Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Freaked out by Psalm 23
Woke up this morning quoting "yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil."
I don't know why that scripture was on my mind. Is this to prepare me for something? Is it a warning? I hate to think of what that could mean!
The Psalm says "fear no evil" yet that's exactly what awakening to it gave me - fear.
My death, well, at least if it's quick, doesn't scare me so much. But the thought of Lynda's does. Or one of my children, or grandchild. Okay, so it does say the valley of the shadow of death .. now it's scary to think of the possibility of not being able to mountain bike any more.
I began looking at cross references to "the Lord is my Shepherd." Many of them say "no fear."
Lord, I think I need to remind myself again that Your blessings are for the moment. For this moment. They are not mine to have & hold forever (at least the temporal blessings here on earth). And, if one blessing disappears, or is removed, that You have another, even greater, blessing awaiting me.
Lord, I can see that this is going to be a day of trust. I'm going to have to trust your goodness today. Surely goodness and lovingkindness has followed me all the days of my life. And, I know I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. My cup overflows!
So, help me today Lord, to be filled with trust and not with fear. I hate fear. And, by the way Lord, I didn't particularly like waking up to the 23rd Psalm. Today I'll try to remember Psalm 112: How blessed is the man who fears the Lord ... light arises in the darkness for him ... he will never be shaken ... he will not fear evil tidings, his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
I don't know why that scripture was on my mind. Is this to prepare me for something? Is it a warning? I hate to think of what that could mean!
The Psalm says "fear no evil" yet that's exactly what awakening to it gave me - fear.
My death, well, at least if it's quick, doesn't scare me so much. But the thought of Lynda's does. Or one of my children, or grandchild. Okay, so it does say the valley of the shadow of death .. now it's scary to think of the possibility of not being able to mountain bike any more.
I began looking at cross references to "the Lord is my Shepherd." Many of them say "no fear."
Lord, I think I need to remind myself again that Your blessings are for the moment. For this moment. They are not mine to have & hold forever (at least the temporal blessings here on earth). And, if one blessing disappears, or is removed, that You have another, even greater, blessing awaiting me.
Lord, I can see that this is going to be a day of trust. I'm going to have to trust your goodness today. Surely goodness and lovingkindness has followed me all the days of my life. And, I know I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. My cup overflows!
So, help me today Lord, to be filled with trust and not with fear. I hate fear. And, by the way Lord, I didn't particularly like waking up to the 23rd Psalm. Today I'll try to remember Psalm 112: How blessed is the man who fears the Lord ... light arises in the darkness for him ... he will never be shaken ... he will not fear evil tidings, his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
I'm gonna make you mine
I Jn 4:10
In this is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the satisfaction for our sin.
If You have done this for me, Lord, will you not pursue me to the very end?
How awesome is it to think that you care for me this way, that you will pursue me day in and day out. You will never leave me nor forsake me. You will never give up on me. Wow - you will never give up on me.
I woke up several times during the night singing a song. When I got up in the morning I was still singing the song. I found myself asking God, "Is this a song I should be singing to you? Or are you singing the song to me?" As soon as I asked the question I John 4:10 came to mind. Yes God was (and is) singing this to me:
I'm going to make you mine
I'll try every trick in the book. With every step that you take, everywhere that you look, just look and you'll find, I'll try to get to your soul, I'll try to get to your mind. I'm gonna make you mine.
I know I'll never give up, I'm at the end of my rope. From morning till suppertime you'll find I'll be waiting in line, I'll be waiting in line. I'm gonna make you mine.
Baby I'm gonna make you mine, make you mine, make you mine. Baby I'm gonna make you mine. I gonna make you mine.
I'll be a hard-loving pushin kind of individual, knockin night & day at your door. You'll have to turn me away like an indestructible force. Baby I'm gonna make you mine, make you mine, make you mine. Baby I'm gonna make you mine.
I need someone who will never give up on me, and that someone is You, Lord. You will never give up. Never. Wow. Thank you. I needed to hear that.
And - I do want to be made Yours! Thank you for pursuing me, especially when I'm not pursuing You.
What to do with this? Go to youtube and listen to the song and then think about God singing it to you all day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLemdORSx_E
In this is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the satisfaction for our sin.
If You have done this for me, Lord, will you not pursue me to the very end?
How awesome is it to think that you care for me this way, that you will pursue me day in and day out. You will never leave me nor forsake me. You will never give up on me. Wow - you will never give up on me.
I woke up several times during the night singing a song. When I got up in the morning I was still singing the song. I found myself asking God, "Is this a song I should be singing to you? Or are you singing the song to me?" As soon as I asked the question I John 4:10 came to mind. Yes God was (and is) singing this to me:
I'm going to make you mine
I'll try every trick in the book. With every step that you take, everywhere that you look, just look and you'll find, I'll try to get to your soul, I'll try to get to your mind. I'm gonna make you mine.
