Psalm 108
Do you ever feel the need to awake your soul? As if its been slumbering and you have been living without its input? Those moments when it seems that your conscience has left the building, those moments where your morality seems to have vanished, those moments when right and wrong seem awfully blurry, those are the moments I am talking about. But, I'm sure you've never had those moments, but even if you have not, I have.
Sometimes they show up in the middle of a conversation when the other person says just the perfect wrong thing.
Sometimes they show up on a random Tuesday when you find yourself in the wrong head-space at the exact wrong moment to be in the wrong head-space.
Sometimes they show up gradually after you tell little white lie after little white lie until even big bold lies feel like they are little.
Sometimes they show up when you are inching down the wrong path and then find yourself on that tell-tale slippery slope to oblivion.
Sometimes they show up. But even if/when they show up the beautiful thing is that God is still there, it may seem that you have wandered far from God in those moments, but that is actually something you cannot do. There is no wandering far from God, don't believe me go forward in your Bibles or Bible apps or Bible websites to Psalm 139 and you will see what I mean. The fact of that matter is that there is no where you can go that God will not still be close to you, all you will have to do is turn and you will find God.
+ When was the last time you needed your soul to awaken?
+ Do you believe that you are never far from God?
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 107
Psalm 107
Now we have encountered a series of Psalms that all revolve around the same concept, you must remember your past, more specifically you must remember how God has interacted with your past. There is a saying that 'life must be lived forward but it can only be understood backwards', I'm not sure if it is completely true, but there is a lot of truth to it in regards to seeing the intersections between our life and God. So often it is difficult to see how God is working in the current moment, but when we look back we can see all the times that God was there for us and helped us through. It goes back to that Footprints poem, we might not always feel the times that God is carrying us, but there are times that God is carrying us none-the-less.
At the same time it doesn't do us a lot of good to dwell on the mistakes of our past, if we do that we may well just live this moment continually in the guilt of previous ones. The Bible says that God literally forgets our sins, the least we can do is try to do the same.
There is a line that is repeated throughout the Psalm that the New King James Version translates "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!" It is that which we need to hold on from the past, God's goodness and God's wonderful works to all of us, not our sins, not our pains, not our failings, but rather God's goodness to us in light of our sins, our pains, our failings. It is of utmost importance to remember that no matter what we have done, where we have gone, or who we have been that God is still good to us.
+ How has God been good to you in the past year?
Now we have encountered a series of Psalms that all revolve around the same concept, you must remember your past, more specifically you must remember how God has interacted with your past. There is a saying that 'life must be lived forward but it can only be understood backwards', I'm not sure if it is completely true, but there is a lot of truth to it in regards to seeing the intersections between our life and God. So often it is difficult to see how God is working in the current moment, but when we look back we can see all the times that God was there for us and helped us through. It goes back to that Footprints poem, we might not always feel the times that God is carrying us, but there are times that God is carrying us none-the-less.
At the same time it doesn't do us a lot of good to dwell on the mistakes of our past, if we do that we may well just live this moment continually in the guilt of previous ones. The Bible says that God literally forgets our sins, the least we can do is try to do the same.
There is a line that is repeated throughout the Psalm that the New King James Version translates "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!" It is that which we need to hold on from the past, God's goodness and God's wonderful works to all of us, not our sins, not our pains, not our failings, but rather God's goodness to us in light of our sins, our pains, our failings. It is of utmost importance to remember that no matter what we have done, where we have gone, or who we have been that God is still good to us.
+ How has God been good to you in the past year?
Monday, March 27, 2017
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 106
Psalm 106
First off, does it seem like verses 1-5 and 47-48 could be read without everything in between to anyone else? I say this partly because in them the Psalmist refers to The Lord and to God and in 6-46 the Psalmist refers to God only in pronouns. This makes me wonder if 6-46 were added in sometime later.
Secondly, I don't know about you but it is not the sins that are told in the body of the Psalm, but rather the recurring theme that Israel sins and then someone stands in front of them in order to spare them from the wrath of God. In my mind this almost makes my point from yesterday's post about God wanting the people to be free, the thing that God requires is for someone to stand up for those who are in the path of punishment. If someone stands for those who have chosen the wrong path God turns the wrath away from them. Think about that for a second, not the wrath part, we spend enough time on that in our lives, rather think about the fact that there must be someone to stand between the wrath and those that the wrath should fall upon. Are you thinking about that?
Now think about the cross, think about the tomb, think about the resurrection, what is all of that if not for someone standing in between the wrath and those deserving of wrath? And what does that tell us that the person standing between the wrath and us is God? That seems to be a God who is specifically concerned with saving the people, concerned with freeing the people, concerned with caring for the people. Now think about the fact that the people is you? Think about the fact that God is concerned with your safety, your freedom, your well being, how does that make you want to react, to live?
+ How do you choose to live in response to a God who stands between us and punishment?
+ How can you stand between punishment and another?
First off, does it seem like verses 1-5 and 47-48 could be read without everything in between to anyone else? I say this partly because in them the Psalmist refers to The Lord and to God and in 6-46 the Psalmist refers to God only in pronouns. This makes me wonder if 6-46 were added in sometime later.
Secondly, I don't know about you but it is not the sins that are told in the body of the Psalm, but rather the recurring theme that Israel sins and then someone stands in front of them in order to spare them from the wrath of God. In my mind this almost makes my point from yesterday's post about God wanting the people to be free, the thing that God requires is for someone to stand up for those who are in the path of punishment. If someone stands for those who have chosen the wrong path God turns the wrath away from them. Think about that for a second, not the wrath part, we spend enough time on that in our lives, rather think about the fact that there must be someone to stand between the wrath and those that the wrath should fall upon. Are you thinking about that?
