HERE COMES THE BRIDE

No other ceremony that I know of is able to conjure up the range of emotions than that of wedding.  It’s the occasion where the groom looks like the proverbial “deer in the headlights”, and the bride looks more beautiful than any other day of her life (closely followed by the day her first pregnancy test shows positive).

Long recognized as the color for purity, she is normally adorned in white.

In Jewish liturgy, there is a point in the Sabbath evening service (L’chah Dodi) where the congregation (first) rises, and then turns around to face the unseen Sabbath Bride—to give her due attention.

We’re told in the New Testament that believers in Christ are called His “bride” and  (Ephesians 5:27)—“That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (KJV).  David tells us at the beginning of Psalm 29 that in like manner, we should be reverencing the Lord’s holiness. 

In (my) keeping with the wedding theme, I’d be hard pressed to recall any wedding, held in a religious setting, that didn’t involve some special singing.

When I married my second wife, after the first had passed away, I welcomed her into the sanctuary singing Michael Card (Song of Solomon)’s, “Arise my Love”.  She was a sight to behold—and still is, with her inward beauty even more striking than it’s outward counterpart.  I was so inspired in my singing that a normally critical individual commented, “Wow!  I didn’t know you could sing that good (neither did I)!” 

That’s the way David describes the Lord’s voice, and that’s especially exciting when you consider  Zephaniah 3:17 (KJV)—“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”

Are you engaged to be married to the Lord?  Just say, “yes” to Him, and you will have a husband that reigns as king, protecting you from all that wish you harm—and, as verse 11 of Psalm  29 states, “…will bless with peace.” (KJV).

b(Les)sings

Psalm 29

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
 ²Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
 ³The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.
 ⁴The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
 ⁵The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
 ⁶He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
 ⁷The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.
 ⁸The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
 ⁹The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
 ¹⁰The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.
 ¹¹The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

THEY WILL BE HERE SOON

My next two blogs, that is.

Today was exhausting on many levels.  It started by my driving an hour to work, picking up a co-worker along the way, and putting in a full 8 1/2 hours.  After the drive back, my wife informed me that we were definitely having a yard sale within a week or two--with the greater likelihood being the one week time frame.  Most of that which I sorted came from our upstairs middle room, which has no air conditioning and no working ceiling fan.  On top of that, the pressure dropped and the storm clouds once again gave rise to ailments that are adversely affected by weather change--a fun time was had by all.

I do have most of the first of the two blogs (that I'm going to post tomorrow) written, but I'm simply not doing my readers any justice by completing the entries with eyes closed and brain in mush mode.

Thus, until tomorrow,

b(Les)sings

CRY BABY

Here’s a question for you:  What is the strongest little thing on the face of the planet?  Answer—a baby. 

Who else but a baby can bring a 300 lb. man to his knees without even striking a blow?  Who can take an otherwise noisy room and quiet it with his own scream?  Who has the power to cause others to walk on eggshells, while he himself isn’t even yet able to walk?  The baby has many weapons in his repertoire, but the most powerful is his cry.

As children of God, our cry is one of our most effective weapons too, and we have great peace in knowing that our Father hears us when we cry out to Him.

If there’s anything we cry about as believers (when we’re not crying out to Him), it’s the hypocrisy and lying of others.  David addresses this in verses 3-5 of Psalm 28. 

These are those that say “peace” to their neighbors, but their thoughts and actions tell another story, and the Psalmist takes great delight in asking God to destroy these sorts because they exalt themselves over God—doing things their way instead of His. 

David finishes the psalm by thanking God for His amazing watch care over him.  The songwriter is so pleased, he declares his appreciation in song.  When we cry out, we command God’s attention, but we never get Him to do for us what He wouldn’t already have done.

Some cry out in song, while others sing bad enough to make people cry.  Whatever the response of man’s ears to man’s cries , when we call out to the universe’s Creator we have an appreciative audience, who fills us with peace by the deliverance He exacts for us.

b(Les)sings

New King James Version (NKJV)

Psalm 28

A Psalm of David.

 ¹ To You I will cry, O LORD my Rock:
         Do not be silent to me,
         Lest, if You are silent to me,
         I become like those who go down to the pit.
 ² Hear the voice of my supplications
         When I cry to You,
         When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
       
 ³ Do not take me away with the wicked
         And with the workers of iniquity,
         Who speak peace to their neighbors,
         But evil is in their hearts.
 ⁴ Give them according to their deeds,
         And according to the wickedness of their endeavors;
         Give them according to the work of their hands;
         Render to them what they deserve.
 ⁵ Because they do not regard the works of the LORD,
         Nor the operation of His hands,
         He shall destroy them
         And not build them up.
       
