About Barbara Harper

https://barbarah.wordpress.com

Psalm Sunday: Psalm 50

Posted on October 22, 2007 by Barbara Harper

1 The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.

2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.

4 He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.

5 Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.

7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.

8 I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.

9 I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds.

10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.

11 I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.

12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.

13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?

14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:

15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?

17 Seeing thou hatest instruction, and casteth my words behind thee.

18 When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.

19 Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.

20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son.

21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

22 Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

I like to read the Psalm for the day several times on my own first and sort out my thoughts and impressions of what I think it is teaching before checking myself against someone else, usually C. H. Spurgeon’s Treasury of David. Spurgeon summed up the divisions of this Psalm nicely in this paragraph: “The Lord is represented as summoning the whole earth to hear his declaration, Ps 50:1-6; he then declares the nature of the worship which he accepts, Ps 50:7-15, accuses the ungodly of breaches of the precepts of the second table, Ps 50:16-21, and closes the court with a word of threatening, Ps 50:22, and a direction of grace, Ps 50:23.” For an expert study of this Psalm, see the rest of Spurgeon’s commentary on it here: in fact, I wonder what in the world I am doing saying anything about this Psalm when so many others have done a much better job thatn I ever could! But it is an exercise in studying the passage for me, and I do get a lot from it in thinking through it this way.

I won’t go over it verse by verse or section by section this time, but here are just a few thoughts.

— Sometimes these days people forget this view of God as the righteous Judge. He is merciful and gracious, longsuffering and ready to forgive. But as the Creator and as God alone, He has the right to “make the rules,” so to speak, and to deal with those who won’t come to Him for forgiveness for not following His way. Even His warnings may be seen as merciful because they are designed to lead people to repentance before it is too late.

— Like Israel, we can sometimes forget to do what’s required of us or do it in a way that is just “going through the motions” without any heart behind it. God doesn’t “need” our service any more than He “needed” Israel’s sacrifices, but He requires the service out of a right heart of gratitude. I like what Spurgeon said about this:

No longer look at your sacrifices as in themselves gifts pleasing to me, but present them as the tributes of your gratitude; it is then that I will accept them, but not while your poor souls have no love and no thankfulness to offer me. The sacrifices, as considered in themselves, are contemned, but the internal emotions of love consequent upon a remembrance of divine goodness, are commended as the substance, meaning, and soul of sacrifice. Even when the legal ceremonials were not abolished, this was true, and when they came to an end, this truth was more than ever made manifest. Not for want of bullocks on the altar was Israel blamed, but for want of thankful adoration before the Lord. She excelled in the visible, but in the inward grace, which is the one thing needful, she sadly failed. Too many in these days are in the same condemnation.

— Verse 15 is often quoted by itself, “And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me,” but it is a continuation of the sentence in verse 14: “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”

— Verse 21: “These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.” Sometimes we mistake God’s mercy and longsuffering for indulgence. When we do wrong and there are no immediate consequences, we think He hasn’t seen, or if He has, like a kindly grandfather in the sky He will pat us on the head and overlook our wrongdoing. But forgiveness is not the same thing as overlooking sin: forgiveness involves facing up to wrongdoing and repenting of it.

— On the first part of verse 23, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me,” Spurgeon says,

Thanksgiving is a God exalting work. Though nothing can add the least cubit to God’s essential glory, yet praise exalts him in the eyes of others. Praise is a setting forth of God’s honour, a lifting up of his name, a displaying the trophy of his goodness, a proclaiming his excellency, a spreading his renown, a breaking open the box of ointment, whereby the sweet savour and perfume of God’s name is sent abroad into the world.

