The Person in the Mirror-Psalm 26

                The Psalmist in Psalm 26 is asking for the Lord’s vindication.  He has enemies surrounding him and he doesn’t understand why, when he is one who has integrity and follows God’s laws, he has not yet been vindicated.  He seeks God and asks for this vindication.  He basically says look at me God, I love you, I walk in your ways, I don’t associate with those idol worshipers.  I don’t hang out with hypocrites.  I hated those who do evil and I don’t hang out with wicked people.  I am innocent. 

                I, like the Psalmist in Psalm 26, went through a period of time when I felt this way.  I was self-righteous and judgmental.  I felt like I did everything right by not committing any of the sins others my age were getting into.  I didn’t party, smoke, drink, do drugs nor did I associate with those who did.  I spoke truth.  I witnessed to people.  I was in church every time the doors were opened.  I felt deserving of God’s grace and love.  I did all the right things.

                What I realized over the years though is that attitude itself was sinful.  Withholding my love and presence in the lives of people who were not like me or didn’t think like me was withholding God’s love and presence from them.  Very recently I have learned that it’s best to put a mirror in front of my own heart and soul rather than pointing toward the sins of others.  I do not need God’s vindication.  I need God’s love and grace poured into the imperfections of my humanity.  I need to focus on me and not on what others around me are doing or not doing. 

                The news and social media have been full of people’s judgments in the last week from both sides of the debates that are before us.  I admit the temptation to weigh in on the debates are very real for me.  Instead though I have put my focus on me and the areas of my life I can improve.

                The Psalmist concludes in verse 11 that he is in need of redemption.  We are all in need of redemption.  If we each put a mirror in front of us and focus on those areas in our own lives that need grace and love poured into them; the world will be better for it.  Thanks be to God.  

What do a quarrelsome Gossip and Kindling have in common?

            My mother and I used to drive my father crazy with our constant battering back and forth. We were both of a quarrelsome nature and neither of us would back down from a good debate.  My grandmother was the world’s best gossiper.  She loved to watch people and if she didn’t know the story of what was playing out in front of her, well she would just create one.  She and Mom kept each other appraised of the latest news in their circles.  Getting in people’s business got her in trouble one time when she was called to testify in court about something she witnessed by spying on the neighbors from her window.  I remember these things as humorous but at the same time the wisdom of proverbs tells us that gossip and quarreling are great kindle for a spreading fire. 

Without wood a fire goes out; without gossips, conflict calms down.  Like adding charcoal to embers or wood to fire, quarrelsome people kindle strife. Like choice snacks: they go down to the inmost parts.  (Proverbs 26:20-22)

            There it is conflict management 101 straight from scripture:  Don’t gossip and don’t be quarrelsome.  Next time you are involved in a conflict, remember these verses and be a voice of peace.  

What Is Your Escape Route

            

              There are some days you just don’t feel like opening your bible, praying, or thinking about God.  There are some days that you don’t know how to pray or what to say, your breaking heart overcomes you and you just don’t know what to do.  Perhaps you’ve lost your job of 20 years.  Perhaps someone has betrayed you.  Perhaps there has been a sudden death in your family that you don’t understand.  Perhaps your spouse of 30 years has just confessed and affair to you and left you sitting alone not knowing where to turn or what to do.  Perhaps your child just broke your heart in two. 

            It is tempting in these dark moments of the soul to escape.  We escape through alcohol, drugs, mindless scrolling through Facebook, people, affairs, sleep.  The evil one offers us many routes of escaping the moments that overwhelm us.  We could be escaping something as big as the loss of a career or something as overwhelming as an unclean house.  The last thing we can think about is pulling out our Bibles and reading a psalm or praying.  It’s hard to feel God’s presence.  It’s easier to numb the pain.

