Dust

 July 8, 2024

“For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”     —Psalm 103:14 

I don’t like interruptions, but often when I go to read my Bible, something comes up that I can’t ignore, and before I know it, the day is almost gone and I haven’t slowed down enough to catch my breath, let alone get quiet before God. I’m guessing I’m not alone in this.

Almost without exception, all the saints we look up to have spoken of the importance of a regular time with God, where we shut out the distractions of this world so we can listen. It’s what Jesus meant when he said, “When you pray, go into your closet and shut the door…” God is not a cosmic bell boy, waiting for us to show up at our leisure. He is the One who beckons us come apart for awhile.

So it comes as no surprise to me that when the day starts with an unplanned trek to the doctor for an earache, then to the pharmacy for antibiotics, followed by a few other unexpected chores, when I finally am able to stop, it takes some real effort to slow down. My head is going in a half dozen different directions, getting ready for Men’s Bible study tonight, with another sermon for Sunday, my nightly meditation, what I write for my grandkids each night, and a few other matters that required my attention. Linda says, “You just need to be flexible.” I’m not.

So when I read this verse from Psalm 103, I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. God knows. He knows our frailty, our limitations, all the things that we navigate in life. And because God not only knows, but loves, it will be OK. I don’t want to make a habit of it, but tomorrow is another day. I’ll do my best to start it with him, prepare my heart for the interruptions, and follow the sign that years ago graced my pastor’s desk: “Praise the Lord anyway!”

Pennying the Door

 July 7, 2024

I was quite surprised this morning to learn how many people had no idea of what it meant to “penny” a door. After all, this was a stock freshman trick fifty-odd years ago when I was in college. It would get you into real trouble today because it really is a bit stupid and a lot dangerous.

Our dorm doors opened inward; that’s key. You could lock a person in his own room simply by pushing on the door and jamming pennies between the door and the frame just above the door handle. If you did it right, it would be nearly impossible for whoever was inside to turn the knob and open the door. Of course, as I said this morning, if a fire broke out, whoever was inside would be toast…literally. 

My point is that we do the same thing to God. While he stands at our heart’s door knocking (Revelation 3:20), we jam in the pennies of life to keep him out. Almost worthless, we hold onto grudges, hurts, grievances, or prestige, power, and popularity, or even the baubles of property, possessions, and pensions, jamming them like the worthless pennies they are in the door through which Jesus wants to bless us with his own presence.

It’s a stupid freshman trick, but here we are, years later, doing the very same thing in real life. It’s a shame because as Jesus says in Revelation, “If we will hear his voice and open the door, he will come in, and dine with us, and we with him.” Dinner with Jesus, the choicest delicacies are awaiting us, but we jam those pennies in the door, keeping him out. How foolish can we be?

Majestic Creation

 July 6, 2024

Most of us today live in an artificial world of our own making. We live in air-conditioned houses, drive air-conditioned cars to offices and factories and stores. The ground beneath our feet is paved with asphalt and concrete, the light from our cities at night drown out the majority of the stars overhead. 

Our scientific and educational systems have explained everything in naturalistic terms; we can predict the weather patterns and even celestial movements decades in advance. The world has become a vast, impersonal place where we happen to exist.

This morning’s reading included Psalm 104, which looks at the world around us in a totally different, and to us, foreign way. Here’s a sample:

“The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment; 

he stretches out the heavens like a tent 

and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. 

He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. 

You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment; 

the waters stood above the mountains. 

But at your rebuke the waters fled, 

at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; 

they flowed over the mountains, 

they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. 

He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; 

the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

He makes grass grow for the cattle, 

and plants for people to cultivate— 

bringing forth food from the earth: 

He made the moon to mark the seasons, 

and the sun knows when to go down. 

All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time.”

Psalm 104:2-3, 6-8, 13-14, 19, 27 

The ancient Hebrews saw God in everything. They had to be careful to not step over the line into worshipping Creation, but to worship God who made it and sustains it. Our problem is just the reverse: we are so detached from Creation that we cannot see the majesty of our God. We stare into our TVs and computer screens, marvel at the technology that makes it all possible, all the while we’re blind to the mystery of life and the beauty that surrounds us all.

Take some time tonight or tomorrow to step away from the mechanized and electronic world that threatens to engulf you. Step outside, away from the distractions and allure of all we have made, and be amazed at the glorious majesty of God, revealed in his handiwork all around you.

Day and Night

 June 5, 2024

“Blessed is the man whose… delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” —Psalm 1:1-2 

I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t want to have a blessed life. They might not use that terminology, but we all hope for a life of purpose, relative comfort, and safety. For the Christian, this is all found in Jesus Christ. 

I believe however, that sometimes we delude ourselves into thinking we have met the criteria for this blessed life, a criteria highlighted in this first Psalm. I’ve often quoted Psalm 37:4–“Delight yourself in the LORD, trust also in him, and he shall give you the desires of your heart.” It’s pretty straightforward: Delight in God, and your desires will be what he desires, which means he is both willing and able to give fulfill them. 

This first psalm adds a caveat: “On his law he meditates day and night.” I must confess, thought there are times when I meditate on God’s Word, I am far away from doing it day and night. So when I think I’m delighting in God and his Word, this psalm holds a mirror to my heart, showing me how far I have yet to go. 

