A DEBT OF GRATITUDE

Certainly you’ve heard the expression that “those who don’t learn from history are destined to repeat its mistakes”.  Most would rather “forgive and forget”.

Well, it’s not necessarily bad to forgive yourself for acting inappropriately, but you certainly don’t want to forget!  The wisdom of not forgetting is laid-open for all to see in Psalm 78.

The psalmist admonishes the reader to share acquired knowledge with others—especially their offspring—that they may know that the parents they so greatly look up to are utterly fallible!

Asaph encourages us to honor the wisdom of God when man’s wisdom looks better than God’s.  Tragically, man defines his own wisdom as better when the results he seeks are more enjoyable than those that God would provide.

The Lord did great things for the Israelites, but the sand on their side of the desert wasn’t brown enough!  They failed to believe God knew better than they did concerning their needs and thought their wants were necessarily their needs (not terribly unlike us)!

Over time, disenchanted with not getting things the way they wanted them, the Israelites rebelled in idol worship—which really got God ticked.  Yes, God did eventually rescue the desert dwellers, and took the enemies He used to accomplish His purposes to the woodshed in the process, but this does beg a question:

Wouldn’t it have just been easier for the Children of Israel to trust God from the beginning—especially in light of His many miracles?

The answer, of course, is a resounding ‘yes’, but then we wouldn’t have the Israelites as our example.  As it is written in I Cor 10:

     11These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.  14Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. (NIV)

Herein lies our peace.  Thank you, Israelites!

b(Les)sings

"AUTO" MATIC MEMORIES

When Sister Maria of “The Sound of Music” fame wasn’t feeling all that great, she’d ‘simply remember’ her ‘favorite things.’  When I’m not, I take similar advice from Asaph’s Psalm 77, remembering the Lord’s past supernatural deliverances in my life.  He Has delivered me many times—and no doubt has done likewise for you.  In the interest of keeping things short, three events come to mind.

The first goes back to when I was a lad of six, or so.  My best friend lived a block away—same street, just past the intersection.  I could see his mother waiting expectantly for me as I readied myself to cross the street.  Both of us dutifully looked both ways, failing to see any oncoming traffic, so I took off like hell’s proverbial escaped bat to get to the other side.  By that point, as is often the case for six year-olds, my right shoe had become completely untied.  It flew across the intersection to the other side while I landed squarely on my back on the pavement in the middle of it.  Sight and sound came together as I saw the muffler of a speeding 50s car just above my face and heard the blood-curling scream of my friend’s mother.  Imagine our mutual surprise when I righted myself unscathed, save for a blood blister on my right pinky.  My angel got a purple heart that day—at least one!

The second occurred about 20 years later as I was racing to a job interview.  Neither I nor the driver that swerved in front of me to take the Cicero Avenue Exit off of (Illinois) 294 South slowed down.  We were both doing about 50 miles per hour at the time.  Along with the swerve, I saw the frightening sight of a large rock flying out of the other guy’s pick-up bed.  It hit the pavement with force and likewise bounced up off of the pavement with same—yet, as I was moving forward—and it was moving straight at my face—it stopped in mid air (while I was driving) and dropped unceremoniously into the wipers reservoir.  As I drove the remainder of the ramp to the street, I realized why the driver sped in front of me—his engine was on fire.    It looked as though God had intervened for two drivers at the same time.

Not too long after that, I was once again driving hurriedly down an Illinois interstate, when I noticed a disabled UPS delivery van by the side of the road.  Before the days of prevalent cell phone ownership, I argued with myself as to whether or not to stop.  The driver was about six feet tall with no discernible body fat, an engaging smile, and the most absolutely stunning white teeth I had ever seen!  I asked how I might be able to help.  He got in the car and asked me to get off at the next exit.  After I turned left off of the exit, I could take another quick left and he would be at the building he needed to go to.  It didn’t sound too hard—I complied.  I was the only car to pull up to the parking lot, a minimum 600 feet from the two-story building.  He thanked me again, said, “God bless you,” and got out of the car, closing the door behind him.  I took a second to pick up something that had fallen on to the front seat passenger-side floor, and when I got up, he had vanished!  He would have to have been a jet to get to that building in 1 to 2 seconds—or an angel.

