the psalms: where we live

To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
You gave me room when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.

How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame?
How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? Selah
But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.

When you are disturbed, do not sin;
ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Selah
Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.

There are many who say, “O that we might see some good!
Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!”
You have put gladness in my heart
more than when their grain and wine abound.

I will both lie down and sleep in peace;
for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.

Psalm 4

Part of the reason I think the psalms are so valuable is they talk a lot about experience. And that after all is where we live. We have our highs and lows, where we usually live, and oftentimes they’re punctuated with doubts and fears, being troubled. Then there are those times of peace and rest, sometimes even a sense of a kind of exaltation and joy. Well-being. But we sooner than later normally fall back into our default mode, which is whatever that might be. Hopefully with an increasing intentional drawing near to God as we go on, but sometimes mired in the depths.

But that is in large part why the psalms are so valuable and invaluable to us. We do well to read a psalm or two daily. And it is good from time to time to go meditatively through all the psalms. A part of God’s help for us as we live in the limitations and difficulties of this present existence and life.

In and through Jesus.

the new existence of us “in Christ”

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Romans 8:1-17

The new existence we have “in Christ” has nothing directly to do with our feelings and experience. If we can just let that settle in. And the point in Romans 8 is not about our position in Christ as at least one popular translation of Scripture would leave most of today’s readers think. The “no condemnation” of Romans 8 is about God doing through Christ’s coming and sacrifice for sin by his death, what the law could not do, so that we can be taken out of the law of sin and death, into the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, which brings instead of sin and death and the condemnation accompanying that, life and peace.

This is such a blessing. We are Spirit people, not flesh people. Oddly enough though, we can live like people of the flesh, a flat contradiction to who we are in Christ as God’s adopted children by the Spirit. But we don’t have to live there a second longer. At the same time, we have to acknowledge that old habits and ways are often not easy to get rid of. But God in Christ by the Spirit is there to help us. So that we can indeed put to death the old, and put on the new, spoken about in other places by Paul. Wonderful thoughts for us to reflect on, and live into. In and through Jesus.

we bear witness to a better day

In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.

Many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

Come, descendants of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Isaiah 2:1-5

Today in the United States is Memorial Day when Americans who lost their lives in military service are honored. We indeed should remember them and their sacrifice. But we as followers of Christ and the church of Christ ought to point to a better day when violence is not only the last resort alas unlike today, but when war will be no more.

That thought sounds so unreasonable when there’s so much violence and evil in the world. We have to remember that violence is not ended with more violence. Sooner or later that cycle continues as old grievances surface. Unfortunately what ought to be and what actually is are so far apart. It’s like you have to use a hopefully sanctified imagination to think of anything which could be different.

Violence is a fact of life, embedded in the human existence. There is not the necessary trust in God, in Christ with the hope/anticipation of the resurrection to make the commitment to something else. But if churches of Christ aren’t doing this, then what does that say about our witness? Are we just supposed to be okaying, even strongly supporting military action and wars of the state? Surely not.

We in Jesus point to a better day. By how we live along with our telling of this. We encourage nations to make peacemaking the priority, along with trying to understand and address underlying issues behind the violence. Realizing indeed that all violence will not be vanquished until Christ returns. Nevertheless doing all we can to point ourselves and others to a better day. And hopefully seeing that played out more in creative ways in opposition to oppressive regimes, with the commitment to do good to the distressed, and ultimately to all. A tall order indeed. But a large part of our calling. In and through Jesus.

don’t go there

Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.

Proverbs 4:25

This is applicable in oh so many ways, but whatever it is, good as it may seem, important, usually urgent, or whatever, we can learn what distracts us from God’s peace, indeed from God’s good will. This is part of training in godliness, not to go where we think we have to go, often with the sense of fixing something, maybe even panic over some perceived problem. Or it maybe something that we know is no good, like eating too much of the wrong food at the wrong time. Or something even worse. Often though it can be things that are not at all wrong in themselves in the proper place and space and time. We have to be responsible. We don’t just throw everything to the wind with the idea that the Lord will take care of it. God will, but we’re part of that so that we have to be engaged and responsible in life.

But to the point of this post. No matter what the thought, now urgent it may seem, we will do well and find much help in simply refusing to go there. And a key issue here is distraction. Whatever might be distracting us from what we are doing at the time, the necessary and good thing we’re doing is a sign that God is not in the distraction. It has the mark and scent of the devil. The Lord will speak to our hearts with a strong sense at various times, but always with much freedom. It’s more like an invitation, and never with the sense of rush to throw us into panic. Though there may be directives from the Lord when we ought to act at the time in a specific way. We have to develop a sensitivity to what’s of God and what’s not.