The way this psalm ends gives me hope. “for the Lord knows the way of the righteous…” If my salvation were dependent on how well I meditate on God’s Word, or how much I delight myself in him, I would be in big trouble, but the Scripture assures me that my righteousness is not my own, but only what I have in Christ—what has been placed in my account by him. He is my righteousness, pure and simple, but the full blessings of salvation are accessible through God’s Word, planted in my heart by faith, and tilled into the soil of my life by prayerful meditation.

Unplanned Blessings

 July 4, 2024

I always am a bit nervous about writing on days like today. People much smarter than me have written and will write about the Fourth of July. But if I don’t say something patriotic, it feels like I’ve shirked my duty somehow. So I’m simply going to share my day with you, courtesy of armed men and women who stood up to tyranny nearly 250 years ago.

The day started for me at 5:00 am when I woke up and drove to the church for our men’s prayer time. I wasn’t surprised to find only two other men on this national holiday, but we met and prayed in accordance with the promise that where two or three are gathered together in Jesus’ name, he is with us. And he was.

When I got home, I took time to do a little reading of my Bible before taking Linda’s car to our son Matt for some new brakes. Matt has the tools and equipment that made this job pretty straightforward, and I am grateful for his knowledge and muscle.

Linda and I met a friend at 3 Lakes Cafe for lunch, and while we were there, ran into a dozen or more friends with whom we chatted. When our friend Jo-Anne was about to leave, Linda’s sister and her husband came in. A few minutes later, mutual friends Lance and Rhonda joined us. We’ve known them for fifty years or more, so we had good conversation until closing time. We’ve spent holidays together in the past, and it turned out that none of us had plans for the evening, so brother in law Gary invited us over for dogs and burgers on the grill.

After a couple hours at home mowing the lawn, we drove to Frewsburg where another four hours were spent talking and laughing, and being thankful for the blessings of living in the USA. We talked about some of the ills and problems of our nation, but we all know that even with all the issues we face, it’s still the best place to live.

None of us had planned an afternoon or evening together, but God orchestrated something good, landing all three couples in our granddaughter’s cafe at the same time. An evening with nothing planned turned out to be the best Fourth we have enjoyed in years. Yours may have come with unplanned difficulties instead of unplanned blessings. If so, my prayers are with you. If you’ve experienced the blessings, offer your prayers for those less fortunate. Either way, look for the unplanned ways God wants to step into your life. He may surprise you.

Sitting with Your Enemy

 July 3, 2024

“Don’t give the enemy a seat at your table.”

A friend recently posted these words in reference to Psalm 23:5. I told her, “This is good; I’m going to use it.” Now I have.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…”

It’s an interesting take on this text. I’ve read and quoted this psalm more times than I can recall, and every time I do so, this phrase grabs me. I’ve spoken of it before, how we often ask God to remove our enemies. We’re like David in the psalms, calling out for God to slay them, crush them to powder, grind their faces in the dust. 

But here, what David wants may be the sweetest revenge of all—to sit down to a sumptuous meal prepared by God himself, while his enemies are on the outside looking in, wishing for a mere taste of the feast he enjoys. In some ways, that’s even better than having them wiped off the face of the earth.

But whoever wrote these words had a different take on it. Most of us have probably had the difficult experience of sitting down to a meal with someone we’re mad at, or who’s mad at us. It makes for a pretty uncomfortable and tasteless meal. You don’t want to eat; at best, you choke down a few unsavory mouthfuls before you can’t stand it anymore and the meal erupts into angry, ruthless chaos.

What is the enemy you give a seat at your table? Bitterness? Unforgiveness? Worthlessness? Pride? The list could go on and on, but the advice is the same: Why give such negativity and unbelief a place in your heart? It only spoils the meal God has prepared for you. The table groans beneath the weight of his glory, but when you invite the enemy to sit down beside you, you can’t enjoy a single bite.

Ownership

 July 2, 2024

“Do you think a Christian can be possessed by a demon?” 

Now THAT’s an interesting way to begin a conversation! Without divulging the circumstances that led to this interchange of ideas, let me say right off the bat: NO! I do not believe it’s possible. The reason is really quite simple: When a person repents of their sin and confesses Jesus as Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within that person. Paul, in Romans 8:9 says, “If anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” In 2 Corinthians 6:14, he asks somewhat rhetorically, “What do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”

To say this doesn’t deny that a Christian can be oppressed by demonic influence. For example, child sexual abuse often opens the door to longstanding oppression both spiritually and emotionally. But possession is something else. Look at it this way: If I invite you to my house for dinner, you are in my house. Take it a step further. Suppose you come to visit; you have the run of my house for a week, or a month. But that doesn’t mean you own the house; it is still my possession, and I can kick you out anytime I choose. 

Possession means ownership; the Christian belongs to God, not to the devil or his minions. We can certainly be oppressed; habitual sins perpetrated by ourselves or others can open the door to all sorts of evil that may take considerable effort to expel. But the fact remains that for the Christian, God is our owner. Our bodies, Paul says, are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We belong to Jesus Christ; our job is to be responsible tenants, in part by not inviting into God’s house that which would defile and destroy it. The Enemy of our souls would like nothing less than to gain entry and convince us that he is the new owner. But he is a liar. He owns not even a molecule of the one who has given ownership to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Can a believer be oppressed by a demon? Certainly. That’s their job. Can a believer be possessed? Only by God.