 ⁶ Blessed be the LORD,
         Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!
 ⁷ The LORD is my strength and my shield;
         My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
         Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
         And with my song I will praise Him.
       
 ⁸ The LORD is their strength,^[a]
         And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
 ⁹ Save Your people,
         And bless Your inheritance;
         Shepherd them also,
         And bear them up forever.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 28:8 Following Masoretic Text and Targum; Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate read the strength of His people.

READER RESPECT

I think you all are great!  You read my rants and put up with my raves--I wouldn't have you any other way.  I don't want to disrespect you, so I'm telling you straight up that I'm extremely tired tonight and will simply have to blog in greater detail another day soon.

In the meantime,

b(Les)sings

MAKE MINE A LIGHT

I’ve seldom met any youngster that wasn’t afraid of the dark, nor any loving parent(s) that didn’t work diligently to help their child overcome that fear.  I find it fascinating that you don’t have to tell a little one to fear the dark—it comes naturally—or dare I say, supernaturally.  It’s preparation for adulthood.  We may be instructed to not play in traffic—we may learn experientially to not place our hand on open flame—but to sense that darkness is not good, and that light is better than darkness—that seems embossed in our psyches.  We have night lights to help dispel the darkness of a room—to have peace as we’re trying to go to sleep—but we don’t have day darks to turn darkness on midst the light of day.

Speaking of the fellowship of believers with non-believers, we’re rhetorically asked in II Cor. 6:14, ‘what fellowship can light have with darkness?’ (NKJV).

And II Cor. 11:14 points out that Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.  If light and darkness were the same, he wouldn’t have to transform himself—and if light wasn’t good, he wouldn’t care about doing it, either.

Light and dark having been battling for millennia.  We get a glimpse of it in Ephesians 6: ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,^[c] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.(NKJV), and yet not all battles are battles of this sort—at least, in the natural.

Not too long ago, while Richard M. Daley was still mayor of Chicago, several groups made it known that they were planning to violently protest a forthcoming important international meeting.  The police superintendent called on new recruits and had the short ones to stand in between the very tall veterans.  The result was that to the protesters, the veterans looked like giants, and nobody did a thing.

I grew up in Chicago, and when I was 25, found myself in the midst of my own battle—well, not so much a battle, perhaps, but definitely an emotional struggle—and it was centered in a town not too far from the Windy City-- Palos Heights, where my folks had their store.

I came to visit them and told them how I had come to a personal relationship with the Lord.  Having been raised in the Jewish faith, and having been exposed firsthand to Nazi atrocities, I never faulted my parents for the horror they expressed when I told them that.  Surely I could have kept that sort of thing quiet—been a “closet Christian”—but frankly, I don’t think you withhold the truth from those you love—no matter how hard sharing that truth is (Of course that’s much easier to do when you’ve been raised in a nurturing environment  to begin with, like I was fortunate to have been).

I was prayed-up before our meeting, and I prayed on the way back home.  When I got back to the apartment, I said to my late wife, “Hon, I think we need to just open up the Bible and study.”  This, by the way, is NOT something I normally recommend for anyone to do, but I didn’t really know better at the time, being very young in the faith.  And so, I flipped open to Psalms—a page I had not seen to that point—the very VERSE that I came to was this:

Psalm 27:10--When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. (KJV)

“Wow,” I kept saying out loud, over and over again.  I had goose bumps where I didn’t have flesh.  Then I said to Ting, “Let’s try that one more time.”  I wound up turning to another passage I’d not seen to that point in my faith walk:

Mark 10:29--And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,[30] But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. (KJV).

In Psalm 27, David focuses on three major areas:  1)  Confidence in God as protector,  2)  Petition for ongoing help in the ongoing battles and 3)  (as Ryrie points out) Waiting on the Lord.

Throughout my life God and His angels have protected me, and I have seen, and continue to see, His protection of others—and this gives me confidence to live my life one day at a time—which gives me peace.

I continue to ask His help in the never-ending battles because He never ends in His provision therein!  Reflecting on this gives me peace.

Perhaps most importantly, I continuously apply the wisdom of the prophet Isaiah, who said in Is. 40:31--But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (KJV).  This too gives me peace—and my prayer is that it brings peace to you as well.

b(Les)sings

EXTENDED SERVICE PLANS

It is said that integrity is what you do when others aren’t looking—or in some cases, listening.