            Friends escape is the easy route but it’s also the route that will lead to self-destruction.  It is in these times that we must turn to our shepherd for care.  What better prayer to pray during these times then the 25^th psalm:  If you find yourself in escape mode today, please pray this prayer with me: 

I offer my life to you, Lord.  My God I trust you (emphasis mine).  Please don’t let me be put to shame!  Don’t let my enemies rejoice over me!  For that matter, don’t let anyone who hopes in you be put to shame; instead, let those who are treacherous without excuse be put to shame.  Make your ways known to me, LORD; teach me your paths.  Lead me in your truth---teach it to me---because you are the God who saves me.  I put my hope in you all day long.  Lord, remember your compassion and faithful love---they are forever!  But don’t remember the sins of my youth or my wrongdoing.  Remember me only according to your faithful love for the sake of your goodness, LORD.  The LORD is good and does the right thing; he teachers sinners which way they should go.  God guides the weak to justice, teaching them his way.  All the LORD’s paths are loving and faithful for those who keep his covenant and laws.  Please for the sake of your good name, LORD; forgive my sins, which are many!  Turn to me, God, and have mercy on me because I’m alone and suffering.  My heart’s troubles keep getting bigger---set me free from my distress!  Look at my suffering and trouble----forgive all my sins!  Please protect my life!  Deliver me!  Don’t let me be put to shame because I take refuge in you.  Let integrity and virtue guard me because I hope in you.  Amen.  (Psalm 25:1-11, 16-18, 20-21) 

Processing for God-A lost art? Psalm 24

Psalm 24 was likely a Psalm used when the Israelites would process into the sanctuary with the Ark of the Covenant.[1]  The Ark of the Covenant was the chest that contained the two tablets with the 10 commandments, an urn of manna and Aaron’s building rod.[2] The Israelites carried this everywhere they went.  For them it represented the presence of God with them. 

            One of the things I cherished about attending Candler School of Theology was the diversity of denominations represented there.  We had a very strong Episcopal presence and I learned much from my Episcopal colleagues.  They have a respect for things sacred that mirrors the image of the Israelites processing with the Ark of the Covenant.  When an Episcopal service begins there is an atmosphere of celebration and reverence all at the same time as they process in with the symbols of our faith.  God is to be revered!  God is to be celebrated.  The Psalm reminds us that “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants to.  All belongs to the Lord.  Do we recognize that enough?  Do we celebrate it enough?

---

[1] Greene, Joel et al, ed. Wesley Study Bible, Common English Bible, Nashville, Common English Bible, 2012), pg. 701 study notes

[2] Freedman, David Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible(Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000) pg. 102

Resting Daily in the Arms of God-A short reflection on Psalm 23

“The Lord is my Shepherd.”  These are the opening lines of one of, if not the most, well known pieces of scripture.  Look at this picture of a shepherd caring for her sheep.  The love just pours out of this picture.  Many times we reserve the 23^rd Psalm as a funeral text.  We miss out on much when we reserve it for only that time.  Certainly the 23^rd Psalm is a comfort to an aching and grieving heart but God is our Shepherd every day, every moment.  The imagery of the 23^rd Psalm describes the daily duties of a Shepherd caring for the sheep.  Daily, we are in God’s loving care.  Daily, he provides us with rest.  Daily, he uses his rod and his staff to keep us on the path of safety and life and from the perils that await us if we step over a cliff.  Yes, in those darkest moments of life whether that be death or some other darkness that awaits us, God is there, present, loving us, holding us tight.  Friend if this is not the God that you know, let’s talk.  Let’s share a meal, get to know one another and let me introduce me to my Shepherd.  There is no place I would rather be than resting in the protection of his loving arms.  

Church-Community-Life

There have been moments in my life when it was very difficult to feel God’s presence.  Those moments have included the heartache of divorce, deep depression, self-discovery, the loss of job, and the death of my nephew.  In each of these moments I have found myself in deep despair.  I have felt like my very life was in danger of expiring.  I remember praying earnestly when I got the call from my brother that his baby’s mama was in distress and they were in the ER.  I begged God all the way to the hospital to protect both the baby and his mother.  Yet, despite my fervent prayers, I would arrive to the hospital to find out that Jax would not survive.  The next 24 hours and weeks to come were the worst I’ve ever been through.  My heart ached for my own loss but more than that my heart broke in two for the heart break I was seeing in my baby brother.  I remember vividly sitting next to him in the hospital room; the tears flowed freely dropping onto his knees, exposed by his tattered jeans.  No one should have to go through that kind of heartbreak. 

            As horrible as that experience was, I then think of the horrendous acts of humanity that occur on a daily basis.  Genocide, war, natural disasters, extreme poverty: each of these things robbing people of the ones they hold tightest and most dear.

