The Psalms: Psalm 12 - the faithful people are all gone!! **how depressing**

It is kind of funny. Only because this is never actually true. Psalm 12 begins with a cry to God that ends with "...the faithful have vanished from among the children of man."

This reminds me of the time when Elijah said, "I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord" in I Kings 18:22. Now, I will admit that I don't know the chronology well enough her to know if he was indeed the only prophet of God that was still around or not, but I have always thought that this gave the impression of being the only one who worshiped God. We know that isn't true from the following verses though.

Either way, whatever Elijah's intention with his statement, the psalmist has indeed cried and said that all the faithful people are gone and that, "Everyone utters lies to his neighbor."

What a sad statement. Even if this is poetic exaggeration, it is still a sad statement.

Do you ever feel that way? Do you ever feel like the people who are the most faithful and the greatest prayer warriors are people we have to read about because they just aren't around anymore?? Or we have to visit them in nursing homes because that is where most of their generation is?

When did faithfulness and powerful prayer lives get relegated to the old and "super mature"? When did we decide that we didn't have to do that because "someone else is going to"?

...or am I like the psalmist? Do I cry out "why aren't we faithful enough" and that is just poetic license? Are there so many faithful men and women that it would blow my mind away, but I just don't know about it??

So, talk to me. I am particularly interested in the 25-40 year range, but anyone is welcome to chime in. Do you find yourself being faithful toward God when pressure comes? Do you find that you have a prayer life that is consistent? Or that only comes during meal times and when you need something or life is getting really hard? (feel free to actually comment or to take this as reflective, rhetorical.)

I don't want you to air your dirty laundry, but I want us to be honest with ourselves. Is God a priority (which will make faithfulness a priority) or do we put "God" and "religion" on a back burner when other things are more important?

Last thought. Psalm 12:5-7 give us a glimpse of a God who sees and is not ignoring. A God who WILL protect those who are faithful from a faithless generation if that is what we are living in today! Amen *let it be so*

To God be the glory!

The worst nightmare of my life!

Do you remember having nightmares as a kid? I had two recurring ones. One where I was running, fell in a hole, and the hole was full of ants. The other involved being in a really big building, like a church or something, and one giant queen ant talking to me and trying to hunt me down.

Yeah, I know. Creepy. You think that was bad. You have no idea.

I woke up this morning from a dream/nightmare. I had killed two close friends of mine. I had seen the child of one of them mourn for their father while not being able to tell anyone what I had done. I had considered telling my wife, but I couldn't because I didn't know why I had done it. So, without an answer I felt that I had to maintain the illusion of innocence.

This was so bad, in fact, that I woke up just after 5, went to the restroom, came back to bed, and hadn't been able to convince myself that it hadn't actually happened. I had to sleep again, wake up, and clear my head more before I could even know that it had been a dream.

The sense of guilt, shame, remorse, and confusion was palpable. I don't remember a time in my adult life that I have had a dream that was this potent and hard to handle.

*if you are reading this and you are a psychologist, please keep your opinions to yourself. I'm sure this suggests a really wacky psyche...but we already knew that.*  :0)

OK. So, that is creepy...but why share it? I have three reasons.

1. Ephesians 6:12 - "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood..." Thanks to the Enlightenment and the culture of modern America, you get looked at funny to say that you think there is spiritual warfare. OK, then look at me funny! I have spent the last 2 weeks or so really working to focus in on my relationship with God and with my family in a way that I don't think I ever have. The number of things that have gone wrong or been off during this time has not just been a few. So, I remind myself of Eph. 6:12 but I don't stop there. I remind myself even more of Eph 6:13-18. Verse 12 isn't meant to scare us. It is simple a reality check and verses 13 and following are meant to remind and encourage us of the tools that we have to fight back. Praise God!

2. As I finally got out of the fuzziness of my mind and was awakened to reality, I began to reflect. I am grateful for the life that God has given me. There are many things that I regret and many things that I would change if I could...and yet I am the sum whole of all of the experiences of my life. Both good and bad. Ones that God intended for me and ones that I did that he didn't intend for me. They make me who I am. (This is not license to sin. It is a reality check and no more.) So, I reminded myself that even if the dream had been real (which it felt completely real) Christ still would have died on the cross. So, my reminder was that A) when Christ died, ALL of my sins were future sins and B) there is no sin that is greater than the cross of Jesus Christ! Praise God!

3. This event also caused me to remember that I need to run to Christ so much more than I do. When I woke up the last time I was praying within minutes. Praying that this dream wouldn't ruin my day or control my day. I've had a few dreams in the last few years that were hard to emotionally snap out of and makes for a hard *read "terrible* day for my family. I didn't want that. The lesson, though, was simply that in the big things and in the little things I ought to be running to prayer, running to the Bible, and remembering that since God is outside of time, he knew I'd have this dream before I had it and he caused (or allowed) it. So, how am I going to pursue him more because of it instead of letting it create a wedge between us or between me and the people around me!