My secular job involves providing customer service for those that have purchased (or will be purchasing) extended service plans on name brand household appliances. 

Because some people are more concerned about expressing their own agendas before hearing what the customer service representative needs to say, they wind up sinking their own ship.  If the people are in need of service on the appliance, they have to have it repaired first, at their expense, and then incur a 60 day wait until new coverage becomes active—without any reimbursement of repair costs.  When they learn that they cannot purchase a plan at the moment, and will have to pay for repair first, invariably they say, “Well, if I wouldn’t have told you I had a problem than it wouldn’t have mattered, right?”  Actually, it would have mattered.

The whole purpose of insurance of any kind is to help reduce the risk to some through the pooling of the resources of many.  If all we did was offer plans to people that knew they had problems, costs would be prohibitive.  Why should people regret not having had an opportunity to cheat others?  Where is the integrity in that—or for that matter, where is the peace?  In this case it only comes when we are as honest with others as we are with ourselves.  Cheating aside, anytime we do (or don’t do) something that we should (or should not) do, there is stress involved because it goes against the very nature of God that resides within us.  This, of course, is nothing new, as the Apostle Paul addressed it:

Romans 7:19--For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do (KJV).

The Apostle finishes Chapter 7 by asking who it is that will deliver him from being such a “wretched” person—and then he gives the answer—Jesus (And what He does is confirmed in Isaiah 9:6--For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace—bold mine).

David continues the psalm by thanking God for delivering him from the evil effects of the wicked, and any God that delivers the righteous from the wicked brings peace.

In typical David fashion, the psalmist concludes by thanking the Lord for future deliverance as well, based on past demonstration of that deliverance by God.

So, what have we learned?  We’ve learned that peace comes from trusting in God to deliver us as evidenced at other times in our life, and we’ve learned that integrity is the unseen fabric that makes up the garment of uprightness.  We’ve also learned that if you want to purchase an extended service plan on an appliance that is having issues, you may want to consider some sage advice given by King Solomon:

Prov. 17: [27] He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.  [28] Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

b(Les)sings

Psalm 26

New King James Version (NKJV)

A Psalm of David.

 ¹ Vindicate me, O LORD,
         For I have walked in my integrity.
         I have also trusted in the LORD;
         I shall not slip.
 ² Examine me, O LORD, and prove me;
         Try my mind and my heart.
 ³ For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
         And I have walked in Your truth.
 ⁴ I have not sat with idolatrous mortals,
         Nor will I go in with hypocrites.
 ⁵ I have hated the assembly of evildoers,
         And will not sit with the wicked.
  
 ⁶ I will wash my hands in innocence;
         So I will go about Your altar, O LORD,
 ⁷ That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving,
         And tell of all Your wondrous works.
 ⁸ LORD, I have loved the habitation of Your house,
         And the place where Your glory dwells.
  
 ⁹ Do not gather my soul with sinners,
         Nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
 ¹⁰ In whose hands is a sinister scheme,
         And whose right hand is full of bribes.
  
 ¹¹ But as for me, I will walk in my integrity;
         Redeem me and be merciful to me.
 ¹² My foot stands in an even place;
         In the congregations I will bless the LORD.

KNOWING THE ABCs

Although David discusses many attributes of the Lord in Psalm 25, the main point of interest about the work is that it is an acrostic—that is to stay that the first letter of each of the 22 verses correspond to each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  Though I am no Robert Browning or John Keats, in the spirit of this psalm, I have composed an acrostic of our Lord’s attributes via the English alphabet.  If you prefer, sing every 1^st and 2^nd verse as you would sing the ABC song you learned in kindergarten.

A is for the Alpha and Omega that you are

B is for the attitudes that bring us really far

C is for the Christ you are, the Father’s chosen Son

D is for the way you work to always ‘get ‘R’ Done

E is for the Everything you are for those you love

F is for the Father to us all, here and above

G is for the God that Father to the world is called

H is for the Hell beneath for which you are appalled

I is for the Intercession that you do for us

J is for the Jews that do not like you, and they cuss

K is for the King of Kings, the title that you have

L is for the light to blind anointed with your salve

M is for Messiah that you are anointed One

N is for the town of Nazareth where’d all begun

O is for Mount Olivet, the one that you will split

P is for the way in which you rescue from the Pit

Q is for the Queen your Bride is to your Dad and King

R is for your Righteousness about which that we sing

S is for the way you liberate us from our sins

T is for disciple Thomas, seeing you he grins

U is for your Understanding of the human race

V is for Victor that you are o’er death by grace

W is for your title Truth and Way and Life

X is for your Cross, oh Christ, delivers us from strife

Y is for the Young and old that at your death were cryin’

