Hard Lesson Are The Best Kind

“Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.” (Ps 143:10-11 AV)

 

This request is not for the faint of heart.  Yet, it is absolutely necessary.  This request is a transparent one.  It is the prayer of the saint who knows he struggles with God’s will, particularly with righteousness.  Like Paul, he desires to do right, but a strong part of him fights against it.  He is honest in that he is willing to admit to the LORD he fails to meet the standard of righteousness that pleases God.  He also admits he does not have it within himself to meet that standard and that only with God’s overriding hand can he hope to live in the righteousness of God.  Further, he admits the state of his soul.  Because of his struggle, his soul is in a state of trouble.  This trouble isn’t how we would use the word today.  We would use the word to mean in jeopardy and assume this to be a prayer for salvation.  But it is not.  It is a prayer of a soul that is disquieted because he doesn’t do as God wishes nearly as much as the right part of him desires.  As we meditate upon these verses, let us consider the disquietness of the soul.  Let us consider the fact that when we make choices we know are wrong, we cannot have peace of soul.  After all, isn’t that what we desperately want?

Children are a great source of education.  We grow up and often forget what it was like to be a child.  In fact, most of it is forgotten.  However, some traits die hard and are not automatically overcome as we mature.  We have had a one-and-a-half-year-old in our home for the past few weeks.  She can be a handful.  But she is no more so than any other one-and-a-half-year-old.  Watching her is an education in basic human behavior.  Her processes leave her miserable.  She has not learned there are better ways to be made happy and comfortable.  Like all small children, she manipulates others to please her when there is no need to.  She has not learned the finer points of politeness and appropriateness.  This results in conditions, not to her liking.  The demand to be pleased and content actually causes her much consternation.  This misery is totally unnecessary.  When she is the center of her universe, which she usually is, then she is seldom content.  There is one demand after another.  In her defense, this is normal for a child so young.  She simply doesn’t know any better.  The thing is, we are not all that different.  We still make the mistake of thinking if we fulfill our desires, then we will be content.  Even if we seek to fulfill our desires apart from God’s means of fulfillment, we still erroneously think we will be happier.  Once the itch is relieved, then we must be better, right?

The psalmist makes the correct association here.  The association with an unsettled soul and one’s choices cannot be overlooked.  Now, an unsettled soul is not always the result of wrong choices.  There is a lack of faith which can also send the soul into a place of unrest.  But in our passage, the writer knows he is not content because he has chosen to ignore God’s will and do his own thing.  That is why he asks the LORD to teach him.  He wants to learn to do God’s will so that he can please God and have contentment in his soul.  He wants to learn the discipline of will so that he can be at peace with God and himself.  He does not want the unrest that comes with failure.  He does not want the unsettled heart that vacillates between self and God.  He wants a unified heart that always seeks God’s perfect will so that he might be the child of God which the Father deserves and that his soul will be at rest.

Intimate Knowledge

“O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.” (Ps 139:1-3 AV)

 

This can be a disturbing thought, but it is intended to be more of a comforting one.  God sees everything and knows everything.  The word ‘acquainted’ means more than a passing knowledge or a factual knowledge.  This is illustrated by the words ‘searched’ and ‘understandest’.  The author knows there are no mysteries with God.  The suggestion is God’s knowledge is commensurate with His interest.  He is intimately knowledgeable regarding everything in our lives because He loves us intimately.  Yes, we should be concerned with God’s knowledge of our sin.  This is a common observation when reading these verses.  But the context suggests this knowledge above is one founded in grace and not judgment.  The psalmist's sentiment is one of comfort.  His faith is founded in a God who is both intimately knowledgable of him and directly involved in every aspect of his pilgrim journey.  What astounds me is despite His knowledge of me, He still desires my love and devotion.  Despite all that He knows, His Son died for me and now the Spirit draws me ever closer to the Father.

Have you ever had someone give you unsolicited advice from the perspective of love and not criticism?  Although the advice may have stung a bit, it was the intent behind it that mattered.  Even if the advice was not correct, you couldn’t help but see the heart behind those words.  I remember such a time.  At the time, my children were rather small.  They were around five years to seven years old.  My pastor and his wife did not have any children and they were told they probably would not be able to.  One Saturday morning we were meeting in his office.  I cannot remember what it was we were meeting for, but the conversation turned to child-rearing.  He made some remarks as to the areas he felt I was failing when it came to parenting my sons.  He couldn’t have been more wrong.  Having been raised by awesome parents who successfully raised eleven children, I knew a thing or two about raising kids.  Especially boys.  I come from a family of eight of them.  The observation he thought he was making may have applied if what he saw was common.  But his advice was based on very limited exposure to my filial guidance.  He thought I was acquiescing to my son's demands way too easily and that my boys were running my life than me, theirs.  If you asked my sons if their father was a pushover, they would roll their eyes or laugh.  Was I offended?  Not at all.  I saw the love in his eyes.  I heard it in his voice.  Although he was as wrong as could be, I recognized it was his concern that mattered the most.

We don’t have to worry God’s concern is misguided or ill-informed.  What He knows is one hundred percent correct. When the Lord speaks, He shares no error.  When the LORD makes an observation, His full heart is involved.  God, who can do all things, does not need to adjust His gaze from one saint to another.  He knows and notices all things and people intimately and at the same time.  He knows everything I do, think, and feel.  He knows all that can be known.  Even those things we will never know.  He knows our future just as well as our past.  He knows what can or will happen.  Even what might happen if any given set of circumstances were to come upon me.  He knows my limits.  He knows how to lead me into Christlikeness.  He knows how fickle I can be.  He knows I may think one thing one day, and the next my priorities might change.  He knows my strength and my weaknesses.  He knows my true heart’s desire.  He knows everything both actual and hypothetical concerning me.  There is nothing He cannot know.  This truth is very comforting.  This truth is the comfort of the present and the security of the future.  A God that knows me better than I could ever know myself and He does so because He desires to is too wonderful a thought!