            Thanks be to God that we serve a God that we can cry out to just as Jesus himself called out from the cross “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.”  Jesus was quoting the Psalmist from Psalm 22.  Psalm 22 is another example of a prayer we can pray when we are having a difficult time seeing God.  The Psalmist finds himself in a desperate situation, surrounded by enemies.  His description of himself reminds me of the description of myself when I was in the deepest throws of depression back in the early 90s.  He describes his bones feeling as though they had fallen apart; his strength is all dried up.  His mouth is dry.  He is emaciated, so skinny that he can count his bones.  Believe it or not I was once that skinny.  In the deepest darkest days of my depression, you could count every one of my ribs.  It’s a desperate and hopeless looking picture.

            Thanks be to God that we can move from lament to hope when we remember all that God has done through the ages.  The psalmist does this and the psalmist remembers and he moves from lament to Praise.  “You Lord, you are my strength.”

            The Psalmist also says something else very important.  In the midst of his suffering and his pain and all of his questioning he keeps himself among the congregation, he keeps himself in community.  Vs. 22 says “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; I will praise you in the very center of the congregation!”  I have known many people who have felt ashamed about going to church in the midst of their pain.  They cannot bear to be there.  Being in the church reminds them of their pain and all they can seem to do is cry.  They don’t want people to see them in this vulnerable state.  Perhaps they are tired of the tears and they just want to avoid the pain and the reminders.  Friends, the psalmist here is very wise in remaining in community in the midst of his desperate pain.  Church should be the place where we can be authentic.  Church should be a place of safety where we can let the cleansing tears of our soul flow.

            I can’t imagine what my life would be had it not been for the community of people around me during those times of despair.  There was the friend who came to my apartment and said “you are leaving this apartment today even if it is just to ride in the car with me.”  There were the friends that showed up with trucks to move me, giving me a stuffed animal for comfort and taking me out to surround me with their love.  There were the friends who bought plane tickets for me to go home so I could be surrounded by family.  There were the friends who moved me from Kentucky back to North Carolina.  There were friends who spoke truth to me. There were the people that showed up at the hospital to surround us with support and love, to hold us and to cry with us.  The list is endless and so very crucial to life.  Without the support of community that God placed in my life surely I would have died.    

            John Wesley, the father of Methodism, went through a period of time when he wasn’t sure he believed.  He felt far from God.  A friend advised him to just keep preaching until he believed.  Sounds like shocking advice but I believe it is sound advice.  Be in community where people can stand in the gap for you when you are no longer able to pray for yourself.  Let people stand in the gap for you when you are no longer able to believe on your own.  Cry out to God.  You will move from lament to praise as you slowly remember.  Thanks be to God! 

The Person Nearest You...Proverbs 21:26

I hear frequently the phrase it’s better to teach a person to fish than to provide the fish.  I don’t have any real objections to that phrase but I also know that one of the central themes of the Bible is the care of the poor.   Many times we want to know if the person requesting help “deserves” it.  Are they spending their money appropriately or are the squandering it away on alcohol, drugs, electronics, cigarettes and such.  Those are good questions.  With what we have to help a person we want to make sure our funds are being used for the right things. 

                Here is the thing though.  There is nowhere that I find that the Bible instructs me to take an application and screen a person in need of help for eligibility for that help.  I found a little nugget in Proverbs 21 today.  “The lazy desire things constantly, but the righteous give without holding back.”  (vs. 26).  I wonder why the comment about the lazy desiring things constantly wasn’t followed up by a command to refrain from giving to the lazy?  No, it is followed by a statement that the righteous give without holding back.  I think the wisdom here is that it is not our job to determine if someone in need is deserving of our help.  Our job is to help.  Let God be in the business o f judging right motives.  Next time you see someone in need and you have the means to help, try helping without wondering if they are deserving.  Try introducing yourself to them and finding out their name.  Try entering into relationship.  Perhaps in the relationship the changes can occur.  I like the caption of the picture above.  A quote by Mother Teresa:  “Never worry about numbers.  Help one person at a time.  Always start with the person nearest you. “  

