the lord is my rock

  
     The Lord is My Rock 
The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower (Psalm 18:2).
 
WE MAY NOT THINK MUCH ABOUT the value of a rock, today. But in some parts of the world and at times in history, the idea of a rock was very important. If you’re going to build a house, you want to build it upon a rock that will not move and crack the walls of your house.

IN WINSTON-SALEM, NC THE NATIONAL GUARD ARMORY blew up one Sunday morning when someone flipped a light switch. Several men were killed. The building had been built on top of an abandoned garbage dump. Bulldozers covered it over with dirt and the building was built. But years passed, and the garbage dump was slowly making methane gas. The gas seeped into the building and when the light switch was flipped, the hidden spark of the switch set off the gas. The building was not built upon a rock.

IN JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA I WORKED IN A CHRISTIAN SCHOOL and church that brought in a thousand children every Sunday morning on a fleet of church buses. These children had few personal possessions and in that sandy area there simply were no rocks. The church buildings had downspouts that emptied into round basins filled with fist-size rocks.

ONE DAY WE NOTICED THAT THE ROCKS in the basins were getting low. Some of the basins were empty. We watched on Sunday mornings and saw that some of the boys who rode a bus to church were putting a rock or two in their pockets to take home as their personal rock. It was a prized possession. The bus pastors began checking the boys as they boarded the buses for home and collected the rocks. They put the rocks back in the drain basins. The next week it was to do all over again. It was the only way to keep the rest of the rocks in the drains.

DAVID THE PSALMIST TALKED ABOUT THE LORD BEING HIS ROCK, a rock big enough to make a shade from the hot sun.  It was a personal thing. Many people know nothing about a personal God they can call “my rock.” As he thought about it, God was bigger than a rock: a whole fortress and his personal deliverer. David thought about all the things God was to him and he added that God was his strength and his protecting buckler shield. Come to think of it, God was also his horn of salvation – the horn of a sheep ram was a symbol of strength.

TO DEFEND THE CITY, it was necessary to see a long way off so the watchman of the city could sound the alarm and call the defenders of the city to take their places for battle with the enemy. To see a long way off, a high tower was needed. David realized that God was his high tower. All of us need a high tower at times so we can see around us. All these things made David safe. God himself is our safety.

DAVID SAID, "ALL THESE THINGS ARE MINE!" He uses the word “my” seven times. Children learn early to call a toy or a chair “mine.” It is great to think of God as “my God!” David and Job both thought about the advantages of a rock.
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.  (Psalm 27:5)
 
From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  (Psalm 61:2)
 
Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?  She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.  From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.  (Job 39:27-29)
 
Can you say: “The Lord is my rock?” I hope you like the song for today: Hiding in Thee (Thou Blest Rock of Ages). (Dick Anthony’s Singing Men)
 
 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 JULY 23, 2018 – MONDAY       
A.M. Psalms 38-40         P.M.   Acts 23:12-35                                     
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.) If you are behind in reading, read the passage for today and then go back.
 
●Good Memory Verse:
The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower (Psalm 18:2).   (Write verse on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
●Song for Today:
Hiding in Thee (3:10) (Dick Anthony’s 16 Singing Men)       
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZe88UQkyU8
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

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