— The last part of verse 23 can be a little confusing: “to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.” It makes it sound like we’re saved after we correct our actions, but many other verses say that we’re saved by God’s grace, and then with His power and out of gratitude we get things right in our lives. The word “salvation” in the Bible, though, doesn’t always mean deliverance from the penalty and power of our sins: sometimes it means rescue from trouble. Since the first part of this verse seems to be addressed to believers (“whose offereth praise…”) perhaps the meaning of this second part of the verse is similar to Psalm 66:18: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” A believer can’t expect God to hear and answer prayer if he is walking around with known and unconfessed sin in his life. But once we have confessed that sin to God, we have the confidence that He will answer prayer. Verse 22 is a call to those who “forget God” to heed His warning and repent; verse 23 seems to be a reminder to God’s people that He wants true heart worship, right motives behind a right life, not just a lifeless outer obedience. If you have another “take” on this verse, let me know.

Our Psalms Sunday hostess, Erica at Butterfly Kisses, does not yet have the link up for this weeks Psalm Sunday, but she probably will one day this week. I usually wait until she does so to post my Psalms Sunday thoughts, but I wanted to do it as close to Sunday as possible, even though I am a day late already.

Book Review: The Parting

Posted on October 20, 2007 by Barbara Harper

The Parting is Beverly Lewis’s newest release and the first book in a new series called “The Courtship of Nellie Fisher.” I enjoy Beverly Lewis’s books about the Amish, based on her grandmother’s Amish heritage, a people so industrious they put me to shame, generally gentle, yet at their harshest when someone wants to step outside their traditions.

This book has many of the same elements as Lewis’s others: focus on an Amish family and their ways and interactions, one member with hidden secrets, young people going through the rituals of courtship, descriptions of wonderful-gut food making which leaves your mouth watering, the dangers of being shunned, and someone who begins to discover that the way of salvation is not in the keeping of man-made traditions. Yet with all the similarities, each book has its uniqueness.

Nellie is a young Amish woman living at home who has not yet “joined church.” She has been secretly interested in a young man named Caleb. There is some question of the reputation of Nellie’s younger sister, Suzy, who has died in a drowning accident while out with non-Amish people, but once Caleb assures himself that whatever happened is not enough to taint the family (and cause his father’s disapproval), he makes his interest known to Nellie.

Nellie’s father, after visiting with a relative who has embraced a different belief system and who shares the Word of God with him, begins to read from portions of Scripture which are not encouraged by the brethren. His heart is overjoyed when his eyes are opened to the gospel of John and the realization that salvation is a free gift and that he can know for sure he belongs to the Lord. He begins to share his newfound knowledge and joy with his family, but Nellie is afraid this is a far bigger threat to her courtship than Suzy’s reputation, for those who profess to know they are saved are shunned and put out of Amish fellowship.

In many of the previous books, the father is the one most rooted in tradition and last to even be open to the idea of change, so it was a delight to me this time to see the father taking the lead. His joy was a rebuke to me: those of us who have known the way of salvation for years can too easily take it for granted. And the courage he and others display when they must follow the way of truth in spite of what it might mean, and the gentle and gracious way he tries to handle sharing that truth and the accompanying reactions are inspiring.

It is heartbreaking when any system denies and squelches the truth and ensnares its people in the darkness of man-made traditions and rituals. I’ve wondered what made the original Amish choose only certain portions of God’s Word and leave out the rest. When I wrote a post earlier this week about our righteousness being based on Christ’s, I had not only just read verses on the subject that morning, but I was also in the midst of reading this book and watching The Last Sin-Eater DVD about another time and place and another system of tradition that keeps its people in darkness. Would that all people would have a chance to at least hear the truth and make their own decisions.

Sometimes love means….

Posted on October 19, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Most of my driving involves just a few miles from my home. We can get to our church and school in three minutes if the three traffic lights on the way are green, and most of the stores we go to aren’t much farther. So when a light comes on and a ding sounds from my car’s dashboard telling me I have less than 1/8 of a tank of gas, I can still drive for three or four days without filling up the car if it is a normal week. Stopping for gas is not one of my favorite things to do, so I tend to put it off and then fill the car to the brim so I don’t have to do it again soon. When I hear that “ding,” I click on the button that tells me the DTE (distance til empty) and keep an eye on it over the next few days.

