Endures.
I came across this word in verse 13. The name of the LORD endures forever. Unlike the idols, which are not living in the first place but also break down over time, God does not decay. This psalm got me thinking about how much time I spent propping up and fixing idols compared to how much of my life I devote to obedience to God.
The most invincible of institutions, organizations or systems are all subject to decay. I read on Leonard Sweet's website the other day that of the 1955 Fortune 500 companies (the strongest 500 companies out there), only about 60 exist today. That's an insane number. Just over ten percent of the most powerful companies in the world can last over fifty years. And in the span of human history, fifty years is a blink. It has been four thousand years (plus) since the calling of Abraham. The Exodus is just over three thousand years old. Jesus walked the earth two thousand years ago. Fifty years is nothing. Yet, it is the accumulation of stuff and power that drives so much of our activity and energy. As John Calvin once said, the human heart is a factory for idols.
Today, let us keep our thoughts on what endures. And may that shape the kind of people we hope to be.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Psalm 134
Here's the climax to the psalms of ascent. If you were on pilgrimage to Jerusalem in OT times, you would now be at the base of the Temple. The high priest would have ascended the ramp to the altar, and the worship service is about to begin. While worship in the OT was familiar, you still never knew what would happen next.
There are some things you do know. God is there. That's really all that matters. The Lord is in His sanctuary, and the way has been opened for you to be there too. Together we approach the throne of God, and in the end, that's all that matters.
As I write this today I think of Ell Faulman, who went to be with the Lord yesterday morning. His pilgrimage is over. He has gone to the great sanctuary of God, and the way has been opened to Him by Jesus Christ. His hands are lifted in praise. His rest will never end.
In his honor, I will simply leave this post praying that you experience the love of God through the Holy Spirit today.
There are some things you do know. God is there. That's really all that matters. The Lord is in His sanctuary, and the way has been opened for you to be there too. Together we approach the throne of God, and in the end, that's all that matters.
As I write this today I think of Ell Faulman, who went to be with the Lord yesterday morning. His pilgrimage is over. He has gone to the great sanctuary of God, and the way has been opened to Him by Jesus Christ. His hands are lifted in praise. His rest will never end.
In his honor, I will simply leave this post praying that you experience the love of God through the Holy Spirit today.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Psalm 133
The fact that we go on pilgrimage together is important, and has been noted before. It is essential that we don't do this spiritual journey alone, or treat our salvation individualistically. This psalm is the psalm of journeying together.
Yet, even as I write this, I know that "together" has become abused, twisted, warped and bastardized into something it was never intended to be. I read "together" as a circling of the wagons, a call for ideological purity and an inquisition to keep the outsiders out and to find the "secret outsiders." Soon you have your tribes, whether they be denominations (not nearly as prevalent or line-drawing today) or brands (authors, etc.).
Now, the age of social media was supposed to "save" us from tribalism and ideological dictatorship by allowing everyone to have a voice in the great Internet, savior of us all (tongue firmly in cheek). But all that has happened as it has allowed falsehood to spread faster and has given our ideological leaders a ground to voice their opinions and condemnations without the blessing of editorial accountability. Napoleon had his armies, Caesar had his legions, ideologues have their twitter followers. And I am self-aware enough to note that I am writing all of this on a blog of social media. Hypocrisy, maybe? Redemptive, hopefully? Either way, saved, we are not.
Social media is not the problem. Technology is not the issue. Technology only allows us to unleash our worst and best characteristics at blinding speeds. The problem, and the blessing, is that we travel in herds. The problem of herds is that we get way too focused on "in and out." And this kind of thinking saps our joy. When is the last time you had an experience that nourished you like the dew on the mountain, giving you life and purpose?
Today, let's live out this psalm. Let us be compelled by the beauty of unity and renewed in the promise of God's everlasting life. Let us be conduits of grace and agents of reconciliation.
Yet, even as I write this, I know that "together" has become abused, twisted, warped and bastardized into something it was never intended to be. I read "together" as a circling of the wagons, a call for ideological purity and an inquisition to keep the outsiders out and to find the "secret outsiders." Soon you have your tribes, whether they be denominations (not nearly as prevalent or line-drawing today) or brands (authors, etc.).
