189 - "The Dark Days are Displays of His Love and Power" Psalm 78-80

                                                                  

In this uncertain world where we live, there is only One Who is Faithful and True. People will let us down. We will face loss in this world. We will never lose. He has defeated the enemy. He showed John a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne. Rev 22:1. The river of life here on earth is muddied, cursed. There will be no more curse. One Day Soon. So, keep this book open. It will affect your eternity. ToThey forgot what God had done.  Psalm 78:11

He parted raging waters and they crossed the sea
with waters piled up high on either side.
God left no footprints.
The sea closed back in a fury.
And, they forgot.

May mercy come quickly on us all.  Psalm 79

We say it a lot:  I love my people.  It strikes a chord with me.  Cause I feel like it's not my experience.  Don't we all want people to adore us?  So, this next verse catches me off-guard.  I am called to be someone's "people."  His People.  And it is the Only One we can trust. 

"We are His People,
the sheep of His Pasture."
Psalm 79:13

So, when we are in prison, we need remember the bigger picture---the Mighty Display of our God for us that is in the "already happened" stage.  Fall back on "already" not on the "currents." 

"The dark days of His People become the Prelude to unusual displays of the Lord's Love and Power." Charles Spurgeon.  Oh, it must be gonna happen!  Cause this people here are in dire straits. 

DEAR GOD,  PLEASE CHANGE ME IN MY 10,000 MOMENTS THAT seem to be prison-like.  Help me see what is going on.  Help me remember Your Mighty Arm.  Help me ride The Prelude to display Your Love & Power.  Praying that we see a glimpse today.  I think I know how I could! 

PHOTO: The Cross. 

188 - "Nearly Missed Seeing His Goodness" Psalm 72-77

 God, I reflect daily on what I'm doing with my life. 

I do sometimes feel like I've been a beast before You. Nevertheless!
I am continually with You. You have taken hold of my right hand. 
With Your Counsel You will guide me. 
Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, 
I desire nothing on earth. 
My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the Strength of my heart. 
Psalm 73:22-24.

Psalm 73:27 is the prayer of my heart this day:
But as for me, the nearness of God is my good.
With all my hearth and strength, 
help me, this day, this circumstance, to make You my Refuge.
Not the solution to my problems.
Not the resolution of life's issues.
Not the crowning achievements that come our way.

May I find Refuge and Solace in You Alone.   72
Blessed always His blazing glory!  Yes and Yes and Yes. 

No doubt about it! God is good— good to good people, good to the good-hearted. But I nearly missed it, 
missed seeing his goodness.  I was looking the other way, looking up to the people at the top, envying the wicked who have it made.  No!  You're all I want in heaven! You're all I want on earth! 

"Every heartache will create space that I alone can fill.  And I will.  You will learn to wait in Hope."  66 LL 
I'm broken.  Can I meet you in your brokenness and wait with you in Hope?

187 - "Do Not Hasten" Psalm 67-71

The ancient world saw God in the mountains.

The going out of this day shouts joy.
Yet, like David, we all face needs.
David writes:
"Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold.  Psalm 69:2.
Deep waters, where the flood sweeps over.
Weary, so weary with crying.
Parched throats.
Dimmed eyes.
Waiting for my God.
Psalm 69:1-3

"May all who seek You
rejoice and be glad in You." 
May we all say
'God is great!' " Psalm 70:4
BUT
David says it: 
"But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, O God.
Do Not Delay!"

We all need Him so.

O Lord, Do not delay.  Please hasten to our words, our hearts.  We are all poor and needy this day.  May we see how we can accomplish nothing today except through Your Power.  When will you come to us? Seal our hearts in Your Grace today.  Steady our ways.  Sweep us off our feet.  Show up in ways we don't expect.  And may you find us surrendered.

What do I really think way down deep inside when my strength is spent? 

Physical strength shot. 

Emotional strength waning. 

Do I worship? 

Actually, days like today, I'm just trying to hold on and ask a Very Gracious God to help me see what surrounds me on days like today when my strength is spent. I spent it all last night. I am very aware that I awake with a fresh clean slate. But I don't want to spend the same strength again tonight. 

It's actually a very good position to be in---dependent. Psalm 71:9 

Forsake me not when my strength is spent. Psalm 71:20 

God has made me see many troubles and calamities. 

Why am I giving in to this weight of sin. My anger does not accomplish His righteousness. 

Talking to myself.

He will bring me up again! 

Revive me again---the word in the Greek for "revive" means: To breathe life into me.

That's it!

PHOTO:  The mighty mountains of Seattle.  Standing here a few weeks ago.  Seeing my deep need for dependence on God to make it through this life of mine.

