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."
The Good Life
I'm beginning to feel like I'm blogging alone. Is anybody out there?
We've started reading from the Psalms. The very first psalm vividly contrasts two lifestyles. One leaves a person dry, brittle and without anything to show for his life. I think Kansas must have gotten their metaphor of "All we are is dust in the wind" from this passage. But the other lifestyle is one rich in spiritual nourishment that comes from an openness and eagerness to be led by God. "Blessed is the man . . . whose delight is in the law (Word) of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." In that kind of life is stability, fruitfulness and a future. Far from "dust in the wind," this kind of person is "like a tree planted by streams of water."
This psalm reminds me that wanting to be led by God takes intentionality. To want it isn't enough. I have to put myself in the position to hear from him. Meditating on God's word needs to be a part of my daily routine if I want the good life. This kind of meditating is a lot different than eastern meditation practices. They do it to clear their minds. I do it to fill my mind. Meditating is letting something simmer. It's like putting the tea bag in the water and letting it start to change the whole flavor of things.
If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate. It just means to mull something over in your mind. The object is just to switch the content from anxious thoughts to God's truth. This discipline of journaling from Scripture is a great way to meditate on the word of the Lord. I am being richly blessed by doing it. And I know that it is guarding me from being misdirected by the values and ideals of "sinners" that masquerade as icons of success.
We've started reading from the Psalms. The very first psalm vividly contrasts two lifestyles. One leaves a person dry, brittle and without anything to show for his life. I think Kansas must have gotten their metaphor of "All we are is dust in the wind" from this passage. But the other lifestyle is one rich in spiritual nourishment that comes from an openness and eagerness to be led by God. "Blessed is the man . . . whose delight is in the law (Word) of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." In that kind of life is stability, fruitfulness and a future. Far from "dust in the wind," this kind of person is "like a tree planted by streams of water."
This psalm reminds me that wanting to be led by God takes intentionality. To want it isn't enough. I have to put myself in the position to hear from him. Meditating on God's word needs to be a part of my daily routine if I want the good life. This kind of meditating is a lot different than eastern meditation practices. They do it to clear their minds. I do it to fill my mind. Meditating is letting something simmer. It's like putting the tea bag in the water and letting it start to change the whole flavor of things.
If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate. It just means to mull something over in your mind. The object is just to switch the content from anxious thoughts to God's truth. This discipline of journaling from Scripture is a great way to meditate on the word of the Lord. I am being richly blessed by doing it. And I know that it is guarding me from being misdirected by the values and ideals of "sinners" that masquerade as icons of success.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Lasting Legacy
Get this picture:
Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. . . . Those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever. (Dan. 12:2-3)
Life is headed somewhere. Every person in every place will eventually be lumped into one of two groups: the saved and the condemned. Eternity is looming. That is why the work of sharing the message of Jesus is so crucial.
I want my lift to leave a lasting impact for good that will outlive me. As I share my life and love with others so that they find the relationship with Jesus that sets them free, my legacy will shine on forever! That, my friends, is significance. I will make it my aim to help people move even one step closer to the cross.
Jesus, lead me to lead more people to you. I'm available and willing for you to use me, even today. Amen.
Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. . . . Those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever. (Dan. 12:2-3)
Life is headed somewhere. Every person in every place will eventually be lumped into one of two groups: the saved and the condemned. Eternity is looming. That is why the work of sharing the message of Jesus is so crucial.
I want my lift to leave a lasting impact for good that will outlive me. As I share my life and love with others so that they find the relationship with Jesus that sets them free, my legacy will shine on forever! That, my friends, is significance. I will make it my aim to help people move even one step closer to the cross.
