All the Nations that Forget God - Psalm 9

Psalm 9

The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
    their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
    the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.[c]
17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,
    all the nations that forget God.
18 But God will never forget the needy;
    the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

19 Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph;
    let the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Strike them with terror, Lord;
    let the nations know they are only mortal.

This Psalm I find disturbing.  The wicked go down to the real of the dead?  All the nations that forget God?

How does a nation forget God?  By not obeying His ways.  By setting themselves up above God, believing that they know best.  By a nation doing what is right in their own eyes (didn't we learn from Judges?).  Disturbing.  Very disturbing.  Praying for the changing of a nation.

Sing to the Lord - Psalm 9

I grew up in a home with a mother who does not like music.  You mean certain genres of music, right?  Nope.  She hates music.  All music.  She feels assaulted by it because everywhere you go there is music--the store, the elevator, church, everywhere!

For that reason I have grown up without music as part of the equation.  When I go on a long car rides I love it, not for the music but for the chance to pray for an extended period of time.  I don't even think to turn on the radio and it startles me when someone does.

Lately I've been memorizing the Psalms as I have a lifetime goal of memorizing the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs.  I was working on Psalm 9 and it begins like this:

"I will praise you O Lord with all my heart,
I will tell of all your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in you,
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High."

Time and time again singing praise to the Lord is an example and a command.  For many people this comes naturally, for me this is something I must be intentional about.  Not because I'm not appreciate of all that the Lord is doing, but because music is not a first thought.

So today I began praising the Lord in the car with a CD in the player.  As I was singing I began to think about what it is going to be like to be in heaven, all singing together, with the full reality of the glory and goodness of the Lord right there.  And I really believe it's not going to be just solemn, funeral sounding music but really a celebration and a party as well as holy.  My eyes watered.  I can only imagine.

When I finally arrived at my destination, my thought was this.

"It is good praise the Lord and to make music to your name, O Most High, to declare your loving-kindness in the morning, and your faithfulness at night."

Song from Psalm 147:1

What is your song today?

With All--Psalm 9:1

Recently the Chicago Cubs won the World Series in Baseball.  It was a moment for the ages, because they hadn't won in ages!  108 years to be exact.  The whole city erupted in jubilant celebration.  It is still a topic of conversation and will be for quite some time.  Total praise for the Cubbies.  And deserved.  They did a great thing in the world of baseball.

This morning I read Psalm 9:1--"I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart."

And for a brief moment I compared my praise to the Lord to the city of Chicago's praise.  The Cubs did a great thing, and the praise was every bit "with all their heart."  And like so many others, when I approach the Lord, I find myself praising him with a casual heart, a little bit pressed to get to the list of burdens.  Important things like the welfare of our nation, a friend whose family relationships are struggling, another friend who just lost her mother in a terrible way.

But I keep coming back to the reality that if I'm praising the Lord with all my heart, making the time to do so, it puts my troubles into their appropriate context.  It is a reminder that God alone is on the throne, and He does great things.  As I heard someone say recently, "He makes good things out of good things and makes good things out of bad things."

So Lord, open my eyes to see your wonders!  And let my heart praise with you ever fiber.  For you alone are God!  In You we can have rest, peace and even joy no matter our surroundings.  Be exalted O God, above the heavens!  Let your glory be over all the earth!

We are the Blessing--Ps 84:5-6

"Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion."

Valley of Baca is a literally the Valley of Weeping.  But when God's people come through it, they make it a place of springs.  Wherever God's people go, they make things better.

* Dirty areas get cleaned up
* Employers get a return on their hire
* Broken people get hospital care
* Hungry people get fed
* Hurting people get encouraged
* Lost people get saved

And life gets better for everyone around them.  Why?  They don't go from struggle to struggle or difficulty to difficulty but strength to strength.  And when their strength is in him, they can do things that serve Him who is greater than themselves.

We are the blessing.