To God be the glory!

The Psalms: Psalm 11 - OH! There You are!

I loved the flow of this. Yesterday I posted on Psalm 10 and the question of "Where are you God?" Well, today's chapter, Psalm 11, answers that question.

The answer to "Where are you God?" is "The Lord is in his holy temple."

....wait. What? So, God is in some vague temple somewhere? Well, then it's no wonder that it feels like he doesn't care sometimes.

No, no, no. Let's get a better perspective. The Psalmist is not trying to say that God is SO far away in his holy temple.

Rather, think about it from the context of the last half of verse 4. The idea is to give a huge scope. God is in his holy temple...and from there he can see the wicked things that are happening. Verse shows this too as he tests the righteous and hates the wicked and those who love violence.

Verse 7 is a great reminder. God is righteous and he loves righteous deeds.

Let this be yet another reminder. No matter what is going on around us, God is not blind. He is not on vacation. He is not distracted. He has a plan and we aren't going to understand all of it in this life.


To God be the glory!

The Psalms: Psalm 10 - Where are you God??

In our S. S. class we've been talking about some of the minor prophets. We have spent the last couple weeks talking about Habakkuk. He also asks God, "Where are you?"

One thing we've been pointing out is that it is NOT sin to question God and our circumstances. It is wrong to blame God as though He does not know what is best for us because then we make ourselves to be God. However, to not understand and voice that to our heavenly Father only makes sense. Think about it. He already knows your questions. It's just you trying to hide the truth from Him. So, honesty with our God!

Psalm 10 is doing a very similar thing. Here we start in verse 1 with the question of "where are you?" Then verses 2-11 explain why the author has this question. He describes the actions and attitudes of the ungodly and how they are doing evil.

Verses 12-18 are back to talking to God. There are requests of God (lift up your hand) but also promises claimed. Such as, "you have been the helper of the fatherless," "The Lord is king forever," and "...you will incline your ear."

Praise God for truth. The world is an ugly place. Sin has caused the whole creation to fall. Not to mention the depravity of man. So there is a lot that happens that could cause a person wonder where God is. Abortion, the violation of religious freedom in the name of "don't be a bigot."

Bigotry: "having or revealing an obstinate belief in the superiority of one's own opinions and a prejudiced intolerance of the opinions of others."

...which would be fine if it wasn't in the Bible.

So, we are marked as bigots and we see evil all around us. So, where is God?

I am extremely encouraged in these moments to remember that God's ways are not our ways and God's thoughts are not our thoughts. Example, I have been alive since 1983. Those who have been alive since the 50s and 60s have a different perspective on life. They view current events differently than I do. Now, imagine if someone born in 1900 was around today to give THEIR perspective. How would they view the taking of the Crimea having lived through both WWI and WWII??

Now, take a God who is outside of time. Who was at the beginning and the end at the same "time" and who also knows everything. He knows the end of time (if there is one) and He knows everything that will happen between now and then. He understands the ripple effects of our lives. A disaster in my life may be something that ripples out and doesn't show effects for 4-5 generations. A life without disaster could have similar effects.

Sometimes we see and understand. Pam and I have not been able to have biological children but I look at Maya K and Layla and I don't wonder. God had a plan that I did not understand until later. Yet, we don't always understand in this life. Sometimes things just seem like disaster, seem unfair, and seem cruel. I can't explain the Holocaust, the rampant use of abortion in this country, etc. Yet, I trust that God has a plan that I don't understand.

Trust is not apathy. If anything, it is the opposite. I trust God has a plan and yet I see evil. Therefore, as a Christian, I have a responsibility to act in a way that is in line with God's plans as revealed to us. So, do I have a responsibility to vote for those who will work to end the murder of babies? Yes I do.

Imagine this. How short would the book of Daniel be if Daniel had not disobeyed a law that demanded that he disobey his God???

Your neighbors, company, and nation did not die for your sins. Christ did that. We have a higher allegiance. This does not give us license to abuse our neighbors, company, or nation. I am still a very patriotic person, but my patriotism is limited to a point when my nation demands that I disobey a clear law of God.


To God be the glory!!

The Psalms: Psalm 9 - How do I love You? Let me recount the ways!

Psalm 9 is a really good chapter. Click on the link to go read. I'm only going to touch on the first 2 verses because there is so much there and then I'll move on to the next Psalm next time. Don't miss out on the rest! :o)

"I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;"

With my whole heart! Not part of my heart. Not giving thanks while thinking about the other things that dominate your heart (hobbies, spouses, children, other loved ones, your career, etc.) but with your WHOLE heart.

With this, I want to mention that twice in the gospels we are challenged to love God with all our hearts, minds, and souls (and I think one has body...not sure right now). So, your mind as well as your heart. So, not giving thanks to God while thinking about the game that is on, or the chores that need doing, or the errands you need to run, or the social upheaval on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/etc. Giving your whole mind and heart to God and then giving thanks to him.

