Planted

 September 9, 2023

Small Town, USA can’t be beat. Where else would a community celebration of History Days begin with not only a parade, but the ringing of a church bell, the Lord’s Prayer, Pledge of Allegiance, and singing the National Anthem? The village commons was filled with vendors, the classic car show got a bit rained out, but various local bands kept the music coming all day long and into the evening. A Beautiful Baby contest went off without a hitch, the library held a puppet show, and the pie contest left a good taste in everyone’s mouth.

Fireworks capped off the day, and Linda and I ran into our “Creek Kids.” Son Matthew begged them to come to church so he could hold their baby. He just might get that chance. That’s what we’re praying for. 

The best part of the day was a conversation I overheard. As the fireworks were exploding overhead, our son Matt was talking with a friend whose last child recently left for college. “I grew up here, never thinking I would move back here. But we are within walking distance of my brother, sister, and parents. The cousins all grew up together, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

Most of the grandchildren are on their own or away at college. Life has changed for all of us, but the foundations have been laid, and as we built into them, they unknowingly built into us. The marks of their workmanship are scribed on our hearts, and we are blessed indeed.

Great and Small

 September 7, 2023

This morning’s men’s prayer meeting began with Psalm 147. The following verses caught my eye:

“The Lord builds up Jerusalem; 

He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. 

He heals the brokenhearted 

And binds up their wounds. 

He counts the number of the stars; 

He calls them all by name. 

Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; 

His understanding is infinite.”

—Psalm 147:2-5 

What got my attention was the juxtaposition of verses and 3 and 4: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars and calls them by name.” From the most humble to an almost infinite magnitude, God cares for every detail. No matter how lowly the person, how tiny the concern, nor how great the issue, God knows intimately and completely. No wonder the psalmist says, “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding is infinite!” 

I am grateful tonight to know God hears the prayers of the most humble, the weakest and vulnerable, but has also his hand on the most momentous of earthly matters. I needn’t worry about tomorrow. God knows, and cares.

Bassic Praise

 September 6, 2023

Wednesday mornings, I get up early, fix breakfast for two of my pastor friends before adjourning to our back room for prayer, always beginning with a psalm. Today we finally reached the last psalm, so now we have to decide whether to start over with the psalms, or begin our prayers with some other Scripture. Either way, it’s good to have our prayers informed by the Scriptures.

Psalm 150 is a rarity. It is nothing but praise. Many psalms combine praise and petition, some are laments, but this one enjoins all Creation to join in praise of the LORD. It’s not long, so here it is in its entirety:

“Praise the Lord! 

Praise God in His sanctuary; 

Praise Him in His mighty firmament! 

Praise Him for His mighty acts;

Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! 

Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; 

Praise Him with the lute and harp! 

Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; 

Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! 

Praise Him with loud cymbals; 

Praise Him with clashing cymbals! 

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. 

Praise the Lord!”

Psalm 150:1-6 

One of the things I like about this psalm is how it gives various ways we can praise God. Sometimes repeated verbalizations of praise seem to me a bit stilted and forced. I like to hear people in the congregation offer their various praises to God; hearing praise from other lips helps me in my own worship. But what catches my heart here is the instrumental praise. 

I can’t sing and play bass. I can strum the guitar and sing, but there’s something about playing the bass that requires my full attention. Even then, I often wonder where we are in the song. Fortunately, most of the time, people don’t seem to notice. So on those Sunday mornings when I have the privilege of playing my bass for worship, I can’t use my voice to offer my praises. On these Sundays, I tell people, “I praise God through my fingers.” It’s true! My bass is a stringed instrument, and when I play on Sundays, my fingers do the praising; imperfectly, but no more so than on those other Sundays when I sing.

I LOVE this instrument! And I love using it as an instrument of praise, because for me, that’s exactly what it is.