Nearly two decades later, I’m reminded of a New Testament verse:

Hebrews 13: [2] Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (KJV)

Angels are not some magical beings that we call upon at will to do our bidding, but rather, they are servants of the Most High God.  They serve Him at His beck and call—lifting Him up forever. 

When you’re needing peace, ask the Lord to bring to your remembrance the times in which He’s delivered you, and you’ll know what real peace is.  Remember that what defines something as good is not  what our perspective of it is, but rather, that which has been accomplished that God wanted to accomplish in our lives through it.

b(Les)sings

New King James Version (NKJV)

Psalm 77

To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

 ¹ I cried out to God with my voice—
         To God with my voice;
         And He gave ear to me.
 ² In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
         My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing;
         My soul refused to be comforted.
 ³ I remembered God, and was troubled;
         I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed.  Selah 
        
 ⁴ You hold my eyelids open;
         I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
 ⁵ I have considered the days of old,
         The years of ancient times.
 ⁶ I call to remembrance my song in the night;
         I meditate within my heart,
         And my spirit makes diligent search.
        
 ⁷ Will the Lord cast off forever?
         And will He be favorable no more?
 ⁸ Has His mercy ceased forever?
         Has His promise failed forevermore?
 ⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious?
         Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?  Selah 
        
 ¹⁰ And I said, “This is my anguish;
         But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
 ¹¹ I will remember the works of the LORD;
         Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
 ¹² I will also meditate on all Your work,
         And talk of Your deeds.
 ¹³ Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary;
         Who is so great a God as our God?
 ¹⁴ You are the God who does wonders;
         You have declared Your strength among the peoples.
 ¹⁵ You have with Your arm redeemed Your people,
         The sons of Jacob and Joseph.  Selah 
        
 ¹⁶ The waters saw You, O God;
         The waters saw You, they were afraid;
         The depths also trembled.
 ¹⁷ The clouds poured out water;
         The skies sent out a sound;
         Your arrows also flashed about.
 ¹⁸ The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
         The lightnings lit up the world;
         The earth trembled and shook.
 ¹⁹ Your way was in the sea,
         Your path in the great waters,
         And Your footsteps were not known.
 ²⁰ You led Your people like a flock
         By the hand of Moses and Aaron.

WAR

War.  It’s horrible, yet sometimes necessary.  The Old Testament in particular is full of references to it, so how then should we regard it?

Our war perspective should be twofold.

First, that God is in charge and we’re not—that He fights our battles for us—when we’re wise enough not to get in His way and do it ourselves.  

Second, since He knows the beginning and the end—and everything in between, whatever does or doesn’t happen in war—like everything else—will be used by Him to help accomplish His ends—which has the best interest of our ends at heart.

If, say, as God, your desire is to see more and more people come into a personal relationship with the Son, and more people would do that through the seeming “untimely” death of a brave soldier versus survival of the same, why wouldn’t you allow for that, especially since the late troop would live forever without pain with his or her Lord? 

When faced with any situation that seems difficult for our carnal minds to grasp, we can be filled with God’s peace by realizing that He’s in charge of every piece—that is the tapestry of our lives.

b(Les)sings

PSALM 76 (KJV)

[1] In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel.
[2] In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.
[3] There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah.
[4] Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey.
[5] The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands.
[6] At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.
[7] Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
[8] Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still,
[9] When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.
[10] Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
[11] Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
[12] He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth. (KJV)

GRADUATION DAY

Mary got a well-deserved promotion today.

She was always easy to touch—I speak not of her body, but the genuineness that was her spirit, and it was that spirit that continuously touched those in Christ’s Body that had the wisdom to latch on to her.  I was one of many that wisely did so.