Still In Control

“For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.” (Ps 135:5-6 AV)

 

It is very easy to forget that despite what we see or sense, God is in control of everything.  We Buffalo suffers a deep freeze and several dozen perish, it is hard to see that God is in control.  When nations are at war with one another, it is hard to see a God who governs all things.  When tragedy occurs, God’s sovereign control is doubted.  When the power fails, when the children are sick; when the car breaks down; or the hot water heater springs a leak; we may question if God is really in control.  When the enemies of the cross persecute God’s people, we may wonder if God knows what is going on and if He is acting on our behalf.  When life is not as we think it should be, our spirit wonders if God is actively working in our lives for our benefit and blessing.  When things do not go as we think they should, then God becomes less than He is.  But the Bible clearly states that God is in control all the time and no matter what happens, it is all in the perfect plan of God.

There are theological reasons why it would seem God may not control all things.  Some of these ideas have a perceived conflict.  The conflict is resolved when we consider the eternal nature of God.  Suffice it to say, bad things happen because God has given mankind the freedom of choice.  From Adam until today, mankind is the author of most of his problems.  There is also the matter of faith.  Faith requires testing.  Faith cannot remain dormant.  It must be tested to mature.  The nature of faith requires we endure hardships so that God may prove Himself greater than we previously believed.  Let’s face it, though.  Sometimes those theological explanations may not alleviate our feelings.  We may still feel anxious.  We may still feel agitated or frustrated.  Our once strong faith may seem as though it has weakened.  This is what happened with Job.  He had it all together.  He had it all figured out.  He feared God and eschewed evil.  He was consistent in his walk with God and interceded with God for his kids and wife.  He was faithful to everything God asked of him.  And God blessed him as a result.  But when those blessings were removed, he began to question God’s judgment.  He wondered if it would have been better had he never been born.  As strong as Job was, he still doubted.  It would be experiences of life that solidified Job’s faith in the sovereignty of God.

The same is true for every saint.  We may doubt from time to time.  But time and experience will bear out the truth of God’s sovereignty.  This does not come immediately.  No matter how well educated we are in the truths of God’s word, life gets difficult and doubts will come.  It is not the word of God alone, but the word of God and the hand of God that builds our faith.  Especially in the never-ending sovereignty of almighty God.  God has not changed.  He has a plan.  He has objectives of which we are a very small part.  There is a conclusion to all this.  We may not understand, at least for the moment, but God knows what He is doing and has not lost control of creation.  He is not a deist.  God is a sovereign God who remains engaged and active.  He intercedes and works every second of every hour of every day in the things of this world.  If we give Him the benefit of the doubt, we just may see some of what He is doing.

Blessings For Obedience

“Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.” (Ps 125:4-5 AV)

 

This is pretty straightforward.  God will bless those that live in obedience and those who do not, will be left to themselves.  The end of the latter is an association with those who consistently live in sin with all the consequences that go with it.  This prayer of David reflects back on Israel’s history and assumes the same pattern will continue.  There will be those who will seek to live in accordance with the word of God and those who will not.  These verses are also prophetical in the sense that a few generations after David penned these words, Israel was carried away by Assyria and Babylon.  The application is very clear.  God loves to bless those who trust Him and live according to His word.  He delights to bless those who bless Him.  His grace showers upon those who know what the LORD desires and tries to meet those desires.  This does not mean God only blesses the perfect.  If that were so, He wouldn’t bless anyone.  God is good to those who are upright in their hearts.  This means when a saint does fail, his heart drives him to deep repentance.  He feels guilt and shame over his failure and pleads with the Holy Spirit to help him overcome his sin.  God will not overburden an errant yet repentant child beyond what he can endure.  His holiness demands correction, but if the saint is upright in his heart, then the saint can expect God’s grace to show its way.

There is a distinction here.  Some strive to live and walk with God.  Others do not.  This prayer is a prayer for separation.  The king desires a distinction and separation according to devotion to God.  Those who live their lives in somberness and focus are encouraged to assemble.  David desires God’s blessings on those who desire God so they will be motivated to an even deeper commitment to God.  He also knows there will be a natural separation.  It will not be forced.  No one is going to remove anyone.  It is just that like-minded people seem to coagulate according to their values and goals.  Those who have a pure heart will find others with a pure heart.  Those who live in iniquity will fellowship with others that live in iniquity.  This is how our nature works.

What we want to consider is the request of the psalmist.  He desires God’s blessings on those who work on their relationship with God.  It is not wrong to ask the LORD to bless our efforts.  The goodness of the LORD leads to repentance.  Good things motivate us to do good works.  If the LORD never recognized that which we did right by blessings or statements, we would lose a great motivator to do more.  This principle is evident with children.  Recognizing good behavior is just as, if not more, important than correcting bad behavior.  Rewarding good deeds produce more good deeds.  Recognizing a good effort increases the effort.  This is what David is seeking.  He is not seeking good things because they have earned them.  He is asking to be recognized for that which he had done right that he might desire to do more right.  Nehemiah asked the same towards the end of his building project.  Four times he asked the LORD to remember him for good.  David’s request is not a man-centered one.  It is a God-centered one.  God, bless those who seek to do right and have a pure heart, even if we fail Thee from time to time.

