Psalm 18:20-24

Psalm 18:20-24

English Standard Version 

  If I were making the rules, I'd just color over this part in magic marker and hope nobody noticed.  I certainly would not be qualified according to these rules.  I fail to keep all the ways of the Lord, and I'm certainly not blameless.  I have guilt.  

  The good news of the Gospel is that when Jesus Christ went to the cross for us, we are therefore eligible to claim his perfect righteousness as our own.  He accepted our shortcomings and sin, and therefore took the punishment.  For God to mete out additional punishment on us would be to have two punishments for the same sin, which would be unjust.  Therefore, our punishment is cleared because of what Christ has done, and we enjoy the benefit of his perfect righteousness.  

  All of this is a free gift, which enables us to boldly enjoy the goodness of God without guilt.

Psalm 18:13-19

Psalm 18:13-19 

English Standard Version 

 Why did God rescue the Psalmist?  Why did God open the foundations of the world so that there were no obstacles standing between God and God's beloved child?  Why did God deliver him from his strong enemy?  

  Not because the Psalmist had earned it.  Not because of anything the Psalmist did.

  Simply because God delighted in the Psalmist.  God's love is enough.

  God loves you the same way.

  God delights in you, and so God will deliver you from your strong enemy, from the death that hangs above you head, threatening to separate you from the God who created you.

  But God is stronger and will stop at nothing to save you.  Even at the price of God's own son, God will deliver you, simply because God delights in you.

Psalm 18:7-12

Psalm 18:7-12 

English Standard Version 

  They say you're only as happy as your least happy child.  The emotions of the parent roll along with the emotions of the child, and the pain of a child is felt intimately by the parent.

  What I love about Scripture is that it paints the love of God in such intimate terms.  God is a fiercely loving mother, a father who defends his children.  The Psalmist has previously painted himself as distressed, and so here is God, racing from the heavens on the wings of the wind, sending out fire from his mouth as God comes with ferocity to deliver his children from their place of distress.

  That's how God loves you.

Psalm 18:1-6

Psalm 18:1-6 

English Standard Version 

  The Psalmist cries out from a place of despair.  He's not idly praising the Lord -- he's anticipating the salvation that God will work in his life.  He's distressed, but there's not panic in his voice, because he has such trust, such confidence that God will deliver him.  

  Can you imagine what that looks like? There are lots of things that distress us, that cause us concern.  Sometimes, these fears in our heads run away out of control, and we feel a sense of panic and dread swirling around us.  We react this way to the coming election, to medical uncertainty.  We feel the walls closing in on us.  In these places, the Psalmist tells us to look to God and let our fears fall away.

  I'm not in that place -- I still worry about all sorts of things.  I have great concerns, and they weigh on me.  But hopefully I'm growing.  Hopefully we're all growing in our trust of God, and learning to let go of our sense of control.  May we all learn how to trust more deeply in God.  

1 Samuel 24:1-7

1 Samuel 24:1-7 

English Standard Version 

  We'll wrap up our series on Saul here.  Saul has been pursuing David at all costs, desperate to end this threat to what he considers to be his throne.  Saul is purely focused on power now, trying to retain his place.  There is no longer any illusion that he is serving God or working for God's kingdom.  Saul has eyes only for his own kingdom and legacy, to which David is a threat.

  At one point, Saul goes into a cave to relieve himself.  David is hiding in the same cave, and he cuts a corner or Saul's robe off to demonstrate that he could have killed Saul.  David will not kill Saul, however.  He is dedicated to the larger vision of God's kingdom, and he's willing to set aside whatever animosity he may have towards Saul.  He still gives honor to the position of king, even if the person doesn't do much to deserve that honor.  

  Imagine how hard that must have been.  But David is able to set his own emotions aside, because he is focused on the Kingdom of God.  It's not about David.  

  May we pursue the same single-minded devotion towards God.  

