Whining, Teflon Shields, and Extreme Justice (new blog post)

David is having a tough time in Psalm 109.  People are attacking him and his character, and are lying about him.  Here is a part of what he says in that song:

"3 With words of hatred they surround me;
they attack me without cause.
4 In return for my friendship they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer."

I've had to read that one a few times this morning.  Does ol' King David have A.D..D. or what?  He's going on about how he is under attack, he's acting rightly and they are being jerks, and then, out of nowhere, he throws in "...but I am a man of prayer."

So?  What does that have to do with anything?  It's so out of left field I've had to let it soak for a bit today.  What he's saying is that he hates being under attack.  These people are destroying him with their words, and it hurts.  In the middle of all of this, he is a man of prayer.  It's not a "giving up" kind of statement.  He's not saying "They are attacking me, but I can't fight back.  I would, but I'm a man of prayer." (say it in a whiny voice for better effect.)  No, it's not that.


He's not saying that because he's a man of prayer, that their words are powerless on him.  As you read the Psalm, it's breaking him and making him angry.  Prayer isn't some magical Teflon shield that protects you from other people.  He feels the hurt, the pain, the fear, the insecurity.  It's not super protection.


He is a fighter, a warrior.  He is one of the greatest soldiers in the nation's history.  He's a mighty king, a veteran of battles.  That is why He prays.  He knows the only way to win this battle, to come back in this defeat, to recover from this severe pain, is to turn to the one strong enough to save him.  He is a man of prayer.  He's saying, they are attacking, and are very good at what they are doing.  BUT, I am a man of prayer, and I will do what I am good at.  I will run to God.  That is my victory.  


If you look at the rest of the Psalm, that is exactly what He does.  He prays about the whole situation, and begs God to get involved.  He prays for evil people to come into his accusers lives and destroy them.  He prays for God's justice.  He prays for God to move.  He prays.


In the end, He wins.  History shows David overcomes the people trying to tear him down.  He wins.


Because he prays.


Isn't it too bad that whole "I am a man of prayer" thing doesn't work today?  Yeah......too bad.....

Help for Joplin, MO

If you want to help with the incredible devestation in Joplin, there is an AMAZING church called Mystery Church that is located in downtown Joplin.  They are incredible, and LOVE their community.  Pray for them, for their pastor Steev Inge, his family, and the community today.  You can go to their website and help out financially if you are able. 

http://www.mysterychurch.com/cms/

Why Won't God Show Up on Cue? (new blog post)

Psalm 30 says:

1 I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. 2 Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.
3 You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit.
4 Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
6 When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.”
7 Lord, when you favored me, you made my royal mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.
8 To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy:
9 “What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?  Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
10 Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help.”
11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever. 

I'll be honest, I'm only 50% with this Psalm today.  The part in verse 7 where David says "when you hid your face, I was dismayed."  Yeah.  I'm a bit "dismayed" today.  Some close friends are going through an incredibly tough time, and a ton of prayers are going up in their name.  But the bad news seems to multiply on itself in this situation.  

I'm frustrated.  


I want things to be better for them.  Happier.  More peaceful


I want God to ride in on the white horse and save the day.  Save the day, today.  Right now.


But it's not happening.


And I'm impatient.  Even as I write this, I hear Him lovingly telling me He has it.  I want the government to come to the rescue.  They aren't.  I want to be able to save my friends.  I can't.  My friends want to fix it all.  They can't.


Just Him.


So I can only pray "Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help."  Be our help today.


Please.

80's Piano Music Changed My Life (new blog post)

Growing up, there was this folk singer named Keith Green.  He played piano, and sang worship music.  What is amazing is, even though he recorded in the 1980's, if he was alive and recording that same music today, it'd be a hit.  It wasn't rock, it wasn't super difficult musically, but it was beautiful and you knew that he loved Jesus in a way that you didn't yet.  His music made me want to know and love Jesus more in a way that few other people have affected me.



