Reflections on Psalm 4:2

How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame^a?

How long will you love delusions and seek false gods^b?

^a Or you dishonor my Glorious One

^b Or seek lies

The Holy Bible  : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ps 4:2

This is a tough verse to swallow.  Especially if you have been there, done that and have that T-shirt!
The Psalmist has witnessed the ridicule and shame of one's own demise.  Perhaps like many of us, he is writing about himself.  Many of us that have called ourselves Christian have at one time or another been guilty of turning God's glory into shame.  Maybe it was greed.  Maybe it was lust.  Maybe it was jealousy.  No matter what, it was selfishness.  Dr. Joseph Godwin, the Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Mars Hill College, once said that "selfishness was the sin that stunk all the way to heaven."  Selfishness indeed gets the best of us.   In the lastest Narnia movie, Prince Edward and Prince Caspien are warned that they would be tempted about their selfishness.  Isn't interesting that that the enemy knows those areas that we are weakest?  I do however find great comfort in the fact that even Jesus was tempted to turn glory into shame, love delusions, and seek false gods.  It is interesting in studying those passages that highlight the temptation of Jesus to see that Jesus always fought temptation with the Truth of God's word.  I have found that works for me as well, as long as I am willing to do so.  There are reasons to stay in the Word.  What excuse are you making?

I find it very interesting to study God's Word.  One of my favorite things to do is to look at a passage and understand it better by looking at the meaning of the words used in that passage.  For example, I was reading Psalm 3:3 this morning and light bulbs went off in my mind.  Look for yourself:

But you are a shield around me, O Lord;

you bestow glory on me and lift^b up my head.

^b Or Lord, / my Glorious One, who lifts me up

The Holy Bible  : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

We can tell from the structure of this sentence, that "you" is referring to God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.  It would not take one long to use a concordance to discover that God and who God is has thousands of scriptureal references.  Of course the whole Bible is about God.  However in this verse, "You are" indicates that God is very much in the present.  He is in the here and now and therefore very aware of the circumstances of my life.  He is active.  He is alive. The next phrase, "a shield" refers to the fact that God is protector.  By its very definition, shield refers to one that protects or defends.  Just yesterday I saw on the History Channel a segment about the shields that the early Roman soldiers used and how they used them in battle.  As long as the shields were in place, the battles were won and the enemies were defeated.  I have never been in combat per say, but I know I have had my share of battles.  Battles with self, with others, with callings, and with obedience.  It is good to know that even before battle begins, my shield is present.  Nothing can penetrate this shield because I am aware of the omnipotence of God.  God is not just a shield, He is my shield!  The next couple of words in this passage indicate so!  God is a shield around me.  This reminds me of the omnipresence of God.  God is all around me.  He knows what is sneaking up on me at the same time He knows what is in front of me and what is to my left and right. He knows me so well, that He is aware of my surroundings.  Do you find that amazing?  I am blown away to know that my God loves me that much that His shield is around me!  What happens as His shield is around me?  He bestows glory on me!  How does He do that?  Outside the fact that He is God and He can do anything He wants, He bestows glory on me because I am His since I was bought and paid for by the redeeming blood of His Son.  For that reason, I am not able to lift my head, but He is able to lift my head.  What a beautiful reminder of the power that God can have in our lives if we allow Him to do so!  Are you allowing God to be your shield, to bestow glory on you, and to lift your head up?  I hope so!  If not, though, whatcha waitin' on?

 

45 Lessons Life Taught Me

I can't say that I wrote this, but I certainly can say I have passed it along! This is some great wisdom! Enjoy!

45 Lessons Life Taught Me
Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH
"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written."
My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will.
Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it. (???)
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come...
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Adult ADD?