 

God Is Near

“Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.” (Ps 119:151 AV)

 

I, for one, am so grateful for the presence of the LORD, even when I may not be able to fully sense it.  We are busy.  We are occupied with relationships of this world.  We are preoccupied with so many distractions it is hard to keep God at the forefront of one’s minds and hearts.  Yet, God is always near.  We often are comforted by this thought when the issues of life become overwhelming.  We are driven to the presence of God when we are faced with trials too difficult to handle.  But the writer contextualizes the presence of the LORD with commandments. It is the security which His commandments bring that testify of the nearness of God.  David expresses his gratitude for the statutes of God because, without them, he would sense the nearness of God all that less.  The commandments of God are an expression of His character.  They are an extension of His person.  When the writer obeys the commandments, he is personally obeying God.  The commandments of God are as much a part of God as truth.  They are not separate entities apart from God.  They are God.  Therefore, when the writer sees the truth of God’s commandments, he sees God.

My father was a stern man.  Not necessarily in an oppressive way.  There were no grey areas with my father.  You knew exactly where he stood on any given issue or decision.  He laid a solid foundation of principles and rules that governed our lives whether he was personally with us or not.  If we were with our friends, there was no confusion over what my father would expect.  If we were in the woods on a camping trip, it was the survival skills that he taught us that kept us from any serious problems.  Out of eight boys, I think only two of us ever got poison ivy.  Amazing.  We learned how to fall trees and start campfires with little help from artificial fire starters.  We learned first aid in case there was a serious injury.  There were wild plants from which we could snack.  There were boundaries in place to keep us safe.  If there were ever a time we got lost, we all knew how to use a compass and were aware of the general outlay of where we were so that in case we lost our way, we could find our way back.  All these skills we learned from our father.  When we were apart from our father, it was his rules and principles that guided us.  As we get older, and those same rules and principles manifest themselves as we raise our own children, we often hear our spouses remark our behavior is a shadow of our father.  When we are alone and working through something, we apply a principle or rule that Dad had and we cannot help but think that in that principle or rule, our fathers are with us.

When we live according to the commandments of God, He is not a memory of something from the past.  He is there in person.  Even though the commandments are an extension of the character of God, they are a personal expression of His love for creation.  Our earthly fathers were temporal.  They could only be in one place at a time.  Our heavenly Father is omnipresent.  So, unlike our earthly father’s shadow of a voice in the conscience, our heavenly Father is with us no matter where we go.  And, one of the ways we sense Him is in the observation of His law.  Next time we struggle with the presence of God, remember He is always near.  His commandments are one of the ways in which we sense Him.  Like an instructor looking over our shoulder to correct and guide us, our Father is right behind us to prompt us into righteousness and blessing. 

 

Best Sleep Remedy

“I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law. This I had, because I kept thy precepts.” (Ps 119:55-56 AV)

 

That which occupies the mind in the quietness of the evening is often that which is of greatest concern, or of the highest interest.  Our psalmist’s thoughts are occupied with God Himself.  His mind can be because he has sought to live his life in accordance with the word of God.  He could pray in the evening because he strove to live in obedience to the law during the day.  I am sure he did not live in perfect obedience.  I am sure, throughout the day, our writer struggled with sin.  I am sure he did not write the above claiming absolute perfection.  Like everyone else, our writer battled with the flesh and the world.  He spent his days vacillating between success and failure.  However, he was able to claim, because he sought to keep short accounts with  God.  When the writer failed, he was quick to repent and seek forgiveness.  We know this because of his claim above.  He remembered the name of God in the quietness of the night because he had a clear conscience towards all that he had done, or failed to do.  How we fall off to sleep is a good indicator of how we lived our lives that day.

One of the pieces of advice which wedding officiants tend to give to a young couple preparing for marriage is to never go to bed angry.  Remember the videographer interviewing you during that couple’s reception?  They would often solicit advice from married couples and what they have learned over the years.  Again, one of the most common pieces of advice is to never go to bed angry.  This has a biblical origin.  The Bible tells us not to let our sun go down upon our wrath.  It is not good for two people who dwell together in love and commitment, to lie down together when there are issues between them.  Over the years, my wife and I have had our moments.  However, no matter how difficult they were, we always resolved them before we fell off to sleep.  I have to admit it.  There were a few times when one of us would head toward the couch with a pillow and blanket.  However, it was the persistence of one of us that drove us to reconciliation.  By the grace of God, we have never slept apart because of differences.  There is a reason for this.  It is not good nor healthy to allow the last emotion one feels to be anger or bitterness before slumber arrives.  How we fall asleep together reveals much about our relationship at that moment.

The same is true of God.  How we fall to sleep will tell us much about our walk with Him.  Is He in all our thoughts?  Is He the center of our being?  Do we love Him with all our hearts?  Did we strive to live in obedience to the word of God that day?  Or, are we falling off to sleep with nary a word towards our heavenly Father because we failed to live by His word?  The writer is able to have sweet sleep because he fought through the day with obedience and faith in his heart.  He was able to fall asleep, while at the same time, in prayer because he didn’t walk with God any differently at the end of the day than he did all the day through.  He was able to pray himself to sleep because the word of God was his guiding light all through his waking hours.  If we are not falling asleep with God on our hearts, then, generally speaking, there is something between God and us.  There is some failure that we haven’t confessed nor forsaken.  Keeping short accounts with God goes a long way in our sleep.

