recently through scripture He highlighted to dig in to. One little word made all the difference when in the Strongs and wow…..thank you Jesus!

        The other is the one you are both speaking of. No answer to this after over 20+ years tells me in part it is truly individual in nature and that HE can be fully trusted to answer in His time. I’m going to save the article you posted above to go over slowly:)

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    2. Hi Stig-Ove, I practice martial arts and carry a gun for self-defense purposes. I don’t see an inconsistency with the Scriptures.

      But I know the main battle we are in is spiritual and our main calling is love and the gospel. I also know Bible prophecy must be fulfilled and the NWO will rule the earth for a time. Nothing is going to stop that from happening. So I look at the use of force as a tool for justice in certain situations. Even if I have to use it, I hope it can be redemptive somehow.

      I know others, like my father-in-law, don’t feel called to resist. There’s a place for that too. We each have to walk with the Lord according to our calling.

      God bless!

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      1. Thank you Mike for the answer. I see it also in such a way that protection of family and weaker from predation of different kind is acceptable.
        In Finland the law hinders similar self defense like the one you have over there.

        Its even punishable to use force against assailants in some cases without police here.

        But if peaceful methods can suffice its preferrable because i cannot headbutt bricks in two like Mike 🙂

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      2. Id say if anyone assaulted me my maindefense would be one of my weightier bookpiles to drop on the assailants toes. Then i would call Mike to shoot his hat off from 500 feet with his 38 detective special 🙂

        Never mess with a bookworm that knows Mike.

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      3. After Mike would have shot the hat off id pick my big book off his feet and we would talk finnish tax laws for an hour or so under Mikes supervision and voila. The fight is out of him and selfdefense accomplished.

        Thats pacifism 🙂

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  2. For some reason when I was looking at scripture this morning trying to locate what Jesus commanded us to do — this seemed to hi-light as very important. This is not meant as judgment for anyone we know, but if someone is embarking on a new journey claiming “The Lord Told Me to Do This” — consider that the Lord does not tell us to sin.

    I was not doing a search on Marriage or Divorce, when I came upon this. My search was on looking for what Jesus told us to do.

    We are not to go around as the pharisees by way of condemnation. We are also not to pretend certain scriptures in the Bible Don’t Exist because they don’t fit our situation.

    Mark 10:10-12

    10 Now in the house the disciples questioned Him again about this matter. 11 And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12 Also, if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

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  3. This scripture seems hi-lighted too:

    Matthew 16:24-28
    24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it. 26 What will it benefit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will reward each according to what he has done. 28 I assure you: There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

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  4. Daily Devotional — 12/18/16

    FROM OBSTACLE TO INSTRUMENT
    What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

    Our Open Doors colleague, Ron Boyd-MacMillan, shares the following insight from his teaching, “Why I Need to Encounter the Persecuted Church.”

    The persecuted church teaches us that everyone is either an agent of God’s will, or an instrument of God’s will. Everyone in this world has only two choices: they can choose to do God’s will by co-operating with God, or they can choose to defy God and do his will unknowingly.

    “Remember, our God is so great even the persecutors serve him,” said a Chinese pastor wryly. He was referring to arch-persecutor of the Chinese church, Mao Tse Tung, who launched the fiercest anti-Christian campaign of the 20th century in the 1960’s. Called the “Cultural Revolution,” he swept away all churches, burned all Bibles, and imprisoned all the pastors.

    Yet all he succeeded in doing was pushing the church deep underground, where it became embedded in the family structure and Chinese culture in a way 300 years of evangelism had failed to accomplish. From this fire emerged the world’s largest revival – where the church grew from 1 million in 1950 to over 80 million today.

    “We say,” smiled the pastor, “that thanks to Mao – who thought he was annihilating the church – we have the greatest revival. He thought he was killing the church, but all the while he was doing pre-evangelism. God had the last laugh. Glory be to God – He always gets his will done.”