Now think about the cross, think about the tomb, think about the resurrection, what is all of that if not for someone standing in between the wrath and those deserving of wrath? And what does that tell us that the person standing between the wrath and us is God? That seems to be a God who is specifically concerned with saving the people, concerned with freeing the people, concerned with caring for the people. Now think about the fact that the people is you? Think about the fact that God is concerned with your safety, your freedom, your well being, how does that make you want to react, to live?
+ How do you choose to live in response to a God who stands between us and punishment?
+ How can you stand between punishment and another?
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 105
Psalm 105
Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
And the Lord made his people very fruitful,
and made them stronger than their foes,
whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.
So the Lord brought his people to Israel to save them from a famine and then the Lord caused them to flourish in size and strength and then the Lord caused Egypt to hate and fear them and put them in slavery. I don't know about you but that seems a weird way to go about things in order to then rescue them from Egypt, was there no better way? Is that how things really happened? Or did Joseph get sold into slavery by his angry brothers, then triumph over those circumstances only to be betrayed by a woman [Potiphar's wife] and thrown into jail. Then after so long Joseph was set free and could see the coming famine, saving all of Egypt and in turn Israel. Living in a land that was prepared for the coming hardship Israel flourished beyond what Egypt was willing to allow and seeing the potential threat in her immigrants decided that something needed to be done. They most likely closed their borders to make sure that no more Israelites could enter and then changed their freedoms inch by inch until they were no longer able to take care of themselves. Once that happened it was easy to round them up and force them into slavery for the good of the Nation. Within this turn of events a mother saves her baby who ends up in the Pharaoh's own household where he grows in strength but understands that his people are in pain. One day he acts and kills an Egyptian which forces him to flee, many years later he is walking on a hill and comes across a bush that is burning and learns that the ground is Holy and that God is calling him to go back to Egypt and rescue his people.
Was that a long paragraph? I'll make this one shorter. I do not believe that God caused the Egyptians to hate and fear the Israelites. God is not a God who wants the people to be slaves, God is a God who wants the people to be free. What seems more likely to me than God causing the hatred to begin and grow is that the Psalmist heard the story of the Exodus and decided that since God is in the control room God must be responsible for everything, and Egypt hating her immigrants falls under the category of everything. And that there is the problem in believing that God makes everything happen. That belief leads to blaming God for car accidents and terrorist attacks and cancer diagnoses. That belief leads to people walking away from faith. That belief leads to fanatical followers of fanatical leaders who say 'it happened so God must have wanted it to happen.'
+ 'Bad things happen because bad things happen' Agree or disagree?
Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
And the Lord made his people very fruitful,
and made them stronger than their foes,
whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.
So the Lord brought his people to Israel to save them from a famine and then the Lord caused them to flourish in size and strength and then the Lord caused Egypt to hate and fear them and put them in slavery. I don't know about you but that seems a weird way to go about things in order to then rescue them from Egypt, was there no better way? Is that how things really happened? Or did Joseph get sold into slavery by his angry brothers, then triumph over those circumstances only to be betrayed by a woman [Potiphar's wife] and thrown into jail. Then after so long Joseph was set free and could see the coming famine, saving all of Egypt and in turn Israel. Living in a land that was prepared for the coming hardship Israel flourished beyond what Egypt was willing to allow and seeing the potential threat in her immigrants decided that something needed to be done. They most likely closed their borders to make sure that no more Israelites could enter and then changed their freedoms inch by inch until they were no longer able to take care of themselves. Once that happened it was easy to round them up and force them into slavery for the good of the Nation. Within this turn of events a mother saves her baby who ends up in the Pharaoh's own household where he grows in strength but understands that his people are in pain. One day he acts and kills an Egyptian which forces him to flee, many years later he is walking on a hill and comes across a bush that is burning and learns that the ground is Holy and that God is calling him to go back to Egypt and rescue his people.
Was that a long paragraph? I'll make this one shorter. I do not believe that God caused the Egyptians to hate and fear the Israelites. God is not a God who wants the people to be slaves, God is a God who wants the people to be free. What seems more likely to me than God causing the hatred to begin and grow is that the Psalmist heard the story of the Exodus and decided that since God is in the control room God must be responsible for everything, and Egypt hating her immigrants falls under the category of everything. And that there is the problem in believing that God makes everything happen. That belief leads to blaming God for car accidents and terrorist attacks and cancer diagnoses. That belief leads to people walking away from faith. That belief leads to fanatical followers of fanatical leaders who say 'it happened so God must have wanted it to happen.'
+ 'Bad things happen because bad things happen' Agree or disagree?
Sunday, March 19, 2017
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 104
Psalm 104
First off, what in the world is verse 35a doing here? Seriously why did the author feel the need to insert a venomous epitaph to a Psalm of such magnitude? Can God not be powerful if God doesn't wipe out the wicked? Is the creation of the earth insufficient to show the glory of the almighty? Does the author think so lowly of the magnificence of creation that he/she feels the need to add a curse against the wicked? Or did the author feel pressure from the audience or faculty mentor to add in a dig against people who do not follow God the way they do? I obviously don't have an answer, but it raises questions in my mind.
+ Have you ever felt the need to add something to your words or actions or beliefs in order to satisfy someone else?
Second off, we were in Kentucky for part of this weekend and while there we were visiting one of the many caves that the ecology of Kentucky has to offer to the world. There was a rather large rock that we walked around and then went up a path and crossed a bridge, Henry saw the same rock from above and stated that he wanted to walk on it. I told him that he couldn't, to which he replied in the normal vernacular of children, "Why?" I replied in the normal vernacular of adults, "Because I said so." I went on to tell him that we're not supposed to walk on that rock because it is our responsibility to take care of the earth and that means that we don't hurt it anymore than absolutely necessary. Many people would laugh at that statement, some because we humans hurt the earth all the time, and some because 'who cares?' I would tell the first group, "True, but that doesn't mean we need to add to it for insignificant reasons."
