Scripture Reflections for March 2024
3/30/2024 Good morning,
It is Saturday of Holy Week. Matthew 27.57-61, When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
Shock. It is often the experience at the loss of a loved one. We cannot believe it has happened. That must have been the feeling among those who had followed Jesus, the disciples as well as others who were with Jesus for the years of His ministry. And now, death. A tomb. Sorrow. Confusion. Shock. It is Saturday, between cross and resurrection, but those who experienced the death of Jesus do not know that the tomb will be empty on Sunday morning. They only know the pain of loss and the bewilderment of the question, “How can this be?” It is Saturday, between death and new life, but new life is yet to come. Sunday brings life. Wait for it. Sit with the shock for a few more hours. On this side of the tomb, stoned rolled over the entrance, on this side is the stillness of shock. Wait. Just you wait. Something more is promised.
Pastor Ed
3/29/2024 Good morning,
It is Friday of Holy Week. Today we focus on the suffering servant – Isaiah 53.4-5, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
We read this passage with Christian eyes, seeing it back through what Christ has done on the cross. It appears so obvious to us and we wonder how anyone could see it any differently than a prophetic Word of Jesus the Messiah. If you have ever viewed Jewish testimonies on the YouTube channel One for Israel, it is amazing how many will speak of Isaiah 53 never being mentioned in Jewish communities. One gets the feeling that the Pharisees are alive and well keeping people attentive only to the legalism of Rabbinic tradition. Jews who have come to Christ will often proclaim the gospel to non-believing Jews through Isaiah 53. It is such a striking depiction of the cross of Christ. I encourage you to read the whole chapter but for this reflection we focus on verses 4-5.
Christ has: borne our griefs, carried our sorrows, was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, was chastised for us. Look over that list a second time and note all that Christ took upon Himself. It breaks our hearts and yet amazes us. Even more, the result is that we have, from His death on the cross, two powerful benefits – peace and healing. Peace, shalom, that which calms our hearts and minds. But, as Paul tells us, it is a peace that passes our understanding (Philippians 4.7). How terribly gracious is this gift of peace? It is a peace that guards our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ. It is the peace in which we can rest in times of difficulty. Shalom in the Hebrew means tranquility, rest, and carries a sense of wholeness in body and soul. Because of Christ we have complete indescribable peace.
His wounds have brought healing. Healing, in this instance, is probably intended as a synonym to peace. Both point to restoration of that which is broken. This healing is more toward spiritual brokenness, repairing or healing the relationship between God and humanity that was broken in the garden of Eden. Our sins are healed. But there may also be something to the physical body, not that we are always healed in our bodies, but that even in the struggles of illness or injury, we have a full healing promised in heaven, a new body! In the promise of healing there is peace even as we suffer in our present bodies. We have been and will be healed.
Be at peace, rest in the promise of healing. Let the wholeness of God’s gift of Jesus Christ on the cross wash us in Shalom, perfect peace.
Pastor Ed
3/28/2024 Good morning,
It is Thursday of Holy Week. Jesus said in John 13.34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” Today is called Maundy Thursday, a term we get directly from the term new commandment, new mandate, in the Latin “mandatum novum” from which we get the word Maundy (A shortened version of the word mandatum). More importantly is the commandment itself, to love one another. God has always wanted us to love one another from the beginning of creation, but we so deeply failed in the command to love that God sent Jesus to show us what it means to love. Jesus’ love is the foundation of our love. Jesus loved us, loves us, and seeks that we love in the same manner. John 15.13, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Of course, Jesus laid down His life for us on the cross. That is the only sacrifice necessary. So how do we lay down our lives for others? Scripture tells us many ways:
Philippians 2.3-4, Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Ephesians 4.1-3 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Proverbs 17.17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Exodus 20.1-17 Keep the Ten Commandments!
We lay down our lives by keeping commandment, by self-denial, by looking out for the interests of others, by giving of our time and resources and energy. Let us keep the command to love one another as Jesus has loved us!
Pastor Ed
3/27/2024 Good morning,
It is Wednesday of Holy Week. This passage takes place before Holy Week, but it speaks to the coming death of Christ. John 11 is the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. We pick up later in the story as some Jews report back to the Pharisees. John 11.45-53, “Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.”
The threat to the established religion of the day was so severe that they were willing to kill Jesus to protect their version of Judaism. We see today the attempts of the left to cancel people for any beliefs or philosophies that differ from their worldview. Their motto seems to be “think like us or be silenced” and all under their false god of tolerance. We see a similar view in the text from John 11. The powers that be are threatened by a teaching that does not line up with their own. In their minds this was blasphemy. Perhaps they had the best intentions to protect what they believed to be the truth. But, they were also blinded by their commitment to keep the letter of the law and they forgot the spirit of the law.
In essence what we seek is a balance between law and mercy, between truth and grace. Problems occur when we get too much to one side of grace or truth. Truth without grace can become oppressive and grace without truth sacrifices the integrity of God’s Word. The religious leaders in John’s gospel erred on the side of truth without grace and thus they forgot the truth of Scripture that revealed the Messiah.