and Z is for your next great job, the future King of Zion

b(Les)sings

Psalm 25

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.
 ²O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.
 ³Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
 ⁴Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
 ⁵Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
 ⁶Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.
 ⁷Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.
 ⁸Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
 ⁹The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
 ¹⁰All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
 ¹¹For thy name's sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.
 ¹²What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
 ¹³His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.
 ¹⁴The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
 ¹⁵Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.
 ¹⁶Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.
 ¹⁷The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.
 ¹⁸Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.
 ¹⁹Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.
 ²⁰O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.
 ²¹Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
 ²²Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

FAST FOOD

It’s been quite a while since I ate at a McDonald’s Restaurant, much less with a four year-old in tow, but I do remember a time where I visited “childless” and had the privilege of witnessing a parent/child interaction.

The dad was probably in his early to mid thirties and the son around four or so.  After getting the adult food and Happy Meal they settled down to a table near mine.  Having no one to talk with, my sense of hearing was especially acute.

“Thank you, daddy,” the youngster beamed as he smiled at the man, half mumbling, half sinking his teeth into a pint-sized cheeseburger.  “You’re welcome,” the father smiled back.

After a while, the boy began working on his fries, enjoying them as much as the cheeseburger, it seemed.  Gradually the father’s hand slid over to retrieve a salty potato stick.

“Daddy!” shrieked the lad, “Those are mine!”  It was as though you had stabbed him in the heart.

I had an argument going in my head that alternated between “boys will be boys” and “who does he think he is?”  In the end I settled on the conclusion that both assessments were right.

What is it exactly that our Father God does not own?  What is it that we do?  The answer is that He owns everything, and everything we have is a gift entrusted by Him to our stewardship of it. 

Do we scream when the Father wants a fry—that’s His anyway—that which He’s paid for and allowed us to enjoy?  Absolutely.  Should we scream when that happens?  Absolutely not.  The more respect we give God by recognizing that He’s God and we’re not, the more peace we’ll have, because it's the kind of thinking that’s in harmony with His.

God is a holy God and the more like Him we become, the more He beams.  Our desire to do our own thing, rather than His, stresses us, because it goes against the natural order of things that He has imprinted us with.  When we ask for His help to make us more like Him and less like ourselves, we complain about His “fry taking” less—and recognize that His sovereignty brings peace.

Yes, God is the world’s owner, and He’s gone out of town for a short time, but He will return, and when He does, He can have as many of my fries as He wants.

b(Les)sings

Psalm 24

New King James Version (NKJV)

A Psalm of David.

 ¹ The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness,
         The world and those who dwell therein.
 ² For He has founded it upon the seas,
         And established it upon the waters.
      
 ³ Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
         Or who may stand in His holy place?
 ⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
         Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
         Nor sworn deceitfully.
 ⁵ He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
         And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
 ⁶ This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
         Who seek Your face.  Selah
      
 ⁷ Lift up your heads, O you gates!
         And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
         And the King of glory shall come in.
 ⁸ Who is this King of glory?
         The LORD strong and mighty,
         The LORD mighty in battle.
 ⁹ Lift up your heads, O you gates!
         Lift up, you everlasting doors!
         And the King of glory shall come in.
 ¹⁰ Who is this King of glory?
         The LORD of hosts,
         He is the King of glory.  Selah  

MAN AT WORK

Hello.

Working late on another formidable project--shooting for two to three meaningful blog entries for tomorrow.  Thanks for bearing with me.

SHEPHERDING

I never understand all the technical elements of Fox’s House M.D., but I always enjoy the show.  It’s like the way most of us look at the 23^rd Psalm.  We know about it—or perhaps can even recite it from memory—but we don’t really understand the details.  Just as a medical doctor undoubtedly appreciates the program more than the rest of us, so an actual caretaker of sheep is likely to have greater appreciation for the famous passage.  That’s where Phillip W. Keller comes in.

Keller authored A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, which is a superb book, written by a former shepherd.  He gives insight into things we would not otherwise have knowledge of.  It would be like watching House M.D. with a doctor by your side.

