Psalm 43
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
Yesterday I wrote about the second half of this stanza that is repeated twice in Psalm 42 and shows up again here at the end of Psalm 43, which leads me to believe that the two were once one, but is quite beside the point of the moment. Today I would like to point out the importance of the whole.
In these two Psalms the author writes from a place of being in the midst of the storm. They are far from where they want to be: physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally. They point out various things that are arrayed against them: distance, feeling forgotten by God, betrayal by people once close. But then they keep coming back to the above stanza, asking why their soul is cast down, and instead of answering that particular question the answer they give is about the need to hope, remember, and reflect. If only we could do the same in times such as those.
Our, or at least my, usual response to the darkness is to focus on the darkness. In the midst of regret I focus on the failing. In the midst of sorrow I focus on the loss. In the midst of being lost I focus on how I got there. Keeping the focus on the negative, on how I got myself in the current mess, or how others got me in the current mess, or how even God may have gotten me in the current mess is not the way out of the current mess. The way out is to shift the focus from what caused it to how I can get out of it. How can I change my attitude? How can I change my action? How can I change my vision? How can I once again rely on God? The author while commenting on how they got in the mess quickly moves to how they can get out, and there way is our way, hope, remember, and reflect.
+ When you are in the middle of a mess how can you begin to hope in God and in yourself again?
+ When you are in the middle of a mess how can you best remember what God has already brought you through?
+ When you are in the middle of a mess how can you best reflect on who God is?
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Monday, November 28, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 42
Psalm 42
There is a phrase that is twice repeated over the course of this Psalm, the first we have come to that is not attributed to David. This phrase is where I would like to spend our time together today.
Hope in God
Hope is something that can be in short supply in our world today, too often we stay focused on the negative aspects of the world around us and we fail to cling to the hope that we have as followers of Jesus. But it is that hope that we have from Jesus that the world so desperately needs.
for I shall again praise him
What's interesting is that the author seems to be in a place where he is clinging to hope while he is also somehow separated from a place of praise. That's sometimes how we can find ourselves, hoping even when we've been cast off or wandered off. The thing about hope is that it is not reliant upon our current circumstances, it rises above them.
my help
Especially in our western society we have been sold a bill of goods that tells us that we have to accomplish things on our own or we are unworthy of what we have. In contrast the Bible tells us that only those who rely on God will fully find the purpose that we are in search of. There is a very real need for dependence upon God, for God to be our help, for God to be the one who pulls up our bootstraps.
and my God
As we begin with hoping in God, we end with remembering who we are talking about and to in the first place. This is not just a friend, not just a help, not just a savior, but the one true God who is all those things and so much more. God who provides the sacrifice that is required. God who does the work for us to cross the finish line. God who reaches down into our darkness to pull us into God's light.
+ In what ways can you cling to hope in whatever circumstances you are currently facing?
+ Take this moment to remind yourself that your hope is in God and that God is your hope.
There is a phrase that is twice repeated over the course of this Psalm, the first we have come to that is not attributed to David. This phrase is where I would like to spend our time together today.
Hope in God
Hope is something that can be in short supply in our world today, too often we stay focused on the negative aspects of the world around us and we fail to cling to the hope that we have as followers of Jesus. But it is that hope that we have from Jesus that the world so desperately needs.
for I shall again praise him
What's interesting is that the author seems to be in a place where he is clinging to hope while he is also somehow separated from a place of praise. That's sometimes how we can find ourselves, hoping even when we've been cast off or wandered off. The thing about hope is that it is not reliant upon our current circumstances, it rises above them.
my help
Especially in our western society we have been sold a bill of goods that tells us that we have to accomplish things on our own or we are unworthy of what we have. In contrast the Bible tells us that only those who rely on God will fully find the purpose that we are in search of. There is a very real need for dependence upon God, for God to be our help, for God to be the one who pulls up our bootstraps.
and my God
As we begin with hoping in God, we end with remembering who we are talking about and to in the first place. This is not just a friend, not just a help, not just a savior, but the one true God who is all those things and so much more. God who provides the sacrifice that is required. God who does the work for us to cross the finish line. God who reaches down into our darkness to pull us into God's light.
+ In what ways can you cling to hope in whatever circumstances you are currently facing?
+ Take this moment to remind yourself that your hope is in God and that God is your hope.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 41
Psalm 41
Today I would like to start with the question, 'Why do we want our prayers to be answered?'
I believe that how we answer that question is a pretty good indicator on whether or not our prayers will be answered. In Psalm 41 David lays ill before God and he prays that his illness might be lifted off of him, and while he seems to start in a good place, I don't believe that he ends in one. In the end David says that the reason he wants this illness lifted off of him is so that he can repay his enemies and friends words and deeds. In essence David says, bless me Lord so I can lord it over another.
Give me a bigger house so that way people will know I'm better than them.
Give me the promotion so that way I can put my co-workers in their place.
Give me the girl/boy so that way the class bully will be jealous.
We pray prayers like this all too often and we wonder why our prayers never seem to be answered, but our prayers aren't this exaggerated so we don't seem to realize the absurdity of them. It would be so much better if they were this exaggerated, so that way we wouldn't delude ourselves into thinking that we have pure motives when we do not.
Asking for healing is not the problem for David, or for us, but what we, and David, need to pray is for healing so that we can accomplish what God has for us to accomplish. We need to pray to be blessed so that God will get the glory for our blessings. We need to pray for opportunities so that way God may use us in new ways. We need to pray for relationships in order to spread the love of God to those who are in need of it. Changing the attitude of request changes the altitude of response, because we may get our way when we are selfish, but it is not God answering our prayers.
+ What type of prayers do you pray?
+ Why do you want your prayers answered?
p.s. don't get me wrong, having the right attitude does not guarantee that our prayers will be answered, if it guarantees anything it is that we will begin voicing the right prayers in the first place
Today I would like to start with the question, 'Why do we want our prayers to be answered?'
I believe that how we answer that question is a pretty good indicator on whether or not our prayers will be answered. In Psalm 41 David lays ill before God and he prays that his illness might be lifted off of him, and while he seems to start in a good place, I don't believe that he ends in one. In the end David says that the reason he wants this illness lifted off of him is so that he can repay his enemies and friends words and deeds. In essence David says, bless me Lord so I can lord it over another.
Give me a bigger house so that way people will know I'm better than them.
Give me the promotion so that way I can put my co-workers in their place.
Give me the girl/boy so that way the class bully will be jealous.
We pray prayers like this all too often and we wonder why our prayers never seem to be answered, but our prayers aren't this exaggerated so we don't seem to realize the absurdity of them. It would be so much better if they were this exaggerated, so that way we wouldn't delude ourselves into thinking that we have pure motives when we do not.
Asking for healing is not the problem for David, or for us, but what we, and David, need to pray is for healing so that we can accomplish what God has for us to accomplish. We need to pray to be blessed so that God will get the glory for our blessings. We need to pray for opportunities so that way God may use us in new ways. We need to pray for relationships in order to spread the love of God to those who are in need of it. Changing the attitude of request changes the altitude of response, because we may get our way when we are selfish, but it is not God answering our prayers.
+ What type of prayers do you pray?