Now, the age of social media was supposed to "save" us from tribalism and ideological dictatorship by allowing everyone to have a voice in the great Internet, savior of us all (tongue firmly in cheek). But all that has happened as it has allowed falsehood to spread faster and has given our ideological leaders a ground to voice their opinions and condemnations without the blessing of editorial accountability. Napoleon had his armies, Caesar had his legions, ideologues have their twitter followers. And I am self-aware enough to note that I am writing all of this on a blog of social media. Hypocrisy, maybe? Redemptive, hopefully? Either way, saved, we are not.
Social media is not the problem. Technology is not the issue. Technology only allows us to unleash our worst and best characteristics at blinding speeds. The problem, and the blessing, is that we travel in herds. The problem of herds is that we get way too focused on "in and out." And this kind of thinking saps our joy. When is the last time you had an experience that nourished you like the dew on the mountain, giving you life and purpose?
Today, let's live out this psalm. Let us be compelled by the beauty of unity and renewed in the promise of God's everlasting life. Let us be conduits of grace and agents of reconciliation.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Psalm 132
Promises.
I hate breaking promises. One broken promise can have devastating effects for years, even decades. One slip-up or late arrival can leave a subtle yet destructive stain on one's integrity or relationships. I HATE breaking promises.
The Bible, as much as it is a book about waiting, is also a book of promises. After all, waiting and promises are two sides of the same coin. Promises are made and people wait to see if the promise will be fulfilled or not.
Psalm 131, a psalm of journeys, is about fulfilled promises. Returning to the Temple for worship is a bittersweet experience. On the one hand, it means coming to the house of God and is worth celebrating (verses 7-9). On the other hand, it means that the great Day of the Lord has not occurred yet and the people are still waiting for their champion to eliminate the need for sacrifice (verses 11-12).
In the meantime, living in the time of waiting and in the time where the promise has been fulfilled, we would do well to meditate on the closing verses of this psalm. While things may change and we wait for things to change further still, we remember the abiding presence of God is constant and irrevocable (verse 14) and that God is the source of all good blessings (verse 15) and most importantly, that the Son of David in the last two verses has come and will come again!
I hate breaking promises. One broken promise can have devastating effects for years, even decades. One slip-up or late arrival can leave a subtle yet destructive stain on one's integrity or relationships. I HATE breaking promises.
The Bible, as much as it is a book about waiting, is also a book of promises. After all, waiting and promises are two sides of the same coin. Promises are made and people wait to see if the promise will be fulfilled or not.
Psalm 131, a psalm of journeys, is about fulfilled promises. Returning to the Temple for worship is a bittersweet experience. On the one hand, it means coming to the house of God and is worth celebrating (verses 7-9). On the other hand, it means that the great Day of the Lord has not occurred yet and the people are still waiting for their champion to eliminate the need for sacrifice (verses 11-12).
In the meantime, living in the time of waiting and in the time where the promise has been fulfilled, we would do well to meditate on the closing verses of this psalm. While things may change and we wait for things to change further still, we remember the abiding presence of God is constant and irrevocable (verse 14) and that God is the source of all good blessings (verse 15) and most importantly, that the Son of David in the last two verses has come and will come again!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Psalm 131
Noise.
Consider right now the amount of noise that you can hear. My office is fairly still right now, yet I can hear my fingers pounding the keys, the slight whine of my laptop, the delicate hum of the lights and even the welcome sound of bird songs outside my window. While these sounds are neither painful or unwelcome, it reminds me that my life is so very noisy.
Over Lent, I tried to spend a certain time without input from books, voices, music, TV, internet, computers, Wii, or anything else. Thirty minutes of complete silence and stillness. It was incredibly difficult, and many days it would be a torture to get through. It is hard to still the mind sometimes, noise invades and distracts.
The psalmist gives us a new perspective on stillness, and it is wrapped up in humility and utter dependence on God. Often we depend on the noise- it validates us and directs us whichever way our emotions want to go. However, the humble declaration that God is the One who directs our paths makes much of the noise irrelevant and draws us back to the One who sustains us. May your soul be stilled like a weaned child this day.
Consider right now the amount of noise that you can hear. My office is fairly still right now, yet I can hear my fingers pounding the keys, the slight whine of my laptop, the delicate hum of the lights and even the welcome sound of bird songs outside my window. While these sounds are neither painful or unwelcome, it reminds me that my life is so very noisy.