Without rehashing the book verbatim, let me just touch on some highlights for you.

Sheep are stupid, and fortunately the shepherd that cares for them is not.  Because of this reality, the sheep in the shepherd’s care are content, thus not “wanting”.  And, because they are not wanting, they are at peace. 

Do you know how picky sheep can be?  According to Keller there are four criteria that need to be met before sheep have enough peace to “lie down in green pastures”.  Imagine that— as sheep we are so stupid that we won’t rest where we should without His help!

My late wife used to analyze water for the city of Crystal Lake, Illinois, and as such would alert her supervisors to unseen health hazards she discovered.  Sheep don’t have lab analysts but they do have a shepherd that makes sure they’re not drinking polluted waters that would otherwise sicken them. 

And if a sheep isn’t sick, it may need restoration as it can be “cast down”.  What does that mean?  Think of the old television commercial, “I’ve fallen—and I can’t get up!”

And if we don’t fall, we—as stupid sheep—so often long for the edge of the cliff, which is certain death.  The Good Shepherd leads us away from the attractions of life that are no good for us, and directs us instead to the most wholesome food through the journey, for it was Jesus Himself who said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.” (Matt. 7:13--NKJV). 

The rod and the staff are two tools the Good Shepherd will use to help His sheep.  There are many uses for such, and they include correcting the sheep and beating off the enemies of the flock.  Thank God for a Shepherd that cares so much for His own.

Have you ever gone to a luxurious restaurant and had to set your own table?  Of course not.  But, even worse, can you imagine going to a fine dining establishment and having to cook your own food, much less with poisonous ingredients that you would not be able to discern as poisonous?  The “table” referred to here has to do with the physical location at the top of a mountain range, which needs to be “prepared” ahead of time, so that the sheep can enjoy a good meal, rather than succumb to the perils of the land.

And speaking of perils, as humans we probably don’t worry too much about flies and the like, but to a caring shepherd, controlling their effects are critical.  By anointing the head of a sheep in insect season, he/she can prevent the sheep from accidentally killing themselves, which can happen when running away from the flies in terror.    

Additionally, certain breeds of insects can be deadly to the sheep as well.  Furthermore, interestingly enough, flies don’t like the anointing—kind of like ancient Off!

The fact that goodness and mercy shall follow us all our days, and that we shall dwell in the Lord’s house forever (assuming that He is our Good Shepherd and we are His sheep), is tying the whole psalm together. 

In addition to revisiting the 23^rd Psalm, and checking out Keller’s book for yourself, also consider the following four Old Testament verses (ALL SCRIPTURE FROM NKJV)

Isaiah 53:6-7

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
      We have turned, every one, to his own way;
      And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
       ⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
      Yet He opened not His mouth;
      He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
      And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
      So He opened not His mouth.
Psalm 119: ¹⁷⁶ I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
         Seek Your servant,
         For I do not forget Your commandments.
 ³ Know that the LORD, He is God;
         It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;^[a]
         We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 100:3 Following Kethib, Septuagint, and Vulgate; Qere, many Hebrew manuscripts, and Targum read we are His.

Psalm 23

New King James Version (NKJV)

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David.

 ¹ The LORD is my shepherd;
         I shall not want.
 ² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
         He leads me beside the still waters.
 ³ He restores my soul;
         He leads me in the paths of righteousness
         For His name’s sake.
   
 ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
         I will fear no evil;
         For You are with me;
         Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
   
 ⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
         You anoint my head with oil;
         My cup runs over.
 ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
         All the days of my life;

b(Les)sings

FORSAKEN?

Known for his book, Where Is God When It Hurts?, author Philip Yancey revisits this famed question of old.  Similarly, in When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Harold Kushner tackles the same issue, but from a Rabbinical perspective.  No matter what the point of view—Jewish, Christian, or other, the question and answer is still the same:  When we hurt, God remains in the same place He’s always been—on His throne.  God does not have to get His agenda accomplished the way we require it of Him—He is sovereign and we are not.  For us to attempt to manipulate God into accomplishing His will the way that we demand is arrogant at best.

Arrogance may bring fleeting joy as self is exalted, but lasting peace comes from subjecting one’s self to the authority of another, a concept that seems hard-wired into our DNA.

Prison to Praise, and other “Praise” books by Merlin Carothers, mirrors that in David’s heart when he discusses how praising God for the reality we know to be beyond the feelings we presently feel, is the way to go.  It’s like taking off in an airplane on a very cloudy day. Within moments you find yourself surrounded by sunny skies.  Reality is that the sky was sunny all along, just not from what you were seeing. 

