To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. Truly my soul waiteth upon God:
from him cometh my salvation. 
Psa 62:2  He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence;
​I shall not be greatly moved. Psa 62:1-2

​There are times in life when it is a great help to have someone say to us, "Leave all that to me." Like a gentle wind it blows the clouds away. When one has a difficult schedule or has arrangements to make for a marriage or a funeral, to have someone who is competent and expert take over is often an untold relief. There is much in life that we must do ourselves, and no one can relieve us of certain duties. There are crosses each of us must carry and burdens nobody can take away. But how much more difficult life would be in times of anxiety or strain were there not someone standing by to say to us, "Leave all that to me." That is particularly the voice of fatherhood, which in reality is the secret of childhood's carefree spirit. A child does not worry about clothes or meals. Instinctively it leaves that to its father. And much of the joy of childhood springs from the trustful relationship to somebody who says, "Leave all that to me."
​
It is beautiful to notice how the psalmist had grasped that comforting energy of God. Baffled, betrayed, a prey to bitter anguish—"Leave it all quietly to God, my soul." And so for him, too, came interior peace, and the light of heaven began to shine again and the storm was changed to calm.

Now this command which the psalmist gave his soul is one of the secrets of the spiritual life. No passing of ages has made it less imperative. Think, for instance, of those ways of providence which it is impossible to understand, for in every life, however blessed and happy, there are things impossible to understand. And often these are strange and bitter and so difficult to reconcile with love that the bravest soul is near to unbelief. When prayers seem to go unanswered, when someone dear and young is taken away, when those who would not harm a living creature are bowed under intolerable pain, how hard it is to say that God is good, and saying it, believe it with a confidence which is pleasing in His eyes. We want to know. We want to understand. Sometimes, like Job, we expostulate with God. And so, expostulating, everything grows harder till we are brought to the margins of despair. How much wiser the attitude of David, plunged into the very sea of trouble—"Leave it all quietly to God, my soul."

We are not here just to understand. Now we know in part and see in part. We are here to glorify God by trusting Him even when we do not understand. And such trusting carries its own evidences in the rich inward peace it brings as if our life were in tune with the Eternal. "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me." His meat was neither to probe nor to expostulate. When the cup was bitter, when the cross was heaviest, when the lights were darkened in the Garden of Gethsemane—He left it all quietly to God.

​Again, we are to remember the psalmist's counsel in the hours when we have done our best—and failed. The higher the service that we seek to render, the more are we haunted by the sense of failure. The man who has no goal doesn't fear failure. But in higher ministries, when soul is touching soul and we are working not in things, but lives, how haunting is the sense of failure. Every Sunday School teacher knows it well, every mother with her growing family, and every preacher of the Gospel. So little accomplished, so little difference made, so little fruit for the laborious toil, although the seed sown may have been steeped in prayer. Well then, are we to give up in discouragement? Are we to leave the battle line and be spectators because we hear no cheering sound of triumph? My dear reader, there is a better way, and it is just the old way of this gallant psalmist—"Leave it all quietly to God, my soul."

Often when we fail, we are succeeding. We are doing more than we have dreamed. We are helping with our rough, coarse hands because Another with a pierced hand is there. Do your best, and do it for His sake. Keep on doing it and don't resign.
And as to fruitage and harvest and success—leave it all quietly to Him.  (Devotional Sermons)

My Rock and Salvation
To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. Truly my soul waiteth upon God:
​from him cometh my salvation. 
He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence;
I shall not be greatly moved. Psa 62:1-2

​“He only is my rock and my salvation.” Sometimes a metaphor may be more full of meaning and more suggestive than literal speech; hence the use of the figure of a rock, the very mention of which would awaken grateful memories in the Psalmist's mind. David had often lain concealed in rocky caverns, and here he compares his God to such a secure refuge; and, indeed, declares him to be his only real protection, all-sufficient in himself and never failing. At the same time, as if to show us that what he wrote was not mere poetic sentiment, but blessed reality, the literal word “salvation” follows the figurative expression: that our God is our refuge is no fiction, nothing in the word is more a matter of fact. “He is my defense,” my height, my lofty rampart, my high-fort. Here we have another and bolder image; the tried believer not only abides in God as in a cavernous rock; but dwells in him ass Warrior in some bravely defiant tower or lordly castle. “I shall not be greatly moved.” His personal weakness might cause him to be somewhat moved; but his faith would come in to prevent any very great disturbance: not much would he be tossed about. “Moved,” as one says, “but not removed.” Moved like a ship at anchor which swings with the tide, but is not swept away by the tempest. When a man knows assuredly that the Lord is his salvation, he cannot be very much cast down: it would need more than all the devils in hell greatly to alarm a heart which knows God to be its salvation.
(Charles Spurgeon-Treasury of David)

Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 
Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead,
and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. 
Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead:
whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing:
it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 
Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not,
I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. 
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 
Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. 
Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple,
going through the midst of them, and so passed by. Joh 8:51-59
The Eternal Christ

The text is one of those rare passages in which Jesus Christ appears to stand upon His own dignity, in which the Lowly, the Humble, the Unresisting Son of man asserts His high origin, claiming to be God, for it amounts to no less: God from everlasting. "Before Abraham was, I am."