[A quick side note…John 1.14 says that Jesus came full of grace and truth. Perhaps it is less about balance and more about fullness. That may be what we are truly seeking, a fullness of grace and a fullness of truth. Paul says of Jesus that in Him “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1.19). And then in what is an amazing prayer, Paul desires for us to “know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3.19). That would certainly fill us with grace and truth. Back to John 11…]
The irony of this passage is that Caiaphas states the truth for the wrong reason. He thought Jesus should die to protect the Jews from Roman oppression. Rome was at least tolerant of Judaism as long as it did not disrupt Roman rule. Yes, it is indeed good that Jesus died for the nation, but not to keep the Romans happy. Jesus would die for the nation and all nations, to save all who trust in Him as Lord and Savior. Let us give thanks that all who believe in Jesus shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3.16).
Pastor Ed
3/26/2024 Good morning,
It is Tuesday of Holy Week. This is a tough week and along with it there are tough passages of Scripture. I’ve selected a slightly longer passage for today, so buckle up! Matthew 21.33-44, “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” 42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
The religious leaders perceived that Jesus was talking about them in relation to rejecting Jesus as the cornerstone, basically, as the Messiah. What a cutting comment from Jesus… “have you never read in the Scriptures”…? Jesus was not afraid to offend! What a breath of fresh air that would be in today’s culture. It is often hard to detect if Jesus is using His sarcasm voice when we read certain statements from Him, but perhaps this is one of those times. “Have you never read in the Scriptures…?” Imagine asking an expert in their field if they ever read a foundational document in their field. “Hey doc, have you never read in a biology book…?” “Hey Senator, have you never read in the Constitution…?” Okay, that one might not be fair! You get the point. Jesus is cutting to the quick the lack of understanding that the “experts” propose to have in Scripture. He calls them out for failing to see the Messiah standing before them.
In some ways the church has become too “nice” partly because the culture has labeled us as offensive or bigoted or any other derogatory terms in order to silence the church and the gospel. I would not suggest that we become mean about our presentation of the gospel, but we cannot fall into the pit of “niceness” which has led much of the church to the position of toleration to the extent of excusing sin for the sake of “loving” people. Jesus was not afraid to make statements that took the risk of turning people away. He was not “kind”, by worldly standards, to the religious leadership. His call to the rich young ruler led the ruler to reject His call. Many people turned away from Jesus when He preached about bread and wine as His body and blood.
The gospel is the truth and the truth is offensive to those who choose to live in falsehood. While we seek to be gentle with the truth, there is no getting around the possibility that we will offend some and turn some away. These are hard sayings from Jesus, at least from the perspective of our culture. And unfortunately our culture has moved in the direction of rejecting all things holy. More and more people have “never read in the Scriptures” that the stone they have rejected has become the cornerstone.
Let us pray for those who have rejected the stone, that their heart of stone might be softened, that God might give them a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36.26). And let us pray for ourselves as we seek to reach the lost and risk offense. May we have the courage of Christ, the faith of Christ, and the wisdom of Christ as we navigate our way in this broken world.
Pastor Ed
3/25/2024 Good morning,
It is Monday of Holy Week. It is not always clear on Monday through Wednesday what events and teachings took place on these three days. We will pick a few for consideration not being overly concerned for the day it occurred!
Matthew 21.23-27 23And when [Jesus] entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
Jesus was a master storyteller and skillful in conversations like this. This is a common characteristic of good Rabbis. They tell stories, ask questions, and compel people to examine their own thoughts. By this time, Jesus had cleared out the temple, overturning the tables and declaring,”My house shall be called a house of prayer”. The priests and elders, probably having seen many of Jesus’ miracles and heard His teachings are seeking to verify any authority or, more likely show that He had no authority, to do what He was doing. The question of authority begs the question of legitimacy and seeks to elevate the authority of the priests and elders. Jesus does not answer their question but poses a question back to them. This is a good practice for all of us to use in conversations especially when talking to skeptics or to anyone else about issues of faith. I trust that Jesus already knew where this conversation was going. He is setting up the leaders to get nothing from Jesus and then they will have no way to respond to the last statement from Jesus, “Neither will I tell you…”
We might use questions to clarify what someone means by their question. “Why do you ask that question?” Or toss the question back to them, “How would you answer that question?” Some people may be truly interested in hearing about Jesus or our faith journey. Others might just be trying to affirm their own hard-hearted position. One of our tasks is to determine which so that we are not wasting our breath. Sounds harsh does it not? Are we not supposed to do all we can to bring everyone to Jesus? I know that argument and yet here is Jesus at the end of a conversation with religious folks – “Neither will I tell you…” There are times, perhaps rare times, when we should shake the dust from our feet (Luke 9.5) and move on. There are times when someone simply refuses to entertain anything about the gospel. Those are times when we can walk away in prayer for that person and hope that some other time they might be more receptive.
Our call is to present the gospel and it is the Holy Spirit who does the work of regeneration and salvation. We cannot hold ourselves responsible for how others might respond. All we can do is live faithfully, follow Jesus, proclaim the gospel when opportunity arises, and let God do His thing!
