Category Archives: Thoughts From Scripture

Psalms Sunday: Psalm 42

Posted on by

psunday.png

Erica at Butterfly Kisses has once again resumed “Psalms Sunday” in which whoever wants to can read and study the selected Psalm for the day and “share what the Psalm meant to you. Maybe there was a verse or two that spoke to you. Maybe the Psalm made you think of a story you would like to share with us. Maybe you would like to paraphrase the Psalm. Or maybe you would like to do an in-depth word study. What you write, what you share is up to you.” She provides a “Mr. Linky” each Sunday so those who participate can share the link to their own posts about the Psalm.

I really enjoyed doing this before. The Psalms are pretty easy to breeze through, looking for the verses that are familiar or that touch my heart, without really studying them in context. The being able to read and comment on what others have posted helps even more to bring out things I may have missed in my own study.

The Psalm for today is Psalm 42:

1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.

5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.

7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

8 Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the day time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

10 As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?

11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

This is one of my favorite Psalms. Probably every Christian has gone through these times of talking to oneself, encouraging oneself in the Lord. There is nothing like a crisis to strip away distractions and false props and to create in us a realization for our deep need of God. When our tears are our meat, when others ask where our God is, when enemies oppress and reproach, when we’re cast down and disquieted, when we feel God has forgotten us, we suddenly find ourselves thirsting for His presence and power in our lives. We change our focus from the many problems to God: we remind ourselves to hope in Him with the faith that we will yet praise Him for His answer and deliverance.

Verse 5 speaks of “the help of His countenance” and verse 11 “health of my countenance.” When I know His countenance (which Dictionary.com defines as “face, visage, calm facial expression, favor, encouragement, moral support”) is upon me, I am helped, and my countenance is restored to health (Verse 11). He not only helps me with His countenance, He is the health of my countenance and my God.

Interesting things seen around the blogosphere

Posted on by

Charity at Vintage Threads made a wonderful collage of fall decorations and links.

Rabbit at The Hutch has a wonderful post about the Name of God regarding whether God cares what He is called.

Katrina at Callapidder Days has a two-part post about how injustices are perceived and handled and right and wrong ways to react.

Grafted Branch at Restoring the Years has a great post on children’s interruptions.

Dr. Jim Hamilton, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Havard School for Theological Studies – Southwestern’s Houston campus, had a very thought-provoking interview on the topic of writing books reviews. (HT to Jason Button).

Chris Anderson references an excellent, thought-provoking article titled What You Can Learn from Calvin and Hobbes about the Message and the Medium, asking “If chintzy merchandise cheapens a comic strip, what in the world does it do to the gospel of Jesus Christ??!”

No judgment?

Posted on by

Our local newspaper has a couple of “faith-based”pages every Saturday, with a question and answer column, a few articles, church announcements, etc. It’s very much a mixed bag, but every now and then there is something good and Biblically-based in it.

The Q&A column yesterday contained a note from a lady saying she had heard that God judged people for their sins and she thought that was pretty unloving. The preacher answered as most people I know would have, that God is righteous and holy and therefore cannot tolerate sin, but He is also loving and merciful and provided for forgiveness by sending His only begotten son, the Lord Jesus Christ, so that if we believe on Him our sins can be forgiven and we can have a home in heaven with Him when we die.

But my mind ran for a little while with the implications of her comment. She seemed almost offended that God would judge sin. I wonder if she has the same problem with the librarian charging her a fine when she returns an overdue book (I was a college librarian for four years, and people do have problems with that!) or the policeman when he gives her a speeding ticket. I wonder if she would have the same problem with the drunk driver or the child molester or the murderer being judged? Ah, that’s a different story, isn’t it? When someone commits a “really big” sin, or when someone sins against us, we want them to be judged and to be made to make it right or pay for it. But our little paltry sins, well, we had good reasons for those, and who has the right to judge us, anyway?

Do we not see the inconsistency there?

