The Lord is my refuge

 

Psalm 11

¹ In the LORD I take refuge.
How then can you say to me:
“Flee like a bird to your mountain.
² For look, the wicked bend their bows;
they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
at the upright in heart.
³ When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”

 A prayer for protection…

Lord, be my refuge.  Be my strength.   All around me I see the dangers.  There are those who say I should just run.  There are enemies who shoot lies at me from the shadows.   My heart has at times been wounded from their shots.  But Lord I trust in you to be my shield.  In the face of a crumbling world around me I will rest upon your truth.   Your foundations alone are sure.   You alone are my resting place.   If I run may I simply run to you.   In the name of the one who is righteous Jesus Christ my Lord.  I pray.  Amen.

Loving God, Loving Others

Mark 12:30-31

³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’^{[f] 31} The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[g] There is no commandment greater than these.”

Familiar verses?  Should be.  I’ve heard this quoted from many people (even those who do not profess to be a Christian).   In fact I was in Guatemala one time listening to a popular philosopher of the day who was making the argument that we are all gods and a part of the larger universe of “love”.   He quoted “we should love your neighbor as yourself”.    And it is true to the second part of this verse … for granted loving our neighbor as yourself is central to this passage.  Yet, how many times do many forget (something I mentioned to this popular philosopher) the first part.   “we are to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”   In fact this verse begins with the phrase “Hear O Israel the Lord is One, the Lord is God”… something that would have reminded us of the Ten Commandments (in Exodus 20) which are first to worship God alone and have no other gods before Him.  So it corrects the false notion of the new age philosophy that says we are all gods.      

Loving God.  Loving others.  It is central.  And they are to go hand and hand.   As followers of God we should not forget that loving God also means loving others.  As 1 John 4 says  “¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”
So in the same way it corrects and challenges those of us who are Christians who may be tempted to say we love God ... but fail to love others the way we should.

Loving God.  Loving others.  They go together.  (I know I said it before but we tend to forget one or the other). It is a basic central belief.   But remembering both … and even more than that, practicing both … is not as easy.   Yet, they are said together because they need to be, in order to really live it out.  We love because God loved us first.  It is God’s love living in us, and loving God in return… that commands us and enables us to love others. 

The basic questions then are

Do I love God?  Am I Loving others? 

More specifically

Am I loving God with ALL that I am … not just part …but ALL (my heart, my soul, my mind my strength)?

How am I loving my neighbor today?  Is there something I am not willing to forgive?   Do I see them as someone that needs to be shared the Love of God? 

Note of interest: for further study: Look at the 10 commandments in Exodus 20 the first 4 have to do with how we relate to God (Loving God) the last 6 have to do with how we relate to others (loving others).

Why are you far off O Lord?

Psalm 10^[a]
1 Why, LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

² In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
³ He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
⁴ In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
⁵ His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by^[b] him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
⁶ He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”

One of the reasons why the psalms are so powerful is because they are so honest.  There is no sugarcoating here saying “everything is just fine”.  The psalmist lays bare his heart before the Lord.  And the reality is …we also look around at times also wonder why do the wicked prosper?  Why does is seem like evil is winning?  Why does greed and pride overcome those who are humble and meek?   And the psalmist challenges us to be honest and to seek God’s answer. 

I am starting a book called truefaced (it’s using the common term two faced and turning it on its head).   It challenges us to take off the masks we wear and to be real… to be vulnerable and laid bare before the Lord.  This is exactly what the psalmist does.   He comes to the Lord because things are not right in the world. And He is calling on the Lord to step in.   And folks that is actually trust.   It takes trust to cry out to the Lord.  It takes trust to admit that we need god to step in.   We think of trust sometimes as ignoring the issues “that everything is just fine” … but it takes more trust to cry out and lay our hearts before the Lord.   Times when we feel like the Lord is far off and we ask where are you… actually reveals that our faith depends upon God revealing himself anew to us.  In other words if we cry out “why?” “where are you?”  it is an act of faith because we believe God will somehow respond. 

And that’s why at the end of this passage the Psalmist is able to proclaim…

 ¹⁷ You, LORD, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
¹⁸ defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.

Questions to face

1)      Are you being honest with God and others about who you are and what you are struggling with? 

2)      Will you trust God enough to cry out to Him with all your hurts, all your broken dreams, all your insecurities … and believe that somehow God hears and will respond in His time? 

Pray for the afflicted and the persecuted church around the world

Psalm 9
¹ I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
² I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

³ My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
⁴ For you have upheld my right and my cause,
sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.
⁵ You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
⁶ Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.

⁷ The LORD reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
⁸ He rules the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
⁹ The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
¹⁰ Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

¹¹ Sing the praises of the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.
¹² For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.

¹³ LORD, see how my enemies persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
¹⁴ that I may declare your praises
in the gates of Daughter Zion,
and there rejoice in your salvation.

¹⁵ 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.

Just a few very short comments on this scripture as I encourage you to read it. 

1)       Spend some time today in praise to the Lord.

2)      Pray for those who are being persecuted all over the world for their Christian faith.  I heard on the radio the other day that Nov 13, 2011 is being set aside to especially pray for the persecuted church.  For we have many brothers and sisters around the world who feel forgotten at times.  So mark that date and still pray for them now.  Pray for those who are afflicted.  Pray that “the Lord would arise and that mortals would not triumph”.

