+ Dr. Charles Kemper +

Yahweh Is My Protector

Living by Faith in Christ Jesus—That Is the Truly Good Life. Why? Because Yahweh has promised to watch over and protect every believer as they journey to the heavenly Jerusalem.

Dear family and friends of Charles:

There is a rumor going around. It has been reported that Charles Kemper has died. Don’t believe a word of it. The truth is, he has not died! You see, Charles just moved out of a decrepit old leaky tent into a beautiful new mansion. We do not need to weep for him, because he has moved into the house of God not made with human hands. In fact, Charles has even transferred his church membership from Christ Lutheran Church of Chippewa Falls, to the Church Triumphant.

This is the truth. This is the reality. Yahweh has promised. Yahweh has promised Charles and every believer in Christ Jesus that He will protect us in our journey to the heavenly Jerusalem.

One of Dr. Kemper’s favorite Psalms is Psalm 121. “I lift up my eyes unto the hills—from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth.”

You see, Christ Jesus died, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven—the heavenly Jerusalem—to prepare a place for all who trust Christ Jesus as their Lord.

But people who march to the drumbeat of the world see things differently. I’m sure we’ve all heard it said, “He had a good life.” But there’s a problem with that sentiment. The world’s understanding of a good life is at best inadequate, compared to God’s understanding of what constitutes a good life. Now there could be similarities. A person who has a good, God-pleasing life might be blessed with a loving and caring spouse, loving and respectful children, a job or vocation that brought meaning and fulfillment to her life—like being a Physician and caring for the physical wellbeing of others. Or, like having a passion for wildlife and caring for birds that are injured, nursing them back to health. By those definitions, one could say that Charles had a good life.

From God’s perspective, however, there are more important ingredients that make a life good and pleasing to Yahweh. As believers we look to the goodness, kindness, and compassion of our LORD for the key to a truly good life. To begin with, Christians give God the credit, honor, and glory for all the good gifts and blessings we enjoy. By faith in Christ, we can say with the psalmist, “My help comes from the LORD” (Ps. 121:2b).

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Christians know that there is no higher calling in life than to walk in step with the Lord God and his purposes, following him and serving him all the days of our life. Believers know that true meaning and fulfillment in life is found not in money or the things that we accumulate, but rather in the love, kindness, and forgiveness that our Lord moves us to share with others in our daily life and daily relationships. Believers in Christ know that the motivation for our life of Christian love and service to others comes from the love of Christ living in us. As the Bible tells us, “We love because [God] first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

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But believers in Christ also know from faith and life experience that when we are confronted with struggles, persecution, sickness, and sorrow—which are an inevitable part of living in this broken world—we have a sure source of comfort, strength, and hope in Jesus Christ, his Word, and his promises. When we live by faith in Christ our Savior, we know that He will lead us through all the valleys and shadows of life, until that blessed day comes when his angels will welcome us to our eternal home in heaven. Then we will finally grasp the full meaning of the words of our text, “He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will neither slumber nor sleep” (Ps 121:3-4). Yahweh is constantly watching and protecting the faithful in their journey to the heavenly Jerusalem — heaven.

Some may say that living 103 years constitutes a good life. But it is even more than that—you see, trusting in the creator of all things, all of the heavens and the earth, living with and for Christ, living each day in the love and forgiveness that Jesus earned for us on the cross, sharing his grace and mercy with those around us every chance we get, and living always with the assurance that nothing in this life, not even death, “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

What matters most of all in this life is to be able to live—and then to move out of this old leaky tent into the beautiful dwelling place prepared specifically for us by Jesus Christ—with the sure confidence that Yahweh will protect us in our journey all the way home.

Living by Faith in Christ Jesus—That Is the Truly Good Life. Why? Because Yahweh has promised to watch over and protect every believer as they journey to the heavenly Jerusalem.

Psalm 121 NKJV

A Song of Ascents. I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.