Choose Rest

“Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.” (Ps 116:7 AV)

 

Psalm 116 is a psalm of someone who was brought back from a very threatening physical threat.  It may have been a battle wound.  It may have been an illness.  The writer of this psalm, and psalm 118, share the same sentiments.  They are eternally grateful God brought them back from the brink of death and are given an extended life.  Especially expressed is the blessing of continued service towards the LORD.  In this verse, the writer tells himself to return to a place of rest.  All the anxiety over the life-threatening situation has been relieved.  God has met the need.  He has removed the enemy.  Yet, the soul is still in a state of unrest.  There is a point to be made, here.  Rest is a choice.  We can continue in fear and anxiety long after God answers our prayers.  Or, we can choose to trust that God did it all and there is nothing to fear.  We can either continue to relive the emotions of the past, or we can choose to live in rest.  Rest is a choice.

This morning is Christmas.  Let me tell you about my Christmas gift.  It came a few months early.  We; my wife and I; have had an interesting and stressful 2022.  Lisa was diagnosed with stage IV grade 1 NET.  It is a rare form of cancer caused by an imbalance of certain hormones.  No one wants to hear the ‘C’ word.  We all dread it.  We cannot say we were not warned.  Four years ago, due to intestinal issues, she had an MRI which showed some of this growth.  When the diagnosis came, Lisa went under the knife.  They did radical and extensive surgery to remove all the tumors which lit up on an earlier PET scan.  When the surgeon gave her postoperative report, she expressed success.  The only minor concern was that Lisa lost about twenty percent of her liver.  Recovery was something else altogether.  There were postoperative follow-up appointments with her surgeon and oncologist.  There were two more scans.  Each visit brought hypotheticals.  Much in our own minds that had no place in reality.  The thing is, we will go through what every couple goes through when facing this monster.  There are always outlying fears that God can easily match.  The reports came back well, if not perfect.  Her treatments, although a bit difficult at times, are highly successful.  Lisa had the reassurance that there would not have to be any more surgeries as extensive as she just went through.  God has been so good!  My Christmas present is sitting beside me.  She, in her recliner, and me in mine.  This is the best Christmas ever!

But there is that issue of a soul at rest.  We can make one of two choices.  We can either live in the hypotheticals of the future which will most likely never come to pass.  Or, we can live in the victories of today.  The heart must be disciplined.  It must be told to be quiet.  There is rest to be had.  Like closing our eyes for sleep and choosing to sleep rather than allow our minds to race all night long, we can choose to live in rest and contentment, or we can choose to live in anxiety and fear.  I choose rest!  Rest is a choice.  You can either choose to live there or not.  This state of mind and heart is not something God can do for us.  It is something we must do for ourselves.  Choose rest.  Choose faith.  Choose trust.  Choose rest.

Is Non-stop Praise Possible

“Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’S name is to be praised.” (Ps 113:1-3 AV)

 

Amen and Amen!  Non-stop praise, how wonderful that would be.  One considers how differently our lives would be if we could do this.  I wonder how better our lives would be if we could learn this.  Can you imagine if we praised God for every event of life?  If we could see our trials from God’s perspective, I wonder how we would endure.  If we could see the reasons for our trials and get to the end much quicker, one wonders how much praise would be involved.  If we did this enough, perhaps we would praise the LORD no matter the circumstances because experience has taught us God is always good.  We would know that all things work together for good and wouldn’t need the answer before the end of the trial.  We would take God at His character and assume that whatever He has planned, no matter the severity, will ultimately work for our benefit.  Getting to the place of non-stop praise takes faith and patience.  To praise the LORD non-stop requires we trust and love Him despite our troubles.  Getting to non-stop praise should be the goal of every believer.

Have you ever met an eternal optimist?  It wouldn’t matter what his or her life is like, they always see a positive side to it all.  It wouldn’t matter what they were facing, they could see God’s goodness in it all.  No matter the challenge that lies ahead, they can see God’s hand in it and they refuse to ‘curse God and die’.  Job was not one of these persons.  Although he has cause to complain, Job could have responded a bit differently.  This was the reason for the trouble.  He had taken for granted that if he feared God and eschewed evil, God would protect him from adverse conditions.  The fault with that reasoning is that we may learn obedience and submission that way, but without trials, we would never learn faith.  This was the valuable lesson Job learned.  God did not allow the Devil to curse Job without a greater purpose in mind.  The LORD is not a tyrant who desires to make our lives unnecessarily challenging if not downright miserable.  He is a benevolent God.  He is a kind God.  He loves us with everlasting love.  He is a God with purpose.  He paints with broad strokes.  His ways are not our ways.  His goals are often different and better than our own.  An eternal optimist will see life as God sees it.  He or she will not define life according to what we see, but rather, to what he or she does not see.  An eternal optimist refuses to buckle to the enemy and gives God the benefit of the doubt.  An eternal optimist does not limit himself to his own existence.  Rather, he sees life from a greater perspective.

To praise the LORD 24/7 no matter what is a sign we have reached spiritual maturity.  To have the ability to praise the LORD from one point in our lives to the end of it has brought us to the place where we truly love God no matter what.  If we cannot find cause for praise, we simply do not know Him as we should.  If we complain and murmur, or wilt under the pressure of life, this means we have some growing to do.  If we buckle to the enemy or the flesh, we have not learned as yet to trust God in all things.  This is the whole point of the psalm.  The command to praise the LORD in all things is not a light one.  The writer does not encourage us to praise God non-stop in all things without knowing it takes some doing to get there.  He knows many trials produce that praise.  It doesn’t come immediately.  It comes over time.  The point is to desire this as our reality of life and no matter how difficult life might get, the move in the direction of non-stop praise.