In the midst of Psalm 22, and other psalms by David, you find some of the sunniest skies midst the cloudiest times--his greatest peace coming out of confessing relative nothingness—his failures and hurts.  Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (KJV). 

As rendered in the Greek language, “overcome” is better translated, “the world is overcome by Me”.  The tribulation that all will experience to one degree or another in their life, is not to be compared to the eventual defeat of that tribulation at some future point.

David often promises to tell others of such godly deliverance—and does tell of it, which adds to the peace he already has.  When you tell another about something, you reinforce it in your mind because of your having heard what you spoke (i.e. Psalm 50:15—“And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”—KJV).

The psalmist glorifies God by finishing the song, celebrating that future time when God elects to visit earth, allowing the elect of His creation to rule and reign with Him—peace indeed.

b(Les)sings

Psalm 22

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
 ²O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
 ³But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
 ⁴Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
 ⁵They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
 ⁶But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
 ⁷All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
 ⁸He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
 ⁹But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.
 ¹⁰I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.
 ¹¹Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
 ¹²Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
 ¹³They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
 ¹⁴I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
 ¹⁵My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
 ¹⁶For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
 ¹⁷I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
 ¹⁸They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
 ¹⁹But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
 ²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
 ²¹Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
 ²²I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
 ²³Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
 ²⁴For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
 ²⁵My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
 ²⁶The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
 ²⁷All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
 ²⁸For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations.
 ²⁹All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
 ³⁰A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
 ³¹They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

HAVING YOUR BACK

We have two dogs:  A Golden Retriever named Buddy and his step-sister named Abbie.  Buddy we have had since he was a pup—Abbie we got from a woman whose husband found the girl and her brother ravaging a garbage dump.  Obviously abused before being found, Abbie was a undernourished Black Lab/Jack Russell Terrier mix—I call her a Jack Russell terrorist, and for good reason.

To those whom she loves, our half-breed is the sweetest thing on four legs; for those she does not love, that’s an entirely different story. 

She can stand straight up on her hind legs for seconds at a time, and she leaps and jumps with more energy than Superman.  She has treed many a squirrel, and her favorite pastime is catching unsuspecting birds in mid-air.  But she doesn’t do it without someone having her back.

We can have her out on the back porch and she’s demure as can be—that is until her Golden sibling comes out.  The very second his oversized paws hit the patio bricks, she does the gazelle thing and it’s off to the bushes.

And why does she wait for “big brother”?  Because, like David reports in Psalm 21, there’s great peace in crushing the enemy—when you’re able to do that because one bigger than the both of you has your back.

b(Les)sings

PSALM 21—KJV

[1] The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
[2] Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
[3] For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
[4] He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.
[5] His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
[6] For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
[7] For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.
[8] Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
[9] Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
[10] Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
[11] For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
[12] Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.
[13] Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

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CORRECTION: A GOOD THING

Hello!

This isn't so much about God correcting me as it is me correcting my writings about God!  I spent most of this, my day off, tweaking the last 21 entries.  I will post one or two more blog entries tomorrow, and catch up with where I'd like to be by Sunday, July 24, 2011.  Thanks for stopping by--it's much appreciated.

b(Les)sings

KEEPING SCORE

Have you ever wondered how God responds to the prayers of opposing sports teams?  Does He add up the naughty and nice and then tip the scales accordingly?  Does He go by ratio of charitable giving to income?  Does He grant the greatest favor to the team he knows will give Him the greatest glory once victory is achieved?  We won’t truly know this side of heaven, though if I had to guess I’d say it’s the ‘glory-giving’ factor that prevails.

In the movie, “Patton”, George C. Scott as that general of fame, asks a confused-looking chaplain to pray for victory in a forthcoming battle.  Surely the life and death issues represented in this case are more critical than a game of 22 adolescents chasing an oblong pigskin object.

In 1991, I found myself in prayer concerning the Persian Gulf War.  Fifty thousand body bags were ordered at the beginning of the conflict in anticipation of human loss.  The American involvement lasted a very short time, and I specifically asked God to so protect the soldiers that only those that already had a personal relationship with Him would perish, and that the death of those individual troops would help bring one or more of their comrades into additional personal Lord relationships. 

