CASTING YOUR CARES UPON HIM

Blessay Number 9, by Pastor Bulldog is a sample chapter from our book, OFF MY CHEST, FROM MY HEART, Volume 1. It seems to be timely in that the campaign for President of the United States is so confusing. This Blessay can ease anxiety over the selection and helps to resolve that whoever is elected is God's choice.
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by Pastor Bulldog -
Let me tell you about one of my favorite verses.The reason is because it calmed me down in the middle of an imagined crisis. But, this is not about me. It is about God allowing me to experience some crisis difficulties in my life so that I could pass on to you how He delivered me out of them all. My life is nothing if it is not to be used for this purpose. Pay attention.

I would define “imagined crisis” as that which looms large in the imagination until it is regarded almost as reality. It is called angst and it is very destructive to a person’s bodily systems. In the mind, danger is imminent; it’s about to happen, a kind of sword of Damocles. But, your hope is in a two-edged sword, not one hanging over your head. For believers who know how to wield the sword of the LORD, imminent danger does not have to be considered.

We’re not writing about the times the doctor gets serious with you and informs you that you have six months to live. You cannot help but be shocked, but you cannot stay in that frame of mind. You cannot afford to imagine a dire outcome for one minute after the initial shock. After all, you do have some time to do something about it; to fight against the illness or to intensify your fellowship with the LORD. God will glorified in your body whether by life or by death.

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.“ (1Peter 5:7)

I had an “imagined crisis” once, long before I had cancer. It involved a trip in a light aircraft. I am not afraid of dying, but I am afraid of flying.As with everybody else, I would rather stay here for a while. I just don’t like the “sting” of death. I’m a big baby when it comes to pain. My wife will tell you that.

It was late afternoon when we took off. The winter weather was changing threateningly. I had been invited to attend a meeting at a church in Wichita. An evangelist, a seasoned pilot, was going to fly down there to another church and invited me to tag along. Two more went with us, a student pilot and an instructor from a local Bible college.

Starting out, the student pilot had the reins and we took off. It seemed to me to be a too short of a distance take off as we swooped upward and to the right like a carnival ride. It took my breath away. I remember thinking unkind thoughts, “What a hot dog,” “What a cowboy this guy is.”

My eyes must have bugged out as we came so close to Kansas City’s tall buildings. Normal people probably would not have given it a thought, but I confess to not being normal when it comes to flying. From then on, whatever boldness I had deteriorated into white knuckle frigidity. I NEVER DID LIKE FLYING IN THE FIRST PLACE AND I WANTED TO GO HOME!

We landed safely at Cessna field, took care of our transactions and took off again, this time with the evangelist at the controls. But on the way home, it started snowing. “Oh God, please put the snow back into your ‘treasures.’” (Ref: Job 38:22)

It became big flakes and turned into blizzard conditions, destroying visibility. Eventually, the plane started icing up, but nobody seemed concerned. They just discussed whether to land at Emporia or to go on in to Kansas City. Soon there was no need for further discussion. We had crossed the no-turn-back line. All the time the pilot kept looking out at the wings with a flashlight.

The storm was blinding, but strange enough, I now had perfect peace, a change from when we first took off. I had been given a Bible lesson in the sky by a man I did not know, but I now count as a friend.

I have had my share of dangerous moments in my lifetime, especially during the ‘40s, but this caused me more alarm. Let’s just say that I’m getting older. I didn’t need to be white-knuckled because the Bible school instructor who sat next to me had his Bible on his lap, making notes and drawing diagrams and grinning. He ignored the bumps, the shakes and the snow and turned his attention to me.

“Did you ever notice this?” he asked me. Without pointing out my obvious nervousness, he tactfully treated me as an equal and gave me an exegesis of 1Peter 5:7. I would have been happy if he had just explained it to me. Actually, in the mood I was in, I didn’t want to hear it, I could not concentrate on it. Nevertheless, I am forever thankful to this kind man of God for his understanding and discernment. More Christians should have it. After force feeding 1Peter 5:7 to me, it finally sunk in. One good man’s effort paid off for me by him holding my face in the word of God in the midst of my anxiety.

