Constant vigilance is needed to keep our freedom and safety secure physically.
This was brought home to me vividly this week as Bonnie and I sat on the edge of the great Huron National Forest that stretches across Northern Michigan. This beautiful area has nearly one million acres of trees, with 9 pristine rivers running for 550 miles, crisscrossed by 330 miles of trails. Late Monday night, under those towering oaks and ancient jack pines we watched the stars as our children slept in three tents under one giant oak tree.
Just as we were ready to stop talking and head to bed I switched on my flashlight and made a wide arc across the rolling hillside in front of us, hoping to see a deer grazing on the lush green grass. Instead, we both gasped; there in the distance loping across the hillside was a pair of glowing yellow eyes that reflected back at about the size of a half-dollar. Bonnie was sure it was some fierce carnivore. So dad was dispatched with a stick and the flashlight to go out and meet the creature and to defend our sleeping and unprotected children.
As parents, we saw a danger. As those entrusted with the care and protection of those small lives, we had to act. Lurking in the million acres of dark shadows of the night were creatures that could harm the lives we love so much. After quite a chase I ran the forest monster up a tree, only to turn back to find two more sets of glowing yellow eyes headed out of another thicket of trees. After rolling stones, banging sticks, and waving my flashlight – those next two were warded off. The good news was that these monsters turned out to be harmless coons on their way to the camp trashcan. But the memory of creatures of the night stalking our children was unforgettable.
As I lay quietly listening to the sounds of the forest that evening my mind turned to something far more dangerous than a Huron national Forest wild animal. Those animals could only scratch and scare my children. No, I began to think of the spiritual forces of darkness, of creatures for more lethal than any that roamed the forest. What can I do to protect and guard my life and the lives of those I love from dangers that lurk in the spiritual darkness seeking to injure the souls of those loved ones? What does God say we need to do to stay safe and secure here on earth? Constant vigilance is needed to keep our freedom and safety secure spiritually.
A safe, secure, and liberated life is described in God’s Word as ‘word filled’. As Paul said, a Spirit-filled believer has the Word richly dwelling or filling them. But how is that possible? To find out we need to turn our hearts to Psalm 119. There EZRA explains the secret of maintaining a Word-Filled Life – the only sure protection in the dark spiritual forests of life into which we — and our loved ones, must walk each day.
Our focus this morning is again that Old Testament Giant of the Faith – EZRA. His testimony as we saw last time is the 119th Psalm. He gives us in these 176 verses the content of his personal HABITS or RESPONSES to the Lord and his personal resolves or HOPES in the Lord.
DYG-03 & WFL-21 – 030706AM
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