by Jerry Kingery

My Hiding Place

Blessed be the LORD: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.
For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.
O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.
Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the draught of summer.
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.
For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: i will guide thee with mine eye.
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall encompass him about.
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous:  and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.
Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltry and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise.
For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.

from Psalms 31-33

For a free Scripture packet, please write From the Bible, BIBLE FOUNDATION, PO Box 908, Newberg, Oregon 97132; e-mail: bf@bf.org.

  The elements of hierarchy hold inclusiveness; it also holds the element of exclusiveness. When we declare Matthew 6: 9 b…Our Father, we declare inclusively. He is our Father: all of our Father, if it is true that we are called as children by His name. The words, Your God imply the fellowship of a friend. A friend is, as Augustine says it, half one’s self.  He is studious and desirous of how he may do his friend good. He promotes his welfare as his own. Jonathan ventured the king’s displeasure for his friend David. God is our friend; therefore, He will turn all things to our good.
There are false friends. Christ was betrayed by a friend. God is a faithful, a permanent friend, and is known as The Best Friend. At a forecast of 90 degrees and cloudy, humans often fail the test. Many deal with their friends as some do with flowers. While they are fresh, they put them in their bosoms, but when they begin to wither, they toss them away. Accordingly, if prosperity shines on men, then friends will look upon them. But if there be a cloud of adversity, they will not come near them. But God is a friend forever! He will never betray you or remove His love from you.
Offenses and adversity will happen to all humans; sooner or later. But betrayal is a choice. It should never become the garments or shoes of a brother or sister. We must put on Christ, having our feet covered with peace, forgiveness and truth. No one makes you lie, become deceitful, or walk in betrayal; not even the devil. He did not have power to make you do anything!! It was in your heart all along; for out of your heart comes the issues of life.
This week let us walk away from legal lies and remember to do unto others as we will have them do unto us…for it truly won’t matter under any circumstance who started it, know that we do reap what we have sown. If you want to be forgiven you must learn to be merciful and forgiving! Get out of your comfort zone, there is a world of darkness waiting on your light!
 Have a great week!

Inviting the Uninvited
Rev. J. R. Reid

Once it happened: The weather was bad and stormy, and an airplane was lost. The fog was so dense that everybody became afraid and fearful. A minister was aboard; except for him, everybody was weeping, crying, perspiring. The moment was dangerous. At any moment the plane could crash. Even the pilot was perspiring and nervous. The minister told everybody to kneel down and pray. They all kneeled and started praying except a small businessman. The minister asked the businessman, “Why are you not praying?” The man said, “Forgive me, pastor, because I don’t know how to pray. I have never prayed.” And there was no time to teach the man: any moment the plane would be falling, any moment it would hit the ground. So the minister said, “Okay, there is no time left now. So you just behave as if you are in a church.” The businessman started walking down the aisles collecting money.
The businessman was one of the invited guests to the dinner Jesus spoke of in his parable on people who were invited to a wedding but did not come. Even at the moment of death a businessperson thinks of the world. What’s going to happen to the things accumulated on earth? At the last moment money remains the focus.
Here is the problem. Many of us receive a daily invitation from the Lord to come and dine and in our mind we have good explanations for refusing the offer. We are caught up in what WE are doing and have reserved, maybe, a few hours a week for the Lord. Many of us don’t even do that. Maybe one hour on Sunday. No more! And the pastor better keep the service to one hour! What we do on a daily basis seems reasonable, even though it takes hours of the week for us to do it! We don’t need Sunday school, vacation Bible school, Bible study or any other work in the church. Don’t invite us! We are busy!
Jesus tells a simple, yet significant parable. The symbolic meaning of the parable is concerned with a particular type of Christian or nonbeliever who spends most of their time doing other things instead of seeking the Kingdom of God. People in this type usually call themselves business people or busy people. God knows we need more business people in our community but for our purposes the word business person means anyone who allows anything to become an excuse to keep them from attending the banquet of the Lord. Our type of business person is one who is busy about non-significant things, the trivial, the outside, about things, commodities, but not busy about developing and maintaining a strong relationship with God. This person is lost in the world and apart from the few minutes or hours he gives to the Lord a week – if that – there is always something else to do. This person thinks of money, accumulation and possessions, but seldom of their soul salvation unless they are feeling old and feeble, sick or dying. It is for this reason that the master in our parable begin to invite the uninvited. We can only hear and receive God’s invitation if we are unoccupied with the things of this world when the invitation comes. Those who are somebody in the world of ego will always refuse the invitation, because the ego needs constant occupation and find it hard to enjoy life. Do you know people that have to keep busy or they will go crazy? They invent work so they don’t have to spend time with themselves or other people. If they don’t invent work, they have to be entertained.
The master in our story told his servant to go find and bring those on the road who are nobodies because God has to share. If the VIPs were not coming, bring the beggars, the lost, lonely and last. Bring vagabonds, lost sheep and those who have gone astray. It is these people who will enjoy God more than emperors and kings. The wealthy, powerful and privileged are too busy! The worldly person doesn’t have time! Even the retired person has a full schedule because they have a quality of being unoccupied. It is only when we become occupied with the Lord that we accept His invitation.

May I ask what kind of investment you are making for your everlasting security? Why do I ask? Well, it is because life is so very short, and there is such a vast range of conglomerate investors pressing for information, which are leading many into confusion, and some are real and many are not. I really desire that you make the real and everlasting investment.
Did you ask which investment is real? Yes, what do you have to offer? Oh, I am so glad you asked, because I have the greatest and most real and valuable investment that anyone can make.
Have a seat, and let me tell you about the one I am sure about, because I am a member. Does being a member make you sure about it? Sure, I have had many family members and friends who have benefitted.
Okay, tell me about it. I will tell you, but I want you to read the Most Holy and dependable Book that tells you all about its master plan. There is page after page, which explains in detail the founder and creator of the plan.   Information is also in the Book about the author’s love and concern for each member that is heart melting.
First, I would like to make it quite clear what will happen when you make your investment. You will receive an everlasting security plan as long as you live on earth. Second, you will receive a guarantee seal of an everlasting life with the Creator who is merciful and gracious to all the investors, who have committed their lives to investing in His Master Plan. [Ephesians 1:13]
The Creator of the investment plan is the life giver who gave His life for you that you may have eternal life with Him. Have you invested yet?  www.thealmightyeyes.com.