Thursday, January 31, 2013

In the Spotlight; Psalm 139, Proverbs 29

May the mumbling commence!

In our relationship with God, we need to be honest with ourselves.  Indeed, we cannot fool God.  Our Creator knows us better than we know ourselves. 

Who are we fooling?  We might fool ourselves for a time.  We might fool some people.  But, when it comes right down to it, we only harm our relationship with our Lord – for which we were created.  We only harm our relationship with the people we love the most.

So, let’s be honest with ourselves.  Let’s trust in the care of God.  Let’s trust in the change that the Holy Spirit of God can make in our lives.  Otherwise, we will fall woefully short of our potential.  Read from the beginning of Psalm one-hundred thirty-nine:

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off. 
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways. 
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord,
You know it altogether. 
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me. 
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it. (Verses 1-6)

We are known fully by the One who created us.  It should not surprise us.  Do we embrace being fully known?  Do we embrace who were created to be?  Do we acknowledge how we fall short of this potential?  To embrace and acknowledge these things is the path to reaching our greatest potential.

God has done everything within His power to protect us.  We can choose to accept this protection or not to accept it.  Our Creator wants the absolute best for us.  The Lord’s perfect knowledge far outstrips any dreams we may have.

Some people would have us believe the lie that God keeps us from being who we are, keeps us from reaching our full potential.  Such an idea is worse than foolish.  It is deception at its worst.  Satan laughs at such things.  Our only chance at reaching our full potential depends upon our faith in our Creator.

As God shines the light of His perfect truth upon us, let us examine ourselves in the mirror.  Let us make the changes necessary to moving closer to the perfection in which God created us.  Let us check our feelings and dig deeper to see the attitudes on which they are based.  Read from Proverbs chapter twenty-nine:

A fool vents all his feelings,
But a wise man holds them back. (Verse 11)

This does not mean that feelings are meant to be expressed in their full range.  It means that we should keep them in check so that our attitudes and thoughts can transform things like anger and rage and fear into more constructive things like the choice to love and to sacrifice and to rise above petty issues – ones that we will not remember in an hour let alone a week.  When we speak or act rashly, we destroy relationship.  Once said or done, words and actions cannot be undone.

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Praiseworthy HESED and AMET; Psalm 138, Proverbs 28

May the mumbling commence!

Want reasons to praise the Lord?  Want reasons to be thankful?  Read the Psalms.  Among the voiced emotions, you will find a number of reasons to praise the Lord and give thanks for God.  God is merciful.  We heard that over and over again in Psalm one-hundred thirty-six.  God’s mercy endures forever.  God’s love endures forever.

Psalm one-hundred thirty-eight gives more reasons for worship and praise of the Lord.  Read the first several verses of the psalm:

I will praise You with my whole heart;
Before the gods I will sing praises to You. 
I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your loving-kindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. 
In the day when I cried out,
You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul. (Verses 1-3)

Praise God for loving-kindness.  The word is HESED in Hebrew.  And HESED is done in truth – AMET in Hebrew.  And AMET is true from beginning to middle to end.  In fact, the word AMET contains the first, middle and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet! 

God’s loving-kindness, HESED, means answers to our cries… eventually, maybe not on the schedule we would like.  But God does always answer our pleas and cries.  The answer may be different from what we wanted or expected.  But the answer is always the perfect one for our need.  And, when our needs are met, we can be bold and strong in soul – for the Lord.

For this reason – HESED and AMET – we are answered perfectly and our praise of God far above anything or anyone else that we might wish to trust.  Those gods cannot listen let alone do anything for us.   Forget about doing the perfect thing for our need…  May our praise of God drown out any praise that others may sing of other people and things. 

May God be the only focus of our praise and worship and thankfulness.  May we not trust in our wealth or our strength.  Read from Proverbs chapter twenty-eight:

The rich man is wise in his own eyes,
But the poor who has understanding searches him out. (Verse 11)

May we search out the Lord for wisdom and understanding.  May we praise the Lord for wisdom and understanding and truth and mercy and loving-kindness.  We were made for that relationship with our Creator.  Why fight it with other gods – be they wealth or information or influence or fame?

