Joey's Journal - September 10, 2006
Almighty Father, thank You for sending Your angels to watch my family as we slept. Thank You for giving us another day in this temporarily residence yet always longing for a more permanent residence with You, Lord. Thank You also for watching over my wife and bringing her safely home. I give thanks and praise to You for controlling Joshua’s sinus allergy and not get serious. May You continue to heal him and completely cure the allergy. Jesus, please be with Joel and watch over him and protect him from any mishaps or misbehavior in school. Make him more and more attentive to his teachers and his temper controlled.
Lord, may I understand Your Word better as I continue reflecting on the Book of Psalms. May You be beside me and breathe Your wisdom and truth so that I may impart Your instructions from the Word. Let me stay focused in You. Jesus, may You always be the center of my life. I pray all these in Jesus’ Holy and Precious Name. Amen.
My Reading - Psalm 35
Great is the Lord who enjoys helping his servant
O Lord, oppose those who oppose me. Declare war on those who are attacking me. Put your armor, and take up your shield. Prepare for battle, and come to my aid. Lift up your spear and javelin and block the way of my enemies. Let me hear you say, ‘I am your salvation!’ Humiliate and disgrace those trying to kill me; turn them back in confusion. Blow them away like chaff in the wind- a wind sent by an angel of the Lord. May their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them. Although I did them no wrong, they dug a pit for me. So let sudden ruin overtake them! Let them be caught in the snare they set for me! Let them fall to destruction in the pit they dug for me.
Then I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be glad because he rescues me. I will praise him from the bottom of my heart. ‘Lord, who can compare with you? Who else rescues the weak and helpless from the strong? Who else protects the poor and needy from those who want to rob them?’ Malicious witnesses testify against me. They accuse me of things I don’t even know about. They repay me with evil for the good I do. I am sick with despair. Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them. I even fasted and prayed for them, but my prayers returned unanswered. I was sad, as though they were my friends or family, as if I were grieving for my own mother. Bur they are glad now that I am in trouble; they gleefully join together against me. I am attacked by people I don’t even know; they hurl slander at me continually. They mock me with the worst kind of profanity; and they snarl at me. How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing? Rescue me from their fierce attacks. Protect my life from these lions! Then I will thank you in front of the entire congregation. I will praise you before all the people. Don’t let my treacherous enemies rejoice over my defeat. Don’t let those who hate me without cause gloat over my sorrow. They don’t talk of peace; they plot against innocent people who are minding their own business. They shout that they have seen me doing wrong. ‘Aha,’ they say. ‘Aha! With our own eyes we saw him do it!’
O Lord, you know all about this. Do not stay silent. Don’t abandon me now, O Lord. Wake up! Rise to my defense! Take up my case, my God and my Lord. Declare me, ‘not guilty,’ O Lord my God, for you give justice. Don’t let enemies laugh at me in my troubles. Don’t let them say, ‘Look! We have what we wanted! Now we will eat him alive!’ May those who rejoice at my troubles be humiliated and disgraced. May those who triumph over me be covered with shame and dishonor. But give great joy to those who have stood with me in my defense. Let them continually say, ‘Great is the Lord, who enjoys helping his servant.’ Then I will tell everyone of your justice and goodness, and I will praise you all day long.
My Reflection – David calls on to the Lord to rescue him. He begs the Lord not to be silent as the Lord sees all that is happening to him; slander, false accusations, insults and gossips on the misery and troubles that engulfed him. He did not tire or lose hope but kept praising the Lord because of His justice and goodness and that his Lord would hear the call of a faithful servant. His Lord will not abandon him and would deliver him from his enemies that hunt him.
I am reminded of this story that an uncle used to tell about this man servant who worked for a prominent family during World War II in the Philippines. This servant was a faithful and honest man who was accused by the townsfolk of collaborating with the Japanese forces. Those days, collaborators were looked at as traitors to motherland and were harshly treated by the townsfolk, some even killed. The servant was kidnapped by a group of vigilantes and brought to their safe house, forced and beaten up to admit his wrong doings and confess to implicate the household he was working for as pro-enemy. The servant took on all the beatings, insults and hardships but never gave in. He was faithful to his master, who treated him with much dignity and even adopted him as part of the family while under their employ. The vigilantes fearing of the prominence and connections of this family with liberating forces decided to let him go. When the servant was back to the family, he told the master of the horrific ordeal he went through and showed the signs of the torture and beatings. But, he said ‘I always knew, sir, you will be here to accept me back because I have served you faithfully!’ The master broke down and carried him to the house and cared for his servant’s wounds. This servant was never called a servant after that, but carried the family name of the master.
The Lord, our God, allows all the bad things to happen to us in order for us to persevere during these hard times. God knew David was after His heart yet, He let him go from trial to trial so that he will learn and persevere. But most of all, God knew of David’s faithfulness, just like in the story, the master, who knew the servant’s undying faithfulness. This is why, we should be forever faithful to our Father, and during times of uncertainty and trials, we call on His help to rescue us and deliver us from this situation. Wouldn’t our perfect Lord and Father not stretch His Hand out to help us? I am sure He will! He is such an awesome Father!