Abraham rejoiced to see the day of Christ. He had a glimpse of that day of the birth of Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, as He had a glimpse also of the manner in which Jesus Christ should work out our redemption. He took his son Isaac and offered him up on Mount Moriah—that Isaac so exceedingly dear, of whom it was said, that "in Isaac shall thy seed be called." He offered him up, his one hope of becoming the father of many nations. And that act of Abraham—that act of faith, was counted unto him for righteousness; and he is held up for ever as the father of the faithful. To him, as St. Paul writes, "The Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed."

Jesus Christ Himself lived before Abraham was born. Whenever God is spoken of as holding communion and as being visible to man, it is in the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, God, the Son, Jesus Christ. It is He who declares to us the Father. It is He who represents God to us, and is Himself God, even Jesus Christ. This was He who talked with and was called the friend of Abraham. It was He who was the Giver of the Law to Moses, it is He by whose agency the worlds were made, God the Supreme Deity dwelleth in the light which no man can approach: but Jesus Christ who is the image of the Invisible God, hath manifested, made known, declared to us, what God is; how good, how gracious, how ready to forgive, and how rich in mercy to those who call upon Him. It follows, then, that we should honor and worship Him as God, we should draw near with all reverence, with all holiness, with bowed heads and bowed hearts, to present our supplication before Him.
See also: ​Exo 3:14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 
(R. D. B. Rawnsley, Village Sermons, 3rd series, p. 62)

Before Abraham was, I Am. Here the Savior claims with a double “Amen” the Incommunicable Name (Exo_3:14). It signifies unchangeable essence and everlasting duration. This is the name which the Jews for centuries had not dared to utter. Silently they had read it, used another in its stead, revered and adored it. Now the humble Nazarene openly assumes and claims it. God’s word to Moses implies the impossibility of a full definition of the name, or that finite creatures could not comprehend it if given. He does not say, “I am their Light, Life, Guide, Strength, or Tower.” He sets His hand to a blank, that faith may write her prayer. Are believers weary? I am their strength. Poor? I am their riches. In trouble? I am their comfort. Sick?
​I am their health. Dying? I am their life. I am justice and mercy, grace and goodness, glory, beauty, holiness, perfection—all-sufficient through eternity. (W. H. Van Doren, D. D.)

The reason why our Lord Jesus Christ is so strong was shown by Him, and so enraged the Jews that "they took up stones". (Joh_8:59). For when Christ said that His word would keep them from eternal death this stood in the way of the Jews. They saw that Abraham and other holy men were dead; only let it be supposed that Christ was not equal to them, then it was a vain glory that led Him to magnify His word so greatly. But Christ answered, “Abraham rejoiced,”. (Joh_8:56). That is- had Abraham not held fast to My word he too would have remained in eternal death. And again, “I am before Abraham.” Both mean as much as, “I am the eternal almighty God.” Whoever is burdened with sin, therefore, and would escape from death and lay hold of life, must be helped thereto by Me. Such a claim neither Moses nor all the prophets could glory in; for they were all men. Christ is both God and man; therefore He can give life and blessedness—He and no other. This is most comforting, and a certain proof of our faith, as we confess that Christ is by nature and eternally Son of God. Why then are such testimonies so frequent in the gospel? In order that we may put our trust in Him, and not in man; and rely upon His word assuredly, for it is God’s word and cannot lie. What He says is yea, and shall not fail through eternity; just as little as it failed when God through the Word created heaven and earth out of nothing. Learn this with diligence, and thank God for such doctrine, and pray that through His Holy Spirit He will keep you in the Word, and thus make you through Christ eternally blessed. 
​​(Translated from Luther’s “Hauspostille.")