I would tell the second group, "Who? Well, I think God for one." God created the world and called it good and then we humans decided that good wasn't good enough and started messing with it. Thousands of years later Jesus says that we shouldn't swear by heaven or by earth because heaven is God's throne and the earth is God's footstool. I don't know about you, but I quite like a footstool or ottoman to rest my feet upon, it gives me comfort, it brings me joy, it makes things a bit easier for me. I think that God made the universe for a reason, and it was a good reason and because it was a good reason than the creation was also good. Moreover I think that the creation is still good, we just fail to recognize it as such, and because it is still God's creation, still God's footstool, we shouldn't be in the business of hurting it, but rather repairing it.
+ How do you think God views the current state of creation? What should our relationship with creation be like, what should be our role?
First off, what in the world is verse 35a doing here? Seriously why did the author feel the need to insert a venomous epitaph to a Psalm of such magnitude? Can God not be powerful if God doesn't wipe out the wicked? Is the creation of the earth insufficient to show the glory of the almighty? Does the author think so lowly of the magnificence of creation that he/she feels the need to add a curse against the wicked? Or did the author feel pressure from the audience or faculty mentor to add in a dig against people who do not follow God the way they do? I obviously don't have an answer, but it raises questions in my mind.
+ Have you ever felt the need to add something to your words or actions or beliefs in order to satisfy someone else?
Second off, we were in Kentucky for part of this weekend and while there we were visiting one of the many caves that the ecology of Kentucky has to offer to the world. There was a rather large rock that we walked around and then went up a path and crossed a bridge, Henry saw the same rock from above and stated that he wanted to walk on it. I told him that he couldn't, to which he replied in the normal vernacular of children, "Why?" I replied in the normal vernacular of adults, "Because I said so." I went on to tell him that we're not supposed to walk on that rock because it is our responsibility to take care of the earth and that means that we don't hurt it anymore than absolutely necessary. Many people would laugh at that statement, some because we humans hurt the earth all the time, and some because 'who cares?' I would tell the first group, "True, but that doesn't mean we need to add to it for insignificant reasons."
I would tell the second group, "Who? Well, I think God for one." God created the world and called it good and then we humans decided that good wasn't good enough and started messing with it. Thousands of years later Jesus says that we shouldn't swear by heaven or by earth because heaven is God's throne and the earth is God's footstool. I don't know about you, but I quite like a footstool or ottoman to rest my feet upon, it gives me comfort, it brings me joy, it makes things a bit easier for me. I think that God made the universe for a reason, and it was a good reason and because it was a good reason than the creation was also good. Moreover I think that the creation is still good, we just fail to recognize it as such, and because it is still God's creation, still God's footstool, we shouldn't be in the business of hurting it, but rather repairing it.
+ How do you think God views the current state of creation? What should our relationship with creation be like, what should be our role?
Friday, March 17, 2017
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 103
Psalm 103
Bless the Lord all my soul and all that is within me bless his Holy name.
If I'm honest I have to admit that there are times when I am not in the mood to praise God. Right now I find myself pretty angry because of something political I just learned about. I would rather sit down and blast apart the arguments of people who would uphold "it" as being the right thing to do. The are so conflicted with tunnel vision that they miss the forest for the trees, are perhaps more on point, they miss the people for the flag. I want to rage, but raging will not solve the problem, it is not a problem that I can solve, and even if it was raging wouldn't bring about the solution. The thing is praising God won't bring about the solution either, but it does have the potential to redirect my focus from the temporary to the eternal. Praising God can redirect my emotional state from anger to submission. And, if praising God can do that then perhaps it is often time to praise God.
+ What does praising God accomplish in your life?
Bless the Lord all my soul and all that is within me bless his Holy name.
If I'm honest I have to admit that there are times when I am not in the mood to praise God. Right now I find myself pretty angry because of something political I just learned about. I would rather sit down and blast apart the arguments of people who would uphold "it" as being the right thing to do. The are so conflicted with tunnel vision that they miss the forest for the trees, are perhaps more on point, they miss the people for the flag. I want to rage, but raging will not solve the problem, it is not a problem that I can solve, and even if it was raging wouldn't bring about the solution. The thing is praising God won't bring about the solution either, but it does have the potential to redirect my focus from the temporary to the eternal. Praising God can redirect my emotional state from anger to submission. And, if praising God can do that then perhaps it is often time to praise God.
+ What does praising God accomplish in your life?
Thursday, March 16, 2017
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 102
Psalm 102
Today is a day of two thoughts: birds that sit and a changing God
I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.
All day long my enemies taunt me;
I read these words and I think about birds. You know the interesting thing about birds? They can fly away, and yet the Psalmist is a bird that sits. How often we are the same, staying in the same place while those who mean us harm "taunt us." We, like the bird, have the ability to 'fly' away and yet too often we stand our ground, because the ground is what is important. We are birds and we think the ground is important, do you get the irony? We should be looking to the sky for our future, looking to the sky for our place, looking to the sky.
+ Have you found yourself sitting when you should be flying? How can you better fly next time?
but you are the same, and your years have no end.
I wonder how many people have fought and killed and died on the hill of "it is an ultimate truth that God doesn't change"? I wonder if they have read the Bible, because it seems to me that God does indeed change, and quite often. God changes tactics. God changes how he deals with people. God even makes multiple bets with Abraham about Sodom as Abraham tries to find a way out of the coming destruction. God says that what you ingest causes you to be unclean. Then Jesus says that it is what comes out of your mouth, not what you put in it, that makes you unclean. God sets down laws about how you should act toward certain unclean people and then Jesus touches them. God changes all the time. But in the same way, God is the same, how does that work? Well, what if God is always God and therefore God stays the same. Who and what God is will always be who and what God is, so God stays the same. If on one hand God changes and on the other hand God is the same let's leave that original hill and move on to different ground, a hill of "God's attributes will always be God's attributes, so in that way God is the same, but God acts as God sees fit and in that way God often changes."
