Friday, March 20, 2015

SPEAK LIFE - LESSON 3: PRAISE, THE KEY TO "SOULCARE"

He said: "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior, You save me from violence. “I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies...(2 Samuel 22: 2-4)
One great study every maturing Christian should attempt, in this life, involves the prayers and worship songs of the Bible.  An effective intensive look at these inspired words, from the heart of their human writers, reflected the accurate promptings of the Holy Spirit, Who was the conduit from the very Throne of God to the authors of Scripture.  The prayers are of the Bible are more than encouragement for whatever ails the soul of mankind. These words from the Spirit of God served human kind until recently and were known under the rubric of “soulcare”, in that whatever ails the soul of a human – God has the answer. 

if you "google" the hybrid word "Soulcare", a few definitions come up. The most generic one says it is "a combination of terms for spiritual direction, coaching, pastoral counseling and companionship". The best definition I found was from a Texas church (Christ Bible Chapel) and it says "
Soul Care is ....counseling that is based on Christian principles in a comfortable, confidential atmosphere with biblical counselors who use a solid biblical foundation". A final full discussion of what true and Godly soulcare is can be found in Dr. John McArthur's blog on the matter here (CLICK). I recommend we read the great works of the Puritans like John Owen, Richard Baxter, Bunyan and others who did not have the corruption of the culture which saturates the airwaves today and were all able to write, teach and preach on the Power of the Word of God to minister to every thing that ails man!

It has long been posited that best way to come out of any personal crisis, whether spiritual or on the natural is to give PRAISE to our Great God in Heaven and then wait in the Spirit because He will bless - big time! The same man who said "Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence" (Psalm 42:5), wrote the most powerful and worshipful of His songs not too long before he died and went to be with this fathers. In the two verses from one of those songs, above, from 2 Samuel 22:2-4, King David answers his own question from Psalm 42:5. 

THERE IT IS! There is the key to soulcare and coming out of a season of despair! The key is not one which would make sense in the natural! The worldly may say "WHAT? What do you mean I should thank God for my troubles and trials?" They are ever- hearing but not understanding because to have the Heart and Ear of God, we must yet "praise Him for the Help of His Presence"! Here is how the Psalmist went about it, from 2 Samuel 22:2-4, and we should too:
- The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress: that is, He is immovable, cannot be shaken and will always be there for anyone, regardless of condition or circumstance. But not just that, as our "Fortress". The true believer is constantly in a state of perpetual war, on this side of heaven, or he/she is preparing for one. As our Fortress, He is our Defender. When Jehovah Sabaoth - the Lord of Heaven's Armies is on our side, no earthly super-power or demon of the air, can defeat Him and we can rest in that assurance of our ultimate victory over any issue. This victory may not make sense at first, but to God it does. Trust Him.
= And my Deliverer: God is the ultimate First Responder. In times of crisis, before you call 911, call on The One - the Holy One, the One and Only, the Great I am. HE is your rescue. HE is your protection. HE is your comforter. He will lift you up with His Mighty Hands lest you dash your foot up against a stone. He will take you out of the pit, clean you and I up, set our feet upon a rock and put a NEW song in our mouth, a hymn of Praise to our God! He will do that so much so, that many may ask WHO IS THIS GOD OF YOURS? In times of crisis, then when the earthly first responders finally arrive, and thou hast called upon His Name first, sometimes they will find you healed and without dent or scratch, and then they shall marvel at His Power. THAT is our deliverer!
- My God, my Rock in whom I take refuge, my shield: therefore, considering that you and I have called Him first before emergency search and rescue people, we can rest fully in the fact that we can take up safe house behind the impenetrable walls of the Kingdom of our Great God. The SHIELD that He is deflects all the barbs and arrows of the enemy, who has manifested himself into many on this earth in these last days. We see them all around us, hurting and destroying the people of God everywhere, but mostly in the middle east and Asia. Seek out this safe place, in the "shadow of His wings" because they are easier to find than anything on this earth. He is a breath away!
= The Horn of My Salvation, my stronghold, my refuge, my Savior: therefore, being the "HORN of MY SALVATION" or the unbreakable strong powerful Truthful guarantee of our Deliverance from death and destruction, we are again in a safe hiding place, no matter how high profile and available to the world we are. This guarantee, has been underwritten by the Savior, Who died for us on Calvary and Whose supernatural Blood was shed to wash us clean and deliver us and all mankind, who put our faith, trust and hope in Him as Lord AND Savior!
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies: therefore, in light of all that this passage has taught us, we call upon His Name. He is the Only One Who can save, deliver, defend, protect, conquer, reassign, restore and then turn around and send us back into the battle rejuvenated, refreshed and reloaded to execute His wonderful plan of salvation and deliverance, to a lost and dying and hurting and in need of love, sort of world. All of was made possible because we first sought to praise and love and cry out to Him, in our despair! What an amazingly wonderful, loving and powerful God we serve and love - because He first loved us and called us into the Kingdom of His marvelous Light!
Amen

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