My car had “dinged” a couple of days ago, but the DTE showed I still had several miles before I needed a fill-up. Yesterday we had to take my car to the shop because the brakes were making awful noises, and my husband and oldest son went to pick the car up late in the afternoon. This morning when I got into the car to take Jesse to school, I glanced at my DTE and saw that it said something like 258 miles: Jim must have filled the car up after he picked it up from the shop yesterday. I told Jesse (and hope he remembers when he gets married) that sometimes flowers or a nice night out show love, but sometimes little things like filling up someone’s car with gas shows love, too. Those little signs of being cared for do a heart good.

I got to thinking about other “little” ways that my loved ones show me their love and care, and I thought I’d list a few. I invite you to do the same either here in the comments or on your own blog (and if you do the latter, let me know — I’d love to read your list). I might be adding to this as more things come to mind.

Sometimes love means…

— putting gas in my car.

— killing bugs or taking care of other unwanted “critters.”

— changing light bulbs. I have a balance problem, and though I can climb up on a chair, it’s hard for me to let go of the chair to use my hands for anything.

— watching “chick flicks” with me.

— listening when I talk about a problem without necessarily trying to “fix” it.

— patience when I am running behind.

— taking care of the “mess” when the kids are sick. That actually started when our firstborn was a baby and had gotten sick all over himself and his bedding. As my husband and I both took care of him, the smell and “ick” factor were almost overwhelming to me, and though I don’t think I said anything out loud, somehow Jim knew. He said, “Honey, why don’t you go on out and let me clean this up before I have two messes to deal with.” That started a routine, wherever the kids were sick, that he would take care of and clean up the child, and I would take the bedding and messed-up clothes straight to the washer. (I can deal with it if I need to, especially when Jim’s not home, but it involves taking several steps away to breathe fresh air for a minute and then coming back.) Even now, when one of the kids has the “throw-up pan,” Jim will usually empty it out and rinse it on his own initiative.

— working hard to provide for us.

Thank you, honey, for these things and for all that you do. I appreciate it so much, and I don’t tell you often enough.

With my kids, sometimes love means…

— doing what I ask you to cheerfully and without complaining or groaning.

— doing something that needs to be done without being asked.

— appreciation of the food I make, even if it is just tuna sandwiches.

— for my oldest son, patiently and often answering my computer questions.

There are so many ways you guys make me feel loved, but these are a few that come to mind. Thank you!

I have a couple of dear friends who make me feel loved by sending unexpected, thoughtful little notes sometimes and by their genuine attentiveness and interest in my life.

So how about you? What are some ways those in your life make you feel loved?

(Graphic courtesy of the stock.xchnge)

Show and Tell Friday: Embattled model space ship

Posted on October 19, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home hosts “Show and Tell Friday” asking “Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there’s a story behind your special something, that’s even better! If you would like to join in, all you have to do is post your “Show and Tell” on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky. Guidelines are here.“

This week’s Show and tell is a little off the beaten path for me, but when I see it it often makes me smile, so I figured that qualified. 🙂

My two older sons liked to put together models when they were in their pre-teen to early teen years. They didn’t care for WWII planes, like my dad did, or classic cars: they liked space ships, mostly Star Trek models. Once Jason saw some pictures online about a model whose maker wanted to make it look like it had been in a battle. Jason thought that was really cool and wanted to do the same thing. Here are the results of two ships:

I think it primarily involved using a match or a lighter to lightly burn it in spots. I have to admit, when he first asked me if he could do this, I was loathe to “mess up” a perfectly good model. But the battle scenes were what both boys most liked about Star Trek at that point. Plus he had a fascination with fire for a while there, and this was a more creative means of handling flame.

So he got to do something creative and fun, and I got to “loosen up” a little. 🙂 And those memories of his boyhood make me smile.

My righteousness

Posted on October 17, 2007 by Barbara Harper

My Daily Light reading this morning reminded me of a precious truth, that our standing and acceptance before God is based on Christ’s righteousness, not our own. Here are a couple of the verses:

Psalm 89:16: In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

Isaiah 45:24-25: Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

Romans 3: 21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

I thought of another:

I Corinthians 1:30: But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.

