My Rock & My Fortress

I love You, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my mountain where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies. (Ps. 18:1-3)(HCSB)
God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with its turmoil. (Ps. 46:1-3)(HCSB)
Rock...Fortress...Strength...Refuge...Deliverer...Shield...Stronghold... words used to describe our Lord in the two passages above and in many other passages in the Psalms. Another word used in the passage from Psalm 46 is "helper". And notice that it's not speaking of a once-in-a-while kind of helper, but a "helper who is always found in times of trouble." (HCSB) The NKJV reads "a very present help in trouble." We all need that kind of dependable help from time to time-- someone we can rely on. Not someone who's seemingly never around when you need them, but a friend you can always turn to. That's the kind of friend that Jesus is! We can always run to Him when we need shelter from the storms and hardships of this life. We can go to Him for a safe place of rest and protection. His very name itself is referred to as a strong tower we can run to in Proverbs 18:10--The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are protected. (HCSB)When we go to Him in our adverse times we can be encouraged with what Psalm 27:5-6 reveals to us: For He will conceal me in His shelter in the day of adversity; He will hide me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high on a rock. Then my head will be high above my enemies around me...(HCSB)
The Lord is an impenetrable fortress, a mighty stronghold that we can run to for safety and shelter and refuge, but that doesn't do us any good unless we turn to Him and take cover under his shadow for protection. It's kind of like this: I decide to go on a camping trip, and I purchase the biggest, strongest, most expensive tent known to mankind. When I find the perfect spot to camp out, I spend a couple of hours (I'm sure it would take me at least that long to figure it out) putting the tent together. And just as I'm finishing up, a rainstorm comes through, but instead of taking cover and shelter inside my super-duty tent, I decide to sit out in the open and get soaked instead. Would that make any sense? No, of course not! But many times we do just that with the Lord. We have the best refuge and safe haven to hide in, but unless we actually run to Jesus, our fortress, and hide in His protecting embrace, it's not going to do us any good.

We need to hide in the protection of a close relationship with Jesus. By reading and studying God's Word and spending time with the Lord daily in prayer and times of devotion we can experience the safety our deliverer provides. So let's not try to weather the rainstorms and troubles we face when all the time we have a very present help. Let's not wait 'til we're soaked and beaten up by the battles we encounter and then, finally, run into our strong tower. Let's go to Him daily and thereby save ourselves from unnecessary harm. He's our Rock and our Fortress, a helper who can always be found!

Singing His Praises,
Joey C.

A Fresh Start

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 Jn. 1:9)(NKJV)


Each January as the new year rolls around, people around the globe decide to try something new. They make resolutions to stop smoking, to start exercising or to go on yet another diet. They change their image with a new hairstyle and/or clothes in an effort to redefine their look. Some decide to change jobs or to go back to school. Others have a renewed interest in achieving some goal that they've put off or have failed at in the past. Many want to have a renewed or deepened relationship with the Lord, but sadly, they don't believe that it's possible because of some past failure on their part. They feel like they're not good enough to have a refreshed or restored relationship with God.

And you know, they're actually right about that point because there is no one who is righteous (Rom. 3:10-12; Ps. 53:1-3) and all of us have sinned and fallen short. (Rom. 3:23) But the good news is that we can be restored and refreshed...we can start anew, with a clean slate, if we will do what the Bible tells us to in 1 Jn. 1:9: confess our sins. When we confess our sin and repent, our faithful and just God will forgive us and purify us, cleansing us from all unrighteousness. It's as if He wipes our slate clean so that we can start over--start anew.

The Word states that God removes our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west. (Ps. 103:12) That's a long way! I believe the reason the Bible states "as far as the east is from the west" instead of " the north from the south", is that we have a north and south pole on the planet. There's a finite distance from the north to the south. If you go north until you reach the pole and keep going, then you'll be going south again! But you can travel east or west forever!

A couple of weeks ago as I looked over the pastor's sermon outline about "New Commitments and Frest Starts", I was intrigued by a question he posed: "Are we truly wanting to start anew, or do we just want to revamp the old?"--That made me think, and through the inspiration of Bro. David's sermon God gave me a new song that I sang that Sun. morning. I'd like to share the lyrics with you here:

Fresh Start
Lord, You know my heart
how many times I've failed You
But if You'd give me another chance
I'd like to start anew
If I confess my sins You're faithful to forgive
and You will purify me from all unrighteousness


(chorus)I want to make a fresh start
I'm ready for a new commitment
To live my life in such a way
that I'm a true reflection
of Who You are and how You love
and that You really care
I want to make a fresh start
I don't want to revamp the old me
So take these eyes that have turned away
and lock their gaze straight on Thee
So I can see just Who You are
that I can know Your heart
I want to make a fresh start


Forgiveness floods my soul
I turn away from all my sin
The secret rooms deep inside my heart
You now dwell there within
Now I can live my life not looking to the past
For You have washed me clean
and now I'm whole at last
(repeat chorus)

I don't know about you, but I'm sure glad that God forgives and cleanses us when we confess our sin. Are you 'fessed up? Have you confessed to the Lord recently? I encourage you to confess any and all sin during your daily devotional or prayer time. Don't allow unconfessed sin to hinder or destroy your spiritual walk with God. Instead, enjoy a refreshed and/or restored relationship with your Faithful and Just Lord!

Joey C.

A New Song---A Hymn of Praise

I waited paitently for the Lord, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help. He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. (Ps. 40:1-3)(HCSB)


I believe that as Christians, God has placed a song in our hearts--a new song-- a hymn of praise to our God. Each and every song is unique, therefore only we can sing the song God puts in our mouth. It may not be a song that we sing as a solo during a Sunday worship service or a stirring anthem that we sing in the church choir. Instead, it may be a song that we "sing" by inviting a co-worker to Sunday School or by sharing our personal testimony to a friend. It might be that we can sing the song God has given us by ministering to the homeless or helping serve the families in the Family Promise program. Our song may be voiced best as a prayer prayed with someone who is suffering over the loss of a family member. God may call us to sing that song to a total stranger at a chance encounter by sharing what the Lord has done in our life.

We all have a song from God, and each one is unique. Only we can sing our song, but we first have to make the decision to open our mouth so that the song can be heard. As we sing our song through the faithful service, witness and testimony of our lives, we can expect to see what the psalmist writes in Ps. 40:3--Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.

As one of my friends shared this week at the Men's Prayer Meeting that he was praying for God to give him a renewed boldness to share his faith and witness more agressively in the new year, I thought of this passage and my desire to see God moving during our invitation times here at the Ridge. It's my prayer that we will all "step up to the microphone", so to speak, in 2010 and sing our unique hymn of praise so that many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. For that to become a reality--for our song to make an impact on lost souls--for us to see professions of faith, baptisms and lives rededicated in our Sunday services--we have to make up our minds to open our mouths and tell somebody about Jesus! So, what do you say? Will you do that with me?
Singing His Praises,
Joey Culpepper