    This truth is also showing up in India. Since 1997 violence against Christians has increased greatly as a result of the election of Hindu extremists. Yet the effect of the extremism has been to drive thousands of low caste Hindus into the church. The more Hindu extremists persecute Christians, the more moderate Hindus are drawn into the church.

    It is a glorious truth the persecuted awaken us to. Everyone ends up furthering the will of God! Even those who put obstacles in the way of the church serve God, because God just turns the obstacle into an instrument. This means that we must not despair when we think conditions for the flourishing of our Christian lives or our churches are less than perfect. Take your worst enemy or the one feature of your life, society or church that causes you most despair, then put your mind into gear and think – how would God work his will through this obstacle?

    Are you childless? Maybe God is using that to give you a greater ministry, impossible with the responsibility of family? Are you powerless? Maybe God wants to show his glory and make you marvel? We may not get an answer, but it is a thrill to try, because we know everyone is either a willing agent or an unwitting instrument of the will of God.

    He’s too great, and he loves the world too much, for it to be any other way! God takes the obstacle, and makes it the instrument!

    RESPONSE: Today I will be an agent to accomplish God’s will realizing He can make me an instrument.

    PRAYER: Lord, make me an instrument of Your will and work as I choose to cooperate with You.

    Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.

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  5. Prayer request for myself. Someone has confronted me with a private issue they are dealing with, and it is troubling me big time. I am asking the Lord to please guide my tongue and emotions. I only want to do what is in his will. I can’t go into detail on what this issue is they told me, but it’s causing grief. I was given the scripture to address the issue, but don’t have the timing or words to confront this person yet. The last thing I want to do is cause emotional harm to anyone, but I do know the truth in God’s word can’t be ignored.

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    1. I’m quite sure you are aware of this but during emotional times we wait fully on Him until we have His peace and words to proceed. Only a reminder here and only because this is what my week has been in an area. The confronting “thought” brought up much, the actual confronting is now surrounded in His Peace. Today is the day and I had to wait this week until my heart was right, with none of my own emotions in the way and His purpose, His love leading. Praying for you James. It’s certainly not easy and no way to tell how the person will react, but still……..His peace is just so present.

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    2. I received the answer I needed. Thanks for the prayers everyone. The answer is I remain silent at this point in time.

      I don’t have a photographic memory when it comes to scripture, but the one’s I was given are forever stored away for easy retrieval. 🙂

      What I was given was the truth in God’s Word and I will stand by that. Each one of us needs to ask for more Clarity, Discernment and Wisdom in all areas of our own lives.

      Each and everyone of us has to give an account, so remember what Betty said “Keep a short list with the Lord”.

      We all have to remember that we don’t get a “Once Saved Always Saved” ticket from the Lord. Sin is Sin — no matter if it is simply in thought.

      A final thought — The Lord Will Never Ever Ever ask us to Sin to accomplish a goal. Pray that our minds stay focused on him.

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  6. Daily Devotional — 12/19/16

    BECOME A DISCIPLE
    Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

    Sixty-three-year-old Lena has established several secret churches in her Central Asia country. She now leads seven house fellowships which meet together in small groups. On several occasions she has had to cope with arrests. “One time police with guns entered the house where we were meeting with a group. We were taken off to the station. Of course we were afraid,” says Lena. The reason why Lena can talk so “nonchalantly” about her arrest follows quickly. She does not necessarily see it as a problem, but as an opportunity to testify.

    “I experienced how God took away my fear and gave me peace. Even more, I had the chance to tell the gospel to the head of police. While we were locked up there, I simply started to talk. I was given the opportunity to tell him what God had done for me,” says Lena. “After some time, the man only said, ‘Take your group away.’”

    While she is telling her story, there is not a trace of fear, anger or bitterness to be found on her face because of the injustice. When asked how this is possible, Lena only has one answer. In God’s Word, it says that for a long time there will be persecution, but that He will also grant a way out. She recalls Isaiah 41:10, which says, So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. So Lena lives out her life in Uzbekistan, bearing in mind that God is watching over her everywhere.