Pastor Ed
3/23/2024 Good morning,
One of my favorite Psalms is 119. It is the Psalm that speaks all about God’s Word in 176 verses. Normally I would take one stanza from the Psalm for reflection as this Psalm is divided into eight verse stanzas throughout. But today we will handle one verse, Psalm 119.37, “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.” This one line is not just about God’s Word, but it is a plea for God to turn our attention from certain things, worthless things, and to give life in God’s ways. Ways might be a synonym for Word. At the very least God’s ways are only known through interpreting God’s Word. There are so many worthless things in the world that seek to draw our attention. The internet, television, and many other forms of media are always calling for our attention. Of course not everything in the media is worthless, but we have to discipline ourselves to give attention to things that may be of value rather than useless dribble. Much of the media these days is just a regurgitation of worldly standards (or lack of standards) that are directly opposed to God. We are better served to turn our eyes from looking at those worthless things. Instead, the prayer is to have life given through God’s ways. The Legacy Standard Bible (one I’ve been exploring lately) renders the verse this way, “Cause my eyes to turn away from looking at worthlessness,
And revive me in Your ways.” Revive is a great word as it relates to a renewal of life. The possible revelation — the worthless things that draw our attention take life away but the Word of God gives life. Worldly things that are worthless things will indeed suck the life out of us. The push on television, for instance, for immoral sexuality and woke worldview just saps us of life because its goal is to destroy God’s way of life. The deeper we can grow into God’s way, the more clearly we are able to see and discern that which is worthless in the world and the less likely we will want to turn our eyes to those things.
Psalm 119.37 is a great daily prayer. Lord, turn me away from things that have no value or meaning and turn my eyes to Your Word that I may truly live and think only on those things that are of great value.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Philippians 4.8).
Pastor Ed
3/22/2024 Good morning,
How about a quick review! We have seen, in the past two reflections, Psalm 23 (I lack nothing with the Lord as my Shepherd) and Psalm 16 along with Jesus’ statement from John 15.5 that we have no good thing apart from God. There is a similar thought in today’s text from Psalm 34, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing” (Psalm 34.8-10). Those who fear the Lord have no lack! God supplies our needs. Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. The testimony is sure and we keep seeing it throughout Scripture – God is good, God supplies our needs, God is our refuge and pours out good things! We see in God the deepest generosity and abundance for us and for all of creation. Psalm 145.16, “You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.”
Psalm 34.8 begins with “taste and see”. To taste is to experience God in some way. To see is to gain understanding of God’s goodness through tasting. I like to think that tasting of the Lord is to “eat” His Word. Jeremiah speaks this way in 15.16, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart…” Remember Psalm 1, to delight in the Law? If we can get people to read God’s Word, the Spirit may begin a work in them as they get a taste of Holiness. It just takes a taste sometimes to get people to see the goodness of God. That is also true for those of us who believe and have yet to nurture delight in God’s Word. Keep tasting! The more we taste, the more we will see all that is included in the verses above: God is our refuge, those who fear the Lord lack nothing, those who seek the Lord lack no good thing, God opens His hand to satisfy our desire, and the Word can become a delight…and will taste better and better the more we taste and eat!
Pastor Ed
3/21/2024 Good morning,
Today we look to Psalm 16.1-2, “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.’” The Psalmist understood that God was the only one who could save him from any trouble. There may be times in our lives when we plead with God to preserve our life or the life of someone we care about. It may not be a life threatening illness or injury, but anything that seeks to change our life in a negative way. These two verses include three statements of faith: In You I take refuge, You are my Lord, and I have no good apart from You. These statements affirm the trust held in the Lord and the observation that there is nothing good apart from God.
Jesus makes a similar statement in John’s gospel, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15.5). The statements are slightly different, but both indicate it is never a good thing to be separated from God. Without Christ we cannot bear the fruit of righteousness or repentance or of the Spirit. Without God we can have nothing of real worth, nothing good. It is from God that we receive good gifts, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1.17). Only God gives life and life in abundance. All else is empty. The promises of the world are not from God, “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world” (1 John 2.16). Once again the truth is in God and in His Word. The promises are sure: “I have no good apart from You.” “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” Only God preserves life. All others seek to take life, physical, spiritual, emotional, all aspects of life are under threat from the world, from sin, from our own desires. Bottom line…Take refuge in God, confess that He is Lord, abide in Christ, and He will abide in you. For in Christ is life, true life, genuine life, life in His kingdom and life eternal.
Pastor Ed
3/20/2024 Good morning,
Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Surely this is the most well known Psalm of them all, even among non-believers. The Psalm begins by telling of God’s goodness as our Shepherd. He makes, He leads, He restores… Then in verse four begins to address God directly, You are with me, Your rod, Your staff, You prepare… We will see this type of movement in some of the Psalms from speaking about God to addressing God directly. Psalm 23 presents us with a testimony of God’s provision as a shepherd over the sheep and then moves into that direct testimony to God. “You do it all, Lord!” It is You and You alone. The conclusion is another testimony of goodness and mercy and secure dwelling with God.
This Psalm is so well known because it has touched a cord in our lives by the care and provision of God. Because of who God is, we will lack nothing. All we need will be provided (Matt 6.33). It brings comfort in the hope of Presence, restoration, and tranquility. This is also why it is used so frequently in funerals and yet we cannot limit it to comfort in our grief, even though that is a wonderful comfort for us. Psalm 23 is powerful for every day in every situation of life because it consistently speaks to God leading us, guiding us, shepherding us into life. When we are exhausted – there is a place of rest in Jesus. When we are afraid – there is a place of comfort in Jesus. When we are told over and over there is not enough – in Jesus our cups overflow with abundance. You will note that I just started naming Jesus as the Shepherd (not a great revelation on my part). Jesus reveals that for us, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10.11). The Lord is my good shepherd. Amen.
