I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me. (Psalm 16:7)
A person who is seeking God and his will for his life, living in fellowship with God, spiritual antenas up, can expect to receive God's personal guidance. This counsel often comes internally. In these parallel statements from Psalm 16:7, "the LORD" is parallel with "my heart." In other words, God does at times lay things on our hearts.
How can I discern which thoughts or inclinations are originating from my own humanity and which are the counsel of God? God's counsel will always be in harmony with his written Word and will be confirmed through prayer. If my relationship with God is one of complete submission--a "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening" fram of life--then what he is counseling me to do will become clear. If still in doubt, I should seek confirmation through the counsel of godly people who themselves are strongly connected with God and have fully embraced his mission through a trusting posture.
Lord, guide me. Counsel me. Help me to hear what you are speaking to my heart. Amen.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
The Defenders
You can say my spiritual phonograph needle is stuck, but I can't seem to escape this recurring theme:
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless....
You encourage [the afflicted], and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed. (Psalm 10:14, 17-18)
My observation is that when people read this, they (and I) tend to make the application to how God cares for me when I'm the victim, how he listens to my cries and defends me when I'm being oppressed. And I'm not arguing against that. Thank God that he does!
But what I'm being convicted of is that the application doesn't stop with how God meets my needs. This is describing, again, the character of God. And since I'm supposed to be becoming more godly in my own character, I have to look at the character of God to see what it really means to be godly. It's more than just avoiding extra-marital affairs or cutting out profanity.
Since I've been saved by God's grace, I am empowered and freed by the Holy Spirit to let go of self-centered values and be infused with God's values. And God's values are all about the good of his creation and everybody in it. What breaks his heart, as seen in this psalm, is human suffering, especially when the victim is alone in the world, with no voice and no one to help.
God keeps convicting me of my own responsibilities to act on his behalf. It's got to be primarily through his people--his respresentatives on earth--that he "encourages the afflicted" and "defends the oppressed." How can my heart not break for what breaks God's heart?
Merciful Father, teach me your mercy. Show me who to encourage and on whose behalf I should exert my influence. And please, raise up your church to engage, in a major way, the giants of poverty, disease and oppression that affect billions of people. If not us, Lord, who? Amen.
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless....
You encourage [the afflicted], and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed. (Psalm 10:14, 17-18)
My observation is that when people read this, they (and I) tend to make the application to how God cares for me when I'm the victim, how he listens to my cries and defends me when I'm being oppressed. And I'm not arguing against that. Thank God that he does!
But what I'm being convicted of is that the application doesn't stop with how God meets my needs. This is describing, again, the character of God. And since I'm supposed to be becoming more godly in my own character, I have to look at the character of God to see what it really means to be godly. It's more than just avoiding extra-marital affairs or cutting out profanity.
Since I've been saved by God's grace, I am empowered and freed by the Holy Spirit to let go of self-centered values and be infused with God's values. And God's values are all about the good of his creation and everybody in it. What breaks his heart, as seen in this psalm, is human suffering, especially when the victim is alone in the world, with no voice and no one to help.
God keeps convicting me of my own responsibilities to act on his behalf. It's got to be primarily through his people--his respresentatives on earth--that he "encourages the afflicted" and "defends the oppressed." How can my heart not break for what breaks God's heart?
Merciful Father, teach me your mercy. Show me who to encourage and on whose behalf I should exert my influence. And please, raise up your church to engage, in a major way, the giants of poverty, disease and oppression that affect billions of people. If not us, Lord, who? Amen.
Known By His Justice
Psalm 9 says . . .
The Lord is known by his justice....
The needy will not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish. (v. 16, 18)
Here it is again. God's love shows itself in his concern for justice in the world. And there's something new added: that God is known by his justice. Not known for his justice; known by his justice. I think what that means is that I don't really know God adequately until caring for the needy, the forgotten, and the afflicted becomes one of my own core values. This is such a big part of the heart of God that my own heart is connected with his through my sharing his compulsion to work for justness in the world.
Am I forgetting the needy in the world? in my own community? What am I personally doing to address their needs? I feel that I have been somewhat indifferent to such things. Or maybe I've thought they were worthy causes, but they were for somebody else to deal with. Not that I haven't done some. But I feel like I need to do more. A few contributions here and there just isn't enough, given the size of the need.
O Father, show me how to approach this so that what I do makes a real difference. What can I give in addition to money? in addition to my unskilled labor? How can I use my influence and my best skills and gifts to address the huge needs of people? Show me, please. Amen.