186 - "God Speaks Once; I Hear Him Twice" Psalm 59-66

This is a rough patch that I am in. I came to the Word today so needing a word. When I happened on Ps 59:9, it took my breath away: "My God in His lovingkindness will meet me." Not because of my performance or lack thereof, but because of His Love. Wait only on Him. This morning I read Revelations 19 about the day we live for. When God stops the sun from rising and shuts this groaning world down and rides into our lives forever. He will stand on this earth. And His Name ... Rev 19:13 says, His Name is the Word of God. "My soul waits in silence for God only." O my soul, wait in silence for the Word of God alone. Ps 62:1 . "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him." Ps 62:8 The Living Word longs to meet us. I'm way too wrapped up in what's happening here. God spoke once; Twice I heard this: Power belongs to God. Lovingkindness is His. Ps 62:11. Immaculate. Immutable. Invisible. Incomprehensible. God doesn't need to speak twice. He speaks once and things happen. He commands a world and it stands fast every single day. We speak and sometimes we do not have much to say. God speaks and it is done. In Latin, the meaning for twice means "uncertain." We hear again and again the sound of God's Voice through Creation, Sovereignty, Providence, The Word. May we keep on hearing this One Word: God is powerful and full of love. May His thunderous Voice echo again and again and again both of these truths. PHOTO: All 4 of you children have heard God speak once. May you hear Him twice.

PHOTO:  My prayer for each one of you loves is that His Lovingkindness will meet you.

Circa 2015

185 - “The Word Speaks By Me” Psalm 52-58

 

We all live with ourselves. We really know what we are like, what we think, what we do. And we have a glimpse from this book of the things David did. Some Evil. Some Glorious. David was self-aware of what his sins were. He took ownership of the stormy seas. He threw out an Anchor for his soul. He waddled and waded through the mire, the quicksand. And it was the Word of God breathed into David that he spoke 2 Samuel 23:2. They knew that it was not their minds conjuring up great advice to give away. These are God's Thoughts that David writes in this Psalm 57. “The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; his word is on my tongue. The God of Israel has spoken; David's words dawn on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth." The Word of God has spoken. And His Word still speaks today. To you. To me. God speaks by me. 

PHOTO: The sun slipping into Quarries Lake. It's a silent spot I go to often to listen to God's Word.

184 - "God Speaks and Summons" Psalm 46-51

What an introduction! I am God! Be still. Know this! Such a beautiful way to introduce the offer. Take this comfort: I am with you. I am for you. That is what you use to answer your fear. Psalm 46:10 

The Hebrew word for "be still" means to let it fall; let the concerns hang down. Then, slack off, especially your hands. No exertion needed. Leave the matter with God. Oh! The Providence in all our problems. Oh! The Power in what we contemplate. Oh! That introduction! Take the comfort! 

Psalm 50:1-2 God speaks and summons From the rising of the sun to its setting! Perfect in Beauty is God Who pours out. Our God comes and calls to deliver all!! Yes, this God looks down from heaven, from the most holy high place. And what does He see Any who seek. Corrupt?? Not 1. When God speaks twice, we do very well to listen. Matthew Henry's commentary speaks of the comparison to a hammer. Strokes must be repeated. Show us how bad! Speak to us! Hard to see! Arrogance!! 

PHOTO:  California coast. Still as the stars. Mysterious as royalty. 

183 - "Give Us This Day A Settled Peace of Conscience---let me listen with my eyes" Psalm 40-45

                                          

He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
Psalm 40:2

My foot stands on level ground when I am forgiven. 

There are no "big' people and "little" people in this world.

That's not what the world tells you. 

I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,

    and put their trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:1-4

Some seasons, we can't work ourselves out of what we are in.  All we can do is wait patiently---never in vain.  We know God hears us.  Give us this day our daily bread.  Give us this day a "settled peace of conscience" that we may wait rightly.  And how did the Hebrews do it?  Through a metaphor. Psalm 40:7 - God dug out their ears. (God's Word Translation). They listened with both their ears and eyes --- I come to Your Word.  It is written of me.  

