Thursday, November 5, 2009

A Very Present Help in Trouble: (Blog from a Balcony)


Thousands of people travel to Washington D.C. to protest against government health care. Thirteen service personnel are killed and many are others are wounded in a senseless shooting at a military facility in Texas; all this on the day after the New York Yankees win the World Series.

In an age of instant, twenty-four hour news, we are cheering one minute, crying another, and shaking our head in disbelief much of the rest of the time.

I've been on this earth a long while; I don't recall days quite like these. Yes, the sixties were turbulent and frightening. We aging baby boomers have lived through a lot: the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam war, the murders of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, just to name a few.

We recall the gas lines in the 70's, the Iranian hostage crisis of the 80's, the Gulf War in the 90's and, of course, September 11th, 2001. Our brief sojourn on earth has been marked by
these and many other startling incidents which have shaken us to our core and left us wondering where our world is headed.

Still, I have a strange and uneasy sense that we are entering times and seasons, the likes of which we have not seen before. It seems the very foundations of all that we have known and held dear are being challenged---even attacked. Morally, socially, economically, spiritually; we are experiencing radical change, happening at mind-numbing speed.

In the midst of all this chaos and confusion, if one has ears to hear, the scripture whispers:

"God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains
shake with its swelling.

The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the
nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" (Psalm 46: 1, 2, 3, 7-10)

I remember vividly another extraordinary event; the miraculous victory of Israel in the Six-Day War and the recapturing of the city of Jerusalem in 1967. Since that day, my faith tells me that we are on a prophetic, historic timeline, moving rapidly toward the "end of the age." What lies ahead, none of us knows for sure.

But we do know this: "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge!"

Yes, my friends; Be still---Know God!!

Yours in the battle and on the pilgrimage,
Shalom and thanks for your love, encouragement and support,
Marty Goetz








































































































































































6 comments:

  1. Well said Martin...been a while since we have spoken, but many are starting to wake up and realize the time we are in...

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  2. I hear the same thing in my heart and prayers over such. It is wonderful to visit our hope through the eyes of gifted ones made for giving glory to our Father. My special gift from Abba, Marty. Another touch of G-d's LOVE for us all. It would be wrong of me not to say so.

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  3. All reminds me of that one song you have, Marty..."The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge / When the nations rage and all the kingdoms fall, He says "I am", "I am", "I am all".

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  4. Amen Marty. God be with you.

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  5. thanks again...for the RE-MIND-ER (S);
    SOOOOOOOOO LOOKING FORWARD TO Minnesota Concert next week...

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  6. You're welcome & thank YOU for encouraging US with the Word of God - our only anchor in this troubling sea.

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