God Is So Good

“Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can shew forth all his praise?” (Ps 106:1-2 AV)

 

Waking up to a heated house this morning made me treasure these verses even more so than before.  One of my phobias is unplanned disasters in the home.  A burst pipe, a broken furnace, a burst hot water heater, a leaking roof.  All these and more go through my head as possibilities of life that I dread.  I know, my faith is weak.  At least in this area.  But I will openly admit that building emergencies scare me a bit.  I don’t know if it is because of some events of the past.  I don’t know if it is merely the unplanned and uncontrollable that scares me, or not knowing exactly what to do.  But house emergencies are not my thing.  So, when the weather forecasted a bomb cyclone, I knew I was in for some sleepless nights.  I went to bed last night praying to God that He might keep our heat on.  No power outages and keep our heat on.  I also prayed for our state that God would be good and keep us safe.  My mind went especially to the disabled and elderly.  If they lost power or heat, it would be far worse than us.  God was good and this morning we woke up to a warm house.

I know, some of you may think me silly.  I know, we had an escape plan.  We looked around for an extended care hotel that allows pets.  We have that number on speed dial.  But the fact I woke up in a warm house and everyone was healthy and safe was to me the greatest miracle short of the parting of the Red Sea.  That God was able to keep our furnace running while the wind chills approached a minus fifty was something that, to me, meant God was more powerful than my mind could comprehend.  Then my meditation went to how unworthy I am to receive any of God’s graces.  I began to think of all that I have failed to do for Christ or all that I have failed to be for God.  The list got so long, I couldn’t think anymore.  Again, I awoke to a warm house that I didn’t deserve.

When we stop and think of all that God has done and will do despite our condition before Him, it becomes a humbling experience.  It is meant to be.  Paul rightly tells us that the goodness of God leads us to repentance.  When God is truly good to us, we should feel utterly rotten.  We don’t deserve any of His graces.  When He keeps the heat on or cures what ails us, we should be moved to consider what it is we could do for Him.  The passage above reveals one thing we can do immediately and without delay.  We can praise Him for His wonderful grace and miracles sent our way!  What a truly loving and gracious God we have.

A Challenge To Gladness

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.” (Ps 100:1-2 AV)

As I was reading this psalm, I had the initial thought this is how we should always approach God.  No matter life’s circumstances, or so I thought, we should always come into the presence with singing.  Then, I reflected on the entire book of psalms. There are definitely psalms of distress.  Not every set of circumstances can be turned into an opportunity for gladness.  At least not at once.  That being said, one wonders how much of a goal the above command should be.  When I read this psalm, which is one of my favorites, I saw the above command as a challenge more than a direct imperative.  I saw it as an encouragement to strive towards gladness and praise no matter the situation.  When dark days are upon the soul, if we strive towards gladness and praise, even if we don’t fully arrive, it would be better had we not striven at all.

To further this thought, the Hebrew word for gladness means mirth, joy, or gaiety.  Again, this should be a goal every day no matter our circumstances.  It is an admirable goal.  One that should be our reality.  Thinking of this, even more, I cannot help but think of our older saints.  They seem to get it more than most.  One of the most enjoyable ministries I had was a monthly luncheon with our widows and widowers.  It eventually turned into all our seasoned saints.  We had a good group.  We would meet at the Ponderosa for lunch and then spend an hour or so talking about the good old days.  There were so many stories.  So many hilarious anecdotes of hardships or difficult times.  At their age, they would have every reason to complain about every ache and pain.  Two of our widows were recently widowed.  They would have every reason to shed tears.  However, our luncheons did not go that way.  Smiles and chuckles, often erupting into full-blown laughter, were the norm.  I think they had lived most of their lives and the few short years they had left were in anticipation of what awaited them in glory.

When we are down, this verse just might help.  It won’t take away our circumstances.  Life may not change.  We may still have to endure until the morning.  But when the morning comes, there are new mercies every day.  When our seasoned saints get out of bed, there is a whole routine that follows.  There are ointments to apply.  There are tons of pills to take.  Getting ready for the morning takes almost the whole morning.  Just about the time the morning routine is done, it is time to start the evening routine.  Yet, there is much to be thankful for.  Serving the LORD with gladness may not take the pain away, but it might just make the pain a little more tolerable.

Forget Not All His Benefits

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:” (Ps 103:1,2 AV)

 

What a reminder!  Especially when things are not going so well.  The remainder of this psalm is just as incredible as the first two verses.  The very next verse speaks of forgiveness.  David takes it from there and lists things God has done for him from a spiritual and eternal perspective more so than a temporal one.  I couldn’t help but be encouraged this morning.  When our lives are difficult and we know things will not be as they once were, it is important to remember just how blessed we are.  It is easy to forget.  We are temporal beings.  Our perspective is often influenced by that which will pass.  Our lives are occupied with that which affects us physically and emotionally more so than spiritually.  This is our infirmity.  It ought not to be so.  Our spiritual lives should be the major influence in our lives.  Hands down.  No comparison.  However, it often is not.  Our spiritual life is often the least of our concerns.  Or, at the very least, not our primary reference point.  The soul has benefits.  The body will eventually fail.  The soul will never fail.  It is with this in mind we glorify the LORD for all that He has down for our souls.

Of note is the encouragement not to forget.  The benefits are what they are.  They exist or existed regardless of our memory.  What David edifies his audience to do is to bring to mind, and keep in mind, all the blessings that God is to the soul.  Not the house over our heads.  Not the best friend He granted for a spouse.  Not the wonderful children or grandchildren that He has bestowed.  Not our relatively healthy life, the resources we have in the bank, or our full pantries.  No.  David is asking us not to forget the benefits God has given to the soul.  This is different.  The benefits to the soul are things like faith, charity, and contentment.  Joy is a benefit to the soul.  Confidence is the foundation of a strong soul.  Security in Christ is perhaps one of the greatest benefits to the soul.  That we are called the sons of God is a blessing to the soul too wonderful for words.  What of the word of God?  We could not walk in faith without it.  What of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?  That God dwells with us and in us is a benefit to the soul.  The list can go on and on.

