Divinely Protected

 

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1-2 ESV)

Reading the first couple lines of Psalm 121 can bring much comfort to a troubled soul. These opening verses remind us to always focus upon God not just in times of crises but that we always stand in need of His help.

He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121:3-4 ESV)

These next two verses assure us of God’s faithful watch upon us as He doesn’t sleep or even doze off; He is actively keeping a close eye on each of us.

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. (Psalm 121:5-6 ESV)

It is God who sustains and protects us when danger comes, even when harm presents itself in unexpected ways.

The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.  The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 121:7-8 ESV)

From these last two verses, rest assured that we can rely on God to preserve us from evil. Understand that this is much deeper than protection from harm, this speaks of constant ongoing spiritual protection from evil. 

Beloved, this is a very powerful psalm that avails much when seriously applied. If you take a good look at it, you will recognize that the Psalmist has revealed the nature of God through his words:

Mighty Helper; Faithful Sentinel; Divine Preserver

With this certainty you can lift your gaze from the trials and tribulations and lift up your eyes to God knowing that He is at work ensuring that no evil shall be allowed to befall you (Psalm 91:10) – you are divinely protected.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “Divinely Protected” ©2026 March 1, 2026

 

 

 

Asar and Hitir

 

Recently I came across two words, "asar" and "hitir", in reference to a conversation between Jesus and Peter recorded in Matthew 16:19, where Jesus tells Peter,

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (ESV)

The keys of the Kingdom that Jesus gave to Peter were to bind and loose whatever on earth; the original Aramaic words used in the Gospel of Matthew were “asar” and “hitir” respectively.

Today, this passage is habitually used in terms of spiritual warfare, however, for first century Jews this passage was viewed within a legal context where “asar” referred to something forbidden or prohibited and its antonym, “hitir” referred to something permitted.

Jesus was giving Peter the authority to determine what is prohibited or permitted here on earth with the assurance that it would be ratified by God in heaven.

This authority concerned the establishment of the church and its acceptance of Gentiles into the fold. In this regard, we see in Acts chapter 15 that Peter was forced to use his God-given authority of the keys to make a judgment call concerning the Gentile believers.

Beloved, the church has been long established since that time and we are not faced with the exact same issues as those in that day, we must however continue to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth as to what is “asar” and “hitir” in any given situation.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “Asar and Hitir” ©2026 February 28, 2026