Psalm 107:23-32

Psalm 107:23-32
Living Bible (TLB)

  It's easy to remember to ask for things. This time of the year, Santas are everywhere, letting kids ask them what they want for Christmas.  You don't see too many Santas hanging around in January, available for kids to thank for receiving their Christmas gifts.
  I don't know that our culture is big on gratitude.  We like receiving, but the act of giving thanks is often forgotten.
  When we pray, it can be helpful to keep track of the things we ask for, that we might remember to give thanks when prayers are answered, when blessings are poured out, when God responds to our prayers.  It takes a faithful heart to remember to give thanks, but gratitude should form the very core of our being as Christians.

  Have a Merry & Blessed Christmas!!  I'll pick up with these again in the new year.

Psalm 107:10-22

Psalm 107:10-22
Living Bible (TLB) 

  I believe the grace and mercy of God is underestimated, because we make God out in our own image.  We think that God needs revenge, when in fact I believe that it breaks the heart of God to see his creations turn from him.  Many of us deal with the consequences of our sin, but God is eager to forgive, ready to allow grace to wash clean the crimson stain of sin.  The cross was necessary, for in it the full price of sin was paid, and now there is a gateway to forgiveness and new life for those willing to accept the Lordship of Christ.  Many rebel, but there is abundant grace for all who choose to accept the love and mercy of God.  In the darkness, we cry to the light, and the light bathes our lives with hope and new life.

  May we have the wisdom to look to Christ to shatter the power of our captor

Psalm 107:1-9

Psalm 107:1-9
Living Bible (TLB)

  We live in a sharing society.  Our culture is always ready to share what is happening.  People share pictures of themselves doing anything, everything and nothing.  We love sharing about ourselves.
  Our faith calls us to share what God has done for us.  God has saved us, reached into our despair and plucked us into new life.  Jesus Christ died on a cross so that we might not suffer the fate that we deserved, and God did this out of pure & selfless love for us.  There are not enough words in the languages of the world to describe all that God has done.
  Yet, we hesitate.  We tell our own story but omit the wondrous deeds God has done.  We fail to give God the glory he deserves, and instead try to take some for ourselves.
  As we tell our story, may our hearts be burning for the desire to share the fact that God is the central figure in all we do, and that our story is the rich story it is because of God's endless grace for us.

May we tell of God's love!

The Innovators

An imagined conversation:

How was Walter Isaacson's new book, The Innovaters?

     "It was interesting."

That's it?  You don't have any more to say than that?  Isaacson writes a book covering the development of the personal computer and the internet and why we now carry phones in our pockets, and all you have to say is, 'It was interesting'?

     "I know.  I feel the same way.  I expected it to be fascinating and captivating, but the only reason it was a page-turner that I couldn't put down was because it was due back at the library two days after finals, which means that I didn't start it until right before it was due.  If I hadn't had that deadline, I could easily see myself putting this book down and forgetting to pick it back up for a while.  Again--it wasn't bad, or uninteresting, it just didn't draw me in.  When I realized that I was going to finish it without owing the library a late fee, I set it down and watched the pilot episode of Agents of SHIELD.  I'm the guy who usually will stay up until 3 AM when he realizes there are 'only' 125 pages left in a book.  This one, though?  I just decided to leave it until the morning to finish."

Why do you suppose that is?

     "I'm not sure.  I think it's the lack of a grand narrative or overarching purpose in the book.  There was no great conflict that pushed the action forward.  There was no race, like there was in the Space Race, no sense of urgency.  There was no giant problem waiting to be solved.  There were a bunch of people who took the available technology of the day and thought about how it could be improved.  Each one carried the idea forward a little, some individually while others in groups, and as the technology was handed forward from one link in the chain to another, eventually computers became small and then personal, and then microchips and microprocessors enabled us to have computers and develop the World Wide Web.
     There were some interesting characters in the book, but mostly they were just people (mostly men, but some very important women) who loved working on computers.  Some sound like great people, some were definitely not, some became fabulously wealthy, some did not.  They faded into the background and others came forward to take their place."

