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A GOOD PSALM FOR THIS SEASON… Psalm 138

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Soon we’ll celebrate Thanksgiving Day.  As Christians we are grateful to the Lord.  Once a year we set aside a special day for giving thanks.  King David has given us a wonderful psalm that I would recommend you read this coming week.

David is grateful to the Lord with his ‘whole heart’.  Every fiber of his being,  woven with thanks to the Lord.  Nothing half-hearted, but truly grateful.  In particular, David  gives thanks for God’s steadfast love, His faithfulness, His name and His Word.

God’s steadfast love.  His love is steady, never wavering or with ulterior motives.  No ‘He loves me/He loves me not’ gaming with the Lord.  His love is dependable and solid.  No strings attached, no tit-for-tat with Him.

Then the psalm says that our God is faithful.  He’s not going to drop you for a younger, better-looking convert.  He’s faithful and reliable.  He keeps His promises.

There’s more.  He’s told us His name.  So what?  Big deal!  God Almighty has shared His personal name with His human creation, with those who want to follow Him.  Do we not appreciate what a privilege that truly is?  To know and call on the very name of God?  Thank Him for such a gift …of knowing our God, by name.

Then verse 2 says that in addition,  He’s also given us His very Word.  To hear directly from God through the Bible, is a gift too amazing to put into words.  Let’s do it anyway!  ‘Thank you, Lord, for giving us yourself, your name, your love and faithfulness…and your precious, Holy Word’.

All His giving has nothing to do with material possessions.  How rich you are, or how big your house may be.  You might not have two pennies to rub together, yet you can have ALL of the Lord.  You might have difficulties galore yet still have room to thank Him . Lots of room.   Verse 6 says ‘for though the Lord is high, He regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar’.

God is high in heaven.  Yet you can never be so low in life to be outside the reach of His care and love.  The proud, however?   He allows them sadly to go it alone.  Far, far away… as their own direction leads them.

So, we thank the Lord all this week, and on that special day, for all His blessings to each of us who love and follow Him in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ.  Happy Thanksgiving!  Happy indeed!

 

Prayer:  Lord, we want to thank you for all your blessings to us.   In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

A SCENT IN THE AIR…Psalm 135: 13

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I was reading Psalm 135, noticing that at verse 13 there’s a footnote in my study Bible.  The verse goes like this: ‘Your  name, O Lord, endures forever, your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages.’  The footnote was next to the  word ‘renown’, and said that another translation would be ‘remembrance’.

The Hebrew word is ‘zeker’,  which means recollection, memory, and scent.  All those synonyms made sense to me, but scent.   A pleasing aroma?  What does that have to do with remembering the Lord?

Any ideas?  I’ve been thinking about that for awhile.  The human sense of smell is very powerful.  Some say that when dying, the sense of smell is the last to fade and end.  It’s easy to associate a certain cologne or perfume with someone we’ve known, maybe from many years ago.  Whenever I smell ‘Old Spice’ aftershave, I always think of my father.  He’s been gone for decades now, but I can still sense him when I get a whiff of that aftershave.  That scent triggers memory of my father.

I wonder if when Jesus was on the cross, if He could still smell the scent of the perfume that the woman at Simon the leper’s house in Bethany had poured all over His head?  Was very expensive nard, pungent and long-lasting(read Matthew 26 and Mark 14).  When all had denied Him, when He could only hear cries of agony, cursing and blasphemies, when all had been taken away from Him, when He even felt abandoned by God His Father, could it be that the lingering scent of that perfume was a comfort and a reminder to Jesus that people did love Him, that people would sacrifice much for Him, that His Father was but a moment away?  From that precious scent of perfume poured upon His head, running down His shoulders covering Him with reminders of love and tears?    Could it have been?

God has given us so many remembrances of Himself–His name(Exodus 3:15),  His works(Psalm 111::4), His goodness(Psalm 145:7), His holiness(Psalm 30:4,97:12), and His salvation(Esther 8:28).  Much has been given to help us remember our Lord.  Why so much?  I wonder.

