Psalm 18:43-50

Psalm 18:43-50 

English Standard Version 

  Remember those cartoons where the baby bear rears up on its back legs and growls at an enemy, watching with glee as the enemy scampers away?  The baby feels such pride, and then the camera zooms out to show the mama bear towering in the background, the real source of the enemy's fear. 

  That's how I feel when I read this Psalm.  David is reigning in power, but only because of what the Lord has done.  Nothing is because David is so great -- it's because God is so great, and David's power is rooted in that.  Remove God, and David would fall.

  It's a fine line to walk as we try and recall this.  God sets us in places to fulfill our calling, gifting us with particular gifts and skills, and through the work of the Holy Spirit, we are called to obey and to serve.  I think we should take pride in a job well done.  But let us not forget the true source of our gifts, the true source of our life.  It's not due to us that the world keeps spinning and that there's food on the table -- that's a gift from God, and may we join with David and sing our praises to God.

Psalm 18:36-42

Psalm 18:36-42

English Standard Version 

  It's easy for me to forget that David was a military leader.  He was a king who went out to war -- from the days of his youth protecting the sheep, to his battle with Goliath, to his military campaigns as king, he was surrounded by violence.  Through it all, his heart was captured by God.  He was imperfect and flawed, and yet he pursued God, even in the midst of his enemies, even in battle.

  May we not separate our lives into the parts that belong to God and the other parts that we endure or deal with on our own.  It all belongs to God.  May our entire life be a dance with Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit, as we try and figure out how to live as a people in love with God.  It's so hard to do -- Monday happens and then suddenly it's Thursday afternoon and we're wondering where the week went and how are we running out of time... and yet God speaks to us in the midst of it, if we're willing to breathe, to slow, and to listen.  It all belongs to God.  May we find ways to listen to the beat of our hearts this day, and hear them crying out for the living water that only Jesus can provide.

Psalm 18:31-35

Psalm 18:31-35 

English Standard Version 

  Who else but God could make someone great through gentleness?  God's way is truly not the way of this world -- as Paul says in 1 Corinthians, it is foolishness, and yet through it leads the way to life.  

  When I read about arms bending a bow of bronze, I take a little detour back to early Genesis.  When Noah and family had come out of the ark, God made a covenant to never again destroy the earth through a flood, and set a bow in the heavens as a sign of the promise.  That bow, of course, was pointed not towards earth as a threat but rather into the heavens as a sign.  The bow would be pointed straight at the heart of Christ, for that would be the way forward through the world's wickedness.  God set that bow in the heavens to show Noah and all the future generations where the punishment for sin would ultimately land.  

  So each time you see a rainbow in the sky, give thanks that God was willing to accept the punishment and make the promise that gives us a path forward.

Psalm 18:25-30

Psalm 18:25-30 

English Standard Version 

  Verse 29 has been one that's always stuck with me.  There are so many things that I feel like I cannot do in life -- I run up against impossible obstacles, against immovable forces, and I feel defeated.  Of course, the reason I feel defeated is that I'm focused on the battle I'm waging, one that's probably very small and not very important in the grand scheme of things.

  When I focus on the things of God, however, opting to trust God and God's way, which are perfect, then I am immovable -- certainly not by my own strength, but due to the power of the Holy Spirit.  Death cannot have me, for I belong, body and soul, to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.  If death itself will fall at my feet, then what other refuge do I need?

Psalm 18:20-24

Psalm 18:20-24 

English Standard Version 

  We hold all of Scripture together, and when we interpret Scripture, we always look through the lens of the Gospel and let Scripture interpret itself.  What we learn is that our righteousness is perfect because we receive Christ's righteousness -- this is imputed to us through Christ's atoning death on the cross.  We are blameless because Christ is blameless, and he receives the punishment we deserve while we receive the reward that he deserves.  