+ Do you believe that God changes? Why or why not?
Today is a day of two thoughts: birds that sit and a changing God
I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.
All day long my enemies taunt me;
I read these words and I think about birds. You know the interesting thing about birds? They can fly away, and yet the Psalmist is a bird that sits. How often we are the same, staying in the same place while those who mean us harm "taunt us." We, like the bird, have the ability to 'fly' away and yet too often we stand our ground, because the ground is what is important. We are birds and we think the ground is important, do you get the irony? We should be looking to the sky for our future, looking to the sky for our place, looking to the sky.
+ Have you found yourself sitting when you should be flying? How can you better fly next time?
but you are the same, and your years have no end.
I wonder how many people have fought and killed and died on the hill of "it is an ultimate truth that God doesn't change"? I wonder if they have read the Bible, because it seems to me that God does indeed change, and quite often. God changes tactics. God changes how he deals with people. God even makes multiple bets with Abraham about Sodom as Abraham tries to find a way out of the coming destruction. God says that what you ingest causes you to be unclean. Then Jesus says that it is what comes out of your mouth, not what you put in it, that makes you unclean. God sets down laws about how you should act toward certain unclean people and then Jesus touches them. God changes all the time. But in the same way, God is the same, how does that work? Well, what if God is always God and therefore God stays the same. Who and what God is will always be who and what God is, so God stays the same. If on one hand God changes and on the other hand God is the same let's leave that original hill and move on to different ground, a hill of "God's attributes will always be God's attributes, so in that way God is the same, but God acts as God sees fit and in that way God often changes."
+ Do you believe that God changes? Why or why not?
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 101
Psalm 101
Is it wrong to wonder at what point in David's life this Psalm was written? I wonder if it was written before or after Bathsheba, was it written before or after causing Uriah's death? Was it written before or after Nathan opened David's eyes to the wrong he committed? Part of me hopes that it was written before all of that, before David's great sins. I say that I hope that it was written before because I would hope that David wouldn't be as haughty in his comments on those who sin. Unfortunately I know too many people who have been shown a great amount of grace that are leery of showing grace to others, large or small.
I was once in a discussion about how do we decide when we should stop showing grace to those who we consider lost causes. People came to various conclusions, but as for me I said "I would rather show too much grace than not enough, Jesus says that the way we judge will be the standard by which we are judged and if for no other reason I want to show extravagant grace so that perhaps it might be shown to me as well." I can't say that I always accomplish that, but I work at it a little more each day. I work on it because I want that extravagant grace, I need it, I know my life better than anyone and I know that I need a great grace to cover my great sins. Oh, but that we should all seek out extravagant grace by first showing it to others.
+ Do you show the level of grace to others that you hope God will show to you? Why or why not?
Is it wrong to wonder at what point in David's life this Psalm was written? I wonder if it was written before or after Bathsheba, was it written before or after causing Uriah's death? Was it written before or after Nathan opened David's eyes to the wrong he committed? Part of me hopes that it was written before all of that, before David's great sins. I say that I hope that it was written before because I would hope that David wouldn't be as haughty in his comments on those who sin. Unfortunately I know too many people who have been shown a great amount of grace that are leery of showing grace to others, large or small.
I was once in a discussion about how do we decide when we should stop showing grace to those who we consider lost causes. People came to various conclusions, but as for me I said "I would rather show too much grace than not enough, Jesus says that the way we judge will be the standard by which we are judged and if for no other reason I want to show extravagant grace so that perhaps it might be shown to me as well." I can't say that I always accomplish that, but I work at it a little more each day. I work on it because I want that extravagant grace, I need it, I know my life better than anyone and I know that I need a great grace to cover my great sins. Oh, but that we should all seek out extravagant grace by first showing it to others.
+ Do you show the level of grace to others that you hope God will show to you? Why or why not?
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 100
Psalm 100
When I first set out on this particular journey I wasn't sure how it would go, but I think that by and large it has gone fairly well. There have been more times where I have shared song lyrics from my previous Psalm journey than I originally intended there to be and while we have this moment I would like to explain the reasons why. First, this has occasionally happened when I was falling behind time and it was simpler to share lyrics that have already been written than to come up with new original content, for those times I apologize. Second, it has happened because I only have so much to say about worship and while I didn't really think about it the last time through the Psalms I have definitely noticed that a lot of Psalms are about worshipping God. Don't get me wrong worshipping God is something of extreme importance for anyone who has faith, but I only have so much to say about the actual act of worship beyond "worshipping God is something of extreme importance for anyone who has faith."
Perhaps if I were a worship pastor I would have more to say, or perhaps that is merely a cop out, the truth is that I am able to worship God better in the sanctuary of a state park than I am in the middle of the sanctuary. I am more easily able to capture how I feel about God when I come up with my own words and thoughts and feelings than I am when I am repeating the words thoughts and feelings of someone else. This may be a by-product of spending way to much time thinking about God and the theological incongruities in way too many worship songs. Because of that I tend to lean toward songs that are not "worship songs" for my own worship, songs of action or introspection or struggle where God is intrinsically tied into "real life," the more ethereal songs only work for me if I am in the right frame of mind.
I guess the whole point of this is to say that we don't all worship the same way, and that's all right. If the section of a church service where you sing songs is the most meaningful to you, that is great, and if you prefer the prayer time or the sermon time or the time of dismissal that is also fine. If you are brought closer to God in a church or the middle of a forest or in a snow storm or in your car is not what is important, what is important is that you find that place where you are brought close to God. In retrospect I may have more to say than "worshipping God is something of extreme importance for anyone who has faith."
+ Where do you worship God best? When do you? How do you?