There is nothing that gives total peace like the full understanding of God’s word and the actual practical application of it to your spirit and soul. It has a positive healing effect on your body. “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:" (Proverbs 1:5)

I also understood that it wasn’t until I abandoned my arrogant negative outlook that truth took hold in the context of the passage which included verse 6, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:”Then comes vs. 7, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

Here is proof that He cares for you. Almighty God who spoke the heavens and the earth into existence by His word, had no obligation to humble Himself for our sakes. But He did, as Paul records,

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in ChristJesus: 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. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:“ (Philippians 2:5-10)

He taught us how to be humble and to get rid of our burdens so that He can exalt us and make us able to execute His plan for our lives, “...that he may exalt you in due time:” Consider it taking off your filthy clothes and casting (tossing, hurling, throwing, junking) them on Him who is humble enough to take them from you.

"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:22)

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”(Philippians 4:6,7)

“Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:5)

WHY? BECAUSE HE CARES FOR YOU!

BARACK BEYOND The THRESHOLD, by Jeff Adams, Ph.D.

Funny how these things work. I knew it was coming, but I wasn’t sure of the time or manner. This afternoon I went to gym, came home and showered. Then, just as I had dried off and put on my shirt, the world changed. Delegate voices sang from the TV in the background as I walked into the bedroom. The great state of Illinois yielded to New York. Ceremonious oratory and flowery introductions raised emotions and expectations to the very top of the Pepsi Center in Denver and spilled over into the world.

Finally, the microphone passed to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton who, amidst more drama, moved that the roll call vote be suspended and that Barack Obama be proclaimed the Presidential candidate of the Democratic Party by acclamation. Speaker Nancy Pelosi put the motion up for a second and was met with united cheers. Then she called for the vote - even louder cheers. Fireworks went off; people screamed and cheered; people wept openly - the world changed, never to return to the way it was. Barack Obama became the first African-American Presidential candidate of a major party in the 232 year history of the United States of America.

This post is not about politics. I want to talk about the world changing. First, a bit of historical perspective.

Though far from voting age, the first Presidential election I remember with clarity was when John Fitzgerald Kennedy became the thirty-fifth President in 1961. He was the first Roman Catholic President. There was no Internet, blogs, or instant global communication, but I still remember the hushed grownup gossip. Some people were convinced that JFK was part of a Catholic conspiracy to take over the country. If elected President, the Pope would take control. Kennedy had already met with him and it was set up, they said. Other religions and denominations would be outlawed or subject to stringent laws. Others were convinced he was a “card-carrying communist.” The real problem, some said, is that he was owned by the Mafia. Those of you who are younger would be surprised to know just how many such rumors were out there. More level-headed people were concerned that he was far too young and inexperienced to be President of the United States. You know the rest.

Now, what’s all this about the world changing? Here are some thoughts running through my mind. Whether Obama wins the Presidency or not, the world has changed.

The world has changed because non-white Americans can now legitimately dream of growing up to become President. A door has been opened. A threshold has been crossed. This may not seem like a big deal, or you may think that the Presidency has always been available to all - unless you happen to be a non-white American. The world has changed because, in the view of many, a legitimate candidate for President finally “gets it” when it comes to change and dealing with the “real issues.” No, this is not about change in health care, foreign policy or taxation. Stop asking for “specifics.”

That is so yesterday. This is a change of paradigm, worldview and spirit. Agree or not, Obama has tapped into the imagination of many of the emerging generation of Americans and a great deal of the rest of the world.

Read the transcript of his speech in Berlin if you still don’t “get it.” To increasing numbers of youth this is not about choosing between conservative and liberal, but about blazing new trails, even if you don’t agree on all the particulars. The world has changed because Obama is neither black or white. You undoubtedly know that Senator Obama is of a white mother and a Kenyan father. Some older African-Americans have complained that he is not “black enough.” Some older Caucasian Americans have complained that he is too black and too connected to that radical black preacher Jeremiah Wright. Precisely. He is neither. Obama is the future.