The Tripping Up of a Generation

We are an obese generation.  And it's spreading to more than just our own country.  Even skinny people are eating unhealthy.  We want our food and we want it the way it tastes good to us.  I struggle with this. I like chips, a cold Coke and some good chocolate.

I was rereading a psalm the other day.  And there it was.  Do you want to know what was a strumbling stone for Israel?  Food.  They wanted their food.  Gives us the leeks of Egypt!  We had pots of meat there!  They couldn't embrace the hardship of lack so they complained.  Again and again.  And God was angry.

How much self-control do we have with food?  And I don't just mean for overweight people.  Are we willing to "suffer" so enter into the best that God has for us?  In my mind I think I can, but my actoins show something completely different.  God help me.

The Withering--Ps 1

Lately under the crazy of it all, I've felt a "withering" of life in general.  Then I'm reminded in Ps 1 that the person who meditates on the Word night and day does not wither.  And sure enough, my Bible time has been neglected.  Time to dig to the waters again.

Psalm 103:10

Scripture says He treats us not as our sins deserve.  This sounds wonderful and such.  It's not until I'm asked to treat others not as their sins against me deserve that it becomes gritty.  And scary.

Sleepy Faith--Psalms 3-4, Mark 4, Acts 12

Sometimes faith shows itself at its greatest when one just goes to sleep.  I remember the story of a missionary who was stranded somewhere in a dangerous part of Africa.  They knew there were violent thieves around and they feared for their life, but they could do nothing about it.  As the man was praying, the Lord spoke to him the Scripture in Psalm 4:8--"In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety."  So with that Word, he shared with those with him and they decided the best thing they could do was lie down and sleep.

Sleep throughout Scripture has often been a fruit of faith.  Consider David when pursued by Saul and his whole army (Ps 3). 

Lord, how many are my foes!
    How many rise up against me! 
 Many are saying of me,
    “God will not deliver him.”

  But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
    my glory, the One who lifts my head high. 

 I call out to the Lord,
    and he answers me from his holy mountain.

 I lie down and sleep;
    I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. 

 I will not fear though tens of thousands
    assail me on every side

Surrounded by tens of thousands who were pursuing him to his death.  And David goes to sleep.  It was the sleep of faith.  And it wasn't the first time (Ps 4).

We see it again in the New Testament.  Jesus and his disciples, some of who had grown up on the waters of the Galilee, were convinced they were going to drown in a storm.  And where was Jesus?  Sleeping.  Soundly.  They woke him up, he rebuked the wind, rebuked the disciples, and in my estimation, went back to sleep.  (Lk 8:22-25; Mk 4:35-41).

And another time in the life of the disciples.  King Herod had just arrested and beheaded James.  Seeing this pleased the Jews, he seized Peter also.  The church was earnestly praying and what was Peter doing?  Sleeping.  Soundly.  So soundly the angel of the Lord had to slap him on the side to wake him up (Acts 12).  It was the hour that he might have joined James in getting beheaded, but there he was in the cell, sleeping between two soldiers.

How can you sleep when the world is spiraling out of control?  How can you sleep when people are crying for death outside your window?  It's only possible by faith.  The same faith, like Daniel's friends when told to worship or die:

"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue from your hand, O King.  But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up" (Dan 3:17-18).
 And I think with every act of faith in this form, the forces of darkness shudder.  Shudder at our snoring.







 

His hands

I like hands.  They say a lot about a person.  Are they smooth or calloused?  Perfectly painted or chipped from work?  Are they wrinkled and tanned or smooth and white?

So I looked at hands in Scripture.  In particular the hands of Jesus.  Perhaps in his earlier days the hands of Jesus were rough and calloused from hard labor.  We tend to think of Jesus as a carpenter but from what I understand, the word can also be translated "stone-worker" (just google it if you have any doubt).    When you go to Israel, you notice that there are stones everywhere and for every building.  Carpentry work was for the rich people.  We know for sure Jesus wasn't from a rich family.   They couldn't even afford the obligatory lamb sacrifice for when Jesus was born.  Instead they had to go with the two young pigeons or a pair of doves, a concession for poor people (Lev 12:8).  So for me  I'm quite sure it wasn't trees Jesus was working with in his job.  Rather he was blue collar factory worker that did the grinding work of stones.  So his hands.  Calloused and rough.  And strong.  Very strong.