When I first set out on this particular journey I wasn't sure how it would go, but I think that by and large it has gone fairly well. There have been more times where I have shared song lyrics from my previous Psalm journey than I originally intended there to be and while we have this moment I would like to explain the reasons why. First, this has occasionally happened when I was falling behind time and it was simpler to share lyrics that have already been written than to come up with new original content, for those times I apologize. Second, it has happened because I only have so much to say about worship and while I didn't really think about it the last time through the Psalms I have definitely noticed that a lot of Psalms are about worshipping God. Don't get me wrong worshipping God is something of extreme importance for anyone who has faith, but I only have so much to say about the actual act of worship beyond "worshipping God is something of extreme importance for anyone who has faith."
Perhaps if I were a worship pastor I would have more to say, or perhaps that is merely a cop out, the truth is that I am able to worship God better in the sanctuary of a state park than I am in the middle of the sanctuary. I am more easily able to capture how I feel about God when I come up with my own words and thoughts and feelings than I am when I am repeating the words thoughts and feelings of someone else. This may be a by-product of spending way to much time thinking about God and the theological incongruities in way too many worship songs. Because of that I tend to lean toward songs that are not "worship songs" for my own worship, songs of action or introspection or struggle where God is intrinsically tied into "real life," the more ethereal songs only work for me if I am in the right frame of mind.
I guess the whole point of this is to say that we don't all worship the same way, and that's all right. If the section of a church service where you sing songs is the most meaningful to you, that is great, and if you prefer the prayer time or the sermon time or the time of dismissal that is also fine. If you are brought closer to God in a church or the middle of a forest or in a snow storm or in your car is not what is important, what is important is that you find that place where you are brought close to God. In retrospect I may have more to say than "worshipping God is something of extreme importance for anyone who has faith."
+ Where do you worship God best? When do you? How do you?
Sunday, March 12, 2017
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 99
You Are Holy
From on high
I see your face
so full of love
so full of grace
you are holy
you are holy
From your throne
you rule in glory
so full of justice
so full of peace
you are holy
you are holy
From our mouth
you hear our prayer
so full of sorrow
so full of need
you are holy
you are holy
Bridge:
and we just want to sing your praises
we just want to praise your name
all we ask right now is to be with you
and to let your glory shine
From on low
we look to you
so full of love
so full of peace
you are holy
you are holy
From on high
I see your face
so full of love
so full of grace
you are holy
you are holy
From your throne
you rule in glory
so full of justice
so full of peace
you are holy
you are holy
From our mouth
you hear our prayer
so full of sorrow
so full of need
you are holy
you are holy
Bridge:
and we just want to sing your praises
we just want to praise your name
all we ask right now is to be with you
and to let your glory shine
From on low
we look to you
so full of love
so full of peace
you are holy
you are holy
Friday, March 10, 2017
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 98
Psalm 98
I've got to say that I am about to take umbrage with not the Psalm itself but rather the arbitrary title that the NRSV has given this particular Psalm, "Praise the Judge of the World." I may be completely off base but just because the Psalm ends with two sentences taking about God as judge I think it is a bit presumptuous to say that the entire Psalm is praising God for the coming judgment. I suppose I should first start by saying that there is nothing inherently wrong with praising God's judging attributes, there are in fact times when we should hope and pray for God's judgment to come, particularly in the face of true evil, not as a coming punishment for the evil but rather as Revelation speaks of, the coming culmination of God 'making all things new'. That said just because you have a line in a poem or song about something doesn't necessarily mean that the whole of the poem or song is about that line.
Which brings me to a slightly larger point of taking Bible subtitles with a grain of salt, just because the editors of your particular Bible says a section is about one things doesn't mean that it is only about that one thing, or that it is even about that one thing at all. The Bible did not come with subtitled sections in its original form, nor sections in the first place. There exist no chapter nor verse delineations within the original scrolls, and even the original printed versions of the Bible did not contain chapter and verse breakdowns, that didn't come until much later. Chapters came into being during the 13th century and verses didn't show up until the 16th. Now, obviously, this makes my job as a pastor easier, and it makes having Bible Studies easier and it makes making signs for sporting events easier, but we must make sure that we don't fall into the trap of thinking that one chapter has nothing to do with the next or previous chapter in a book and we need to make sure that we realize that just because a verse is a verse doesn't mean that it does not exist within a context of verses and chapters and books that surround it.
+ Have you come across a verse/chapter that has been taken out of context? Have you done it yourself?
I've got to say that I am about to take umbrage with not the Psalm itself but rather the arbitrary title that the NRSV has given this particular Psalm, "Praise the Judge of the World." I may be completely off base but just because the Psalm ends with two sentences taking about God as judge I think it is a bit presumptuous to say that the entire Psalm is praising God for the coming judgment. I suppose I should first start by saying that there is nothing inherently wrong with praising God's judging attributes, there are in fact times when we should hope and pray for God's judgment to come, particularly in the face of true evil, not as a coming punishment for the evil but rather as Revelation speaks of, the coming culmination of God 'making all things new'. That said just because you have a line in a poem or song about something doesn't necessarily mean that the whole of the poem or song is about that line.
Which brings me to a slightly larger point of taking Bible subtitles with a grain of salt, just because the editors of your particular Bible says a section is about one things doesn't mean that it is only about that one thing, or that it is even about that one thing at all. The Bible did not come with subtitled sections in its original form, nor sections in the first place. There exist no chapter nor verse delineations within the original scrolls, and even the original printed versions of the Bible did not contain chapter and verse breakdowns, that didn't come until much later. Chapters came into being during the 13th century and verses didn't show up until the 16th. Now, obviously, this makes my job as a pastor easier, and it makes having Bible Studies easier and it makes making signs for sporting events easier, but we must make sure that we don't fall into the trap of thinking that one chapter has nothing to do with the next or previous chapter in a book and we need to make sure that we realize that just because a verse is a verse doesn't mean that it does not exist within a context of verses and chapters and books that surround it.
+ Have you come across a verse/chapter that has been taken out of context? Have you done it yourself?
