Nov 6 - Psalm 11:2-3

The wicked are

stringing their bows ...

They shoot from the shadows

at those who do right.

The foundations of law

and order have collapsed.

What can the righteous do?"

Psalm 11:2-3

My son Jay was a Revolutionary War re-enactor. He wore a bright red coat. The British marched in precise columns and fought in the open. It was a matter of honor, and they were appalled at an uncouth enemy who would "shoot from the shadows."

But this was nothing new. Every side tends to view every enemy as uncouth. And according to this Psalm, "shoot[ing] from the shadows" has long been a tactic of the underdog. 

David wrote this Psalm at least 3000 years ago. Therefore, it's been consistently true for millennia that “those who do right" are consistently aimed at.

 

And three thousand years later -- and specifically in this generation -- it is increasingly true that "the foundations of law and order have collapsed." And “those who do right,” those who appeal to timeless standards set by God, feel increasingly aimed at, indeed.

 

That’s life in a sinful world.

 

So … before you cry, "What can the righteous do?" remember what I said earlier: "shoot[ing] from the shadows" has long been a tactic of the underdog. 

Why do I call the steadily advancing enemies in our world " the underdogs," especially when their arrows are increasingly stinging? Well, before you despair, read verse 4 ...

 

the LORD is in his holy Temple;

the LORD still rules from heaven.

He watches everything closely,

examining everyone on earth.

 

Though the enemy is still shooting, the victory has already been won. Stand firm.

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who doesn't

like an enemy who

"shoots from the shadows";

so I cling instead to the cross

which is the sword

that opened the gate

to the ultimate victory

 

 

Nov 5 - Psalm 10:12

Rise up, O Lord;

O God, lift up your hand;

do not forget the oppressed.

Psalm 10:12

 

I remember when we had our first little baby. Along with much excitement, we were often exhausted and overwhelmed. Something magnificent had taken place in our household … something profound and overwhelming was washing over us … and yet the rest of the world was going on as if nothing had changed.

 

The same is true with grief and death. Our hearts are breaking. We feel like we’re falling into a canyon of despair. A tidal wave has swept over our family and we wonder if we’ll ever breathe again … yet … the rest of the world is going on as if nothing has changed.

 

And then there’s evil that sometimes nips at our heels. For example, in today’s Psalm, David was crying about …

 

·         ² wicked people viciously oppress[ing]

·         ³ too much "brag[ging] about ... evil desires"

·         ⁷ foul "mouths ... full of cursing, lies, and threats"

·         ⁹ people like "lions [who] crouch silently, waiting to pounce on [David himself and] the helpless.

 

Sometimes the world carelessly (and uncaringly) passes us by in the midst of the most monumental events in our lives. And we wonder if we’re forgotten.

 

Sometimes the world even attacks us. And we wonder if we’re forgotten by God.

 

"Why?!" we cry. "13 Why do the wicked get away with cursing God?” Why am I, you servant, so apparently forgotten and oppressed?

 

That’s a human cry.

 

But unlike too many of us humans, David didn’t cry as one without hope. As we talked about in yesterday’s devotion, David was accustomed to hearing God in the midst of the ordinary everyday situations. He knew God's voice and presence intimately, so that when he fell into the valleys, he could say with confidence, "14 But you do see the trouble and grief they cause. 17 Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless."

 

Therefore, he was bold enough to cry to his friend, “Rise up.” And he was confident that his Lord would answer.

 

In Christ's Love,

a very confident man

(precisely because I’m not

confident in myself!)

 

Nov 4 - Psalm 10:1

O Lord, why do you

stand so far away?

Why do you hide when

I need you the most?

Psalm 10:1

Have you ever been there?

Life is caving in all around you. Losses are mounting. Fear is rising. Grief is real. And when you finally cry out, heaven seems silent.

Have you ever been there?

Let me tell you partly why this is ...

Sometimes life seems likes a roller coaster. Lots of ups and downs (and hopefully more ups). Yet there are lots of average, ordinary days too. But most of us wait until a crisis to begin truly crying out? Why?!

