Mission Faithwalk

  He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me. Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD! I will sing praises to your name (Psalm 18:47-49)             A couple months ago as I moved to Florida, God led me to the book of Joshua, with the idea that my promised land was internal. The Israelites were commanded to destroy the nations living in the land God was giving them, and to obey God. The extent that they did so would determine whether they were blessed or cursed. They did not obey. They did not destroy the nations, and so the nations did their best to conquer or destroy Israel. The problem wasn't with the nations. The problem was with Israel. She was sinning.             Stop for a moment to listen to what is not being said here. I am not saying that if you have a problem it's because you're sinning. That is only one possibility, but it's a

The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! (Psalm 18:46)               What does it mean that the LORD lives? Why should that matter to anyone? The Hebrew word used doesn't give "lives" any special meaning. It means "lives" in the same sense that you, I, and my dog live. If you look in the dictionary, you'll find the definitions there don't help much. They talk about being alive, having vital (meaning life) functions, etc. Those are synonyms for "live," they might describe living, but they don't really define it. In the Old Testament, living was an important thing. "As surely as ________ lives" is used many times with the blank being filled in with words like I, you, the king, or the Lord. God's living is central to the Judeo-Christian faith.             Perhaps a quick comparison will help. In I Kings 18, Elijah encourages the prophets of Baal to shout louder because maybe their god was asleep,

I call to the LORD , who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies (Psalm 18:3)             "Idle hands are the devil's workshop," or so the saying goes. When I'm not working on something, my mind tends to go hunting. More often than not, that's not a good thing because I tend to be the target. Yesterday morning, I started hearing the familiar refrain of "failure, failure."   Remembering things I have said in this blog in the last couple weeks, I began a counter-mantra: "God, You are God."   Even if I am a failure, God is not. He is sovereign. Even if I am a failure, in Him I am more successful than the most successful is without Him. This thought didn't produce little computer chair dances, but I wasn't sitting in my computer chair. Some might think it sounds like "sour grapes," but I wasn't saying I didn't want success. I was only saying that my definition of success wasn't being God's definit

I will praise the LORD , who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.   (Psalm 16:7-8)             Have you ever noticed that when you walk or drive, you move in the direction you're looking? That's why we're told "Keep your eyes on the road!" In Eden, Adam and Eve were tempted by the idea that they could be "like God." Their means of becoming "like God" was not to look at God, but to at (and to) the tree. Turning from the tree and going to God   about what the serpent said would have made them more like God, but they looked at the tree.           When we set God always before ourselves, we move Godward. Of course, the way in which we move Godward, and the way that we become more like God as a result doesn't tend to be the way we want to become more like God. It's easy to be distracted by the "power" elements of who God i

I will praise you, O LORD , with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High . (Psalm 9:1-2)             Have you ever watched someone whose heart wasn't in   what they're doing? Social niceties require applause, so they clap their hands, one clap, two claps, three claps, that's it. There's no spark in the eyes, no tear on the cheek, just performance of a duty. Then, watch a parent at a kindergarten play. Photos are taken of every twitch in addition to the video recorder, The child gets through his lines and the parent just can't wait to jump up and applaud (though social niceties require restraint.) Afterward, the parent gets on Facebook and crows to one and all about what a great actor the child is going to be, how intelligent, how composed - it's the scene out of The Music Man in which the kids who can't play one right note believe themselves to be accomplished music

  From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger (Psalm 8:2)        Kids aren't the sort of people who are generally credited with wisdom or eloquence. You might use a kid as a spokesman for the cuteness factor, but I doubt there are many people who would go to an auditorium to listen to a two year old give a lecture. I certainly wouldn't want to pay for the tuition credits to take a course with a four year old instructor. I wouldn't seek financial advice from a six year old or medical recommendations from an eight year old. At the same time, kids sometimes see through the nonsense that adults don't and they sometimes have not developed the filter that adults have, so things are said that are not politically correct or socially polite. This is why most leaders, especially those of the time this passage was written, would not seek such praise. It is precisely the opposite of what was expect

