From: "Phil Rembleski" <PHIl@rescuechurchofchrist.org>

To: "1111RESCUEMEMBERS"

Cc:

Sent: Thu, Jul 20, 2023 at 6:14 AM

Subject: 7-20-23 THOUGHTS

7-20-23  THOUGHTS

Psalms 22 is largely prophetic.  Matthew 27:34 quotes the beginning of this psalm.  John 19:23-24 quotes the end area.  It’s a psalm of pathos, of pain and suffering and cost.  As we live our lives, we must count the cost.  OUR SALVATION WAS NOT CHEAP!  We need to remember WHO PAID THE PRICE, and the AGONY OF THE CROSS! Isaiah 53 is worth reading as we think this way.   I ask myself this question: HOW IS THE QUALITY OF YOUR GRATEFULNESS as you RESPOND IN THIS LIFE PHIL?   Is it “Tears and knees,” or “The pleasures of the world”?   DO I SERVE ONE MASTER OR TWO?    

Ps 22:1-19   My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. 2  O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest. 3  Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.  4  In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You delivered them.  5  To You they cried out and were delivered; In You they trusted and were not disappointed.  6  But I am a worm and not a man, A reproach of men and despised by the people. 7  All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,  8  "Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him."  9  Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts. 10  Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother’s womb. 11  Be not far from me, for trouble is near; For there is none to help.  12  Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have  encircled me.  13  They open wide their mouth at me, As a ravening and a roaring lion.  14  I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. 15  My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death. 16  For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.  17  I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; 18  They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.  19  But You, O LORD, be not far off; O You my help, hasten to my assistance.
Luke 22:44   And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

My Prayer:
Give us singleness of heart, O God, as we serve You!  May we walk in the Spirit and in the light.   Teach us daily Your ways and help us to focus our hearts.  May your grace and mercy and love in Christ Jesus permeate our thoughts continually.  We would abide in You, and You in us.  Give us Your Spirit as we long for Your Word and allow it to renew our minds.   Renew us each morning with eternal hope.  We want to be with You forever, O God.  In Jesus name,   Amen.