Win or lose, Republican or Democrat, it makes no difference. Read my lips. Obama is the future. Just a couple of weeks ago we learned that according to current trends non-Latino Caucasians in the United States will be a minority by 2043. African-Americans percentages should not change that much. Obama is the future. You may not like it, but you won’t change it. Obama is the future even if he loses by a landslide. To many younger Americans, black or white, this is not an election about race, but ideas.

They are looking for someone to crush the “good old boy club” on BOTH sides of the aisle. Whether Obama will or can do that remains to be seen. Whether the way he proposes to do it or not lines up with your thinking is not the issue. Someday soon someone WILL change the way we do many key elements of the political process. We have been put on notice.

This is what you must see. The world has changed because the rest of the world has hope that there may someday be a President of the United States who is truly global in perspective. Again, I am just reporting, not saying this is right or wrong. Unless you travel extensively, read obsessively or have an incredible network of international friends, it will be difficult to understand just how much many in the rest of the world who love America and

Americans genuinely despise the current state of political affairs in this country. To many people, just the fact that someone like Obama has made it far as he has restores their faith in America whether or not they agree with all his policies and ideas. Even genuine born again, evangelical believers in other countries are appalled by what they perceive to the be the arrogance and insensitivity of the current administration. They can’t understand why the current adminstration seems to be clueless to even understand, care about or communicate the “real issues,” as they perceive the world. Many people in other countries are following this election closer than some of you, because they understand that what happens here in the world’s only superpower does affect them in real time. When asked, I have seen true shock on the faces of believers in other countries when I tell them that I think George Bush is a genuine believer and a fundamentally decent individual regardless of what you think of his politics. On the first Tuesday of November members of our church will go to the polls and they will vote for McCain, Obama or someone else. Some won’t vote at all. This is America. Those are the options available to us. As Christians we can openly disagree about politics. There is no “Christian candidate.” There may be, though, candidates who are Christians. Conceivably, a candidate who is a genuine Christian may not be the best political candidate in your opinion or mine. That’s the American way of life. It’s always been like that. This is the part that hasn’t changed, thank God!

Here’s what I think we should consider - our mission is not to elect a “Christian candidate” as President of the United States. Christians will disagree about partisan politics - always have. Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ among all the peoples of the world. Consider, pray and vote your conscience. Then, consider how the world has changed and how that affects our mission.

However you cast your vote, or not, here’s what we should be able to agree upon.

The world is different now than two decades ago. It’s not going to go back to the way it was. How can we effectively carry out the mission God has entrusted to us? We are not God-appointed custodians of the way it used to be; we are God-appointed agents of transformation.

What are the issues and questions that are being asked by the emerging generation and by people in other parts of the world? What does the Bible instruct regarding those issues and questions? Our country (and much of the world) is becoming increasingly diversified by globalization. How should the church model the world as it should be according to the Bible? At a time when diversity is fast becoming a reality, should the church lead the way in promoting suspicion, distrust, prejudice and segregation, or should the church model Paul’s description of the church in Ephesians 2 as breaking down walls of separation? I don’t want to spend the rest of my life lamenting how the world is not like it used to be. Regardless of what happens politically, we live in a world that presents opportunities to propagate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a degree unheard of since the First Century. I want to embrace the reality of God’s world as it stands and the opportunities it affords.

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Dr. Jeff Adams is Senior Pastor of the Kansas City Baptist Temple and founder/director of The Shepherd's School of the Ministry, founder/director of Que Dice La Biblia, off-campus by video Bible School for Hispanic Pastors around the world. Jeff ministered for ten years in Central America, becoming Senior Pastor of Miramonte Baptist Church in San Salvador, El Salvador, during the height of their bloody civil war. (http://www.kcbt.org/)

IN REMEMBRANCE OF A GOOD MAN

"Tony Snow Brought the Aroma of Christ to Washington" according to Pastor Tony Beam, Professor, Talk Show Host, and Columnist.