Shortly after my first wife passed away, Mary (and the rest of the Woodstock Christian School Moms in Touch) were there for me.  They were earthy—never holding back on anything, including giving me important perspectives, both as females in general and wives and mothers in particular.  I admired their candor, and courage in allowing me, a male, into their inner sanctum—it showed what they were made of.

Mary was the kind of mother every kid wanted to have—fun-loving and young at heart, yet not shying away from boundary-setting where needed, an act that lets any child know that he or she is loved, despite their objections to the contrary.

Mary was the kind of friend every adult wanted.  When you look up “real” in the dictionary, it says, “See also, Mary.”

I remember how she beamed upon learning that she would be a grandparent—and beaming all the more when it came to fruition. 

In Psalm 75, verses 6 and 7 we read as follows (KJV):

     ⁶For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
 ⁷But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

That only leaves true north—God—to do the promoting, and in His infinite wisdom, He has lifted her up.

Well done, good and faithful servant—enter into the joy of your Lord.  You’re already missed terribly, Mary, but that pales in comparison with how overjoyed we are for you.

Our heart goes out to Ron and family, and we pray that the God of peace grants His peace—the peace that passes all understanding—to all of us that mourn her.

In love,
Les Linz
www.psalmsblueprintforpeace.blogspot.com

THE OTHER SHOE

Years ago, when I was just starting to get my ministerial feet wet, I had the opportunity to preach one Sunday night before a modest number of congregants.  Nervous and excited at the same time, I shared a message I thought to be good, and in fact have shared it many times since.  It was actually during this sermon that my (then) 9 year-old daughter drew a pencil drawing of me at a lectern, holding a Bible in one hand, with the other raised in obvious oratory.  It was an amazing likeness—clearly she doesn’t get her artistic talent from me.

I was profoundly honored and anxious to have the church’s three sitting pastors on the platform behind me (One of whom, as the congregation’s Senior Pastor, did not resign until having been there for over 25 years—an unheard of tenure for church leaders.  Additionally, the other two ministers had been there well over a decade each—also rare in the church employment field).

Overall, I thought the message had gone fairly well, and at the end of the service went to the back of the sanctuary to greet those leaving for the night.  The people were very polite, and when all but the Senior Pastor was left, I looked to him with expectation.

“I thought it was an excellent message,” he said.

“And?”  I said.

“And nothing.  It was an excellent message.”

As I stood glowing in his presence, my wife explained a character trait of mine to him.

“He’s always waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

There was more than one reason for that dominating my life, but probably the most profound one had to do with the death of my late wife.  Ting passed on at age 37 after two bouts of breast cancer in five years (She experienced three glorious years of remission in between).  As a natural defense mechanism, when someone you love is going through something like that, and you have to deal with it as the non-afflicted family member, you start giving up hope.  That way, if healing does not occur, you’re not disappointed—and if it does—you’re delighted.

That’s the way it often is when you’re living in this world and love the Lord.  You know that others hate Him—He told you they would.  As His spiritual spouse, you want to fix things, but remember that the greatest of peace comes to those that let Him do the fixing.

b(Les)sings

Pss.74 (KJV)

[1] O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
[2] Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
[3] Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
[4] Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.
[5] A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
[6] But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.
[7] They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground.
[8] They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.
[9] We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
[10] O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
[11] Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.
[12] For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
[13] Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
[14] Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
[15] Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.
[16] The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
[17] Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.
[18] Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
[19] O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.
[20] Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
[21] O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
[22] Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
[23] Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.(KJV)

TOO RICH

The psalmist Asaph had some issues with the rich, or at least, for a while.

You’ve probably known (or known of) at least one person that you thought was living much too easy a life—one that didn’t need to be as wealthy as they were.  Unfortunately, focusing on things like that tends to breed covetousness—and that’s not good for any child of God.  It’s a poison that can creep into our bloodstream at unawares with great speed, destroying both the believer’s testimony and credibility.