My own righteousness can’t help me:

Isaiah 64: 6: But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

How could we think that any righteousness or work of our own could stand next to His blazing holiness and count for anything?

Philippians 3:9: And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

Titus 3: 4-7: But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Romans 10:3-4: For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

We obtain a right standing with God by repentance from our own sins and works and instead accepting Christ, relying on His sacrifice on the cross to pay the debt of our sins. Once we are in Christ, God sees and accepts His righteousness on our behalf.

Romans 4:5: But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Romans 10:9-10: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

II Corinthians 5:20-21: Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

— “Before the Throne of God Above,” Charitie L. Bancroft

Works-For-Me Wednesday: Autumn mini cookie cutters

Posted on October 17, 2007 by Barbara Harper

I found these cute little cookie cutters at W*l-Mart yesterday for just a few dollars. We’re not really into sugar cookies much, though I can picture these with cinnamon and red, yellow, and orange colored sprinkled sugar. But I thought they’d be neat for cutting decorative venting holes for pie crusts.

Maybe they’ve been around for ages, but I just discovered them.

Michael’s had them, too, and though I don’t remember the prices I think they were a little more there. But then Michael’s usually has a 40% off coupon in Sunday’s paper.

As always on Wednesdays, you can find scores of great tips at Rocks In My Dryer.

Time Travel Tuesday: Most adventurous act

Posted on October 16, 2007 by Barbara Harper

My Life as Annie’s weekly Time Travel Tuesday question for today is:

Tell us the most adventurous thing you have ever done! What gave you the courage to do it or try it and how did you feel afterwards?

I’ve been thinking about this off and on all day. I am not a very adventurous soul. I like my well-defined comfort zones. I don’t know that I have ever really done anything adventurous on purpose just for the adventure. But the Lord has pushed me out of my comfort zone at times.

Probably one “push” was going to college when none of my immediate family had ever gone and when I didn’t really have the money to. I wrote more about that here (fourth paragraph).

Another time was when I, who usually was very quiet and reserved, especially where guys were concerned, took the initiative to introduce myself to my husband-to-be.

But probably one of the most adventurous areas of my life has been in the realm of serving the Lord. My preference is to operate behind the scenes. But when one of my first adult opportunities for a small leadership position came up in our ladies’ ministry, and my first instinct was to decline, our ladies’ ministry president encouraged those of us who were nominees not to say no until we had prayed about it. And as I did, I just didn’t feel the freedom to say no. Though in a sense I felt “hemmed in” — not by the people asking me to serve, but by the Lord — when no one else accepted the nomination and I was ‘it,” that experience stretched me and grew my faith and dependence on the Lord in amazing ways. In the years since with other leadership positions, it has been scary yet marvelous to be in a position that seems too big, that it seems any number of other people would be better gifted for, and learn and grow and even make mistakes and find the Lord faithful to provide wisdom, grace, ideas, supplies, time, helpers, and everything else as I give it all over to Him (sometimes several times) and depend on Him to work in and through me and the ministry at hand. And then when He uses it, all the glory goes to Him because I know it wasn’t any strength or wisdom or skill of my own involved. I wrote more about this in a post titled “You can’t say no until you pray about it.” Often these days we hear the other side of it, that it is fine to say no and, in fact, we need to so we’re not overrun and burdened down with responsibilities we were never meant to take on. And that’s very true. There have been many things I have felt perfectly free to say no to over the years. Yet for far too long and for all the wrong reasons, “No” was usually my initial response to a new opportunity of ministry. So I encourage you, the next time someone asks you to consider participating in a ministry, pray about it before saying no right off the bat. The answer may indeed be no — it may not be the right time or you may already have too many responsibilities. But if the answer is yes, the Lord may be about to take you on an adventure you would never otherwise have known.

