{"id":3546,"date":"2016-09-30T17:45:20","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T23:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/?p=3546"},"modified":"2016-09-30T17:45:20","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T23:45:20","slug":"a-focus-on-the-master","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/?p=3546","title":{"rendered":"A Focus on the Master"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"20160930_164141-1\"<\/a>This afternoon we were able to get away from Fort Collins and travel to Summit County for a week in the mountains. I’m glad for the break especially for Debbie. As we arrived we were greeted by one the local residents, a male and female moose.<\/p>\n

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…\u00a0<\/strong>“We keep looking to the Lord<\/span> our God for his mercy,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>just as servants keep their eyes on their master,<\/span><\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/em>as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.”<\/em> Psalm 123:2 NLT<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When hardships persist and difficulties linger longer than one can endure, the key to relief is a steadfast focus on the Lord. This psalm of ascent opens with, “I lift my eyes to you,<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/em>O God, enthroned in heaven.”<\/em> (Psalm 123:1 NLT)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This focused attention is in anticipation of the slightest signal from the “one enthroned” to signal, a decision; to take the action needed for the “contempt” to come to an end. We see the desired relief,\u00a0“Lord<\/span>, have mercy,<\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>for we have had our fill of contempt.<\/span><\/span>We have had more than our fill of the scoffing of the proud<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/em>and the contempt of the arrogant.”<\/em> (Psalm 123:3,4 NLT)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I am reminded of the cry of those in Revelation, who had been killed for the cause of Christ,\u00a0“How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”<\/em> (Revelation 6:10 NIV)
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

When hardships prevail, our desire is to just “get out” – to get it to stop. However, there are lessons and spiritual character that is developed in the “test of faith.” \u00a0James reminded believers,\u00a0“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,\u00a0<\/span>whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”<\/em> (James 1:3,4 NIV)<\/p>\n

But there is a time, known to the Father alone, when the time comes for the Lord to execute His judgment and come to the aid of His people, especially those who have endured much for their faith. We take heart in the words of the psalmist, “Weeping may tarry for the night,<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/em>but joy comes with the morning.”<\/em> (Psalm 30:5 ESV)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Prayer for today…<\/strong>\u00a0Lord, thank You that you give us the strength to keep our eyes on You, as we wait for help and deliverance for our struggles and difficulties. Grant us perseverance, help us possess the attitude of “joy” in the midst of the trial.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This afternoon we were able to get away from Fort Collins and travel to Summit County for a week in the mountains. I’m glad for the break especially for Debbie. As we arrived we were greeted by one the local residents, a male and female moose. BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…\u00a0“We keep looking to the Lord […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3546"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3548,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3546\/revisions\/3548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kensummers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}