Psalm 94- Days of Adversity

We are living in a turbulent time. We live in a country where people are guaranteed the right to freedom of speech.  Cable TV keeps its ratings up by expanding our exposure to a full spectrum of ideologies, gripes, criticisms and a lot of snark. The internet is available for blogging, commentary and news from every corner of the earth. We can be exposed to so much information, whether it be true or untrue. It stirs up a lot of reaction and adversarial rhetoric.

We all go through swirling times of unrest in our lives through relationships, our own musings and our exposure to the culture around us. The time in which we live seems turbulent, but there have always been turbulent times in history, as exemplified in reading the Old Testament. The Old Testament is pretty clear about the why's of problems in a society.  It involves an inverse relationship with God and lack of trust. We read about 40 years of peace in a given reign in Biblical times and it usually means there is a greater respect and love for God and thus a subsequent down season of evil.

So how do we deal with the miasma of the world and life in general. I was thinking of all that late last night. It was one of my mental dizziness moments.  I ran across Psalm 94 when I opened my Bible. It is a wonderful song and it speaks to all that is going on in the world. I like solutions and verses 12 and 13 caught my attention:

12 Blessed is the man (geber) whom thou chastenest (train), O Lord, and teachest (instruct) him out of thy law;13 That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked. Psalm 92:12-13

This particular use of the word 'man' has a sense of strength to it. It could even refer to a warrior. Evil exists in this world and it is not something to be ignorant of. We are in a fight. Dealing with it involves training. It also involves instruction. Teaching and training is where rest can gain a strong foot hole in our thinking. That happens in our minds. We commit to the training and instruction of God. That is what a strong person does. In verse 19 the psalmist talks about his 'multitude of thoughts'. We all have them and a strong person will also say 'thy comforts delight my soul' in response.

The wicked are digging their own pit.  It is in their own iniquity that they will be tripped (verse 23). God hears (verse 9) and God sees (verse 9 again) all that is going on and sooner or later everything will be brought to light.  In verse 1,  there are two references to vengeance. It does not say God is vengeful. It says both times that vengeance belongs to God. That is all God's business.  He is a great one to figure out the best way to deal with evil.  In the meantime, we have access to His delightful rest in His word.

Mary Worship

What are Rosary beads? I should know, but recently I decided to look  up the reason for this type of praying.  It requires repetition of prayer.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.9 After this manner (along his line) therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:7-10

In the rosary there are basically three prayers that are repeated:The 'Our Father', 'Hail Mary' and 'Glory Be'.  For every 1 'Our Father' there are 10 'Hail Mary's'. The Our Father is found in Matthew 6 where Jesus gave his disciple and example of what is contained in prayer, not something that was to be memorized and repeated over and over.

The truly alarming part of this is the 'Hail Mary':

Hail Mary, full of grace.

The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

This prayer is to be said 9 times more than the 'Our Father' prayer Jesus used as an example in Matthew 6.

Mary was a special woman, yes, but mother of God?  Is Mary to be worshiped?  Absolutely not! The 'fruit of thy womb' is not to engender uterus worship! There is a big difference between 'worship' and 'honor'.  We worship God above all else.  Mary deserves honor because she loved God and did what He asked her to do.

Another point about Mary is that Jesus Christ died for her too. In that sense also, we honor her as we honor all those who love God and recognize what He did through Christ.

Actual prayer involves 'seeking first the kingdom of God' (also in Matthew 6) and in that thinking we don't just robotically recite words and not think about what they are implying. There is a whole lot more in the Lord's prayer than a mere repetition of words.

God is Not Mocked!

God is not fooled by anything! Man can fool us and we can fool ourselves.

6 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. 4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For every man shall bear his own burden.

6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. 7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Galatians 6:1-7

In verse 7 says 'God is not mocked'. I looked up 'mocked' and the definition I found from Thayer was: 'to turn up the nose or sneer at, to mock, deride'.  God is not to be sneered at. The action of sneering at God is like planting a seed that grows into a poisonous plant. The kind of seeds we plant are our responsibility, not God's.

Verse 7 also tells us to 'be not deceived'. Deception is going on all the time. Sometimes it is blatant and sometimes it is sneaky.  Blatant is easier to handle because it is easier to see. Sneaky can be exasperating because it lurks trying not to get caught. The shadows of lurking are exposed by light.

One of my favorite experiments I did with my Biology classes to help them understand the scientific method, was planting seeds and watching them grow. We planted 5 seeds in a cup and then hid them in a closet with no light. Then I had them plant 5 seeds in a cup and put them under a grow light. Seeds do grow in the dark, but the plants are spindly and white.  They grow very tall because they are looking for light. Seeds grown in the light are green, lush, leafy and look healthy. They have nice thick stems, and larger broader leaves to garner more light as they mature.

