hope

Re-Reading the Psalms

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“God remembered us when we were down,
His love never quits.
Rescued us from the trampling boot,
His love never quits.
Takes care of everyone in time of need.
His love never quits.
Thank God, who did it all!
His love never quits!” (Psalm 136:23-26).

I started a new thing recently. I’m reading through a little book called David’s Crown: Sounding the Psalms by Malcolm Guite, followed immediately by The Book of Psalms by Eugene Peterson. The first one is Malcom Guite, an Anglican priest, songwriter, and poet setting the Psalms into sonnet form. The second is pretty much what it sounds like — the Psalms rendered by Eugene Peterson as part of his The Message translation (or paraphrase if you’re picky).

Both are giving me a greater appreciation for those Psalms and a little different perspective on some familiar texts. I love in Guite’s book the last line in a psalm is always the first line in the next. Peterson’s translations are sometimes a bit loose with the renderings but when he gets it right, he really gets it right.

I think we forget that the Psalms were the original prayer book and hymnal of God’s people. As much as I firmly hold them up as inspired and inerrant, I also believe they record real emotions and real pleadings from a real person at real moments in time. That’s why they speak to so many even today. They’re sometimes raw, sometimes vulnerable, but always real and always Godward.

I imagine both are available from Amazon, but I’d recommend going through rabbitroom.com for the Malcolm Guite book. It’s one way of supporting a fantastic local non-profit organization that’s keeping artistry and integrity alive in the world of Christian music and media. But above all, pick a good translation and just read through the Psalms again.

Be Generous

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“Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!” (1 Peter 4:7-11)

That’s the key: generosity. Not everyone is in a position to be financially generous, but there are other ways. You can be generous with your time. You can be generous with your talents. Best of all, you can be generous in your commitment to pray for someone or something. And in my book, prayer is the most powerful weapon we have in the fight against the adversary known as satan and the systems of this world.

It boils down to loving others like Christ loved us. He loved us not in word only but in deed. His love took up a wooden cross and bore the nails and died for you and me. Our love should be just as tangible toward those in need, especially during this time of the year with Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching.

Lord, help us to be as generous to others as You have been to us. May our love show itself not merely in words but in actions that meet the needs of those around us. May we remember that whatever we do in serving the least of these brothers and sisters, we are really serving You. Amen.

A Timely Word from a Different Translation

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“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us” (Romans 8:31-39, The Message).

I love The Message translation, even if it does get a bit loose with the renderings sometimes. But man oh man, when it gets it right, it really gets it right. Like this famous passage from Romans 8.

I love that absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. Nothing can deter what plans God in Christ has planned for us and the work He has started in us. Everything right now that seems hopeless suddenly has a ray of hope shining through. What once looked like a dead end now has a way out.

I’m thankful every day that my salvation is not about the strength of my faith and my strong grip on God but on the Source of my faith and God’s strong grip on me. I don’t believe you can lose your salvation because if you could, I would have already lost mine a long time ago. But Jesus won’t lose one of those God has given to Him. Not one.

All that brings me anxiety and fear is temporary. What lasts is the love of God. Anything I’m afraid of has already been overcome by the blood of the Lamb on the cross. Whatever keeps me awake at night some nights will seem like nothing in the light of the eternal glory that’s coming.

I pray more and more, “Lord Jesus, come soon.” This world I’m living has lost its mind. Come make it right and keep on making me right while You’re at it. I know I’m not quite finished yet but I’m thankful that one day You will finish what You started in me. All Your promises are truly Yes and Amen. Amen and amen.

Walking in His Strength

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That’s what I’m learning. It’s not about gritting my teeth and living the live of faith in my own strength and willpower. That never lasts. Eventually, I give up or burn out. It’s not a sustainable way to live.

But if I could call on the life of Christ inside of me, then I could live the way Christ lived. The Bible says that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the indwelling Christ.

Also, if we could tap into the life of Christ within us, then it would be possible to forgive the unforgivable and love the unlovable. We could demonstrate a lifestyle and character totally opposite to what the world considers normal and would certainly grab their attention.

I’m reading a little book by Watchman Nee called Sit. Walk. Stand, based on Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians. It starts from sitting and resting in the finished work of Christ, then walking in the power of the resurrected Christ within us, and finally standing firm in the victory He has won for us.

I think if we read the Bible less as a how-to manual for behavioral modification and more as a love letter from our heavenly home and a guide for tapping into the heavenly resources God has placed within us through His Spirit, we could see radical transformation not only in our lives but in the lives of those around us.

Here’s a link to the book in case you want to pick it up. It’s a quick read at 77 pages but it is packed full of wisdom and godly insight:

You Can’t Go Back

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“The work of salvation means that in your real life things are dramatically changed. You no longer look at things in the same way. Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the change very evident in your real life and thought. It is this complete and amazing change that is the very evidence that you are saved.” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).

That’s salvation. It’s way more than a mental assent to a set of beliefs. It’s even more than making a few behavioral changes. It’s as dramatic as going from death to life. You become a completely new creation with a new set of desires and actions.