Could be because we forget so easily.  Life gets crowded out with work and worries,  family and the unknown future.   We allow Him to be crowded out.   So, we’re asked to remember Him.  To share in the Lord’s Supper:  ‘…in remembrance of me'(1 Corinthians 11:24).  Think of all that God has given us in the Bible to remember Him…and then, do it.  Remember the Lord of All who loves us with an everlasting love!  Worth remembering?  Oh my… YES!

 

Prayer:  Our Lord, we have so much you have given us to remember you by.   In your Son Jesus Christ.  Amen.

A TRULY STRANGE EXPERIENCE… I Peter 5: 8

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It was the strangest experience of my life.   It happened when I was a senior at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.  I was a good student.  Graduated 2nd in my class and, no, there were more than 3 in my class!  Thanks for asking!  I studied the Bible, its Greek language called Koine, homiletics, hermenuetics, church history and much more .  Lots to study.

A full campus life there in downtown Chicago, in addition to working a couple jobs, teaching Sunday School, and being president of the student mission organization.  Busy…busy…busy.  Can you guess what was missing?

A few friends challenged me to join them in reading the Bible– to read the Word and hear from the Lord.  Not for class assignments or to be number one in my class.  Nothing other than to meet with our Lord privately, quietly, without any agenda of our own.  I agreed but possibly to please my friends.  It only took me three days to drop out.  I had an important paper to write for systematic theology.  There was a meeting coming up for all the officers of Missionary Union.  I had a date for Saturday night.  That’s it.  That’s what happened, I’m ashamed to say!

On the 4th day, in the afternoon, I was lying down on the bed in my dorm room, wide-awake,  when the room was filled with white smoke, and there was certainly no smoking anywhere at Moody.  I felt  paralyzed… completely.  Couldn’t move at all, even though I was totally aware of where I was.  Immobilized.  The room was bright like a light was shining somewhere.  And then it happened.  I heard the most eerie sounding laugh and cackle I had ever heard.  From where?  I don’t know.  I knew it wasn’t the Lord who was laughing at me.  I figured I had hurt Him by my frivolous promise, so easily and quickly broken.

I knew who it was.  As Peter wrote–‘be sober…because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).  I didn’t hear him roar.  He was too busy laughing at me.

That was then.  Not anymore.  Years later, I love to spend time with my Lord.  In the Bible.  In prayer.  Reasons?  Who needs them?  To be near Him, to learn from Him,  to stay close to the One who will never laugh at me but give me all the reasons to laugh with joy that only salvation in Jesus Christ can ever bring.  Guess who had that last laugh?

 

Prayer:  Lord, how good it is to sit at your feet, soaking up all your love and mercy and forgiveness.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

SHUT THE DOOR!… Psalm 131

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I love this psalm.  Simple yet profound.  Do you feel the same way?  King David is its author.  One of the ‘Psalms of Ascent’, sung as pilgrims made their way to Jerusalem.  It speaks of an attitude of contentment that can only come from hoping in the Lord, a hope that lasts forever.

An attitude–not of pride or arrogance, of one who tilts back his head looking down on everyone else. Quite the contrary.  With a head that tilts to the side in understanding and mercy… looking up to others, looking further up to the Lord in heaven.  An attitude… then a contentment.

Like a weaned child, a babe who contentedly trusts the provision and care of one’s mother.  Totally satisfied, completely trusting and grateful… being with mother.  The arrogant person will always be looking for something bigger and better,  always climbing and clutching to find what is always out of their grasp.  Plans become schemes to outdo and outperform, to win…win…win,  at any cost.  The mirror-opposite of the weaned child is the schemer, plotter and finagler.

Contentment is letting God handle the things way out of our control.  To know that being in His hands is far better than any human schemes.  Life is more than spinning a story woven with lies and half-truths. It’s best to be honest and transparent.

