The Sword of the LORD

"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him."   (Psalm 62:5)   We all have expectations.   We expect to be reasonably healthy in our lifetimes and to grow old before we die.   We expect to be financially stable and be able to care for ourselves and for our loved ones.   We expect to be valued and respected as individuals and to be treated justly by those who are over us.   Those are just a few of the big things that we expect, but it goes much further than that.   We expect that our favorite sports team will always win.   We expect that every light will turn green for us when we are in a rush, and that we won't get behind any slow or elderly drivers.   We expect that our private time be respected and not interrupted by unplanned phone calls, visits, or requests for assistance or time. Needless to say, our expectations are all too often dashed.   We are told to "hope for the best," but by doing this very t...

My wife and I recently attended a surprise 80th birthday party for my wife's aunt.   There were lots of cousins, great-cousins, and even 3rd generation cousins present at the party, some of whom had come a good distance to attend; so it was great to see everybody and catch up on news of their families.   My wife later commented about how one little baby who was just a few months old was able to pick out her mother's voice even above 40 or more other voices all talking at the same time.   Her little ears would prick up and her head would turn toward the direction of her momma's voice.   As my wife described what she observed that day, I had to think of our relationship with our heavenly Father and how similar it is to that little one.  There are many voices around us always, some are good, and some are not so good, but in the midst of so many voices our Father's rings out true and distinct from all others.  We know that we can trust that voice because it...

"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.   Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.   Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together: whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD."   (Psalms 122:1-4)   Psalms 120 - 134 form a group of 15 songs that are designated as Songs of Degrees, or Songs of Ascent (literally, to go up, or steps).   There are a few differing theories as to their purpose, but all agree that they were sung by the Israelites as they made their way toward Jerusalem and the temple of God.   Some suggest that they were used by the Jews as they returned to the holy land from their captivity in Babylon.   Others believe that they may have been sung as the worshippers climbed the 15 steps that led from the court of the women to the court of the men in the temple at Jerusalem.   What I believe is the b...