Praying for our Leaders-Psalm 20

In the world of politics it is very easy to fall into the trap of blaming. One day a friend and I were having lunch and it began to rain outside.  We were going to have to walk back in the rain and neither of us had rain gear.  He said “dang Obama.” Now before you get all excited thinking I am about to endorse a political candidate, you can enter any former presidents name into that statement.  The point is that we tend to blame our leaders for everything.  If the team doesn’t win the ballgame it is the coach’s fault.  It the company is losing money, it’s the CEO’s fault. If churches are dying it’s the pastor’s fault.  You get the picture.  That is not to say that we don’t have less than effective presidents, coaches, ceo’s and preachers.  We do.  The question becomes what is our responsibility in all of it.  Next time you are feeling critical of a leader I encourage you to turn to Psalm 20 and pray this Psalm for them.  The imagery of this Psalm describes a King leading in battle but the glory of praying the psalms is we can use them to form our own imagery, our own words, for our own situations.  God’s word is timeless.  It is a living document.  Stop right now and say a prayer for President Obama, say a prayer for the other leaders in your life:  Your pastor, your boss, your sheriff, and your Mayor.  Next time you sit down to Facebook to register your latest complaint on your status, why don’t you stop and instead pray.  Prayer is a powerful thing, the most powerful tool we have in our tool box.  

God's Instructions are Life Giving

Every Sunday I, along with many other clergy across the globe, pray the end of Psalm 19.  “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”  (Psalm 19:14, CEB) It is always my prayer as I proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, that God removes all of my own intentions and replaces it fully with the word that God has for the congregation I am serving that day.  I want God to be in control.  I want to only be a vessel. 

                This is the most familiar part of this Psalm but there is more to be gleaned from this prayer of David.  David begins his prayer declaring the glory of God in the meticulous and predictable way God has ordered creation.  It was a beautiful weekend this weekend.  I played golf on Friday, with the sun beating down on me.  Saturday and Sunday were equal to Friday’s beauty.  We are always assured that the sun will rise in the East and Set in the west.  I always know that if I am sitting on my cousin’s balcony at Clearwater Beach between 7:00 and 8:00 PM I will see one of the most beautiful pieces of artwork known as the sun sets over the Gulf of Mexico.  David doesn’t stop with his amazement at the glory of the ordering of God’s creation though.

                David continues to praise God for the ordering of God’s commands. Sometimes when people hear the word Christianity they think of endless lists of rules and regulations that they cannot possibly keep and they feel hopeless.  They feel as though they cannot possibly live into the expectations of Christianity.  The rules and regulations are burdensome and impossible.  This is not how David sees it though.  David sees the instruction of God as being life giving.  I believe David is right.  When you look at the 10 commandments you will notice that they fall under two basic categories:  Love of God and Love of others.  The commandments are summed up with the words, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.”  John Wesley had three simple rules for the ordering of God’s instruction and commands.  “Do no harm, do all the good you can, stay in Love with God.” 

                When we look at these summaries of God’s instruction it no longer seems so burdensome and, like David, we can say “The Lord’s instruction is perfect, reviving one’s very being.” We can, like David, understand the benefits of living our lives according to God’s instruction.  The benefits include:

·         Becoming wise

·         Gladdening our hearts

·         Giving light to our eyes

·         Being enlightened

Pray the prayer of Psalm 19 today.  Be thankful for the order God brings to our lives. 

Do No Harm!

Proverbs18 is again full of admonitions about the lips and the tongues.  I have already reflected on the power of our words and our attitudes this week but if the writer of Proverbs found it bears repeating over and over, I think it wise not to gloss over it today.  Angry words hurt.  Tone of voice hurts.  We must be mindful of this when interacting with others.

            John Wesley saw three simple rules that we as Christians should follow.

1.      Do No Harm

2.      Do All the Good You Can

3.      Stay in Love with God

The Writer of Proverbs understands that words can certainly do harm. 

1.      V. 1-2:  “Unfriendly people look out for themselves, they bicker with sensible people.  Fools find no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing their opinions.” 

My father used to tell me I would “argue with a signpost.”  He was right.  I am a debater.  I enjoy a good argument.  I would have made a heck of a lawyer.  However, outside of the arena of debate teams and court rooms, bickering does nothing for the good and more often than not, it causes harm.  The wisdom of the proverb here is that we should “first seek to understand, then to be understood.” 

2.      Verses 6-8 read “The lips of fools make accusations, their mouths elicit beatings.  The mouth of fools is their ruin; their lips are a trap for their lives.  The words of gossips are like choice snacks, they go down to the inmost parts. 

3.      Verses 13reads: “Those who answer before they listen are foolish and disgraceful. “

4.      Verse 15 reads an understanding mind gains knowledge, the ear of the wise seek knowledge. 

Both of these verses point to the importance of listening.  Listening is much more important and healing then anything we can see. 

5.      Finally Verse 21 points out that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, those who love it will eat its fruit. 

