Sunday, October 30, 2011

Psalm 109:21-22, 30-31 NASB

But You, O God, the Lord, deal kindly with me for Your name's sake; because Your lovingkindness is good, deliver me; for I am afflicted and needy, and my heart is wounded within me... With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the LORD; and in the midst of many I will praise Him.  For He stands at the right hand of the needy to save him from those who judge his soul.

There are some who seem to always see the negative side of life, and if we aren't careful, anyone of us can easily fall into this kind of thinking and living.  If we stay here too long, soon everything is bad, everyone is against us, and the only hope is "the second coming".  I dare say, much of the evangelical world has fallen into this terrible morass of pessimism, where the problems of the world are impossible.  I think we as Christians, especially North American Christians, are suffering from a terrible eye problem.  We don't see what is there because we suffer not persecution, but blindness.  We talk about God, but we don't see Him, for, if we saw Him, our heart language would move from an I (the play on words is intentional) problem to His profound presence. This is what happens with the Psalmist who genuinely feeling the wounds this world can inflict, all of a sudden sees;  He's right there, "at the right hand of the needy".  With this joyful knowledge, his language changes from "poor me" to "praise Him":  With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the LORD; and in the midst of many I will praise Him. We desperately need eye surgery; the kind that removes the "I" and causes us to see Him; where, like Steven in Acts 7, under deadly opposition, instead of the nearsightedness we have suffered with, we now see the unseen.  Look at what Luke says about Steven, as Steven's case worsened:  "But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God," (Acts 7:55-56).  Better yet, where Steven saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father, look again at what the Psalmist sees  "For He stands at the right hand of the needy to save him from those who judge his soul."  God's people see well!  They see Faithful Presence!  And "If God be for us, who can be against us".  Our outlook has changed.  Now, because we aren't so taken up with who is against us, we aren't so heavy into who we're against. Can you see that?

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Psalm 108:13 NASB

Through God we shall do valiantly; and it is He who will tread down our adversaries.

Like any other kid, I loved competetive games as I was growing up, and especially "futbol" (soccer).  With any number of kids around, it didn't take us long to pick teams and go at it. But it was the "picking" that was key.  We had various ways of deciding who would get to pick first; and that would usually be the game winner because he was the strongest player.  That's who God is; The Game Winner!  These promises of many, many years ago, to Israel, bore witness to the fact that God was there, actively involved in their needs, their care and their affairs.  In a world of oppression and depression, gods and ghosts, fightings and fears, the knowledge of God for them was their hope. It was the knowledge that, with Him on their side, they couldn't lose. The victory would ultimately be theirs.  This God hasn't changed.  In the chaos of our world, He is still the same. Whatever, or whoever, our "adversaries" are today, this promise is still alive and well:  "Through God we shall do valiantly; and it is He who will tread down our adversaries."  So, a word to the wise, if you want to win, pick God.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Psalm 30:4-5 NASB

Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones, and give thanks to His holy name.  For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.

We fear the idea of anger these days, as if it's always something wrong, hurtful and unacceptable.  And certainly it has been abused. There is an anger that has no place in society.  The same could be said about drugs. There are certain drugs that are wrong, hurtful and unnecessary, and it must be stopped, but that doesn't mean we eliminate drugs altogether.  Drugs aren't the problem.  It's the misuse of drugs that is the problem.  The same with anger.  Expressed for the right reasons, at the right times, and by the right person, anger can have a strong, positive, healthy affect.  But this isn't an out of control, self-centered, lashing out at the world around us, kind of anger.  This is anger with reason, responsibility and love. As a child, the direction and demonstration of my spirit was often halted because I knew my parents were angry with me.  Dad never spanked me with a soft, loving smile on his face.  When there was cause for this kind of discipline, I feared it.  It protected me from my own stupidity, senselessness and, often, sinfulness.  Of my parents, I could truly say "Their anger was but for a moment, their favor for a lifetime.  Weeping lasted for awhile, but joy followed quickly."  Thank God for His anger.  It is an anger that reacts against anything that violates us as His children.  This anger is the full emotion of God for us. When it's done, He pulls us to Himself.  King David had known these moments; few, but severe enough to turn him back to the great love of God.  He knew what he was talking about when he said, "Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones, and give thanks to His holy name.  For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning."  Isn't that wonderful!? 

A word to the wise... God's anger isn't something anyone of us want to endure for long.  Tilted against willful, stubborn, determined evil...  Well, none of us want to go there. And no one need go there.  He has made a way of escape. It's called the cross; and the way of the cross leads home!  Joy!