Here’s one of life’s great secrets: We need to practice communicating with God by crying out first on ordinary days!

We need to practice talking to God on the ordinary plateaus. Even more so, we need to learn to listen for God amid the basic everyday journey.

·       Day-by-day-by-day talking.

·       Day-by-day-by-day listening.

·       Day-by-day-by-day walking beside the Father -- learning his ways, discovering what pleases his heart, feeling his touch, and learning even from his loving discipline.

Why? Because then when the inevitable happens – and life IS hard -- then we're already prepared to hear.

Honestly, the reason that we feel like God stands so far away … is because we ignore him most of our day(s). We don’t know him, because we haven’t taken the time. We can’t hear him, because we haven’t really slowed down to listen. And then the crisis happens … and we blame him for our ongoing absence.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants you to grow …

rather than beat yourself up

for what you’re not doing perfectly …

therefore, a guy who …

celebrates that you're reading

this in the day-to-day

(Did you hear him?!!

What’d he say?!!)

Nov 3 - Psalm 9:20

Make them tremble in fear, O Lord.

Let them know they are merely human

Psalm 9:20

Pride. It's addicting. We want to be in charge of our own destiny. We want to do what we think is right. (And we definitely have our own opinions.)

There's a part of most of us that's altruistic. We’re often helpful and kind. But if we’re honest, there's another part of us that is very self-interested and self-centered.

We want what we want.

We do what we want. 

We wouldn't call it "playing God," but that's what it is. In our desire to be in charge of our our actions and our own destiny, we become our own gods. In practical terms, when we value no authority higher than ourselves, we -- as the ultimate authority in our own life -- are our own god.

And there are only two checks to our personal authority. The first is the extent of our personal "power." An impoverished person has little "power." An hourly worker has to submit to her boss. Thus, as we climb the human ladders of "power," our pride tends to swell.

Perhaps that's one reason that God so highly esteems the poor -- see verse 18. Without personal "power" the poor and humble are the few who are wise and faithful enough to consistently bow to God's true authority.

In this Psalm, however, David is talking about prideful kings and conspiring nations. In human terms, kings and generals have indeed lots of "power." In their conceit they "play God." Kingdoms are their chessboard and people (and not just soldiers) are their pawns. So David calls for a true show of real POWER: "Make them tremble in fear, O Lord. Let them know they are merely human."

On this earth, as I said, there are two checks to our personal authority. The first is the extent of our personal "power," and the higher we are on that ladder of success, the more human "power" we think we have and honestly, therefore, the harder it is to humble ourselves enough to worship.

So what's the second constraint to our own illusions of power?

Death.

In our funeral prayers, we recall that the kingdoms "rise and pass away before you[, O God]." Rich and poor, kings and peasants, workers and bosses, privates and generals are all equal in death. Earthly power is an illusion. And the sooner we "tremble in fear [before the] Lord" and come to "know [that we] are merely human," the freer we will be.

And this is a strange and wonderful freedom.

In submitting our lives to the true and eternal king, the almighty King emancipates us. He gives us his power, his authority, his freedom, and his grace. 

Those who submit are called children of God. Literally princes and princesses! To the extent that our heart is bowed, we are nobility. And when submitted, we can then wield the power of the Servant-King.

In Christ's Love,

the jello-pudding guy

(I wiggle and giggle and

tremble before God)

Nov 1,2 - Psalm 9:13-14

Snatch me back

from the jaws of death.

Save me, so I can

praise you publicly

at Jerusalem's gates

Psalm 9:13-14

Have you ever been in a situation so dire that you cried out desperately?

You're sick. Your mom is dying. Your child is in trouble. And you cry desperately … something like: "Snatch me back from the jaws of death."

Have you ever been in a situation like that? That's question one.

Question two is this: When crying out desperately, have you ever made a promise to God? "If you save me, I will ... a) give more ... b) go to church more ... or c) eat mor chikin (as Chic-fil-A suggests)."