I woke up early this morning feeling a bit chilly. I first thought that my wife had hogged all the covers again. Then I tried to see what time it was and couldn't see the clock so I thought my wife had blocked the clock with something and I couldn't see it. (Notice even in a sleepy stupor how quick I am to shift blame.) Then, I realized in the dark, cold and very quiet that the power was off. All of these thoughts came in just a few seconds as I sleepily tried to figure out what was going on and if I was even awake. My mind begins to process as I reach for my cell phone to look at the time. 3:00 AM. Nice. Oh, I have a text message. It is from the basketball coach, "Can you give a pre-game devotion at 1:20 for the game on Saturday?" Wow, when was that sent? 12:22 AM. Wonder what I should talk about? I will have 4 minutes to inspire and point them to Christ. Great. Power is still off. Are the pipes going to freeze? Are the girls warm enough? Wonder why the power is off? I paid the bill right? Must have been a blown transformer. Transformer! Transformed! That is it! I will share with the basketball team about being transformed through Christ! "I beseech you therefore, brethern, in view of God's mercies, off your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable and pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:1-2). God's power transformed to us through Christ! Therefore we should respond by not doing what our world tells us to do that is selfish, greedy, and unholy. But we should be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Another translation, the New Living Translation, says to change the way you think! Change the way I think? Yes. Change the way you think! What should I think about? Think about these things: whatever is TRUE, whatever is NOBLE, whatever is RIGHTEOUS, whatever is PURE, whatever is LOVELY, whatever is ADMIRABLE, and whatever is PRAISEWORTHY (Philippians 4:8)! Hmm. Oh yea, the power was off until about 6:15 and it came on then off then on then back off and now is back on. There is a blizzard coming. Hopefully, the power won't go off this next week in the blizzard when the temperatures drop to like 5! I really think that I am becoming more and more ADD-ish as I get older. Look a squirrel! :)

My 1000th Tweet

Now I have to confess. I have formerly been a part of the SOPOST (Society Of Prevention Of Stupid Twitting). As a founding member of SOPOST, I fervently pledged that I would never ever give in to the fundamentals of tweeting or anything of the like. I laughed at those "tweeter-holics" and have made fun of them for constantly checking their twitter accounts on smartphones, laptops, Ipads, Iphones, and Idon'tknowwhatelse! Then out of nowhere, all of the sudden, I found myself being bitten by the Twitterbug. Maybe I have twitteritis, maybe it is something worse. Nevertheless, I have had to tear up my SOPOST membership card and eat a big ole piece of humble pie. Just like the James Bond movie, Never Say Never (or something like that), I should have never said never. I have been propelled into an information highway that has kept me in the loop for gossip, who is sick, who is heart broken, who is traveling, who is home, who is in love, and who is even liking the Droid fart application! I have signed up and started following authors, pastors, teachers, athletes, singers, professionals, motivators, moms and dads, and even ways to use my Blackberry smartphone even smarter! I even have dead people that I am following! It is amazing how they can still tweet when they can't even twot. Okay...so that was bad. So now I am able to post my 1000th tweet. Who would have ever thought this moment in time could possibly ever happen? The cool thing is that I am able to post this tweet via my blog via facebook through my 1000th tweet on twitter, all of which is something that I swore up and down I would never do! Sure, all that is true, but the sweetest part of it all is the fact that because of Twitter, I have been able to be connected, enriched, challenged, appreciated, and in times even cherished because of these relationships I have been able to be part of and in turn invest in as well. Isn't that what community is all about? Learning, growing, living life out loud together? I am reminded of the New Testament Church that Dr. Luke portrays for us in Acts 2:42, "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers" (NKJV). God is certainly using Twitter in my life by richly blessing me as our lives are ever increasingly becoming entangled and woven together just like the Master intended for us to do...don't you think? Thank you for being in my life and making it so TWEET! :)

