Psalm 23

A friend shared this video with me the other day.  Psalm 23 was my Dad’s favorite Scripture and read at his funeral about 8 years ago.  Let this Psalm sink slowly into your soul and encourage and give you strength for the day.  Enjoy!

Common Sense Economics

Here is a SNL video clip that if practiced would make a difference in our world.

Don\’t Buy Stuff

Keep those checkbooks balanced and let’s be good stewards of everything He has given us!

Holiness

The last few days I have been in awe of the greatness and holiness of God.  It is amazing that in His holiness, God even dares to reach out to us.  Through Jesus we can be purified and made holy.  We are set apart for His Kingdom and His purposes.

Isaiah saw the glory and holiness of God in the temple.  His response was “Woe to me! . . I am ruined!  For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty. ” Isaiah 6:5

God purifed Isaiah and took away his guilt and sin.  He was changed forever and God used Isaiah as his mouth piece to the people of his time and His words speak to us today.  When we see God for who He is as Holy and Mighty, our lives will never be the same.  I have been struck with God’s Holiness, which causes me to worship Him with reverence and awe (see Hebrews 12:28).

Michael W Smith wrote and sang the song “Purified”.  Here are  some of the lyrics:

“I will open up my heart,

Search me in the deepest part,

I will stand in cleansing fire,

By you I’m purified

By you I’m purified.

You are Holy

You are Holy

Yes, You are Holy.”

Distractions

This morning I woke early.  Something was stirring in my soul.  I have been distracted.  My eyes have wandered from the Lord on other things in this world.  And so I confess that I have been distracted and fallen into the trap of the “Big 3″.  They are found in 1 John 2:16:  The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.  How have I used my time, talents, and the resources that God has entrusted me to steward?  Not very well lately.  I have watched too much TV, read very little, and taken very little time to write or journal.  How much time have I taken to commune with the Lord in contrast with my running to and fro each day?  I have been distracted even with what some may say are “good things”.

So what must I do?  I must focus and fix my eyes on Jesus and leave the distractions behind.  Here are some reminders from the Word on where my focus should be.

Job 31:1  “I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.”

Ezekiel 24:25  the Lord is my “stronghold, my joy and glory, the delight of my eyes, and my heart’s desire . .”

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Where is your focus and what are your eyes fixed upon?  As a reminder let us sing in our hearts the song:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in his wonderful face

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace.

Relational Prayer

Currently I am reading a book by Dr. Larry Crabb called “The PAPA Prayer”.  I have been challenged in my prayer life lately as I have been reading.  Many times I will go to the “Give me” petitionary type prayers without any consideration of my relationship with God.    In Larry’s book, I am being challenged to center my prayer in relationship with God.  What is most important is how I am relating to Him and often it is the quick 5 minute version of a list of “give mes” or my own selfish perspectives.

To change my perspective I must focus on my relationship with Christ as if He were sitting in a chair facing me.  Having a conversation as I would anyone I know or love should come easily, but with the Lord it can become more of a challenge.  So Dr. Crabb has a pattern to the PAPA prayer that I hope to practice in the coming days:

P Present yourself to God.

A Attend to how you are thinking of God.

P Purge yourself of anything that blocks your relationship with God.

A Approach God as the “first thing” in your life.

I am excited to experience relational prayer in my spiritual life in 2009.  I look forward to spending more time like Mary who sat at the feet of our Lord Jesus.

Signs of Redemption

This morning I awoke with a song in my heart that we sang on Sunday in church.  The lyrics go like this:

“You have redeemed my soul from the pit of emptiness,

You have redeemed my soul from death.”

God has redeemed me and bought me with His precious blood on the cross.  How thankful I am for His redemption in my life.  My life was empty and dead until Christ and His Spirit gave me new life and forgiveness.  I was like a dry branch that was lifeless and now I have hope and the budding green of new life because I am now connected to Christ.

I asked students a couple weeks ago about a symbol of redemption in their life.  It was a difficult question for some of them to answer.  I gave them the example of Glenn Beck’s story called The Christmas Sweater in which the gift of a sweater by his mother at the age of 12 was a symbol of redemption for him.  He was hoping for a new bike and got a hand made sweater made with love by  his mother instead.  In his words,

“I guess the real lesson I learned that last Christmas with my mother was that the greatest gift is any gift that is given with love. . . Pick up your redemption.  Cherish it.  Wear it.  Share it.  It has the power to transform lives.  It has transformed mine.” pp 271-272.