Hot work

 September 5, 2023

Yesterday and today have been scorchers! I didn’t actually look at the thermometer, but when I was cutting the briars along the creek bank so I could get at a couple of dead ash that the tree service missed, it only took about 20 minutes of work to completely take the wind out of my sails. I got the job done, and four more trees are down and at least partially cut up, but both yesterday and today, that little bit of physical work did me in. I had planned on working my bees today. I need to take off some honey and start getting them ready for the goldenrod. I can smell the goldenrod in the air—my favorite aroma of September. But it was too hot to don the bee suit. I don’t know how the southern beekeepers do it.

This afternoon, Linda and I watched grandson Nathan and his team play soccer. The halves are 40 minutes, and usually played without rest. Today, each half was stopped midway so the kids could hydrate and rest. Did I mention that it was HOT today? 

There are times when an outdoor job of physical labor have appealed to me, but there are also times like yesterday and today, when I’m glad I don’t have to do it all day long. Yesterday was Labor Day. We enjoyed a neighborhood picnic in the evening, but I wonder how often we reflect on the reason for the day—to pay tribute to those who work, often at menial tasks or the jobs no one else wants to do. They can’t work from home, and show up in the worst possible weather, plowing streets, fixing downed wires, cleaning septic tanks, repairing highways.

The Fourth Commandment usually is remembered only as the foundation for our Sabbath, a weekly day of rest. We often forget the rest of it: “Six days shalt thou work.” I am grateful to have had the privilege of working with my mind more than my body, and now to be retired. Retirement doesn’t exempt me from the commandment, though, so tomorrow, I will rise, offer myself once more to God, and get busy with the work of the day.

Saul and Esther

September 3, 2023

Because I was preaching in Akeley, PA this morning, I didn’t get to hear pastor Joe’s first sermon in his series on Esther, but I read Linda’s notes and plan to catch up; I’m eager to hear what he has to say. This evening, I read through this short OT book. There are many things to learn from it, but tonight, one alone stands out to me. The story is about how God orchestrated circumstances to deliver his people from what could be described as one of the first of many pogroms. 

You can read the backstory for yourself; it’s a marvelous account of near-miraculous events, but let’s begin in chapter 3:

“After these things (What things, you ask? Read chapters 1 and 2!), King Ahasuerus promoted Human the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him.” (v.1)

This Haman is our antagonist, the one who plotted to destroy all the Jews living in the far-flung Persian kingdom. Notice his ancestry—he is an Agagite. Some 600 years previously, this name pops up in 1 Samuel 15:8. Agag was the king of the Amalekites whom Saul was commanded to annihilate. Saul fought the Amalekites, but in blatant disobedience to God’s command, he saved Agag alive. Agag (and by extension, his family) were to have been executed. They were not, and now 600 years later, this name surfaces in Haman, the would-be destroyer of God’s people.

Critics have often cited such passages as 1 Samuel 15 as examples of barbaric customs that sully the validity of the Bible as a standard for today’s living. That’s an argument for another time and place. What I see here is something far more significant and sinister. It’s this:

Generational sins have long shadows.

My preaching this morning came from Judges 2:7 & 10-11: 

“The people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD which he had done for Israel…When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which he had done for Israel. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals.”

Saul’s failure to obey God not only cost him his kingdom; 600 years later, that single act of disobedience came back to haunt God’s people. God worked it all out, but wouldn’t it have been better if such deliverance hadn’t been necessary? 

I wonder what failure, what disobedience, what negligence in me will stretch far into the future? I’ve seen it happen; the sins of the fathers get passed down from one generation to another until someone finally steps up and says, “The buck stops here,” and breaks the curse. I’ve also seen the benefits of generational blessings in my own life, having been recipient of the example, the faith, and the prayers of parents, and having received the merciful privilege of passing this to my children, and seeing them pass it along to theirs. 