That's the theme of this verse. Not eating more chicken, of course ... but what we should always do in response to any answer to prayer. "God you ... a) comforted me ... b) encouraged me ... c) 'snatch[ed] me back from the jaws of death ... therefore, I will 'praise you publicly.'"

Isn't that the prayer? Shouldn't that be the purpose of our life?

a)      'Save me!' ... so I can praise you publicly.

b)      ‘Help me!’ ... so I can praise you publicly

c)      ‘Forgive me!’ ... so I can praise you publicly.

In Christ's Love,

a guy who doesn't want to

make his proclamation conditional

-- no, "if ... then will I proclaim you."

No, I'm a guy who just wants to

proclaim Him unconditionally

Oct 31- Psalm 9:10

Those who know your name trust in you,

for you, O Lord, have never abandoned

anyone who searches for you

Psalm 9:10

Do you know what a "trust fall" is? One person closes their eyes and falls backward, trusting the other person to catch them.

Have you ever seen sad and comical videos of this? The person who is falling is reluctant. They debate back-and-forth, "Can I trust the other person to catch me?" But they debate too long. Therefore, at precisely the moment that this hesitating person decides, "Yes, I will trust," the other person decides, "They're never going to do this," and they let down their hands and walk away. The result is a great fall!

Why do we laugh at such things?! (The Three Stooges and America's Funniest Home Videos made millions with this kind of humor.)

In your relationship with God, are you ever like the person who closes their eyes ... and then debates for hours (or weeks or years) ... as to whether to let go, fall backward, and trust in God to trust you or not.

That is what today's Psalm is all about. Scripture says, "Those who know your name trust in you." The question is: Do you really believe that "[the] Lord [will] never abandoned anyone who searches for [Him]"?

The hard part for many is that God doesn't have physical arms. We can't see him. We can't always feel him. But trusting faith "is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see" (Hebrews 11:1).

Faith grows as we learn to simply close our eyes and fall backward. It is practicing our trust in him. We can't see his hands and we can't always feel his arms, but the question is: Will we believe that "[the] Lord [will] never abandoned anyone who searches for [Him]"?

In Christ's Love,

a guy who has fallen enough

that he has had to learn to trust

Oct 30 - Psalm 9:1

A psalm of David,

to be sung to the tune

"Death of the Son."

I will thank you, LORD,

with all my heart;

I will tell of all

the marvelous things

you have done

Psalm 9:1

My wife reads much faster than I do. And generally speaking, she reads with deeper comprehension. Part of the art of reading for comprehension is discerning which details are necessary to pay attention to.

When reading a novel, for example, I tend to read every word, placing equal weight on each syllable. And I sometimes miss the forest because I intentionally bump into every tree and leaf and branch. Mary Louise, on the other hand, often skims. Hurrying past extraneous details so that she has time to savor the deeper parts of the forest.

"Except," said Mary Louise recently, "when I'm reading an instruction manual. Then I slow down and read every word."

"That's funny," I said, speaking like a stereotypical man, "I read every word ... except when I'm reading directions!"

(She groaned. But knew it was true!)

I say this because, I generally read the details … like the small print in today's Psalm. Today it’s definitely worth paying attention to!

When we read that it is "to be sung to the tune 'Death of the Son,'" seasoned Christians will see the capitalized "Son," and think immediately about the Son, Jesus Christ. But having been written 1000 years before the birth of "the Son,” this is probably just a grammatical accident that goes along with capitalizing major words in the title of a song. (For example, when Motion City sings, "I am a Son of a Gun," the capitalized son is probably not referring to Jesus!)

Nevertheless, pay attention to this happy coincidence.

Whenever you are "s[inging] to the tune 'Death of the Son,'" is this your response: "I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done."

The life-giving sacrifice that comes through the death of the Son, Jesus Christ, is our greatest hope. It is the pathway to forgiveness. It is the door to eternal life.