+ Why do you want your prayers answered?
p.s. don't get me wrong, having the right attitude does not guarantee that our prayers will be answered, if it guarantees anything it is that we will begin voicing the right prayers in the first place
Friday, November 25, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 40
Psalm 40
40:6 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
Matthew 9:13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
When I read Psalm 40 I was immediately reminded of Jesus's quote from Hosea, but since I am a pastor in the year 2016 I had to look up the scripture online, when I did I came across a link of someone asking for a simple explanation of what "I desire mercy, not sacrifice" means. I didn't click the link, so I am unsure of why the person needs a simple explanation or what the simple explanation was, but I do think that I can answer the question, both in a simple way and a more complex way.
In simplest terms it means that God desires mercy not sacrifice.
In more complex terms it means that while sacrifice is something that should flow out of following God, what God considers of more importance than what we give up is how we treat others. Sacrifice has the potential to be a selfish act, we give up something so we feel good about giving it up, but when we show mercy [in other words not do unto others as they deserve] it is always directed toward the other, and God is very concerned about the other.
Unfortunately in the past 2000 years or so we have created a Christianity that is very I focused instead of other focused. If you need proof of that just pay attention to the songs you sing in church or hear on a Christian radio station, most of them will use I and me language. It's why we have conversations about how a person can get to heaven and not go to church, as if the only point of believing in and following God was your own personal salvation, when in truth it is not, following God has always been about the other, from the point where God told Abram that God would bless the whole world through him.
How have you noticed Christianity being I focused? Have you fallen into the trap of thinking its just about you and your salvation?
How have you noticed Christianity being other focused? How have you participated in being other focused?
p.s. So friends, as we sit here on Black Friday may we remember that God desires mercy not sacrifice, which is not call to stop giving Christmas gifts but is a call to treat the people you encounter as if they are real human beings and not just things in your way of the perfect gift.
40:6 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
Matthew 9:13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
When I read Psalm 40 I was immediately reminded of Jesus's quote from Hosea, but since I am a pastor in the year 2016 I had to look up the scripture online, when I did I came across a link of someone asking for a simple explanation of what "I desire mercy, not sacrifice" means. I didn't click the link, so I am unsure of why the person needs a simple explanation or what the simple explanation was, but I do think that I can answer the question, both in a simple way and a more complex way.
In simplest terms it means that God desires mercy not sacrifice.
In more complex terms it means that while sacrifice is something that should flow out of following God, what God considers of more importance than what we give up is how we treat others. Sacrifice has the potential to be a selfish act, we give up something so we feel good about giving it up, but when we show mercy [in other words not do unto others as they deserve] it is always directed toward the other, and God is very concerned about the other.
Unfortunately in the past 2000 years or so we have created a Christianity that is very I focused instead of other focused. If you need proof of that just pay attention to the songs you sing in church or hear on a Christian radio station, most of them will use I and me language. It's why we have conversations about how a person can get to heaven and not go to church, as if the only point of believing in and following God was your own personal salvation, when in truth it is not, following God has always been about the other, from the point where God told Abram that God would bless the whole world through him.
How have you noticed Christianity being I focused? Have you fallen into the trap of thinking its just about you and your salvation?
How have you noticed Christianity being other focused? How have you participated in being other focused?
p.s. So friends, as we sit here on Black Friday may we remember that God desires mercy not sacrifice, which is not call to stop giving Christmas gifts but is a call to treat the people you encounter as if they are real human beings and not just things in your way of the perfect gift.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 39
Psalm 39
FYI: today's heart's cry is going to be a tad different, Happy Thanksgiving.
In Psalm 39 David seems to be at a Thanksgiving meal this year surrounded by family members who have different political views than he does and he is straining to keep his mouth shut so he doesn't put them in the place they so richly deserve. In response to this dilemma David wants God to remind him that he isn't going to live very long because that seems to be the only way that he might not get into the fight that he wants to get into.
In the next stanza, shortly after saying that his hope is in God, David seems to be greatly disturbed by something that God has done, one might be able to assume that David is angry with God because God did not do an adequate job of convincing him that a short life means he doesn't need to argue about so many things. Since God did not come through David is now convinced that the conversations that are happening around him are not just the thoughts of his aunts, uncles, and distant cousins but are rather direct blows from the Almighty.
David then takes a moment to remind himself that God smites those who sin, either because his cousin has finally went around the bend in her thinking about some issue or another, or because he needs reminding that murdering your family is not the correct course of action if no one brought whipped cream for the pumpkin pie.
David, coming to the end of the Psalm. and possibly his sanity, is now in tears and is so distressed that he believes that the only way for him to be happy again is for God to turn away from him. This may be because he thinks that if God turns away he can finally let forth the multitude of curses that he has for his various family members, after which he may either slap them or just drop the mic and walk away.
+ Praying that your family get togethers this year look nothing like the one I envision for David.
FYI: today's heart's cry is going to be a tad different, Happy Thanksgiving.
In Psalm 39 David seems to be at a Thanksgiving meal this year surrounded by family members who have different political views than he does and he is straining to keep his mouth shut so he doesn't put them in the place they so richly deserve. In response to this dilemma David wants God to remind him that he isn't going to live very long because that seems to be the only way that he might not get into the fight that he wants to get into.
In the next stanza, shortly after saying that his hope is in God, David seems to be greatly disturbed by something that God has done, one might be able to assume that David is angry with God because God did not do an adequate job of convincing him that a short life means he doesn't need to argue about so many things. Since God did not come through David is now convinced that the conversations that are happening around him are not just the thoughts of his aunts, uncles, and distant cousins but are rather direct blows from the Almighty.
David then takes a moment to remind himself that God smites those who sin, either because his cousin has finally went around the bend in her thinking about some issue or another, or because he needs reminding that murdering your family is not the correct course of action if no one brought whipped cream for the pumpkin pie.
David, coming to the end of the Psalm. and possibly his sanity, is now in tears and is so distressed that he believes that the only way for him to be happy again is for God to turn away from him. This may be because he thinks that if God turns away he can finally let forth the multitude of curses that he has for his various family members, after which he may either slap them or just drop the mic and walk away.
+ Praying that your family get togethers this year look nothing like the one I envision for David.
The Heart's Cry:Psalm 38
Psalm 38
Right around the middle of this Psalm, in verse 9, David talks about how his longing/pain is known to God. It reminds me of a song, God Weeps Too by Eli
This is for the man, who never learned to read or write
He worked two jobs instead of going to school
I know it hurt you as a child, please remember all the while
That God weeps too
This is for the widow, who now must sleep alone
When the memory of a kiss will have to do
Every night when she lays down, you can almost hear the sound
When God weeps too
Chorus:
God weeps too, God weeps too
Though we question Him for all that we go through
Still it helps me believe and my pain it does relieve
When I think that, God weeps too
And for every survivor of the wickedness of man
Whether you're a black man or a Jew
Some people kill in Jesus' name, He is not the one to blame
'Cause even God weeps too
Chorus x2
And I never really thought about it
Not that much about it, but God weeps too
And I never really thought about it
Not that much about it, but God weeps too
We sing this song sometimes at church and I am constantly reminded of all those who lay the blame for the evil in this world at God's feet. David himself is sometimes guilty of this, to some extent you can see this at the beginning of the Psalm when he speaks of God sinking arrows into David. I don't believe that God is the cause of the evil in the world, that lays squarely at our feet. It is our choices, our decisions, our sins, our mistakes that allow evil to hang out here on Earth. Jesus taught us to pray for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven and instead of bringing heaven to earth we too often bring hell.
