Psalms 18:30 — As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

Who can you trust? Trust God. Trust God alone. 

Psalm 18 is a Psalm that al? believers should wrap around them, like a warm blanket when cold winds blow and the storm clouds gather.

It tells of the Lord as the powerful rescuer and redeemer that He is, no matter what situation we find ourselves in.

The psalm starts by stating David’s love for God and recognizing and thanking Him as the Deliverer when times get tough. Next he describes all the things God has saved him from and follows up with talking about how God has stepped in at those times. Then comes a very comforting assertion of the way God’s help has been because of David’s own character, and how that help proves God’s own character — full of justice and dealing with men according to their deserts. David returns to the theme of God’s activity on his behalf, and his expectation that it would strike fear into the hearts of prospective enemies who would slink away. Finally David declares his thanks to God and identifies Him as the provider of all blessings now — and forever.

David could look back at so many times that God had rescued Him, stood by him in the battle against seemingly unbeatable opposition. I can look back too, at times when — although the danger has not been so great, nor the enemies so mighty — He has been at my side. And unlike with the stock market, with God, past history is a predictor of future performance!

So how is it with you? Are you one of those who feel like this has been a really bad week? Are you looking forward and thinking God’s church faces an uphill battle forever against overwhelmingly powerful enemies? Go back and read Psalm 18. Remember too “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:” (Isaiah 59:1) and “There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.” (Joshua 21:45).

God is trustworthy — not only because He is willing to be worthy of our trust, but because He is able. It’s easy sometimes to measure ourselves against our problems and our enemies and make them seem larger than they are. Measure our problems and our enemies against God and we will see how small they are. And He is trustworthy!

Matthew 6:33-34 — But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:33-34 KJV)

I think I’ve done something like this before … but the idea seems worth repeating! Sometimes the titles of the songs we rehearse in choir just seem to deliver a beautiful coordinated message. Tonight we had:

— Open Up The Heavens — God’s power filling our praise.

— Don’t Worry About Tomorrow — The Lord Will provide.

— Heaven Bound — what It Says!

— Holding On To Me — Jesus is holding on to me.

— Redeemed — I am redeemed.  

It’s a wonderful collection, and when you tie the titles together they tell a most wonderful story.

I am redeemed : But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. (Isaiah 43:1).

Not only has He redeemed me, but Jesus is holding on to me: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

Because of what Jesus has done for me, I am bound for heaven: But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, (Philippians 3:20 ESV)

With all that in mind, how could I possibly worry about tomorrow? Of course tomorrow can take care of itself! I’m sure you know the passage in Matthew 6 where Jesus points to the one reliable reason for me to be completely confident. God is looking after me!

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:31-33)

The message of salvation is so wonderful — from the redemption from sin to the heavenly destination — it’s just natural to cry out to God and ask Him to pour His power into our praise — and He does.

When you think of the wonderful messages in these songs, are you surprised that I come away refreshed from every choir rehearsal? God blesses us in so many ways …

Colossians 3:16 — Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Did you realize that singing is not optional? Well it isn’t! Paul makes it clear … we have a duty to teach and admonish each other in our singing. Harry Ironsides says “as thus controlled by the Word of God, our lives will be lyrical and our hearts filled with melody, in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord.” I know what he’s talking about — since I became a Christian I have found myself singing more and more, which is a funny thing …

Here’s the thing. When I was about nine years old. I was humiliated in a singing lesson. There was some joking around going on and the teacher decided to make an example of someone. I was called to the front of the class, shouted at, and told to sing the song on my own — which of course I couldn’t. It was six years and a different school before I had gained enough confidence to be an unobtrusive occasional part of a school chorus.

I sang a bit in college, but somehow singing wasn’t a natural part of my daily life … and now I know it should have been.