One of his songs was "Create in Me a Clean Heart".  It comes from the Psalms, and today, in my reading, I hit it.  It goes like this in Psalm 51:

"10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

I automatically start singing it as soon as I read it.  I have sung those verses/lyrics hundreds of times in my life, because they really are my prayer.   I want to encourage you to think them over today.  What do these verses mean to you?  How would it change your day if God answered this prayer for you?

What You and I Really Need Today (new blog post)

This is my prayer for myself, and for you, today:

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.
The ordinances of the Lord are sure, and all of them are righteous.
 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.
By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. 

                                                                                                                - Psalm 19

Are We Going Up, or is He Coming Down?

In the Old Testament, it's a big deal that people can't see God's face directly.  Over and over again, we are told story after story about how someone was allowed to talk to God, but not to see His face, or they would die.  It all was symbolic of how Holy God is, and our sin.  He is so amazing, we are not His equal, and we don't get to look Him in the eye and talk to Him like someone we are equal to.  It makes sense.

So, I was wondering, when God tells the priests a blessing to pray over the people in Numbers 6, why did He tell them this one? 

24 “ ‘ “The Lord bless you
and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.” ’ 

If they aren't supposed to see God's face, how is praying that God will turn His face towards them a blessing?  It sounds like a prayer for the people to die, in a way.  

As I was wondering about this, I think it's all about the subject of the sentence.  I know, I know, I'm pulling grammar and English out on you.  Sorry.  But think about it.  We are told not to look at the face of God, or we will die.  (Again, remember, God is spirit.  He doesn't have a "face" the way we think of it.  It's all a symbol.  Okay, back to our regular scheduled programming.)  But in this prayer, they call out for God to turn His face towards us.  To show grace to us.  To make us pure.  To come to our level.  It's not that we ascend to be like God.  It's a prayer that God will descend to be like us.


That's crazy!  This prayer of blessing, which the priests prayed daily from that point on, was pointing to the need for God to come for us, not us getting to Him.  I LOVE it!!


So, yeah, today here is my prayer for you:


“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” 

May He come for you today.

A Game Changer

Still moving through Job, hitting 14-16 today.  Job cries out and asks God again what is going on.  His friends?  They continue to lay into him, getting a little angry now at how arrogant they think he is being.  They started well, sitting silently with him for seven days, not speaking, just hurting with him.  But now, they are letting him know what they think.  They are giving him their best wisdom, and they are wrong.  They think Job has sinned, and hidden it, and that is why he is being punished so.  In their minds, that is all it can be.  They are letting their theology (what they think they know about God) rule their actions.  That isn't always bad.  But in this case, they are wrong.

I guess if you have a trusted friend, who you know loves God, and they tell you they honestly don't know what is going on, why things are like they are, then don't play God in their life.  The one thing I notice is that none of Job's friends offer to pray for him.  Back at the beginning of the story, we are told that Job regularly prayed for his family and others.  His friends never offer that.  They don't take Job to God.  They tell Job what they think about God.

If someone is hurting, step up to the bat and pray with them and for them.  Jesus is the one who heals, not us.  Prayer is so powerful.  How different the book of Job would be if one of his friends had looked at him and said, "Dude, I don't know what's going on.  I don't get it either.  But let's pray and ask God for wisdom and help here."  That would have been a game changer.  It never happens.

Warrior, Wimp, or What?!

Psalm 35 has David praying for God to fight his battles for him.  His enemies are constantly plotting for his downfall, and he begs God to save him.  He is lied about, has traps set for him, and is made fun of.  So, he prays for his enemies and begs God to protect and save him.

Okay, maybe you've got some people in your life that treat you this way.  Maybe there is a person, or a group of people, who are making life so difficult for you at home, work, or at school.  They push you out, speak poorly of you, and want to see you fail.  What do you do?

Read Psalm 35.  David turns to God for protection and help.  And he prays for his enemies.