    She provides Bible teaching for Christians and has a heart for work with children and young people adding, “We have to do everything to help Christians to become mature believers.” For example, Lena and other Christians try to hold annual children’s camps where, for a few days, the children are introduced to the gospel through play. The enthusiasm of the children makes it clear that the camps are a success. But Lena and her staff encounter problems year after year. “It’s difficult to find a suitable location, where we can receive the children in safety. And things remain tense: the police may always come and disrupt the camp.”

    Despite these difficulties, Lena does not give up. She sees the church growing and hammers home the missionary message of Matthew 28, in which Jesus calls on us to make disciples of all nations. This message is what Lena is living out, in the midst of persecution.

    “We must understand that the church cannot grow without disciples,” emphasises Lena. “Become a disciple!”

    RESPONSE: Today I will become a true disciple of Jesus using every situation—good or bad—to share my faith with everyone and encourage and train other younger believers.

    PRAYER: Pray for Lena and others like her growing the Church of Jesus amid great persecution.

    Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.

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    1. Good word. I got whacked up side the head with a big bout of frustration and doubt yesterday, and into this morning. Now I see it was a coordinated attack.

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  7. Daily Devotional — 12/20/16

    EVANGELISM OPPORTUNITIES EVERYWHERE
    “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10

    Pastor Joseph Bondarenko sat on the sunny deck of the Russian river boat as it pulled out of Tyumen in Siberia and headed north up the river. The leaves on the trees were already changing colour in a blaze of autumn beauty. But this was no Love Boat. On board this old river scow were over one hundred and fifty other Christians joining this adventure. The passengers were there to assist in a one-month evangelism outreach in northern Siberian cities—places where the gospel had not been preached before.

    As Joseph soaked in the beauty of the sun and God’s creation, he thought back on his early ministry years in the nineteen fifties and sixties. His aggressive evangelism in those days resulted in imprisonment three times. Yet there in those filthy prison cells, God was still present and his ministry continued. Joseph led so many to Christ in prison that they kicked him out each time. In total he lived nine years in a prison cell, isolated from his beloved wife, Mary.

    He smiled to himself as he recalled that eventful day in 1989 when the KGB agent who had him imprisoned came to talk. The officer had been watching him for years and now articulated his desire to know Jesus too. Joseph’s spirit leaped with joy as he thought back on the day that KGB agent and his family were baptized. Nothing is impossible with God.

    He relived the many crusades in recent years when Open Doors provided as many as twenty thousand Russian Scriptures for new believers who responded to the call of God on their life.

    And now with a group of musicians, preachers and follow-up personnel his vision for evangelism was continuing to be fulfilled; one whole month stopping and preaching at twenty cities along the main rivers of Siberia. At the end of the month, Joseph’s “cruise-ade” had seen over 10,000 people pray the sinner’s prayer and commit their lives to the Lord! And even more exciting is the fact that Christian young people were left behind in sixteen communities to do follow-up training and establish new churches.

    On the walls of a hall in Joseph’s church is the missionary journey history of this local body and the missionary vision maps. Joseph becomes very animated and excited as he traces the colour-coded missionary journeys for the past summers that young evangelists he is training had made into Siberia and onward toward the Far East. But more exciting for him are the dotted lines that lay out next summer’s trip plans. They reached right to the Pacific Ocean!

    Like his Master, Joseph went through much suffering and deprivation in his life. But like his Master, nothing gives Joseph more joy than knowing the angels in heaven were rejoicing.

    RESPONSE: Today I will recommit to share the good news of the gospel with everyone wherever I am.

    PRAYER: Pray that the many Joseph Bondarenko’s of our world will continue to bear much fruit.

    Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.

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  8. Another timely post from Glynda — 12/20/16; seems to go with what I have been observing and it causes much stress. People too busy with “their plans” and not listening to the Lord any longer. They haven’t walked away from their faith, but their concerns now are more for what they are planning. This isn’t about us, it’s about how we can be used to help others. Time to put aside our old thoughts and truly listen to the Lord. Do we have a calling that is now “on the back burner”???

    http://wingsofprophecy.blogspot.com/2016/12/entangled.html

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