Monday, October 24, 2011

1 Chronicles 22:11-13 NASB

Now, my son, the LORD be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of the LORD our God just as he has spoken concerning you.  Only the LORD give you discretion and understanding, and give you charge over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God.  Then you shall prosper, if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the LORD commanded Moses concerning Israel.  Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed.

The writer of Ecclesiastes, in his own honest and cynical way, said, "the writing of many books is endless..." (12:11).  That's the way I feel about books on leadership:  endless!  I weary of the pontificating going on on this subject.  Much of it, I think, is an ego trip about our own importance. I believe Christian leadership is as serious and simple as what King David admonished his son Solomon concerning the building of the Temple, or, as he called it here, "the house of the LORD".
  1. Know that the LORD is truly with you personally.  David's main concern to Solomon was, "the LORD be with you that you may be successful."  There would be nothing more foolhardy than to tackle something in your own power. This is the height of arrogance.  Tragically, some look successful with "their building projects", but there is nothing of true success in it, which is the second point.
  2. Know that what you are building is truly of the LORD.  We pull God into way too many things these days to try to prove spiritual credibility. I wonder what "the burning day" will reveal?
  3. Know that your call to leadership is truly of the LORD.  David was able to say to Solomon, "build the house of the LORD our God just as he has spoken concerning you."   This thing David calls "discretion and understanding" has nothing to do with the reading of leadership books. It comes from the LORD.
  4. Know that your heart is truly for the LORD.  Here's what David said to Solomon:  "Then you shall prosper, if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the LORD commanded Moses concerning Israel."
Like I said, the role of leadership is that serious and that simple.  We must learn whatever else we need to learn along the way, but we dare not ignore these four corner stones of Christian leadership.  I think this calls for some serious seeking and honesty before God because these things we must know.

Friday, October 21, 2011

2 Samuel 24:24 NASB

I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing.

David committed two great sins that affected not only him but the nation.  One was his adulterous and murderous affair with Bathsheba, and then this one--a blatant affront to the command of God not to number the people; putting his confidence in numbers rather than God.  His salvation in both was a broken heart.  Concerning this sin, the writer says, "Now David's heart troubled him."  Literally, his heart smote him.  God has an immediate problem with any sin, but I think the worst of our condition is when our heart doesn't smite us anymore.  A lot of grace was given to David because he broke. The broken heart isn't looking for some latitude.  This heart makes no excuses, but takes full, heartbroken blame and responsibility for what they have done;  who, like David, cries out to God saying, "Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong," (2 Samuel 24:17). We desperately need this kind of brokenness today.  This is one who is deeply conscious of the fact that his sin was against God, but also that his sin affects those around him.  Anytime we choose to go against the ways of God, we carry a poison that distorts us and infects those around us.  It's impossible to keep it isolated and it's always destructive to community life, unity, and spirit.  The only remedy for this venom of the soul is an altar and a sacrifice, and this is where we find David.  With a broken heart, he humbles himself before God; and God takes him to "the threshing floor of Araunah" to erect an altar.  He makes an offer for the property, but Araunah, meaning well, says, Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight.  Look, the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.  Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king," (2 Samuel 24:22-23).  There are always some well-meaning souls who offer an easier way, but David wouldn't have it.  From the depths of his broken heart he says, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing."  This was not an attempt to earn or buy his salvation.  No.  This was an acknowledgement of the terrible price for his salvation. The cross will never bow to our consumerist thinking of "cheap grace".  We don't get something for nothing.  The cross cost everything. Let's never forget that.  This truth should shake us, and transform us, at the core of our being.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Psalm 98:9 NASB

...He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.