  I think the best example of this in Scripture is in Zechariah 3, when the prophet has a vision of Joshua the high priest standing before God.  Now, Joshua would've been more pure than anyone at the time, but he is seen standing in dirty rags, for that's what sin does to us.  No matter how hard we try and present ourselves as clean, sin has stained us.  Satan is ready to accuse Joshua, but before he can do so, the Lord declares Joshua clean and has his iniquity taken from him.  Clean garments are given to Joshua, with a clean turban for his head, all because the Lord decrees it.  

  Like Joshua, we are dirty before God, but at a word of the Lord, we are made clean through the love and blood of Jesus Christ.  Thanks be to God!

Psalm 18:13-19

Psalm 18:13-19 

English Standard Version 

  Why does God save?  Because God delights in you.  Not because you've earned it or because you were good last Tuesday or because you traded in enough favors so that God would save you.  God saves you because God delights in you.  Such love is beyond what we can comprehend -- we're so transactional in our modern world -- but God loves you and delights in you, and so God uses God's power to save you.  It's amazing power and might -- all of it brought forth so that you could be saved.

  What a gift!  How can your gratitude for God's great love and delight be shared today?  How can you delight in someone else?

Psalm 18:7-12

Psalm 18:7-12 

English Standard Version 

 There's a story that I heard a preacher tell once about how they were taking a trip on the Queen Mary, a massive ocean liner, and an SOS cry went up from a small rowboat trying to cross the Atlantic.  The code of the ocean is that the nearest ship responds to another ship in distress, and so this tiny rowboat with a single soul piloting it was met in their distress by the Queen Mary, which is 1,000 feet long and built for over 2,000 passengers.  It was a study in contrast in terms of power, and I bet that rower felt like they were being transported onto something much more solid and stable in the midst of that rescue.

  That's what I always think of when I read this passage.  The picture that David paints is one of God's awesome and incredible power.  God heard David's cry, and then God's might is unleashed as God comes to the rescue.  The entire earth is rocked and devouring fire comes forth as God rides on the wings of the wind to rescue his beloved creation.  

  This is the God who comes to save you.  We worship a God who is strong enough to save and cares enough to do so!  

Psalm 18:4-6

Psalm 18:4-6 

English Standard Version 

  Have you ever been so lost in the woods that no one can hear your cries for help?  It's such a defeating feeling, to be that alone.  It's scary and isolating.  

  But let's be honest -- we don't have to be deep in the woods for that to be true.  We can feel that when we're surrounded by people.  It's one of the paradoxes of our modern age -- we're more connected to people than ever, and yet we feel constantly alone.  We feel isolated, and I don't even know that we know why.  Maybe it's because so much of what is online feels fake and we're not making real connections any more.  I wonder how many people have someone they can talk to about their deepest fears and insecurities.  It all feels so vulnerable.

  In Psalm 18, David is in a pretty bad place.  There's cords of death and torrents of destruction, which is heavy.  David is in despair.

  And in the midst of this, God hears David's cry.  Our prayers reach God's temple.  Thanks be to God for that!  God cares enough to listen, and as the Psalm continues, we see that not only does God hear, but also, God responds!

Psalm 18:1-3

Psalm 18:1-3 

English Standard Version 

  This is one of my favorite Psalms, because there's such a strong sense of mutual love throughout it.  David loves God, because God is David's only sure thing, the very foundation of his life, that cannot be shaken, and God's love for David comes through, because God will save David from David's foes.  

  How many hours of prayer did David invest to come to this point?  It's a lifetime -- similar to Stephen, this is from the deep well of the heart, overflowing in times of danger and threat.  

  I pray for the wisdom and patience to lean into God like this, to allow the Holy Spirit to shape my heart in such a way that I can pray like this, that I can live like this.  

Acts 7:54-60

Acts 7:54-60 

English Standard Version 

  When the world is pressing in on you, where do you fix your eyes?  

  If you're like me, the focus of your vision moves closer -- I tend to look at what I fear, focusing on it, losing larger perspective.  Stephen, in his final moments, refused to look at those who were threatening him, and fixed his eyes on heaven.