At 30 his hands changed.  Because at 30 the first thing we read about his hands is that they were washed.  Washed in the waters of baptism.  From there he would begin his life of ministry and I'm sure his hands began to heal from their callouses.  Not totally but they would be growing smooth again.

But now his hands took on a different role.  Instead of receiving the smashing and scraping and bruising from hard work, his hands would now be the conduit of healing for the smashed and scraped and bruised bodies and hearts and lives of others.  Because now Jesus began to touch people.  Holy touch.  Life-giving touch.

Lepers.  You kept your distance.  You made sure you drove those people-turned monsters  away and made them shout "unclean" so you could keep your distance.  You drove them away when they came near.  Jesus went to them.  He touched them.  And the people recoiled in horror.  Luke 5:13

Dead people.  They are cold.  They are stiff.  They stink.  And they are unclean.  A widow whose only hope was her son had just lost him, perhaps in a tragic accident.  It was her death sentence as well as his.  The funeral was in place when Jesus met them.  Keep your distance and let the people grieve, they said.  Jesus aproached the funeral procession.  Then the coffin.  Then he reached out his hands and touched it.  And the people recoiled.  But the young man was brought to life.  Luke 7:4

God's Presence.  For all people who seek it they forget that it is scary.  Very scary.  Peter, James and John saw their rabbi transfigured before them.  Then Moses and Elijah appeared.  Then the Lord spoke to them telling them the Father loved his son and they were to listen to him.  A bright cloud enveloped them. They fell facedown to the ground, terrified.  But Jesus.  He came and touched them.  He knelt down, touched his friends and told the to not be afraid.  He touched them.  Mt 16:7

Jesus touched eyes and they were healed (Mt 20:34).  He actually put his fingers in someone's ears to heal them (Mk 7:33).  He even spit and touched a man's tongue ((Mk 7:33).   Something about touch made broken people whole, lonely people loved, and rejected people and even more ostracized.  Somehow people didn't it when hurting people were helped.

Out of Jesus' hands come life, healing, deliverance, acceptance and love.   Bold hands that were not afraid of anything.

Then I look at my hands.  Hands that have not always been holy.  It's interesting that the holiness of the heart is connected to the hands (Ps 24:4).

But then there's one other thing I remember about Jesus hands.  I am there. 

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?  Though she may forget, I will not forget you!  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands" (Is 49:6).  

 Engraved..  On the palms.  The most painful part.  Permanent. Bloody.  And forever his.

Helpless, but not.--John 5:1-15

Between a rock and hard place.  Or feeling smashed between impossible and impossible.  This is how I've felt lately.  Desperate, angry, frustrated and unable to feel like I can change the situation.

Perhaps that is what the man at Bethesda felt.  Supposedly the waters were healing.  All the invalids hung out there hoping for a chance to get well.  But he couldn't get in the water he needed for healing because no one would take him.  Maybe because his family didn't care.  Or he was such a jerk he had no friends.  But I do think self-pity had set in.

"Do you want to get well?" Jesus asked.

Instead of a simple, "Absolutely!"  The self-pity shows up:

"I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred."

Some people like their maladies.

But Jesus commanded him to get up, take his mat and walk.  The man responded.  Later Jesus would tell him,

"Stop sinning or something worse may happen."

Even invalids can sin in big ways.  Perhaps that's why he was alone.

But here I am.  Angry.  Frustrated.  Ready to explode.  Caught in the awful territory of having responsibility with no authority.  And it's something close to my heart and has HUGE implications for life.   I'm not in the place of self-pity.  Right now just in the place of angry frustration and feeling so utterly helpless.