And as this Psalm suggests, there ought to be two responses to this good news:

·       The first is thankfulness ("I will thank you, LORD, with all my heart").

·       The second is evangelism ("I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done").

In Christ's Love,

a typical guy who doesn't like

to follow directions ... but ...

will follow follow this one

to the letter

Oct 29 - Psalm 8:3-4

When I look at the night sky

and see the work of your fingers --

the moon and the stars

you have set in place --

what are mortals that

you should think of us?

Psalm 8:3-4

 

We live in the Milky Way Galaxy. How big is it?

 

Imagine our Milky Way as a dinner plate. (It’s basically round and flat like a disc.)

 

Wait … imagine our galaxy as VERY large dinner plate.

 

How big? A dinner plate as big around the earth!

 

Now, if that 7901-mile-wide plate represents our Milky Way Galaxy, then guess how big our sun and our moon would be in comparison: Just a piece of salt (the sun) and a speck of dust (earth) an inch apart on this 7901-mile-wide plate!

 

That’s us. We may be big (in our imaginations), but we’re tiny. Insignificant!

 

Indeed, even our massive galaxy is tiny in respect to the whole universe. How tiny? Imagine our disc-shaped Milky Way as barely the size of one round hub cap in a universe as big as the city of Chicago!

 

Get the point?

 

Well even if that analogy was hard to understand (and it probably was!), the point is this …

 

Our little planet is itsy-bitsy, teeny-tiny.

And you aren’t even a speck of dust

on a grain of salt in the

grand scheme of human history or

the grand expanse of the universe.

 

And yet, you are the most important thing in all creation.

 

How do I know that? Because Christ died for you. As it says in Romans 5:8, “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”

 

The Psalmist invites us to walk outside. Stand under a starry sky. Be humbled by the massiveness. And then say, “Wow.”

 

And then say, “Thank You.”

 

“What are mortals that you should think of us?” Who am I that you would die for me?

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who spells “Thank You”

… W-O-W

 

and who spells “Wow!”

… T-H-A-N-K- -Y-O-U

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 if you placed a grain of sand an eighth of an inch away from a speck of dust. 

 

represent the sun and the earth. 

 

 

 

 

Oct 28 - Psalm 7:11a

God is a judge

who is perfectly fair.

Psalm 7:11a

"That's not fair" is one the greatest cries of childhood.

Brothers and sisters look at one another and often measure their parents' “love” based on equality.

But is equality really the best measure of fairness?

My son Paul is a professional musician. He excelled at the piano and then the organ. We encouraged him by paying for lessons and taking him to competitions.

Jay is also musical. So would equality be what was fair for Jay too? Piano lessons and organ competitions? No. Fair for Jay was bag pipe lessons. (And his bag piping has paid for trips across America and to several foreign countries. In fact, recently, his XO even had him play them from the bow of his Navy ship when they docked in Scotland!)

Would equality have been fair for my boys? And what about Robbie? Should we have given him organ lessons, should we have dressed him in a bag piping kilt? No. We helped him get a classic car and let him tinker!

Fair is nurturing each person's gifts passionately, but uniquely.

Fair is encouraging and challenging and pushing each child deliberately, but uniquely.

Fair is putting each child in situations where they will stretch and grow ... sometimes whether they want to do it or not! Indeed, as long as we are ultimately keeping them safe, we need to consistently teach them that life is not about their personal preferences and desires. It's about responsibility. It's about lifting the needs of others and the praise of God above self.

Fair is also being judged for our actions. Virtually all our sin boils down to selfishness. We value our wants and desires more than we value our parents' wisdom (including our heavenly Father's wisdom). In a rebellious lack of trust, we reject our heavenly Father's and our earthly mother's ability to provide, thinking that we know better what we really need.

God must judge our rebellion. And it is fair. And it is loving. He wants us to grow. He wants us to thrive. He wants us to play organs in cathedrals, pipe from the bridge of Navy ships, tinker on classic Mustangs, worship him in faith, serve our neighbor, and fulfill destinies higher than we can ever hope for our children or ourselves.

