The LORD Love Us and Keep Us Always

Good afternoon, welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries. My name is Rev. Laura A. Neff, the Rainbow Minister. The choice for Rainbow has to do with the fact that the rainbow symbolizes a promise made and one that can and will be kept. I made, long ago, a promise to God that I would do all I could to keep that faith within me. We are normally posted on Sundays for sermons and Wednesdays for studies. You can find these posted in the following locations.

Main Site: http://covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com/

Rev. Laura’s Other Sites: Facebook & Twitter & Google+ & Blogspot

Prayer List: We have many on our prayer list. Some wish to remain anonymous, and others only wish to have their first names mentioned. Our prayer list has grown from last week. This is our current prayer list for this week.

- Pray for some friends who have lost both friends and family over this past week. There are several and it is difficult to name all of them. Some were due to illness. Some were due to accidents. One was due to the effects of cancer.

- Please continue praying for a friend Susie Bartholow as she is, as far as I know, still in hospice. She has been in very grave condition with cancer. She is home with her family while in hospice care.

- Please pray for Elder Cal Jennings as he is going through a whole lot health wise and emotionally as well. Please pray that he will be able to find and follow inspiration still.

- Please pray for members Theresa and Wayne that their trials and tribulations would cease.

- Pray for those near and far who have been suffering in battles that do not have to be. Pray that peace can be found amidst the fear and anger, frustration, and more. May hope blossom and bring that peace once more.

- Pray for our friends and our enemies, may they all find that the gift of God’s Son, Jesus, holds the hope and faith everyone seeks.

- Keep hope alive in your prayers no matter the pain or strife we might suffer.

Prayer: Father in heaven, we thank You for this day and for those who are here to share it with us. We thank You for blessings You bring to each of us. We pray that You can remind us always what we should be looking forward to. We bring prayers for those who have been seriously ill. Help those who are working to fight serious illnesses the ability to find solutions. We pray for those who suffer pain, that their pain be relieved. We pray for those lost, and those who mourn. We pray for all those who are victims of violence. We pray for honesty and truth to be shared in any and all ways possible. We pray for patience and courage for those we love and care about, and ourselves as well. We pray for peace to reach out from the heart and be heard, felt, and understood. We pray that Your grace and love would fill the hearts of the many in this world. We pray all this in Your Holy Name through the Savior Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.

Opening Song:  The Lord Who is Always Next to Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4nawXYBsvk&index=169&list=PL614A115BF39E5936

Sermon: Good afternoon. Today we have a new inspiration brought by the Spirit of God. Often there are dreams, sometimes some quotes found, even friends or family that would bring that inspiration to life and the Spirit takes over. This week the gift of this sermon was brought by a video based on a Psalm that brings many intriguing points of view. Here is what has been given to us today.

Psalm 121 KJV – I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy only shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Wow, what a beautiful view of what the Lord will bring us because we are His creation. Notice, it says here in Psalm 121 that the Lord is our keeper. What does it mean to be our keeper? Well, the one definition that comes closest would be guardian. He is guardian over us. When you see guardians here on earth you see protectors, those responsible for others, like people who are taking care of children not their own by birth or adoption. It is beautiful that the Lord would be our guardian while we are awake, and while we sleep. He will do so night or day, and be there whenever we need Him more than He already would be present. Think about it this way. When we are scared, hurt, or any of that, don’t we often ask for help? Well, God is there if we ask Him to help us. Sometimes that is just to comfort us so we might rest or ease our pain to keep us from shaking, and take our fear away. Other times He brings us help like a rescuer if we’ve fallen and can’t get up from any type of fall. Perhaps we might be with a friend or family member that has gotten hurt. We could ask, and we shout He would make us heard.

Let’s look at corresponding verses. There are quite a few but we’re only going to look at a small selection of them.

Isaiah 49:10 KJV – They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

Here we see how the Lord is our guardian. He won’t let us go hungry. The heat and sun won’t hurt or kill us. Mercy, He brings us to the waters so that we shall see His mercy. Granted, there are those who die of thirst. There are those who die of malnutrition. There are those who die from natural disasters. The sun can indeed kill a person. However, there are ways to get away from those. It isn’t easy, but, as it is often said, nothing in life is easy. We’ve proven that in the fact that sometimes it is difficult for us to trust in God and reach out to Him for His mercy and love. It is amazing what a person, who knows they are dying, can often see with God by their side. To see that up front and in person is something that often brings us to wonder. Will that happen for me? It will if you believe.

Let’s look at another verse. If you recall from quite a while ago we spoke of seven troubles. Well, the Lord can deliver us from those and bring us to safety away from them. All we have to do is believe. Here you’ll see just what Job realizes in that regard.

Job 5:19 KJV – He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea in seven there shall no evil touch thee.

If you recall, in the prayer Jesus taught us it says ‘deliver us from evil’. Well, the seven troubles qualify as such. They can be more than bothersome. They often are considered evil. We can refresh our memories in regard to the seven troubles. They include vanity, envy, lust, enmity, wrath, shame, and doubt. If we leave these troubles behind we will be brought into God’s safe haven.  Let’s look at something more.

Psalm 91:9, 10 KJV – Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh to thy dwelling.

Here again it references, even just a little, to the Lord’s Prayer. That brings us even more importance in regard to studying the Scriptures. Even if they are not immediately identified as a connection from Old and New Testaments, or even from scroll to scroll, there are indeed references that will hop out at you and remind you of those very connecting verses. Take for example that mentioned here where God gives us plenty to think about, just as Jesus does the same. Just think about it as we pray in the prayer that Jesus brought us.

Our Father, which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13)

Closing Song:  Please Walk Beside Me Every Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M54688YM9Y&index=170&list=PL614A115BF39E5936

~Shalom~

Rev. Laura A. Neff ~ The Rainbow Minister

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Calvin Jennings ~ Facebook & Twitter & Blogster

Covenant of Hope Ministries

Main Site: http://covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com/ 

      

Scripture Excerpts: The New Open Bible Study Edition: Copyright © 1990: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc.

Scripture Excerpts: Holy Bible: Copyright © 1982: E. E. Gaddy and Associates, Inc.

Scripture Excerpts: Holy Bible: Copyright © circa 1890-1910: International Bible Press, The John C. Winston Co.; Philadelphia, PA., USA

Sermon or Study Copyright © 2015

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Our mission for Covenant of Hope Ministries and Poetic-Expressions is not to exploit fear, but to conquer it, and overcome all that is created through fear together as the rainbow in the darkness.

This mission statement speaks of the rainbow in the darkness. Every time I would have a seriously traumatic thing happen in my life I would wake in the middle of the night. When I do I see a rainbow at the end of my bed, or even through the window behind my head. I’ll see that rainbow in a dark room even during the day. It will hover in the shadows and reassure me that God is with me.