I remembered the previous post of the values of Iris ministries:

1)  Commune with God
2)  Expect the miraculous
3)  Minister to the poor
4)  Embrace suffering
5)  Live a lifestyle of joy.

I deviated from every. single.  one. of those.  My eyes have seen the walls.  But I haven't seen Jesus.  Come Lord Jesus.  Come.

"I lift my eyes up to the hills.  Where does my help come from?  It comes from you, Maker of heaven and earth."  Ps 121

Jesus Who Prays

By Robert Velarde

Jesus and Prayer

Jesus prayed for others. In Matthew 19:13, we read, "Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them." Despite the fact that "the disciples rebuked those who brought them," Jesus said the children should not be hindered "for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (v. 14). In John 17:9 we read, "I [Jesus] pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given Me, for they are Yours." This underscores the need for intercessory prayer.

Jesus prayed with others. Luke 9:28 reads, "[Jesus] took Peter, John and James with Him and went up onto a mountain to pray." Jesus prayed alone, as we'll read below, but He also knew the value of praying with others. Acts 1:14 underscores the importance of Christians praying with one another: "They all joined together constantly in prayer …"

Jesus prayed alone. Luke 5:16 reads, "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." As much as Jesus understood the value of praying with and for others, He also understood the need to pray alone. Psalm 46:10 reads, "Be still, and know that I am God." Sometimes it's important for us to "be still" before God, but the only way to do this, especially in our hectic culture, is to do so alone with God.

Jesus prayed in nature. Psalm 19:1 reads, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." What better place to commune with our Creator than among the wonders of nature? Luke 6:12 says, "One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray ..." He could have gone to a home, a synagogue or if He were near Jerusalem he could have gone to the temple to pray. But there were times when Jesus made the decision to pray where He was, which often happened to be in nature. We are surrounded by so much that is "man made" that sometimes it's difficult for us to remember that this is not our world, but God's world (Genesis 1:1, Psalm 24:1) full of wonders for us to enjoy.

Jesus could pray as a sprinter or a marathon runner. The Lord's Prayer is full of wisdom, but it is short enough to be easily memorized and serve as an example of a sprint rather than a marathon prayer. But Jesus also knew how to dedicate long periods of time to prayer. As we read in Luke 6:12, Jesus "spent the night praying to God." We, too, need to be able to offer short prayers, as well dedicate long periods of our lives to prayer.

Jesus prayed regularly. This insight is gleaned from a passage cited earlier, Luke 5:16: "Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." The word "often" is not hidden, but makes it obvious that Jesus prayed regularly. Throughout the Gospels whenever we read of Jesus and prayer, it comes up regularly and naturally. It was simply a part of His worldview, integrated into every aspect of Christ's life. Can we say the same about prayer in our life?

The prayers of Jesus were heartfelt. Jesus did not pray in a cold, distant manner, but in heartfelt supplication, demonstrating empathy and a genuine love for God. This is demonstrated clearly in John 17, where Jesus prays for Himself, His immediate disciples, as well as for all believers.

Jesus prayed based on His knowledge of God and His truths. The prayers of Jesus were based on God's revealed truths and, as such, were in line with a solid biblical worldview. In John 4:24 Jesus said, "God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." He also said, "the truth will set you free" (John 8:32), underscoring the importance of truth in the life of Jesus and, in turn, our lives. Proper prayer requires us to have a truthful understanding of God and what He has revealed to us through His Word.

Jesus taught persistence in prayer. "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up" (Luke 18:1). The parable Jesus shared is not meant to depict a pestering disciple who finally bugs God enough that He chooses to respond, but about persistence in prayer and waiting on God and His timing.

Jesus knew that not all his prayers would be answered as expected. This is a difficult prayer lesson to learn, but the fact of the matter is that not all our prayers are answered in ways we expect. Even Jesus knew this hard lesson as he cried out to God the Father from Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-44). Three times Jesus prayed for God to allow an easier path, but Jesus knew, "Yet not as I will, but as You will" (26:39). Unanswered prayer is such a challenge to the Christian life that we'll address the matter in more detail in another article in this series.