To speak of God as Judge is not generally a part of our conversation these days.  God as Love, yes, but we usually steer away from anything that portrays Him as making any absolute and final ruling concerning our lives, or anyone's life, as far as that goes.  This is usually "judged" as too negative when talking about God.  Certainly, some have used the "judge" word in the wrong way, expressing a harshness and hardness against people who don't fit their "christian" mold, but that's no reason to dispose of the word.  When the Psalmist wrote, "He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity", he was not thinking negatively, but positively.  Leading up to this promise, he says, "Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth, break forth and sing for joy and sing praises...Shout joyfully before the King, the LORD.  Let the sea roar and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it.  Let the rivers clap their hands; let the mountains sing together for joy before the LORD..."  WHY?  "for He is coming to judge the earth;  He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity."  The best thing about this life is that there is more to it than we can see!  "God", as Steve DeNeff has described, "wants to shift us from seen to unseen".  And when this happens, we see that God is still in the picture!  In fact, He dominates the picture.  He has never been out of it and never will be!  So, whatever injustices you may witness, or whatever wrongs you may suffer, He is actively, aggressively and decisively bringing it to an end. The word "righteousness", in the phrase "He will judge the world with righteousness", is the word justice.  It has to do with doing what is right/just for all people. No wonder the Psalmist says to "shout joyfully...sing for joy!"  A lot is happening!  Hang on tight.  We have an incredible ride ahead of us. Enjoy the beautiful sights and sounds of our God in motion, judging the world with righteousness.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Psalm 97:10-12 NASB

Hate evil, you who love the LORD, who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.  Light is sown like seed for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.  Be glad in the LORD, you righteous ones; and give thanks to His holy name.

I have observed that, when it comes to making a point, when argued at extremes, we generally miss the point. Usually it's extremes that get us off balance and into danger.  On the entertainment side, we have what are called "extreme sports", which means they're dangerous; and people flock to these events.  On the political side, we deal with extreme movements that appeal to the masses.  In the religious realm, we have radicals who are called "terrorists" or "extremists", and they generate a following of like-minded zealots.  Needless to say, these extremes have created much harm and hurt.  Bent on taking their cause to extremes, their passion is more important than compassion, becoming the very evil they denounce. Evil!  That's the word we need to key in on.  The Psalmist says "Hate evil, you who love the LORD".  Evil is anything that advances a cause by either removing God or using God to achieve any given end, something which both politics and religion have effectively done down through the ages.  This is the heart at pitch black, and, for those who truly love the LORD, there is a deep hatred for it. Out of its belly comes corruption, oppression, slavery, murder, abuse of children, abuse of women, and abuse of the poor. A pure love for God will bring a pure hatred of evil, and this evil we must confront with passion, but only within the checks and balances of love. As we swim in this love, we are kept from the very thing that leads to evil, which, as we noted, is advancing a cause (any cause) by either removing God or using God to achieve any given end.  That's a poison that will kill the soul, and many evangelicals have swallowed this poison. God's great concern is to protect our souls from being poisoned with the very poison we hate. 

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Psalm 95:8-11 NASB

Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.  For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.  Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness; "when your fathers tested Me, they tried Me, though they had seen My work.  For forty years I loathed that generation, and said they are a people who err in their heart, and they do not know My ways.  Therefore I swore in My anger, 'Truly they shall not enter in My rest.'"

There is one thing that comes across conclusively in Scripture, and that is that God's "default", if you will, or where His heart leans, both easily and abundantly, is His incredible care for His people.  The evidence is enormous on the side of watchful love.  This is not a God we have to appease.  He is already so open and receptive to us that we immediately bump into Him as soon as we turn to head His direction.  He's right there!  This heart pours out in constant presence, provision and protection; as a shepherd cares for his sheep--"For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand."  It's in this light that it's difficult for some to grasp the "anger" of God; that, "if God so loves this way, how could He ever be angry with us?"  But we must understand something about this love;  it isn't stupid love.  To be "stupid" is to be dull in feeling or sensation and, as a result, to act intelligently or unreasonably. God is too passionate to be dull in feeling or sensation, and too bright to let anything get by Him.  We can only try to understand, but He is infinite in passion and knowledge.  From this heart flows passionate and knowing love.  His love is like a fire that will warm us or burn us, depending on how we treat it. When John Wesley turned His heart toward God, he said, "I felt my heart strangely warmed".  When the children of Israel turned against this same "fire" of God's presence in the wilderness, they felt His burning anger.  This was the God who, with full control and full understanding, could say, "For forty years I loathed that generation, and said they are a people who err in their heart, and they do not know My ways.  Therefore I swore in My anger, 'Truly they shall not enter in My rest.'"  Without even a hint of talk of trying to appease an angry God, for that would be stupid, the Psalmist warns us to wise up and know who we're dealing with.  "Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness; when your fathers tested Me, they tried Me, though they had seen My work."  Rather, "(1) Come, let us (2) worship and (3) bow down; Let us (4) kneel before the LORD our Maker.  For He is our God...   Do you see the difference?  Do you know the difference?  Oh, what a glorious difference!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Psalm 95:1-5 NASB

O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth; The peaks of the mountains are His also.  The sea is His, for it was He who made it; And His hands formed the dry land.