And what is not fair is not judging, not challenging, not pushing, not calling us to standard as high as heaven.

In Christ's Love,

a guy who learns

a lot about God

by raising kids

Oct 27 - Psalm 7:14-15

The wicked … are …

pregnant with trouble

and give birth to lies.

They dig a pit to trap others

and then fall into it themselves.

Psalm 7:14-15

 

Men, let me save you a lot of grief. The most important question to NEVER ask a woman is …

 

Are you pregnant?

 

Even if the woman appears to be thirty-nine and a half weeks along, you’re better off talking about the weather until she’s holding the baby or she says something about it to you.

 

Good advice … nevertheless, I think it would be wise if we in society talked a little more about pregnancy – the Psalm 7 kind of pregnancy.

 

Too many people in our world are “pregnant with trouble.” Unfortunately, it’s politically incorrect to talk about wickedness nowadays. Only tolerance is tolerated.

 

As Christians, we are called to be loving. It should be our absolute calling card. But is tolerance really love?

 

Let me tell you a story: A year or two ago, a friend of mine was trying to take a picture. To get the whole scene in the frame, she backed up … and backed up … and backed up … until she tripped. Falling, she broke both writes.

 

If we see someone backing up blindly toward the edge of a cliff, shouldn’t we warn them? Isn’t that the loving thing to do?

 

Wickedness is a cliff.

 

In just one book of the Bible – Proverbs – look at all the things that wickedness is associated with …

 

·         treachery and injustice (2:22, 19:28),

·         compromises and lies (25:26, 6:12),

·         hurt and harm (9:7),

·         danger and fear (28:15, 28:28),

·         cravings and addiction (10:3),

·         “shame and disgrace” (13:5),

·         worry and moaning (24:19, 29:2)

·         hatred and tyranny (29:27, 29:16),

·         darkness and trouble (4:19, 15:6),

·         alienation and evil (15:29, 15:28),

·         crushing, hatred and punishment (20:26,29:27, 21:18),

·         ravages and abomination (3:32, 11:11),

·         “contempt, shame, and disgrace” (18:3),

·         perversion and violence (17:23, 21:7),

·         futility and corruption (10:28, 10:32),

·         desolation and the weight of sin (10:30, 11:5),

·         “murderous ambush” and ensnaring traps (12:6, 12:13),

·         great wrath and “the curse of the Lord” (11:23, 3:33),

·         death and destruction (10:27, 3:25).

 

Look at that list! Tolerance is not loving. People we love are backing up blindly toward the edge of a cliff.

 

Wait! Read that last line again. Who’s backing up toward the edge of a cliff? “People we love.” Yes, we should absolutely love all people, but should we be yelling at people we don’t know?

 

People and churches that are great at evangelism are guided by a simple truth: You can’t expect non-Christians to act like Christians. In other words, we shouldn’t yell at non-Christians, even when we worry that they’re pregnant with trouble.

 

Instead, we should love them … and love them … and love them … and love them. And finally, when the time is right, when they’re beginning to give us permission to speak into their lives, then we should point out the cliff. Actually, we should point them to the one who bridges the cliffs and chasms with a cross.

 

There is a canyon between heaven and hell, life and death, hope and destruction. That canyon was carved by sin. But Jesus crossed it with a cross. His love brings forgiveness. Our love of unbelievers brings hope.

 

Yes, this world is pregnant with trouble. But love people and learn their story before you ask if they’re pregnant! In time, you can introduce them to the Father of Truth. With love, you can draw them from the father of lies.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s pregnant

… with hope

 

(Go Ahead: Ask me about it)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. . . . . .

 

How can we pray for you? Including ALL SAINTS?

November Prayers

Come anytime Sat, Nov 1 – 8 to Noon

Let us know how we can pray for you

… including names of friends and family

who’ve died in the last year

for our All Saints List.