In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:12-13)               I know people who have seen their favorite movie or read their favorite book many times. They can quote extensively from it. Some dress the part of a favorite character, collect things associated with it. Some will even decorate for Christmas or decorate their room or house based on the movie or book. You just know that if anything even remotely touching on the subject of that book or movie comes up in conversation, that person will express his/her love of it enthusiastically. The same can be said of anything about which someone is passionate: a sport or team, an animal, a hobb

Ps 118:1 Give thanks to the LORD , for he is good; his love endures forever. Come ye Thankful People Come (Traditional) Come Ye Thankful People Come (Alternate) Count Your Blessings For The Beauty Of The Earth (Traditional) For The Beauty Of The Earth (Alternate) I Just Came To Praise The Lord Let's Just Praise The Lord Rejoice Ye Pure In Heart We Gather Together (Traditional) We Gather Together (Instrumental) We Gather Together (Alternate) No Thank We All Our God The Tribute

                Where does your turkey come from? Probably a supermarket, which gets it from a corporate warehouse, which gets it from a jobber or wholesaler, which may or may not actually get it from a farmer. Eventually a farmer is involved. You can even ring out your own groceries, removing even the cashier from the equation. You probably paid for it with a credit card. When you get a bill from the credit card company that isn't even the company from which you bought the turkey, you don't really associate paying the bill with the turkey dinner your purchased. It's just a bill you owe for all the stuff you got - whatever that stuff was. You probably don't grow any of your meal.                 Do you tear apart a loaf of bread to make stuffing, or tear open a box? Some people eat at restaurants or pick up meals restaurants prepare and take them home to eat. They pay, again, with plastic that may even be removed automatically from their bank accounts just as the

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29)               Today's passage isn't about "in the sweet by and by." It says, "we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken." I'm reminded of a story in I Samuel 15. The Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant. There's a kingdom shaking event for the Israelites, but God doesn't share with us what happened in Israel. He guides the story to follow the Philistines. They put the ark before their god, Dagon. The first morning when they came to the temple, they found Dagon on his face before the ark. They set him back up. The second morning, they found his head and hands lying on the threshold, and his body toppled over. At that time, heads and hands were taken as trophies. The God of the Israelites had defeated Dagon. Their kingdom was shaken

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever (Psalm 136:1-3)               Do you get the message? His love endures forever. He's good, He is God (and there is no other) and He is Lord (all others are less than He.) His love endures forever. The love of other gods doesn't endure forever; neither does the love of other lords. Your significant other may decide not to love you. Your friends may tell you they never want to see you again. Your community, state or national leaders may not give you a passing thought after they promised so many good things to you. But God's love endures forever.             There are times when I am hard to love. There are times when I find specific people or people in general hard to love. Neither I, nor anyone else can earn someone else's enduring love that endures forever. We have no right to dema

At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws (Psalm 119:62).               Some people think it traumatic if they have to get up in the middle of the night. Some even keep their eyes closed as they walk to the bathroom, for fear of waking themselves so much that they don't fall asleep immediately when they climb into bed. Some people like the notion of falling asleep while praying and consider it a special time of "pillow talk."   I don't know if monks or nuns still follow the Benedictine rule to the extent that they get up in the middle of the night for a prayer time so that their minds are returning to thoughts of God.             I was always taught that it's best to have 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. I also noticed that when my sleep was interrupted, the problem was made worse if I stressed out over not getting sleep. Then, quite a few years ago, I started waking up around midnight. I would get up, make a mug of decaf c

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy . (Psalm 107:21)               For the past few days, I've been posting a quite "What three things are you thankful for today?" bit on Face Book. Today seems like a perfect time to expand on one of the things I'm trying to be thankful for: disagreeable people. There are people who were my friends for many years, but because I was disagreeable, or they were disagreeable, those friendships have ended. There are people with whom those disagreeable friendships have continued. There are still others who aren't my friends, but just people I encounter somewhere, who just can't seem to see things from my perspective. It's hard to remember that those people are treasures, especially when I'm in the middle of the disagreement.              I have a list of people I pray for. One of the cate