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Forever; Psalm 136, Proverbs 27

May the mumbling commence!

Give thanks for the marvelous mercy of our Lord.  That is the recurring refrain in Psalm one-hundred thirty-six.  Read a portion of it:

Oh, give thanks to the Lord,
for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever. 
Oh, give thanks to the God of gods!
For His mercy endures forever. 
Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!
For His mercy endures forever:

To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His mercy endures forever; 
To Him who by wisdom made the heavens,
For His mercy endures forever; 
To Him who laid out the earth above the waters,
For His mercy endures forever; 
To Him who made great lights,
For His mercy endures forever  
The sun to rule by day,
For His mercy endures forever; 
The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His mercy endures forever. (Verses 1-9)

How can we miss the refrain?  It is repeated every-other line.  God’s mercy endures forever.  The psalmist leaves no space for questions.  I wonder if that refrain set to music would be like an earworm…  You know, something you just cannot get out of your head.

I can think of a contemporary Christian song that repeats the phrase “His love endures forever”.  That one sticks in my mind.  God’s mercy and love endures forever.  Those are truths that we should never forget.  We need reminders of God’s love and mercy when times are terrible and when times are mundane and when times are terrific.  God’s love and mercy covers all times in our lives – forever, in case you forgot.

Our God is deserving of our praise.  Let us spend our time praising God – regardless of where we think we stand at the moment.  Praise God and the things our Creator does through creation.  Praise and encourage the work of Christ that other people do.  Praise them. 

Do not spend time praising your own efforts.  Do not allow other peoples’ praise to derail you from the praise of our Lord.  To focus on one’s own efforts is to lose sight of the goal of godliness in the reflection of Christ Jesus in our lives.  Read from Proverbs chapter twenty-seven:

Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth;
A stranger, and not your own lips.  (Verse 2)

Praise God in full voice.  Praise God in high definition.  Praise God, for His love and mercy endures forever.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Monday, January 28, 2013

Good & Pleasant -- Unity; Psalms 133-134, Proverbs 26

May the mumbling commence!

What is good and pleasant?  How do we please the Lord?  I have always loved the words of Psalms one-hundred thirty-three and one-hundred thirty-four.  Read them:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity! 
It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments. 
It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing –
Life forevermore. (Psalm 133)

Behold, bless the Lord,         
All you servants of the Lord,
Who by night stand in the house of the Lord! 
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
And bless the Lord. 

The Lord who made heaven and earth
Bless you from Zion! (Psalm 134)

Dwell together in unity.  That is how we are a good and pleasant people of the Lord.  It makes the lives of our religious leaders pleasant.  Unity makes the greatest anointing for any leader.  How good!  How pleasant!  The earth even benefits when unity reigns among the people of God.  It means life to all forevermore.

Yet, there are many things that can drive us apart – estrange us from one another.  What do we do with those things?  What can be the rallying cry?  What is there that can unify us?

The unifying factor of the people of God is the call to bless the Lord.  All servants of the Lord are called to bless their Creator – who made heaven and earth.  Stand in awe.  Raise your hands.  Bless the Lord.  Bless the Lord from Zion.

Where is Zion?  Zion is more than a simple geographical location.  Zion is a state of mind ruled totally by the Lord.  Zion draws us together – in unity.  We bless the Lord from Zion only when we can offer up our unique blessings and praises of the Lord together. 

Let us not worry ourselves about how other people worship God.  Our only worry should be that the Lord is blessed.  Everything else is window dressing.  Let us drop our tale bearing.  Let us leave behind contention that has no purpose to please and bless the Lord.  Read from Proverbs chapter twenty-six:

Where there is no wood, the fire goes out;
And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases. 
As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire,
So is a contentious man to kindle strife. 
The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles,
And they go down into the inmost body. (Verses 20-22)

Let us remove the wood of tales, of gossip and slander and libel.  Let us remove the charcoal of contention.  Though we may think they sustain us with warmth and barbeque, they will taint us to our inmost parts.  They will infect our hearts and the attitudes which grow there.