There are some people who, in their zeal and zaniness, think it a great show of spirituality to do do something that makes everyone around them very uncomfortable.  Generally, the problem with this is just that; it's a show and all it does is draw attention to themselves.  There may be occasions when we are called upon to look foolish for our faith, but there is no merit in playing the fool. Usually when we single ourselves out from the "us", we err.  Worship is certainly personal, but the "personal" part of worship is much more private.  Mostly, worship is community, and when community enters into worship together no one is drawing attention to themselves.  They are drawing attention to God.  As we worship in community, we respond with community, allowing us to express ourselves together, no one becoming the point of attention except God.  Take note of this plurality in Psalm 95, with outward expression that would likely be out of place singularly.
  • Let us sing for joy to the LORD
  • Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation
  • Let us come before His presence with [songs of] thanksgiving
  • Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms
What a beautiful thing to join in community praise to God, because we are less likely to draw attention to ourselves individually.  All praise goes to the God who is worthy of all praise, with great expression and emotion. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth; The peaks of the mountains are His also.  The sea is His, for it was He who made it; And His hands formed the dry land.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Psalm 57:1-3 NASB

Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge, until destruction passes by.  I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me.  He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples on me.  Selah.  God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.

The greatest conflict with God's will is self-will.  The mistake we make though, in seeking to align anyone with God, is to go after anything that has to do with self, almost to the point of seeking to destroy it.  But "self" isn't our problem.  Our problem is self-will that is set against God's will.  Self, in and of it's self, is who we are as a person.  Cleansed from the sin that keeps us from God, and dead to the self-will that stiff-arms God, self is worth everything to God.  Again, free from the poison that kills self, there is nothing wrong with self.  "I", "me", or "you" cannot and should not be taken out of our vocabulary.  This is the very essence of coming to God.  Give a lot of attention to it in the right way.  Listen to how many times the Psalmist uses the personal pronoun in our text.
  1. Be gracious to me, O God. (1a)
  2. Be gracious to me (1b)
  3. My soul takes refuge in You (1c)
  4. In the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge (1d)
  5. I will cry to God Most High (2a)
  6. To God who accomplishes all things for me (2b)
  7. He will send from heaven and save me (3a)
  8. He reproaches him who tramples on me (3b)
It almost sounds like it's all about "me".  Well, it is!  God is all about you and me.  The only way we can come to Him is to bring "me".  But note that the Psalmist's prayer is not "me" without God.  It's all about God!  That's it!  That's what God wants:  Me and God!  God and me!  Don't let anyone kill that!  Just point it in the right direction.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

2 Samuel 22 NASB


The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my rock in whom I take refuge; My shield...my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior.

Real Christians love to sing and tell stories!  Why?  Because they have a song on their heart and a story of their life.  We lift our song up to the LORD and we tell our story out to the world. These are incredible stories of deliverance, and who doesn't like an incredible story?  This is one of our great tools of witness.  It's a God-present story among a people who live God-forsaken lives.  This is what 2 Samuel 22 is all about.  Verse 1 says, "And David spoke the words of this song to the LORD in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul."  And like his, our story is alive with God, and the world needs to hear it.  We need to speak with story-telling emotion that (vs. 7, 8), "in my distress I called upon the LORD, Yes, I cried to my God; and from His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for help came into His ears.  Then..."  Yes!  Then... (all of chapter 22)
  • He sent from on high
  • He took me
  • He drew me out of many waters
  • He delivered me
  • He was my support
  • He brought me into a broad place
  • He rescued me
Our heart breaks forth in song, saying, "You are a lamp, LORD, and the LORD illumines my darkness... by You I can run upon (crush) a troop... You have given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your help makes me great.  You enlarge my steps under me... You have girded me with strength for battle...  What's your song?  What's your story?  Let Him write it on the pages of your life.  It will be worth living and it will surely be worth telling!  God bless you today and every day!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Psalm 42:1-3; 8-9, 10, 11 NASB

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God...  The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; and His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.  I will say to God my rock, "Why do I go morning because of the oppression of the enemy...while they say to me all day long, 'Where is your God?'"  Why are you in despair, O my soul?  And why have you become disturbed within me?  Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.

