A STRONG TOWER

Hello Friends. Today is September 11, 2006. It is another day. It is 5:39 in the A.M...my alarm went off...I got a cup of coffee....life continues. Five years ago...I probably went through the same routine...pray...read the Word...brush my teeth...drive into work...but this day would be different. Two planes slammed into two towers as the world watched in TERROR. As as was watching...Proverbs 18:10 kept running over and over in my mind....
"The NAME OF THE LORD is a STRONG TOWER; the righteous run into it and is safe." Obviously man-made towers provided little safety on that day...but for the righteous...in the midst of crumbling towers...they still had an alternate tower to run into... a tower where no terrorist could strike....THE NAME OF THE LORD. This verse is found in one of those PRO-VERBS...Positive Action words that reveals our man made towers...of pride, wicked ways, self-sufficiency, fools lips, snares of the sould, whispering words, rich men's wealth, imaginations, haughty hearts, folly and shame, and broken spirits...are contrasted to THE STRONG TOWER.
This is a picture of a church that I saw in Kenya Africa in some little town that we were passing through on our journey. It struck me what an odd name for a church. I preached in a church in Africa in 2001 called The Church of the Redeemed By The Slaughter House Next To the Lake. Very descriptive. This Church is called Welcome To Jesus Elevation Tabernacle A Ministry of Redeemed Gospel Church International. What struck me in the name is the ELEVATION part...a lifted up...high place.

When Proverbs 18-10 speaks of the STRONG TOWER...and the ones who CHOOSE to run into it are THE RIGHTEOUS (Romans 3:10 is trumped by II Corinthians 5:21)...the TOWER is THE NAME OF THE LORD. A name is a representation of who you are. My name is Rodney. When you hear that name in context of me...everyone who knows me...has an idea about who I am...and what that name means. To some...a good-looking, muscular...stud of a man...to others...a gopher looking...overweight...dud of a man. The name of JESUS (God is Salvation)...EMMANUEL (God with us)...I AM...Jehovah...Yahweh...Wonderful...Counselor...Prince of Peace...Jehovah-Shalom (Peace)...Jehovah-Raphe (Healer)...Jehovah Jirah (Provider)...Jehovah-Tsidkenue (Righteousness)...plus many, many more.

This STRONG TOWER is still standing. The RIGHTEOUS still run into it. How can you get righteous to run into it. The same way everyone else ran into it...through the door. The door is made of wood from a CROSS that Jesus hung on and died in your place for your sins. This door is covered in blood...that was shed for you and me. The door is called the D.B.R...Death, Burial, Resurrection...nothing more...nothing less. It is the door that is open to all...whosoever...but the choice of going from unrighteous to righteous...from cursed to blessed...from death to life... is a choice. More attacks will come...are you ready?

Love
Rodney