My Prayer – Father in Heaven, I thank You that You are a God slow to anger but quick to give mercy to us sinners. You have forgiven us time and time again for the hurts we hurl at You. We are not worthy to be called Your sons if we do not see Your justice and goodness. We must seek You and repent for our sins to be acceptable to You. Lord, I ask for Your forgiveness to those times I failed to obey You. Purify and cleanse my heart so that I may stand firm on earth and long to be in Your presence in Heaven. Amen.
by Joey B.
Lord, may I understand Your Word better as I continue reflecting on the Book of Psalms. May You be beside me and breathe Your wisdom and truth so that I may impart Your instructions from the Word. Let me stay focused in You. Jesus, may You always be the center of my life. I pray all these in Jesus’ Holy and Precious Name. Amen.
My Reading - Psalm 35
Great is the Lord who enjoys helping his servant
O Lord, oppose those who oppose me. Declare war on those who are attacking me. Put your armor, and take up your shield. Prepare for battle, and come to my aid. Lift up your spear and javelin and block the way of my enemies. Let me hear you say, ‘I am your salvation!’ Humiliate and disgrace those trying to kill me; turn them back in confusion. Blow them away like chaff in the wind- a wind sent by an angel of the Lord. May their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them. Although I did them no wrong, they dug a pit for me. So let sudden ruin overtake them! Let them be caught in the snare they set for me! Let them fall to destruction in the pit they dug for me.
Then I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be glad because he rescues me. I will praise him from the bottom of my heart. ‘Lord, who can compare with you? Who else rescues the weak and helpless from the strong? Who else protects the poor and needy from those who want to rob them?’ Malicious witnesses testify against me. They accuse me of things I don’t even know about. They repay me with evil for the good I do. I am sick with despair. Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them. I even fasted and prayed for them, but my prayers returned unanswered. I was sad, as though they were my friends or family, as if I were grieving for my own mother. Bur they are glad now that I am in trouble; they gleefully join together against me. I am attacked by people I don’t even know; they hurl slander at me continually. They mock me with the worst kind of profanity; and they snarl at me. How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing? Rescue me from their fierce attacks. Protect my life from these lions! Then I will thank you in front of the entire congregation. I will praise you before all the people. Don’t let my treacherous enemies rejoice over my defeat. Don’t let those who hate me without cause gloat over my sorrow. They don’t talk of peace; they plot against innocent people who are minding their own business. They shout that they have seen me doing wrong. ‘Aha,’ they say. ‘Aha! With our own eyes we saw him do it!’
O Lord, you know all about this. Do not stay silent. Don’t abandon me now, O Lord. Wake up! Rise to my defense! Take up my case, my God and my Lord. Declare me, ‘not guilty,’ O Lord my God, for you give justice. Don’t let enemies laugh at me in my troubles. Don’t let them say, ‘Look! We have what we wanted! Now we will eat him alive!’ May those who rejoice at my troubles be humiliated and disgraced. May those who triumph over me be covered with shame and dishonor. But give great joy to those who have stood with me in my defense. Let them continually say, ‘Great is the Lord, who enjoys helping his servant.’ Then I will tell everyone of your justice and goodness, and I will praise you all day long.
My Reflection – David calls on to the Lord to rescue him. He begs the Lord not to be silent as the Lord sees all that is happening to him; slander, false accusations, insults and gossips on the misery and troubles that engulfed him. He did not tire or lose hope but kept praising the Lord because of His justice and goodness and that his Lord would hear the call of a faithful servant. His Lord will not abandon him and would deliver him from his enemies that hunt him.
I am reminded of this story that an uncle used to tell about this man servant who worked for a prominent family during World War II in the Philippines. This servant was a faithful and honest man who was accused by the townsfolk of collaborating with the Japanese forces. Those days, collaborators were looked at as traitors to motherland and were harshly treated by the townsfolk, some even killed. The servant was kidnapped by a group of vigilantes and brought to their safe house, forced and beaten up to admit his wrong doings and confess to implicate the household he was working for as pro-enemy. The servant took on all the beatings, insults and hardships but never gave in. He was faithful to his master, who treated him with much dignity and even adopted him as part of the family while under their employ. The vigilantes fearing of the prominence and connections of this family with liberating forces decided to let him go. When the servant was back to the family, he told the master of the horrific ordeal he went through and showed the signs of the torture and beatings. But, he said ‘I always knew, sir, you will be here to accept me back because I have served you faithfully!’ The master broke down and carried him to the house and cared for his servant’s wounds. This servant was never called a servant after that, but carried the family name of the master.
The Lord, our God, allows all the bad things to happen to us in order for us to persevere during these hard times. God knew David was after His heart yet, He let him go from trial to trial so that he will learn and persevere. But most of all, God knew of David’s faithfulness, just like in the story, the master, who knew the servant’s undying faithfulness. This is why, we should be forever faithful to our Father, and during times of uncertainty and trials, we call on His help to rescue us and deliver us from this situation. Wouldn’t our perfect Lord and Father not stretch His Hand out to help us? I am sure He will! He is such an awesome Father!
My Prayer – Father in Heaven, I thank You that You are a God slow to anger but quick to give mercy to us sinners. You have forgiven us time and time again for the hurts we hurl at You. We are not worthy to be called Your sons if we do not see Your justice and goodness. We must seek You and repent for our sins to be acceptable to You. Lord, I ask for Your forgiveness to those times I failed to obey You. Purify and cleanse my heart so that I may stand firm on earth and long to be in Your presence in Heaven. Amen.
by Joey B.
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