Thursday, March 9, 2017
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 97
Psalm 97
The Lord Reigns
the Lord reigns
let all the earth rejoice
the Lord reigns
all you people be glad
the Lord reigns
in between all the hurt
the Lord reigns
Chorus:
for God is righteous and God is love
for God is salvation and God is joy
God is Lord of all and lover of your soul
and whatever may come (whatever may come)
the Lord reigns
the Lord reigns
daughters be glad
the Lord reigns
sons worship the father
the Lord reigns
in the midst of sorrow
the Lord reigns
and when the world is bright
the Lord reigns
Chorus:
The Lord Reigns
the Lord reigns
let all the earth rejoice
the Lord reigns
all you people be glad
the Lord reigns
in between all the hurt
the Lord reigns
Chorus:
for God is righteous and God is love
for God is salvation and God is joy
God is Lord of all and lover of your soul
and whatever may come (whatever may come)
the Lord reigns
the Lord reigns
daughters be glad
the Lord reigns
sons worship the father
the Lord reigns
in the midst of sorrow
the Lord reigns
and when the world is bright
the Lord reigns
Chorus:
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 96
Psalm 96
There is a illustration that has been floating around Facebook for the past few months that looks a little like this...
You have most likely seen it before, and if you haven't before, you have now. That makes you all equal, but some of you have seen it months ago and have had a long time to focus your thoughts/judgments about it whereas those who are seeing it for the first time are at a disadvantage because they have not had that same time. Now what does this have to do with anything? Well in verse 10 it says that the Lord will judge with equity and while I haven't mentioned it in the same words I have suggested that we think of God's judgment as coming from a place of equality. In other words God judges us all by the same standard, and by that standard we pass or fail.
We think that way because our system tends to act that way, at least in theory. Though if you think about it we often act out of equity in our own personal relationships, after all we do not treat a new friend the same way we do our spouse, and if we do there will be blood. In the above illustration the goal is to give different levels of help to different people so that they can all have the same fair shot at seeing the game/enjoying life/surviving, what that means as far as God's judgment is that God judges us within the realm of our history, our biology, and our stories. Equal judgment would act without the acknowledgement that we come from different places and situations and say that if you do x you are in and if you don't do x you aren't. Equitable judgment sees our whole being and judges us each as individuals.
Knowing this should bring us joy, knowing that we are not all held to the same standard, that the one who has been given more has more expected of them and, vice versa, the one who has been given less has less expected of them. This means that you are not judged based on the life of someone more holy, or more intelligent, or more powerful, or more wealthy, or more attractive, nor are you judged based on the life of anyone with less of the same characteristics, you are judged based solely on the life of the person you spend every moment of every day with, yourself.
+ How does it change your view of God's judgment (and love for that matter) knowing that it is equitable not equal?
There is a illustration that has been floating around Facebook for the past few months that looks a little like this...
You have most likely seen it before, and if you haven't before, you have now. That makes you all equal, but some of you have seen it months ago and have had a long time to focus your thoughts/judgments about it whereas those who are seeing it for the first time are at a disadvantage because they have not had that same time. Now what does this have to do with anything? Well in verse 10 it says that the Lord will judge with equity and while I haven't mentioned it in the same words I have suggested that we think of God's judgment as coming from a place of equality. In other words God judges us all by the same standard, and by that standard we pass or fail.
We think that way because our system tends to act that way, at least in theory. Though if you think about it we often act out of equity in our own personal relationships, after all we do not treat a new friend the same way we do our spouse, and if we do there will be blood. In the above illustration the goal is to give different levels of help to different people so that they can all have the same fair shot at seeing the game/enjoying life/surviving, what that means as far as God's judgment is that God judges us within the realm of our history, our biology, and our stories. Equal judgment would act without the acknowledgement that we come from different places and situations and say that if you do x you are in and if you don't do x you aren't. Equitable judgment sees our whole being and judges us each as individuals.
Knowing this should bring us joy, knowing that we are not all held to the same standard, that the one who has been given more has more expected of them and, vice versa, the one who has been given less has less expected of them. This means that you are not judged based on the life of someone more holy, or more intelligent, or more powerful, or more wealthy, or more attractive, nor are you judged based on the life of anyone with less of the same characteristics, you are judged based solely on the life of the person you spend every moment of every day with, yourself.
+ How does it change your view of God's judgment (and love for that matter) knowing that it is equitable not equal?
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 95
Psalm 95
While this is a Psalm that begins in adoration and praise it is one that ends in a particularly interesting place that I would like to spend our time together today. The final stanza of the Psalm recalls the Exodus, in particular the point in time when the people were more scared of the people in the land that was promised to them then they believed in God. That is the fundamental failing of the people, they were more afraid of people than they trusted in God. Continually through the Biblical story we see people choosing fear over faith. Adam and Eve feared that they didn't know something important. Cain feared that God liked Able more. Abraham and Sarah feared that God wouldn't give them a child. The Israelites feared that they would be overwhelmed without a king. David feared that he was missing out without the bathing woman. Judas feared that Jesus wasn't whom he thought. Ananias and Sapphira feared that they wouldn't survive with less money. Fear over faith is the great failing of humanity.
Let me say that again, fear over faith is the great failing of humanity. And I am obviously including myself when I speak of humanity, for there has been a multitude of times in my life when I have chosen fear over faith in my own life and even in my ministry. Going back to the Moses and the people in the wilderness I would argue that it was their fear, not God's punishment that kept them out of the promised land for a further 40 years. The harsh truth is that very often we miss out on the good that God has provided for us because we are too afraid to go into unknown territory. For the Jews it was a literal space, and for us sometimes it is as well, but usually it is the unknown territory that we call the future. We forget that there is really only the present moment, and fear what may happen if we do what we feel we should, but if God has provided God will provide the path forward and through. May we make it our prayer today that we would be given the strength of belief and the strength of action.