Well, I don't know what else to say.  I don't feel compelled to go read the book now.

     "I know.  It's a strange feeling, to read a book so filled with information, some of which I already knew, written by a great author, and come away so.... blah.  Isaacson's Einstein was great, truly engaging, and he's written The Innovators well.  Maybe following the course of an idea rather than a person is simply more difficult and less compelling, especially an idea that doesn't have a specific course or need, but rather is developed by curiosity over decades.
     I'll sum it up like this:  some intersections along the road have traffic lights that are programmed to only change when a car is waiting there.  Often, when I'm driving along, I'll approach a light where a car has been waiting in the other lane, and the light will turn green before I stop.  Since I haven't stopped, I go forward, passing by the car that waited, grateful that it had already been there first and triggered the light to allow my unimpeded progress.  Picture doing that all the way across the country, and then arriving someplace really cool, having seen the landscape along the way.  That's what this book felt like."

That's the most uninteresting metaphor I've ever heard.

     "Yup.  And yet it feels so apt for this book.  The scenery is interesting.  The destination (massively powerful computers that fit into our pockets and can access the world's information in seconds) is awesome.  Yet, the journey that Isaacson describes just isn't that fascinating to this reader.  I learned some things.  But I never felt compelled to keep reading by anything more than the library due date."

Well, thanks for sharing, I suppose.

     "I'm working on Bill Bryson's One Summer next.  I promise that's more interesting.  America.  1927.  Fascinating stuff happened.  Google it."

I will.  

     "And if you really, really want to know why you can Google something on a computer that didn't exist when Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, in the 19th century, started thinking of a machine that could do such things, Walter Isaacson's The Innovaters will tell you about it."

Psalm 106:44-48

Psalm 106:44-48
English Standard Version (ESV)

  What happens when a team wins the World Series?  They throw a parade.  What do we do to celebrate a holiday?  Parades.
  Parades are miles-long celebrations of a holiday or event.  They are festive and joyous and colorful, and people of every age join in, whether they are participants or just viewers.
  When we think of celebrating God, we are called to give thanks and celebrate all that God is.  Worship should be a joyous occasion, a remembering of how God honors his promises and will be forever victorious.
  Following God is not always easy, and there are often joyless times, but faithfully enduring the valleys leads us to the mountaintops, where we celebrate God!

May we lift our hearts to the Lord

Psalm 106:34-43

Psalm 106:34-43
English Standard Version (ESV)

  So this isn't the cheeriest passage, but there is good news in here, and it's tucked into the last verse.  To set the scene, the people didn't do what God asked them to do, and they didn't do it many times.  Time and time again, they failed to obey God, and there were always consequences for their actions.
  But note that last verse--'many times he delivered them.'
  God didn't just give them one chance.  God didn't destroy them when they failed once.  God is more patient than we can imagine, willing to offer forgiveness in the hope that we might come to recognize the error of our ways and turn to him.  God loves us, and God wants us to be restored, and so God forgives over and over again.  Someday, we will be unable to sin, but until that day, let sin be distasteful to us as we recognize the damage it causes in our own lives and in our relationships, and may we give thanks for the grace and forgiveness of God that pardons our sin and gives us life once more.

  May we rejoice in the wonder of forgiveness!

Psalm 106:28-33

Psalm 106:28-33
English Standard Version (ESV)

  I'm intrigued by Phinehas' willingness to stand up.  Often, when trouble strikes, it's much easier to lay low and avoid the risk of getting caught up with everything else going on.  Standing up is tough.
  But God calls us to do what is right, regardless of the risk.  God assures us he will be with us, and then he calls us to wrestle with big questions, to follow him faithfully wherever he may lead.  It isn't always easy, but it's the right thing to do.
  So let us seek the courage to stand up, to do what is right, to follow the call of discipleship, no matter the risk.  God will be with us.