Think what a world without judges would be like. No one to say anything was wrong, no consequences for doing wrong against another. Everyone doing what was right in his own eyes. Have you ever had someone do something he thought was right that impacted you in a way that you didn’t feel was right? What confusion and anarchy there would be. I wouldn’t want to live in a place like that.

I’ve been somewhat alarmed by the trend I see in parenting these days on not dealing with a child’s wrongdoing but rather handling everything in a positive light. Sure, parenting shouldn’t be all negativity, and there are times when a positive approach may be best. But a child who is never brought to face the fact that he has done wrong will be crippled for life. Imagine how all his relationships will be impacted if he can never admit that he has done wrong and apologize for it? One of our children used to have a really hard time agreeing that he had done wrong, and we had to emphasize to him time and time again that admitting wrong-doing is the first step in making things right. Proverbs 28:13 says, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Sure, it’s not pleasant to admit we’ve done wrong. “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:11). One of the hardest things in the world is to have to go and tell someone that you have wronged them and you’re sorry. But besides that exercise helping you to make things right with that person, it also helps motivate you to do right so you don’t have to go through that experience again. I’ve gotten one speeding ticket in my life, but I almost automatically slow down every time I am on the stretch of road where I got it because I don’t want to repeat the experience.

Is it unloving to judge sin? Isn’t the opposite true? If someone is intoxicated, wouldn’t it be the loving thing to take him home or call a cab rather than let him drive as a danger to himself and others? Would a parent really be loving a child to let him hit others or steal candy from the store and make excuses for him, confirming and justifying in him that behavior and therefore reinforcing it? It can be the most loving action ever taken to let someone know that what they are doing is wrong and that it needs to be faced and dealt with.

The woman’s comment about God’s judging sin has even further implications, though, as if she thought He had no right to judge sin.

We accept the fact that a store owner, message board owner, school administrator and board, etc. all have the authority to make the rules about how people act in their establishments. If a student defied the rules and was expelled, we wouldn’t look on the principal of the school as unloving. Why do people look at God that way? Perhaps they don’t recognize that He has the authority to make the rules?

He’s the Creator, the God of the universe. That in itself gives Him the right to make the rules. But because He made people in His own image, and because He is righteous and holy and good, He knows how best how we should live.

The problem boils down to our own pride. We don’t want anyone to tell us what to do or even suggest, much less judge, what we’re doing as wrong simply because it is what we want do to.

In Isaiah 57:15, God says, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

To be right with God, to dwell with Him, one of the first things we have to do is humble ourselves and be contrite over our sin. He is abundantly willing to forgive and has made every provision to do so, be He can’t grant that forgiveness until we admit we’ve sinned in the first place.

It’s the little things

Posted on by

Sometimes it seems easier to trust the Lord for the big trials of life rather than the little things.

When a major crisis comes my way, I realize it’s too big for me. I’m acutely aware of my need for God’s grace and strength. I feel myself sinking, like Peter, and cry out for help almost instinctively.

But when I encounter some smaller provocation — when someone interrupts what I am doing; when I’m trying to wrap up computer time or I’m just logging in for something real quick and my computer decides to run extremely slowly or “time out” on the connections I am trying to make; when I am running late to an appointment and hit every red light along the way; when another driver cuts me off; when I am in a hurry at the grocery store and find the shortest check-out line only to have the customer in front of me encounter some time-consuming problem; when I give dinner a quick stir and slosh red sauce over the side of the pan and onto the stove, the floor, and/or myself — then too often I react with simmering impatience, carnal anger, unloving harshness.

Amy Carmichael once wrote:

The hardest thing is to keep cheerful (and loving) under little things that come from uncongenial surroundings, the very insignificance of which adds to their power to annoy, because they must be wrestled with, and overcome, as in the case of larger hurts. Some disagreeable habit in one to whom we may owe respect and duty, and which is a constant irritation or our sense of the fitness of things, may demand of us a greater moral force to keep the spirit serene than an absolute wrong committed against us. (1)

“Well, I was provoked.”