Generational curses do cast long shadows, but generational blessings throw light beams of blessing even farther down the road. The Bible says the curses can last to the second and third generation, but the blessings go for a thousand generations. Saul’s disobedience cast that long shadow, but Esther’s courageous obedience put an end to it. Instead of a Saul, may we be Esthers to our generation! 

 

King of kings

 September 2, 2023

The second psalm highlights a problem we all face in life when we must live in the less-than-perfect reality that we face everyday. To understand where my thoughts are going, here’s the psalm in its entirety:

“Why do the nations rage, 

And the people plot a vain thing? 

The kings of the earth set themselves, 

And the rulers take counsel together, 

Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 

“Let us break Their bonds in pieces 

And cast away Their cords from us.” 

He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; 

The Lord shall hold them in derision. 

Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, 

And distress them in His deep displeasure: 

“Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.” 

“I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, 

‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 

Ask of Me, and I will give You 

The nations for Your inheritance, 

And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 

You shall break them with a rod of iron; 

You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ” 

Now therefore, be wise, O kings; 

Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 

Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling. 

Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, 

And you perish in the way, 

When His wrath is kindled but a little. 

Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.”

—Psalm 2:1-12 

The psalm begins with something we are all familiar with: “Why do the nations rage?” Open up a newspaper, turn on the TV, scroll through the internet, and you’ll find instance after instance where nations, specifically the leaders of nations, are raging. No one is satisfied with their present state of affairs, so there are constant conflicts, wars, intrigue and injustice. Political posturing is the order of the day. 

Bible study is inherently grammatical. My kids used to roll their eyes when I would point this out at the dinner table, but it’s true. Here, the verb tense in this psalm is important. If you look carefully, you will notice that the earthly rulers do their plotting in the present tense (vv. 1-3). It’s what we see happening all around us on a daily basis.

But except for what God has done in the past (crowning his King, ie. bestowing authority on him), his acts are all in the future tense, things he shall do at some future time. God trumps the present action of earthly kings by himself crowning the King of kings, and promising to set things right in the future.

This is where we find ourselves in a dilemma, best illustrated by events of World War II. On D-Day, the Axis powers were effectively defeated. Many of the German generals understood this. But V-Day didn’t happen overnight. Many months of hard fighting lay ahead before the Nazi regime was finally broken and defeated. Spiritually speaking, D-Day came when Jesus died and rose again. V-Day however, still awaits us. There is much hard spiritual fighting that lies ahead. Our problem is that we aren’t content to live in D-Day. We want V-Day now. 

It’s coming, but isn’t here yet. The kings of earth don’t realize that they are already defeated, so they keep raging. But the King has been crowned, and the future is guaranteed. Keep fighing; keep looking ahead. V-Day is on the horizon!

Stepping Out

 September 1, 2023

I’ve been looking unsuccessfully for the Bible verse that supports what I learned today. If you can think of one after reading this, let me know.

I awoke this morning feeling somewhat emotionally flat-lined. Working out, reading my Bible and praying didn’t seem to help. I was reading in 1 John, words I have read dozens of times to much profit. This morning it seemed to be just philosophical ramblings that made little sense. After an hour or so, I gave up. After all, it was time for my weekly Spanish lesson. 

After lunch and a few tasks helping Linda get ready for our dinner group tonight, and I was off to jazz band rehearsal. It felt good to be back actually reading music for the bass! Table talk with friends turned into prayer time together before everyone headed for home. 

Here’s the good news: Sometimes introverts like me need to get out of our heads and into the world if we want to experience the presence of God. Many are the times I’ve heard God speak to my heart while studying the Scriptures, but it doesn’t always work that way for me. I often need, like today, to put the devotions behind me and pay attention to other people. When I do, inevitably, God shows up. I think it’s because when I’m with other people, I’m not thinking of myself. 

If you’re an extrovert, you know this intuitively, but if you like me, are more inclined to reflection,  if you get stuck, it might be helpful to step away from the devotional life and move from contemplation to construction, building a relationship that requires your attention. In the giving, we receive.