No, I'm being serious, this is what he does.  Now, remember who David is.  This is the guy who killed a bear and a lion when he was just a kid working as a shepherd.  This is the kid who ran face to face with a giant, dropped him with a rock, and cut off his head.  This is the dude who won more battles than any general before him.  This guy is a warrior among warriors.  He knows how to fight, he knows how to kill, and he is always surrounded by a group of men who would happily kill for him. 

So why in the world is he praying for God to protect him instead of doing it himself??!!  Because it's the right way to handle the conflict in this situation.  It's what God wants.

How are you handling your conflict?  Have you asked God about that plan?  Have you read Psalm 35 yet?

Get to it!

His Face and His Hands

Psalm 27 is a song of courage, that God will protect us and deliver us when things are going south in a hurry.  In it, David says that all He wants is to be with God, and to see His face.  I love it in verse 8 when he says "My heart says of You "Seek His face!  Your face, Lord, I will seek."

See, here's some of what's going on.  Often we want to talk to God and ask for things.  He tells us to do it.  He expects us to ask for His help, and He tells us we should come to Him with our needs.  But other times, we need to just be with Him.  Often times it's discussed as "seeking God's face instead of His hands", meaning we talk to God and spend time with God just to be with Him, as opposed to needing something from Him.

What I love is David's simple determination.  In his heart he knows he needs to spend time with God.  So, He does it.  No debate, no excuses, no "I'm not sure how to do that".  He just does it.  He is confident God will receive him, and that he will see God's goodness here, in this life.

When was the last time you felt a push to spend time with God, and ignored it or put it off?  Today, stop and listen to your heart.  Seek God's face right now.  I am sure He will be thrilled to spend the time with you.  I'm headed that way right now.

Some we know of, some we don't. We need help with them all.

In Psalm 19 David is writing about how great God is, and this His creation sings to Him, even though it has no voice or words.  He describes how powerful and beautiful the teachings and truth of God are to people who are willing to listen and do what they hear.  Then, in verses 12-14, he closes with a prayer:

"But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults,
Keep your servant also from willful sins;
May they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
Innocent of great transgression.
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

This is my prayer for me, and for you, today.  Forgive what is hidden in us, give us the strength to say no to the things we face, and strip them of their power to control us.  God, may it be like this for us today.

A psalm of David. A prayer of Jason.

Psalm 15

"Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary?  Who may live on your holy mountain?


Those whose walk is blameless,
who do what is righteous,
who speak the truth from their hearts;
who have no slander on their tongues,
who do their neighbors no wrong,
who cast no slur on others;
who despise those whose ways are vile
but honor whoever fears the Lord
who keep their oaths even when it hurts;
who lend money to the poor without interest
and do not accept bribes against the innocent.


Whoever does these things will never be shaken."

So Lord, today here is what I ask you:
Help me live a life that people can't fairly accuse me of the wrong things.
Help me to live the life You describe in the Bible.
Help me to tell truth because my heart is filled with truth.
Help me to shut my bitter mouth when I want to put someone else down.
Help me to serve others, not use them.
Help me to speak positively of everyone around me instead of tearing them down to feel better about myself.
Help me to run away from a lifestyle of sin, and never to look at it with envy.
Help me to find the people who fear and love you, and celebrate them in my mind and life.
Help me to make worthy promises that change the world, and keep them when it costs me mine.
Help me to look for and create new ways to be generous every day.
Help me to defend those who are innocent, and never sell them out for a profit.
Because when these things happen, I will be unshakable. 

Just like You.

Sleeping It Off

Outside of Jerusalem there was a public park called Gethsemane (Geth-si-muh-nee).  Jesus liked to hang out there and rest there.  So, the night before He is crucified, that's where He heads to, so that He can pray (Matthew 26:36-46).  His disciples go with Him, and He asks them to pray because He is feeling overwhelmed and wants their help. 

They fall asleep.