The verse says that the old has gone and the new has come. You couldn’t go back to the old even if you wanted to. You might fall back into sin occasionally but you can’t stay there. It would be like a resurrected man climbing back into the grave and pretending to be dead again. You could try it for a bit, but the natural impulse will be for oxygen.

You could live in sin for a season but you’d be miserable. It’s not natural anymore. The new nature doesn’t thrive in the old ways. The evidence that someone is truly born again is a different way of living. If you say you’ve been saved but keep living like you did, then maybe your salvation isn’t real. If there’s no change, maybe there’s been no transformation.

But the beauty of the gospel is that Jesus is in the business of changing lives and making dead hearts beat again. He takes the old and makes it new. He takes the outcast and makes them wanted. He takes the lost and makes them found. He takes the enemies of God and turns them into sons and daughters of the risen King with all the blessings that come to the King Himself.

If you’re not sure, maybe it’s time to make sure. You can pray a prayer that comes from a heart of faith that goes like this: “Lord Jesus, I want to have a personal relationship with You. I know I am a sinner and I believe You died on the cross for my sins. I turn from those sins and put my faith in You right now to be my Lord and Savior” (Harvest.org).

Maybe today’s the day.

Room in the Inn

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I realized today that I have been serving in the Room in the Inn ministry at Brentwood Baptist Church for 15 years. I saw the post where a friend invited me to join him and a few others on Monday nights to help minister to the homeless men who need a place to stay on those cold winter nights.

It’s been a blessing from day one. I know that I originally went in with the mindset of being a blessing to those men but more often than not they have been the ones to bless me with their resilient faith and tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds.

These days, a typical Room in the Inn Monday night looks like welcoming 24 men into our church building. We line up in the hallway and clap and cheer as they come in from the bus. They’re not just visitors. They are guests and we want them to feel like rock stars — we want them to know that they are wanted and loved.

Then we serve them a warm meal and sit with them and talk with them. Hopefully, we find out some of their stories. Many are open and willing to share their journey with us. We also have a place for them to write out their prayer requests that we will then faithfully pray over in the days and weeks to come.

The highlight of the evening for me is when we offer a Bible study. It’s completely optional. We don’t force them to come but we try to encourage them as much as possible to attend. I’ve been blessed to be able to lead some of these Bible studies along with a few others.

For those who are looking for a low-risk high reward way to serve, Room in the Inn meets at the Wilson Hall entrance to Brentwood Baptist Church on Mondays starting at 5:30 pm. It’s completely self-funded and is one of many locations through Room in the Inn that offer a place for people to stay out of the elements and weather for the night.

I always remember the words of Jesus when He said that whatever you did to the least of these, you did it for Him. Mother Teresa called those in poverty and homelessness Jesus in His most distressing disguise. I know that to share the love of Christ is our main goal and focus from now until the end of the season at the end of March.

Whatever Is Necessary

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“The greatest blessing God can give us is to put us in a position where we must trust him. This is our only path to joy. He will do whatever is necessary to disrupt our self-sufficiency and illusion of control” (Jim Dennison).

I find that both terrifying and comforting at the same time.

I’m terrified of “whatever is necessary” and what it might mean to my current level of comfort and familiarity. I pretty much like things to stay the same and not get too crazy. I have my own plans for how my life should go, and I sometimes want God to rubber stamp those plans, and anything else is a bit scary to think about.

But I’m also comforted. When I remember the goodness of God, I can trust that He knows what He’s doing. When I think back on all the times in the past where He’s safely led me through trials, I can see with my eyes of faith God providing for me in the future.

Self-sufficiency and control aren’t just illusions. They’re the default setting of our sin natures. We are born fighting to assert our own will over and against anyone else’s. We learn early how to make a clenched fist and cry if we don’t get our own way.

But learning to let go is harder. Learning to step out from the comfort of solid ground onto thin air is frightening. But the rewards to stepping out in faith into an unknown country as Abraham did so long ago is more than worth the cost. Learning to relinquish my will and to die to self is the most anti-American dream thing I can do but also the most freeing in terms of the kingdom of God.

God, I want what you want, period. At any cost. If it makes me more like You, it’s worth it. Amen.

Old Time’s A-Flyin’

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I heard something interesting from a movie I was watching earlier today. One of the characters said that time is basically relative. Riding 8 seconds on a bull can seem like an eternity, but so can that time between 8 am and 3 pm on a school day. I get that.

I also remember when the time between the beginning of fall and Christmas felt like forever. I was not patient as a child, so I was ready for December 25 to hurry up and get here. Now, I wish I had that time back. I wish time moved as slowly as it seemed to move back then.

Now, I blink and it’s almost Halloween. I blink again, and there will be turkey and gravy with all the fixings on the dining room table for Thanksgiving. Then it will be Christmas. I will hardly have time to process one before the other is upon us.

I suppose that is the blessing and the curse of growing older. Now, I hardly have to wait for anything anymore, but I also feel like life has increased from a marathon to a sprint finish. It’s all I can do these days to remember what month it is, much less the day.