+ How have you chosen fear over faith?
+ How have you chosen faith over fear?
While this is a Psalm that begins in adoration and praise it is one that ends in a particularly interesting place that I would like to spend our time together today. The final stanza of the Psalm recalls the Exodus, in particular the point in time when the people were more scared of the people in the land that was promised to them then they believed in God. That is the fundamental failing of the people, they were more afraid of people than they trusted in God. Continually through the Biblical story we see people choosing fear over faith. Adam and Eve feared that they didn't know something important. Cain feared that God liked Able more. Abraham and Sarah feared that God wouldn't give them a child. The Israelites feared that they would be overwhelmed without a king. David feared that he was missing out without the bathing woman. Judas feared that Jesus wasn't whom he thought. Ananias and Sapphira feared that they wouldn't survive with less money. Fear over faith is the great failing of humanity.
Let me say that again, fear over faith is the great failing of humanity. And I am obviously including myself when I speak of humanity, for there has been a multitude of times in my life when I have chosen fear over faith in my own life and even in my ministry. Going back to the Moses and the people in the wilderness I would argue that it was their fear, not God's punishment that kept them out of the promised land for a further 40 years. The harsh truth is that very often we miss out on the good that God has provided for us because we are too afraid to go into unknown territory. For the Jews it was a literal space, and for us sometimes it is as well, but usually it is the unknown territory that we call the future. We forget that there is really only the present moment, and fear what may happen if we do what we feel we should, but if God has provided God will provide the path forward and through. May we make it our prayer today that we would be given the strength of belief and the strength of action.
+ How have you chosen fear over faith?
+ How have you chosen faith over fear?
Sunday, March 5, 2017
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 94
Psalm 94
I have always found the concept of Christian apologetics to be kind of weird. Part of it is because I am not sure one can be argued into faith. It is definitely possible to be argued into a new point of view, but faith is not merely another point of view, its a belief that fundamentally changes everything in your life, at least in theory. Another reason that I have always found apologetics confusing is because I though that God was supposed to be our defender, not the other way around. After all, how many times do the people in the Bible say, 'Don't worry, I got this, God.' it seems quite the opposite, that they continually seek God's help in their times of distress. Partly because of these reasons I have always had the philosophy that God is big enough to defend God, and if God isn't worried about the need to defend God's self then who am I to fight God's battles?
It is my contention that God did not convene a legal dream team in order to get past all of the slippery theological conundrums that exist, instead God seems to create mystery and ask us to appreciate that mystery. Sometimes that mystery leaves us in awe, sometimes it leaves us scratching our heads. The Psalmist seems to be in that latter situation when they are witnessing the evil around them and wondering when God will finally step in. The Psalmist has no easy answer, instead he, or she, clings to the idea that God will not abandon God's people, that "[God] will not abandon [God's] heritage." This reminds them of the path that they have already traveled and all the ways that God has worked in and among their lives. It is in this remembering that the Psalmist finds rest and hope. Neat answers to complicated questions is not the easy fix for our lives, it is living in a constant state of remembering how God has been to us and believing in faith that God will continue to be our Emmanuel, with us.
+ Have you encountered Christian apologetics? What did you think about the idea?
I have always found the concept of Christian apologetics to be kind of weird. Part of it is because I am not sure one can be argued into faith. It is definitely possible to be argued into a new point of view, but faith is not merely another point of view, its a belief that fundamentally changes everything in your life, at least in theory. Another reason that I have always found apologetics confusing is because I though that God was supposed to be our defender, not the other way around. After all, how many times do the people in the Bible say, 'Don't worry, I got this, God.' it seems quite the opposite, that they continually seek God's help in their times of distress. Partly because of these reasons I have always had the philosophy that God is big enough to defend God, and if God isn't worried about the need to defend God's self then who am I to fight God's battles?
It is my contention that God did not convene a legal dream team in order to get past all of the slippery theological conundrums that exist, instead God seems to create mystery and ask us to appreciate that mystery. Sometimes that mystery leaves us in awe, sometimes it leaves us scratching our heads. The Psalmist seems to be in that latter situation when they are witnessing the evil around them and wondering when God will finally step in. The Psalmist has no easy answer, instead he, or she, clings to the idea that God will not abandon God's people, that "[God] will not abandon [God's] heritage." This reminds them of the path that they have already traveled and all the ways that God has worked in and among their lives. It is in this remembering that the Psalmist finds rest and hope. Neat answers to complicated questions is not the easy fix for our lives, it is living in a constant state of remembering how God has been to us and believing in faith that God will continue to be our Emmanuel, with us.
+ Have you encountered Christian apologetics? What did you think about the idea?
Friday, March 3, 2017
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 93
Psalm 93
12 years ago when I was going through the Psalms I wrote a song based on Psalm 93 that was from the perspective of Noah, Obviously I was inspired by the idea of the flood when I read about floods. A few years after that I visited England on a cultural immersion trip with my alma mater and I spent a day by myself mainly going through two art galleries, Tate Modern and Tate Britain, It was while roaming through Tate Britain that I came across a painting titled the Deluge by Francis Danby that depicted the other side of the story so to speak. There are many things in the Bible that make me stop and scratch my head, trying to reconcile what I read with the God that is manifest best in Jesus, but I can't think of one that tops the flood for sheer lack of abundant grace. I come up with question after question...did it happen? did it not? was it global? was it localized? was it God? was it nature? and in the end I, like anyone else, jump through my theological hoops to come to a conclusion. I'm not sure if my conclusion is correct, about this or anything else for that matter in reality this is really all just my best guess, but it is an answer that bring me comfort and really how much more can we hope for?