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Wean Us from Worldly Ways; Psalm 131, Proverbs 25

May the mumbling commence!

As children of God, may we be weaned from the ways of the world and take up the Way of our Lord.  It is our only true hope – the Way of Jesus.  Read Psalm one-hundred thirty-one:

Lord, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me. 

Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me. 

O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.

The ways of the world are haughty.  We look upon ourselves from lofty heights when we look with the eyes of the world.  The upward glance – an upward glance along the nose – is a sure way to stumble into holes and trenches dug by the firstborn liar, Satan. 

From lofty heights will be tragic falls.  Many things that humanity does they consider great and profound.  Our creativity is only a reflection of the ultimate creativity of the Lord, who created all that we see out of a soup of nothingness.

Let us quiet our souls in the presence of our Lord.  Let us wean ourselves from the pomp and circumstance that we try desperately to create – so that we might impress others and gain a sense of self-worth.  Where do we find our true self-worth?  It is not in anything that we might do or not do. 

Our true worth is measured in who we are.  And, do we know who we are?  We are children of God.  We need no other proof of our self-worth.

Let us wean ourselves from the bright baubles of the world that we think we need.  Let us wean ourselves from an ironic sense of worthlessness and pride all rolled up into a contradictory package that Satan wishes us to carry.  That ironic package of lies prevents the rightful relationships between humanity and God and amongst all of God’s creation.  There is no hope in that package.

Hope can only be found in the Lord!  These are words that we need to hear.  If heeded, they will produce a harvest beyond our wildest dreams or imaginings.  Read from Proverbs chapter twenty-five:

Like the cold of snow in time of harvest
Is a faithful messenger to those who send him,
For he refreshes the soul of his masters. (Verse 13)

And there is no more faithful messenger than the one who brings the Good News of God’s Word.  Our souls are refreshed daily by the Word of God.  We are washed anew by the mercies of the Lord.  These mercies make us new every morning.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Saturday, January 26, 2013

From Rock Bottom; Psalm 130; Proverbs 24

May the mumbling commence!

Stay the course.  Sometimes, we may feel like we have hit rock bottom.  But stay the course.  Stick with God, and you will not be disappointed.  Read Psalm one-hundred thirty:

Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; 
Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications. 

If You, Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand? 
But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared. 

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope. 
My soul waits for the Lord
More than those who watch for the morning –
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning. 

O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is mercy,
And with Him is abundant redemption. 
And He shall redeem Israel
From all his iniquities. 

Out of the depths!  Rock bottom!  And our own devices have brought us so low.

Thank God for the forgiveness and mercy of the Lord.  Without them, who could stand?  No one!

To receive the forgiveness and mercy of the Lord means to wait.  We will wait more than watchman wait for the morning.  We will wait more than security guards at the various retail establishments wait for the end of the shifts.

We will wait in hope of more than a paycheck and a quiet shift.  We hope in the promise of the Word of the Lord.  That hope means no less than redemption.  That hope means no less than restoration of rightful relationships – what the Lord has made us for.

Yes, stay the course.  Pursue peace that only the Lord can bring.  Then there will be hope and joy.

Then there will be no reason to defame or attempt to ruin another person – even if that person deserves to be ruined.  In the sight of God, who does not deserve to be ruined for their participation in sin?  No one!  Read from Proverbs chapter twenty-four:

Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
For would you deceive with your lips? 
Do not say, "I will do to him just as he has done to me;
I will render to the man according to his work." (Verses 28-29)

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Friday, January 25, 2013

Lord, Build and Guard Our Lifework; Psalm 127, Proverbs 23

May the mumbling commence!