Where we find God in the midst of evil is in our pain and suffering, because God is there alongside us suffering with us. I firmly believe that God weeps when we weep, God mourns when we mourn and on the other side of the coin God rejoices when we rejoice and God laughs when we laugh. We need to let go of the idea of a angry God who just wants to smite somebody, we need to let go of the idea of a God who is nothing but a kid with a magnifying glass. God is not angry, God is love. God is not distant, God is near. God does not hold a magnifying glass because God is too busy holding God's arms wide open in hopes that we might coming running for a hug.
+ Do you believe that God is with you in the midst of your pain?
+ How do you understand the evil that exists in this world?
Right around the middle of this Psalm, in verse 9, David talks about how his longing/pain is known to God. It reminds me of a song, God Weeps Too by Eli
This is for the man, who never learned to read or write
He worked two jobs instead of going to school
I know it hurt you as a child, please remember all the while
That God weeps too
This is for the widow, who now must sleep alone
When the memory of a kiss will have to do
Every night when she lays down, you can almost hear the sound
When God weeps too
Chorus:
God weeps too, God weeps too
Though we question Him for all that we go through
Still it helps me believe and my pain it does relieve
When I think that, God weeps too
And for every survivor of the wickedness of man
Whether you're a black man or a Jew
Some people kill in Jesus' name, He is not the one to blame
'Cause even God weeps too
Chorus x2
And I never really thought about it
Not that much about it, but God weeps too
And I never really thought about it
Not that much about it, but God weeps too
We sing this song sometimes at church and I am constantly reminded of all those who lay the blame for the evil in this world at God's feet. David himself is sometimes guilty of this, to some extent you can see this at the beginning of the Psalm when he speaks of God sinking arrows into David. I don't believe that God is the cause of the evil in the world, that lays squarely at our feet. It is our choices, our decisions, our sins, our mistakes that allow evil to hang out here on Earth. Jesus taught us to pray for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven and instead of bringing heaven to earth we too often bring hell.
Where we find God in the midst of evil is in our pain and suffering, because God is there alongside us suffering with us. I firmly believe that God weeps when we weep, God mourns when we mourn and on the other side of the coin God rejoices when we rejoice and God laughs when we laugh. We need to let go of the idea of a angry God who just wants to smite somebody, we need to let go of the idea of a God who is nothing but a kid with a magnifying glass. God is not angry, God is love. God is not distant, God is near. God does not hold a magnifying glass because God is too busy holding God's arms wide open in hopes that we might coming running for a hug.
+ Do you believe that God is with you in the midst of your pain?
+ How do you understand the evil that exists in this world?
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 37
Psalm 37
Psalm 37 has a bit of length to it and David spends a great deal of time on the concept that the wicked will soon be gone and that we need to have patience for their destruction, but in light of yesterday's post I would prefer to focus on two verse that I am for.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart
In Matthew 6 when Jesus teaches his disciples to pray he adds a portion that says 'Thy will be done' and in the garden when Jesus prays for deliverance he says 'Not my will, but thine' this lead me to believe that if we are concerned about God's will we will not be praying for things that are outside of what we think God wants for us and those around us. Here in verse 4 David says that God will give us the desires of our heart if we delight in the Lord. The thing is if we delight in the Lord our heart's desire will be for more of God, which God will freely give us.
+ Do you voice the desire for God's will to be done in your prayers? If so, how has that changed your prayers? If not, do you think that it would bring a change if you started?
7a Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him
Too often we want God to do X but then we never give God the space to do anything, because in order for God to move in our lives we must let God move in our lives. Or we want God to speak to us but then we never give God the space to speak to us, because in order to hear God sometimes we need to stop listening to everything else. Or we want Jesus to free us from our guilt but we never let go of our guilt. We too often don't stop moving, or stop listening to the noise, or stop holding on to those things we should let go of and because of that we hinder God's movement. We are like Jesus's hometown, we know him so well that we only let him be what he has already been, we never give Jesus the freedom to be something new to us.
+ How can you let go of & stop listening to those things that get in the way of your relationship with God?
+ How can you give God the space to move in your life?
Psalm 37 has a bit of length to it and David spends a great deal of time on the concept that the wicked will soon be gone and that we need to have patience for their destruction, but in light of yesterday's post I would prefer to focus on two verse that I am for.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart
In Matthew 6 when Jesus teaches his disciples to pray he adds a portion that says 'Thy will be done' and in the garden when Jesus prays for deliverance he says 'Not my will, but thine' this lead me to believe that if we are concerned about God's will we will not be praying for things that are outside of what we think God wants for us and those around us. Here in verse 4 David says that God will give us the desires of our heart if we delight in the Lord. The thing is if we delight in the Lord our heart's desire will be for more of God, which God will freely give us.
+ Do you voice the desire for God's will to be done in your prayers? If so, how has that changed your prayers? If not, do you think that it would bring a change if you started?
7a Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him
Too often we want God to do X but then we never give God the space to do anything, because in order for God to move in our lives we must let God move in our lives. Or we want God to speak to us but then we never give God the space to speak to us, because in order to hear God sometimes we need to stop listening to everything else. Or we want Jesus to free us from our guilt but we never let go of our guilt. We too often don't stop moving, or stop listening to the noise, or stop holding on to those things we should let go of and because of that we hinder God's movement. We are like Jesus's hometown, we know him so well that we only let him be what he has already been, we never give Jesus the freedom to be something new to us.
+ How can you let go of & stop listening to those things that get in the way of your relationship with God?
+ How can you give God the space to move in your life?
Sunday, November 20, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 36
Psalm 36
I feel like this Psalm is a microcosm for one of the great ailments of our current society. David feels the need to first talk about what he is against [human wickedness] before he can talk about what he is for [divine goodness]. I see the same thing happening in my cultural context over and over again, it seems like we can't talk about what we are for without shouting down what we are against. This is true about my wider culture, but it is also true about the church culture as well. I'd like to blame our current political landscape for infecting our discourse, but I'm not sure its their fault. The problem with laying the blame at their feet is that they have been acting this way for a long time and it seems that only recently have we jumped into the deep end and drank the koolaid of division.
Maybe its our own fault then, maybe we have decided that the best way to get our point across is to shout out those things that we are against. But I think we fail to see the logical conclusion of this abrasive way of communicating, which is that we will begin to be known by those things that we are against so much more than those things that we are for. You see this at work in poll after poll of how people view the church. Jesus tells his disciples that the world will know that they are his disciples because of their love, and yet 2000 odd years later love is not in the top ten of what people think of when they think of the church.
Paul shares the fruit of the spirit in Galatians: love, joy, peace, generosity, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and those fruit are very much not on display in the thoughts of those who think about the church. How have we come so far away from being for those good and right things? We need to refocus on what we are to be about as opposed to what we are against because we need to be having a better impact in our world then we currently have.
How have you seen the church be known for what it is against instead of what it is for?
How can we change the narrative back to how Jesus envisioned it?
I feel like this Psalm is a microcosm for one of the great ailments of our current society. David feels the need to first talk about what he is against [human wickedness] before he can talk about what he is for [divine goodness]. I see the same thing happening in my cultural context over and over again, it seems like we can't talk about what we are for without shouting down what we are against. This is true about my wider culture, but it is also true about the church culture as well. I'd like to blame our current political landscape for infecting our discourse, but I'm not sure its their fault. The problem with laying the blame at their feet is that they have been acting this way for a long time and it seems that only recently have we jumped into the deep end and drank the koolaid of division.