The Lord is known by his justice....
The needy will not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish. (v. 16, 18)
Here it is again. God's love shows itself in his concern for justice in the world. And there's something new added: that God is known by his justice. Not known for his justice; known by his justice. I think what that means is that I don't really know God adequately until caring for the needy, the forgotten, and the afflicted becomes one of my own core values. This is such a big part of the heart of God that my own heart is connected with his through my sharing his compulsion to work for justness in the world.
Am I forgetting the needy in the world? in my own community? What am I personally doing to address their needs? I feel that I have been somewhat indifferent to such things. Or maybe I've thought they were worthy causes, but they were for somebody else to deal with. Not that I haven't done some. But I feel like I need to do more. A few contributions here and there just isn't enough, given the size of the need.
O Father, show me how to approach this so that what I do makes a real difference. What can I give in addition to money? in addition to my unskilled labor? How can I use my influence and my best skills and gifts to address the huge needs of people? Show me, please. Amen.
Angry Enough to Act
Arise, O LORD, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice....
God is a righeous judge,
a God who expresses his wrath every day. (Psalm 7:6, 11)
This psalm, on the surface, makes God sound like a vengeful, angry God who is perched to strike and kill whoever doesn't obey him. Passages like this give many people the impression that the God of the Bible, or at least, the God of the Old Testament, is really rather hateful and lacking in compassion. In other words, they charge God with being less compassionate than humans are.
But on a closer reading, the writer (David) viewed these expressions of God's character as proof of just the opposite: that God deeply cares about people. This poem rebuffs the idea that God is apathetic to the injustices that people suffer. Far from sitting back, disinterested, feet propped up on his desk, unmoved by our plights, God gets riled up when innocent people are abused. What's implied here by God's intense anger towards the perpetrators of such injustices is stated explicitly in Psalm 9:12: For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
God cares. It isn't God who is lacking compassion. It's humanity. And if he cares so deeply about injustices in his world, so should I. I must care too. And rather than sit back apathetically, I need to do whatever I can to alleviate the plight of the victims.
Lord, help me to discern how and where to fight for the abused and oppressed. Amen.
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice....
God is a righeous judge,
a God who expresses his wrath every day. (Psalm 7:6, 11)
This psalm, on the surface, makes God sound like a vengeful, angry God who is perched to strike and kill whoever doesn't obey him. Passages like this give many people the impression that the God of the Bible, or at least, the God of the Old Testament, is really rather hateful and lacking in compassion. In other words, they charge God with being less compassionate than humans are.
But on a closer reading, the writer (David) viewed these expressions of God's character as proof of just the opposite: that God deeply cares about people. This poem rebuffs the idea that God is apathetic to the injustices that people suffer. Far from sitting back, disinterested, feet propped up on his desk, unmoved by our plights, God gets riled up when innocent people are abused. What's implied here by God's intense anger towards the perpetrators of such injustices is stated explicitly in Psalm 9:12: For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
God cares. It isn't God who is lacking compassion. It's humanity. And if he cares so deeply about injustices in his world, so should I. I must care too. And rather than sit back apathetically, I need to do whatever I can to alleviate the plight of the victims.
Lord, help me to discern how and where to fight for the abused and oppressed. Amen.
Monday, August 20, 2007
"From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger" - Psalms 8:2
I can understand how praise from the lips of children and infants would be the most sincere praise. I can understand how in light of this sincere praise the foe would be silenced. But what about the avenger. When I read over this lightly I assumed that the avenger was an agent of God. If this is so then why would praise silence the avenger?
The best I have come up with is that because God is just, that sin requires a response. It is God's intent to end sin so that vengance is no longer required and that sincere praise will be a part of ending sin.
Somebody help me with this.
I can understand how praise from the lips of children and infants would be the most sincere praise. I can understand how in light of this sincere praise the foe would be silenced. But what about the avenger. When I read over this lightly I assumed that the avenger was an agent of God. If this is so then why would praise silence the avenger?
The best I have come up with is that because God is just, that sin requires a response. It is God's intent to end sin so that vengance is no longer required and that sincere praise will be a part of ending sin.
Somebody help me with this.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
God's Eternal Pleasures at His Good Right Hand
[I'm posting this on behalf of Jim. The following are his thoughts.]