Robert Anthony (Tony) Snow was born in Berea, Kentucky, June 1, 1955, and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He died July 12, 2006, in Georgetown University Hospital at about 2 a.m.

Mr. Snow was a television news anchor, political commentator, syndicated columnist, radio host, and the third White House Press Secretary under President George W. Bush. He was also a multi-talented and avid musician. He was ready to play his flute wherever and whenever his friends in the band, "Beats Workin" was featured, even on the street. He also played the trombone, piccolo, accordion, saxophone and guitar.

We remember Mr. Snow as one whom we always looked forward to hearing speak, whether at a Presidential News Conference, or on a television news panel, or on his radio talk show. He had a delightful and easy manner, but was firm with the press when needed, and always was prepared with accurate facts. He could deliver bad news reports and still make us feel okay about everything.

Mr. Snow was one of those individuals admired and loved by everybody with whom he came in contact. He openly showed his love for the Lord and had a good report from those in business, religion, and politics, 1Timothy 3:7.

He was the kind of man others would be glad to emulate, in that, nothing but good could be said about him. He was a beloved family man and leaves his wife, Jill, their son and two daughters, ages 10 to 15.

LIFEBOAT JUDGMENT CALLS, There is one lawgiver, who is able to save . . . James 4:12.

The year was 1945 and the war in Europe was raging to an end. Hostilities in Asia were on-going at a great loss of American lives. I was 17 and in training by the Coast Guard to be a merchant seaman in the US Maritime Service at Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, NY.

There were 10,000 trainees with me at the largest training facility of the military services. Training was about seamanship, but it was also about survival; how to man the guns aboard ship with the Navy Armed Guard, how to survive in a flaming ocean after taking a torpedo hit, and how to jump into a sea filled with wreckage from the ship.

Then, we learned about the rules of the life boat. (172 ships were sunk off the Atlantic Coast of the U.S.A. Some residents in Florida reported seeing the smoke of a torpedoed ship).

Our instructor of lifeboat procedure was a crusty old Chief Petty Officer with frosty white hair and a weathered face and a trace of a Scottish accent. He was neat as a pin and his dark blue wrinkle-free CPO uniform was host to many medals of war zones. Even his silence demanded our attention, but when he spoke it was as if he was talking in a raging storm.

"WHAT'S THE FIRST RULE OF THE LIFEBOAT?" he bellowed. We had no answer, so he yelled out "DISCIPLINE!" And again, "I said; WHAT'S THE FIRST RULE OF THE LIFEBOAT?" We gargled out an answer, "D-d-d-iscipline?"

"LOUDER . . . USE THAT VOICE, SEAMAN or DIE – you won’t be heard if you fall overboard. I said ((( DISCIPLINE )))." He sounded like a klaxon.

Many times I have remembered that CPO instructor: but it occurred to me since having accepted Christ as my savior, and becoming acquainted with the discipling of new Christians, how closely related the terms "disciple" and "discipline" are - Hello!

Lifeboat discipline demanded that only the highest rank of the occupants is the official captain of that boat. It made no difference if the highest rank was that of a deck officer, an engineer, the chief steward or ship’s baker. His word is like the law of the “Medes and the Persians.”

Let's assume that our ship is sinking and we are adrift in a lifeboat. Our qualified “captain” is the Purser, a Naval Reserve Lieutenant Junior Grade, an amiable and decent man with experience in buying supplies for the ship and handling the payroll.

He also is an agnostic, completely indifferent to religion, but goes to church when at home when it is expedient and is a Christian in name only. He believes in Maritime Law and unbending in regard to the general rule of law. But recognizing the enormous responsibility facing him could soften his heart. It’s hard to believe that there are atheists or agnostics in a lifeboat.