Pastor Ed
3/19/2024 Good morning,
Psalm 150, Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Yesterday we looked at the start of the Psalter (Ps 1) and today we will jump to the end! Psalm 150 is obviously a Psalm of praise. Thirteen times we see the word “praise”. As I shared in yesterday’s reflection, Psalm 1 is a way to orient our life by delighting in God’s Word. Consider Psalm 150 as a result of having lived in that delight! A life filled with delight in the Word ends with praising the Lord. Consider one more possibility, that all the Psalms between 1-150 represent a life well lived in prayer, in the Word, and ending in praise. The Psalms reveal most, if not all, of the experiences of life and then give us a vocabulary for prayer to address those experiences. So then, when life is oriented in the “right” way, we offer praise and thanks for how well things work out (Psalm 136). When life is going the wrong way (disorientation), then we have expressions of lament or complaint as in Psalm 13 where the prayer offered to God is, “How long will you hide your face?” Such a prayer is still born out of faith because it addresses God and God alone. We can and should direct everything on our hearts to the One who hears and responds in His faithfulness. A third category of Psalm is that of new orientation. This may tell a story of trouble that is followed by deliverance from the trouble. For instance, Psalm 30.2 “O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.” The cry for help comes from some problem in life and a healing makes things right again.
Not every Psalm will fit nicely into the categories of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation. For the purposes of our reflection, this is simply to show that we have all kinds of prayers in the Psalter that address the experiences of life. When our life is oriented toward a right relationship with God, then we can be assured that praise will be the end result. Praise offered in this life is but a foretaste of the joy to come.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Pastor Ed
3/18/2024 Good morning,
Psalm 1, Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
We start this week with the beginning of the Psalter. Psalm 1. Often the first of anything sets the tone for the entire project. What is the tone set in Psalm 1? Blessed! Blessed is the man who doesn’t hang out with the wrong crowd. Instead, blessed is the one who delights in the Word of God – meditating day and night. Things go well when we are focused on the Scriptures, at least, that is the inference of the Psalm. We know from experience that sometimes things do not go that well. According to the Psalm things go badly for those who are wicked, sinners, or scoffers. Psalm 1 lays out the way things should always be – the righteous prosper and the wicked perish. Right is right, wrong is wrong, and therefore the good folks will get all the goodies and the bad folks get punished. So, what happens when life does not work out this way? That’s when the Psalmist writes a lament Psalm. We will probably get to one of those later this week.
One of my Old Testament professors liked to categorize the Psalms in one of three ways: Psalms of orientation, disorientation, or reorientation. Psalm 1 would fit into the first, orientation. This is a Psalm that has everything set up as it ought to be. The righteous prosper, the wicked, not so. We get frustrated when we observe the opposite in the world. But, Psalm 1 is how we shall view reality, through the lens of Psalm 1, because in the end, when all is said and done, when judgment comes on the Day of the Lord, all will be set right. My conviction is that we have to live in the orientation of Psalm 1 no matter what we experience in the world. Our delight is in God’s Word and our obedience to that Word. We have other Psalms to express our frustrations (disorientation), but our worldview begins with the proper orientation of Psalm 1.2 – to delight in the Word. Let us put our trust in God’s Word and delight in it. I pray the Lord will spring forth delight in your heart through His Word.
Pastor Ed
3/16/2024 Good morning,
Today’s reflection is to bless the Lord! “Bless” in this context is synonymous with praise.
Psalm 103.1-5 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
God’s benefits bring cause to bless and praise and give thanks to Him. God has forgiven our sins, healed our diseases, redeemed us from sin and death, and poured out, and still pours out, His love and mercy and goodness to renew our lives. God is the source of our lives, the source of our faith and hope and salvation. These benefits lead us to joyous praise and thanks and living for and in Jesus Christ. Three times in two verses the Psalmist calls us to bless the Lord. Such repetition brings an emphasis upon the call to bless. The second part of the blessing of the Lord is to forget not! Do not forget His benefits. We remember them by citing them – forgiven sin, healing, and then we might consider our own personal lists…healing, family, work, grace, whatever our benefits from the Lord. One of the greatest sins in the Old Testament was forgetting the Lord and what He had done, and in forgetting, Israel would go after other gods. We bless the Lord constantly in order to never forget His gifts/benefits.
The Psalm concludes as it started, with blessing the Lord.
Psalm 103.20-22 Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! 21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! 22 Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
The Psalm concludes with a call for all of creation to bless the Lord. I often think of these Psalms as an example of a life well lived, a life that begins and ends with blessing/praise to the Lord. While we go through troubled times, like disease or some sort of “pit”, we know that God will ultimately crown with steadfast love and mercy those who trust in Him. We know that God is the only One who can renew our strength. We know, in the end, God is the One to praise and thank and bless for life and breath and life eternal. We even thank God for our sufferings (Romans 5.3-4). Bless/praise/thank the Lord today. Bless the Lord, O my soul! All that is within me, bless His Holy Name!
Pastor Ed
3/15/2024 ??