  And in the midst of that awful moment, with his enemies gaining victory over him through their hate... Stephen prayer for forgiveness for them.

  What an example for us all -- to pray that in that moment doesn't come naturally.  No, forgiveness has to have so filled your heart that it overflows at such a moment.  This is the work of years of conditioning to be grateful, to be wired to forgive.  Stephen draws on this in his last moments.  

  May we focus on the forgiveness of Christ to such an extent that without thinking, in our best and worst moments, default to forgive, as Christ forgives us.

  

1 John 3:23-24

1 John 3:23-24 

English Standard Version 

  This Valentine's Day, we begin a Lenten journey.  I don't think there's a holiday more appropriate -- today, we celebrate God's great love for us, a love that led to the cross, a love that was willing to sacrifice all.  So much of love is about sacrificing for the other -- God shows us that perfectly, and invites us to live into that.  

  May we love one another, and in so doing, proclaim the greatest love the world has ever seen.

Acts 7:51-53

Acts 7:51-53 

New International Version 

  Stephen doesn't hold back.  He told the people what he thought, that's for sure.  

  Sometimes, we need to hear harsh words.  Sometimes, we need to say them.  There's a time and a place.  

  I'll simply say this -- Stephen had no fear of death.  I think that's the amazing thing about all of this -- he's so certain of the resurrection in Jesus Christ that those who hold the power of life and death over him do not threaten him at all.  It's inspiring -- to know that death is coming and to say what you mean to say regardless.

  May we grow such confidence in God's power over life and death.  May we trust God so completely that we, too, are unafraid of what the world may threaten us with.  

Acts 7:44-50

Acts 7:44-50 

New International Version 

  Stephen continues to proclaim the Gospel, and he's connecting everything that's happening in his times to ancient Jewish history.  Stephen is telling the leaders that this isn't something brand new that is happening -- it's rooted in history.  Everything has been leading up to this. 

  We give things more credibility when they have history.  Tradition helps us see something as having lasting power -- it's more secure.  When we can look backward and examine the reliability of something based on what was expected, we're more willing to trust.  Stephen is trying to help the leaders see, but their eyes are closed, because all they see is a threat.  

  May we open our Old Testaments, and may that help us see Jesus as the continuation of what God has been doing for centuries.  May we also read the words of Jesus and be willing to let go of our preconceived notions, open to being challenged and willing to hear how God might be calling us to change our minds.

Acts 7:39-43

Acts 7:39-43 

English Standard Version 

  Remember, this is Stephen's speech in his own defense before the high priest.  An outside might want to whisper to Stephen that perhaps some of these things are left unmentioned.  Perhaps Stephen could gloss over some of the sordid details of Israel's past, so as not to upset the Jewish leadership that is interested in stoning Stephen.  

  But Stephen's not afraid of the past, because Stephen knows who holds the future.  He believes that Jesus Christ can redeem the past, so we don't need to run in shame from what lies behind -- we can run forward in hope to what is ahead.  Jesus has set a future ahead of us, a beautiful treasure for each and every one of us.  

  So let us not look back in fear.  Our past is what it is.  May we give thanks that it does not define us, that God has redeemed us, and that we have a future with hope because of the love of Jesus Christ.

Acts 7:35-38

Acts 7:35-38 

English Standard Version 

  Moses remained faithful.  Through all of the years and all of the waiting and all of the uncertainty, Moses remained faithful.  One of my favorite adjectives is steadfast.  Are you willing to remain dedicated through thick and thin, to abide in the midst of it all?  I think of Psalm 23, when David talks about walking through the valley of the shadow of death, and God is there, step by step.  We are never alone.  That's what I think of when Moses is waiting in Midian, when Moses is leading the people and they seem to be protesting every step of the journey.  Moses was steadfast.

  Who in your life needs a steadfast companion, someone to come alongside and support them?  Can you be that person for someone?  Perhaps you are an answer to someone else's prayer.  