As You Will

When Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, "Yet not as I will, but as You will," He offered a tremendous but seemingly simple insight into prayer: God is in charge. As we learn from the prayer life of Jesus – and there is much to learn – we need to keep this overarching principle in mind. A disciple asked Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray," (Luke 11:1) and in response was taught the Lord's Prayer. But by studying the prayer life of Jesus, we can learn not only the important truths of the Lord's Prayer, but so much more.

Robert Velarde is author of Conversations with C.S. Lewis (InterVarsity Press), The Heart of Narnia (NavPress), and primary author of The Power of Family Prayer (National Day of Prayer Task Force). He studied philosophy of religion and apologetics at Denver Seminary and is pursuing graduate studies in philosophy at Southern Evangelical Seminary.

[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are from the New International Version of the Bible.

Copyright 2008 Robert Velarde. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

 http://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/faith_in_life/prayer/learning_from_the_prayer_life_of_jesus.aspx

Shout for joy? Psalm 100

Ever been in a situation where the leader of the meeting exhorted everyone, "Give a shout to the Lord!" and it just honestly felt awkward to do so?  So when I come to Psalm 100 and it tells us clearly to "shout for joy to the Lord" it makes me ponder, and think about basketball.

The basketball team in our area is one of the best in the nation.  Perhaps the very best.  (This was just recently validated by a major sports publication).  In the game there is connecting with the players and knowing their story, then the risk, the tension, the battle, the heroes, the foibles, and then...the victory!  When my mother and I see the victory on the screen, you don't have to tell us to shout for joy.  After the tension of every game, it just comes!  Even moreso when we get the occasional gift of a ticket to see the game in person.  They don't even have to do anything to get shouts of appreciation.  Their history is such that that when they walk into the arena, their very presence calls for shouts of encouragement, thanks and appreciation.  People shout until they are hoarse!

This is true throughout the world.  Ever heard a Brazilian around World Cup time?  Or even the self-conscious reserved Brits even let go a little bit when one of their own wins an Olympic medal?

Now come to the Christian life.  Is there risk?  Tension?  Battle?  Heroes?  Team?  Foibles?  Grace?  Loss?  Victory? I believe there can be all this, especially when we experience and go after the things of God together.  Remember when Peter and John were in prison and the church was earnestly praying?  You better believe they celebrated when Peter and John had a supernatural deliverance and came knocking at their door.  Rremember when Israel was surrounded by more than 100,000 enemies and Hezekiah prayed to the Lord for deliverance?  You better believe there was a celebration when they were mysteriously struck down.   Remember when the Egyptian army was bearing down on the Israelites and God parted the Red Sea?  There was such celebration that Moses had to tell the people to stop giving. 

Joy is multiplied when it happens together.  Joy is multiplied when there is serious risk.  Joy is multiplied when there's corporate victory in the most difficult of circumstances.  And all this comes from corporate obedience to the purposes of God.    It's when a church is praying together earnestly for a property and by a miracle it comes through!  It's with churches gathering across the country to pray and petition leaders that a certain bill be passed or not passed and seeing it come to fruition when the vote comes through.  It's when people are trapped are in a natural disaster and a group labors against the clock and they free the man in the nick of time.  Celebration! You don't have to remind people to celebrate.  It comes naturally

When we press in together for great things of God and see the impossible happen, that's when shouts of joy come naturally.  And when we see our hero, God himself, come into the room, he never needs to do anything.  His track record alone makes us celebrate with joy when He comes into the house.

Israel had that.  Their hero had saved them out of so many impossible situations that when the Psalmist says, "Shout for joy!"  The main question is where are the trumpets and tambourines, because we want to dance.  Hallelujah!