Maybe its our own fault then, maybe we have decided that the best way to get our point across is to shout out those things that we are against. But I think we fail to see the logical conclusion of this abrasive way of communicating, which is that we will begin to be known by those things that we are against so much more than those things that we are for. You see this at work in poll after poll of how people view the church. Jesus tells his disciples that the world will know that they are his disciples because of their love, and yet 2000 odd years later love is not in the top ten of what people think of when they think of the church.
Paul shares the fruit of the spirit in Galatians: love, joy, peace, generosity, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and those fruit are very much not on display in the thoughts of those who think about the church. How have we come so far away from being for those good and right things? We need to refocus on what we are to be about as opposed to what we are against because we need to be having a better impact in our world then we currently have.
How have you seen the church be known for what it is against instead of what it is for?
How can we change the narrative back to how Jesus envisioned it?
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 35
Psalm 35
When I begin to read Psalm 35 I think I am in a place where I have been before, reading another Psalm about David wanting his enemies destroyed, and while this is true there is a shift in verse 11 that I have not seen thus far in my Psalm journey. For about 4 verses David talks about how he has fasted and prayed for those who now are attempting to do him harm. He writes about how he is being repaid evil for the good that he has done, he talks about sackcloth and mourning, he in essence talks about love. He has given and given and now he is finding nothing but malice in those that he gave to.
The same thing can at times happen to us if we are to follow the example that Christ compels us to. You see the problem is that Jesus doesn't say 'forgive them their sins if they are extremely repentant'. Jesus doesn't say 'walk two miles with them if they are grateful.' He doesn't mention anything about us laying down our lives for someone who is very deserving of such a sacrifice. And he doesn't say 'pray for those who persecute you after they have sought reconciliation with you.' He doesn't come to give sight to the blind who ask nicely nor to set the prisoners free who are sorry for what they have done nor to proclaim the year of the Lord to those in debt who really want to pay it back with interest. And since Jesus doesn't add any of those caveats, we shouldn't either.
To that end there may be times when we give and are not thanked. There may be times when we sacrifice and then people just expect more. There may be times when we show love and are shown hatred in return. There may be times when we accept and are not tolerated. And in those times we are expected to give, sacrifice, love, and accept again and again and again. David called down the fire and the thunder, but we are to call down the grace and the mercy.
+ Have you ever been repaid evil for the good you have done? How did you respond?
When I begin to read Psalm 35 I think I am in a place where I have been before, reading another Psalm about David wanting his enemies destroyed, and while this is true there is a shift in verse 11 that I have not seen thus far in my Psalm journey. For about 4 verses David talks about how he has fasted and prayed for those who now are attempting to do him harm. He writes about how he is being repaid evil for the good that he has done, he talks about sackcloth and mourning, he in essence talks about love. He has given and given and now he is finding nothing but malice in those that he gave to.
The same thing can at times happen to us if we are to follow the example that Christ compels us to. You see the problem is that Jesus doesn't say 'forgive them their sins if they are extremely repentant'. Jesus doesn't say 'walk two miles with them if they are grateful.' He doesn't mention anything about us laying down our lives for someone who is very deserving of such a sacrifice. And he doesn't say 'pray for those who persecute you after they have sought reconciliation with you.' He doesn't come to give sight to the blind who ask nicely nor to set the prisoners free who are sorry for what they have done nor to proclaim the year of the Lord to those in debt who really want to pay it back with interest. And since Jesus doesn't add any of those caveats, we shouldn't either.
To that end there may be times when we give and are not thanked. There may be times when we sacrifice and then people just expect more. There may be times when we show love and are shown hatred in return. There may be times when we accept and are not tolerated. And in those times we are expected to give, sacrifice, love, and accept again and again and again. David called down the fire and the thunder, but we are to call down the grace and the mercy.
+ Have you ever been repaid evil for the good you have done? How did you respond?
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 34
Psalm 34
"seek peace and pursue it"
It's difficult to think that there are another 5 words that are more relevant to our day than these 5. All around us it seems that things are spiraling out of control, socially, economically, politically, rhetorically, religiously, etc, etc. A day doesn't go by without one negative story after another on the news and dominating our Twitter and Facebook feeds. And sure, there are the occasional 'good' news stories out there, but they are quickly forgotten with the next bombing or shooting or accident or... No one seems to have an answer to it all, and those who could possibly be of help put their heads in the sands and say if only _______ would happen it would all be okay, or if only _________ got elected, or if only _________ would be quiet, if only __________ would move on.
The thing though is that some of us do have an answer and it is very much wrapped up in Good News. Jesus came to this earth to show us God's great love, but he also came to this earth to show us how to live rightly while on earth.
Jesus didn't spend much time on bad news, nor did he spend much time on laying waste to those ideas or people which he disagreed with. Jesus spoke about the life giving ways that he knew, not the life taking ways that others upheld. We need to spend time speaking about the Good News and not waste our time speaking about the bad news.
Jesus hung out with those that the world had either thrown to the curb or simply forgotten about. We cannot shun them.
Jesus reached out his hands. We must reach out our hands.
Jesus lifted up his voice. We must lift up our voices.
Jesus poured out his heart. We must pour out our hearts.
Jesus gave grace. We must give grace.
Jesus gave hope. We must give hope.
Jesus showed love. We must show love.
Jesus lived a life of peace. We must live a life of peace.
Jesus wasn't passive. We must not be passive.
We must seek peace, and pursue it, because only by keeping an eye out for peace and running after it can we ever hope to embody it, like Jesus did.
+ How can you begin to focus on the Good News instead of the bad news?
+ What tangible way can you seek peace and pursue it in your context?
"seek peace and pursue it"
It's difficult to think that there are another 5 words that are more relevant to our day than these 5. All around us it seems that things are spiraling out of control, socially, economically, politically, rhetorically, religiously, etc, etc. A day doesn't go by without one negative story after another on the news and dominating our Twitter and Facebook feeds. And sure, there are the occasional 'good' news stories out there, but they are quickly forgotten with the next bombing or shooting or accident or... No one seems to have an answer to it all, and those who could possibly be of help put their heads in the sands and say if only _______ would happen it would all be okay, or if only _________ got elected, or if only _________ would be quiet, if only __________ would move on.
The thing though is that some of us do have an answer and it is very much wrapped up in Good News. Jesus came to this earth to show us God's great love, but he also came to this earth to show us how to live rightly while on earth.
Jesus didn't spend much time on bad news, nor did he spend much time on laying waste to those ideas or people which he disagreed with. Jesus spoke about the life giving ways that he knew, not the life taking ways that others upheld. We need to spend time speaking about the Good News and not waste our time speaking about the bad news.
Jesus hung out with those that the world had either thrown to the curb or simply forgotten about. We cannot shun them.
Jesus reached out his hands. We must reach out our hands.
Jesus lifted up his voice. We must lift up our voices.
Jesus poured out his heart. We must pour out our hearts.
Jesus gave grace. We must give grace.
Jesus gave hope. We must give hope.
Jesus showed love. We must show love.
Jesus lived a life of peace. We must live a life of peace.
Jesus wasn't passive. We must not be passive.