Good, kind, gracious, and loving Father.  There is no doubt we don't understand all that You are, nor Your ways with us, but we know this--you are good, kind, gracious and loving.  I join with people, both past and present, who are grateful for this knowledge.  We respond to the extended hand.  Lord, whether we understand you completely or not, we have all seen the extended hand.  O Spirit of God, You are full of mystery and wonder, but, through the mist of the unknown, we see the extended hand.  We take hold of that hand.  "Why are you in despair, O my soul?  And why have you become disturbed within me?  Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God."  I feel the strength of Your grip, leading me through the difficulties of life with resolve and confidence.  Thank you for the extended hand!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Psalm 5 NASB

1. Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my groaning. 2. Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. 3. In the morning O LORD, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.  4. For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You.  5. The boastful will not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity.  6. You destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit... 10. Hold them guilty, O God; By their own devices let them fall!  In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, for they are rebellious against You.  11. But let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy; and may You shelter them, that those who love Your name may exult in You.  12. For it is You who bless the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor like a shield.

You can't read the Psalms without feeling the revulsion the Psalmist has with the wicked.  It almost sounds non-New Testament in its tone.  But it's not.  The fact is, a Christian lives in an ongoing tension in his heart and life.  There is within Him the heart of God who said "love your enemies, and do good to those who despitefully use you", but there is also within him the heart of God who "hates all who do iniquity and destroys the wicked."  While passionately pursuing the salvation of evil men, we are also actively opposed to the injustices of evil men.  Some say, "Love the sinner, but hate their sin."  The difficulty with this is that, in the eyes of God, sin and sinner are one.  Sin is the sinners very nature.  Therefore, in God's justice, His judgment will fall on the sinner.  As an aside, this is why we need a transformation of our nature. That's what God is in the business of doing!  But, back to this tension we're talking about.  It's important to note that this is a tension God lives with as well.  He fights to save the sinner, and He fights against the sinner.  We can be just as passionate about both, and we must be.  Christians are a people who rejoice when the wicked are converted, but they are also a people who rejoice when the wicked fall.  We can be assured that God will deal with them one way or another. Either way, wickedness will not prevail. The Psalmist knew, that because God does not take pleasure in wickedness, nor will evil dwell with Him, the future does not bode well for the sinner, but God's character bids confidence and contentment for the righteous.  Concerning the wicked, the Psalmist says, "God will shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly they will be wounded... Then all men will fear, and will declare the work of God... Concerning this he says, "The righteous man will be glad in the LORD," (Psalm 64:7, 9, 10).  Followers of Christ are not soft. With God, they are always fighting against something, both for or against the sinner, and they do it with everything they have.  Join the fray!  It's a no lose situation, with victory one way or another.  And, by the way, aren't you thankful that God fought for you!?  Can you imagine Him fighting against you?  You don't want to go there!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Psalm 62:5-8 NASB

My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him.  He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken.  On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.  Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him.

I'm a clingy kind of person when it comes to anything that threatens my sense of security.  As a child, I've clung to my parents as we passed through dark places, feeling that they held my life.  I've climbed high, narrow mountain paths and I would cling to the mountain side, and anything it offered me to hold on to, hoping to come out with my life.  I've crossed rivers on flimsy, bouncy rope bridges, and I would cling to the rope for dear life.  I've worked on steep roofs and would cling close to the shingles as if it meant my life. I've crossed a storm tossed lake in a small dugout canoe, and I remember clinging to the sides of the boat as if I was going to lose my life.  I'm still here, so three cheers for the clinging!  I'm the same when it comes to living life overall.  There are a lot of things we face in this world that can make us feel like we're right on the edge of a precipice.  Here's where many begin to frantically grab on to anything around them, hoping it will secure them.  I've watched people cling to the things of the world, thinking it will hold them.  Countless numbers cling to false, hopeless religions and ideas, believing it will save them.  But, like the thousands caught in the burning and doomed twin towers of New York on 911, it will come crashing down on them.  What are you clinging to?  I'm still a clinger, and God knows it.  He has felt my tight grip on His very available and ready hand, but, better still, I have felt His tight hold on my outstretched and trembling hand.  Here I have found peace in the midst of the storm.  Here I have found help in the depth of sorrow.  Here I have found stability in the earthquakes of life.  My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him.  He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken.  On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.  Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him.  Cling to Him with everything you have!  He alone can save you.  "To Him I've given all my heart.  The world shall never share a part. What a wonderful Savior!"

Friday, October 7, 2011

Psalm 61:1-4 NASB

Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer.  From the end of the earth I call to You, when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  For You have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength against the enemy.  Let me dwell in Your tent forever; Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.  Selah.