Back to School Back to Discipline

Proverbs 12
¹ Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

Romans 1:11-16
¹¹ I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— ¹² that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. ¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,^[d] that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
¹⁴ I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. ¹⁵ That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.
¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. ¹⁷ For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,^[e] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”^[f]

Last week I got off track.  I did not post any scriptures.  School is getting back into session and I felt a little swamped. I did read some scriptures, but not as diligently as I should. 

As I look at these scriptures I realize I need to get back into the discipline of reading and posting.  As the proverb 12 points out discipline and knowledge go hand and hand.   Students know this as they get back into school.  They need the discipline of study.  Discipline is often good because it provides a framework to learn.   Getting back into school can take effort because you may have felt you lost that regiment of study (or maybe you never had it in the first place).   

I look at the other scripture in Romans and am encouraged to get back “on the horse”.  Get back to the regiment of reading and posting.  Paul was eager to go share his faith to the Romans but each time something came up.  Yet that did not mean he was indifferent.  He desperately longed to encourage their faith.  He knew the power of the gospel and was not ashamed of it.  So he was eager to let others know and even in times when he was delayed he still pressed on.  I pray that I would have the same gumption and boldness.  Yet, the truth is we all fall short at times.  We have all fallen “off the wagon”  (to borrow and AA term) in some sort of way.  The point is not to beat us up over it … but to move forward and get back to it. So even when at times I get sidetracked, I pray Christ would eagerly be prepared to share the good news of Jesus when the opportunity arises.

Questions to consider...
1)      Have you gotten sidetracked (either now or before) in your study of the Bible? 
2)      If so be encouraged to get back to it… take up the discipline again.  Even if you’ve “fallen off the wagon” Christ invites us to once get back to hearing His Word, fellowship with His church, and share His Gospel.      

Who am I that God would love me?

Psalm 8^[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.^[b] A psalm of David.

¹ LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
in the heavens.
² Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
³ When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
⁴ what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?^[c]

⁵ You have made them^[d] a little lower than the angels^[e]
and crowned them^[f] with glory and honor.
⁶ You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their^[g] feet:
⁷ all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
⁸ the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

⁹ LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

The Psalmist looked out into the large world…he sees the vastness of all of creation.  He recognized that with the magnitude of all there is out there, there are so many possibilities…and ihe poses the question we all can struggle with, “Where do I fit in to all of this?

Yet, it gives us a concrete answer that gives us courage and significance.  This Psalm points us to the greatness of God our creator.  God is praised for his glory and majesty far above all creation, which He made and continues to be held together in His hands.

And when we stand in awe of the majesty of God we begin to see who we are and where God calls us to be.  We are not an accident.  We are loved by God.   You and I were created by God for a purpose. The Sovereign God has a plan for your life!

The same God who created this vast world ... also created us and loves us.  ..

It reminds me of a song named  “Sea of Faces” by Kutless 

Sometimes my life, it feels so trivial
Immersed in the greatness of space
Yet somehow you still find the time for me
It’s then You show me Your love.

Yes, compared to the heavens and vastness of space we are tiny, but the God who created it all loves us so we are important.

Therefore, each of us can sing praise to God saying:

            And in Your eyes I can see
            And in Your arms I will be
            I am not just a man, vastly lost in this world
            Lost in a Sea of Faces
            Your body’s the bread, Your blood is the wine
            Because you traded Your life for mine.

Ways to respond …

Spend some time praising the majesty of God and know you are loved by God. . 

Reach out to someone today who is hurting or wondering where they might fit in. 

The Righteous Judge

Psalm 7
 LORD my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
² or they will tear me apart like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

³ LORD my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands—
⁴ if I have repaid my ally with evil
or without cause have robbed my foe—
⁵ then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life to the ground
and make me sleep in the dust.^[c]

⁶ Arise, LORD, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice.
⁷ Let the assembled peoples gather around you,
while you sit enthroned over them on high.
⁸ Let the LORD judge the peoples.
Vindicate me, LORD, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.
⁹ Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure—
you, the righteous God
who probes minds and hearts.

¹⁰ My shield^[d] is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
¹¹ God is a righteous judge,
a God who displays his wrath every day.
¹² If he does not relent,
he^[e] will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
¹³ He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.

¹⁴ Whoever is pregnant with evil
conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.
¹⁵ Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit they have made.
¹⁶ The trouble they cause recoils on them;
their violence comes down on their own heads.

¹⁷ I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness;
I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.

God is the righteous Judge.  In this psalm the psalmist seeks deliverance and shelter from the attacks of the wicked.  In fact prayer itself is is a way of taking shelter in God’s protection.  While it might come across as pleading his own righteousness, this psalm is not one that is boasting in self righteous.   The focus is that God knows our heart searches us out completely… and in the midst of being falsely attacked the Psalmist is depending up God to deliver him.  God is the righteous judge.  In our modern world today we may not be comfortable with that image.  But imagine for a moment the world without justice.  Think of the times when the meek and innocent do get crushed by the wicked.  In those cases we see the need for a righteous God who knows the truth and knows our hearts.   Also notice that the Psalmist pleads to “Lord, my God” .  this prayer is based on a relationship to the one who is the Ultimate judge and deliverer.  (reference from Interpretation commentary on the Psalms, by James L Mays).

Questions to consider

Where do you take shelter in the midst of attacks?  Who do you call out to? 

Are there incidences of injustice we see today that we call out to the Lord to judge?