1 Samuel 18:20-22

1 Samuel 18:20-22 

English Standard Version

  At one point, Jesus tells the disciples to be wise as serpents.  He doesn't send us into the world to be destroyed.  He wants us to use all of our cunning and all of our wisdom so that we might find ways to serve God in the best ways possible.  

  Here, Saul's daughter is in love with David, but Saul only sees this as an opportunity to bring down David.  Everything is twisted in his mind and in his heart, and so he is constantly plotting and scheming to destroy David.  He's obsessed, fixated, all of it on breaking David.  Just imagine if he chose to use these skills and this wisdom and dedication in serving God.  

  May we choose wisely where we dedicate our efforts.  May we have people in our lives that can speak truth to us.  May we pursue truth, even at our own expense, even when it costs.

1 Samuel 18:12-16

1 Samuel 18:12-16 

English Standard Version 

  What would you do if you're Saul?  Saul had noticed the presence of the Lord departing from him, and he knows that it landed on David.  Saul sees the future is with David.  But Saul's pride cannot bring him to praise God for what God is doing with David.  Saul's pride cannot let him repent for his sins.  Saul's pride cannot mourn for what he has become.  Saul is stuck by his own choices, and he will not change

  Our lives are filled with these moments, opportunities to respond to another's ascension in power or prestige.  One option is the path that Saul took, which is resentment.  Another is encouragement, to attempt to discern how God is enlarging God's kingdom and try to join with that effort.  This is the harder path, but it's the one that focuses on God's kingdom and not our own.  

Psalm 1

Psalm 1

English Standard Version 

  I love to hike in the woods, and inevitably I see a tree growing in some place a tree should never grow.  It is perched atop a boulder with little soil, or clinging to the edge of a cliff, somehow hanging on for decades despite the lack of support.  I am always amazed by it.  To quote the great philosopher Dr. Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park, life finds a way.

  Trees find a way to grow in these environments, but these aren't the ideal circumstances.  They manage, but if you planted them next to a stream in a calm environment, they would thrive.  Just because something can survive doesn't mean that it's ideal.  

  The same is true with us.  There are plenty of places where we can survive.  But to truly thrive, we are best placed in the environment that perfectly suits us, which we were made for, which is to cling as closely to God as possible.  

1 Samuel 18:6-9

1 Samuel 18:6-9 

English Standard Version 

  Do you abide in scarcity or abundance?  When someone else receives, are you of the mindset that it automatically means that there is less for you?  Or are you of the mindset that there is a bigger pie?  It's a choice we all have to make when it comes to seeing others receive honor.

  Saul -- we see his choice.  Saul believes that David receiving honor for his achievements means that Saul will pale in comparison.  Saul sees it as a competition that he's losing, and he begins to countdown to the end of his own reign.  Saul doesn't think about how exciting David might be for God's Kingdom -- he's only worried about his own.  Saul lives in fear.  

  If we choose faith over fear, then the question we should continually ask ourselves is how God might use new circumstances for the growth of God's kingdom.  If we keep our eyes and hearts focused there, then we see ourselves as citizens of God's kingdom.  We already know how precious we are in God's eyes, and so we don't have to fear losing that status.   Worldly status will come and go.  But to dwell in God's Kingdom -- that is a gift, one that is freely given, not competed for.

1 Samuel 17:55-58

1 Samuel 17:55-58

English Standard Version 

  Often, people get ignored until it turns out they do something famous.  Perhaps people ignore someone, thinking they're not worth their time, but then they learn that the person is famous or noteworthy, and suddenly they're very interested, despite the fact that nothing has really changed.

  You'd think this was the first that Saul had heard of David.  But do you remember when, earlier this very chapter, Saul was trying to dress David in Saul's armor?  They'd met earlier, before David slew Goliath, but Saul wasn't interested in learning about David then.  It was only after David killed Goliath that Saul suddenly was interested in his heritage.

  May we be humble enough that we treat people equally, no matter how famous they may be.  They could do something remarkable in the future... or they might not.  Either way, may we treat each other like the precious sons and daughters of God that they are.  