3/14/2024 Good morning,
There is something special about the face of God. Psalm 67.1-3, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, 2that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 3Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” The blessing given here includes God’s grace, God’s blessing, and God’s face to shine upon us. We have probably become very familiar with what it means to have God’s grace and blessing. But we might know less about the significance of God’s face shining upon us. We likely know that phrase from the benediction of Numbers 6.25, “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” There is something amazing going on when God’s face shines on His people. I think it also has a similar effect with human beings made in the image of God. There is something special and unique about being face to face in any given situation. As I participate in many Zoom meetings these days and I might see faces, it still is nothing compared to being in person, face to face. We lose something when we are conducting life in faceless ways. The ATM dispenses cash without ever seeing anyone. The self-checkout – faceless. Even something called FaceBook is diminished because we are not truly face to face. We can see and hear more when we are facing one another. We can interact in ways that are impossible through social media and technology. In essence there is more life in being face to face. There is life in God’s face shining upon us. Psalm 104.29 demonstrates what happens when God turns His face away. Speaking of creatures who look to God for food, “When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.” Dismayed – disoriented – fearful because God has hidden His face. Creation does not know what to do without God’s face shining forth food and sustenance for them.
God’s shining face is God’s face toward us and all of creation. He sees, He provides, He blesses, He shines His life upon us that… Psalm 67.2… that God’s way may be made known and His saving power among all nations. Could it be that without God’s face we could not know His way or His saving power? May His face shine upon us that we may see His grace, know His peace, and rejoice in His salvation.
Pastor Ed
3/13/2024 Good morning,
It is not a great revelation to note that the apostle Paul is one of the most amazing figures in biblical history. Paul had a complete reversal of his life, from church persecutor to becoming the persecuted. While he was hunting down Christians he could have never imagined that he would become a central figure in preaching Christ crucified to Jews and Gentiles. His story gives us hope for those who oppose the church and God today. Perhaps Jesus will one day knock some of them off their high horse and lead them to become great advocates for the faith.
One of Paul’s statements of faith is in Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Nothing else mattered to Paul after his conversion to faith in Christ. Jesus Christ meant everything including his very life. “To live is Christ.” While we meditate on those four words, it truly narrows our focus for living. While we are on this earth, we are to live in Jesus, for Jesus, through Jesus, with Jesus, choose every preposition to describe our life in Jesus. Paul is the one who uses the phrase “in Christ” multiple times in his letters to the churches. As long as Paul was breathing, his life was in Christ. As long as he lived, his mission statement was: to live is Christ.
Paul also realized that if he died it would mean being with Jesus in heaven. That, to Paul, was gain, even better than life on the earth. His statement in life or death also reveals his struggle between the two, but he was willing to do whatever Jesus called him to do. If that meant continuing his ministry of preaching and teaching, so be it. If that meant death, so be it. What a powerful vision for life and death, a powerful vision for approaching our lives as we seek to follow Jesus and proclaim the gospel. Are we willing to think and speak and live in this manner – To live is Christ, and to die is gain? Is Christ truly our life? How does one live this way, with such conviction of heart and mind? This verse will be one way we can stand firm in the Truth and stand against the idolatry of the world. Spend today with this verse in mind. Repeat it. Write it down. Share it with someone. Make it your own — “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Pastor Ed
3/12/2024 Good morning,
Today’s reflection is from Deuteronomy 6.6-7 “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” “These words” that begin verse 6 refer to the great words of the SHEMA, in verse 4-5, Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One, love God with all your heart, soul, and might. Normally any reflection on Deuteronomy 6 would begin there, but I want us to think about what Moses asks us to do with these words, great words, words Jesus quotes in the Great Commandment (Mark 12.29-30). Moses does not say “apply” these words, our modern day rhetoric, Moses says they shall be on your heart. Shall be! No question, no rebuttal, no choice – they shall be on your heart. [Side note: As you might have gathered, I do not prefer the term apply when speaking of the Scripture. A closer meaning to “on the heart” might be to integrate the Word into or with the heart.] We tend to think of the question “what’s on your mind?” when we speak with one another. Perhaps we need to ask more often, what’s on your heart? We do that sometimes when we are discussing a difficult situation – what do you feel your heart telling you? We mean to discover what is at the depth of our being or what we sense our spirit saying or even what we hear from the Holy Spirit. It is not always clear to us, but when the Word of God is on our heart, the clarity we seek in life and in making decisions is exponentially more present. When God’s Word is on our heart we are more capable of doing naturally what God wants of us without even giving it a second thought. We want to do God’s Word because it is on the heart. We want to go God’s way because His Word is constantly directing our path.
Verse 7 might serve as a way to get the Word on our heart. Teach diligently to your children. Teach diligently to any children! The key is to teach diligently, to children or anyone. Talk about the Word sitting, walking, lying down, and rising up. That is, all the time! How often do we share something of God’s Word that is on our heart? Occasionally I will get a question about something in the Word that is on someone’s heart. These “almost daily reflections” are nothing more than what is on my heart about the Scripture. More often than not, our hearts are filled with everything but Scripture. The cares of the world push the Word to the periphery of our hearts until we only think about the Word on Sunday morning (or in reading this today!). What if we greeted a friend and instead of talking about weather or politics or sports, we said something like, “I’m thinking about what it means to love God according to His word. What do you think?” Or “Did you get to read Pastor Ed’s reflection today?” Or “What is one of your favorite readings in the Bible?” How might that change our lives? How might that lead us to a closer walk with God? These words shall be on your heart. Let us do what is necessary to get these words on our hearts.