May we listen for God's call

Psalm 106:19-27

Psalm 106:19-27
English Standard Version (ESV)

  There exists a breach between us and God, a tear in the fabric of our relationship that we cannot repair through our own deeds.  We were the cause of this tear, this divide in the beauty God created, when we exchanged the glory of God for the glory sin promised.  Sin promised us that we would be just as happy and it would be easier, and we accepted this short-term promise without thinking about the long-term costs.
  We discovered, however, that sin does not live up to its promises, and even the short-term was less happy.  God, who does live up to his promises, was now distant.
  Here, Moses stood in the breach.  Many have tried to bridge this gap, but only one could repair it, could weave humanity and God back together with a strength that could never be torn.  Only one could forgive us for sins we had yet to commit, and only one could promise a relationship that would last forever.
  Will you worship Christ the King who comes to repair the relationship, who filled the breach with his blood and washed us in it so that we might be clean?
  Will you give thanks for this gift?

May we rejoice in the gift of today and the gift of new life

Psalm 106:13-18

Psalm 106:13-18
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Remember the phrase, 'be careful what you wish for'?
  Sometimes, we get exactly what we want.
  And then realize that we probably shouldn't have been wanting that!
  The human heart is a complicated thing.  We fall in love with the forbidden.  We seek out empty pleasures.  Our loyalty strays.  We convince ourselves that things are good for us, even when they may not be, and often we know it and long for it anyway.  We ignore the dark side of the things we desire.  We fool ourselves.
  We are often deceived.  Our hearts are restless, Augustine writes, until they find their rest in God.  We often try and have them rest on anything else, but they wander and long for their true purpose, and until we find a way to set aside all the lies that separate us from God, our hearts will continue to yearn for true relationship with the one who created them.
  So may we endeavor, every day, to set our hearts on God and keep ourselves focused on him.  In so doing, we direct our hearts to love and serve God.

May we love God more today

Psalm 106:6-12

Psalm 106:6-12
English Standard Version (ESV)

  We have a choice in life.  We can choose to pretend that we are immune to the failings that we see around us, that we will not be overtaken by temptation and falter on the road we travel.  If we choose this path, then we don't need God, because we are just fine on our own.  Only when we reach impassable obstacles will we realize the folly of this decision.
  The other option involves humility and confession.  This is the harder way, and out of stubborn pride, many choose the former.
  But confessing our weakness leads to healing, because we are then able to let go of past burdens, and the future obstacles that stand in our way are an opportunity to lean on the strength of God, and we do not have to hesitate to call on a strength greater than our own, because we know that ours is not enough.
  Confession keeps us humble, and it makes us wise, because when we confess our unworthiness, we are free to learn from those around us, and we are free to ask for God to guide us along the way, because we are not trustworthy.
  God is, however, and that is enough.

May we find the courage to confess our failings

Psalm 106:1-5

Psalm 106:1-5
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Nothing lasts forever, right?  All good things must come to an end.  We know these phrases well, because we see, too often, how the good things in life often fade quietly, if not dramatically, into the night.
  But the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.
  Forever.
  There will be no end.  If we put our faith in God's enduring love, we will never see it fade, it will never slip away, there will never be a moment when it is in doubt.  God's love endures.

May we have the wisdom to order our priorities around the things that last.

Psalm 105:39-45

Psalm 105:39-45
Common English Bible (CEB) 

  God spread out.  God brought.  God opened.  God remembered.  God gave.
  God is always the initiator, the one reaching out, the one filled with grace who is longing to share that grace.  God gives.  We receive.
  Let go of the pressure to figure it out on your own.  Fall into the arms of God and let his wisdom fill you, his love receive you, his vision guide you.  You don't have to make the path on your own.  We are called to follow his path that he created.  God's not asking us to solve the world's problems.  God is asking us to join him in building his kingdom, using each day as an opportunity to receive what God has given us and share it with the world around us.  Everything originates in God.  Let us proceed from there.