The thing is, when hardships come, we often continue to look at the temporal as our source of strength.  If the doctor has a cure or an unexpected windfall pays the bills, then we are encouraged.  These things are temporary and eventually, those trials will be replaced by new ones.  What does not change are the benefits to the soul.  These benefits are independent of the temporal world.  God can bestow them no matter our circumstances.  These benefits are not dependent on the temporal.  Therefore, these benefits transcend our situation.  All I can say is if it wasn’t for God’s benefits to my soul, dealing with my wife’s illness would not have gone well.  His grace abounds!  Greater than we could ever imagine!

Better To Ask Permission than Ask For Forgiveness

“It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry.” (Pr 20:25 AV)

 

Commentators are of little help here.  They tend to favour a corrupted rendition of this passage.  Their idea is to rashly make a vow.  In doing so they ignore a Hebrew definition that agrees with the English word.  The word ‘…devoureth…’ does mean to utter words.  But it can also mean to swallow down.  In preferring the corrupt text, the meaning is entirely lost.  Solomon is advising his children to be well-informed before making a choice.   Ignorance is not an excuse.  Especially willful ignorance.  When the choice involves things that are specifically intended for sacred use, this is infinitely more important.  The obvious application would be the shewbread or sacrifice that was intended for temple worship.  Imagine someone coming to the temple, because they hadn’t eaten, partook of that which was intended for worship because they saw it laying there unintended.  Then, after they ate that thing, decided it was ethically wrong to eat something which didn’t belong to him and asked for its providence.  Not good.  To eat a sacrifice not intended for you was a snare to the soul.  Yet, we sometimes do this.  We avail ourselves of something out of necessity or desperation, then ask later if it was ok.  This is the concern here.

The classic example of what we are all guilty of is the proverbial cookies or desserts that are cooling and we think they are there for the consuming.  We are in the Christmas Cookie season!  My mother has a recipe that is out of this world.  And I’m not just saying this because she is my mother.  Her recipe is something that causes backflips!  We have had professional bakers beg us for this recipe.  My mother had a double-chest freezer.  She had a commercial-size freezer in the basement.  At Christmas time, my mother would gather all of us kids on a Saturday and we would bake and frost cookies all day long.  Her goal was to fill that commercial-size freezer.  The thing is, once the freezer was full, she would not let us touch them until two weeks before Christmas.  One can imagine how quickly eleven children can go through Christmas cookies.  Especially this world-renown recipe of hers.  There was only one caveat.  If, while we were frosting cookies, one would brake, we could eat it.  We are talking about children here, right?  Children who are addicted to Christmas cookies!  Because they were frozen, Mother would take a box out of the freezer ahead of time.  However, they sat in the open.  What do you think would happen?  Hungry little sugar addicts would take a cookie and then blame ignorance for the infraction.  We didn’t know Mom had them sitting out to thaw.  We didn’t know she had plans for this batch.  It wasn’t our fault!

One commentator mentioned things we know belong to God.  Things like our time for worship or our tithe to God’s house.  We can irresponsibly use these and then claim ignorance.  That is a no-no.  We can also spend opportunities that affect our testimony and then claim ignorance.  We just spoke of this Sunday morning.  We make choices and do not stop to realize how these choices affect the spiritual welfare of another.  In First Corinthians chapter eight, Paul specifically warns the Corinthians their choices could result in the spiritual salvation of those who are watching.  We cannot plead ignorance.  Solomon is training his children, but one will eventually assume his throne.  For this future king, it is especially important to know every consideration before choosing because the consequences of that choice have far-reaching implications.  More so than others who are not king.  Ignorance is no excuse.  To use it deliberately is an even greater wrong.  We cannot apologize for something which could have been known.  It doesn’t work that way.  God expects us to know everything we can know regarding the choices that are before us.  No excuses.  No ‘convenient ignorance’.  No turning the other way while doing something that could be wrong.  Eventually, this behavior will catch up with us and all those times we got away with it will come crashing down around one irreversible and highly consequential decision.  Ask questions.  Get permission.  May sure it is ok.  One of these times it will not be and it might cost us dearly.

Open My Eyes That I Might See

“For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.” (Ps 92:4-5 AV)

 

It is interesting.  Our learned writers do not know what specific work of which the psalmist references.  They raise several possibilities from creation itself to some or all specific works God shows toward the psalmist.  The ambiguity seems to fuel too much speculation and not enough application.  Let us simply assume the work of God is all the work of God.  Whether it be His creation work or specific works or providence towards the writer.  In other words, the psalmist is made glad because God interacts with His creation and does a work.  Doing a work implies purpose.  Doing a work implies goals.  Doing a work implies forethought and concern.  The fact God is involved both in a general way and a specific way is what gladdens the heart of our minstrel.  Note the psalmist uses the singular and the plural to describe what God does.  The singular use of the word is the general work of God.  That which He does for all.  The plural use of the word indicates specific acts of God towards the writer and others with whom he is aware.  In other words, the psalmist is made glad and triumphs in the knowledge of an active God who involves Himself in the affairs of mankind.  A deist, God is not.