Around that time I was reading a book written by Don Kessler, entitled, The Arithmetic of God.  Don claims to have received supernatural revelation of a host of numbers which I have found validity to over the years.  The number(s) for ‘forgiveness of sin’ were purported to be 25 or 325 (325 being the numbers 1 through 25 added together).  It was reported that the total number of U. S. troop fatalities (including friendly fire) were 325.   

The saying goes, “There are no atheists in foxholes”.  Surely war brings turmoil to any side of a conflict, and the need for peace midst a microcosm of violence is utterly essential, though understandably difficult to have. 

David’s subjects needed peace midst their battles, and got it as they emulated their leader, who was the very epitome of it.  The psalmist reflected peace because he continually reminded himself of how faithful God had been in repeatedly delivering him from the will of his enemies, and his past experiences gave him reason to praise God in advance for future deliverances expected.

What battles are you facing?  What turmoil are you dealing with?  It’s not a game—it’s not a movie—but it is peace in abundance when you remember what He’s done for you in the past—and know what He will do for you in the future.

b(Les)sings

Psalm 20

New King James Version (NKJV)

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

 ¹ May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble;
         May the name of the God of Jacob defend you;
 ² May He send you help from the sanctuary,
         And strengthen you out of Zion;
 ³ May He remember all your offerings,
         And accept your burnt sacrifice.  Selah
       
 ⁴ May He grant you according to your heart’s desire,
         And fulfill all your purpose.
 ⁵ We will rejoice in your salvation,
         And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
         May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
       
 ⁶ Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
         He will answer him from His holy heaven
         With the saving strength of His right hand.
       
 ⁷ Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
         But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
 ⁸ They have bowed down and fallen;
         But we have risen and stand upright.
       
 ⁹ Save, LORD!
         May the King answer us when we call.

DIMENSIONS OF SMALL

In my youth, the smaller I was in comparison to another, the greater my fear of that person was.  Conversely, the older I get, the smaller I see myself against the backdrop of nature and its creator, and the greater my confidence in God, which brings peace unimaginable.

How can you worry that a sovereign God that wrote the world’s Owner’s Manual would be incapable of taking care of you? 

We learn in Matthew, Chapter 6 that the birds of the air are utterly dependent on God’s provision, yet we are of greater value to Him than they!  Birds.  There are tons of them—more numerous at times, it seems, than the stars of the sky, though we find in Matthew 10:29 that when just one of them falls, it’s not without His knowledge—and (again), we are of greater value than them!

Our value to God is not just seen in the animal kingdom, but the human realm as well.  While He shines in our darkness, He floods that darkness with His marvelous light.  Through Him the simple become wise.  Provision for one’s needs often helps to launch peace and security.

And as valuable as these things are, gold is where the values are supposed to be these days, and yet, the secret to the most content among us lies within their treasuring the things of God that He shares with us, and not some periodic elements found at the Table of the same.  He helps to keep us from being dominated by besetting sins, yet shows us how we can have victory over them.

In reflection, I can see the enormity of God dwarf our fears.  I see the wisdom of God instructing us in spite of our ignorance, and I see the deliverance of God for us, His children.  It brings me peace—it brought David peace too.

b(Les)sings

Psalm 19  (KJV)

Psalm 19

King James Version (KJV)

Psalm 19

 ¹The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
 ²Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
 ³There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
 ⁴Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
 ⁵Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
 ⁶His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
 ⁷The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
 ⁸The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
 ⁹The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
 ¹⁰More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
 ¹¹Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
 ¹²Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
 ¹³Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
 ¹⁴Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

RELATIONSHIP

How often did you date when you were courting your spouse—once a year?  Once a month?  I venture to say it was weekly at the least, not including countless phone calls, numerous letters, and the daily black hole fog that settled around your head, impairing your ability to think clearly—or even at all. 

How often do you go on a date with God?  Once or twice a year?  Once a month?  Once a week?

Daily involvement with your fiancée had its privileges, and daily intimacy with your Lord will benefit you likewise.

When you love someone, you let them know how well you know their various qualities.  Naturally they respond with gratefulness.  God is no different.  You experience the peace of God when God has a piece of you—and He’ll look out for both forms of that word as well. 

The indoor mini-golf we had was about 90 miles north of the arcade we owned.   Because of the distance between the two businesses I relied on others to run it for me.  Our manager was horrible, and when it came time to fire her I really didn’t relish the idea, especially as I figured she’d try to get others to cause me physical harm. 