In Deuteronomy, Moses taught the younger generation the wise pathway to success. There are great life lessons in Deuteronomy. He sheds a lot of light on the successes and failures of the Israelites in bringing God's promises into fruition.

The light of God's word produces good results.  Yes, it takes time to grow from a seed to a mature plant. That is not the issue. In our lives, our thoughts are like seeds. We think both good and bad things. Whether good or evil, our thoughts need to be guided by genuine light from God. If you want to rout out those 'sneaky' influences, you need the light of God's word to do it.

Anger versus Rage

Anger is like lighting a candle.  When you light the candle it is a sudden presence of  light that can be useful. If it continues to burn it, eventually it melts the wax. Rage is obsessive anger that lingers close and below the surface and causes meltdowns.

There are a lot of self-help books on anger management and the dangers of anger, but anger in and of it self is useful. It informs us of the atmosphere or a condition so that it can be dealt with. Rage on the other hand is sizzling and frying to the nerves. When anger is allowed to remain it goes underground and eventually resurfaces or it explodes out of control. Problematic anger is really a rage issue.

In Ephesians 4, God tells us not to let the sun go down on our wrath. It is a great admonition. He also says "Be ye angry and sin not". Sin is  really not the black mark on the mirror of our soul;  it is a condition of our thinking when we look to other things beside God for help. Anger is a tool, not a sin.  It is an alarm clock that invites us to handle things the way God would have it handled. Ignoring anger can be a deleterious way to deal with anger, but there are many ways to deal productively with it.  Keeping rage out of confrontation, anger may mean speaking the truth in love. Sometimes it may mean making a decision, based on discerning good and evil, to walk away  and do it without rage.

Honest, loving communication is vital.  Even when you discuss confrontation with others, people attach the rage issue to it and it casts a negative shadow on an effective way to handle things. Confrontation is simply laying something out in front between people (between the foreheads). I have a blogging friend who says that writing a blog is cathartic to him. I get that. It feels so good to explore truth and lay it out in front of you. Putting things on paper makes you think and careful how you say things.

Truth always, always and can I say it again, always, frees the heart! There is no excuse in the world that can stand against truth.  That is why effective prayer is going to God with an anger alarm and giving him the situation completely without obsessing over and over about it as to things like excusing psychobabble, political correctness, manipulation and ultimately revenge. Understanding of a situation does not mean excusing it. Understanding is another tool to arrive at a powerful solution that changes things and people. Benevolent humanism and the five-sense mans fall so short of this kind of inspiration. Only God can bring on this effect. There is a big difference between man's logic and God's logic.  God is way more logical! I Corinthians 1:18-31 !!

The next time something lights your candle, go for a walk and think about nothing but listening to the Sage of All Ages. Package the problem in a lump (meaning don't obsessively unravel the thing over and over in your mind) and lay it on Him. Don't talk, just listen. Not only do your spiritual muscles get built up, your physical muscles do too.  It's a win-win situation. 

Out of the mouths of Babes

My 5 year old granddaughter  and I read from a Children's Bible each week when I babysit for her. We read the record and then she wants to discuss what happened. We have read through the whole Children's Bible already and are on our second time around. Today we discussed Jacob's family.  I asked her what it must it have been like in that family with 12 children with 4 moms. We wondered together whether they shared their toys and how they behaved together. My granddaughter said it must have been 'wild' as she clapped her face between her hands! It WAS a pretty wild family that ended up leading as heads of the 12 tribes of Israel!

I love reading through these records with her as it makes me think from another point of view.  She loves reading the Bible and loves to discuss it. It has had a profound effect on my own reading and studying. Children's minds are amazing. I truly enjoy my conversations with all my grandchildren, it speaks well of how much their parents talk and teach them. I find myself amazed by the things they talk about and I love to listen to them.

Somehow, today, we got to talking about Moses too. My granddaughter wanted to know what his name meant. We grabbed the dictionary of Biblical names and as I started to look Moses up, she said, 'It must have something to do with water since he was found in the water'.  Sure enough that is what his name meant: 'drawn from the water'. She remembered how God protected baby Moses.

Jesus Christ shared a great point in the first part of Matthew 18 about children in general:

2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted (do an about face), and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. Matthew 18:2-5

What a great lesson! Jesus Christ did not have a wife or kids, but he knew children and he had a great Father.  They recognized him and he recognized them. He had read in the scrolls in Deuteronomy about talking to and teaching children:

6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) Read the whole context!

Just try talking to the next kid you see in a shopping cart at the grocery store and see how how excited they get when some says "Hi and how are you today?".  Or, at the next wedding you attend, try winking at the kid looking at you in the row in front of you! In Deuteronomy it was the kids that were to get the Israelites into the promised land. Deuteronomy is about preparing them to do that.