Are we using our words for good or harm?  Are we starting arguments, gossiping, talking more than we are listening, or seeking to be understood rather than seeking to understand? If our answer is yes than are words are likely doing harm more than they are doing good.  Take time today to listen to those around you, really listen.  

Healed or Broken?-Proverbs 17

Last week my Facebook news feed was filled with blog after blog and opinion after opinion regarding divisive issues that threaten to divide the Methodist Church making it no longer united.  This week my Facebook news feed is filled with status after status and blog after blog of people sharing their opinion of Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner.  No matter which side of the debate you fall on, persons from both sides have used language that divides, breeds hatred, and fans the flames of discontent.  It is easy to get sucked into such debates.  Your passions ignite and you believe you just have to weigh in with your opinion.  Then, someone disputes your opinion, you feel like you must come back with a defense and thus the snowball rolls and rolls and rolls and the only thing that has been accomplished in the end is your distaste for the people with whom you are debating.  Your heart rate goes up.  Your blood boils.  Your face gets hot.  Your mind becomes consumed.  It is not healthy. 

            Proverbs 17 has a few things to say about such things.  Vs. 14 states “the start of a quarrel is like letting out water, so drop the dispute before it breaks out.  Vs. 22 states “a joyful heart helps healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.”  Finally, verse 27 states “wise are those who restrain their talking; people with understanding are cool headed.” 

            Certainly we are called to be prophets of truth; we are called to speak justice into an unjust world.  As an old mountain saying says “there is more than one way to skin a cat.”  Spitting words of hatred and condemnation is not God’s way.  So, the next time you’re scrolling through your news feed and you feel your face getting hot, your heart rate increasing, and your blood boiling, don’t stop, keep scrolling.  Do not be sucked in.  Do not let your joy be stolen.  You will not change anyone’s mind by sharing your opinion and engaging in the debate.  Minds are changed in the midst of relationship and experience.  Minds are not changed through the quarrels of Facebook. There are times and spaces for these types of discussions.  There are ways to go about them where we seek and stand on common ground. The wisdom of the Proverb is to say that it is not in the quarreling, it is not in the breaking of the spirts, and it is not in the hotheaded. 

            When you see these things.  STOP and pray.  Pray for those who you perceive are your enemies.  Cry out to God just as David did in the 17^th Psalm.  Do not engage!  

Is God in the Planning?

Proverbs16 continues with wisdom for life.  One of the wisest applications in this psalm comes at 16:3 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”  It’s easy to go through our day to day lives making plans and going about our business and not committing that which we do to the LORD. Many times it is not until those plans go haywire and we find ourselves in a mess that we remember God.  By then rather than asking God to be in our plans, we are asking God to get us out of a mess we find ourselves in. 

It seems that including God in our plans is one of the themes of this Proverb: Verse 1 says "to man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue.  Verse 9 states “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”  Finally the chapter ends with “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. 

The chapter opens with God being in control of our plans and our decisions and ends with God being in control of our plans and our decisions.  In between those beginning and ending verses are all the ways that we may include God in what we are doing. 

Today, when you are going about the busyness of your day and you find yourself making a plan.  STOP and ask God to be in charge of your planning.  It will make a difference.   

The Power of Words-Psalm 15 and Proverbs 15

InPsalm 15 the psalmist asks and answers this question:  “Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary?  Who may live on your holy hill?”  The answer is “they whose walk is blameless, and who does what is righteous.”  The Psalmist then goes on to describe the righteous person.  It is interesting to me how much speech has to do with right living.  The psalmist writes the righteous person “speaks truth from his heart and has no slander on his lounge” The righteous person keeps their oath, even when it hurts.”  Proverbs 15 also has things to say about our speech.  “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”  The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.” “The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.”  “The lips of the wise spread knowledge, not so the hearts of fools.”  “A hot tempered person stirs up dissension, but a patient person calms a quarrel.”  “A person finds joy in giving an apt reply-and how good is a timely word!”  Jesus’ brother James also knew the importance of speech.  In James 1:19 he says “Take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for a person’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”  He then devotes all of chapter 3 to the control of the tongue.  The tongue is a powerful thing.  The childhood adage “sticks and stones will break my bones but words could never hurt me” should read sticks and stones may break my bones but words will surely hurt me.  We are given two ears and only one mouth for a reason.  We should listen twice as much as we speak.  Pray today that God will grant you the patience to think and to listen before you speak.  Let your speech be healing speech!