Pastor Ed
3/11/2024 Good morning,
For reflection today — Proverbs 1.7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” The Bible is wonderfully simple in some ways. Many times there are only two options. We can be wise or foolish. There is darkness and light. Male and female. Right/wrong. It is not that difficult. This Proverb marks the difference between the wise who fear the Lord and begin a journey into knowledge. The unwise, or foolish, despise wisdom; they do not pursue knowledge. The fool goes about life without regard for God or anything of God. We might wonder how people can live without God in their life, but many people have no thought of God, no thought of anything beyond themselves. They are preoccupied with simply living into whatever earthly desire(s) they may have. It is not necessarily that people have rejected God having closely examined the gospel message or anything in the Bible, but they simply have no concept of God or any higher power.
The fear of the Lord is primarily a deep reverence and awe for the Lord. But there is also at least a little bit of fear in the sense of being afraid. Jesus speaks to this when He speaks of fearing not the ones who can kill the body, but the God who can kill both body and soul (Matthew 10.28). But, in Christ we need not fear the Lord in this way (at least, not too much!). Romans 5.9 and 1 Thessalonians 5.9 both reassure us that we need not fear, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Only in Christ is God’s wrath quenched. Only in Christ is salvation known. Only in Christ are we able to know the true meaning of “the fear of the Lord”. Revere God. Stand in awe before Him, for this is where knowledge begins. Knowledge begins with reverence. Knowledge begins with respect. Knowledge begins with a deep awareness of God. May we grow more deeply into this knowledge and fear of the Lord.
Pastor Ed
3/9/2024 Good afternoon,
I’ve been learning a new skill – baking artisan sourdough bread. It requires time, patience, trial and error. I heard one baker comment that one should be prepared to bake for a year before getting all things right! Yikes, only ten months to go before success! I’ve gotten a few loaves “right” already, but not all. Time and patience are sometimes difficult for us especially in a world that pressures both time and patience. Everything is hurried, time is short, time is money and patience, well, I don’t know a fancy phrase for that one, but patience is a lost art. We want instant gratification. Everything cannot be accomplished in an instant. As I have said many times, it is sinful to have made a product like instant grits. Genuine grits take time to cook!
The Bible desires patience in our character. Psalm 37.7 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” Romans 12.12, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” These verses call on us to practice patience. Sometimes it is patience in waiting for God, sometimes it might be in times of trouble. We can foster patience through activities that require us to wait. Letting yeast work its magic in bread dough. Letting the paint dry on a project before the next step. Giving time for silence in prayer. These all take patience in one form or another. What’s that frivolous prayer? “I want patience and I want it now!” Wait for the Lord. Be patient in times of trouble. “Lord, help me to practice patience, to know when to wait and when to act, to Your glory. Amen.”
Pastor Ed
3/8/2024 Good morning,
There have been many calls for revival in our nation. Rightly so! Revival most often begins when God’s people pray. Let us consider Acts 2.16-21, “But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” Revival comes with the work of the Holy Spirit. Some thoughts to consider when praying for revival. First, pray for revival in the church. Some churches and denominations in our nation need revival to get back on track with the authority of Scripture and its proper interpretation. The church cannot rightly interpret Scripture according to the world’s standards and lack of standards. Second, pray for our nation to have a “come to Jesus” moment. We cannot continue to be ruled by the fringe idolatry of wokeness and LGBTQ+ ideologies that lead to death. Third, referring to Acts 2 we can pray that the Lord would pour out His Spirit on all flesh and that the lost would call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. This is where revival begins, in prayer. And when the church is revived, the prayer increases. And when the prayer increases, the nation can be moved to revival as well.
I do not know when Christ will return, but the prophet Joel and Luke (the author of Acts) and Peter (the preacher in Act 2) all knew that in the last days some amazing things would occur. Peter points to that very day he was preaching as a moment of Joel’s prophecy coming on the day of Pentecost and we might also claim Joel’s words in other times of the Spirit being poured out. The Reformation, the Great Awakening, or any moment in history or in the future still, there will be an outpouring of God’s Spirit for the sake of revival or a mark of the coming Day of Christ’s return. Pray for the church, pray for the nation, and pray specifically for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and for the lost to call upon the name of the Lord for salvation.
Pastor Ed
3/7/2024 Good morning,
We all know there is great suffering in the world. Sin, crime, corruption – it can be extremely disheartening. People of the Bible also suffered, some for the sake of righteousness but others in their sin. Paul suffered in many ways as a witness to the Lordship of Christ. Jesus suffered through betrayal, abandonment, and death on the cross. We have all had our own suffering in some way, some greater than others. Paul encourages (commands) the church to rejoice. He even teaches us to rejoice in our sufferings (Romans 5.3). Today we look to Philippians 4.4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”
Paul repeats the charge to rejoice, which is a common Jewish practice in literature to bring emphasis. In this case it begins and ends the sentence, which could also have significance for a life lived from beginning to end with joy! The source of this joy is the Lord. “Rejoice in the Lord.” This kind of joy is a constant, that is, we always have reason to rejoice in the Lord. The Psalmist speaks of joy in the Lord who shows us how to live, Psalm 16.11, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” There is a fullness of joy in the Lord because of what the Lord has done for us, giving Jesus Christ to die and rise for our life in Him, for forgiveness, for grace, love, mercy, and for joy. But there is even more to the story. We read in Nehemiah 8.10, “Then he said to them, ‘Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’” It is not only that we have joy in the Lord, but we also have the joy of the Lord, which is our strength. Joy in and of the Lord! Double blessing. We are not called to be happy in the midst of suffering, not “putting on a happy face”, but there can be joy. Joy is much deeper than happiness, because joy is in and of the Lord.