In related news here is Water Water Everywhere (Psalm 93)
water water everywhere
and not a drop to drink
water water everywhere
I've got no time to think
it's falling from the sky
falling down on us
washing away everything that used to be
to start anew
water water everywhere
and not a drop to drink
water water everywhere
I just can't begin to think
it's falling by and by
and I just can't deny
God's washing you away to start over today
to start anew
Chorus:
and rain keeps falling, and I keep stalling
trying to build this boat
and they keep laughing, while I am cringing
trying to build this boat
and the rain keeps coming, and I keep praying
praying for this world
but the rain keeps coming, and my prayers failing
failing for this world
water water everywhere
and not a drop to drink
water water everywhere
too much water I think
it's falling down on me
and falling down on you
washing away everything that we ever built
to start anew
Chorus:
12 years ago when I was going through the Psalms I wrote a song based on Psalm 93 that was from the perspective of Noah, Obviously I was inspired by the idea of the flood when I read about floods. A few years after that I visited England on a cultural immersion trip with my alma mater and I spent a day by myself mainly going through two art galleries, Tate Modern and Tate Britain, It was while roaming through Tate Britain that I came across a painting titled the Deluge by Francis Danby that depicted the other side of the story so to speak. There are many things in the Bible that make me stop and scratch my head, trying to reconcile what I read with the God that is manifest best in Jesus, but I can't think of one that tops the flood for sheer lack of abundant grace. I come up with question after question...did it happen? did it not? was it global? was it localized? was it God? was it nature? and in the end I, like anyone else, jump through my theological hoops to come to a conclusion. I'm not sure if my conclusion is correct, about this or anything else for that matter in reality this is really all just my best guess, but it is an answer that bring me comfort and really how much more can we hope for?
In related news here is Water Water Everywhere (Psalm 93)
water water everywhere
and not a drop to drink
water water everywhere
I've got no time to think
it's falling from the sky
falling down on us
washing away everything that used to be
to start anew
water water everywhere
and not a drop to drink
water water everywhere
I just can't begin to think
it's falling by and by
and I just can't deny
God's washing you away to start over today
to start anew
Chorus:
and rain keeps falling, and I keep stalling
trying to build this boat
and they keep laughing, while I am cringing
trying to build this boat
and the rain keeps coming, and I keep praying
praying for this world
but the rain keeps coming, and my prayers failing
failing for this world
water water everywhere
and not a drop to drink
water water everywhere
too much water I think
it's falling down on me
and falling down on you
washing away everything that we ever built
to start anew
Chorus:
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
The Heart's Cry: Psalm 92
Psalm 92
According to the annotation this is a song for the Sabbath which makes me think about other songs that we sing on the Sabbath. I cannot speak for all of Christendom, but as for the churches I have been in, and there have been a fair few, most of the time we sing selfish songs corporately. By that I mean pick up a hymnal or a song book or put in the popular worship CD and you will notice that the vast majority of the songs are first person, I me mine, mainly we sing together about ourselves. The worship song Above All is, in my opinion, one of the worst culprits of this, with the idea that Jesus died and "thought of me above all."* But we don't have to go nearly that recent, how about the hymn In the Garden, "and he walks with me, and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own; and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known."
Over and over again we have been brought up and continue to live a life of worship that worships our own importance more than our collective importance, and that my friends is nothing but a bad idea. The Bible, and Jesus, seems very clear that I am not a bride, but that we are, that Jesus didn't die for just me, but for all, that we are to be selfless not selfish, yet whether it be by culture or human nature we continually focus on the individual instead of the collective. It is of utmost importance that you come to an understanding that God loves you so much that Jesus was sent to live and breathe and die and live again so that you might truly understand how big that love is. It is of equal importance for you to realize that it wasn't just for you, that God's love spreads to every corner of the globe from throne rooms to neighborhoods to slums to underpasses and every space in between, and that everyone who accepts that love is a member of your family and everyone who rejects that love is still a potential member of your family. So, maybe it might be time to start rewriting some lyrics to make corporate worship corporate.
+ Have you ever analyzed the lyrical content of the songs you sing in corporate worship? If so how did you feel? If not, go ahead and give them a look this Sabbath.
+ How can you better shift the focus from yourself to the whole both in worship and in your daily life?
* I wrote a blog all about Above All some years ago, here's the link should you be interested in reading it Rescuing God from Praise Songs Part 1
According to the annotation this is a song for the Sabbath which makes me think about other songs that we sing on the Sabbath. I cannot speak for all of Christendom, but as for the churches I have been in, and there have been a fair few, most of the time we sing selfish songs corporately. By that I mean pick up a hymnal or a song book or put in the popular worship CD and you will notice that the vast majority of the songs are first person, I me mine, mainly we sing together about ourselves. The worship song Above All is, in my opinion, one of the worst culprits of this, with the idea that Jesus died and "thought of me above all."* But we don't have to go nearly that recent, how about the hymn In the Garden, "and he walks with me, and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own; and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known."
Over and over again we have been brought up and continue to live a life of worship that worships our own importance more than our collective importance, and that my friends is nothing but a bad idea. The Bible, and Jesus, seems very clear that I am not a bride, but that we are, that Jesus didn't die for just me, but for all, that we are to be selfless not selfish, yet whether it be by culture or human nature we continually focus on the individual instead of the collective. It is of utmost importance that you come to an understanding that God loves you so much that Jesus was sent to live and breathe and die and live again so that you might truly understand how big that love is. It is of equal importance for you to realize that it wasn't just for you, that God's love spreads to every corner of the globe from throne rooms to neighborhoods to slums to underpasses and every space in between, and that everyone who accepts that love is a member of your family and everyone who rejects that love is still a potential member of your family. So, maybe it might be time to start rewriting some lyrics to make corporate worship corporate.
+ Have you ever analyzed the lyrical content of the songs you sing in corporate worship? If so how did you feel? If not, go ahead and give them a look this Sabbath.
+ How can you better shift the focus from yourself to the whole both in worship and in your daily life?
* I wrote a blog all about Above All some years ago, here's the link should you be interested in reading it Rescuing God from Praise Songs Part 1
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