1 Samuel 17:45-47

1 Samuel 17:45-47 

English Standard Version 

  I love this speech from David.  You can hear his passion for the Lord.  He will fight to defend the Lord's honor, and he has complete trust in God.  The battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand!  May that same spirit fill us and lead us in all we do!

1 Samuel 17:38-40

1 Samuel 17:38-40 

English Standard Version 

  Here is Saul, looking at David and amazed at his boldness, and then he gives David his armor, which overwhelms the boy.  David instead opts to go with just his staff in one hand and his sling in the other.  Saul's ways are not for David.  

  We can sense Saul fading away.  Saul is afraid, hiding from Goliath, and when David is ready to fight, Saul is giving away his armor.  Saul is the king and ought to be leading the charge, fighting Goliath himself, but he willingly hands his armor over to a boy.  Saul has no fight in him, only fear. 

  May we, like David, find out own path forward.  May we listen to where the Holy Spirit is calling us, and follow the individual path God sets before us.  Others may not understand it, others may not recommend it, but God has called us uniquely and equipped us in specific ways for the things that we will face.  Another's armor will not suit us.  We are each fearfully and wonderfully made.

1 Samuel 17:9-11

1 Samuel 17:9-11 

English Standard Version 

  The story of David and Goliath is always told from the perspective of David as the hero, but we forget that Saul was involved as well.  Saul was still king of Israel, and while David was dismayed that Goliath would insult Israel and their God, Saul was merely afraid.  As much as David succeeded, Saul failed, because he opted for fear rather than boldness.  Saul had seen what God could do, and yet he didn't trust in that, because he looked at himself rather than God, and because his eyes were focused on the wrong place, Saul was afraid.  Saul's fear paralyzed him, which created an opening for David, a man of faith after God's own heart, to choose action because he trusted in God.

  The warning here for us is to keep our eyes focused on God.  When we let our hearts hear the melodies of God's power and love, we are in tune with God and then are not afraid of the things that threaten us.  When we let our lives bend according to God's will, we find strength we didn't know we had, because it isn't our own -- it belongs to God, and God will sustain and support us.  When we rely on God, the words of Goliath do not cause us to fear, because we know who holds the heavens and earth.

1 Samuel 15:10-11

1 Samuel 15:10-11 

English Standard Version 

  There are situations that are simply tragic.  The people wanted a king, and so God reluctantly agreed to give them a king, despite warning them that it wouldn't end well.  Here we are, not much later, and it's not ending well.  Saul doesn't follow the commandments of God, and the people are suffering because of it.  What I appreciate is Samuel's devotion.  Samuel is the prophet, and he serves as the intermediary between the people and God.  Samuel sees the pain unfolding, and he weeps for the people, and he weeps for the brokenness in the people and in their relationship.  Samuel sees where things are going, and he weeps.

  When we see the heartbreak in the world, may we care enough to do the same.  It's easy to be callous, to stop seeing the ways the world is broken, to not notice how much pain there is.  We all have enough on our plate, we don't want to take on the suffering of others.

  But that's not the kind of life we are called into.  We're called to be in relationships with people around us, and to let the things of the world break our hearts the same way they break God's heart.  May we continue to care deeply about the people in the world, that we care enough to be involved, to pray for solutions, and to work for peace.

Psalm 33:1-5

Psalm 33:1-5 

English Standard Version 

  I do believe that God delights in creation -- we get that sense in Genesis, when God rests when it is complete, and we find that again in Job, when God is speaking of the wondrous things that God has made.  In Revelation, when creation has been renewed, there is an amazing claim that there will not need to be any light, for God himself will be the light of the people.  

  The reality of sin is working against God's order in creation, and we all have a choice as to where we want to direct the attention of our hearts.  We can choose to praise God and meditate on God's good works, or we can pursue false idols or a life of materialism.  The challenging thing about the choice is that it's rarely crystal clear -- I don't think people wake up and decide they're going to pursue an idol.  We drift into it, making choices unconsciously, doing what is easy or goes along with the mainstream.