If one could ask any man or woman, who is staggering under the circumstances of life, overcome by unbearable sorrow, gripped by a crippling disease, or lying on their death bed, whether they felt like they were in control of their own lives, or the masters of their own destiny, we would think them insane if they said "Yes".  Even those who seem to have the world by the tail, for the moment, will ultimately be forced to concede their total lack of control.  This is what it means to be human in a fallen world.  And, whether Christian or non-christian, we are still human.  The only difference being, and it's a huge difference, that we, as Christians, believe in Someone outside of ourselves, Someone we know to intervene for us.  This isn't an escape mechanism from reality, but a sane understanding of our total dependency on Someone bigger than ourselves, and a sensible reaching up to this One who can and who cares.  So, gratefully, humbly, deeply, and confidently, we join with the Psalmist in praying, "Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer.  From the end of the earth I call to You, when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  For You have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength against the enemy.  Let me dwell in Your tent forever; Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.  Selah."  This is not only a beautiful prayer; this is an amazing truth. May God bless this truth to your own heart and in your own life.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Psalm 40:9-11 NASB

I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation; Behold, I will not restrain my lips...I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.  You, O LORD, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.

God is excessive in His care of us.  We ought to be expressive in our praise of Him.  You don't know what to say?  Really?  Honestly?  How can that be?  The truth be told, if these things are real in our hearts and lives, we won't know when to quit. As the Psalmist declares, if they're real, these are not things you conceal within your heart. If these things are true, how can we not proclaim them?  We have "glad tidings!  Don't restrain your lips!  Our testimony should resound with the passion of God's response to our heart's need.  It comes with an exclamation point!
  • His righteousness!
  • His faithfulness!
  • His salvation!
  • His lovingkindness!
  • His truth!
  • His compassion!
Is God-in-you lived with an exclamation point? How can we yawn when we speak of Him, or cause anyone else to yawn? He is not trepid or tepid!  He explodes with life within our lives, and our testimony and tongue ought to declare it with fire!  Send the fire LORD!  Send the fire!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Psalm 40:6-8 NASB

Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened; burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.  Then I said, "Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me; I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is in my heart.

Have you ever worked with someone who does only what their job description states and no more?  They can argue that they did they're job, but they are unwilling to go the extra mile because they are consumeristic in their thinking rather than community.  The job becomes all about them.  If they can walk away with their pay check, that's all that matters.  When work becomes community, it has no lines.  It is in this for the sake of all concerned and not just his/her concerns.  This consumeristic thinking has plagued Christianity; a people who want only the minimum requirement, if that, and no more.  It's all about themselves, so they bring their "sacrifice and meal offering", their "burnt offering and sin offering", and consider themselves Christians; translated into western thinking that's a Sunday morning service and maybe some Bible reading and prayer.  After all, this is their job description.  But it's a religion with a finish line, and God doesn't work with finish lines. God's people are different, in that they aren't living for the minimum, but are always pursuing the infinite maximum. But, even here, if you will observe, the difference isn't even in their pursuit.  It's in the pleasure of their pursuit.  Like Jesus, they are able to say, "I delight to do Your will; O my God".  How do you get there?  That's the interesting part of this text.  In verse six it states, "Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened".  The word "opened", in "My ears you have opened", literally means "dug".  This is a work of God that digs our ears out so we no longer suffer the deafening malady of head law, but we now have the liberating quality of heart Law:  I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is in my heart".  This heart Law does amazing things because it no longer functions from the standpoint of law that limits itself to duty, but rather from the standpoint of love that lives outside itself with delight.  O give me this heart!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Psalm 40:5 NASB

Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with You; If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count.

"I was thinking of you!"  Why does that comment mean so much to us?  Why does it matter?  After all, it's just a thought.  But it matters.  In a world where people are so focused on themselves, it matters when we become the focus of someone else's attention for good. It makes us feel significant. It gives a lift to the soul.  Someone has said that the worst thing you can do to another person is not to physically or verbally harm them, but to ignore them; treating them as if they aren't there; as if they don't matter.  The most wonderful thing about God is that He thinks about us all the time.  We matter to Him.  But, more than that, He puts His thoughts into action on our behalf.  This is what the Psalmist is saying when he writes, "Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with You; If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count."  All that God has done, He has done for us!  From creation to the cross, it has been all about us!  This is God saying, "I was thinking of you".  Amazing!  The Psalmist is right. There is none to compare with You!  Thank you Father. Thank you!