A Respectful Response to Thin Theology

This week I had the opportunity to hear a presentation entitled "Who Wrote the Bible? The Surprising Findings of Modern Scholarship" by renown scholar Dr. Bert Ehrman, the Distinguished Chair of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina. I have to acknowledge that even though I have two masters degrees and have been an ordained minister for over 22 years, I certainly do not have the academic background that Dr. Ehrman has accumalated nor do I think at this stage in my life that I will. While there is no doubt that Dr. Ehrman's studies and work is the culmination of a lifelong process, attempts to discredit the Bible has been going on for centuries. I could get all huffy about comments made and start arguing points as well as questioning motives of why scholars such as Dr. Ehrman would take such a stance. Okay, I need to rephrase that because I did get all huffy, found many points to argue, and I have questioned his motives, but I did not stay that way long. Why? It is simple. The Word of God quickly responds to these attacks because the Spirit of God immediately reminds me that throughout scripture there are many instances of scripture interpreting scripture and passages supporting other passages. I am also reminded that through Hebrews 4:12 that "the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (NIV). The Word of God was preached in verbal form, lived out through the person of Jesus, and then given to us in a written form. In any of these forms, it is more powerful than any human tool. The Word of God is dynamic. It is always at work. It is capable of going where no other written word is capable of going. It reveals God's will and His ways. Therefore, I will not get upset about a scholar from Carolina or anywhere else that takes exception to what I have studied and what I believe nor will I take exception to what he has studied and what he believes. I believe it to be real. I believe it to be true. I believe it to be reliable and the foundation for my walk with Christ. It has changed me and continues to change me as I allow more of it in me. I am certain that it will change me in the future as well. It is my counsel, my lamp, my light, my fortress, my peace, and my choice to follow. I have learned that if challenges come up against the Bible as I have heard from many in the past, those challenges are short lived and once again the Word of God prevails. My response has to be based on the truth of the word as I have come to know it and how that truth has been proven over and over and over again. When I am told for example, that Peter could not have written the letters attributed to him in the New Testament because he was ignorant and could not read or write, my immediate response is that just shows me that God can use someone ordinary to do something extraordinary! The point is that the God of the Bible I love is a really big God and He is capable of turning ignorance into bliss. And I must add, that if ignorance is bliss, then I am a blister! Some folks think that just because this speaker is from Carolina, that he must speak truth because God did make the sky Carolina Blue. Being the NC State fan I have been all my life, my response is that while the sky may be Carolina Blue, the blood that was shed on Calvary for my sins is Wolfpack Red! It does not matter if Jesus is a Wolfpack fan, a Tarheel or even a Lees-McRae Bobcat. What does matter is that every book in the Bible as we have it points to His redeeming action for my sins, Dr. Ehrman's sins, your sins, and the sins of all. For me, that is all that matters. So I will continue to trust the Word of God and depend on it for my daily walk for the truths I have learned and I will rely on the truths I have yet to learn. I will also choose not to skate on thin theology but I will strive to live on the principles of grace that has been given to me and through love strive not to judge, condemn nor condone the beliefs of those with whom I do not agree. That is what I am going to do and how I am going to respond. What about you?

Coming Out

This phrase has been tested over the recent years. Our society has used it to say that someone is revealing something that perhaps has been hidden for some time. Confessions, lifestyles, confessions about lifestyles, thoughts, attitudes, and deep dark secrets are things that help us "come out." I stayed up late last night to witness with the world a coming out. Actually it was a coming out that had been worked on and planned for many days. Several people were involved as well as many different governmental agencies. Lots of professional people and blue collar workers came together so that this coming out could happen. In fact, in order to come out, one decided that he would have to go in and then stay for a while and then come out himself. Thirty-three Chilean miners had been trapped for 69 days. Dark, dusty, dungeon-like. They were held captive in a gloomy place that seemed hopeless and full of void. As I celebrated last night when the first miner was rescued from that dark hole, I cried as those who loved him, a son and a wife, joyfully cried when he was free from the captivity of darkness. When the 10th miner was rescued this morning and came out of that rescue capsule, I watched again with tears in my eyes as the scenario was the same as the first except the fact that this miner fell to his knees and thanked God for the privilege of seeing light, breathing fresh air, and being set free from captivity. Then I realized the parallels to my life. I have no clue what it is like to have been in captivity for 69 days, wondering if I was going to be rescued or set free. I have no clue what it is like to experience darkness for days upon days and to hear only the breathing and conversations of those with whom I shared such an ordeal. I have no clue what it would mean to be lifted out of such darkness into bright beaming light and hearing the sounds of those that love me welcome me home. No, I may not have a clue about those things. However, I do know what it means to be set free from a life of bondage and being held captive by my own sinfulness and shame. I know what it means to have a relationship with the One that decided before I was ever born to go into the dark and gloomy place to prepare for me a rescue capsule that would deliver me from the pit of darkness and bring me into Light. While NASA helped design the rescue capsule of durable metals, wheels, and teflon, God designed my rescue capsule out of rugged wood, three nails, and a hill called Calvary. By the way, coming out indicates that you are going into something else. The miners had to come out by doing something unconventional, getting in that strangely made rescue capsule. Hopefully, they will go on to a life that could be filled with thankfulness and appreciation being set free. Maybe it is time that I do the same. What about you?