Dr Paul Allen

Psalm 28 -  David. To you, O LORD, I call;  My rock, be not deaf to me,  lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,  when I cry to you for help,  when I lift up my hands  toward your most holy sanctuary.  The LORD is the strength of his people;  he is the saving refuge of his anointed.  Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!  Be their shepherd and carry them forever. (Ps. 28:1–2, 8–9) A cry for help. At times that’s the only way we can pray. Some trouble we’ve been dealing with takes a turn for the worse, or a brand-new crisis breaks over our life in the course of a single day, an hour, a phone call. When that happens, when we are suddenly and utterly overwhelmed, God is there. Our new crisis is not new to God, so we can simply cry out for help. That’s exactly what David does as he prays for deliverance and for a divinely imposed barrier on the evil coming agains...

  "God has made us what we are, and in our union, with Christ Jesus, he has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do” (Eph 2:10). The age of youth, especially the teenage years, is like setting sail out of a safe, small harbor (your home and family). Once the ship is at sea, it can turn many different ways and set its course for many different destinations. Soon, you will be making decisions that will affect the rest of your life: college, friends, marriage, career. You may be feeling insecure, unsure, and afraid, like a small boat sailing out into a great, dark, stormy sea. There is One greater than the sea, One who stilled the storms. Read Luke 8:22–25. If you “put your hand in the hand of the Man who stilled the waters”, he will lead you. He promised, “I will be with you always” (Mt 28:20, the very last verse in that Gospel). If you trust him to lead you, then your path through life will be the right one because it will be his path. I cann...