Pastor’s Corner

Trivia:

Well the most affordable state to love in has been found to be Mississippi. Their top industry is forestry, as well as producing the most farm-fresh catfish, sweet potatoes, cotton and pulpwood.

Was that a surprise to you?

Can you guess who the singer was that made famous the song "Splish Splash"? Was it Richie Valens; Paul Anka; Bobby Darin; or Fats Domino?

Challenge:

Psalm 60:6-12 "God has promised this by His holiness: "I will divide up Shechem with joy. I will measure out the valley of Succoth. 7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh, too. Ephraim, my helmet, will produce my warriors, and Judah, my scepter, will produce my warriors, and Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings. 8 But Moab, my washbasin, will become my servant, and I will wipe my feet on Edom and shout in triumph over Philistia" 9 Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will bring me victory over Edom? 10 Have you rejected us, O God? Will you no longer march with our armies? 11 Oh, please help us against our enemies, for all human help is useless. 12 With God's help we will do mighty things, for He will trample down our foes."

In these first verses 6-8 God reminds the people of Israel of His promises. Here he speaks about His division of the promised land, and reminding them that all of the land belongs to Him. By His ultimate power over all those in the land, both the enemies and His chosen people. All of these promises that He is recounting to the people are the consequence of His "holiness" at the beginning of verse 6.

Shechem was a city that is located 65 miles north of Jerusalem that Genesis 12:6 tells of the city where Abram traveled through at that time was under the control of the Canaanites. While Succoth is a city that was east of the Jordan River, this was the first place that Jacob built a house, where the name of this city means "shelters". Now Gilead was a mountainous region that overshadowed Succoth, and a place that Jacob would feed his livestock on. And Manasseh was a fertile land well suited for raising large herds of sheep and cattle due to the fact that it was surrounded by the Jordon River as found in Numbers 32:33.

Next in verses 9-11 David reminds the people of God that they will fail to experience blessing unless they seek God's help in all of these things. This necessity of the people of Israel to be cared for through a "fortified city" and the protection over their armies by God, as well as, help against the enemies of God's people and their armies, upon trusting in God then their enemies will remain helpless. But verse 12 remindes them, the nation of Israel, that with God's help they can do mighty things, and defeat their enemies.

This is such an important lesson for Israel and all of us to remember, to the extent that these exact words are repeated in Psalm 108:10-13. You may be asking, Just what is the concrete truth we need to master in our life, especially in our times of struggle? We must always remember that our human effort is necessary, however, our most important focus needs to be directed to God and His working in our lives.

We must keep focused on Him and His power over our enemies "He will trample down our foes".

We must not give up moving forward, but at the same time we need to remember that it is by His working that we become victorious. Remember: Albert Einstein's wise words to us, though he was a Godly inventor, reminded us of this fact. "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."

SO GO WITH GOD move forward never forgetting to speak to Him daily, and most importantly listening to His instructions through daily reading the Bible. Set aside your human reasoning and seek help from Him as you attempt to "do mighty things".