Then, though I studiously avoid roller coasters, one of the biggest roller coaster rides of my life has been dealing with transverse myelitis. Posts dealing with that are in the upper right hand corner under “Pages,” so I won’t reiterate much of that here. But learning to walk again and to drive with numb feet and to operate with a quirky nervous system has been quite an adventure! It has been a path I would not have chosen to go down, but, again, sometimes the Lord just puts you in positions where there is nothing you can do but depend on Him, and you either have to go forward or vegetate. I am so thankful for the lessons learned and for the experience of leaning on Him and finding “the everlasting arms” underneath, of wrestling with the hard questions and finding Him faithful, true, good, and loving.

Odds and Ends…

Posted on October 15, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Bits and pieces. Randomness. Hodgepodge. Stray Thoughts (that sounds familiar….). Or as Susanne charmingly puts it, Mishmash. That’s what this post is. 🙂

I inadvertently had a mini author event (or an author mini-event — the authors are life-sized, I’m sure) in the comment section of this post about feeling too awkward to speak to an author at a book-signing or author event. Several authors somehow found their way to that posted and commented, including one of my favorites, Terri Blackstock, as well as several who were new to me. The general consensus was yes, please do go ahead and approach them, even if you can’t think of anything else to say but, “I really liked your book.” They feel as awkward as we do but they don’t want to sit there twiddling their thumbs with no one to talk to. And affirmation can help spur us on in the work of the Lord. It reminded me of this post with a quote from Elisabeth Elliot to the effect that it is not wrong to want approval. I don’t know how many times in church I have heard someone say, “Since so-and-so isn’t here, I want to take this opportunity to tell something special he did,” and I’ve wondered if it would have really encouraged so-and-so to know that the Lord has used him in some way.

About a month ago I wrote about some dental woes and how the Lord was helping me deal with it. I am happy to report that as of this morning I have my new permanent bridge in and I am so happy to be done with that! I do have a similar problem on the other side that I am hoping can be solved with just a crown rather than a bridge — I have an appointment to deal with that next week. The digestive issues I was concerned about with the antibiotic I had to be on (that has big warning signs of possible colitis as a side effect) were minor, thankfully. I did eat some yogurt every day I was on it and a few days afterward, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked it, especially Yoplait’s orange dreamsicle flavor.

Friday afternoon and evening our school had its annual fall festival, and it was a perfect, beautiful fall day for it. It’s a fund raiser for the senior trip, but the whole school gets in on it. Each class mans a booth or activity of some type. It’s kind of like a mini-carnival. Jesse’s class’s booth sold funnel cakes (very good! But I don’t even want to think about the calories!) and fried Snickers bars (didn’t try that — almost raises my blood sugar just to think about it). There’s one lady who has the set-up and know-how to do it, so all the other parents had to contribute was a little money for supplies, which was fine by me. One of the other classes sponsored a dunking booth. Usually they have pastors and teachers (Carol, aren’t you glad you only had to sell tickets? 😀 ) and staff in the booth to be dunked, along with maybe a Bic Mac (big man around campus 🙂 ) or two, like some of the athletes. But this year they had the youth pastor and the school principle, then they opened it up for students to volunteer. They did send permission slips home for it ahead of time, and Jesse wanted to sign up to do it. Participants who wanted to be in the dunking booth had to pay six tickets ($3) for the privilege for 20 minutes, and others could pay two tickets to get 3 throws to try to dunk whoever was in there. Jesse had the time of his life. He thoroughly enjoyed it. And yes, I dunked him. 🙂 It was funny, though — when we got there and saw the schedule of students who had signed up, they were all 7th and 8th-graders. I guess they were young enough to think it would be great fun.

Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer is hosting another give-away extravaganza like the Dog Days of Summer event that I am sure many of you remember, only this time it will be held at her Bloggy Giveaways site (which, by the way, you should subscribe to or check regularly. There has been some neat stuff given away there!) This event is called the Fall, Y’all Bloggy Give-Away and will be held the week of October 29. Anyone with a blog can give away anything (within Shannon’s guidelines) that week and link to it there. Details are here. It was a lot of fun last time — people gave away books, CDs, crafts, jewelry, and all kinds of stuff. I didn’t win anything, but I had fun hosting a give-away and meeting some new bloggers.