Oct 25-26 - Psalm 7:1

O Lord my God,

in you I take refuge;

save me from all my pursuers

and deliver me

or like a lion

they will tear me apart

Psalm 7:1-2

 

Have you ever been chased by "a lion."

 

In my day, I’ve faced a handful of lions. (And I’ve faced a lot of termites too – lots of little things that I’m tempted to see as insignificant, but in the long-run can make me fall as easy as pouncing lion.)

 

In today’s Psalm, David's ravenous foe was surely human. He (or they) were of flesh. Literal people (or armies) were angry, spiteful, and sinful. Like lions, they were pouncing on David.

 

My internal foes – the termites of anger, greed, lust, and other deadly sins – are human too. They are my fleshly nature, as the Apostle Paul would have said. They are my old and feeble nature which I have yet to crucify.

 

Yes, in both cases, these are human foes. But any vengeful human that was stalking David (and any fleshly sin stalking us from the inside) is surely not alone in its destructive desires. Scripture tells us that there’s another enemy. “Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour" (1 Pet 5:8).

 

Do you feel like your being chased by circumstances, pursued by illness, hunted by creditors, stalked by depression, enslaved by bad habits, or ripped apart by gossip?

 

You're not alone.

 

David's hope was not clever plans, skilled doctors, better psychology, or powerful human intervention. He cried, "10 God is my shield. He saves the upright in heart ... 17 [Therefore,] I will ... sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High."

 

In Christ's Lord,

a guy who knows

a real lion tamer

 

Oct 24 - Psalm 6:6

I am worn out from sobbing.

Every night tears drench my bed;

my pillow is wet from weeping.

Psalm 6:6

Have you ever had seasons of weeping?

Are you weeping now, in this season?

Why do we cry? Besides the wonderful happy tears and the sweet sentimental stirrings, I can think immediately of three primary reasons for "worn out ... sobbing."

·       Pain: Dropping a hammer on your toe can produce a cartoonish-flood of tears.

·       Worry and Fear: When waiting for biopsy results or wondering where our lost child is, worry and fear swamp us.

·       Change, Loss, and Grief: This is the one I want to address today. In fact the pattern of change and loss reveals many of the tears and much of the despondency that we can't quite explain in our lives. He's the pattern ...

Every change brings loss.

And every loss brings grief.

Read that again, and let it sink in. Every change -- even good change -- brings a loss of something. And that's where much of our heart-ache comes from in life.

Imagine, for example, that Mary Louise and I were offered a deal on a great house. Everything was significantly better about it than our current house -- better neighborhood, better floor plan, better price, nicer, newer, wonderful. And so we move and get settled ... and yet something is gnawing at us. We're frustrated. Unexplainably unsettled and sad.

What's wrong? Something changed.

Maybe we're five minutes further from the church. (Change!) Maybe we drive on different roads and shop at different stores because they’re now closer. (This causes a change in pattern.) We love our new neighbors, but we miss the regular contact with a few old friends. (Change.) And even though that old house might have potentially left a lot to be desired, we still miss that old comfortable familiarity. It's like we said goodbye to a season and some memories. (Change.)

Ninety-five percent of our move is objectively better. We're mostly excited. Thrilled, in fact! And we'd feel guilty, ungrateful, about even mentioning any frustration. Nevertheless, has any five-percent change and loss ever snuck up on you? You’re frustrated and can’t explain why.

Yes, we know a hundred percent change (the loss of a spouse) causes grief, but does this view on small changes explain any of the unsettledness and heart-ache you’ve been feeling?

It time (as David did in this Psalm), when we’re aware of our grief, we ought to simply go back to God and cry, "Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak. Heal me ..." God is not only the healer, but he's the constancy that never has to leave. And when we make our home in him, then it's less about where we live and less about our changeable situations and more about his unchangeable permanency.

In Christ's Love,

a guy who doesn't

have a pillow full of tears

(my pillow's full of goose feathers

and my life is full of hope

because my pillow’s in my home,

and my home is in him)