Note: This teaching by Bible scholar R.C. Sproul, on the verses above, is the best I've ever heard, and hope you will take the time to listen to it-you will be blessed, and spiritually fed.
Before Abraham Was, I AM: Knowing Christ - The “I AM” Sayings of Jesus with R.C. Sproul
https://youtu.be/TeWTb_Ng-p8?si=X_EVtaT61c3SiavK

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Rom 8:37

"We are more than conquerors." As I have said, the phrase implies that in the conquest itself is something greater than mere conquest—it is its own reward. To overcome temptation is better than to have had no temptation to grapple with, for the conquest, however hardly won, leaves the soul greater, stronger, and more blessed. Every conquered temptation deepens our love to Christ, and thus we are more than conquerors. We come here on the track of that great law of the human soul, of the action of which all life is full—the law that the trial of principle is its true strengthening. Passion catches fire by antagonism, difficulties waken it into stormy majesty, and it makes them its servants. Men speak of the power of circumstances to hinder a Christian life; of course they have a power, but it is none the less true that a strong love makes the most adverse circumstances the grandest aid to its own progress. The love of Christ to us is a pledge that our conquests will become our gains. The living Christ is watching the temptation, and He will take care that its issue is a greater glory than that which could have come from a life of perpetual repose. God will open hereafter the marvelous book of the human soul, and show how each struggle left its eternal inscription of glory there.
Its attainment. How shall we know that we are becoming more than conquerors? When the love of Christ is the strongest power in life and a progressive power. (E. L. Hull, Sermons, 1st series, p. 268)

Every miracle of Christ was done overflowingly. The lame men not only walked, but leapt. The wine which Jesus made for the wedding feast was more than almost any company could have consumed. The very fragments of His feeding are twelve basketsful. He supplies all wants, and then He is at all costs besides—"Whatsoever thou spendest more." Now, apply this to our risen Lord. Christ has placed our life far above the level of the life we had lost. We lost a garden, we have gained a heaven.

"More than conquerors." Then, too, His seeming absence is only a more ubiquitous presence. He is richer, and none are poorer; He is exalted, and none are orphaned. The problem is solved—how there can be distance without separation—how the communion can be invisible and yet be more real than when eye meets eye and hand clasps hand, for He is more than conqueror.

"The very same principle which is thus embodied in the death and sufferings of Christ operates in the experience of every believer". Every man who is in earnest about his salvation has found, and the more earnest he is the more he has found it, that he is placed to contend not only with flesh and blood, but also with Satan. In this great contest, what is God’s undertaking for His people? That they shall overcome? More than that. The power of Christ that is in you shall do what the presence of Christ always did when He walked the earth. Whenever walking this earth, an evil spirit met Christ, the evil spirit was afraid. And they shall be afraid of you. "More than conquerors."
(J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 5th series, p. 99)

This is more than victory. This is a triumph so complete that we have not only escaped defeat and destruction, but we have destroyed our enemies and won a spoil so rich and valuable that we can thank God that the battle ever came. How can we be "more than conquerors"? We can get out of the conflict a spiritual discipline that will greatly strengthen our faith and establish our spiritual character. Temptation is necessary to settle and confirm us in the spiritual life. It is like the fire which burns in the colors of mineral painting, or like winds that cause the mighty cedars of the mountain to strike more deeply into the soil. Our spiritual conflicts are among our choicest blessings, and our great adversary is used to train us for his ultimate defeat. The ancient Phrygians had a legend that every time they conquered an enemy the victor absorbed the physical strength of his victim and added so much more to his own strength and valor. So temptation victoriously met doubles our spiritual strength and equipment. It is possible thus not only to defeat our enemy, but to capture him and make him fight in our ranks. The prophet Isaiah speaks of flying on the shoulders of the Philistines (Isa_11:14).
Isa 11:14  But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. 

These Philistines were their deadly foes, but the figure suggested that they would be enabled not only to conquer the Philistines, but to use them to carry the victors on their shoulders for further triumphs. Just as the wise sailor can use a head wind to carry him forward by tacking and taking advantage of its impelling force; so it is possible for us in our spiritual life through the victorious grace of God to turn to account the things that seem most unfriendly and unfavorable, and to be able to say continually, "The things that were against me have happened to the furtherance of the Gospel." -- (Life More Abundantly)

A noted scientist observing that "early voyagers fancied that the coral-building animals instinctively built up the great circles of the Atoll Islands to afford themselves protection in the inner parts," has disproved this fancy by showing that the insect builders can only live and thrive fronting the open ocean, and in the highly aerated foam of its resistless billows. So it has been commonly thought that protected ease is the most favorable condition of life, whereas all the noblest and strongest lives prove on the contrary that the endurance of hardship is the making of the men, and the factor that distinguishes between existence and vigorous vitality. Hardship makes character.
"Now thanks be unto God Who always leads us forth to triumph with the Anointed One, and Who diffuses by us the fragrance of the knowledge of Him in every place".
2Co 2:14  Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.  ​(Streams in the Desert)

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of
the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity,
​and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Tit 2:13-14

From the very first year of my salvation in 1978, the main calling on my life, has been a call to proclaim the soon coming of the Lord. The very first weeks of my salvation was a time of being drawn to the scriptures like a magnet, and reading it day and night, and taking it in, like a sponge. I couldn't get enough of the word of God-I was like a woman dying of thirst, and kept going to the words of Jesus, and drinking, as he said-He is the living water. I read the book of Revelation 3 times on the second day of my salvation, and wept at the kitchen table, seeing it in my spirit, as a movie before me. It cemented a driving force in me to tell it to anyone I could, and speak of Jesus and proclaim Him as the soon coming Savior and King.