Talking and teaching children is not about teaching them traditions of men or religious ritual. It is about sitting with them, walking with them, lying down and rising up with them.  In our day and time it might be while at the zoo, on vacation, while fishing, at the library and while watching TV together (great discussions arise watching Dora or Bubbleguppies and Caillou can start some very rich discussions). There are so many opportunities to talk about stuff! It's about sharing God's love, peace and thankfulness as we move around this ole world together in freedom.

Thirsty Lady in John 4

John 4 records an absolutely astounding dialogue between Jesus Christ and a Samaritan woman. The context of this whole dialogue is about thirst, both physically and spiritually.

9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

 The words "our father Jacob" indicate this woman felt a kinship to Israel.

13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

Samaria was a mixed bag of paganism and worship of God. In 721 BC (approximately), the Hebrews existed in two camps, the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah. Assyrians invaded the kingdom of Israel which was located  in Samaria. The Assyrians carried off many (not all) of it's inhabitants to their own land. They also sent groups from their country back into Samaria. This introduced five different languages and  religious cultures into the Samaritan culture. Conquering kingdoms often did this to keep control of areas they have conquered. This started the mixed bag of worship practices found in Samaria.

24 And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah (the god Nergal), and from Ava, and from Hamath(the god Ashima), and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. II Kings 17:24

Many theologians have commented on this woman's morals. Others have said she had had 5 husbands die while married to her. Poor woman!! There just might be something deeper here that fits with the whole context of John 4.  This woman was obviously respected as she brought practically the whole town back to meet someone she considered to be the Messiah. She herself seemed spiritually thirsty and was obviously a leader as seen in subsequent verses.

16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. John 4:16-18

Now check out this interesting verse in Isaiah:

Isaiah 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

Could the one that is not her husband, be the God of the Hebrews?

19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. John 4:19-22

The beauty of John 4 is in the next verse. Samaria was a hot outreach area in the book of Acts! Regardless of where they worshiped, Judeans, Gentiles and the Samaritan half-breed will be united in the glory of the new birth:

23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Mountains and Mustard Seeds

The area around Jerusalem is mountainous. A mountain is a great illustration used by Jesus Christ to drive his point home to the heart of those listening. The mountain was visible. It is was used to make a point to the people standing around him. Throwing a mountain into a sea is really unimaginable.  It is a tough order but Jesus is saying that it can be done. God can do it.

23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Mark 11:23 (probably the Mount of Olives)

The mustard seed is a small seed that produces rapid, large growth. This too is an illustration to impress the hearers. Sometimes it is amazing how just even one verse read from the Bible, will grow so rapidly in one's mind that it changes the whole atmosphere in one's head. Sometimes it happens so fast, it feels like a person has just suddenly woken up from a nap and is not able to remember a bad dream!

20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Matthew 17:20

Adding love to faith, is empowering. Love is an energizing force to action:

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2

These are great verses about moving mountains and what the word can do in our minds. God has wonderfully communicated to man on so many levels. It just needs to blossom in our minds. That is why it is good to keep on planting!

Focusing Forward and Real Leadership

Caleb is mentioned in several places as being someone who wholly followed God.
(Numbers 14:24, Deuteronomy 1:36 and others) He was one of the 12 spies that were sent to scope out the land God promised them. Along with Joshua, Caleb was one of the only two spies that came back with glowing words. They were ready to take it on.  The other 10 spies did not feel the same way. They were full of fear.

Fear is a corrosive negative quality. It corrodes relationships with people as well as God. We don't ever need to be scared of God. God is love and only wants the best for our lives. Our relationship with God cannot be based on fear. Unfortunately, certain religious circles utilize fear to try and motivate people towards their particular theology. We've all been exposed to this kind of thinking in some form or another. Wherever fear is, it permeates everything. This doesn't do much for people to people relationships as well. It causes lots of problems.

We all know and recognize difficult relationships. Sooner or later it gets back to some basic fear that is involved that eventually shows itself. Perfect love displaces fear and replaces it with power, love and sound thinking. Caleb must have been a great person to be around. He had great trust in God and it showed in his peace and determination.

Caleb did not fear.  He stayed focus on God and prepared himself to eventually receive the promises of God. It s true when they didn't listen to his spy report, Caleb had to do the wilderness walk with the others for 40 years! At 85 years old, he got his opportunity and he had kept himself strong so that he could with God's help obtain his piece of the land for his family. He knew it would come. Actually the name 'Caleb' means 'full-hearted'.  He had no place for fear in his life, not one little cubbyhole! He was successful! He had no fear to move onward when the time came to do so.

Joshua and Caleb are true leaders. They didn't have to read books or go to conferences on leadership, they moved forward and were out in front naturally because of where their focus was. They were leading from the front and did not turn back to look at who was following them. Full-hearted people don't lead from behind.