Here’s the call to commitment– life is best lived leaning in on the Lord.  We have some choices to make in life. You do.  I do.   Arrogant or humble?  Always clamoring or resting in the Lord?  Knowing when to hurl yourself into something and when to step back and give it to God.  Knowing when to open or shut the door.  Knowing that our trust in Him will produce a hope that is unsinkable, a hope that lasts for…well, it lasts forever!

 

Prayer:  Lord, help us to know when to dive in and when to step back.  To be humble and content,  satisfied always hoping in You.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

UNLESS THE LORD…Psalm 127

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A friend of mine gave me a letter from C.S. Lewis, the famous author.    My friend had written to him in 1959, complimenting him on one of his books that she had read.  He responded with a handwritten letter, hand-addressed from Cambridge University where he had to add an extra stamp for airmail.  I have it framed, both the letter and the envelope, and it hangs on the wall in my study.  That letter is special to me.  I look at it, often picturing him writing it, taking it to the post office and buying that extra stamp.  He said he was most appreciative of my friend’s  compliments, and acknowledged her hope that they would not make him vain.  His response was this–‘even if they make me vain, it is better to be vain than proud’.  There’s a head-scratcher for you!  What does that mean?

I’ve pondered that for years.  But that’s C.S. Lewis…makes me think and wonder.  What I don’t have to chew on is what the Bible says about trusting in the Lord to direct our lives and care for us.  No doubt about what God means.  Pride comes when we leave the Lord out of our lives , when we resort to prayer as that last resort, not first and foremost.  Pride comes when we get lost in a world of our own making, not knowing who’s really in charge and who will triumph in the end.

We believers know who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Stop your worrying and fretting–I’m looking in the mirror at myself right now!  As Psalm 127 says, ‘Unless the Lord builds the house…’  Fears and worries help not at all.  Let the Lord do the building.  Will we?

Know that the Lord is–the LORD!.  Hold your head up high.  Look over the fog of this world to the clear skies of heaven, where He is and where we’ll be some day.  Won’t that be the very best?  Not proud… but loved and cherished forever!  Amen to that!

 

Prayer:  Lord, we trust you with today, tomorrow and forever. In Jesus’ wonderful name.  Amen.

KNOCKING AT THE DOOR… Revelation 3:14-22

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I can hardly remember any one of my relatives who was interested in the things of the Lord. Some yes, but precious few even darkened the door of a church except for a funeral or a wedding.  They seemed uninterested in God.  These were not bad people.  They didn’t commit murder or adultery, that I knew of.  No, these were my Aunt Bertha, my Uncle Herman, Uncle Heinie, Tanta Olkers, Nana Gibson.

Ordinary folk, funny characters all, my family.  But so many seemed to have no interest in God.  After decades of Christian ministry,  I wonder about their lack of curiosity… and my longing for Him.  Why?  What happened?  After all, I’m no great shakes, no one special, no one marked for any sort of greatness.  Not at all.  As you can guess.

Of course, who knows what goes on in the private quarters of one’s heart and soul?  I don’t.  But they seemed to have no interest.  And I always did.  All that I could see around me, from a little boy onward, bore the imprint of His hands and heart.  I could hear Him knocking at the door of my life.  Knocking gently.

Knocking…knocking…knocking…somewhere within.  I sensed that quiet voice speaking my name, wanting to know me and be with me forever.  Me?  Yes…me!  That voice of Jesus…now my friend, my Savior, my Lord having crossed the threshold of my heart.  I don’t know why many of my relatives didn’t seem taken with God.  Maybe they didn’t hear Him knocking at their door or whispering their names?  Why did I?  Have you?  He’s there.  Knocking and whispering to come to Him.  Who could reject such a gentle call?  Not me!