Over Lent, I tried to spend a certain time without input from books, voices, music, TV, internet, computers, Wii, or anything else. Thirty minutes of complete silence and stillness. It was incredibly difficult, and many days it would be a torture to get through. It is hard to still the mind sometimes, noise invades and distracts.
The psalmist gives us a new perspective on stillness, and it is wrapped up in humility and utter dependence on God. Often we depend on the noise- it validates us and directs us whichever way our emotions want to go. However, the humble declaration that God is the One who directs our paths makes much of the noise irrelevant and draws us back to the One who sustains us. May your soul be stilled like a weaned child this day.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Psalm 130
We must be approaching the Temple in our pilgrimage now. In the face of God's holiness, we see ourselves as we truly are. And the psalmist gets pitiful really quickly. And this is understandable- I've been there, and perhaps you have too. But being in the self-loathing place of recognition of disobedience and brokenness is not a great place to stay. Trust me. The psalmist sits in the moment long enough to appreciate the gravity of disobedience before the hinge verse- "But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared."
"But" is an important word in English, not as much in Hebrew. For us, "but" means a change in the direction of the mind. We are traveling along this track, but now we're on this track. But is the salvation word of this psalm. What if this psalm ended at verse three? No one could stand. The pilgrimage to the Temple would be foolish- people would be walking to their own annihilation. I wouldn't go. I would run as far as I could from the Temple.
But, my status (and yours) is not the end of the story. God is. With God, there is forgiveness. Now, forgiveness for Christians is a moment and a process. There is the moment of forgiveness on the cross, but still we wait. We wait for the day when the scars can be healed and the disobedience ended. As I mentioned in an earlier post, living while we wait is the story of Christianity. May your waiting be encouraged by God's grace and forgiveness today.
"But" is an important word in English, not as much in Hebrew. For us, "but" means a change in the direction of the mind. We are traveling along this track, but now we're on this track. But is the salvation word of this psalm. What if this psalm ended at verse three? No one could stand. The pilgrimage to the Temple would be foolish- people would be walking to their own annihilation. I wouldn't go. I would run as far as I could from the Temple.
But, my status (and yours) is not the end of the story. God is. With God, there is forgiveness. Now, forgiveness for Christians is a moment and a process. There is the moment of forgiveness on the cross, but still we wait. We wait for the day when the scars can be healed and the disobedience ended. As I mentioned in an earlier post, living while we wait is the story of Christianity. May your waiting be encouraged by God's grace and forgiveness today.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Psalm 129
Entering the gates of Jerusalem, the pilgrim now enters with a changed life. The psalm begins in the place God's people often found (and find) themselves in- the place of the oppressed. The situation is grim, with the oppressors seemingly having the upper hand. However, God's faithfulness shines through and the captives are freed. It is (again) interesting to note God's faithful care for the oppressed and beaten-down of society. How often our Christian love does not extend the same way Christ's love does!
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The interesting transition is the second half of the psalm. The curse. The psalmist wants those who are the oppressors to be destroyed. Certainly, one can sympathize with the sentiment. When someone wrongs you, it is natural (although fallen) to desire some kind of revenge. With his or her words, the psalmist withholds God's blessing from the people who wronged him. Huckabee's words responding to the death of Osama bin Laden (Welcome to hell) certainly echo this tone.
Yet, as one who reads the wider narrative of God in the Bible, I am reminded that our battle (according to Paul) is not about fighting flesh and blood but about powers and principalities. How many times in world history has one empire fallen just to give rise to a new one? It isn't "the oppressor" that God opposes- it is oppression. So let us be people who seek oppression to be lifted and to celebrate when people are freed. Check out this news story if you want something to celebrate.
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The interesting transition is the second half of the psalm. The curse. The psalmist wants those who are the oppressors to be destroyed. Certainly, one can sympathize with the sentiment. When someone wrongs you, it is natural (although fallen) to desire some kind of revenge. With his or her words, the psalmist withholds God's blessing from the people who wronged him. Huckabee's words responding to the death of Osama bin Laden (Welcome to hell) certainly echo this tone.
Yet, as one who reads the wider narrative of God in the Bible, I am reminded that our battle (according to Paul) is not about fighting flesh and blood but about powers and principalities. How many times in world history has one empire fallen just to give rise to a new one? It isn't "the oppressor" that God opposes- it is oppression. So let us be people who seek oppression to be lifted and to celebrate when people are freed. Check out this news story if you want something to celebrate.
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