Love…is not easily provoked. I Corinthians 13:5

“I’m only human.”

Yes. That’s the problem, not an excuse. With the exception of One, all humans have a sinful nature. Our natural reaction is likely to be a selfish one. As Christians we’re called to have a supernatural reaction.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Galatians 5:22-23.

Even on the highway or in a check-out line.

Thank God there is forgiveness with Him, His mercies are new every morning, and if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness(I John 1:9).

But how can I get the victory over wrong reactions to little provocations and react in a right manner the next time?

  • I think first of all by not excusing it, but recognizing it as sin and confessing it to Him.
  • Plus I think a careful evaluation of using my time better is a good practical solution to some situations, such as stopping whatever I am doing soon enough to leave early enough for an appointment so that a few red lights (which really don’t last as long as they seem to) will not cause me to be late (or agitated).
  • Then relinquishing control of my life and time and schedule into the Lord’s hands will help me to handle interruptions better. Have you ever studied the life of Christ with an eye toward how much He was interrupted? It’s enlightening. Even when He was interrupted during prayer or on his way to perform a miracle, He never reacted harshly or impatiently.
  • I need to relinquish the “I” factor as well. Some of the agitation I experience is simply my thwarted desire for things to go my way. I mentioned in an earlier post that another of Amy Carmichael’s experiences that helped me was when she felt the “I” “rising hotly” in her toward one who was unfair and dominating, and she realized that that moment was a chance to die to self. “See in this which seems to stir up all you most wish were not stirred up — see in it a chance to die to self in every form. Accept it as just that – a chance to die.”
  • Remembering that my testimony before others is at stake helps as well. “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:25). I sometimes think of Satan standing before God and accusing that Job only served God because God blessed him, but let Satan take away Job’s blessings, and he would curse God. I envision him saying of me, “Yes, she acts like a nice Christian at church, but let me trip her up here and there and see how she reacts.” We not only forget that we are a testimony to others in our homes and at check-out lines, but we forget that our testimonies are as far-reaching as heaven. Rosalind Goforth was a missionary wife to China during years in which the Chinese were quite suspicious of and disdainful toward “foreign devils.” To try to alleviate those feelings and establish relationships with the Chinese, the Goforths would allow crowds of the curious into their home to look around and to talk with them. This resulted in some agitation and disruption as well as theft of some of their belongings, but over all they felt it was worth it. Of one particular day, Rosalind writes:

The day had been an unusually strenuous one, and I was really very tired. Toward evening, a crowd of women burst through the living room door and came trooping in before I had time to meet them outside. One woman set herself out to make things unpleasant. She was rough and repulsive and– well, just indescribably filthy. I paid no attention to her except to treat her as courteously as the rest. But when she put both hands to her nose, saying loudly, “Oh, these foreign devils, the smell of their home is unbearable!”, my temper rose in a flash and, turning on her with anger, I said, “How dare you speak like that? Leave the room!” The crowd, sensing a “storm,” fled. I heard one say, “That foreign devil woman has a temper just like ours!”

Now, I had not noticed that the door of my husband’s study was ajar, not did I know that he was inside, until, as the last woman disappeared, the door opened and he came forward, looking solemn and stern. “Rose, how could you so forget yourself?” he said. “Do you realize that just one such incident may undo months of self-sacrificing, loving service?”

“But Jonathan” I returned, “you don’t know how she — ”

But he interrupted. “Yes, I do; I heard all. You certainly had reason to be annoyed; but were you justified, with all that is hanging in the balance and God’s grace to keep you patient?”

As he turned to re-enter his study, he said, “All I can say is I am disappointed!”