Jesus, lead me to lead more people to you. I'm available and willing for you to use me, even today. Amen.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
I Stand With Sinners
"We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name . . ." (Dan. 9:5-6)
What had Daniel done wrong? Even the archangel calls him "highly esteemed" (v. 21-23). This guy is about as tuned into God as they come. Yet his confession of Israel's sins is spoken as one of them ("we"). God's people who wear his Name (v. 19), but don't live in his ways need not my condemnation but my intercession. But rather than setting myself above them, as if I am more righteous, I need to identify with them and confess our guilt as a people. This exemplifies the true oneness of God's people as he sees us.
Father, we have sinned and failed to listen to your messengers, especially to Jesus. We wear his name, but so feebly and reluctantly walk down the path in which he leads us. Please forgive us. Please show mercy. May we bring glory and praise to your name again as a people instead of scorn. Amen.
What had Daniel done wrong? Even the archangel calls him "highly esteemed" (v. 21-23). This guy is about as tuned into God as they come. Yet his confession of Israel's sins is spoken as one of them ("we"). God's people who wear his Name (v. 19), but don't live in his ways need not my condemnation but my intercession. But rather than setting myself above them, as if I am more righteous, I need to identify with them and confess our guilt as a people. This exemplifies the true oneness of God's people as he sees us.
Father, we have sinned and failed to listen to your messengers, especially to Jesus. We wear his name, but so feebly and reluctantly walk down the path in which he leads us. Please forgive us. Please show mercy. May we bring glory and praise to your name again as a people instead of scorn. Amen.
Beyond Understanding
I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days. . . . I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding. (Dan. 8:27)
Daniel's often celebrated wisdom and insight as a man full of God's Spirit did not give him perfect understanding of God's will. Even this outstanding man of God wrestled with deep questions and periods of confusion and even depression. God's ways and plans are in many cases "beyond understanding." Things that he allows to happen may be "appalling" to our sensibilities. But these are questions that arise out of faith, not unbelief. God reserves the exclusive right to all knowledge and understanding.
I have to admit that I once thought I had God and his will all figured out. Nice, neat answers. Everything cut and dried. No mysteries. Then God humbled me. I will trust him with all that I don't understand. And I will be real with him when I am torn up with confusion about the way life unfolds.
And yet I will remember that you, Lord, are God alone, and I am not. Amen.
Daniel's often celebrated wisdom and insight as a man full of God's Spirit did not give him perfect understanding of God's will. Even this outstanding man of God wrestled with deep questions and periods of confusion and even depression. God's ways and plans are in many cases "beyond understanding." Things that he allows to happen may be "appalling" to our sensibilities. But these are questions that arise out of faith, not unbelief. God reserves the exclusive right to all knowledge and understanding.
I have to admit that I once thought I had God and his will all figured out. Nice, neat answers. Everything cut and dried. No mysteries. Then God humbled me. I will trust him with all that I don't understand. And I will be real with him when I am torn up with confusion about the way life unfolds.
And yet I will remember that you, Lord, are God alone, and I am not. Amen.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Don't Even Try
I was struck by what was said in Daniel 7 about one of the most powerful men in world history:
He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. (Dan. 7:25)
The operative word here is "try." Though earth's powers will attempt to thwart the plans and purposes of God, they will never succeed. In spite of their hatred of the people of God, the text assures that all "the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High." (v. 27)
Even when all appears to be lost, when it seems like evil has won the day, I will remember that God rules. The reign of evil is a temporary state and even a puppet state at that, for Gopd uses it to accomplish his ultimate ends.
Lord, I receive gratefully your rule. Please bring your Kingdom to its fullest expression. Amen.
He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. (Dan. 7:25)
The operative word here is "try." Though earth's powers will attempt to thwart the plans and purposes of God, they will never succeed. In spite of their hatred of the people of God, the text assures that all "the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High." (v. 27)
Even when all appears to be lost, when it seems like evil has won the day, I will remember that God rules. The reign of evil is a temporary state and even a puppet state at that, for Gopd uses it to accomplish his ultimate ends.
Lord, I receive gratefully your rule. Please bring your Kingdom to its fullest expression. Amen.
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