So here it is, my last pre-African devotional. And it comes to us from Psalm 111.
Sometimes I feel defensive when talking about God. After all, many people ask questions regarding what God has (seemingly) not done. In a few days I will be in a spot in Kenya where people die from preventable diseases. I will be a few hundred miles away from places where genocides took place in recent history. It's easy to focus on those things, afraid that God somehow slipped up. I have been conditioned to think this way- to focus on my fears. Well, I don't want to anymore. I want my voice to be the Psalm 111 voice. I want to be a witness to what God is doing, and in being a witness, to also be someone who can stand in the dark spots without succumbing to its despair.
Join me in the next few weeks as a witness to God's good and eternal works.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Psalm 110
The book of Hebrews makes it clear that this is a psalm talking about Jesus. Everything from the introduction to the priesthood of Melchizedek is a pointer to Jesus and to the reign of Jesus. While Jesus did not inaugurate His reign as a conquering king, the day is sure that Christ's reign will be complete.
That idea of forever and complete is so far beyond me that it is hard to even begin to describe it. All of my "kid" questions about eternity jump in- "Won't I get bored living forever?" "Will I just be sitting around singing the whole time?" "Will anything change in heaven?" I wonder if I am just as afraid of everything coming to and end as I am of everything going into eternity. It will be life completely unlike today, when I know when the day ends and when it begins. I won't worry about tomorrow, I won't dread another day. I won't worry about people across the world dealing with injustice and suffering. It will be a life so different. Yet, in many ways, life will seem so familiar. After all, God designed this life too. Maybe if I look, I'll see signs of eternity even right here. Maybe. I hope you see them too.
That idea of forever and complete is so far beyond me that it is hard to even begin to describe it. All of my "kid" questions about eternity jump in- "Won't I get bored living forever?" "Will I just be sitting around singing the whole time?" "Will anything change in heaven?" I wonder if I am just as afraid of everything coming to and end as I am of everything going into eternity. It will be life completely unlike today, when I know when the day ends and when it begins. I won't worry about tomorrow, I won't dread another day. I won't worry about people across the world dealing with injustice and suffering. It will be a life so different. Yet, in many ways, life will seem so familiar. After all, God designed this life too. Maybe if I look, I'll see signs of eternity even right here. Maybe. I hope you see them too.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Psalm 109
Psalms like this one are called "imprecatory Psalms" because of their nature to accuse and wish God's judgment on someone else. Often, these psalms are very distant from us because we are uncomfortable with the language. Sometimes, people turn to these psalms when someone has wronged them, but for the most part we find little connection to them.
It was hard for me to read these psalms until someone gave me some additional insight into them. This individual told me that these kinds of psalms are written to give judgment and wrath over to God. There were very few times when David did not have a group of mighty warriors loyal to him who could exact revenge on his enemies like it were a Quentin Tarantino film. Yet, David takes his anger and his bitterness and he lets go of it. Specifically, he entrusts the fate of his enemies to God.
Sometimes it can be hard to let go. We like control, and we like things to happen on our terms. But in letting go, even of our darkest anger and desires, we often find the freedom to forgive and to appreciate God's grace in our lives. May we all encounter grace and let go of whatever is binding us today.
It was hard for me to read these psalms until someone gave me some additional insight into them. This individual told me that these kinds of psalms are written to give judgment and wrath over to God. There were very few times when David did not have a group of mighty warriors loyal to him who could exact revenge on his enemies like it were a Quentin Tarantino film. Yet, David takes his anger and his bitterness and he lets go of it. Specifically, he entrusts the fate of his enemies to God.
Sometimes it can be hard to let go. We like control, and we like things to happen on our terms. But in letting go, even of our darkest anger and desires, we often find the freedom to forgive and to appreciate God's grace in our lives. May we all encounter grace and let go of whatever is binding us today.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Psalm 108
God's greatness is something that is hard to comprehend. That's for sure. A God who is higher than the heavens, beyond the reaches of the universe, yet whose glory lands gently (and sometimes furiously) upon the earth, is certainly a God beyond our perspective. And even while I say this, I recognize that I have "awakened the dawn" with soft-spoken prayers to this God, who was sitting right in my office. God is great, and God is close. These two things give me comfort and hope today. While I may be cynical about many things, and it is hard for me to imagine a world that is healing- God is great and God is close. As the group Grey Holiday would remind me, "We live among the glorious." May I, and may you, live among the glorious today.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Psalm 107
God is my rescuer. Thanks be to God!
Here is a psalm of many rescues attributed to God. I am especially grateful that God rescues the fool, or else I would be in a lot of trouble. The pattern of the psalm seems to be "people loved by God - bad situation - cry out for help - deliverance," and that calls to mind a powerful question for me: when do I cry out for help? Is it when I am in the middle of the tempest, or at death's gate, or trapped in bitterness? Or, as this psalm beckons me to, do I recognize that every day could be the day of the tempest or the bitterness or death's gate? And therefore, I should cry out each and every day.