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron. (Psalm 107:15-16)           When these verses were penned, bronze and iron were the metals considered the best for defense. Now, someone might talk about tungsten or even adamantium. [1] There is no place that is "safe" from God. He can and will defeat our enemies and His. This is one of those "good news/bad news" situations, depending on whether you are his friend or his enemy and on whether you actually want to be freed.          The truth of the matter is that we don't really want to be freed. Of course, there are things that bother us, and we want to be freed from their negative influences. There are things that we like that we don't really want to be freed from even though we know they're not good for us. There's also the problem that freedom tends to involve responsibility. Studies ha

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things (Psalm 107:8-9)             Spoiler Alert: In the story I'm writing (which sometimes writes itself) there is   a scene that speaks to this verse. I don't want to give it away, but four characters are discussing their predicament in light of its social context. One character says, in effect, My people will die before we'll surrender." Another character, an outsider to the conflict,   asks if effectively, the kingdom will have to be destroyed in order for the two groups to get along. It wasn't until after I wrote the conversation that I realized that such was precisely what happens in the story I'm telling.          It is easy to declare that God is failing to love and failing to do wonderful deeds when you're inside the story and things aren't going as you want. There are people in our world who

Give thanks to the LORD , for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say this—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south (Psalm 107:1-3)            The psalms repeats this refrain so often that I've skipped some thanksgiving verses because they were repetitions of   "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his love endures forever." How many times can a person write about the same three phrases? I'm reminded that Charles Spurgeon supposedly gave hundreds of sermons about candles. I have no idea how. I need to read them someday. I suppose that means that I can write another about giving thanks for God's goodness and love.        One of the good things He has done is that He has redeemed us from the hand of the foe. Several foes come to mind: the world, the flesh and the devil are a good start. Another comes to mind based on a line from the Pogo comic stri

Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise (Psalm 106:47)           Somehow, writing this blog entry got left until the end of Tuesday, which means laundry night. The Laundromat that we go to isn't bad as such places go, I suppose, but it means dragging laundry somewhere public and sitting around while it washes and dries. Usually, I take my lap top with me so that I can work on something. In fact, the wifi connection is so much better there that I look forward to working on things there. Tonight, Dad decided that I shouldn't take my computer because something might happen to it.   "Honor thy father...." I took a paper notebook, but that meant wasting paper and ink on something that is going to have to be redone. It doesn't help that the TV where we sit was set to a channel that spewed the lowest sort of garbage - I mean comedy - imaginable. All I wanted to do is go home.      

Give thanks to the LORD , call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. (Psalm 105:1)           Giving thanks isn't done in isolation. It's part of a whole life. Other parts include supplication (calling on his name) and witnessing (making known...what he has done.)   In this passage, it's listed as the first task. In my modern, American mind, that seems out of place. You ask for something and get it, then you thank the giver for it and go tell everyone about the neat thing you got and (maybe) about who gave it to you. At best, you say "please and thank you," but the request still precedes the gratitude. It doesn't make sense to thank someone before you've even asked him to do anything.            It also doesn't make sense to start the day at sunset instead of sunrise, but that's how God directed it to be done in ancient Israel. It doesn't make sense that your day begins with a meal and time with family and sleep a

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:4-5)             More reasons to give thanks. God is good. Yes, He is moral and righteous. He is also good in the sense that batteries are "good" - He is capable of doing what a God is supposed to do. This is the problem with so many of the other "gods." They are not only described as being as morally corrupt as the most corrupt of people, but they could not be trusted to function in the way that gods were supposed to function. God pointed out the badness of the other gods frequently - they have eyes but they do not see, ears but they do not hear. God showed the "badness" or uselessness of the Egyptian gods. I've recently listened to I Samuel 5, in which God revealed the inability of Dagon to protect himself, and to II Kings 16 (o

Shout for joy to the LORD , all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture(Psalm 100:1-3)               The word "thank" is not in these verses in any form, but the whole psalm is described as a "psalm for thankfulness." In these first three verses, we're told how we can be or do thankfulness: with joy and with gladness.   Oh, there are times for solemn worship, but there are times for exuberance, too. We're told that in our thankfulness we   can shout, worship, sing, and we can know.              Knowing is as much a part of thankfulness as worship, or singing To some extent, this is obvious. If you don't know God, you're not going to thank Him, worship Him, or sing about Him. As you come to know Him as a person, you will thank Him because of you know Him, in somewhat the same way that you might thank