Scripture: Psalm 16:8-11
I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Observation:
The Lord is always before standing where He knows I should be, holding out His right hand to me. With my right hand in His right hand my heart will be made unshakable and be made glad, I will rest secure and know my Father will not abandon me. He will be make known the path of life, fill me with joy in His presence and let me know of eternal pleasures at His right hand.
Application:
My Heavenly Father stands were He wants me to be, holding out His good right hand. If I will put my right hand in His right hand He will:
Always be set before me.
I will not be shaken.
My body will rest secure because He will not abandon me.
He will make known the path of life.
I will be filled with joy in His presence.
I will be filled with eternal pleasures at His right hand.
I must come nearer to my Father, reach out, and offer (allow Him to take) my right hand and then be ready for a ride of a life time.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for standing in Nias, where you knew I should be and holding out your good right hand to me. I thank you for helping me have the strength, faith, and courage to submit my right hand to your good right hand. Also I think it was a good stuff for You to use the President of Indonesia and his Foreign Minister (men of a different faith) to finalize my commitment to Nias. Please continue to expand your blessings on the TEARS work (Your work) in Nias. Please help me to always give you the glory for Your work plus what every small things I might do.
How will I be different today because of what I have just read?
I will continually check and observe to determine that my Father and I have our right hands joined.
Scripture: Psalm 16:8-11
I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Observation:
The Lord is always before standing where He knows I should be, holding out His right hand to me. With my right hand in His right hand my heart will be made unshakable and be made glad, I will rest secure and know my Father will not abandon me. He will be make known the path of life, fill me with joy in His presence and let me know of eternal pleasures at His right hand.
Application:
My Heavenly Father stands were He wants me to be, holding out His good right hand. If I will put my right hand in His right hand He will:
Always be set before me.
I will not be shaken.
My body will rest secure because He will not abandon me.
He will make known the path of life.
I will be filled with joy in His presence.
I will be filled with eternal pleasures at His right hand.
I must come nearer to my Father, reach out, and offer (allow Him to take) my right hand and then be ready for a ride of a life time.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for standing in Nias, where you knew I should be and holding out your good right hand to me. I thank you for helping me have the strength, faith, and courage to submit my right hand to your good right hand. Also I think it was a good stuff for You to use the President of Indonesia and his Foreign Minister (men of a different faith) to finalize my commitment to Nias. Please continue to expand your blessings on the TEARS work (Your work) in Nias. Please help me to always give you the glory for Your work plus what every small things I might do.
How will I be different today because of what I have just read?
I will continually check and observe to determine that my Father and I have our right hands joined.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
The Service of the King
"Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling." (Psalm 2:11-12).
This is far from the casual Christianity of many church-goers. Where is the awe? Have we so domesticated God that serving his mission is no longer a compelling responsibility? How has the service of the King of the universe, who holds our very lives in his hands, become subject to the spirit of American volunteerism: "I'll do it if I want to--if it pleases me to do it."
I love that statement, "rejoice with trembling." It totally debunks the controversy about whether worship should be celebratory and lively or reverent and subdued. In Scripture, those responses are never seen as mutually exclusive. God is so awesome that he inspires all out celebration for who he is and what he has done (or is doing, or will do) that brings us to our feet to clap our hands in joy. And then he also confronts us in ways that quiet us and send us to our knees in confession and surrender.
This exhortation from Scripture is tells me that if I really know God, he will unleash in me both an unbridled joy coupled with a profound awe. I know I will stand accountable to the King for the way I have approached his service and his worship. And I don't ever want to hear him say, "Chris, you did what you did half-heartedly."
This is far from the casual Christianity of many church-goers. Where is the awe? Have we so domesticated God that serving his mission is no longer a compelling responsibility? How has the service of the King of the universe, who holds our very lives in his hands, become subject to the spirit of American volunteerism: "I'll do it if I want to--if it pleases me to do it."
I love that statement, "rejoice with trembling." It totally debunks the controversy about whether worship should be celebratory and lively or reverent and subdued. In Scripture, those responses are never seen as mutually exclusive. God is so awesome that he inspires all out celebration for who he is and what he has done (or is doing, or will do) that brings us to our feet to clap our hands in joy. And then he also confronts us in ways that quiet us and send us to our knees in confession and surrender.
This exhortation from Scripture is tells me that if I really know God, he will unleash in me both an unbridled joy coupled with a profound awe. I know I will stand accountable to the King for the way I have approached his service and his worship. And I don't ever want to hear him say, "Chris, you did what you did half-heartedly."
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