  When we praise God, we make the intentional choice to focus on God's faithfulness, on God's righteousness, on God's justice.  In doing so, we let the steadfast love of God fill us, and then it flows through us into the lives of those around us, and we join with God in working towards the new creation.

In the Heart of the Sea

   Well, I finished Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea, the true story of the Essex, the ship that inspired Moby Dick.  It was... hard to read. It's hard to imagine what the whaling life was like -- captains and the crew would leave for two year voyages around Cape Horn to search for whales in the Pacific Ocean before returning to their Nantucket base.  And reading about the process for killing and disassembling a whale is somewhat stomach churning, even if I've read about it in other books.  I always end up feeling sorry for the whale.  

  Ultimately, what makes this so hard to read is the trial endured by the cast members after a whale rams the Essex and it sinks far from land.  They are initially divided up into 3 whaleboats, and the captain makes the wrong decision to sail for South America rather than Tahiti.  They were worried about rumors of cannibals in the Marquesas Islands, and Philbrick does a good job explaining how this incorrect information likely led to the death of several crewmembers who probably would have survived had they sailed west to the Islands rather than making the long journey east.  The harrowing accounts of life in a whaleboat for months with few resources and increasingly desperate crewmembers is sad and tragic.  

  Here's hoping for some lighter material in the next few books!

1 Samuel 13:8-12

1 Samuel 13:8-12 

English Standard Version 

  Saul was scared.  He wasn't allowed to offer the burnt offering, but he saw the people starting to waver, and in the heat of the moment, he decided to do what he thought made the most sense, ignoring the command from God.  Under pressure, he thought God was too distant, too hard to see, and so he chose to ignore God and follow his own senses.  

  Unfortunately, those senses led him astray.  He failed the test.  He was called to wait, to trust in God, to learn how to depend on God, despite worldly signs indicating trouble, but he couldn't.  He only could trust in his own abilities.

  This test lands in our lap from time to time.  Can we learn to trust in God, even if it looks like God won't come through.  God is ultimately reliable, and eternally dependable, even if God doesn't always answer our prayers the way that we want God to do so.  We still are called to trust in God.  Our own senses will fail and betray us... but God never will.

FOMO and the Gospel

1 Samuel 12:19-25

1 Samuel 12:19-25 

English Standard Version 

  So the people come to Samuel, and they realize that they've done wrong, and they implore Samuel to pray for them.  Samuel agrees to do so, because he feels an obligation to the people.  He warned them about the consequences of their actions, but he is still bound to them.  

  May we think of the people in our lives with the same spirit.  We see others make mistakes.  We see them go wrong, even when we warned them.  And yet, we are knit together.  We are one people, and we have an obligation to care for one another, to love one another, to serve one another.  May we continue to pray for God to lead us closer to one another, and may we have the humility to stay in community as we all continue to grow together.

1 Samuel 10:25-27

1 Samuel 10:25-27 

English Standard Version 

  This time of year, at the end of the baseball season, plenty of baseball managers may be fired.  The Reds have already fired their manager, although I don't think he's personally responsible for how bad the team was.  Ownership didn't exactly give him the team he needed.  But they needed someone to blame, even if it wasn't the right person.  

  Saul's reign is off to an auspicious beginning.  He's been caught hiding when he was about to be proclaimed king, and now there are some in the crowd wondering how Saul can save them.  

  Can Saul save them?  Did he ever possess that potential?  It's hard to say.  Saul's leadership goes so wrong, but I think there was a chance. 

  These fellows, however, are asking the wrong question.  Saul was never meant to be the deliverer.  That is God's role.  God is the one who could save Israel.  Unfortunately, the people had stopped looking to God.

  We often do as well.  We look to the world around us, looking for something else to deliver us, something visible, rather than turning to God.  It's much harder to trust in God some days, but God is the only truly reliable power in the universe that has power to transcend death.  Who else are you going to trust?