Having spent many years in the woods, I can tell you much goes unnoticed by the average explorer.  Our church has a picnic every year.  On the anniversary of our founding, we gather at a county park and enjoy the day.  This park is on the shore of Lake Michigan and also abuts some wooded areas.  As people do, when they get bored of company, they take a walk into the ‘wilderness’.  Kids, especially, can be found running through the woods having a time.  However, most of the evidence of life outside of a manicured lawn is missed.  Evidence of insect life, plant life, and animal life is completely hidden from the untrained eye.  One might look at a squiggly line of smoothed bark on a tree and simply see a squiggly line.  Others see the evidence of an insect that fed on that bark.  Some might notice a clump of leaves on the ground.  Others might notice it was once a ground-nesting bird’s nest.  Still, others may see a walnut shell broken in two.  Others see evidence of a squirrel.  Then there are the malformations on the side of a tree.  A common sight no matter where you see it.  A simple gouge.  Those of us in the ‘know’ understand a deer rubbed his antlers on that tree so often, he rubbed right through the bark.  There is evidence of a world we barely know because we are in too much of a hurry or we are more interested in entertainment to notice a world we barely interact with.

The same is true with the saints.  We can miss all that God is doing and suffer undo anxiety because of it.  We run here and there.  We get so focused on ourselves that we cannot stop and see what God is doing.  We cannot notice how the LORD works all things perfectly, in His timing, and for His purposes.  We are too temporally minded to understand God is at work all the time and those things that happen are not merely natural things that occur because of cosmic laws set up an eternity ago.  We cannot see God because we are not looking for Him.  We cannot see His work or His works because our eyes are blinded to them.  The result is an absence of gladness and insufficient triumph.  We live in misery and defeat because we do not have eyes that look for and find God.  He is not in all our thoughts.  Our writer chooses to live in gladness and victory.  That is where he wants to dwell.  One of the keys to doing that is looking for and finding the works of God.  We open our eyes to what God is doing.  We ask Him to show us His work.  Looking for it long enough and often enough, we will see His hand regularly.  It won’t be luck or chance.  Whatever happens, will be a God Thing!

Known Number Knows

“The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away…So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Ps 90:10, 12 AV)

 

The more I read these verses and the older I get, the more real they become.  Our lives are a predetermined length.  In the mind of God, He knows exactly how long we will live.  The psalmist puts the length of natural life at seventy years.  If God is good and adds strength to our years, we might make it to eighty.  We know this is not a hard and fast rule.  Some are cut down in the prime of their lives.  Others, like my father and his father, live into their eighties.  However, the natural length of life generally seems to be seventy or eighty years.  The writer is concerned the truth of limited life not be lost on him.  He desires to remember he will not live forever.  At least in this earthly tabernacle.  He desires to learn that life is temporary and to the opportunity to live in submissive faith is limited.  The broader context is living in obedience and God’s displeasure when we do not.  In other words, our writer is fully aware of his failures and the displeasure of God because of it and desires to completely understand how limited his time is so that he might learn to walk in obedience before God.  Eternity will fix all that.  But it is something else to learn on this side of glory.

Because of recent events, I have been reminded how brief life can be.  Or, at the very least, that life that remains is not forever.  I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful that is.  It changes your perspective.  It doesn’t add fear, it relieves it.  Knowing one is on the downward slope and picking up speed sure forces one to re-evaluate priorities and make every day count.  This has added joy on top of joy.  The world may be sinking, but the saint is rising!  I will turn fifty-nine this coming year.  One year away from old age.  At least I think that is how it works.  If the math is correct as it appears in our passage, I may have only ten years left.  That is not a lot of time.  I have only ten Christmas’ to celebrate.  I have only ten birthdays to remember.  There are only ten more Thanksgivings to observe.  In ten years, I may be a great-grandfather.  Well, hopefully not.  But close.  Only ten more anniversaries to celebrate.  At least on this side glory.  I plan on celebrating that day for all of eternity with my love and friend, Lisa.  I cannot tell you how the brevity of life has made me more patient, and not less.   Certain things have become more urgent.  I want to do more soul-winning and discipleship, not less.  I want to put my church in a good position to grow again.  I have aspirations of helping more young men into the ministry.  There are books to read.  There are more sermons to write.  There are additional revivals, services, and special occasions to plan.  There is a lot to do.

However, the concern of our writer is to walk in obedience and faith toward the God who saved him.  He wants to learn Christlikeness before he graduates to glory and it becomes an instantaneous operation of the Holy Spirit of God.  He wants to know what it is like to gain victory over sin because he has learned to rely upon the ministry of the Holy Spirit and not because of the instantaneous transformation which will eventually occur.  The opportunity to live by faith exists here.  Not in eternity.  The opportunity to fully submit to the will of God while overcoming a part of us that refuses to do so exists now.  Not in glory.  This chance to learn Christlikeness through personal experience and circumstances of life is the blessing of our human existence.  As frustrating as it can be and as depressing failure can be, there will be no opportunity to overcome the old man by faith and discipline.  This is the psalmist’s prayer.  He wants to learn that life is temporary and the opportunity to apply wisdom while fighting a battle over the old self is fleeting.  So, let us realize life is short.  Life has a limited amount of days, weeks, months, and years.  The opportunity to apply wisdom by a choice of faith rather than sight will not last forever.  And the riches of His grace can only be learned in this context.  Look at a calendar.  Know it has only twelve pages on it.  And, you or I may not flip through them all.

Dig The Well

“Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.” (Ps 84:5-6 AV)

 

This is the only mention in all of the holy scriptures of the valley of Baca.  Some suppose it was an actual valley through which the pilgrims traveled.  The absence of this place in any other passage leads a good number to suppose it to be an allegory much like the valley of the shadow of death found in Psalm twenty-three.  The name means weeping.  There are a few who suppose this speaks of mulberry trees grown in this obscure valley whose sap regularly drips from its extremities.  No matter who you read, most commentators make an association between the meaning of the name with the experience of the pilgrim.  Once a year, the entire nation would travel to the tabernacle or temple.  They would bring their offering of atonement.  As they traveled, they would be reminded of the failures and sins for which they would atone.  They might also be reminded of the petitions stored deep in their heart which they would leave with the priest to offer at the altar of incense.  The picture is a tremendous one.  Traveling through the valley of weeping, the pilgrim would dig a well.  The rain of his tears combined with the showers of blessing would turn an unpleasant situation into one of blessing.  The application here is obvious.