Life can be labor-intensive.  That is a fact.  We can wear ourselves out quite easily.  I have spent this week recuperating from being in a community theatre production. 

I have also spent time – the “free” time that I have returning to the group of books that I like the most.  I have returned to the depth of study that goes along with preparing to preach.  It is the most important creative outlet available to me.

But, I know that whatever I do, I need to keep the Lord central to my life.  That is the primary reason that I continued to read Scripture daily during all those rehearsals.  Even during the drain of tech week and four shows, I keep close to my Bible.  Sometimes, I read my daily Scripture in my car while I was waiting outside the theatre.

The importance of keeping the Lord central to all we do in our lives cannot be overstated.  I look forward to taking my turn as director.  I look forward to the chance to direct a production that tells the resurrection story of Jesus. 

I am pumped.  That is why I ask for your prayers.  That is why I will continue to seek God through His Word.  Read from Psalm one-hundred twenty-seven:

Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain. 
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep. (Verses 1-2)

Each of us seeks to build upon the talents that the Lord has given us.  One of those gifts, for me, is a love of story.  I love storytelling.  And there is no better story to tell than the redeeming story of Jesus.

Lord, help me to build this story.  Help me chose the cast.  Help me guard the integrity of Your Word.  Help me to tell the story in a compelling way.  If even one person comes to Christ because of this effort of Your Body (yes the cast and crew will function as a part of the body of Christ), then all the work is worthwhile.

There will undoubtedly be late nights and early mornings.  There will be much to worry and fret about.  That is why I will pray and invite those who take part in the production to be in constant prayer.  God will make our rest fruitful.  God will make our efforts fruitful.

It will happen if each person realizes that the production is not about him or her.  It is not about the director or the cast or the set.  It is about Jesus.  If we remember that fact, then we cannot go wrong.

Let us rest in the Lord.  Let us not fret about money.  Let us put all our efforts into the reaching of people with the story of Christ – the greatest story of all.  It is the most important story to tell.  Read from Proverbs chapter twenty-three:

Do not overwork to be rich;
Because of your own understanding, cease! 
Will you set your eyes on that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings;
They fly away like an eagle toward heaven. (Verses 4-5)

To Christ alone be the glory! 

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Seeing with a Generous Eye; Psalm 126, Proverbs 22

May the mumbling commence!

The world is a weary place.  Those of us who look forward to Zion, the City of God, sometimes feel like we are living a nightmare.  We dream of the coming and partially present reign of God.  In many ways, we feel like captives.  Sometimes it feels as if tears are our only sustenance.

But the joy that the Lord takes in us will be our source of gladness and joy.  The joy that the Lord takes in us will be the seed that takes root in our bed of tears that will bring forth fruit and the time of reaping.  Read Psalm one-hundred twenty-six:

When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion,
We were like those who dream. 
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
"The Lord has done great things for them." 
The Lord has done great things for us,
And we are glad. 

Bring back our captivity, O Lord,
As the streams in the South. 

Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy. 
He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him. 

Sometimes, hardship prepares us for harvest.  Unpleasantness will be transformed by the Lord into the fruit of the Spirit.  Let us not shrink back from calamity or captivity. 

God will be among us.  The Lord will do great things for us.  Even our enemies will see that God does great things for us.  Neither our enemies nor you and I will be able to deny the plain truth of that fact.

Joy will spring up in the midst of sadness.  Tears will be transformed into laughter.  The moaning and groaning of petitions will be transformed into joyful singing.  We are glad.

Our tears have fed the earth and helped to bring forth the fruit of the earth.  The seed will bear fruit.  And we will return rejoicing with sheaves.

Dispel our nightmares.  Transform them into dreams of beauty and plenty, of gladness and joy.  This is our prayer in the midst of this weary world.

Give us the eyes and hearts to perceive this bounty, and let us share it with the poorest and most vulnerable.  Read from Proverbs chapter twenty-two:

He who has a generous eye will be blessed,
For he gives of his bread to the poor. (Verse 9)

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out