Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “What Will You Say?” – Monday, 16 June 2014 - Scripture: Psalm 91:1-16

Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “What Will You Say?” – Monday, 16 June 2014 - Scripture: Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of Yahweh, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
    my God, in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler,
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers.
    Under his wings you will take refuge.
    His faithfulness is your shield and rampart.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
    nor of the arrow that flies by day;
6     nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
    nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    and ten thousand at your right hand;
    but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes,
    and see the recompense of the wicked.
9 Because you have made Yahweh your refuge,
    and the Most High your dwelling place,
10 no evil shall happen to you,
    neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
11 For he will put his angels in charge of you,
    to guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands,
    so that you won’t dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and cobra.
    You will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot.
14 “Because he has set his love on me, therefore I will deliver him.
    I will set him on high, because he has known my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him.
    I will be with him in trouble.
    I will deliver him, and honor him.
16 I will satisfy him with long life,
    and show him my salvation.”
“What Will You Say?” by Brian Charette
The bathtub is not your fortress.” Those may seem like odd words to live by, but I know someone who does.
I have a friend who grew up in an area where tornadoes are frequent. He loves to tell tornado stories. He often recalls spending nights as a boy in the bathtub with his young siblings. Apparently, the bathroom and bathtub are some of the safest places in a storm. After each storm passed, his mother carefully reminded him that it wasn’t the bathtub, the bathroom, or even his parents who had protected him. “I will say of the Lord,” she would quote, “‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust’” (Psalm 91:2).
The thrust of this passage isn't just the statement that the Lord is our refuge and fortress, but also the insistence that "I will say" it. The psalmist’s implied entreaty is to acknowledge the powerful protective hand of God in the life of “whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High” (Psalm 91:1).

Many things may play a role in our protection—be they tubs, teachers, seatbelts, or spouses—but the believer is, finally, in God’s trustworthy arms.

Hymn for Today:

“A Mighty Fortress is Our God” by Martin Luther (1529); Translator: Frederick H. Hedge (1852)
1. A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper he, amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
does seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
2. Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing,
were not the right Man on our side,
the Man of God's own choosing.
You ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth his name,
from age to age the same;
and he must win the battle.
3. And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God has willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo! his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.
4. That Word above all earthly powers
no thanks to them abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts are ours
through him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill:
God's truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever!
Thought for Today:
“Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me,
    for my soul takes refuge in you.
Yes, in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge,
    until disaster has passed.” (Psalm 57:1)
Prayer Needs:
Many People in Equatorial Guinea will come to know Jesus the Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
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