Let's be honest, some people can do that while driving...maybe. I won't judge your heart and mind, but I can't focus 100% of my mind on my God when I'm driving. There are crazy people out there driving! So, it requires some quiet time. "But Nate, since I can give God all of my attention to pray and talk to him while doing other things like driving, and I don't have the time to spend with him alone, what is the problem?" The problem? The problem is that while you were still a sinner God demonstrated his love for you and Christ died for you....and you can only talk to him in a distracted context  without being able to really focus on what you are doing? Your heart is being pulled or your mind is being pulled. Shame on us. Shame on me. I don't do this enough at all!

"I will recount all of your wonderful deeds."

Oh man. I love doing this and I don't do it enough. So, from a selfish angle, I could recount blessing after blessing that God provided through both of our adoption processes. That would take a VERY long time though. As a historian, I can look at the history of the church as see how God has blessed and preserved his Word so that million of people could know who God is and not have to wonder. On an even greater scale, look at our world. There are so many broken things about it. The world is affected by sin and YET! Look at some of the sunrise/sunset pictures on Facebook/Instagram lately. It's gorgeous. Look at the Hubble telescope pictures sometimes .It's amazing what is out there. The

"I will be glad and exult in you;"

Gladness and exulting in God. Really? When I lock my keys in the car at work? When I am on my way home and 4 police cars are blocking my road so I get home 20+ minutes later than normal? When my oldest is completely "off" due to going to be late and seeing our youngest daughter's birth mom at an unscheduled (but perfectly OK) time??? I am to be glad and exult in God?? YES! Yes I am. It's funny because ALL of those things happened today and it almost feels like God knew I was going to come home to type this to remind me to be exulting him instead of feeling cranky at the world! :o) Thankfully I'd already been working on this, but God really hammered it now!

"I will sing praise to your name, O Most High."

Do I praise the name of God? God Most High! There is no one who has ever been His equal or who will ever be His equal. How can I not praise Him?? Simple: I'm lazy and I'm ungrateful!! That's not who I want to be though, so I will take a minute to praise His name now and continue to work that into part of my life. The other part is that I don't know Him enough to praise His name. That IS something I can actively work on. It's called "getting to know my Heavenly Father" and it's something we should all do as close to daily as possible.

But not because we have to. Because we want to. Because we love Him (because He first loved us) and that makes us want to know Him. With the added benefit that the more we know Him, the more we will love Him. Then it just becomes a great cycle!

To God be the glory!!

Weep and mourn with others

Romans 12:15 is smack in the middle of a set of verses (vs. 9-21) that is talking about Christians and what marks them as different. "Living a Christian life looks like" and then it gives a bunch of things. It touches on positive relationships, negative ones, people you don't know, and your own responses to all kinds of situations.

So, what about verse 15? Well, verse 15 says to, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." (ESV)

Something about this struck me today.

I don't know about you but I find it easy to bring myself down, emotionally, for other people. If someone is hurting, no matter how happy and joyful (about whatever) I am, I can usually come down to their emotional level and be with them in that sadness. Take the moment seriously and try to be a shoulder if needed.

BUT, the same verse also commands me, when I'm emotionally down and feeling low, to make the effort to be joyful with people who are showing joy. To rejoice...when you are hurting, according to this verse, is a sign of a true Christian.

Now, I get to brag. See, I have often struggled with emotional control and especially on the down side of that. However, I do know someone who has really exemplified this.

My wife! That's right, my wife. Most of you reading this know that we have adopted twice and do not have any biological children. I will be honest and say that most of the people we know have been tactful and not asked us too many personal questions about those decisions and the ones who have have mostly been very tactful about it. Which we have both appreciated. Let's just say that in the last 11 years, I can't remember how many babies have been born into the families of our friends. People who are young and excited for their first baby to be born, people who are excited for their 3rd or 4th, and people who aren't really excited about "the next one."

Now, we love those people (well....MOST of them... :o)  ) but that's beside the point. Those wonderful experiences for them have been hard, in their own way, for us. Admittedly, this does not affect me the way it affects my wife, obviously, and I can safely say it does not affect me as much. I know the tears that have been shed from both of us and hers far outnumber mine.

Yet. When she sees those babies and mothers...what happens is...she rejoices. Wait! No. She REJOICES!!! ...with those who are rejoices. She doesn't put on a show or fake it in front of them. She legitimately rejoices with and loves on the people around her.

When I showed this to Pam, she said, "Honey, I'm happy because it's a happy time!" Exactly. It's not like the pain is so strong that she is pushing it aside just to be happy with those she cares about. No, "Self" isn't getting in the way of ministering (rejoicing OR weeping) with those around!

So, the challenge from Romans 12:15? Don't let you get in the way of others. The love of Christ is not glorified when "I" is the focus, but rather when "you all" is the focus!

To God be the glory!!