OR – the same man could be a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. He shares his faith when he has opportunity, but does not wear it on his sleeve. He would not try to form a “Church of the Lifeboat.” He had a daily spiritual walk with the Lord, centered on the word of God, the Bible. His hard decisions were dependent upon “What saith the Lord?” or “What does the Bible say?”

"The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." Psalm 34:7.

Let's suppose further that an older couple is in the boat and the man suffers from COPD. Other occupants are an expectant mother with her little girl, three Able Bodied Seamen (their rank), and the rest are able passengers. If the sea gets slightly rougher, the boat will sink or capsize. The sea anchor, containing oil to smooth troubled waters, has little effect on an overloaded boat. Regardless of life jackets, they were all in danger of dying at sea.

I would recognize the designated captain and accept his judgment regardless of being agnostic or a believer. He would have to be smart enough to know that a completely lop-sided judgment call could lead to anarchy of a big crowd in a small boat.

“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God,” Roman 13:1.

Either of the two would advise us of our situation and clarify his position in assuming command of the boat. He would explain the only option open to him, as they all could see, was to order one person to leave. But the believer would also tell us that he had another option. He had faith in a God of miracles and before he chose what seems to men to be the only option, he would want to pray for a miracle.

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:" 1Peter 1:7.

What kind of miracle would God perform? There is only one kind of miracle with God: one that saves. God is not restricted by our imaginations, he has many options. Read your Bible and make a word study of "miracles." Experience your personal miracle of re-birth - spiritually, John 3:3-8.

WHICH OF THE “CAPTAINS” WOULD YOU HOPE TO LEAD YOUR LIFEBOAT? Would you prefer the one who only has trust in man’s ability, or the one who has “the mind of Christ,” 1Corinthians 2:16, and seeks to know "What does the Bible say?"

Isn’t that what we want from every “captain” who makes life or death decisions which affect us? Man without the Lord, being left to his own devices, is adrift in uncertain waters.

RISING UP BEYOND ANGER by Pastor Bulldog

Have you ever been so angry that you felt the veins in your neck throbbing like a bongo beat? Have you ever seen someone whose words "blasted" from their mouth and whose face was an unhealthy magenta. Summer in the city can be hot and cause us to "lose it."

The news can make you hot under the collar and cause stress. But stress can be a good thing if it is a temporary warning that gives you a chance to do something about it. Yet, stress can be silent and unnoticed. If you try to hold it in it can kill you. But stress in any form can be the most life-threatening cause that the Devil uses to turn soldiers of the cross into ineffective non-combatants.

Last Fall the "Border Wars" between two outstanding football teams played here in Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium before a vast ESPN crowd of partisan fans. Kansas University, in Lawrence, was 11 and O; the University of Missouri, in Columbia was 10 and 1. Both were ranked in the top five in the nation.

The historical significance goes back before and during the Civil War, when Kansas anti-slavery Jayhawkers made murderous raids into Missouri, across the border, and Col. Quantrel's Rebel Bushwackers rode into Lawrence, Kansas, and massacred over 163 men indiscriminately, contributing to the term, “Bleeding Kansas”. Many of the bloodiest and most fiercely fought North/South battles occurred in eastern Kansas (Union anti-slavery) and western Missouri (Sourthern sympathizers) on the very land where we live.

Our home in Mission, Kansas, is only a mile from the border in the metro Kansas City area, about half-way between the two schools. As a loyal Kansan I watched the game with Helen. As Missouri began to run over KU, I could feel the pressure building in my head and down my neck and shoulders. Helen was tensing up also. But then, KU brilliantly fought back and almost tied the score with a last 5 second chance to win – but they lost.

Here's the silly thing: Helen and I became terribly worked up at the loss to Missouri – and K.U. wasn't even our school – Helen is a Virginia girl and we both went to college in Virginia. So - why did we get so worked up? We immediately had to set our affections on other things to rid ourselves of tension.

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory" (Colossians 3:1-4).

Anxiety that turns into angst, sadness that turns into depression, and disappointments that turn into bitterness and anger are things a Christian does not have to have and it can be managed - immediately.