We must seek peace, and pursue it, because only by keeping an eye out for peace and running after it can we ever hope to embody it, like Jesus did.
+ How can you begin to focus on the Good News instead of the bad news?
+ What tangible way can you seek peace and pursue it in your context?
Monday, November 14, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 33
Psalm 33
Sing to him a new song
I don't know if you realize this, but in order to sing a new song you must find or write a new song. In order to sing a new song you must not sing the old song. In order to sing a new song you must be open to what God is telling you to sing. In order to sing a new song you cannot hold the old songs with hands that are too tightly gripping them. In order to sing a new song you must open your mouth and sing it with pride.
"God is not afraid of new things." Pope Benedict
A little over a year ago we found ourselves in Philadelphia about a week before the Pope was coming to the US to visit. Because of that upcoming visit there was already souvenirs available at some of the shops around Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and Ben Franklin's home. While browsing for something to take and remember the trip I came across a coffee cup that was adorned with the above quote, and that quote sums up in 7 words what I have come to believe over the past 15 years or so. You see about 15 years ago I began to pivot on some of my long held beliefs due to my reading of the gospels, Jesus was speaking to me and I was [finally] choosing to listen.
You see, those Red Letters are still speaking to us 2000 years after they were spoken, to our current day and age and to the ages yet to come, it's just that we too often fail to listen to them. Worse still, we think that they have told us everything they ever will. We decided years or decades or lifetimes ago that the Bible had spoken all that it could ever speak to us and our job was to make sure that our children and grandchildren and great great great great great grandchildren believed the same way we believed about anything and everything.
But the thing is, I don't want Henry to believe everything I believe, I want him to believe everything God wants him to believe. That's what we should hope for our future generations because some of the things my ancestors believed were not very Godly and perhaps there are things I believe that are not very Godly. I do believe that God is ahead of us, pulling us into a new and better future, and that will be true for the next generation and the next and the next.
+ Do you believe in the same things that your parents and grandparents believed in?
+ How do you see God pulling us into a new and better future?
Sing to him a new song
I don't know if you realize this, but in order to sing a new song you must find or write a new song. In order to sing a new song you must not sing the old song. In order to sing a new song you must be open to what God is telling you to sing. In order to sing a new song you cannot hold the old songs with hands that are too tightly gripping them. In order to sing a new song you must open your mouth and sing it with pride.
"God is not afraid of new things." Pope Benedict
A little over a year ago we found ourselves in Philadelphia about a week before the Pope was coming to the US to visit. Because of that upcoming visit there was already souvenirs available at some of the shops around Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and Ben Franklin's home. While browsing for something to take and remember the trip I came across a coffee cup that was adorned with the above quote, and that quote sums up in 7 words what I have come to believe over the past 15 years or so. You see about 15 years ago I began to pivot on some of my long held beliefs due to my reading of the gospels, Jesus was speaking to me and I was [finally] choosing to listen.
You see, those Red Letters are still speaking to us 2000 years after they were spoken, to our current day and age and to the ages yet to come, it's just that we too often fail to listen to them. Worse still, we think that they have told us everything they ever will. We decided years or decades or lifetimes ago that the Bible had spoken all that it could ever speak to us and our job was to make sure that our children and grandchildren and great great great great great grandchildren believed the same way we believed about anything and everything.
But the thing is, I don't want Henry to believe everything I believe, I want him to believe everything God wants him to believe. That's what we should hope for our future generations because some of the things my ancestors believed were not very Godly and perhaps there are things I believe that are not very Godly. I do believe that God is ahead of us, pulling us into a new and better future, and that will be true for the next generation and the next and the next.
+ Do you believe in the same things that your parents and grandparents believed in?
+ How do you see God pulling us into a new and better future?
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 32
Psalm 32
Finally a Psalm about forgiveness!!
I needed that.
There is nothing like forgiveness, but the way we get to forgiveness is through confession. While I would never want to be a Catholic priest, hearing confessions all day I wouldn't mind if there was a protestant outlet that was very much like what Catholics have. Luckily we can confess straight to God [not saying that Catholics can't] but I think there is just something about the idea of confessing our sins to someone who will respond out loud. Because while I believe that God hears my confession and that God does indeed forgive, after all the Bible says that God will not only forgive, but forget, sometimes it would be nice to physically hear 'I absolve you of your sins.' It is for purely selfish reasons that I long for such a moment, because while I believe God forgives me, sometimes getting forgiveness from myself is much more difficult.
The fact that I withhold forgiveness from myself is highly disappointing. Because while I believe God will forget I just can't seem to, I remember my misdeeds and I hold onto them, much like the couple in the Garth Brooks' song I bury the hatchet and leave the handle sticking out. And from time to time I pull that hatchet out and bury it in me again and again and again. I believe in forgiveness, I believe, as I have heard, that when we forgive someone we set someone free and find out it's ourselves. I believe that when I do not forgive another I am the one who is encased in chains, chains of anger and regret, and so I try to free myself from that burden. But, again, forgiving myself is so much harder, the leniency I freely give to others I cannot/will not give to the man I see in the mirror. And so, when I pray for forgiveness I also pray for the strength to forgive myself, sometimes God helps me and sometimes God doesn't but I still believe God consistently forgives, and maybe one day I will forgive myself more consistently also.
+ When was the last time you asked God for forgiveness? Do you believe God forgave you?
+ Do you find it easy or hard to forgive yourself? Do you have any advice on how I can do it better?
Finally a Psalm about forgiveness!!
I needed that.
There is nothing like forgiveness, but the way we get to forgiveness is through confession. While I would never want to be a Catholic priest, hearing confessions all day I wouldn't mind if there was a protestant outlet that was very much like what Catholics have. Luckily we can confess straight to God [not saying that Catholics can't] but I think there is just something about the idea of confessing our sins to someone who will respond out loud. Because while I believe that God hears my confession and that God does indeed forgive, after all the Bible says that God will not only forgive, but forget, sometimes it would be nice to physically hear 'I absolve you of your sins.' It is for purely selfish reasons that I long for such a moment, because while I believe God forgives me, sometimes getting forgiveness from myself is much more difficult.
The fact that I withhold forgiveness from myself is highly disappointing. Because while I believe God will forget I just can't seem to, I remember my misdeeds and I hold onto them, much like the couple in the Garth Brooks' song I bury the hatchet and leave the handle sticking out. And from time to time I pull that hatchet out and bury it in me again and again and again. I believe in forgiveness, I believe, as I have heard, that when we forgive someone we set someone free and find out it's ourselves. I believe that when I do not forgive another I am the one who is encased in chains, chains of anger and regret, and so I try to free myself from that burden. But, again, forgiving myself is so much harder, the leniency I freely give to others I cannot/will not give to the man I see in the mirror. And so, when I pray for forgiveness I also pray for the strength to forgive myself, sometimes God helps me and sometimes God doesn't but I still believe God consistently forgives, and maybe one day I will forgive myself more consistently also.
+ When was the last time you asked God for forgiveness? Do you believe God forgave you?
+ Do you find it easy or hard to forgive yourself? Do you have any advice on how I can do it better?