I know I'll never give up, I'm at the end of my rope. From morning till suppertime you'll find I'll be waiting in line, I'll be waiting in line. I'm gonna make you mine.
Baby I'm gonna make you mine, make you mine, make you mine. Baby I'm gonna make you mine. I gonna make you mine.
I'll be a hard-loving pushin kind of individual, knockin night & day at your door. You'll have to turn me away like an indestructible force. Baby I'm gonna make you mine, make you mine, make you mine. Baby I'm gonna make you mine.
I need someone who will never give up on me, and that someone is You, Lord. You will never give up. Never. Wow. Thank you. I needed to hear that.
And - I do want to be made Yours! Thank you for pursuing me, especially when I'm not pursuing You.
What to do with this? Go to youtube and listen to the song and then think about God singing it to you all day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLemdORSx_E
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
What should they have done?
In the boat while Jesus slept.
Combining Mt., Mk., and Lk., "Master! Master! We are perishing ..." "Lord, save us!" "Teacher, don't you care that we are perishing?"
And he said to them "Why are you fearful, you of little faith." "Where is your faith?" "How is it you have no faith?"
So, how should they have responded? Should they have concluded "Jesus is in the boat, so it's not going to sink ... let's just keep rowing and bailing." Or should they have said "Jesus, if you could wake up for a second and calm the water it would be good because it's coming in faster than we can bail." Or should they have concluded that they could rebuke the wind and waves themselves?
I don't know. What did Jesus expect from them? What would a response of faith have been? What would I have done?
Combining Mt., Mk., and Lk., "Master! Master! We are perishing ..." "Lord, save us!" "Teacher, don't you care that we are perishing?"
And he said to them "Why are you fearful, you of little faith." "Where is your faith?" "How is it you have no faith?"
So, how should they have responded? Should they have concluded "Jesus is in the boat, so it's not going to sink ... let's just keep rowing and bailing." Or should they have said "Jesus, if you could wake up for a second and calm the water it would be good because it's coming in faster than we can bail." Or should they have concluded that they could rebuke the wind and waves themselves?
I don't know. What did Jesus expect from them? What would a response of faith have been? What would I have done?
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Life, consuming death
Perishable must put on imperishable. Mortality must put on immortality.
Death is swallowed up by victory.
As I watched my friend dying of cancer I found myself thinking "his life is being swallowed up by the cancer." Yet when I saw this scripture the Lord showed me I had it backwards.
We are all walking in death. We're all dying even as we live, day to day. What I saw in my friend is that life (immortality) was consuming his death. The imperishable was swallowing up or absorbing his perishable, his mortality.
When it was finished, death died and he became fully alive. So then the saying became true, death is swallowed up in victory. Death is swallowed up by life. So, death: where is your victory? Life (resurrection life) is so powerful, it can consume and destroy death.
This happens on a personal scale, and it is also happening to the entire creation.
When Christ returns, at the end of the millennium, he will create a new heaven and a new earth. There will be no more death, no more corruption, no more sin. We all will be, in a sense, like God: knowing good and evil, yet confirmed in the choice of good.
This is certainly not in the sense the devil intended it to mean. Perhaps, even before He made man, God had mentioned to the devil that at some point that man would become like God. The devil warped that into a platform for rebellion.
The difference is this: the devil wants (and wants us to want) the non-moral attributes of God, like power, omniscience, omnipotence. God wants us to want His moral attributes. I see "becoming like God" as being confirmed in His moral attributes: goodness, holiness, purity, faithfulness ...
When life makes its final move upon death, those who have trusted Jesus as their savior will be confirmed in this goodness. "When He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is."
Death is swallowed up by victory.
As I watched my friend dying of cancer I found myself thinking "his life is being swallowed up by the cancer." Yet when I saw this scripture the Lord showed me I had it backwards.
We are all walking in death. We're all dying even as we live, day to day. What I saw in my friend is that life (immortality) was consuming his death. The imperishable was swallowing up or absorbing his perishable, his mortality.
When it was finished, death died and he became fully alive. So then the saying became true, death is swallowed up in victory. Death is swallowed up by life. So, death: where is your victory? Life (resurrection life) is so powerful, it can consume and destroy death.
This happens on a personal scale, and it is also happening to the entire creation.
When Christ returns, at the end of the millennium, he will create a new heaven and a new earth. There will be no more death, no more corruption, no more sin. We all will be, in a sense, like God: knowing good and evil, yet confirmed in the choice of good.
This is certainly not in the sense the devil intended it to mean. Perhaps, even before He made man, God had mentioned to the devil that at some point that man would become like God. The devil warped that into a platform for rebellion.
The difference is this: the devil wants (and wants us to want) the non-moral attributes of God, like power, omniscience, omnipotence. God wants us to want His moral attributes. I see "becoming like God" as being confirmed in His moral attributes: goodness, holiness, purity, faithfulness ...
When life makes its final move upon death, those who have trusted Jesus as their savior will be confirmed in this goodness. "When He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is."
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