In All Things – Trust God

September 16, 2021September 16, 2021 / Bob

As I was reading Psalm 46 this morning I was reminded of all disasters around the world which appear on my daily newsfeed – floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, droughts – and the list goes on and on. I do not wish to engage in any arguments over what is man-made and what is natural when it comes to disasters. What I saw this morning in Psalm 46 is simply that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, whatever the cause.

We tend to fret and worry over the disasters that may or may not come our way when what we should do is trust God no matter what lies on the horizon. We can perhaps do some things to mitigate the effects of nature’s force but ultimately we must trust God before, during, and after the storm. Verse 10 of Psalm 46 tells us to be still and know that He is God and that He will be exalted in all the earth. If nothing else, surely the magnitude of a hurricane the size of the Gulf of Mexico or an earthquake that rocks the very ground of several states should remind us of how big God is and how small we are in comparison.

So while we in our human impotence try to determine what we should do in the face of disaster, we should first and foremost seek God in his omnipotence and trust him over and above anything that our finite minds can conceive.

¹God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
²Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
³Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

⁴There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
⁵God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
⁶The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

⁷The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

⁸Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
⁹He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariot in the fire.

¹⁰Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

¹¹The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Psalm 46 (NKJV)

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My Uncompromising Mother

May 9, 2021September 16, 2021 / Bob

My mother grew up during the depression as one of 9 children of a Baptist preacher. Times for hard for all of them, but especially for a young lady who was taller than the average man. And quite frankly, she probably could have taken on any average man and won the fight. She grew up in a God fearing home and became a God fearing wife and mother and she was a force to be reckoned with. (I tested her many times and I don’t recall one time I came out on top.)

In her work for the state of Texas in Child Protective Services she was that same force only in the cases with which she dealt, she took it personally. When she came across a child who had been abused there was nothing that would keep her from protecting that child and seeing to it that the abuser would never have that opportunity again. Judges, Sheriffs, other Law Enforcement Officers, District Attorneys, Defense Attorneys, and even her own staff and her bosses in Austin feared her. She was relentless. She saw abuse as evil and believed strongly that it was not to be tolerated, but to be obliterated.

I learned much from her tenacious spirit, but one of the things that sticks out is her uncompromising faith based on the Word of God. Today we think of compromising as good and uncompromising as bad. It’s true that compromise is something we have to learn how to handle in order to get along with people around us. But there are times when we need to be uncompromising. When it comes to our faith in Jesus Christ we must stand firmly on the truth of God’s Word. We don’t have to be belligerent or obnoxious when we take our stand, but we must stand tenaciously holding to the truth. Thanks, mom, for teaching me that sometimes we have to firmly stand and oppose the things in this world that are evil, and thanks for teaching me that God’s Word is truth – truth on which we can stand firmly and not compromise with the values the world calls good.

The War Is On, But The Enemy Has Yet To Be Identified

January 8, 2021September 16, 2021 / Bob

This Little Babe

December 19, 2020 / Bob

“This Little Babe” is one of the carols from Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols. It describes in archaic text the always relevant truth of Who Jesus is and why He was born. As the song progresses the truth remains constant as the music becomes almost cacophonous, much like the loud and confusing world in which we live. Then the last stanza affirms strongly where our only hope lies – in This Little Babe.

I added lyrics to a wonderful presentation of Britten’s “This Little Babe” as sung by the Prague Philharmonic Children’s Choir under the direction of ChoirmasterJiří Chvála, and accompanied on harp by Kateřina Englichová. Click HERE or on the photo below to view them as they sing this carol.

To view their original production video go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtZxknVrqk . To purchase their album of Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols follow the link on their Youtube page.

“This Little Babe”
From A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten

This little babe just three days old,
Is come to rival Satan’s hold
All hell doth at his presence quake,
though he himself for cold do shake;
For in this weak unarmored wise
the gates of hell he will surprise.

With tears he fights and wins the field,
his naked breast stands for a shield.
His battering shot are babish cries,
his arrows looks of weeping eyes.
His martial ensigns Cold and Need,
and feeble flesh his warrior’s steed.

His camp is pitched in a stall,
his bulwark but a broken wall;
The crib his trench, haystalks his stakes,
of shepherds he his muster makes.
And thus as sure his foe to wound,
the angels’ trumps alarum sound

My soul with Christ join thou in fight;
stick to the tents that he hath pight.
Within his crib is surest ward;
this little Babe will by thy guard.

If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy, then
flit not from this heavenly boy!

Current Events from Daniel’s Perspective

December 15, 2020September 16, 2021 / Bob

Daniel 7 – Prophecy Comes into Focus with World Events – Part2

This is the Sunday morning session of the Agape Life Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham. This class session took place on December 13, 2020 and in that session we discussed Daniel 7 in the light of world events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 presidential election, and the Great Reset. The prophecies of Daniel and The Revelation seem to be playing out before us. We discuss how to respond as believers in the One Who wins in the End.

Click the link above or the image below to view the video.

Daniel 7 – The World Today as Prophesied in the Bible

December 12, 2020December 15, 2020 / Bob

Daniel 7 – Prophecy Comes into Focus with World Events

This is the Sunday morning session of the Agape Life Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham. This class session took place on December 6, 2020 and in that session we discussed Daniel 7 in the light of world events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 presidential election, and the Great Reset. The prophecies of Daniel and The Revelation seem to be playing out before us. We discuss how to respond as believers in the One Who wins in the End.

Click the link above or the image below to view the video.