My new copy of the revived Victoria magazine just arrived this afternoon! I can hardly wait to sit down and pore over it.

Some very nice people have passed on some awards to me.

New and fun blog friend Carolyn at Talk…to…Grams awarded me the You Lift Me Up blog award, saying, “Barbara H. at Stray Thoughts: I am new to reading her blog but I have read her comments for a while on other blogs and I liked what she had to say so much that I went over to her blog to see what she was about!! And I loved her post!! Very uplifting!”

Jen at My 3 boys and I passed on the Totally Fabulous award to me.

And Alice at Hello, My Name Is Alice passed on the I Love Your Blog Award to me.

Thanks you ladies all so much! It warms my heart that you would each think of me in such a way.

I passed the I Love Your Blog award on to others a few weeks back. The You Life Me Up award and Totally Fabulous award I’d like to pass on to all who read and comment here because you are fabulous and you do lift me up!

Psalm Sunday: Psalm 49

Posted on October 15, 2007 by Barbara Harper

1 Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: 2 Both low and high, rich and poor, together.

3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?

6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:

8 (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)

9 That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

10 For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.

12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.

14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.

16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;

17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.

18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.

19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.

20 Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

This psalm calls to mind I Timothy 6:17: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”

It’s not wrong to be rich if it is within God’s plan for an individual. Abraham and many other Bible individuals were rich in their day. Years ago I read a biography titled Lady Huntingdon and Her Friends about Lady Selina Hastings who was instrumental in helping John Wesley and George Whitfield in their ministries and who founded 64 chapels. She said she was “saved by an m” because the Bible says not many wise, mighty, or noble are called, but it didn’t say not any.

Yet it can be a temptation to the rich to trust in their wealth, and it can be a temptation to those who are not rich to think they would be secure if they had wealth. Riches can be an idol in either case. Sometimes we don’t want to be rich, but we feel if we just had a little more then everything would be safe and secure.

But verses 7-8 remind us that riches can’t secure redemption, and verses 9-14 remind us that riches can’t keep death away (at least not forever). Verses 10 and 17 remind us that riches won’t be carried into eternity.

I’m reminded of a scene in Oliver! where Fagin, the evil master thief who has been teaching stray boys to pickpocket, is trying to escape with his hoard of riches after learning that the police are coming. He has all his worldly goods in his arms but somehow drops them into a muddy bog. They sit on top of the muck for just a second, and then, bloop, they disappear down into the mess, and with all Fagin’s thrashing around trying to retrieve them, he can’t find them and has to run on. Many wealthy people through the years can testify of a sudden robbery or a sudden change in the market or a slower change in industry or technology which rendered their product or service useless.

Our care, our provision, our sustenance in this life come from the Lord. And even more, He provides the way for the redemption of our souls from sin and our bodies from the grave (verse 15). The more we learn of Him and get to know Him through His Word, the more our faith will be increased to trust Him for all our needs.

Visit Butterfly Kisses for more Psalms Sunday mediations, and feel free to join in by adding your own.

Jesus, my Lord, my God, my All

Posted on October 14, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Jesus, my Lord, my God, my All,
Hear me, blest Savior, when I call;
Hear me, and from Thy dwelling place
Pour down the riches of Thy grace;
Jesus, my Lord, I Thee adore;
O make me love Thee more and more.

Jesus, too late I Thee have sought;
How can I love Thee as I ought?
And how extol Thy matchless fame,
The glorious beauty of Thy Name?
Jesus, my Lord, I Thee adore;
O make me love Thee more and more.

Jesus, what didst Thou find in me
That Thou hast dealt so lovingly?
How great the joy that Thou hast brought,
So far exceeding hope or thought!
Jesus, my Lord, I Thee adore;
O make me love Thee more and more.

Jesus, of Thee shall be my song;
To Thee my heart and soul belong;
All that I have or am is Thine;
And Thou, blest Savior, Thou art mine;
Jesus, my Lord, I Thee adore;
O make me love Thee more and more.

–Henry A. Collins, 1854

(You can hear a 90 second sound clip of this hymn here.)