13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me!
Verses 16 and 17 say:
16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, "The Lord be magnified!"
17 But I am poor and needy; Yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.
17 But I am poor and needy; Yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.
We recognize God is our source of help - not providing assistance to do as we please, but as the Lord of our lives, He instructs and empowers us to do as He pleases. He gives us the wisdom and the courage to navigate through the challenges of this life and reminds us that He lives in our hearts, providing us the resources that we need in order to live a life that honors Him. As God has been our help in the past, we can trust Him with our future - and I think we do well to remember His instances of help.
+++++
In Psalm 121, we can read some encouraging verses about relying on God's help. Here are verses 1, 2, and 8:
1 ...I will lift up my eyes to the hills-- From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
1 ...I will lift up my eyes to the hills-- From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
The concluding verse, verse 8, says:
8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.
It has truly been a remarkable weekend across Central Alabama, with the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," the events of that tragic Sunday afternoon where marchers who were advocating for the rights of African-Americans to vote were brutally turned back by law enforcement officials. The events of that day galvanized support for the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
This year's anniversary festivities brought an estimated 40,000 people out Saturday afternoon to hear President Obama and other speakers address the significance of the events in Selma that day 50 years ago. Yesterday, the scheduled bridge crossing re-enactment yielded perhaps double that number of people who converged on the bridge, overshadowing the official bridge crossing ceremony.
And, there were a number of reasons that brought people to Selma this weekend. I think for many, it was a time to pause and reflect on the work that has been done in the area of race relations over the past 50 years and to take a sincere look at what the future may hold. Not unexpectedly, the issue of voting rights came up. The President related in his speech his concern about the U.S. Supreme Court removing a pre-clearance from the Justice Department for states who have a history of voter suppression.
According to AL.com, the President said, "...Meanwhile, the Voting Rights Act, the culmination of so much blood and sweat and tears, the product of so much sacrifice in the face of wanton violence, stands weakened, its future subject to partisan rancor." Noting that about 100 members of Congress were expected in Selma that day, Obama said they should "pledge to make it their mission to restore the law this year." The Supreme Court decision had noted that Congress could write a new formula for the law. My concern would be that states would continue to be penalized for discriminatory practices that may have been addressed many years ago.
There were also echoes from Ferguson, Missouri...the AL.com piece also mentions that the president said, "What happened in Ferguson may not be unique, but it's no longer endemic," adding, "It's no longer sanctioned by law or by custom. And before the Civil rights movement, it most surely was."
But he said it's a more common mistake to think that incidents of racial bias are isolated.
"We know the march is not yet over. We know the race is not yet won," he said.
The march brought together a variety of agendas, many of which share some elements in common. The Guardian website stated that:
Yes, there certainly were a myriad of reasons why people showed up by the tens of thousands in Selma over the weekend. And, as we view the reports of this collective commemoration, we can also think about those defining moments of our own lives...maybe there is a place, or numerous places that have been formative and significant in your own life, and especially in your spiritual journey. There may be a place you remember where God met you in a special way, perhaps the place you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. I think it can be important to go back there in your mind and think about what God did in your live. Perhaps there was even a moment or two of failure, where you were down and out, but where God lifted you up and made Himself very real to you. We can gain a greater appreciation of our spiritual growth as we reflect on those defining moments where He has shown up in our lives.
I think of Samuel, after a strong instance of God's deliverance, as documented in 1st Samuel chapter
7. We read:
10 Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel.
11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us."
13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
Samuel called the stone, Ebenezer, designating a place where God helped the people of Israel. We can be encouraged as we document spiritual milestones and then occasionally think back on how we have seen God be faithful to us.
8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.
It has truly been a remarkable weekend across Central Alabama, with the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," the events of that tragic Sunday afternoon where marchers who were advocating for the rights of African-Americans to vote were brutally turned back by law enforcement officials. The events of that day galvanized support for the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
This year's anniversary festivities brought an estimated 40,000 people out Saturday afternoon to hear President Obama and other speakers address the significance of the events in Selma that day 50 years ago. Yesterday, the scheduled bridge crossing re-enactment yielded perhaps double that number of people who converged on the bridge, overshadowing the official bridge crossing ceremony.
And, there were a number of reasons that brought people to Selma this weekend. I think for many, it was a time to pause and reflect on the work that has been done in the area of race relations over the past 50 years and to take a sincere look at what the future may hold. Not unexpectedly, the issue of voting rights came up. The President related in his speech his concern about the U.S. Supreme Court removing a pre-clearance from the Justice Department for states who have a history of voter suppression.
According to AL.com, the President said, "...Meanwhile, the Voting Rights Act, the culmination of so much blood and sweat and tears, the product of so much sacrifice in the face of wanton violence, stands weakened, its future subject to partisan rancor." Noting that about 100 members of Congress were expected in Selma that day, Obama said they should "pledge to make it their mission to restore the law this year." The Supreme Court decision had noted that Congress could write a new formula for the law. My concern would be that states would continue to be penalized for discriminatory practices that may have been addressed many years ago.
There were also echoes from Ferguson, Missouri...the AL.com piece also mentions that the president said, "What happened in Ferguson may not be unique, but it's no longer endemic," adding, "It's no longer sanctioned by law or by custom. And before the Civil rights movement, it most surely was."
But he said it's a more common mistake to think that incidents of racial bias are isolated.
"We know the march is not yet over. We know the race is not yet won," he said.
The march brought together a variety of agendas, many of which share some elements in common. The Guardian website stated that:
While dedicating sections of the speech to the problems that afflict African Americans in particular, Obama’s address was a call to broaden the civil rights movement for the modern era, touching on the barriers to equality that still constrain the freedoms of women, Latino immigrants and gay people.There was certainly spiritual language, even though some of the themes didn't necessarily reflect a Biblical perspective. For example, there is a certain element that sees today's gay rights movement as an extension of the civil rights struggle, which I certainly disagree with - those that risked their lives cried out for the dignity of people of color. I really don't think those actions should not be interpreted as a template to force the acceptance of what the Bible regards as sinful behavior on society.
Yes, there certainly were a myriad of reasons why people showed up by the tens of thousands in Selma over the weekend. And, as we view the reports of this collective commemoration, we can also think about those defining moments of our own lives...maybe there is a place, or numerous places that have been formative and significant in your own life, and especially in your spiritual journey. There may be a place you remember where God met you in a special way, perhaps the place you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. I think it can be important to go back there in your mind and think about what God did in your live. Perhaps there was even a moment or two of failure, where you were down and out, but where God lifted you up and made Himself very real to you. We can gain a greater appreciation of our spiritual growth as we reflect on those defining moments where He has shown up in our lives.
I think of Samuel, after a strong instance of God's deliverance, as documented in 1st Samuel chapter
7. We read:
10 Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel.
11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us."
13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
Samuel called the stone, Ebenezer, designating a place where God helped the people of Israel. We can be encouraged as we document spiritual milestones and then occasionally think back on how we have seen God be faithful to us.
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