Becoming a Refuge
The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of trouble. (Psalm 9:9 – AKJV)
Webster defines “refuge” as “a shelter from danger or distress.”
All followers of Christ have found refuge from the blight of sin, fear of death, and from the oppression the enemy has brought upon them:
…that by two immutable things, in which [it was] impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us…
It follows that, having found refuge ourselves, we have an obligation to offer it to others. Obligation, however, is never the bedrock upon which the Love of Christ operates; it is always a compelling necessity worked by the Holy Spirit in the heart of the true believer, and in the will of a follower of Christ. Love renders him incapable of responding in any other way than in love.
The best I can describe it is as an inn always open for business. After Jesus’s birth there was no room for Him in the inn, but there must always be room in our hearts for anyone suffering any kind of trouble or affliction. If they can find refuge nowhere else, they ought always to find it in the hearts of those professing to be followers of Jesus.
(1992)
“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7)
My heart is an Inn on the highway of life,
To shelter the victims of hatred and strife.
It opens more widely than doors and iron gates
To the hungry and thirsty and sick reprobates.
For the rooms in my heart have been paid for and bought
By the love and the Grace my Saviour has wrought.
When He died on the Cross for the sins I have done,
I reserved all the rooms for His own use and some
Of the halt, the lame, and the wilfully blind —
And anyone else that my Saviour can find.
My heart is an Inn, a Haven, a Rest,
To the weary and even the ones I love best;
For nothing I do is of value, except,
In terms of a payment that’s due on a debt.
For I owe all I am, all I do, all I seek
To the One Who redeemed me even when I was weak.
He drank to the dregs the cup of my sin
To bring this loser an overwhelming win.
It’s no wonder then friend that my heart is aflame
To welcome all travellers in Jesus’ Name.
Please visit My website: www.christophershennan.ca
My blog: https://christophershennan.wordpress.com/
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Tower of Refuge (Douglas, IOM) by Malost. Copyright. Used under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license. No changes were made to this photograph.
Gems of Discovery - Nuggets of Truth 