The thought, again in all kinds of ways, just don’t go there, is helping me. We seek to be responsible in everything, in all of life, but always in the love, care and calm of our God. In and through Jesus.

don’t forget this

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no weekend war that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

Ephesians 6:10-18; MSG

I find Eugene Peterson’s rendering of this Scripture helpful on a number of points. You get a sense of how this spiritual battle we’re in is ongoing and frankly, horrific. I wish it were not so. It would be quite a different experience. For those whose life is a walk in the park, and an ongoing happy time, I think something like: “Wow. Great!” But then it makes me wonder if they know this aspect of life. All who are “in Christ” do, even if somehow that realization is hidden from them.

And then the idea that we can’t do this on our own. That we are dependent on God and on all God gives us in Christ. Especially helpful is the point that we’re to apply truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation to our lives, as taught to us in Scripture. And God’s Word expressed as a weapon, perhaps referring to God breaking through to us as we read Scripture, that word coming home to us. And the need for ongoing prayer. I find that when I feel up against it, I am often pressed to pray, and end up praying more persistently, sadly, then I would otherwise. On the other hand when I have a break from this spiritual warfare, I can be encouraged to pray, at times having a sense of God’s presence and peace. But by and large I keep at it more faithfully when I feel pressed for one reason or another. It’s not hard for me to realize the need for this.

And how we’re to pray for each other. Having been within the evangelical tradition most of my Christian life, I’ve been well taught on the need to apply Scripture to my own life, but not as well taught in how we’re all in this together, and the responsibility which comes with that.

To apply truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation both for our own lives, and for the world, into the lives of others, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. And for everyone else as well. But Paul here seemed to particularly mean it for the believers at large, I would say especially individually, and then collectively, together. Definitely an ongoing personal application. In and through Jesus.

God’s shalom on us

At that time, this song
will be sung in the country of Judah:
We have a strong city, Salvation City,
built and fortified with salvation.
Throw wide the gates
so good and true people can enter.
People with their minds set on you,
you keep completely whole,
Steady on their feet,
because they keep at it and don’t quit.
Depend on God and keep at it
because in the Lord God you have a sure thing.
Those who lived high and mighty
he knocked off their high horse.
He used the city built on the hill
as fill for the marshes.
All the exploited and outcast peoples
build their lives on the reclaimed land.

Isaiah 26:1-6; MSG

This especially caught my eye yesterday:

People with their minds set on you,
you keep completely whole,
Steady on their feet,
because they keep at it and don’t quit.

And this follows:

Depend on God and keep at it
because in the Lord God you have a sure thing.

I am leery, basically suspicious of big breakthroughs, though I do believe they happen, especially over time. But I prefer the preponderance of building slowly over time, day after day, so that real and lasting change occurs. Not something fly by night, a great experience here today and gone tomorrow.

In this rendering in The Message, I sense the pastor coming out of Eugene Peterson. He is encouraging us to “keep at it” rather than look for some great experience in which we live, I mean the “perfect peace” as in the NIV, etc. The idea of “completely whole” probably better captures the meaning behind shalom.

What really hits home for me is the encouragement to “keep at it.” To not give up, to not give in to disparaging thoughts which come our way. But to set our minds on God and depend on God. God honors that. For the down and out, for the broken, for those who have no hope of fixing themselves. God makes a way, and gives them all they need.

We may or may not see ourselves in that category. But we need to take care of ourselves. And how we best do that is to put ourselves under God’s care. We look to God and keep doing that. Trusting in God to see us through, that all will be well. In and through Jesus.

accept the reality we’re in: Christian spiritual warfare

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Ephesians 6:10-20

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no weekend war that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.

Ephesians 6:10-20; MSG

I think there’s truth and wisdom in what I heard years and years ago from a servant of the Lord. We as followers of Christ are children, servants and soldiers. He then likened that I think to the old stools people used to sit on to milk their cows. Three legs, so that if one of them is gone, the stool is gone we could say, as well. For different reasons I think we either want to avoid the soldier analogy, or we misapply it, pushing it into “the culture war,” or even into what is some ways is worse, actual military or paramilitary activity. Not what Christ taught, nor what Paul is teaching here.

We are not in a physical battle, but spiritual, and we’d better face that and get used to it, and act accordingly. It’s not just something we do and get it over with. We have to be ready and engaged day after day. It’s a kind of mentality, but also something beyond that. It is we can say spiritual in the sense that we are looking to God for God’s strength and help, no less, in all that God has provided for us in Christ. As The Message puts it: “Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation” along with “God’s Word” and “prayer.”

All who are in Christ will sooner or later realize that they are in a spiritual battle. I remember a successful and loving pastor who seemed to suggest that we should ignore Satan. I may have well misunderstood him. Perhaps he was making the point that our focus shouldn’t be on Satan or spiritual warfare, the spiritual battle we’re in, but on Christ. And that is a good and important point. We succeed in resisting the onslaught of the enemy by getting our strength from God, and applying what God has given us in Scripture, in Christ.