God is Faithful 100%

In Deuteronomy 1, Moses reflects on the journey through the wilderness. The context of Deuteronomy is Exodus and Numbers in which the history of the travel out of Egypt to the edge of the promised land is recorded. Leviticus belongs with this group also. The chapters devoted to Israel's history in Leviticus is written in chapters 8-10. The rest of Leviticus is about a just God wanting to live among His people.

The main purpose of Deuteronomy is to explain their relationship with God. Both Numbers and Deuteronomy refer to the 40 years in wanderings thru the desert and preparation for entering into the promise land of the younger generation.

26 Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of theLord your God: 27 And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.

29 Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

31 And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. 

32 Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God, 33 Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day. Deuteronomy 1:26-33

God took care of them through all of the 40 years. Yes, they had trouble that emanated from their own minds and actions, but God stayed with them through all the complaining. Moses wrote that 'the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son'.  That is beautiful. The comparison helps people relate to God. There is no greater father than God.

The problem of the older generation eventually caught up with them as they continued to rebel and do things that God could not help them with. God shows them how arrogant they were when they went after the Amorites at a their own choosing. It hurt them because they walked themselves (1:44) into the bee's nest and they ended up suffering for it.

God is absolutely faithful, He desires the best for His people, but sometimes people put themselves in a bad situation and still don't humbly ask God for help.

God wants a relationship with His people. In the New Testament, every individual can have a relationship with God.  Jesus Christ showed us the way. We can't just sit back in a pew and take it all in, we need to go for the full right of having access to God. It starts by trusting, asking, listening and then carrying out God's word.

Deuteronomy

The name 'Deuteronomy' means second law. The people of God had reached the edge of the promised land after spending way too much time trekking around the wilderness both physically and spiritually.

1 These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 (There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea.) 3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them; Deuteronomy 1:1-3

It took them 40 years! They sure did mess around and take their own 'sour' time. Fear and doubt were the beacons of their darkness, so they became subject to an abundance of failure and frustration. There is nothing new under the sun, this same chaos is going on all around us. Humans will trip on their own two feet when they rely on their own balancing act.

Before Moses died, he spoke to the younger generation among the sojourners about what God was all about and he gave then some detailed guidelines about their relationships to God and to each other. Deuteronomy is not a scary book like some say, it is a book of love. The first four chapters of deuteronomy recap what God had done for them in the journey. In chapters 4-26, Moses further explains the law with greater details and examples. Chapters 27-30 delve into the God's covenant with man. The book ends with the final words from Moses.

People often view God from their own perspective and fail to see God's perspective. God is the designer of the universe. He knows how it works. He sees the full picture. Above all of those accomplishments, He loves and that love is woven through all that He made.

Another perspective that many people don't consider is the opposition's perspective. Some people don't even think there is an opposition. It is in this misunderstanding that people attribute evil to God.

God led His people through the wilderness with a pillar of fire and a cloud and yet when it came to going into the promised land, they needed to send people in to figure out the best way in. H-m-m.

Despite man's pride and mistakes in not listening to God, God continues to love man. After seeing in Leviticus the basic desire of God to be among His people, to the frustrations of wilderness living in Numbers, there are rich principles in Deuteronomy to mine to help people understand how to live the kind of life God desires for people.

Active Expectation

We always want an instant fix. Human nature is generally impatient regarding God's abundant grace and peace. It is like sitting down to dinner without shopping, cooking or setting the table. Spiritual success is absolutely available, but it takes some effort.  I'm not talking about 'works' or 'earning it'. It is about acknowledgement and active expectation. It is important to note that the responsibility for the effort is individual.

In Ephesians 6:17,  there is wonderful allegory on tapping the power of God:

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking (analambano-receive by seizing) the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take (dechomai- welcome, receive) the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Ephesians 6:14-18

It all starts with the 'truth'. Truth is necessary to protect ones thinking, confidence and rest. 'Truth' offers protection, soundness, and provides the necessary tools to ward off evil. Truth is light. In this allegory the belt girds up the tunic to keep from tripping. It has a sheaf for the sword to have it readily available.  The belt holds the breastplate in place so as not to flop around. Who needs ones righteousness flipping and flopping around?

The main effect of evil is to darken the light. It is easier to recognize light and dark when the switch is suddenly pushed, but sometimes Christians have dimmer switches and are hardly aware of what is happening around them. The key is to focus on the light.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended (katalambano-seized) it not. John 1:5

When I go to bed and turn off the light, initially I can't see a thing. It is pitch dark.  If I keep my eyes open for a while, the pupils adjust by opening to whatever light actually exists. It takes time but no matter how little light is around, it helps us to move through the darkness.