Friday, November 11, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 31
Psalm 31
It's interesting to me sometimes that we call David a man after God's own heart. I know that in 1 Samuel 13:14 Samuel tells Saul that God has found a man after God's heart, which is David, but that is a very young David and one could well argue that the man that David does become is one very much less after God's own heart. After all David becomes a man who first watches a naked woman from afar and then takes [read rapes] her. He gets her pregnant and then to try to hide his sin he calls her husband, one of his soldier's, from the lines to come and bed her. Uriah is a man of conviction and so he cannot sleep with his wife while his friends are still in battle, so David has him sent to the front to die. That is not the workings of a man after God's own heart.
So, there are times when David has no glimmer of God's heart. Then again there are times through David's story and through his Psalms where we see God's heart shining through. Which leads me to the realization that David was just a man, just a human. He had successes and failures, like I and you do, and while we should not attempt to follow his example completely, we should try to follow the positive aspects of his character. For instance in this Psalm David says that God is his rock and fortress, that what keeps him safe is not armor, not soldiers, not weapons, but God. Now David often relied on those other things and lost sight of the protection of God, but we should focus on the fact that God will protect us if we trust God to.
The Psalm ends with a statement about how God preserves the faithful but "repays the one who acts haughtily." This is a statement that we in the church really need to remember, because all too often we can become haughty, acting holier than thou, acting like the grace that God has shown us makes us better than others, this could not be further from the truth. Way way back in Genesis God told Abram that God would bless him so that others would be blessed. All these years later that is still the case, we in the church are blessed so that we can be a blessing to others, not a hinderance, not a stumbling block, a blessing. We must reclaim our humility and grace and show the world that there is another way to walk on this floating blue ball.
+ How is David a man after God's own heart? How is he not?
+ In what ways can you rely on God for your daily protection?
+ What one thing can you begin doing to be a blessing to others?
It's interesting to me sometimes that we call David a man after God's own heart. I know that in 1 Samuel 13:14 Samuel tells Saul that God has found a man after God's heart, which is David, but that is a very young David and one could well argue that the man that David does become is one very much less after God's own heart. After all David becomes a man who first watches a naked woman from afar and then takes [read rapes] her. He gets her pregnant and then to try to hide his sin he calls her husband, one of his soldier's, from the lines to come and bed her. Uriah is a man of conviction and so he cannot sleep with his wife while his friends are still in battle, so David has him sent to the front to die. That is not the workings of a man after God's own heart.
So, there are times when David has no glimmer of God's heart. Then again there are times through David's story and through his Psalms where we see God's heart shining through. Which leads me to the realization that David was just a man, just a human. He had successes and failures, like I and you do, and while we should not attempt to follow his example completely, we should try to follow the positive aspects of his character. For instance in this Psalm David says that God is his rock and fortress, that what keeps him safe is not armor, not soldiers, not weapons, but God. Now David often relied on those other things and lost sight of the protection of God, but we should focus on the fact that God will protect us if we trust God to.
The Psalm ends with a statement about how God preserves the faithful but "repays the one who acts haughtily." This is a statement that we in the church really need to remember, because all too often we can become haughty, acting holier than thou, acting like the grace that God has shown us makes us better than others, this could not be further from the truth. Way way back in Genesis God told Abram that God would bless him so that others would be blessed. All these years later that is still the case, we in the church are blessed so that we can be a blessing to others, not a hinderance, not a stumbling block, a blessing. We must reclaim our humility and grace and show the world that there is another way to walk on this floating blue ball.
+ How is David a man after God's own heart? How is he not?
+ In what ways can you rely on God for your daily protection?
+ What one thing can you begin doing to be a blessing to others?
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 30
Psalm 30
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
It sure looks like we'll be on the same topic this time as last.
In Psalm 30 David seems to be at the end of a negative road, about to take a turn for the better and he is very much looking forward to the morning. But even though David says weeping may linger FOR THE NIGHT but joy comes WITH THE MORNING he is not speaking of a literal day and night. I would argue that we all too often take Biblical language to be literal when it should not be taken that way but this goes double for the Psalms. The Psalms are poetry and song lyrics, and as such have deeper and different meaning that the mere words. What David is doing is creating art and art is not always [if ever] meant to be taken only literally.
So David has gone through dangers, toils and snares and has had a very hard time while he was in the midst, but a new morning is finally on the horizon. You've been there, haven't you? [You, and I, may very well be there right now.] Where the sun comes up and goes down again and again and you go through the daily/nightly motions, but you don't really move forward. The calendar pages keep moving but the storm stays put. The clock keeps ticking but your hopelessness lingers. It is not a matter of having to get over it by sun-up, it is about taking the time to process what needs to be processed.
So take your time, there is no particular rush, whatever else you have to concern yourself with can wait. But know this, that God is not done with you or us, and soon, like David, we will be able to say...
You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
I beg your pardon, but, I think I will end this post with another prayer instead of questions.
Lord, as I read the words of the King who was a shepherd I am reminded of the pains of the moment and the pains of the past. And while this current pain seems so large I know you have alleviated the previous pains and will also alleviate this one as well. I pray for all those who feel like I do, those who need peace and comfort and above all else hope. So Lord bring us your peace. Lord bring us your comfort. Lord bring us your hope. Amen.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
It sure looks like we'll be on the same topic this time as last.
In Psalm 30 David seems to be at the end of a negative road, about to take a turn for the better and he is very much looking forward to the morning. But even though David says weeping may linger FOR THE NIGHT but joy comes WITH THE MORNING he is not speaking of a literal day and night. I would argue that we all too often take Biblical language to be literal when it should not be taken that way but this goes double for the Psalms. The Psalms are poetry and song lyrics, and as such have deeper and different meaning that the mere words. What David is doing is creating art and art is not always [if ever] meant to be taken only literally.
So David has gone through dangers, toils and snares and has had a very hard time while he was in the midst, but a new morning is finally on the horizon. You've been there, haven't you? [You, and I, may very well be there right now.] Where the sun comes up and goes down again and again and you go through the daily/nightly motions, but you don't really move forward. The calendar pages keep moving but the storm stays put. The clock keeps ticking but your hopelessness lingers. It is not a matter of having to get over it by sun-up, it is about taking the time to process what needs to be processed.
So take your time, there is no particular rush, whatever else you have to concern yourself with can wait. But know this, that God is not done with you or us, and soon, like David, we will be able to say...
You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
I beg your pardon, but, I think I will end this post with another prayer instead of questions.
Lord, as I read the words of the King who was a shepherd I am reminded of the pains of the moment and the pains of the past. And while this current pain seems so large I know you have alleviated the previous pains and will also alleviate this one as well. I pray for all those who feel like I do, those who need peace and comfort and above all else hope. So Lord bring us your peace. Lord bring us your comfort. Lord bring us your hope. Amen.
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 29
Psalm 29
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!
Today is a new day, and if I'm honest it is not the day I thought I would be waking up to, but the sun is still in the midst of rising. Today will be roughly the same as it was last week and the week before. Henry will go to Preschool and then on to Daycare. Mary and I will go to work. For me it's the busiest day of my week. And so even though the world looks a lot different in some ways, in the ways that count it is the same. How is this so?
How? Because in the ways that count this world has absolutely nothing to do with who is in charge of a country, it has to do with who is in charge of our hearts. Today some are overjoyed and some are fearful, but that's what happens everyday. I am hurting another is rejoicing, pick a day, any day and you will experience some side of that coin. And what gets me through is not who sits in an oval office, but who sits on the throne.