One more note to joy, joy leads us away from covetousness! Here’s how, or at least how I think it does! Romans 12.15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice…” Rejoicing in the success of others is the opposite of coveting their success, or envy toward something they may have that we do not. Joy in the Lord is sufficient for us to the extent that we can be happy for others who may have more possessions, have more success, or anything else that has the potential for envy or coveting. Joy in the Lord enables us to constantly say to others, “I am so happy for you.” We rejoice with those who rejoice. And we especially rejoice with those who rejoice in the Lord.
Pastor Ed
3/6/2024 Good morning,
One of the reflections I sent some time ago dealt with God’s will. Today we are on a similar note in discovering God’s desire. Hosea 6.6, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” The Hebrew word for steadfast love is sometimes translated as mercy or lovingkindness. Jesus, in Matthew 9.13, quotes Hosea 6.6 this way: “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” While mercy and love are not strictly synonyms, we might agree that to show mercy is to show love and to love is to show mercy. Sometimes Hebrew words include larger meanings than one English word can convey. This is the case with the Hebrew word HESED. Hesed can mean steadfast love in Hosea and mercy in Matthew because the term includes God’s faithful love, mercy, kindness, loyalty, and other acts of devotion. Translators will select the closest meaning to the context in order to bring it into English.
For our reflection today we focus on what God desires. God desires steadfast love. This is love expressed in action, not a romantic type of love, but as we have noted, a love that may be expressed through acts of mercy or grace or kindness. This love has a depth that goes way beyond what the world defines as love. We are also helped to learn of that depth as we seek to love God and love neighbor through acts of mercy and grace.
The next desire is knowledge of God. This is not just knowledge about God, not just knowing about His character, works, or history, but knowledge in relationship, knowing God in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a knowledge built from God’s revealed Word, and through prayer and worship. It is a relational knowledge nurtured in awareness and communion with God and God’s people. It is about knowing God and being known. Of course, our knowledge of God is limited because we simply cannot process the vast nature of God (Isaiah 55.8-9). But, while we cannot comprehend all of God’s glory with our cognitive limitations, we can love God with all our mind (Matthew 22.37). We do not have to know fully to love fully.
These two desires are contrasted with what is not desired, sacrifice and burnt offerings. What God desires is not what we do for God (in the sense of burnt offerings) but more what we do with God. God’s desire is to have His people sharing in the covenant relationship of love and knowledge that moves us into ministry with God, into mission with God, into loving God and neighbor as God has loved us in Jesus Christ.
Pastor Ed
3/5/2024 Good morning,
1 John 1.5-10, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
The whole Bible is God’s Word to us, but I get a bit of a chill when I see that line, “the message we have heard from him!” John and the disciples heard many things from Jesus and here we get one more teaching from Jesus. We tend to run quickly to the verses about sin, confession, and forgiveness and we miss other details in the text. Yes, all of the Bible is from God, from the living Word, but John is emphasizing what we have heard from Him to proclaim to all believers. That does not mean that this portion of Scripture has any more authority or inspiration, but it’s just “cool”.
I think about all the things that Jesus taught and in some parts of the gospels, we have no record of the details. For example in Luke 24 Jesus taught from Moses and the prophets and the Psalms everything concerning Himself. We have none of that teaching. We might be able to imagine something of what He taught, but nothing is recorded in Luke. Today in 1 John we have this teaching about light and truth, sin and confession.
The main theme is light and darkness and within those two themes are the light of walking with God, fellowship with one another, and the cleansing of sin. In the darkness is walking apart from God, lying, saying we have no sin. Our goal is to walk in the light with Jesus who is light. We turn to John’s gospel, chapter one, for more testimony about the light. John 1.4, 5, 9 — “4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” Jesus is the light and we are to walk with Him! Light enables us to see, it brings warmth like the sun, and in Christ we too are a light to the world (Matt 5.14). To walk in the light is to admit we are sinners and know that Jesus is faithful to forgive. To walk in darkness is to say we have no sin. John says that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. In my experience, this is one of the most dangerous things we can do. Being deceived by someone else is one thing, but self-deception is another ball game. Self-deception is deceptive in two ways: we are unwilling to admit our wrong doing and the deception makes us unaware that we are actually deceiving ourselves. In essence, self-deception leaves us totally blind to our own sin. The truth cannot reside in a self-deceived person because they cannot see their own deception. I know, it sounds like a cyclical argument! Those who walk in darkness, deceive themselves and John does not hold back in saying that the truth is not in them and the Word is not in them. This has to be the most difficult darkness to overcome.
But, if we confess our sin, Jesus is faithful to forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is good news and in the cleansing we are able to live faithfully by giving thanks and by doing His Word. Let us pray for those who are deceiving themselves, that God’s gospel light will penetrate the darkness.
Pastor Ed
3/4/2024 Good morning,
Today we explore three verses in Psalm 50.14-15, 23, “14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, 15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”
This Psalm, in its entirety, is about living rightly before God and others. God’s rebuke is given to those who live only by going through the motions to appear devoted and righteous, but actually living in opposition to God’s Word and ways. They offer sacrifices to God, but do not repent. They recite God’s Word in worship, yet they speak evil and deceit elsewhere. The call of verse 14 is to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. A quick glance at that might lead us to think giving thanks is the sacrifice itself, but the Jewish understanding here is that an animal sacrifice is offered with repentance. The animal serves as the substitute for the punishment due the sinner. Repentance must accompany the sacrifice, which is the point of offering the sacrifice. The forgiveness given is followed by thanksgiving.