May we go forward with confidence in God that obedient service is enough

Psalm 105:24-38

Psalm 105:24-38
Common English Bible (CEB)

  There are a few lessons in the plagues of Egypt.
  First of all, God gave the people of Egypt 9 opportunities to recognize his power and authority before God sent the angel of death over the land.  God didn't have to give them any, but God was patient and demonstrated his power over and over until it was very clear exactly who was in charge.
  Secondly, God does some things that seem kind of strange.  Plagues of boils and gnats and frogs and darkness are bizarre, and even from within the faith, we don't always understand them.  But God has purpose, and God is slowly moving us toward redemption and deliverance.
  So be patient and trust in God's process.  He will neither leave you nor forsake you, and you are, slowly, surely, day by precious day, being moved toward redemption.

May we celebrate our God's power!

Psalm 105:12-23

Psalm 105:12-23
Common English Bible (CEB)

  One of the arguments I have heard made for God is the continued existence of the Jews.  Thousands of tribes have come and gone, but somehow the Jews have remained, not wiped from the face of the earth.  Is their existence proof of the reality of God?  I think much stronger arguments can be made, but it is interesting.
  One thing that we all fear is being forgotten.  We fear being forgotten by family, by friends, by God.  We fear disappearing into the void, into the past.  We fear our smallness will lead to this.
  What God promises is that we won't be forgotten.  God promises to remember us, to hold us closely in the palm of his hand.  God promises to never let us out of his sight, and that our eternity is to be held within God.

May we trust in the memory of God

Psalm 105:1-11

Psalm 105:1-11
Common English Bible (CEB)

  Think about the most delicious cookie you've ever tasted.  Do this for long enough, and you'll be hungry again.
  Think about the best meal you've ever had.  Dwell on the memory for a while, and you'll find yourself craving food.
  Think about the person you love the most.  Remember their kindness and the joy they bring.  Do this often enough, and you'll miss their presence.
  When we think of a person or event, soon we start to relive that experience.  The same is true for God--the more time we spend remembering God's good and generous acts, the more we will be shaped to be a people who long for God's presence.
  This is the importance of remembering the cross.  The more we dwell on the cross, we are forced to think of God's amazing love and the act he was willing to undertake to bring us back into right relationship with him.  The cross shows us God's love, so when we focus on the cross, we are formed into a people who then crave relationship with God.

May you invest time in remembering God's grace and love today

Psalm 104:27-35

Psalm 104:27-35
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  It's easy to get caught up worrying about heaven and hell and death and eternity.  It feels so big, and we feel so small, and even though we're powerless over it we look for assurance.
  We find that in God.  The God who has generously poured himself out for us will live forever, and just as he has proved himself trustworthy time and time again, he will do so in the future.  God never disappoints those who trust in him with their whole hearts, so if we believe in God's goodness and mercy, we can set aside our anxieties and run our race with integrity and faithfulness, trusting in God to do what he has promised.

May we remind ourselves, step by step, to rely on God's strength, rather than our own

Psalm 104:19-26

Psalm 104:19-26
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  God fills the earth, and then God fills the sea.  Every corner of the earth seems to be crawling with life.
  Our God is a God of abundance.  He is filled with abundant love and grace and mercy and peace and life. and this abundance spills over to his creations, so that we have abundance, too.  The world around us is rich in treasure, from natural beauty to minerals and resources that provide and sustain our life.  The sky is rich in life and stars, and we have one another--we are rich in diversity and skills and abilities and gifts.  There are rich opportunities before us and rich ways to recover when we fail.
  Each of us is rich, because the abundance of God has provided ample life and love and grace and peace.  May we revel in the abundance of God, who gives forgiveness and life even when we do not deserve it--such is the love of God!

May we give thanks today

Psalm 104:10-18

Psalm 104:10-18
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 

  God provides.
  God provides for the birds and the donkeys and the cattle and the trees.  God provides a home and nourishment for them all.
  And yet we worry so much about whether or not God will provide for us.
  Fear not--God will watch over us, and God will supply all our needs.  He may not give us everything we want, and he may not supply us exactly when and how we imagine, but God will not forget about you.  God will provide, and so our anxious hearts can rest and be grateful to have such a compassionate and aware Father.

May we be grateful for the rich provision of God