Oh, how that last word cut me! I deserved it, yes, but, oh, I did so want to reach up to the high ideals he had. A tempestuous time followed alone in our inner room with my Lord. as I look back now, it was all just one farther step up the rocky hillside of life — just climbing! (2)

  • The verses mentioned above in Galatians 5 say that gentleness, long-suffering, self-control, etc., are all a part of the fruit of the Spirit. Maintaining time in the Word so He can speak to me through it, yielding to His control throughout the day, memorizing verses in the areas I am having trouble with, sending out a quick prayer for help when I feel that agitation and frustration building up will all help in gaining the victory.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16.

___________
(1) Houghton, Frank. Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur. (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1983), 86-87.

(2) Goforth, Rosalind. Climbing. (USA: Bethel Publishing), 45-46.

When a little one dies…

Posted on by

Tonight at church we were surprised and saddened  to learn that a little baby girl, less than a week old, of one of our newer church families passed away today. She was born prematurely and developed a bowel infection that developed too quickly and extensively to be treated.

The family is grieving, naturally, but solid in their faith in God’s goodness and timing.

When I hear of a little child being taken on to heaven, I often think of a passage from one of my most often read books, Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur by Frank Houghton. There is a section quoting Amy’s writing about the death of one of their little ones at Dohnavur and a passage from a letter of Samuel Rutherford’s to a grieving mother over 200 years before which was a comfort then to Amy. I posted this last fall in connection with the death of a little boy, Canon, for whom many in the blogging community had been praying. It came to mind again today, and I wanted to share it:

You have lost a child. Nay, she is not lost to you who is found to Christ; she is not sent away but only sent before, like unto a star which going out of our sight doth not die and vanish, but shineth in another hemisphere: you see her not, yet she doth shine in another country.

If her glass was but a short hour, what she wanteth of time that hath she gotten in Eternity; and you have to rejoice that you have now some treasure laid up in heaven…Your daughter was a part of yourself, and you, being as it were cut and halved, will indeed be grieved; but you have to rejoice that when a part of you is on earth, a great part of you is glorified in heaven…There is less of you out of heaven that the child is there.

I also thought of Jesus’ prayer, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24).

We rejoice that this little one is with Him where He is, beholding His glory. We could not wish her back. That was one thought that came to me often after my mom passed away, and I missed her sorely and so wanted to talk to her again and give her a hug…but though I could wish her here for my sake, I really couldn’t wish she were here when I have some small inkling of what she is experiencing there.

Yet we are “indeed grieved” by the loss of our loved ones’ presence and fellowship. I know this child’s family will feel this intensely both now and for many days to come. A verse that someone shared with me that was a great help (I am including the preceding and following verses as well) was from Psalm 119: 75-77: “I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant. Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight.”

God’s Messengers

Posted on by

From A Lamp For My Feet by Elisabeth Elliot:

How can this person who so annoys or offends me be God’s messenger? Is God so unkind as to send that sort across my path? Insofar as his treatment of me requires more kindness than I can find in my own heart, demands love of a quality I do not possess, asks of me patience which only the Spirit of God can produce in me, he is God’s messenger. God sends him in order that he may send me running to God for help. 

Thy sea is great, our boats are small

Posted on by

When I was a teen-ager, I saw a plaque or poster with a stylized painting of a boat on the sea with the saying, “O Lord, Thy sea is so great, and my boat is so small.” That saying resonated with me on many levels. Last week my pastor quoted part of a poem with a similar saying as a recurring line. I searched online for it and found it was a hymn from Henry J. van Dyke in 1922.

815127_sunsetlake_2.jpg

O Maker of the mighty deep
Whereon our vessels fare,
Above our life’s adventure keep
Thy faithful watch and care.

In Thee we trust, whate’er befall;
Thy sea is great, our boats are small.

We know not where the secret tides
Will help us or delay,
Nor where the lurking tempest hides,
Nor where the fogs are gray.

In Thee we trust, whate’er befall;
Thy sea is great, our boats are small.

When outward bound we boldly sail
And leave the friendly shore,
Let not our heart of courage fail
Until the voyage is o’er.

In Thee we trust, whate’er befall;
Thy sea is great, our boats are small.

