Psalms

Life: Infested or Invested

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reflection-in-mirrorMy morning routine includes the couple of minutes I spend looking into the mirror.  This is not an exercise in vanity.  It’s just the best way to examine my wrinkled mug; apply the shaving cream; and wield the razor to shave my beard.

As I was checking the stubble on my face, I thought of Paul’s statement to the church at Corinth: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).”

When you think about it, there are several times each day that you take the time to check the quality of some item:

  • Bananas are checked to see if they are too ripe or too green.
  • Apples are examined to see if they are bruised.
  • When you buy something you check to make sure you have been given the correct amount of change.

How much time do you spend in spiritual self-examination?  The Psalmist said:  “I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies (Psalm 119:59).”  When he didn’t like what he saw, the author of the Psalm ironed out the wrinkles in his life by turning to God’s Word.

The methodology of the Psalms was the same message espoused by James (1:21-25):

Lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;  for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.  But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

You have the freedom to look into the “perfect law of liberty” and to use it as a mirror to examine your life.  When you do this, what do you see?

  • Do you see a reflection of righteousness?
  • Is there an image of personal purity?
  • Do you recognize the features of faithfulness in the face you see?

A good mirror to use is a prayer in Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”spic n span

Let me suggest this prayer as a daily test:  Does this mirror reflect a life that’s infested by the ring-around-the-collar filth of the world or one that is invested in the spic and span principles of God’s Word?

What’s Following You?

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On Tuesday of this week, I walked the hallway of three different hospitals. My first stop took me to the room of a man who is ravaged by cancer.  I saluted him earlier this year when he was the Parade Marshall of the Celebration of Freedom Parade.  Will’s heroic deeds during World War II helped to pay for the freedoms I enjoy today.

My second stop took me to the room of a man I’ve know all of my life. I’ll always be grateful for his friendship and his help.  Johnny was one of the first people to come to my house when I was a 12 year old boy and my dad had just been killed in an oil field accident.

My third stop was the most difficult because it took me to the room of a blonde-haired and blue-eyed little girl.  At the age of 2 1/2 years she is fighting an inoperable case of cancer, a neuroblastoma.

Yesterday, I conducted the funeral of a man, I worked with my last two summers of high school.  Ralph’s face was usually marked with an ear to ear grin, and I will remember the mischievous sparkle that colored his eyes.

The sadness that has filled the lives of each of these people and their families can only be tempered by the hope that we have in Jesus Christ.  A foreshadow of that hope is see in the verses of Psalm 23.

If you feel like you are living under a cloud of despair, and walking a path full of worries and problems, you might find some comfort in the words of this Psalm and the declaration of David: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life (23:6).

I think it is important to note that David did not say that every waking moment of your life will be filled with good times and happy days.  He did say the goodness of God and His mercy are resources that are available when needed.

Unless you have given some consideration to the meaning of mercy and its close cousin, grace (goodness), you may think they are synonymous.  To help you distinguish one from the other, let me define them:

  • Grace is when God gives you something you do not deserve.  Salvation is a good example of this.  I do not know of anyone who really deserves it.
  • Mercy is when God does not give a you what you deserve.  When a righteous God judges sinful man, He can either punish him or extend His goodness and mercy.

I’ve heard people say:  I just want what I deserve and what I have coming to me.  Not me, I want the mercy of God.

David said the mercy of God is a given, and we see this in the word surely.  It isn’t a hope so or maybe so proposition: It’s a guarantee from God.  In the Lamentations of Jeremiah, the prophet said:  It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed; they are new every morning.  Great is His faithfulness!

In the shepherd/sheep analogy of Psalm 23, we have the Good Shepherd who leads us, and guarding the back of the flock are His two sheep dogs.   One is named Goodness and the other is called Mercy.

Remember the promise of this Psalm:  Surely goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life.  Think of Goodness and Mercy as your lap-dogs who are just a whistle away.

Are You a “Phobe” or a “Phile?”

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lovehateAn old adage is: Actions speak louder than words. With this in mind, do your actions define you as a bibliophobe or a bibliophile? Let me clarify these terms:
• A bibliophobe is a person who has a fear, hatred, or distrust of books.
• A bibliophile is a person who has a love for books and is prone to collecting them.

Considering your actions in regard to books, are you “phobe” or a “phile?” Do you love books, or do you hate them?

Whenever I see the prefix of these words, the first thing I think of is the word Bible, and the Bible is a collection of 66 books—Genesis to Revelation.

How do your actions define your relationship with the Bible? Are you a “phobe” or are you a “phile?” Do you read it or neglect it or do you heed it and respect it?

When I consider some of the statements found in the Psalms, I’m certain the writer was a “phile” and not a “phobe.” He describes Scripture as being more desirable than gold and he even says that it is sweeter than honey (Psalm 19:10; 118:103).

If you are a “phile,” you use the Bible as a lamp to your feet and a light to your path to guide you. If, however, you are a “phobe,” you may stumble through life in a state of perpetual darkness.

I encourage you to read Psalm 1 to see the start contrast of a “phile” and a “phobe.”

The WOW Factor

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If you were to bring up the topic of the creation of the universe in a crowded waiting room, I’m certain you would find the opinions on this subject as diverse as the crowd of people in the room.  There would be some who would say they believe in a random Big Bang form of creation, others would espouse a view known as intelligent design, and then there would be some who whole-heartedly embrace the Genesis account of creation.

I find it hard to look at the intricate design of the world and believe it just happened by chance.  In Psalm 8 we find the author contemplating the role of man and his place in the world.  In the next Psalm, David writes:  I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.  I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

When was the last time you paused and reflected on the marvelous works of God.  I mean, what would a flower be without its fragrance?  How dark would the night skies be without the light of the moon and stars?  How different would be birds be if they were drab in color and whistled and sang out of tune?

The sunrise, the sunset, and the rainbow all act as a canvas on which the Master Artist paints in vivid colors.  The day would be much different if it began and ended in a colorless brown instead of a fire-red hues.  Speaking of fire, what would fire be without its warmth on a cold night or water without its refreshing coolness?

How about food?  What would chili be like if there was no spice or a breakfast roll without cinnamon?  And, it’s almost too painful to consider a world without ice cream!

How mundane would life be without this complicated, yet marvellous thing we call love?  Isn’t love the WOW factor in everything that God created?

When you read the book of Genesis, you see all that God created.  After He had spoken the physical world into existence, God formed Adam out of the dust of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life.  Next in line was the creation of the animal kingdom, but God wasn’t finished until He created woman.

Adam thought he had seen it all, but when he saw Eve, he saw the marvellous WOW-inducing works of God

I hope you’ll take the time, sometime this week, to consider the marvellous works of God.