Category: personal comments

Scare the Bullies: Psalms 86

14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
    a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
    and they do not set you before them.
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;
    give your strength to your servant,
    and save the son of your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign of your favor,
    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Ps. 86:14-17, ESV

This the last of three parts, and we should be impressed with its diversity. There are vista points here, where we can stop and wonder. I remember lounging in the California redwoods, just meandering and soaking it in. It basically undid me. And after awhile, I found it hard to speak. (Itself a minor miracle!)

But scripture can do this as well. When we really start looking, and praying, and meditating we start to appreciate all the Father has done for us. And it’s not just “deep thinkers,” who can do this.  Actually, deep thinking is a liability. It is the simple, the humble, the slow, those who have absurd patience– they are the ones who can do some serious reflecting. Children do it best I think.

Commentary

V. 14, is pretty much David’s reality. He is on Satan’s “hit list.” He has a “contract’ on his life. He must deal with this as he moves through his day. I can imagine that this could be quite corrosive and detrimental to your soul; your heart and your mind. He must have thought, ‘Can I really trust this person, does he have a dagger?’ I would have been a mess, twisted up with paranoia and fear.

V. 15, each word used in this verse is quite precise, each phrase carefully used. This is not David flattering God, it is not “boot-licking” mush. Rather, this verse is an accurate portrayal of the Lord God’s character. It is David’s appraisal of how he has experienced God, the things he has found out about Him. David has a long history with the Father, and he reminds himself of how good God really was.

V. 16, in this verse we see David appealing to God on the basis of relationship. Also, David speaks of a kind of “future grace.” Yes, good things have happened in his life, God things. But that isn’t enough for the present moment, and the future. David needs freshness, a grace tailored just for today, custom built.

David’s source for his survival is in God’s cupboards. He knows this, and boldly steps up and asks for it. Interestingly David doesn’t come as an anointed king, having a majestic aura. When he refers to himself, it is as ”the son of your maidservant.”

V. 17, “The Message” Bible is interesting in how it translates this particular verse:

“Make a show of how much you love me 
      so the bullies who hate me will stand there slack-jawed, 
   As you, God, gently and powerfully 
      put me back on my feet.”

ybic, Bryan

kyrie elesion. (Lord, have mercy.)

_________________

I wrote this on Feb. 21, 2012 and it was posted on my second website, “Psalmslife.com.” If you happen to like this kind of teaching, there is a “whole boatload” on that site, 70-80 posts just on the Psalms. I would be honored if you would check it out.  –B.

Who Am I? by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

bonhoeffer-ins1

From the Journal of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor and theologian. He was also a participant in the German Resistance movement against Nazism, a founding member of the Confessing Church. His involvement in plans by members of the Abwehr (the German Military Intelligence Office) to assassinate Adolf Hitler resulted in his arrest in April 1943 and his subsequent execution by hanging in April 1945, shortly before the war’s end.

Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer stands out among the Christian leaders during the Nazi era, for he was one of the few to actively resist the racist actions of the Nazi regime. In addition to his legacy of courageous opposition to Nazism, Bonhoeffer’s theological writings are still widely read in Christian communities throughout the world. “At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds. In almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.” Source: Prison doctor witness to Bonhoeffer’s death  

From His Writings–

Who am I? They often tell me

I stepped from my cell’s confinement

Calmly, cheerfully, firmly,

Like a squire from his country-house.

Who am I? They often tell me

I used to speak to my warders

Freely and friendly and clearly,

As though it were mine to command.

Who am I? They also tell me

I bore the days of misfortune

Equally, smilingly, proudly,

Like one accustomed to win.

Am I then really all that which other men tell of?

Or am I only what I myself know of myself?

Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,

Struggling for breath, as though hands were

compressing my throat,

Yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,

Thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,

Tossing in expectation of great events,

Powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,

Weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,

Faint, and ready to say farewell to it all?

Who am I? This or the other?

Am I one person today and tomorrow another?

Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,

And before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?

Or is something within me still like a beaten army,

Fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?

Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.

Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am Thine!

–July 18, 1944

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Waiting for the Green Light

“But I tell you that I am going to do what is best for you. That is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you.”

John 16:7, CEV

The disciples are distressed.  They are now starting to realize that Jesus is leaving them.  In the recesses of their minds they can’t accept this.  It makes no sense at all.  (After all, we just got started.)  They have been with Jesus almost “night and day” for three years.  They can’t imagine life without Him present and available.

Jesus starts saying things to help His friends.  I am going “to do what is best for you.”  With this concise idea Jesus wants His dear ones to understand and accept His decisions.  They must accept “this is why I am going away.”  He starts to link His absence with the rich goodness of the Holy Spirit.  On strictly basic level, the disciples have a reason for anxiety.  The disciples are thinking. “He will not be here when I wake up.  Jesus has left!  I am alone, what will I do?”

We have a tendency to think of the Holy Spirit like a telephone.  The dynamic is this–someone calls me from a great distance.  When I pick up the ringing phone, that person is still a long way away– but the voice is close.  To think this way though, is to think wrongly.  We mistakenly think of Him in technological terms.  But Jesus is insisting it is a whole lot better than this. He isn’t on the phone– The Spirit is at the door, and He is ringing your doorbell.

“As soon as we see the Lord Jesus on the Cross, we know our sins are forgiven ; and as soon as we see the Lord Jesus on the Throne, we know the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon us.”   Watchman Nee

The doctrine of the Holy Spirit is meant to “upset apple-carts” and change the flow of nations.  The Holy Spirit is first and foremost personal.  He comes and draws in closer than a person could.  He fills us, and our spirits and His are mixed in a new way.  Was it nice to have Jesus bodily present?  Yes. Of course.  But it is also awesome to have the Spirit connecting with us in a most spiritually wonderful way.

When Jesus ascends, the Holy Spirit is given the “green light” to come, and deepen the special relationship that the Father now has for us.  However, we can still be a little confused.  We think that Jesus physically present would be superior to having the Holy Spirit inside of our hearts.  And it is easy to think that way. Who hasn’t dreamed of having Jesus sit down with us over a cup of coffee at our dinner table?  But, it’s not really “better”– not even slightly so!

As we examine Acts 1-2, we are escorted the the real and very active world of the Holy Spirit.  His presence turns these disciples into a “tossed salad” of the Holy Spirit and humanity.  What happens can never be undone or reversed.  The Holy Spirit has followed Jesus and is now transforming everything.  Essentially, we must trust in what God has done, and we should bow our hearts and knees to all the Father has done for us.  Please, Spirit, come and help us.

“If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.”  A.W. Tozer

*

ybic, Bryan

kyrie elesion.

image by He Qi

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A Teflon Faith

 

teflon-frying-pan
The reality called “teflon.’

“That I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ “

Genesis 14:23

“But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.”

Daniel 1:8

There is something that certain men and women face when their faith is flourishing.  It is an authentic commitment to walk exclusively in the will of God, no matter where it takes us.  But both Abraham and Daniel had considered the ‘pros and cons’ of having a faith that would bend.  They chose however not to become this flexible.

As people who call themselves ‘believers’.  We need to figure out exactly how we are to emulate Abraham and Daniel.  How bold are we to become?  That question reverberates through us, and demands that we seriously deal with this issue.  Exactly when will we compromise, where is the line?

The Bible gives us the distinct impression that our compromise will lead us into a period of confusion and doubt.  Compromise is presented as a deadly choice, a decision that will irrevocably bring us to a death–of sorts.  For believers who consider themselves as flexible, there may lift to us some immediate consequences, but the end result is brutal.

We cannot trade to get a temporary peace and comfort to enable ourselves to walk in the place of harmony and successfulness.  If we try we will discover ourselves to be unfaithful and negligent to the Lord’s purposes and will.  This is a place of shame, and comes incredibly close to outright denial.  In this present ‘day and age’ perhaps our faithfulness might matter more then our ‘results’.

&

ybic, Bryan