This is a world full of “babies” who cannot find ways to get along unless it is by "sex, lies, and video tapes" and murders. This is not all about interpersonal relationships entirely. It is about a world gone mad ever since the recorded incident in the third chapter of Genesis.

When all the world seems to be "going to hell in a hand basket", if you are a true "born again" believer with Christ IN you and you IN Christ why do you worry about anything. You don't belong here. Your life is in the heavenlies. You are left here on earth to be conformed into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ and to reproduce other "true" Spirit-led believers.

Abraham "looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:10). And he taught his "children of promise," Isaac, and Jacob, to regard their time on earth as a pilgrimage. We are strangers in the earth, having been set free from the curse of sin. We do not need to sin or to be angry, we have the power to overcome and to obey God.

We are the only people who live in two places; enduring our pilgrimage on earth while having peace from God in the heavenles. If things get bad, we can be transported aloft and look down with pity on this sad state of mankind and their toys.

Remember the plea of a man taken into custody who said, "Can't we all just get along"? The answer is "No." Well, maybe for a while, but how long has any peace ever lasted? The greatest argument for universal sin is man himself, especially the arrogant enemies of God who think that they will usher in the Millennium by the inventions of their own superior intellects.

Actually, man is a poor steward of the earth and cannot take care of himself - and cannot find a way to live forever, except in monuments and dedicated buildings, and they all crumble in time. Cynical? No, realistic, actually.

There are millions on the face of the earth who know in their hearts that there is a God who created all things and He is love - but He is also holy and righteous; He is just and no iniquity can come into His presence, yet He is rich in grace and His mercy endures forever. He is not a God who exacts human blood for atonement of sin. It was God's blood shed for our redemption and sin was judged on the body of His only begotten Son.

And to those of us Christians who look agape at the brutality, corruption, double standards, and the no-standards of a corrupt world system, God gives an answer to us and provides a way to keep our perspective in a daily spiritual walk.

"Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth [Reckon them dead with the old man you once were; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them" (Colossians 3:5-7).

When you feel yourself turning beet red, obey the warning and leap into the heavenlies to the throne of grace where Christ sits on the right hand of God the Father and receive grace and peace. In other words, rise up and simmer down.

(Angry man image by permission, Tulio Silva)
www.theexperience.aminus3.com

ON PLACES OF REFUGE - by Pastor Bulldog

This is a major announcement! I have had a revelation from on high as to who will be the next President of the United States.

It was revealed to me that the next President, good or bad , will be an individual chosen by God. No other candidate comes into focus. (Much depends on our prayers)It is God who sets up governments and leaders and overturns them according to His will and plan.

Remember during these perilous times that God had His way with Saul in taking the kingdom from him for disobedience and giving it to David. The Spirit of God left Saul and entered into David. (1Samuel 16:13-14).

Frightening events seem to happen on a greater global scale and frequency: wars and rumors of wars and natural disorders occur almost with regularity, more than news crews can keep up with; floods, cyclones, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, volcanic eruptions, and famines – first here, then there, then everywhere.

Why should Christians wonder at all of these things. We feel they are predicted, although they cause many heart beats to increase. But one can only take so much and before you grab your head and take more analgesic pills you should ask, "Is there a place to shut it off? If we could just get off the world long enough to assuage the awful stress it would be SO nice!

There is a refuge to which we may run and jump off the world. It is the rightful place of believers whose home is in heavenly places and not here on earth. (Ephesians 1:3; 2:6)

We are here and there at the same time and we can rise above it to find peace in Christ - if He is in us.

”That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” (Hebrews 6:18-20; Psalm 110:4)

What “two immutable things?” They are not exactly known, but I believe it can be reasoned that the first immutable thing, as some suppose, was the oath made to Abraham and sealed with a covenant , in which God swore by himself, that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him, Abraham.