Acts 7:30-34

Acts 7:30-34 

English Standard Version 

  After forty years in the wilderness, Moses was 80 and unlikely to believe that God was preparing him to play a pivotal role in the salvation of the Jews from slavery, especially since he was spending the majority of his time tending sheep in the wilderness of Midian.

  But God wasn't finished with Moses.  

  I love the way that God introduces the next step of Moses' journey to him.  Moses has a direct experience with God, a revelation of God's holiness seen in the impossible -- a bush on fire that was not being consumed.  Moses trembled, and then he hears of God's compassion for God's people, who are suffering.

  God continues to share that same compassion for people who are suffering today.  Throughout Scripture, we see a God who has a heart for those who suffer.  People suffer in countless different ways -- relationally, economically, politically.  To each and every one, God reaches out.  That should motivate us to reach out to the suffering, to be God's hands and feet in a world with far, far too much suffering.  It should also comfort us when we suffer -- God comes to us, hearing our groaning, and sends comfort, sometimes in the form of other people, to communicate the depth of God's love and the assurance of hope, even in the depths of despair.

Acts 7:23-29

Acts 7:23-29

English Standard Version 

  Moses wasn't exactly ascended the ladder to success in his early days.  I doubt he was on Egypt's 40 under 40 list.  He thought he was doing right by intervening against the Egyptians, but he didn't fit in either group, so he ends up fleeing to Midian, away from the power of the day.  Most probably expected he'd disappear at this point, lost to the pages of history.

  God works in such mysterious ways.  It's easy to assume that we have a good understanding of what God will do next, but we'll be mistaken if we think we can wrap our heads around God.  God transcends our reality, and God sees things that we simply cannot -- so it's best to assume that wherever we are, no matter how far we may feel from the will of God, God is likely at work, preparing us for the next step of faith, setting the course for us to grow in faithfulness, to learn dependence on God, and to drink daily from the Living Water.

Psalm 20

Psalm 20 

English Standard Version 

  Have you ever done a trust fall?  I remember doing them in middle school -- at the time I wasn't wary that someone might fail me and let me fall.  I suppose there were enough teachers to ensure compliance.  You have to be fairly confidant in the group of people who are set up to catch you -- otherwise you're going to hit the ground hard.

  We all set up systems that we trust.  In the day of the Psalms, chariots and horses symbolize military strength, and there are still plenty of places around the world where that is trusted above all else.  Others opt for beauty or youth or wealth or power.  

  All of those will collapse and fail.  There's a long list of kingdoms that ruled most of the known world and have since faded into the pages of history.

  The Lord's Kingdom, however, will stand forever.  Daily, may we opt to place our trust there.  For riches in God will never falter or be found wanting.  Store up treasure in God's Kingdom, and there will be riches unimaginable.

Acts 7:17-22

Acts 7:17-22

English Standard Version 

  Moses was beautiful in God's sight, and destined to lead God's people out of slavery and into freedom.  The first five books of the Hebrew Bible are called the books of Moses. 

  And yet Moses was born in peril, rescued by someone else, and was living a double life. Not many people would have picked him out as a child of destiny.

  Where do we look for God is at work?  It's easy to look in the obvious places.  But God works in unexpected ways and in unexpected places, and if we're to be disciples, we have to be willing and open to being surprised.  Let us not jump to conclusions about what God is and isn't up to, because it can often be hidden.  Instead, let us be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, willing to trust in God, and capable of setting down our preconceived ideas so that we can be open to new things.

Acts 7:9-16

Acts 7:9-16 

English Standard Version 

  I think about Joseph, sold into slavery, and who would have ever guessed what the outcome of that journey would be?  

  How many pages in our own lives leave us despairing, and yet somewhere later in the chapter, or maybe in the next chapter, there is joy coming in the morning.  It's so hard to see at times, and yet God shows us again and again that redemption can come from the lowest points in life, even in the most unexpected ways.  

  So in the valleys, we are called to endure, to trust, and to hope.