Mind Meld of A Different Kind

PSALM 18:32-50
God arms me with strength,

and he makes my way perfect.

He makes me as surefooted as a deer,

enabling me to stand on mountain heights.

He trains my hands for battle;

he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow.

You have given me your shield of victory.

Your right hand supports me;

your help has made me great.

You have made a wide path for my feet

to keep them from slipping.

I chased my enemies and caught them;

I did not stop until they were conquered.

I struck them down so they could not get up;

they fell beneath my feet.

You have armed me with strength for the battle;

you have subdued my enemies under my feet.

You placed my foot on their necks.

I have destroyed all who hated me.

They called for help, but no one came to their rescue.

They even cried to the Lord, but he refused to answer.

I ground them as fine as dust in the wind.

I swept them into the gutter like dirt.

You gave me victory over my accusers.

You appointed me ruler over nations;

people I don’t even know now serve me.

As soon as they hear of me, they submit;

foreign nations cringe before me.

They all lose their courage

and come trembling from their strongholds.

The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock!

May the God of my salvation be exalted!

He is the God who pays back those who harm me;

he subdues the nations under me

and rescues me from my enemies.

You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies;

you save me from violent opponents.

For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations;

I will sing praises to your name.

You give great victories to your king;

you show unfailing love to your anointed,

to David and all his descendants forever.

No God like our God
You can find lots of gods in our culture. Muslims, Buddhists, New Agers, and cults all have a god they worship. Many of the gods of this world are similar. They possess some sort of positive quality that elevated them to god status from either human form or mythological triumph. In the end they are all died or where never alive to begin with. They exist in forms, ideas, pictures, and idols.

Jesus Christ actually lived as a human being on the earth. He walked on this planet, talked with people, ate our food, and breathed our air. He lived, and he died! One crucial difference between the God of the Christian and the gods of everyone else is that Jesus was resurrected. He lives today. Jesus is as much alive today as when he walked on this earth.

The cross and resurrection of Christ are distinct from all other religions. No other religion can claim what we do. While we were the enemies of God, Christ died for us. Christ’s death on the cross as the substitute payment for the sins of all who believe is unique to all history. There truly is no God like our God.

God of uniqueness and originality you stand above all other gods in the universe. There is nothing like you and I profess your power over all things. I want nothing but you to hold first-place in my life. - Dan Jones

Because of Him
Nothing worth accomplishing or experiencing can be credited to me. I have talents. God gave them. I have resources. God gave them. I have knowledge and wisdom. God gave them. Everything I am comes from God.

I am a product of nature; a man and a woman, sperm and egg, passion and timing. That nature had a designer. I am a product of nurture; Christian parents, holiness churches, and middle America in the 1960’s and 70’s. Divine Providence guided that nurture. Everything that shaped me fell under God’s good oversight.

I am an amalgam of my choices. I gave my life to Christ very young and began trusting him to shape those choices. Every direction I have taken has been under his influence. By choice, he still holds sway over my choices, though they are all made by me and with incomplete understanding. Every direction I go, he goes their first.

The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock!

You are the One who is over, through, in, and beyond all that exists. And I am happy to live and move and have my being in you. I am happy that I cannot escape you! May the God of my salvation be exalted! - Mike Leamon