My sign of redemption is the star of Bethlehem.  When I was little my family all piled in our car and went to the Christmas Eve program at our church.  We would often have clear cold nights in Minnesota and as I looked out the window and into the sky I was looking for the star of Bethlehem, the star that marked the place of Jesus’ birthplace.  The wonder of Jesus, taking on flesh, being born in a lowly stable on a cold winter night, and giving his life for mine truly  humbles me.  Why would the God of the universe do this for me?  Because of His amazing love for you and me.  The “morning star” now shines in my heart and I am so thankful for His redemption and the price He paid for me.

What is a sign of redemption for you as you consider Jesus birth this Christmas?

Thankful for His Mercy

“O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good.  His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 118:1

When I was growing up as a boy my mother taught me this verse as a table prayer.  My younger sister and I would say it in jumbled English not even realizing what we were saying, but we memorized it and said it ritually before dinner. Little did I know then how meaningful God’s mercy is in my life today.

During halftime of our Monday night football gathering I asked everyone to share an answer to the question; “What are you most thankful for this Thanksgiving?”  As it came to my turn I shared that I was very thankful for the mercy of God in my life.  God has given me his mercy through Christ.  So many times I have fallen short and have anything but the right attitude toward God and others.  I am so thankful that I am forgiven in Christ and that He does not give me what I deserve.

My Army Chaplain friend, Ken from Texas, shared with me this definition of mercy from a study he did on mercy by Rex Andrews:  “Mercy is God’s supply system for every need everywhere.  Mercy is that kindness, compassion and tenderness which is a passion to suffer with, or participate in, another’s ills or evils in order to relieve, heal, and restore.  It accepts another freely and gladly as he is and supplies the needed good of life to build up and to bring to peace and keep in peace.  It is to take another into one’s heart just as he is and cherish and nourish him there.  Mercy takes another’s sins and evils and faults as its own, and frees the other by bearing them to God.”

Christ has shown me great mercy to me by His sacrifice for my sins on the cross.  His mercy continues to me yesterday, today, and forever.  I am still learning more how amazing his mercy is in my life.  I am so thankful for God’s mercy this Thanksgiving.  I could not live without His mercy.

What are you most thankful for this Thanksgiving?

The Cost of Freedom

Yesterday at our Rotary Club meeting in Arlington I was moved as I considered the cost of Freedom. We remembered our veterans who have served our country through the military.  Yesterday was my dad’s birthday.  He would have been 90 but has been home with the Lord since May of 2001.  My dad served in the Pacific Theater in World War II before he married my mother.  Dad served our country well, but came back home emotionally scarred.  Many veterans and those currently serving our country suffer from Post Traumatic Syndrome Disorder (PTSD).  My dad experienced flashbacks and would often wake us up in the middle of the night with shouts from nightmares he experienced.  He experienced moments of anxiety (manic attacks) and deep valleys of depression to the point of suicide attempts.  Our family went through many episodes with Dad because there was a price that he paid in serving our country.

I have a new appreciation for the cost of Freedom in our country.  I not only appreciate the sacrifice of those who have fallen in battle to preserve our freedom, but also those who have sacrificed their lives in many other ways that continue to linger.  The cost of Freedom comes with blood, sweat, tears, and much sacrifice on the part of soldiers and their families.  My heart and deep felt appreciation goes out to them today.

But also I thank God for the price He paid through the death of Christ on the cross for my sin today.  Because of Christ’s sacrifice I can experience freedom from sin, death, and the power of the devil.  I have an eternal inheritance because of the blood He shed for me on Calvary.  I owe Christ my life and all that I am because He purchased me with His precious blood.

The cost of Freedom is high in our country and in our spiritual lives.  I remember with tears and a grateful heart my Lord, my dad, and those who have sacrificed for me.

Eternal issues in the Election

John Piper is one of my favorite authors and teachers.  I am sharing some of his perspectives in light of this years election.  This is a good reminder of some of the eternal issues that supercede politics in our country.

No Political Hope

This morning as I was praying in bed, the Lord whispered that change is coming.  Not the political type of change you are hearing everyday from the candidates.  The only hope for real change in America will come through God’s Spirit.  He is doing amazing things in the unseen, the eternal places of my heart and many others in this land.

So much time and energy and resources are going into the election of politicians who have failed us and will continue to fail us.  There is no hope for us politically.  I am not saying that we should not vote or be involved in the elections as citizens.  I am saying that our hope and trust need to be in the Almighty God and Lord over all in Christ.  We can no longer put our trust in the weak dollar and failing stock market.  Our trust must be in Him, and I don’t believe America will again say “In God we trust” until we come to our knees and acknowledge our need for Him.

I am praying for revival in my heart, in my family, and in the heart of America.  We need to be broken and come before the Lord humbly in repentance.  He tells us in Joel 2:12-13

“Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart with fasting and weeping and mourning.  Rend your heart and not your garments.  Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity.”

Revival begins in my heart and yours.  I am praying for a change in my heart.  I believe that then there is hope not only for me, but also others.