Thankfully we can defer to the Apostle Paul. 

He tells us in Philipians 4: ¹¹ Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: ¹² I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. (NKJV)

Whatever state he’d been in he had learned to be content—and he’d been in some pretty lousy states.  That’s something we can (and need to) learn from.  Look at another thing Paul told us as well:

From Romans 7: ¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (NIV).

It’s like when James speaks of that prophet of old in James 5: ¹⁷ Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. ¹⁸ Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops  (NIV).

So what is the hope?  That we’re not subject to the control of covetousness or jealousy.  If you’re not greater than that Pharisee’s Pharisee Paul (and who of us are), you can choose contentment, rather than disgruntlement with others.  Like the Apostle, realize you’re going to blow it from time to time, and know that like Elijah, a common man, you (likewise) as a common man, can have uncommon peace, by choosing to rejoice for those you would just assume curse.

b(Les)sings

Psalm 73

New King James Version (NKJV)

A Psalm of Asaph.

 ¹ Truly God is good to Israel,
         To such as are pure in heart.
 ² But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
         My steps had nearly slipped.
 ³ For I was envious of the boastful,
         When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
        
 ⁴ For there are no pangs in their death,
         But their strength is firm.
 ⁵ They are not in trouble as other men,
         Nor are they plagued like other men.
 ⁶ Therefore pride serves as their necklace;
         Violence covers them like a garment.
 ⁷ Their eyes bulge^[a] with abundance;
         They have more than heart could wish.
 ⁸ They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression;
         They speak loftily.
 ⁹ They set their mouth against the heavens,
         And their tongue walks through the earth.
        
 ¹⁰ Therefore his people return here,
         And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
 ¹¹ And they say, “How does God know?
         And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
 ¹² Behold, these are the ungodly,
         Who are always at ease;
         They increase in riches.
 ¹³ Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain,
         And washed my hands in innocence.
 ¹⁴ For all day long I have been plagued,
         And chastened every morning.
        
 ¹⁵ If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
         Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.
 ¹⁶ When I thought how to understand this,
         It was too painful for me—
 ¹⁷ Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
         Then I understood their end.
        
 ¹⁸ Surely You set them in slippery places;
         You cast them down to destruction.
 ¹⁹ Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!
         They are utterly consumed with terrors.
 ²⁰ As a dream when one awakes,
         So, Lord, when You awake,
         You shall despise their image.
        
 ²¹ Thus my heart was grieved,
         And I was vexed in my mind.
 ²² I was so foolish and ignorant;
         I was like a beast before You.
 ²³ Nevertheless I am continually with You;
         You hold me by my right hand.
 ²⁴ You will guide me with Your counsel,
         And afterward receive me to glory.
        
 ²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but You?
         And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
 ²⁶ My flesh and my heart fail;
         But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
        
 ²⁷ For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish;
         You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry.
 ²⁸ But it is good for me to draw near to God;
         I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
         That I may declare all Your works.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 73:7 Targum reads face bulges; Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate read iniquity bulges.

PREYING

We can either prey on our nations’ leaders or we can pray for them.  Preying makes us feel better—praying makes them (and the nations) better.  Consider Romans 13:1-7:

[1] Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
[2] Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
[3] For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
[4] For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
[5] Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
[6] For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
[7] Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

God has a history of turning His children over to others, in order that they might endure correction that betters them, and there is nothing in either Old or New Testament to indicate He’s changed his methodology for teaching. 

Peace will abound when the Messiah returns, but until then, the only way to experience inward peace midst outer instability is to subject one’s self to the direction provided in His Word.
b(Les)sings

<< Psalm 72 >>
King James Version 
________________________________________
1<<A Psalm for Solomon.>> Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son.
2He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.
3The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.
4He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
5They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
6He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
7In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
8He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
9They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
10The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.
12For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
13He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.
14He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
15And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.
16There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.
18Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.
19And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.
20The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.