​This short excerpt from my book "The NightWatchman" relays the very first prophetic message I gave at a fellowship meeting on a Friday night, at a local summer camp in September of 1978:

"One night, shortly after being filled with the Spirit, at one of our prayer meetings, God moved in my life in a way that would be part of my walk with the Lord from then on, and increased as years went by.

We met this time at a camp at a nearby pond and recreation area that one of the elders owned. When the meeting began the room was full. Some sat on the floor, other’s stood, as they felt led. We had a time of prayer, and study in scripture, but after this spent most of the time giving testimonies, and worshiping the Lord. The presence of God began to fill the room, and there was much praise among us. I was in the back of the room, where I usually went during meetings, listening and praying more than anything else. God’s presence began to come down upon me heavily, and I became very hot. For some reason, I had a tremendous urge to open my mouth and start to speak. This was not my own desire, it was coming from the Lord, but I didn’t know what to do with it. Finally, after several minutes of this, I gave in. I felt like I was going to explode. I knew somehow it would be better to wait until the room was quiet, and the music stopped. I said a silent prayer for God’s help, and spoke out:

“Behold, I come quickly, are you ready?”

The room filled with praise, prayer, and proclamations; “Yes, come Lord Jesus”. The group leaders thanked me for being obedient, but I told them I had no idea what I had done, or if it was the right thing to do. If it wasn’t, I apologize and wouldn’t do it again. 

They smiled, and said I’d done the right thing, and they knew for some time  that the Lord would use me in this fashion and that what had happened was described in Corinthians as the gift of prophecy. They suggested I spend more time in prayer and ask the Lord to help me learn more about it, and how it should be used among the believer’s in a meeting. They added  it was an important gift but should be guarded against deception carefully. I took note of what was said and did spend a great deal of time studying and praying over this. In time to come the Lord revealed the greater extent of my service to him in this realm. Our walk and service to God deepens and the Holy Spirit will take us into greater knowledge, if we want to pay the prices and continue to surrender in that service. It’s always our choice."

Through the years, this has been the main emphasis of my life, and calling, but it has been met with much the same as the man's testimony below-it has not been received, in the churches, or out of them. The reactions have been much the same as he describes, and at times have come to ask the Lord if I am being too driven, should I ease up on focusing on His return, am I deceived - with this burning in my soul, that His coming is near? Last night while lying in bed, the Lord's presence came into the room, and I heard Him say "I'll put something before you to give you confirmation, and comfort, and it will help you know you are not deceived. Finish what I've called you to do, stay the course."

Tonight, a couple of hours ago, while checking the daily news events online, this testimony below showed up on my recommend column, and decided to check it out, and listen to it. As the man relayed his testimony, his death, and being taken and seeing Jesus, and what He said to him, and the details that confirmed so much the Lord has been speaking to me for months now, and especially the last week-with the chaos with Mr. Trump taking over Venezuela and other acts of aggression with other countries, my heart knew this was what Jesus had meant last night when He spoke to me. This was confirming everything the Lord has spoken to me, and called me to do. The Lord knew I need to hear this.

This is the description under this video-that spoke directly to me:
"A powerful Near Death Experience (NDE) testimony: Former police officer Marty Breeden died after going code blue multiple times and entered the presence of Jesus. What Jesus told him about the end times, the Church, and His soon return shook him to the core — and Marty was sent back with a warning many would not want to hear. If you’ve ever searched “Is Jesus coming back soon?”, “What happens when you die?”, or “Are we living in the end times?” — this testimony is for you."

So, I encourage all who come here to take the time to listen to this man's story, and I pray it will cause you to consider where you stand with the Lord, and realize the world events unfolding are the beginning of the end of this age. Jesus is coming again, soon. Jesus loves you, I pray you'll open your heart, and receive Him as your Lord and Savior, and be ready for Him to return. If your a weary believer, may this be an encouragement to you, and give you strength to keep on, keeping on.

Looking - With eager desire. For that glorious appearing - Which we hope for. Of the great God, even our Saviour Jesus Christ - So that, if there be (according to the Arian scheme) a great God and a little God, Christ is not the little God, but the great one. (John Wesley)