 

The Moment of Faith

Someone was saying a few months ago that Hollywood has nothing on Scripture.  I agree.  And was inspired to make this video:

More of Psalm 23

I continue to be gleaning a lot on Psalm 23, and it's not so much profound insight of the mind as it is the gleaning of the revelation of God's love.

Psalm 84: Familiar and New

"How lovely is your dwelling place O Lord Almighty...Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.  I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked..."

As you can see this psalm is very familiar, which actually made it a little harder to memorize.  I know the song well but it doesn't exactly match the psalm, so a little confusing.


Interestingly this psalm touched me in a new way reading it from a different season of life.  A number of years ago I was constantly on the move with the work that I did,  and I was struggling with loneliness and feeling left out of "normal."   So when I read the verse "Even the sparrow has found a home" I was reading it thinking the psalm was a complaint.  (When I look back, I wonder 'How could I have possibly though that?!')

But oh so wonderful is this psalm from a different perspective!  The dwelling place of God is so wonderful that even the sparrow and the swallow find their home.  It's not psalm of exclusion but of inclusion! 


I was also touched by the understanding that blessed are those who "set their hearts on pilgrimmage....they go from strength to strength."  The Christian life is one of pilgrimmage.  It's not a one-time event but a journey.  And this journey isn't from struggle to struggle but strength to strength.  If we had this perspective, how much of our perspective on life change?  How much more our joy?  That's what I want. 

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Psalm 84:  memorized 10/5/10

The Joy of the Brotherhood--Ps 119:74

"May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word." (Ps 119:74)

I might not have understood this Scripture had I not been to supper last night with some college friends. They had been ministering in North Africa and are now back in the States.   Truly one of the things that brings me joy and strengthens my heart is meeting up with Christian brothers and sisters from years past and seeing their walk in the Lord and that they are pressing ever nearer to him.  It is always an encouragement to my heart.  Every time.   Last night I get the overflow of their love for the Lord.  And I hope others will daily get mine.  The church of Jesus is great, especially because of the people.

Freedom--Ps 119

When I was in college one of the assignments of my fellow students was to ask people "What is freedom?"  Invariable the answers were the same--"no laws."  Perhaps this is typical for your average college student but it is also true for so many others, and yet it does not even have a hint of truth to it.  We have a word for it, when we as a people are left to ourselves following our own desires with no contraints.  We call it anarchy.  Otherwise known as hell on earth.  As much as we try, it just doesn't work.

Psalm 119 validates that true freedom is found within keeping the foundations of God's law.  "I walk about in freedom for I have sought out your precepts" (v. 44) says the psalmist.  Life also validates this.  How many hours/days/weeks does a pianist have to make themselves "slaves" to the playing of scales before they are free to play beautiful music?  Or what about gravity?  If we truly want to be free to fly there are many laws that must be accepted and obeyed, like gravity.  Or how about animals?  My mom's dog loves to take walks but there is one problem--she takes off like a missile when she sees a deer or a rabbit.  No amount of calling will do any good.  Therefore if we are in a place of greater danger (city park), she must be put on the leash.  She hasn't yet learned to obey.  If she were to obey and respond, then I could let her off the leash and she could be free.

This theme of freedom comes out directly and indirectly in Ps 119.  God's ways aren't bondage, they are truly the way of liberation.  This understanding, this thirst, this perspective, this attitude, this longing to the psalmist is a downpour of rain on a desert land.

"I run in the path of your commands for you have set my heart free."  (v. 32)

This is my praise.  And this is my prayer.

Light is made for the Darkness--Ps 119:105

   (I kid you not, I had parked right here 2 weeks previous.)

Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii has been erupting continuously since 1983,  delighting people from around the world.  The very best time to view the lava is in the evening.  Not only is it the best because the lava is more visible against the black canvas of night, but because at 5 pm the park workers give you a brief instruction of how to stay safe and then head home.  Obviously upon their departure everyone gets as close to the lava as they dare.   The mesmerizing flows of liquid lava can provide hours of entertainment as it oozes its liquid fire down the mountain.  But after several hours it becomes time to head back to where you parked.  This is where the hard part begins.