 

 

Prayer:  Lord, I hear you and thank you for being in my life through your Son Jesus Christ.  May all in our families hear you and love you as their own Lord and Savior.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

WOULD YOU PLEASE REPEAT THAT!…Psalm 124

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It was so embarrassing.  I couldn’t believe it.  I was sharing with a client how someone else, who remained anonymous, had done so well in the stock market because they didn’t know how to stop their monthly bank authorization of $20.  Every month for years and years, $20 mysteriously flew from their bank account into their unfathomable mutual fund account with our company. These folks were now wealthy, but didn’t have a clue.  A financial planner with our company hadn’t been to see them in decades.  They couldn’t even make heads-or-tails of their quarterly statements, which were dense and arcane.

As a brand new planner in their area, I went to see them.  Very quickly it was obvious that this was an uninformed  couple– now worth quite a bit of money!   I asked them why they continued putting hard-earned money into something they did not understand.  Their answer was priceless–‘we didn’t know how to stop it!’  As it turned out, they sure were glad that ignorance was bliss, with a lot of shekels thrown in for good measure!

Now this wasn’t embarrassing for me, it was joy and happiness for them.  What was, though, was that when I was sharing this story with someone else, they finished my punch line for me because I had told them this same inspirational story before.  I was repeating myself… and they let me know it.  Red in the face!  Where’s the door, let me out!  I still cringe at the thought.

Maybe I’m just getting older(who said there’s no ‘maybe’ about it?!), repeating myself over and over.  Here’s a helpful thought, though.  Psalm 124 repeats a thought unashamedly!  Verses 1 and 2–‘if it had not been for the Lord who was on our side…’  Stated and then restated in the next verse.  Why repeat the idea that without God, we’re toast?  Wiped out, ruined, come to nothing and no good?  Well, I guess it’s repeated because we need to keep reminding ourselves of where and from whom all of life and its blessings truly come from–the Lord and He alone!

Keep repeating it even when you don’t feel like it.  Especially then.  Over and over.  Would you please repeat that– ‘Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth'(verse 8). Keeps us humble and grateful.  For if He made all creation, He can and will take care of us.  He’s on our side.  He loves us.  Really!  That’s worth repeating all day long!  I’ll say it again…’if it had not been the Lord who was on our side…’

 

 

Prayer:  Oh Lord, how easy it is for us to forget that all of our life is from you.  Thank you, over and over, for everything.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

GIVING WHO THE COLD SHOULDER? … Jeremiah 6: 1-15

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I don’t like it when someone gives me the cold shoulder.  Who does?   Being looked down upon, held in contempt, with an eye-full of scorn.  I remember a boss of mine, in a church no less, who used to greet me by saying, ‘well, how is everything in your little life.’  Little life?!   I was too young at the time, and too afraid to say what was on the tip of my tongue!  Poor guy, he was so impressed with his big-shot life!  Guess I should have been too, but I wasn’t!

No one likes to be treated with scorn.  And that’s what the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah says about how God’s people treat Him and His Word.  With scorn and the cold shoulder. Can you believe it?   Jeremiah 6: 10–‘to whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear?  Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen;  behold, the Word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn;  they take no pleasure in it.’

God and His Word an object of scorn?  Might as well spit in His face.  That I do not recommend.  For us, who are believers in Jesus Christ, we know that with the difficulties of life, we can place each and every one of them squarely on His broad shoulders –and He will carry them for us.  He shoulders our burdens.  His are the best to lean upon.  The God, in whom I take such great pleasure, and whose Word is a lamp to my feet, a light to the bi-ways  of my not-so little life!

Give Him the cold shoulder?  Who…to God?  What are you crazy?  In Jeremiah 10:21 the Lord tells the prophet to proclaim that ‘…the shepherds(the religious and political leaders) are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord…’  Call it what it is…to ignore the Lord, not to seek His will and love is just plain s…t…u…p…i…d!  That’s what it says.

Let’s be smart…lean on Him, His shoulders are broad and strong and good.  Take pleasure in Him and His Word.  Enjoy!