In the great ‘Live free or Die’ state of New Hampshire, people are allowed to conceal guns they have permits for.  Before entering the mall, I put my Colt .38 revolver into the back of my pants and lowered my shirt over it.  While waiting for my now ex-manager to show up and get her final check, I decided to play one of my favorite arcade games—the shooting gallery.  I liked the game but I didn’t excel in it—but today was different.  I couldn’t miss—literally, a perfect score.  As I was shooting I heard a few big guys talking just outside the arcade.  One said to the other two, “No, guys, he’s too good.  Don’t fool with him.”

I presumed they were talking about me, and rightly so, but I couldn’t understand to save my life as to why three guys would be afraid of me.  Just then my new manager called me over.  “Did you know that your gun is showing?” he asked.  I didn’t.  I had been so active in the shooting game that the real gun had come out of its hiding place.  I began to leave the arcade—so did the three guys; we wound up going opposite directions.

Because of the relationship that my God and I have, He saw fit to preserve my life, and without my having to fire a single shot.

Proverbs 16:7 says that ‘When a man’s ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him (KJV).”

Before and since that fateful day in 2002, the Lord has repeatedly seen fit to deliver me from other enemies as well—and I likewise see fit to continue a daily walk of intimacy with Him.

b(Les)sings

TWO WORDS

If you’re a guy and married, there are two words spoken in rapid succession that will help turn you on more than any aide invented or manual written.  The words?  “You’re right!”  Spoken by a wife to her husband, there are no words sweeter to the male ear. 

In our household, we have a calendar that hangs on the kitchen wall.  It’s peppered throughout the various dates with, “Les was right,” and serves as a hanging museum that I go to visit when I’m feeling low.  It tells me, “You’re not wrong—you’re right.”  That is peace.

David often asks God to check him out—to see that he is right—that is to say, righteous.

I remember seeing a story on television once, where they interviewed a beautiful, aspiring young actress.  Her job (and later, business) was to follow the husbands of wives suspecting their mates of cheating, or at least being apt to cheat.  Once she made her flirtatious moves, she would report to the client whether the man passed the test or not.

Proverbs 5:19 tells men to rejoice with their true love—to be regularly enthralled in intimacy with her, rather than enjoy amorous ways with someone other than their spouse.  If your wife knows you wouldn’t stray—by virtue of your attention to her—she has peace, and when she has it, you have it too.

It is said that when a man elects to have an affair with another, he has fallen.  David frequently asks the Lord to help keep him upright as he walks down life’s road.  Though separated by centuries, he wasn’t all that different from the Apostle Paul who (by way of paraphrase) exclaims in Romans 7, “That which I would do I don’t, and that which I wouldn’t, I do.”  Paul, the Pharisee’s Pharisee recognizes his own wickedness and realizes (wretch that he is) that Christ Jesus rescues him (and us) from that condition.  That is peace.

God protects us from ourselves, which ensures peace.  He also protects us from others, too. 

When I was a kid, I played a lot of tag, and spent a lot of time on, “ghoul”.  You were always safe there—it was a welcomed respite where you could catch your breath.  God is like that—a very present help in time of trouble—therefore we don’t fear (Psalm 125)—and that is peace.

When we take all these things into account, we have the peace that comes from the confidence that God loves and cares for and about those that love Him, and seeing the peace provided in our collective past fills us with confidence of a peaceful eternity.

b(Les)sings

Psalm 17

New King James Version (NKJV)

A Prayer of David.

 ¹ Hear a just cause, O LORD,
         Attend to my cry;
         Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
 ² Let my vindication come from Your presence;
         Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.
    
 ³ You have tested my heart;
         You have visited me in the night;
         You have tried me and have found nothing;
         I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
 ⁴ Concerning the works of men,
         By the word of Your lips,
         I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer.
 ⁵ Uphold my steps in Your paths,
         That my footsteps may not slip.
    
 ⁶ I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
         Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
 ⁷ Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
         O You who save those who trust in You
         From those who rise up against them.
 ⁸ Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
         Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
 ⁹ From the wicked who oppress me,
         From my deadly enemies who surround me.
    
 ¹⁰ They have closed up their fat hearts;
         With their mouths they speak proudly.
 ¹¹ They have now surrounded us in our steps;
         They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth,
 ¹² As a lion is eager to tear his prey,
         And like a young lion lurking in secret places.
    
 ¹³ Arise, O LORD,
         Confront him, cast him down;
         Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
 ¹⁴ With Your hand from men, O LORD,
         From men of the world who have their portion in this life,
         And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure.
         They are satisfied with children,
         And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.
    
 ¹⁵ As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
         I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.