When homeward bound we gladly turn,
O bring us safely there,
Where harbor lights of friendship burn
And peace is in the air.

In Thee we trust, whate’er befall;
Thy sea is great, our boats are small.

Beyond the circle of the sea,
When voyaging is past,
We seek our final port in Thee;
O bring us home at last.

In Thee we trust, whate’er befall;
Thy sea is great, our boats are small.

(Photo courtesy of the stock.xchng.) 

An exercise in Daily Light

Posted on by

I’ve mentioned Daily Light on the Daily Path a number of times — even this week on my blogiversary post. 🙂 I first saw reference to it in missionary biographies, Amy Carmichael’s and others.

An entry the other day was such an excellent example that I wanted to share it here.

The July 26 morning entry contains these verses:

By faith Abraham, . . . called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed. Heb. 11:8.

He shall choose our inheritance for us. Ps. 47:4–He led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: so the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. Deut. 32:10-12.

I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. Isa. 48:17. –Who teacheth like him? Job 36:22.

We walk by faith, not by sight. II Cor. 5:7. –Here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. Heb. 13:14. –Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. I Peter 2:11. –Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. Micah 2:10.

Now, at first glance or after just a cursory read, I might end up thinking, “Yes, we’re supposed to trust the Lord’s leading” and go on my merry way. But after reading through these verses thoughtfully, I began to see different aspects of the Lord’s leading. When He calls, we need to obey by faith. He cares intimately about us and doesn’t just send us on our way, but He bears us. There is no other teacher like Him. The ultimate destination of His leading is heaven. Since we’re just sojourning here, we shouldn’t get distracted with or caught up in fleshly lusts which war against the soul or make camp and seek rest where we’re not supposed to. That was a blessing to me.

I have to admit my husband and oldest son don’t really like this layout. They would rather read verses in context. I agree this doesn’t take the place of reading the Bible through or studying a passage in context, and you do have to be careful about stringing different verses together. But overall I have found the verses to be compiled with much thought and care. If you think of it as a mini and not exhaustive Bible study on a certain topic each day, perhaps that helps. As I’ve said, I use this usually to begin my devotional time, to mentally change gears from whatever else I was thinking about to begin meditating on God’s Word. Sundays and very busy days, like when we have company in town, this may be all I do. Many are the days that this little devotional has given me much food for thought for the rest of the day.

One of my favorite listings is for the morning of April 10, and for this one I am going to leave the references on the bottom as it is arranged in my book plus the web site.

B EHOLD, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.–Thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.

I am a sinful man, O Lord.–Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair.

I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.–Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

When I would do good, evil is present with me.–Be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing.–Ye are complete in him.–Perfect in Christ Jesus.

Ye are washed, . . . ye are sanctified, . . . ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.–That ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

CANT. 1. 5. Ps. 51. 5.–Eze. 16. 14.
Lu. 5. 8.–Ca. 4. 1. Job 42. 6.–Ca. 4. 7.
Ro. 7. 21. Mat. 9. 2. Ro. 7. 18.–
Col. 2. 10; 1. 28. 1 Co. 6. 11. 1 Pe. 2. 9.

Faith isn’t arrogance

Posted on by

I was reading an online news article about the death of Tammy Faye Bakker Messner, and someone in the comments section called it the height of arrogance that she said she was going straight to heaven.

I can’t speak for Tammy Faye — I don’t know much about her other than general knowledge from the news over the years. But it isn’t arrogance to confidently declare that one is going to heaven if one’s confidence is in Christ.

I John 5:13 says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (emphasis mine).

How miserable it would be to go through life not knowing that!

Of course, if someone believed that getting to heaven was based on one’s good works outweighing the bad or trying to “do the best I can,” then it might indeed sound arrogant to say confidently that one is going to heaven, because that confidence would be based on thinking he or she was a pretty good person. But it would be worse than arrogant: it would dead wrong.

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.”

Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Salvation is based in dependence on what Christ did.

I Corinthians 15:3-4: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

I John 5:11-12: “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”