On rare occasions the lava is close to the former highway that it continues to devour, but more often than not to get to the flow you have to walk several miles over some of the more treacherous terrain on earth—dried lava.   Huge mounds of this black, asphalt looking substance are broken up into massive chunks,  jutting out in all sorts of directions.  This requires going up one slab, down another, jumping across a gap and keeping this up for several hours.  It is a breeding ground for sprained ankles, skinned knees and broken legs.  The journey is slow and difficult and this is during the day.  At night it is an arduous task.  Ten years ago the path was not marked so on this massive expanse of lava you just had to guess your way back to where you had parked. 

Danger is a bit inherent with the landscape.    One such danger is that when the dry lava goes into the ocean it cools and dries solid adhering to the land.  What is not seen is that while this area looks like land, there’s nothing underneath it to support it.  They call it a “shelf.”  After it builds up from continuous lava drying on top of it, whole massive amounts of land can spontaneously break off into the ocean.  No one has yet survived a shelf break.  While the sound of the ocean beating against the lava cliff is appealing, it is not advisable to get too close and be in range of a collapse.

So there I was in the middle of the lava flow heading back over several miles of terrain.  It was one of the first times my friend and I had been to the flow so we had hiked out during the day, but now it was very late at night and time to head back.  My friend had not brought their flashlight but I thought this would be no problem.  I had a small flashlight that was typically bright and we could just use that.  Little did I know that the batteries were on their last leg giving out only the dimmest of beams.  It was not a good situation.  Because of the late hour of the night there were not many others on the path.   There were no markers to illuminate the way and no cell phone service within miles to call a friend, just inky black darkness with only a faint whisper of light. 

Slowly and meticulously we made our way not even sure which direction we were heading.   Our eyes strained as we picked our way over the difficult surroundings.  At one point we began to hear waves slamming against the lava cliffs.  This was not a good sign.  Not only because this meant we were wandering to the edge of a cliff, but because it also meant we were wandering close to the top of a potential lava shelf.  We backed up and headed parallel to the sound of the ocean.  After several hours we finally we made it back to where we had parked.   What a relief!  We had made it back safely.

What I learned that night is that light is a beautiful thing, be it a flashlight or moonlight.  When it is dark we do not have good understanding of what is going on, what is the safe way for us to walk in and how to get where we need to go.  Without it we can be in great danger. 

Jesus said that He is the light of the world.  Scripture teaches us that the full understanding of His light is found in His law:  “Your word," the psalmist declares  "is a lamp to my feet and light for my path” (Ps 119:105).   His Word is our flashlight in the night when we travel over through difficult terrain. 

As Jesus draws ever nearer to his return, the dark will get darker and that which was once visible will become even more difficult to see.   We already are seeing this in our world.  More than ever before it is becoming apparent that we need to be prepared with with lights that are brightly lit in order to move forward.  This isn’t just true for the things that are going on around us but even in our own walk with Jesus.  There are many times even as we journey with Him that we may not fully understand what is going on. 

The psalmist himself was passing through difficult trials when he spoke about the Word being a lamp to his feet and a light to his lamp.  In that same context he says “I have suffered much.”  Whatever was going on he reports that “I constantly take my life in my hands.” Furthermore “the wicked have set a snare for me” (Ps 119:107, 109, 110).   These were not times of trouble-free living but rather quite the opposite.  For this reason the psalmist clung all that much more to the light—the very Word of the Lord. 

“I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous

laws” (v. 106)

“I will not forget your law” (v. 109)

“Your statues are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.  My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end” (v. 110-112). 