There’s nothing fancy here. All we’re supposed to do is stand firm, holding our ground. It may not look pretty, and may not get us any style points. It’s not about us. We accept this difficult, heavy reality, after all, there’s really no escape from it. And we want to take it head on, not at all in our own strength, but only in the Lord’s mighty strength, the strength of his might. Again, living out all Christ has given us, all we are. Holding on. Not trying to overcome ourselves, but knowing we will overcome by standing firm through Christ. Along with others. In and through Jesus.

slow down and trust God; listen and pray: pray and listen. and Advent.

So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.”

Isaiah 28:16

But the Master, God, has something to say to this:

“Watch closely. I’m laying a foundation in Zion,
a solid granite foundation, squared and true.
And this is the meaning of the stone:
a trusting life won’t topple.”

Isaiah 28:16; MSG

A trusting life, as Eugene Peterson puts it, or one who relies on this stone who we know is Jesus is said to not topple, be stable. Not stricken with panic. According to the NET footnote the Hebrew there means “will not hurry, i.e., act in panic.”

I find it does me a world of good to slow down. I can all too often live with a sense of fear and a feeling of panic. Instead I need to act on what I profess, that God will take care of it now, that God has already established the new reality in Jesus, and that God will bring everything to full fruition.

I have to be in Scripture and prayer, prayer and Scripture, and just keep doing that. And when I’m afraid, make prayer the focal point of what I’m doing. To pray and listen, listen and pray. Add to that the new faith community Deb and I are a part of. We so much have enjoyed being with them, albeit now on Zoom, and seek to discern truth, God’s truth together.

Yes, yes, yes. We have all we need in Jesus. And all that’s needed comes in and through Jesus, a wonderful new world. The reality of that world begins now, but the full break in, we await. At the heart of what Advent is about. In and through Jesus.

leaving the war of words

My companion attacks his friends;
he violates his covenant.
His talk is smooth as butter,
yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
yet they are drawn swords.

Cast your cares on the Lord
and he will sustain you;
he will never let
the righteous be shaken.

Psalm 55:20-22

Here in the United States we live in a democratic republic which includes free speech up to a point. One can say what they like, any wise or foolish thing, whatever, unless it amounts to harassing or threatening others. Nowadays we know that hardly anything is spared, be it on Twitter or other social media. And even when trying to engage in reasonable discussion, what one believes is true is considered false by the other. It certainly takes the wisdom of Solomon, and the wisdom James shares about the tongue and a life that makes the needed difference (James 3).

It is hard to know how to thread the needle. Some seem to think that one should say hardly nothing at all about the issues of the day. This seems to me to be mistaken, even wrong. But the question would be just what we should address, and then what we should say. While I’m not sure Jesus and the faithful in Scripture would have passed the test here, I think this post is definitely worth considering, not denying the need to speak at times, but making the test stringent. When you think about it, it’s probably much better to err on the side of less said, and try to understate everything. Maybe just point people certain directions so that they can make up their own minds. After all, none of us is Jesus. Though at the same time to never point out what might be wrong just seems to me to be off the mark. And consider what others are saying. Though maybe many of us are just called to pray.

I’ve decided that I need to say less, listen more, and above all, pray more. I so easily get caught up in the windstorm of news and all the violence of words, including words spoken to try to tame down the storm. We do need people of wisdom who might be able to redirect all of us into something better, to true wisdom. But again just how to thread the needle is surely beyond our own ability. We need God’s wisdom and help. It’s too easy to get caught up and swept away, and really end up not helping at all. Jesus’s words come to mind, that we as his followers are to be wise as serpents, yet harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16). But God’s Spirit and wisdom on us doesn’t mean that all will go well for us. Stephen’s case comes to mind here, the first martyr (Acts 6:1-8:3). Of course none of us should imagine ourselves in the same shoes as Stephen. We have to humbly look to God, and find our place. What are we all about? Is it really about following Jesus and what that means for us at the moment? And that will certainly involve different responses from different people. Some of us will just pray. Others might speak out on one issue, others on another. And as Jesus followers we will all seek to be living in God’s love in Jesus.

We need to remember that silence and prayer are probably the better part of wisdom most of the time. And that if there’s a time to speak, we’d best choose our words carefully. We don’t want to get caught up into the war of words. We want to find and perhaps share God’s wisdom: the help we ourselves receive. Remembering that God alone can bring the needed change in us and in others. In and through Jesus.

what matters?

And I saw something else under the sun:

In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
in the place of justice—wickedness was there.

I said to myself,

“God will bring into judgment
both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
a time to judge every deed.”

Ecclesiastes 3:16-17

As it turns out, a lot matters. Thankfully God has everything well in hand. So we can rest assured in that, believing that God will take care of what really matters.

Well that’s good insofar as it goes. But we still have to live with injustice and its fallout. It’s like all we can expect is God to take care of justice someday, but not today.

But when we stop and consider what the Teacher Qoheleth is saying, we see that what is done now matters. There is a standard in place and no one will get away with any evil done now, just as no one will fail to be rewarded for any good done.

As Christ followers we believe that, and base our lives on it, thankful for God’s grace and mercy which both triumph over justice, yet will bring in the needed justice and peace. In and through Jesus.