One of the longest times of my life was when I broke my arm.  I was only about ten, I think.  I broke it messing around on a banister.  I fell a flight of stairs and landed right on my wrist.  It snapped.  The doctor took an x-ray and he was pleased the wrist had not shifted at all.  He recommended a half cast but warned me if I did not baby it, he would have to rebreak it and set it in a full cast.  This is exactly what happened.  We returned to the doctors a few weeks later and it was not healing straight.  Out came the sledge and down on my wrist.  He set it and placed a full cast on the arm.  This lengthened the healing time.  It almost doubled the time before I could get the use of my arm back.  For a ten-year-old to be down one arm for about eight weeks at the start of summer is not good.  It was hard trying to find fun when my siblings had full use of their extremities.  When one has a limb in a cast, he has to make his own fun.  There is the fashionable and traditional signing of the cast.  This was very important to me.  In school, I was not a popular pupil.  I was one that everyone else wanted to pick on.  But when I had a cast and several sharpies, all of a sudden I had friends.  In fact, it was the cast that got me invited to the birthday party of one of the most popular kids in the class.  I came prepared with markers intending for a bad situation to turn into a better one.

Life will always have downturns.  Life will always have sorrows.  Life will never be perfect.  It will always come with loss.  But with these times, there are also blessings.  We simply have to know how to, and where to, look.  Not only that, but we have to be prepared to receive them when they come.  The terrain around us may be arid.  There may be little water available, but if we dig a well in expectation of the rain, in time, they will be full.  The pilgrim knows there are sunny days and there are rainy days.  There are up days and there are down days.  The pilgrim expects hardships along the way.  He or she knows that life consists of easy days and hard days.  It is what we do with that expectation that makes the journey easier.  Or, at the very least, able to be traversed.  The pilgrim who wants to get where God wants him to be will prepare himself to receive blessings even in the least expected places.  He will dig wells.  He will watch the clouds.  He will know in his heart of hearts that even though the way may be rocky, there are pleasures to be had.  This is the way of the pilgrim.  So, dig wells.  Dig them deep.  Dig them large.  And, place a bucket in the middle so that when the soul is parched, a cool and refreshing drink can be had from the river of life which is always there.  Dig, my brothers and sisters, dig.  Or the blessings of life will run right past.  Dig because your tears and the rains will fill them.

Share The Hope

“For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:” (Ps 78:5-7 AV)

 

I realize the underlined portion is a statement.  However, by starting this portion with the word ‘who’, we can pose it as a question.  Each successive generation loses a bit of godliness.  Current generations tend to be a bit less separated and holy than the last.  As one preacher used to say, “What parents do in moderation, their kids will do in access.”  We are losing our younger generation to the gods of entertainment and access.  They lack a God-consciousness.  Their lives are lived in the here and now and nothing seems to concern them.  I fear when they finally do mature to a place where they will need God, they will not be able to find Him.  They will not know what to look for.  They will not know how to communicate.  They will be unfamiliar with the voice of God and will not recognize the hand of God.  Why?  Because no one has taught them what the God of their fathers has done.  We haven’t heard of the churches that were started and the bars that were closed.  We haven’t heard of the miracles.  We haven’t heard of the great revivals.  We haven’t heard how God blesses when we put our faith in Him.  In short, we are losing our younger generation because God is not real to them.  And that lies squarely at the feet of the older generations.

When one thinks about it, if we do not rehearse the works and person of God to our children, we are robbing them of a life they could have had.  Note in particular the purpose for rehearsing these things is that they might hope in God.  This suggests if we do not rehearse them to our children, then their hope is lost.  Or, at the very least, their hope is in something that will eventually disappoint.  The more we speak of God’s faithfulness, the more apt our children will be to trust the same God of whom we brag.  Learning to swim can be traumatic.  Learning to trust the skill of a parent or instructor in the face of certain death is almost impossible.  However, my father insisted all his children learn to swim.  We started at the local high school.  Our instructors were red cross certified instructors.  There were steps we had to take.  We had to learn certain skills and were signed off as sufficient before we went on to the next level.  The ultimate goal was to jump into the water deeper than our height.  The deep end was the ultimate goal.  Our instructors led us each step of the way so we could dive in the deep end, tread water, and eventually swim the length of the pool and climb out of shallow water.  The thing is, when we went camping, my father would jump into the pond and have a ball.  He would swim around and show his children it could be done safely.  His confidence became our confidence. 

God is spirit.  He is not evidently set forth to us by the natural senses.  Romans chapter one rightly explains there is evidence of God’s work and presence as seen in His natural creation.   However, God cannot be touched, heard with the ear, or seen with the eyes.  His existence is proven evidentiary, not concretely.  Our young people need to be taught how to see.  They need to be taught how to hear.  They need to be taught how to sense.  These things do not come naturally.  It is by the diligent efforts of those who know the LORD do lead those who do not into His reality.  If they seldom hear of a real God, then they will not believe in one.  If they do not hear of a God who is active and benevolent, then they will not come to trust Him.  If they do not hear of God’s faithfulness, then they will not search Him out when they need Him the most.  It is at our feet.  It is on us.  We need to make God very real to those whom God has entrusted us with and be sure that when the time comes, they hope in God.