 

Prayer:  Lord, we love you.  We need you and thank you for always being right there, shoulder to shoulder, next to us.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

SO NICE TO BE INVITED… Psalm 122

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Isn’t it nice to be invited?  Whatever the occasion, it doesn’t really matter to me.  A graduation, a wedding, dinner at a friend’s home, to our church to pray for all kinds of needs.

Years ago, my wife and I were invited to a Bar Mitzvah of a dear friend’s grandson at the local synagogue.  It was quite an honor to be included as if we were special friends to them, which we were.  To be invited meant so much.  To be thought of,  to be wanted, for them to be honored with our presence…that’s so special, isn’t it?  Don’t you feel that way when someone you care about let’s you know that they want you to be with them,  to share that special moment together?  Of course you do.

Psalm 122 verse 1–“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!'”  Invited to God’s house…they were wanted and welcomed into the house of the Lord.  Not them alone,  but you and me as well.  Invited to be in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  His nail-pierced and -scarred hands are always open to us.  Always reaching out in our direction…to reassure us of His love and His desire for us.

God is reaching out to everyone all the time.  If only they would listen…and open the door of their hearts (Revelation 3:20).  If only they would open their ears and eyes.  If only they would stop the cacophony of strident voices all around, and to sit in silence at His feet and hear His wonderful voice in the Word of God, the Bible.  If only…

The invitation has been in the mail for a long time.  Have you responded to Him, to His invitation?  He loves you and will forever.   Like the psalmist who said ‘I was glad when they said to me…'(Psalm 122:1), you’ll be glad that you RSVP’d the King of Kings and accepted His invitation of salvation and new life.  I’m glad, so glad… And you?

 

 

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for inviting me to have a relationship with your Son Jesus Christ.  What a privilege.  In His name.  Amen.

HIDDEN BUT NOT IN HIDING… Psalm 119:9-16

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The other day I decided to read all of Psalm 119 in one sitting.  It’s the longest chapter in the Bible.  The longest Psalm–all 176 verses.   Have you ever done that?  I’ve done it many times.  It is the most amazing psalm of all.  Dig a little deeper and you’ll discover that it is an Hebrew alphabet acrostic. What in the world is that, you might ask?

There are 22 sections of 8 verses each in Psalm 119, with each section beginning with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  The first letter of each of those 8 verses of every section begins with the same letter.  So, the 1st eight verses all begin with the letter ‘Alef’, the next 8 all begin with ‘Bet’… and so on until you get to verses 169-176 where all begin with the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, ‘Taw’.  A masterpiece of creative writing, at its very best.  All praising the Lord for the gift of His Word.  His Law and commandments, statutes and precepts…all those synonyms for His gift of the Bible, from A to Z, all inspired, all truthful, all encompassing.  From beginning to end, we have a gift from Heaven that is incomparable.

While visiting our son and his family, one of our grandsons blessed us by repeating some verses from the Bible that he had memorized at his kid’s church program.  He was six years old.  And to hear him share God’s Word from his heart was about the biggest joy we could ever experience.  He is hiding God’s Word in his heart.  Hiding it, not hidden away for none to see, but putting it in the deepest part of his life, his heart and mind, so that as he grows up and experiences all the things that happen in life, those words will be there for him.  To help him…to guide him…to bring him back to where he needs to be and where he needs to go.

Did you start that young in life putting God’s Word deep within?   I didn’t.  I was a teen and my memorizing the Bible was hit-and-miss, at best.  But who cares when you start?  The only tragedy would be to never start at all.

No matter what your age…get into God’s Word.  Get it into your mind and heart.  If you do, I know that that’s a regret you’ll never, ever have.  Start today…maybe sit down and read that amazing Psalm 119, all in one sitting!  Not a bad idea, if I must say so myself!

 

 

Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your Bible.  As I spend more time with you each day, open up its treasures to me to see you in all your glory.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.