After all, on my best days, I am a prideful, narcissistic, compulsive people-pleaser. On my worst days... well, suffice it to say that I am worse. And while the Holy Spirit bears good fruit in my life, if the Spirit vanished, so would the good fruit. And so today, I invite God into the dark and faithless parts of me to create something new. Amen?
Here is a psalm of many rescues attributed to God. I am especially grateful that God rescues the fool, or else I would be in a lot of trouble. The pattern of the psalm seems to be "people loved by God - bad situation - cry out for help - deliverance," and that calls to mind a powerful question for me: when do I cry out for help? Is it when I am in the middle of the tempest, or at death's gate, or trapped in bitterness? Or, as this psalm beckons me to, do I recognize that every day could be the day of the tempest or the bitterness or death's gate? And therefore, I should cry out each and every day.
After all, on my best days, I am a prideful, narcissistic, compulsive people-pleaser. On my worst days... well, suffice it to say that I am worse. And while the Holy Spirit bears good fruit in my life, if the Spirit vanished, so would the good fruit. And so today, I invite God into the dark and faithless parts of me to create something new. Amen?
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Psalm 106
Do you ever get frustrated because time and time again you make the same mistakes. If anything, this psalm should give some consolation. The story told by this song extends over at least five hundred years of the same mistakes over and over again. What this psalm also does is give us a language for the heart-cry to live differently. The people writing this psalm are singing it under the consequences of their actions. They are living under the oppression of foreign gods- gods they willingly followed. They wanted a world under the idols, and this is it. Recognizing this, they now cry out to go back to a world where God is their king.
It reminds me of the show Lost. One character, Jack, spends all of his time wanting to leave the island that he has crash-landed onto. And he wants to forget that the island ever happened. And four seasons into the show, he does. Yet as soon as he leaves, he discovers that he is going back to unhealthy patterns and the same life he lived before crashing- and that life isn't good. And so he re-devotes himself to going back to the island, believing that he can find the redemption he's looking for on the island. Often, it is when we live under the consequences of our actions that we realize we want something better. And Jesus delivers us from that into a new mission and a new purpose- the Kingdom of God. May we all live in that Kingdom today.
It reminds me of the show Lost. One character, Jack, spends all of his time wanting to leave the island that he has crash-landed onto. And he wants to forget that the island ever happened. And four seasons into the show, he does. Yet as soon as he leaves, he discovers that he is going back to unhealthy patterns and the same life he lived before crashing- and that life isn't good. And so he re-devotes himself to going back to the island, believing that he can find the redemption he's looking for on the island. Often, it is when we live under the consequences of our actions that we realize we want something better. And Jesus delivers us from that into a new mission and a new purpose- the Kingdom of God. May we all live in that Kingdom today.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Psalm 105
Indeed- the story of Israel is not a "Lifestyles of the rich and famous" kind of story. It is the story of slaves and exiles, messy plagues and broken shackles. God's story is a humble story, and the Old Testament is a story of the humble succeeding against all odds. But their success is not just a rags-to-riches story, although sometimes we wish it were. The success of Israel is because and for God. Every time they were rescued, it was by God's hand and it was meant to inspire obedience by the people of God. The problem that occurred was that eventually, the people of God felt that the success they encountered was by their own hands and began to see God as a tool to get things done, and obedience went down the drain.
Today, as you reflect on where you've been and what God has done for you, may it inspire you to follow after Jesus in closer and closer ways.
Today, as you reflect on where you've been and what God has done for you, may it inspire you to follow after Jesus in closer and closer ways.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Psalm 104
On Christmas day, I got the opportunity to watch the best movie ever made. It's a Disney movie called "Oceans" (check out the trailer here). It is an incredible journey that has no special effects, no plot, no dialogue. Pierce Brosnan (a former James Bond) is the only voice heard as he narrates a journey across the ocean to see some of the coolest sights ever seen by the human eye. It is an incredible feat that lifts up the Creator without ever acknowledging God's handiwork. I wouldn't expect it to, but watching that movie was worship for me in many ways.
This psalm brings back memories of watching that movie and of my two experiences snorkeling In the Atlantic Ocean. It amazes me that God, beyond the universe and infinite, would choose to get wrapped up in creation. After all, this is the God who rides the clouds, is wrapped in light and creates animals and monsters just to play in the seas. Not only that, God is so wrapped up in creation that God literally got wrapped in flesh and lived and played in creation. This God went to a cross and experienced the pain of human life and death, in order to rise again and redeem creation. I can't wait for the day when we can all play in creation. How about you?
This psalm brings back memories of watching that movie and of my two experiences snorkeling In the Atlantic Ocean. It amazes me that God, beyond the universe and infinite, would choose to get wrapped up in creation. After all, this is the God who rides the clouds, is wrapped in light and creates animals and monsters just to play in the seas. Not only that, God is so wrapped up in creation that God literally got wrapped in flesh and lived and played in creation. This God went to a cross and experienced the pain of human life and death, in order to rise again and redeem creation. I can't wait for the day when we can all play in creation. How about you?
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