We do not have to stretch too far to see the implications reaching to Jesus Christ who is the sacrificial lamb for us. Our sacrifice of thanksgiving is also in our confession and repentance. We give thanks to God for the sacrifice made on the cross on our behalf. Therefore, one of our responsibilities comes in verse 23 to order our way rightly, to set our course in and through Jesus! To order our way is also a sacrifice of thanksgiving, We thank God when we bring our life in order with God’s way. Thank God today through obedience to His Word and through repentance of sin.
Pastor Ed
3/2/2024 Good morning,
Psalm 78.19-20, They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness? He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?”
Psalm 78 recounts the things God had done for Israel and yet Israel complained and rebelled again and again. They questioned God’s ability to provide for them in the wilderness. Can God spread a table? Can God provide bread and meat? The questions reveal the rhetorical accusations Israel had against God. In their rebellion, they believed God had brought them out of Egypt to die. They believed that God could not provide food in a barren land. No bread, no meat, no feast at table. But, God did provide! Manna and quail (Ps 78. 24, 27). God was still angry with them for their sin and the Psalm testifies that God’s wrath was poured out on the strongest of them.
Psalm 23 presents us with an answer to the questions of Psalm 78. Can God spread a table? Yes – “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” (Psalm 23.5). God can provide, in the desert, in the wilderness, in our lives. In fact, this attribute of provision is one of the names of God. In the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22, Abraham names the place where God supplied a sacrificial lamb, Jehovah Jireh. Jehovah is God’s name and Jireh means God will provide. Technically Jireh means God sees. God will see to it. He will provide what is necessary. So the place’s name is one of God’s names. God will provide. God can make a feast in the wilderness. God will supply our needs. We pray this with each Lord’s Prayer, “give us our daily bread”. Give us our daily needs. It is the promise of Matthew 6.33 that if we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, everything we need will be provided. May we give thanks to God for His provision.
Pastor Ed
3/1/2024 Good morning,
Today we consider how we might be more open to the presence of God. Psalm 139.7-8, “7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” The Bible teaches us many times that God is with us. From the Old Testament promises of presence with people like Moses or Jeremiah, to the New Testament promise that Jesus will be with us to the end of the age (Matthew 28.20). Psalm 139 shows us that there is nowhere we can go without understanding this statement about God, “You are there!” And yet, there are times when we may not “sense” God’s presence. Sometimes it is just in the ordinary moments of life, other times in the most difficult times like the loss of a loved one. The Psalms are not without expression of those times and the question of God’s presence. The deepest expression of this question is Psalm 22.1, ” My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” We might wonder what to do with such questions. After all, God says He will not forsake us! I’d love to be able to completely satisfy everyone with an answer, and I have some ideas, but none will truly satisfy. Suffice it to say for now that God is way beyond our comprehension, as Psalm 139.6 reports, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.” But I will say this, I do not think it is helpful to say that the Psalmist just “felt” like God was absent because that is not a good interpretive position for the rest of Scripture. (i.e. we cannot say John only “felt” like “God is love.”) We must take seriously the problem of God’s absence in the light of His promises never to forsake. In these kinds of themes we “wrestle” to find answers, or satisfaction without answers. What is wonderful, though, is that the Psalms are not afraid to express questions of absence! It is okay to question, to lament, to complain, but let us remember, that all the questions and laments and complaints in the Psalms are addressed to God in prayer. Even when the question is “where are you?” it is asked to the One we trust as ever present! Even when we are unsure about God’s presence, God is the One to whom we cry out! I hope we get that point because it affirms faithfulness through prayer. Prayer of lament is a faithful prayer. That is a way we open ourselves to God.
Okay, I’ve gotten off track from where I started this reflection! How can we be more open to the presence of God? It is more often the case that we see God’s presence in retrospect than in the present moment. Certainly there are times of “gifted presence” when we know the Lord is with us in a given situation, but even that is often a recognition of “I knew His presence then and I know it more fully looking back on it.” The most obvious way of opening ourselves to God’s presence is in prayer. “For God alone my soul waits in silence”, Psalm 62.1. We speak to God in prayer but we also take time to listen. That listening needs to be informed by Scripture. We cannot always trust what we might “hear”. It must be in line with God’s Word. Another way of being open to God’s presence is by giving time to reading and studying, meditating and contemplating God’s Word. In our reflection of 2/19 on Matthew 13.9, I spoke of repeating a verse or part of Scripture in my heart and mind as a way of listening and it is also a way of opening ourselves to God’s presence.
Another way, related to prayer and Scripture, is having a disposition of awareness. By this I mean something akin to praying without ceasing (1 Thess 5.17) or meditating on the Word day and night (Psalm 1.2). As we go about our day, we keep in mind that God is here, with us, present in the moment and the best way I know to have such a disposition is to open our hearts to prayer and God’s Word throughout the day. I do not mean necessarily that we have a focused formal prayer time, but in between those times of prayer we are still “in conversation” with God. We are still reflecting on Scripture throughout the day. So, today, take with you Psalm 139. Repeat to yourself any part of the verses above or both verses 7-8. At the very least we can repeat those three words verbatim from verse 8, “You are there.” Or, attune our awareness even more, “You are here!”
Pastor Ed
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