God's Kindness and Truth is David's comfort on his sickbed as he faces unkindness and treachery of family and friends. Psalm 41:1 do I fear in times of trouble? The sin of those who cheat me surrounds me. I am afraid that they won't change soon enough. I am afraid that they will get off without any verdict. They'll be passed over while I'm diligently working. My situation shouts to the cheaters whose sins bump up against mine this day. Maybe, they have wealth and can ease their way through. Blessed are those whose strength is in God, not in their wealth or position or ease. Where is my own heart this day? A highway to God? The psalmist's heart was set on God, set on a pilgrimage. "The very map to Jerusalem was written on that heart. His Love for God and for His house helped him make right decisions in life so that he did not go astray. ...The Valley of Baca is a name for any difficult and painful place in life, where everything seems hopeless and you feel helpless, like the pit of despair." W. Wiersbe. The people who love God expect to pass through this valley and not remain there. "They dig a well...They pray down the rain...They go from strength to strength." W.W. Trusting God no matter what coup de grace befalls. Psalm 45: 1 My heart bursts its banks, spilling beauty and goodness. I pour it out in a poem to the king, shaping the river into words. Psalm 45: 10-12 With dazzling dresses and a procession of unbridled joy and wedding gifts pouring in, piling high; may the upcoming brides not miss a word. Forget your country, put your home behind you. Be here---the King is wild for you. 

 PHOTO: It's the street where they live.  Bob's dad. Bob's sister and family. Knock-dead view of Mount Rainier. Where you don't have to pray the rain down. It falls just about every day. Where you live from strength to strength.

182 - "A Sojourner, A Stranger" Psalm 36-39

I want this world to be perfect in every which way: family, friends, relationships, home, car, circumstances, money, job, entertainment, lifestyle, and oh, I could go on. Maybe not perfect, just complementary. Really?

What speaks to my heart this day? What makes sense to me as I move into my world? Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart. It is transgression that flatters us in our own eyes. Psalm 36:1-2. We can have the good life here. We deserve better treatment than what we are getting. We make people want to pay for what they are doing to us. We have ceased being wise and doing good; we plan evil upon our bed. Not Good! Psalm 36:3-4

Do not fret because of those who are evil.

Do not envy those who do wrong.

Because.

Like the grass, they will soon wither one day.

Psalm 37:2

Trust in the Lord and do good.

Take delight in the Lord

and He will give you the desires of your heart.  

Trust in Him and He will do this.

Psalm 37:3, 5

This is a sermon, says the commentaries.
"Calculated not for our devotion, but for our conversation."
It is Maschil---a teaching psalm.

Fall Forward in Faith.

No matter how bleak.

No matter how black.

It shall be "well with the soul of those who fear God." 

Do I despise evil? Or do I tolerate it? Do I dismiss it like a $5 parking ticket for my bicycle. 

Don't fret.Don't be envious.
God will do it!

God will bring forth your righteousness, Psalm 37:6
as the light and your judgment as the noonday. 

All of our serving and sharing and ministering
does not make us right with God. 

Rest in the LORD. Wait patiently for Him. Psalm 37:7  

Maybe, what makes sense to your heart is not right. 
He is our strength in time of trouble. Psalm 37:39. 

Rebuke me, O LORD, Psalm 38:1
for Your Hand presses down. Again. Psalm 38:2

Mourning. Sighing. Aloof. Afar.
I am a stranger. a sojourner.

PRAYER FROM PSALMS

And now, LORD, 

for what do I wait?

My hope is in You. Psalm 39:7

Not in my success or systematic theology or 

achievement or accolades or validation or victory.

I hope in You.  Psalm 38:15

181 - "Like Lazarus, Awake My Soul" Psalm 31-35

Psalm 35:22 Please hear my voice as I cry for mercy. Psalm 31:22 Just like Lazarus, awaken my soul to see life again. Just like Lazarus, send people my way to unbind what I cannot. Thank you, God, for the invitation to pray without ceasing. Is there ever a prayer that is unanswered. No. God answers all of them---it's just that maybe the answer we hoped for; or it is not the one we receive;the timing we require is revealed to be our will not His. In John 11:41 ~ Jesus lifts up his eyes and says, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me. Lazarus had been dead for 4 days. Did anyone really believe that God would bring him back to life? If we ask, He will answer. Don't be silent. Please be near to me. 

PHOTO: Eatonville, Washington. The street where the Morgans and Brandons once lived.

180 - “Live the Confusion in My Presence Psalm 23-30

 

God promises to guide me through the Right Path.

Whatever I walk through this season and even overall, You, O LORD, are guiding me on the right path to find You. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  There's such Mystery to this life.  Somehow, we've constructed stories of experience or morality or principled living.  There is a right path. God is leading us to know Him better not figure things out. No Greater Love. No other place to be.  May we find the Sovereign God in the midst of what tugs at our hearts.  Psalm 23:3. 

"Face the hard questions that life requires you to ask.  Gather with other travelers on the narrow road, pilgrims who acknowledge their confusion and feel their fears.  Then together, live those questions in My Presence." 66LL.  O, to find Him in our struggles and not let the bad things define us. 

PHOTO: The San Antonio Missions. A watercourse.