The psalmist says resolutely that he will follow his righteous laws, that he will not forget and that his heart is set on keeping the decrees of the Lord to the very end.  This is the attitude of the psalmist during these difficult trials of suffering where perhaps he doesn’t see as clearly.  But he trusts the light of the law to show him the way to walk.
Scripture instructs us to “let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.”  This can only happen through intentionality, by the meditating on and the obeying of His Word.  This keeps our light brightly lit.   Memorization is one of the ways we can secure that Word in our hearts and mind.  It helps keep the lamp oil replenished and our batteries charged.

The night we were hiking on Kilauea lava flow my flashlight was barely shining a beam.   I can tell you from this experience that a dim light while better than nothing at all does not offer a lot of help.   For me as the darkness gets darker in our world, I want the light of His Word to burn in my heart ever more brightly.   Light was made for the darkness and a dim light just won’t do.  It just isn’t sufficient to clearly show us the way to walk.   This is the lesson I learned that black night on Kilauea lava flow, a lesson I hope I will never forget.  A mere 14 days after our excursion this point was made all the more clear.  Near the ocean cliff where we had accidentally wandered there was a shelf collapse--22 acres of land abruptly broke off and plunged violently into the ocean’s abyss, never to be seen again. 

Untrained... Ps 23

The good news is that I'm discovering that "goodness and love" are always relational. These are not things we have, they are things we express. Sounds basic, but I think more often than not we think of these values as something abstract in us that needs to grow. And while this is somewhat true, love and goodness are more about how we relate. If I were to define these it would be this: Love and goodness are what we do and in what spirit we do it.

It reminds me of a husband I knew who was in a very heated battle with his wife. As he was getting ready to storm out there into the bad weather, God told him clearly that if he left the house he (God) would strike him with lightning. (Did I mention he had been struck once before?) He argued fiercely with the Lord saying that he knew that he was 100% right. But after 45 minutes of standing at the door wrestling with God, he came to the understanding that while he was 100% right in the argument, he was 100% wrong in his spirit. Our spirit in what we do matters infinitely more. This true-life story has ministered to me for many years as I've asked myself in what spirit am I doing what I am doing.

So love and goodness are always relational. Always. And Scripture says these follow us all the days of our life so we're surrounded. Even in the harshest conditions there is love and goodness which brings me to the bad news. I'm untrained!

Yes, untrained. Untrained in seeing it. After a week of being on this journey of writing down the love and goodness that surrounds me, I'm only at #49. Pathetic! We've been so trained to be critical, always judging, finding Murphy's Law, etc... that the eyes of our spirits are dimmed. At least mine are. I am going to keep on working to 1000 and hopefully by the time I get there my eyes will be opened a whole lot more than they are now. If you're reading this, I challenge you to participate and see if you fare any better than me...

Nothing Hidden--Ps 19

When I've read Psalm 19 in the past, I've thought to myself, "It's really a beautiful psalm, albeit a bit disjunctive." It goes from the heavens declaring the glory of the Lord, then to the sun as it makes its beautiful arc across the sky, and then the Law. Creation, beauty, and then the Law. Seems out of place. The good news is that with memorizing the Scriptures, you actually slow down enough to get it. I get this psalm now.

This psalm is about nothing being hidden, everything laid bare. And David feeling his exposure. If I were to summarize the psalm, it would look like this:

The heavens declare your glory,
never are they silent as they declare your works.
There is none on earth who are hidden, everyone hears.

The sun is full of splendor,
triumphant in glory as it makes its procession across the sky.
There is none on earth who are hidden, everyone is touched by its heat.

The Law of the Lord is spectacular,
Lifting up the head of man.
There is none on earth who are hidden, no one is untouched by His commands.

There are none untouched by You,
To the one who responds there is life,
To the one who rebels there is death.

"Oh Lord!" cries out David.
I have unintentional sin and I am exposed by that which sees all.
Please forgive me.

"Oh Lord!" cries out David.
I am a willful sinner and am exposed to that which exposes all.
Do not let me be ruled by my stubborness.

If you do these things,O Lord
then I will be righteous.

So dear God, my prayer is this:
"May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to You..."