So, He goes and prays, asking for God to find some other way to get the job done.  He knows what is coming, and it is burying Him.  But, He relents that whatever His Father wants to do, He will do.  He goes back to check on his friends.

They are asleep.  He wakes them up, gets on them a little, asks them to pray, and goes off to pray again.

He prays the same prayer as before.  After a while, He heads back to check on His friends.

They are asleep.  Again.  This time He doesn't wake them up.

He goes back, and prays the same thing, for a third time.  Please God, find some other way, but if there is no other way, then I will do Your will.

When He returns this time, his friends are still asleep.  He wakes them up, just as Judas and the soldiers show up.

A couple of things hit me here.  Jesus spends quite a bit of time praying (the whole night passes), and He repeatedly asks God to find another way.  Each time, He concedes that He will do what His Father wants, but He keeps asking for another way.  He is struggling, He is overwhelmed, He is scared, and He keeps asking for help.  He wrestles with this plan, and finally gives in.  I am so encouraged that God allows us to wrestle with issues.  I'm not saying we should make it a habit, by any means.  But sometimes God is going to ask us to do things that are so difficult, so tough, it may take us awhile to come around.  I am grateful for a God of grace and patience with those who want to follow Him.

Secondly, the disciples fell asleep.  They were supposed to be praying, but they fell asleep.  And they pay for it.  Jesus encourages them to pray so that they wouldn't fall into temptation.  They didn't (pray) and they did (fall).  We are told over and over to pray.  Are we?  Or are we just too tired in life to pray?  If so, we shouldn't be surprised that our faith is weak and we constantly are struggling with the same temptations over and over and over.

It's interesting the difference in the characters.  Jesus prays, the disciples don't.  Jesus wins, the disciples fail and run.  What do you need to be praying about today?  What is stopping you from praying right now? 

Fear nothing but the loss of Him...

This ancient prayer is from The Divine Hours. You can link to it here.

Most loving Father, whose will it is for us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on you who cares for us: Preserve me from faithless fears and worldy anxieties, that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from me the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

i need You

my God, my Savior,
i need You.
i need You to be Strong,
because i am weak beyond measure.
i need You to be Faithful,
because i am a cheat and a thief.
i need You to see me through,
because all i can do is fall short.
i need You to Protect,
because i seem to want to damage everything.
i need You to be Truth,
even though i run and run from the truth.
i need You to be my Father,
because i am a poor child.
i need You to be Wise,
because i am so drawn to foolish ways.
i need You to be the One,
because i chase so many other empty ones.
i need You to be Grace,
because i am so broken.
i need You to be Mercy,
because i can do nothing other than fall short.
i need You to be Arms and Hands,
because i am broken and must be carried.
i need You to be Hope,
because i choose darkness and loss repeatedly.
i need You to be the Word,
because Your voice creates new worlds and universes within me.
i need You.
i need You.
i need You.


i need You.

Me + You = One

The last part of Jesus' prayer in John 17:20-26 is astounding. No, really, it is. Read it and see. As Jesus is getting ready to be arrested, He doesn't throw in one more prayer for Himself. He doesn't pray for the 11. He doesn't pray for His mom. He prays for me and you. His last thoughts are about us. So, what does He pray?

He prays for us to be unified. Together. To work as one. To be one in the same way that He and His Father are one. Think about that for a moment. They were separated by two realms, the physical and the spiritual. Yet, even with that separation, they grew closer with each passing day. They loved and listened to each other, and accomplished the Father's will. Hmmm....

So what does that mean for us? What would it look like for me and you, and the other millions of Christians worldwide to be one? How could we work towards being one with the believers in Kenya, China, Afghanistan, Berlin, Boston, London, and Greenland? What would it take? Could it be done?

And most importantly, why is this Christ's prayer for us? Not for us to prosper, be comfortable, have a great life, be politically active, run the world, or be great. He prayed one thing, for unity. Why?

If you read this, I really would like to hear your opinion on it. We don't ever discuss this, yet it seemed to be of utmost importance to our Lord.