This morning I am hoping for God's strength. This morning I am hoping for God's peace. This morning I am attempting to look on the brightside, which is what I all too often don't do. This morning I will lift a prayer to heaven. This morning I will recall the words of Jesus, the words which call me to love my neighbor and my enemy, and to possibly think of my enemy as my neighbor. This morning I recall unknown writings in the sand. This morning I recall stories of lost coins, lost sheep, lost sons. This morning I am recalling a golden rule. This morning I recall that I must lose my life to save it. This morning I recall that laying down my life for another is the highest form of love. So this morning I will attempt to live that more than I did yesterday.
Peace and love to you all and to all of us.
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!
Today is a new day, and if I'm honest it is not the day I thought I would be waking up to, but the sun is still in the midst of rising. Today will be roughly the same as it was last week and the week before. Henry will go to Preschool and then on to Daycare. Mary and I will go to work. For me it's the busiest day of my week. And so even though the world looks a lot different in some ways, in the ways that count it is the same. How is this so?
How? Because in the ways that count this world has absolutely nothing to do with who is in charge of a country, it has to do with who is in charge of our hearts. Today some are overjoyed and some are fearful, but that's what happens everyday. I am hurting another is rejoicing, pick a day, any day and you will experience some side of that coin. And what gets me through is not who sits in an oval office, but who sits on the throne.
This morning I am hoping for God's strength. This morning I am hoping for God's peace. This morning I am attempting to look on the brightside, which is what I all too often don't do. This morning I will lift a prayer to heaven. This morning I will recall the words of Jesus, the words which call me to love my neighbor and my enemy, and to possibly think of my enemy as my neighbor. This morning I recall unknown writings in the sand. This morning I recall stories of lost coins, lost sheep, lost sons. This morning I am recalling a golden rule. This morning I recall that I must lose my life to save it. This morning I recall that laying down my life for another is the highest form of love. So this morning I will attempt to live that more than I did yesterday.
Peace and love to you all and to all of us.
Monday, November 7, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 28
Psalm 28
Have you ever met someone who speaks about people going to hell with a large smile on their face? Have you ever heard a sermon where someone speaks of people being punished for their sins with a note of glee in their voice? Have you ever followed someone who was about to throw someone else into the fiery furnace with a sparkle in their eye?
God Hates ____!
Let's picket their funeral!
Bomb an abortion clinic!
Put a cross in their yard!
Way too often there are people who claim Jesus and then also claim that when people are damned God smiles.
Do they actually believe that the God who rejoices over just one sheep who is found also rejoices when that sheep stays lost?
Do they actually believe that the God who commands us to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us requires much less of Godself?
Do they still overlook their plank and only see another's speck?
Here we find David calling to God to be his rock and to both hear and answer him. And then in the next second he calls on God to repay those who do evil with evil. It's important to read Psalms like this one because it shows us that anger is allowed in our prayers and our songs, but we must also remember that though we enter God's presence in anger we are called to leave our anger there and go out with a different yoke and a lighter burden. We are meant to be set free of our anger, not to be engulfed in it.
+ How has your anger been destructive to yourself and to others?
+ What work have you/can you do to shift the focus from another's speck to your plank?
Have you ever met someone who speaks about people going to hell with a large smile on their face? Have you ever heard a sermon where someone speaks of people being punished for their sins with a note of glee in their voice? Have you ever followed someone who was about to throw someone else into the fiery furnace with a sparkle in their eye?
God Hates ____!
Let's picket their funeral!
Bomb an abortion clinic!
Put a cross in their yard!
Way too often there are people who claim Jesus and then also claim that when people are damned God smiles.
Do they actually believe that the God who rejoices over just one sheep who is found also rejoices when that sheep stays lost?
Do they actually believe that the God who commands us to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us requires much less of Godself?
Do they still overlook their plank and only see another's speck?
Here we find David calling to God to be his rock and to both hear and answer him. And then in the next second he calls on God to repay those who do evil with evil. It's important to read Psalms like this one because it shows us that anger is allowed in our prayers and our songs, but we must also remember that though we enter God's presence in anger we are called to leave our anger there and go out with a different yoke and a lighter burden. We are meant to be set free of our anger, not to be engulfed in it.
+ How has your anger been destructive to yourself and to others?
+ What work have you/can you do to shift the focus from another's speck to your plank?
Sunday, November 6, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 27
Psalm 27
David begins this Psalm with calling God both his light and his salvation. In other words God is both the way that we see and the way we are saved.
The way we see:
Many times throughout the Gospels and Revelation Jesus calls to those who have ears to hear and eyes to see. I think this is because at base we have a listening issue and a vision issue. What God does is open our eyes and allows us to see ourselves for who we are and to see the world for what it is. Along with sight God also gives us insight into what we need to change and how we need to journey along our path. Martin Luther King Jr said "Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase." We can only have that faith when we believe that there is a staircase there in the first place, and that vision comes to us directly from God
The way we are saved:
I am not the biggest fan of calling people who do not yet follow God lost, but to some degree we all are lost at some point in our lives. The problem is that we in the church often have a very narrow view of salvation. We talk about being saved 'from' a great deal, but we often leave out being saved 'for'. God saves us from a great many things, but God also saves us for a purpose, for a work to be done in this world. We are saved from pain and guilt and anger and fear, but we are also saved to love God and ourselves and our neighbors, to work to bring a little bit of heaven to the here and now.
Through both the sight and the saving we are made more than we could have ever been without God in our lives.
+ In what ways has God helped you to see?
+ In what ways has God saved you from and saved you for?
David begins this Psalm with calling God both his light and his salvation. In other words God is both the way that we see and the way we are saved.
The way we see:
Many times throughout the Gospels and Revelation Jesus calls to those who have ears to hear and eyes to see. I think this is because at base we have a listening issue and a vision issue. What God does is open our eyes and allows us to see ourselves for who we are and to see the world for what it is. Along with sight God also gives us insight into what we need to change and how we need to journey along our path. Martin Luther King Jr said "Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase." We can only have that faith when we believe that there is a staircase there in the first place, and that vision comes to us directly from God
The way we are saved:
I am not the biggest fan of calling people who do not yet follow God lost, but to some degree we all are lost at some point in our lives. The problem is that we in the church often have a very narrow view of salvation. We talk about being saved 'from' a great deal, but we often leave out being saved 'for'. God saves us from a great many things, but God also saves us for a purpose, for a work to be done in this world. We are saved from pain and guilt and anger and fear, but we are also saved to love God and ourselves and our neighbors, to work to bring a little bit of heaven to the here and now.
Through both the sight and the saving we are made more than we could have ever been without God in our lives.
+ In what ways has God helped you to see?
+ In what ways has God saved you from and saved you for?
Thursday, November 3, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 26
Psalm 26
"I do not sit with the worthless,
nor do I consort with hypocrites;
I hate the company of evildoers,
and will not sit with the wicked."
I wonder what David would have thought about Jesus, a man who hung out with "the worthless" "hypocrites" "evildoers" and "the wicked" according to the cultural and religious thought of his day.
What would David have thought about Jesus hanging out with said people so often that people claimed that Jesus was a glutton and a drunkard?
What would David have thought about Jesus speaking to non-Jewish women?
What would he have thought about Jesus touching the lame, the blind, the bleeding?
What would he have thought about Jesus allowing the little children to come to him?
I wonder how the beatitudes would have played in David's ears?