I believe the second immutable thing is a reference to Jesus, a “refuge,” and referring to the cities of refuge God provided for a safe place to flee from the avenger for judgement of crimes made unawares. It is clear that our Refuge from sin gives us "hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;" (Titus 1:2)

CAVE OF REFUGE

There are few who have been covered over with as much stress and angst as David. At times when it seemed impossible to escape certain death he sought refuge . He sougjt refuge for defense and direction from God.

Jesus did the same in that he retreated to a quiet mountain place to be alone with the Father. In David's many afflictions the Lord delivered him out of them all. Once he fled from Saul and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. (1Chronicles 11:15).

David looked to the Lord as his “cave” of refuge when other refuges failed him. Jesus is our refuge, as David speaks of Him prophetically, as a place to which we can flee. (Psalm 142:4-5).

There are times when everything in the world outside is as dark as a cave, but inside it is as bright as outside - as you get alone with the Lord. So, in my recliner and the Bible uploaded on my computer I escape into the recesses of my heart/mine “cave of Adullam.

”CITIES OF REFUGE

The Lord is so loving and protective of those who love Him. No detail escapes His provision of our necessities. For Israel going into the promised land, he provided six cities of refuge for those who shed blood by accident or in defense.

Each of these cities provided sanctuary and safety from avengers. The Levites to whom the cities were given also provided worshipful and religious presence. (Numbers 35:6-12).

However, there is a “flip side” to this reprieve. If any who were granted to live in a city of refuge decided he had had enough and left before their cause was judged, then the avenger was free to hunt him down and kill him. (Numbers 35:26-28).

Peter says this regarding those who accept Christ as their Savior and then turn back; “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.” (2Peter 2:20),

Three of the six cities of refuge were west of the Jordon River and three were east of the river, so that all of the 12 tribes of Israel would not be far from refuge.

But here is grace: God provided a path to each city marked by signs showing the way to those who were trying to escape their avengers. (Deuteronomy 19:2-3) Our path to God's grace is through Jesus.

JESUS OUR REFUGE

He is Our Consolation: SO – what should be our prayer? As for me, my prayer would be to pray back to the Lord, “ . . . for my soul trusteth in thee . . . . “ (Psalm 57:1-2).

He is Our Anchor: In the harbor at the Atlantic entrance into the Panama Canal, at seventeen, I stood bow watch, as our ship swung on its anchor with a flotilla of other ships waiting for passage.

What would I do if our anchor did not hold and our ship collided with other ships swinging at anchor – and the rest of the crew was ashore, on a spirits-ual observance?

Our anchor holds, yes it holds and holds! He is Our High Priest: “ . . . after the order of Melchizedek, "priest of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth,” (Genesis 14:18-20) a shadow of our high priest, Jesus.

And by Him we have access by faith within the veil where we find refuge and grace. He said for us to “come unto me and I will give you rest.”

TIM RUSSERT, 1950 - 2008

One of the highlights of Sunday morning to me was to watch "Meet the Press" before going to church. I enjoyed listening to Tim Russert, Managing Editor and Moderator, interview people of note, especially politicians.

I join millions who watched Mr. Russert over the years in expressing shock at his sudden death today at the age of 58.
I am pleased to say that for all the years I watched him I never knew that he was a liberal Democrat. It never ocurred to me to inquire. He made me not care what his politics were.

He was a true unbiased objective journalist.

He was so professional and brought the truth to the forefront from everybody even if they did not want it to come out. He was a journalist's journalist and a perfect gentleman.
The most attractive feature of Mr. Russert was that he was a true family man. It hurts to know that his son, his wife, and his father, will not be able to celebrate Father's Day with him. But they have great memories that will comfort them after the sting
of losing him wanes.
Much is being said about his life and it was a great life. He was a man that others entering the media as a profession would do well to set him up as a model and to try to emulate him. We all will learn more about Mr. Russert as the days go by; things that we never knew about him because he was a modest and humble man. He did not talk about himself. He would rather talk about his father, "Big Russ," his wife and son and family and about others.
He was a man who made a sweet difference in an ugly world. Surely we shall all be praying for his wife, son, his father, Big Russ, and family.

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