But I’m thankful for each day. I’m thankful to God for waking me up this morning and giving me another 24 hours. I’m trying not to take life for granted when I realize that so many people my age and younger won’t get to see tomorrow. So many people I knew growing up won’t get the privilege of growing old.

I suppose I need to take a few deep breaths and savor this one and only life that I have. The Bible speaks about redeeming the time, using it wisely instead of wasting it by wanting to hurry on to the next big event, next holiday, or even the next weekend. I can live in the moment just as much on a Monday as on a Saturday.

One day, I will step into eternity. Looking back, I’m sure the entirety of this life will seem so very short in comparison. One movie I saw had this quote: “The whole human life is just a heartbeat in heaven.”

I think that’s true. Our lives this side of heaven are like the blink of an eye. But what we do in that blink determines our eternity. More accurately, the choices we make affect where we will spend eternity. Like the decision to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior. That’s the one I’ve never regretted and the one I stake my hopes on as my life gets closer and closer to the ending. I’m definitely over the halfway point.

Hopefully, I can live in such a way that my legacy won’t be anything I leave behind but those who will go with me into heaven because I was a good and faithful servant and was ready to give an answer for the hope I have when people asked.

A Little Spurgeon on a Friday

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Since my brain has turned to tapioca pudding, I’ve invited a guest blogger (sort of) to fill in for me. You might know him as the one, the only Charles Spurgeon. Never mind that he died about 130 years or so before social media even existed. These are some good words as you head into the weekend:

DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)

Oh Lord, in looking back we are obliged to remember with the greatest gratitude the many occasions in which you have heard our cry. We have been brought into deep distress and our heart has sunk within us, and then have we cried to you and you have never refused to hear us. You have rejected the prayers of our lusts, but the prayers of our necessities you have granted. Not one good thing has failed of all that you have promised. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever, our inmost heart is saying. Amen, blessed be his name.

Amen.

VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)

“Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting.” (James 1:5–6)

We cannot ask of a person of whose existence we have any doubt and we will not ask of a person of whose hearing we have serious suspicions of. Who would stand in the desert of Sahara and cry aloud, where there is no living ear to hear? Now, my dear hearer, you believe that there is a God. Ask, then! Do you not believe that he is here, that he will hear your cry, that he will be pleased to answer your cry to give you what you ask for? Now, if you cannot believe that there is a God, that he is here and that he will hear you, then confess your ignorance, and ask him now to give you the promised wisdom for Jesus’ sake.

Wise Words from Rich Mullins

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Rich Mullins would have turned 70 today. Instead, we remember him and celebrate his legacy 28 years after his untimely passing in 1997. I sometimes wonder how much more great music he could have produced had he lived longer, but I’m thankful for the catalog of great albums and songs he left behind. Songs like Awesome God and Sometimes by Step are still sung in churches and youth groups and retreats all over the world.

I ran across something Rich wrote that was an interesting take on happiness. He definitely marched to the beat of his own drummer and didn’t conform to anyone else’s idea of normal, but I suppose that is what makes his music so memorable and lasting. Here’s what he wrote:

“1. Forget about finding happiness. Happiness is not worthy of your search.

2. Bake a cake – a really rich cake, preferably from scratch and especially if you are an inexperienced baker or a tested, tried, & notoriously awful cook. The value is in the baking more than in the cake.

3. Call up some enemy of yours and invite that enemy to eat the cake with you. If the cake is good you may lose an enemy and gain a friend. If the cake is bad, at least vengeance is sweet.

4. If you can’t think of a single enemy, then call up a friend. Invite your friend over to eat the cake with you. If the cake is good the favor may be returned. If the cake is awful your friend may go buy one from a bakery for you. If you are without any enemies or friends, take your cake to an old folks’ home. Eat it with them! If the cake is good you will no longer be without friends. If the cake is terrible you will no longer be without enemies.

Finding a friend, making an enemy – now those are things worth pursuing. Happiness may come tagged on – but even if it doesn’t, at least you will have done something and established some relationships.

5. Memorize Isaiah 40 or the first Psalm or Psalm 91. Read the closing chapters of the Book of Job. Meditate on the Beatitudes (Matthew 5). Write out one of the Prison Epistles (Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Collosians) and send them to some other unhappy person.

All of this may not make you happy but it will tell you how to be holy. Once you tie that knot you may find yourself in a position to be made happy.

6. Work hard. Clean something. Find new and more space-efficient ways of folding your clothes. Rake someone else’s yard for them. If you are unhappy maybe you can help someone else be less so.

7. Go back to the third chapter of Lamentations and then repeat after me:

“It is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for a man to bear
The yoke while he is young.
Let him sit alone in silence
For the Lord has laid it on him.”

8. Reread the 23rd Psalm and remember that if the Lord is your shepherd, then you are in a lush pasture. You are by a still stream. If it seems otherwise to you, it may be because you would rather be happy than be God’s. If this is so, then you have more reason to be happy than anyone. God has chosen you – ungrateful, decadent you – and being His is a joy and a happiness that goes beyond anything else you may seek, and in your folly settle for. God will (in His mercy) make you discontent with anything less than Him.

So we have only one step left…

9. Rejoice.”