I wonder how loving your enemy, doing good to those who harm you, and praying for those who persecute you would have reverberated?
How would that have changed the tenor of the Psalms? Would it have?
I guess the better question is does it change the tenor of our prayers and songs? Does it change the way we treat those around us? Are the hurting taken care of, or left on the margins? Are the widows and orphans housed? Are the outcasts embraced? Are the people who need Jesus the most shown Jesus's love through Jesus's followers?
That's probably enough questions for one day, so I'm not going to ask you one at the end. Instead I will say a little prayer.
Holy God, forgive us for saying we follow you and forgetting everything you had to say. Forgive us for leaving out those you called us to include. Forgive us for letting down our responsibilities and picking up our trivialities. And above all forgive us for being blessed and keeping the blessing to ourselves. Amen and amen.
"I do not sit with the worthless,
nor do I consort with hypocrites;
I hate the company of evildoers,
and will not sit with the wicked."
I wonder what David would have thought about Jesus, a man who hung out with "the worthless" "hypocrites" "evildoers" and "the wicked" according to the cultural and religious thought of his day.
What would David have thought about Jesus hanging out with said people so often that people claimed that Jesus was a glutton and a drunkard?
What would David have thought about Jesus speaking to non-Jewish women?
What would he have thought about Jesus touching the lame, the blind, the bleeding?
What would he have thought about Jesus allowing the little children to come to him?
I wonder how the beatitudes would have played in David's ears?
I wonder how loving your enemy, doing good to those who harm you, and praying for those who persecute you would have reverberated?
How would that have changed the tenor of the Psalms? Would it have?
I guess the better question is does it change the tenor of our prayers and songs? Does it change the way we treat those around us? Are the hurting taken care of, or left on the margins? Are the widows and orphans housed? Are the outcasts embraced? Are the people who need Jesus the most shown Jesus's love through Jesus's followers?
That's probably enough questions for one day, so I'm not going to ask you one at the end. Instead I will say a little prayer.
Holy God, forgive us for saying we follow you and forgetting everything you had to say. Forgive us for leaving out those you called us to include. Forgive us for letting down our responsibilities and picking up our trivialities. And above all forgive us for being blessed and keeping the blessing to ourselves. Amen and amen.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 25
Psalm 25
Here we find a Psalm that is yearning for grace and mercy. David reminds God of God's attributes, mercy and steadfast love. David pleads that the sins of his youth and his transgressions might be forgotten. David wants God's steadfast love to blot out his mistakes. Here God is a God who instructs sinners, who leads the humble, who pardons guilt.
On one hand this God doesn't seem like the same God that David has been calling to time and time again to wipe out his enemies. The same guy who asked for his enemies to be blotted out now asks for his own misdeeds to be blotted out instead. And while David mentions his enemies at the end it is his own failings that mainly concern him.
There has been a wave of Christians who call on karma to fall upon people. Karma, an idea of bad being visited upon those who do bad and good being visited upon those who do good. The problem with this is that karma is not a Christian concept, and should not be a Christian belief. We Christians hold to mercy and grace, not karma.
We hold to a God who forgives and forgets, not visits what has been done onto those who have done it. Jesus is quite clear when he teaches us to pray using these words 'forgive us our debts/sins/transgressions, as we forgive those who debt/sin/transgress against us.' We are forgiven because we forgive. Not we are forgiven when we wish harm to befall our enemies. Not we are forgiven when we hope people will get what's coming to them. We are forgiven because we forgive. Hence we are people of forgiveness, people of mercy, people of grace.
+ Have you wished ill on people, but now give forgiveness?
+ How does the grace and mercy you have been shown lead you to act?
Here we find a Psalm that is yearning for grace and mercy. David reminds God of God's attributes, mercy and steadfast love. David pleads that the sins of his youth and his transgressions might be forgotten. David wants God's steadfast love to blot out his mistakes. Here God is a God who instructs sinners, who leads the humble, who pardons guilt.
On one hand this God doesn't seem like the same God that David has been calling to time and time again to wipe out his enemies. The same guy who asked for his enemies to be blotted out now asks for his own misdeeds to be blotted out instead. And while David mentions his enemies at the end it is his own failings that mainly concern him.
There has been a wave of Christians who call on karma to fall upon people. Karma, an idea of bad being visited upon those who do bad and good being visited upon those who do good. The problem with this is that karma is not a Christian concept, and should not be a Christian belief. We Christians hold to mercy and grace, not karma.
We hold to a God who forgives and forgets, not visits what has been done onto those who have done it. Jesus is quite clear when he teaches us to pray using these words 'forgive us our debts/sins/transgressions, as we forgive those who debt/sin/transgress against us.' We are forgiven because we forgive. Not we are forgiven when we wish harm to befall our enemies. Not we are forgiven when we hope people will get what's coming to them. We are forgiven because we forgive. Hence we are people of forgiveness, people of mercy, people of grace.
+ Have you wished ill on people, but now give forgiveness?
+ How does the grace and mercy you have been shown lead you to act?
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 24
Psalm 24
The Earth is the Lord's and all that is in it
One of the recurring themes of the Book of Psalms is a recognition of God as creator. There is an overwhelming number of constant reminders that God created the world around us. Along with those reminders is the connection between us and the created order, we are both a part of and above the rest of that order. In Genesis we are created in part to take care of the creation, to make sure that both it and us are fruitful and multiply. Unfortunately we are much more concerned about our fruitfulness and our multiplication than we are about creations need for the same.
This may seem to you to be a bit 'tree-hugish' and I will admit to that, but the fact of the matter is that we are meant to be gardeners of the divine creation. We may till the earth, plant the seed, cover it and water it, but God created the earth and the seed and the water and the sun and the growth. We must play our role, or else it is a role that will be taken away from us. The scriptures speak about rocks crying out should we withhold our worship, how much of a loss that would be should the rocks take our job! The years pass and we too often neglect the roles we were made to inhabit, to the chagrin of the human race and to the chagrin of the whole created order.
Pick up your shovel, get your hands dirty, and play in the creation that God gave us, before it is no longer there for our nourishment and our enjoyment.
+ How can you encounter God through the work of creation?
+ How can you work in the creation to better inhabit the role that God has given you?
The Earth is the Lord's and all that is in it
One of the recurring themes of the Book of Psalms is a recognition of God as creator. There is an overwhelming number of constant reminders that God created the world around us. Along with those reminders is the connection between us and the created order, we are both a part of and above the rest of that order. In Genesis we are created in part to take care of the creation, to make sure that both it and us are fruitful and multiply. Unfortunately we are much more concerned about our fruitfulness and our multiplication than we are about creations need for the same.
This may seem to you to be a bit 'tree-hugish' and I will admit to that, but the fact of the matter is that we are meant to be gardeners of the divine creation. We may till the earth, plant the seed, cover it and water it, but God created the earth and the seed and the water and the sun and the growth. We must play our role, or else it is a role that will be taken away from us. The scriptures speak about rocks crying out should we withhold our worship, how much of a loss that would be should the rocks take our job! The years pass and we too often neglect the roles we were made to inhabit, to the chagrin of the human race and to the chagrin of the whole created order.
Pick up your shovel, get your hands dirty, and play in the creation that God gave us, before it is no longer there for our nourishment and our enjoyment.
+ How can you encounter God through the work of creation?
+ How can you work in the creation to better inhabit the role that God has given you?
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