What’s really sad, of course, is that there’s nothing unique about what happened to me. I’m sure some of the people reading this piece have had similar experiences. Knowing that, I was fascinated to read of research conducted at Northwestern University that showed that singing on key is, to a great extent, a learnable skill. Here’s what I read:

Children who have been told they can’t sing well are even less likely to engage with music in the future and often vividly remember the negative experience well into adulthood. Being called “tone deaf” can have devastating effects on a child’s self-image, the researchers wrote in the study. … Singing on key is likely easier for some people than others. “But it’s also a skill that can be taught and developed, and much of it has to do with using the voice regularly,” one of the researchers said. “Our study suggests that adults who may have performed better as children lost the ability when they stopped singing.” 

(You can see more details at:

http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2015/01/cant-sing-keep-atit.html#sthash.npFTI6ka.dpuf)

So what do I draw from this? Three things.

First, God wants us to sing — so anything that gets in the way is ungodly.

Second, if you don’t think you can sing, sing anyway. Practice makes perfect (or at least, makes it better).

Third, don’t let anyone get away with discouraging a child you know from singing — especially if it’s the Lord’s song. Sing along!

Reve?ation 22:18-19 — For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

I don’t spend as much time studying the Bible as I would like. Myra and I read through the Bible every year. I read at least another chapter every day. But I really don’t have as much time as I would like to just really dig in and build my understanding of what God is saying to me. 

There’s an old saying that the devil in the details. I prefer Gustave Flauberts comment that “Le Bon Dieu et dans le detail” — that is “God is in the details”. God has communicated, in great detail, who He is, who we are and what He expects of us. What’s more, He has said — repeatedly — that there will be no forgiveness for anyone who adds to, or subtracts from, His message.

The passage at the head of this piece serves, in its way, as an example of why I care so much about studying to improve my understanding of scripture. At a first look it’s strictly a command not to mess with the Revelation. Studying it, though, in the context of related passages such as Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32 and Proverbs 30:5-6 seems to make it clear that no part of the Bible is to be meddled with. Take a yet closer look, however, and compare two or three distinguished commentators notes and you will find that there’s more than one opinion about whether John, specifically, intended his words to apply to more than the Revelation. I don’t know the answer yet — which is sort of my point. I need to study more.

Many people, over the years, have added their own “rules” to God’s Word. More recently, it has become popular to discount or devalue some scripture in the interest of “inclusivity”. Often the people offering their own interpretation (and remember “no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” — 2 Peter 1:20) are charismatic, persuasive. The only way to deal with such folks is to know and understand the details of scripture thoroughly to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15). So as I said, I need to spend more time studying …

Philippians 2:25-30 — Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. “… Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me. 

Paul’s comments about Epaphroditus (“Handsome”) don’t get as much coverage as the more famous passage about Jesus in the same chapter:
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)

What had never struck me before is that Epaphroditus is a perfect example of what Paul was talking about. To make my point I want to look at just two words in the original Greek text. 

The first word is “leitourgon“. It’s translated in the King James Version as “He that ministered”. It’s an odd word, not much used in Classical Greek — in or out of the Bible. It has a variety of shades of meaning, all around the idea of serving — often as a representative, and often without compensation. Epaphroditus was Paul’s assistant, at his own expense, representing the Philippians — just as Jesus made Himself a servant.

The second word is fascinating. It’s “parabouleusamenos“. It’s translated in the King James Version as “not regarding” — but it’s the word used for the gambler hazarding everything on a sing?e throw of the dice. Epaphroditus was all-in — he was putting his life on the 

line to look after Paul. It was risky enough to associate himself with a prisoner in chains, but also Rome was a notoriously unhealthy place — which Epaphroditus found out!

Not only did Epaphroditus take on the form of a servant, but he was prepared to be obedient “unto death”.

Paul, of course, didn’t regard Epaphroditus as a servant — Paul too was a servant, and willing to risk his life for the sake of the gospel. Epaphroditus was his fellow-worker and companion. 

Paul and Epaphroditus both illustrate perfectly the humility and crazy courage that should be the hallmark of every Christian. Those are building blocks for the Kingdom!