The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most - Psalm 34

So, I'm sorry that I have be absent from this but December is a crazy time for me. I usually run an Advent reading schedule/mailing list, etc. Now that we are on the other side of Advent, I have time to keep going with this.

There are a lot of things going on with this Psalm but I don't think there is a better summery of the whole book of Psalms than these first eight verses.

1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.

2 I will glory in the Lord;

let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

3 Glorify the Lord with me;

let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him are radiant;

their faces are never covered with shame.

6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;

he saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,

and he delivers them.

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

The true and right praise of the Lord always originates like that of one in love. The true motivation is in verse 4. “I sought the Lord and He answered me.” That is amazing but the more amazing part is the second half of verse 4 “He delivered me from all my fears.” The Lord delivers us from fear by a different way. Jesus said in John 14:27” Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” I think when David speaks about physical prosperity and his enemies being dead and judged that, that might be the best peace he could imagine. I think that is the best kind of peace “the world gives,” but Jesus goes further. John Piper said in one of his advent devotionals about Hebrews 2:14-15 “If we do not need to fear our last and greatest enemy, death, then we do not need to fear anything. We can be free: free for joy, free for others.” I think that is true. That is the best peace that we could even imagine. The peace of God is a peace out from under our natural inheritance, death. Death: the payment we deserve for sin has been removed. The best news is not just that because that is what we were saved out of but what we have been saved to is God Himself. The peace, the freedom we have is out of the grip of death and hell itself into the loving arms of the Father. So out of that David sings. His father in heaven has heard him. But don’t we have much more to sing about? Something David couldn’t fully understand came and brought ultimate deliverance. That being said, verse 8 has much more contained in it than a quick glance would give. David is commanding us to do, much as he does else ware, to entreat us to experience God ourselves, and the implication is to then join him. C.S. Lewis in Reflections On The Psalms says this on the “command” to worship “It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.” David is entreating us to the Lord, not commanding, but it is for good reason…because he knows how good He is and how good it is to be the recipient of God’s peace. David has not read a static thing and placidly understood it. He has experienced God himself. An experience of God Himself is not something that is static. Truth be told I am always worried by worship leaders, and pastors for that matter, that are static and unmoved by the God of the scriptures, of Jesus. How can we be silent? How can we be calm when we glorify a God that came to our world, as Lewis says “Shakespeare…make himself appear as Author within [Hamlet]”, but not just to appear but die in our place. He is the great author that has visited Himself upon His own creation to save us. Again, how can we be silent?

In Christ,
Paul




music for the week (as usual: no claim of being not "offensive" but it is really good):

Old College Try - Psalm 33

I know that this might be more shop talk or inside baseball than I've been doing here, but I think that it might help you see where what the Psalms say about how you, I and more specifically what church music leaders have to think about worship. For a long time now...say since the reformation, there has been a war between two camps of worshipers. You might recognize these. One side (started from Martin Luther's heart for worship) emphasizes the idea that anyone can lead worship. No training required, just belt out what's in your heart and you'll do good. This by itself has spawned many a Neil Diamond G/C/D worship singers....and this terrible strum you can hear here. There it sits. It never goes past that. It's a perpetual childhood. The sad part is, from their position, adherents are actually proud of it. Like being a "child of God" or "those who become like a child" in their context means never growing or getting better. They look down on the other side because of their "pure heart." Proponents view their simplicity is far "superior" to the other side because the heart of worship is the most important. They think anything that isn't super simple or doesn't sounds folksy/country is a "production." Aside from the misinterpretation of those texts, the problem is in this Psalm says

3 Sing to him a new song; [trained enough to write]

play skillfully, and shout for joy. [never stop pushing to be better and training on your instrument]

There isn't no real way around it...growth is a fruit and motive of the Spirit. Musicianship and artistic motivations shouldn't be any different.

The other side (started by John Calvin's heart for worship) emphasizes the Lord deserves the purest, most perfect worship. He hired a man to translate the Psalms (and only the Psalms) into a metered french translation. No harmony...all monophonic, but because of the push for purity, specialized musicianship became primary. The demand becomes for more and higher trained musicians, singers, etc. What once began as an attempt for the purest truth, and purest worship, now becomes this garbage, and this apocalypse. I'm sure the idea is that the bigger the production the bigger the Lord looks. That isn't uncommon theme in church history but when it becomes only that, it really dead ends at nothing about the Lord. Adherents to this camp look down at the simplistic and say things like "if you don't have a full stage and don't practice four times a week, you don't really care about the Lord or His people." They act like all that work will manufacture hearts for God and bring more people to the Lord and proves their salvation. Lest we think this Psalm is quiet on the subject, David says later, (I'll filter it for a more modern context)

16 No [Church/leader] is saved by the size of his [production];

no [musician] escapes by his great strength.

17 A [giant screen, dance routine, or band] is a vain hope for deliverance;

despite all its great strength it cannot save.

18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,

on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

19 to deliver them from death

and keep them alive in famine.

Those production aspects become, in church leadership meetings, a matter of manufacturing and maintaining salvation of both the church and it's attendees, but that isn't the reality. The Spirit is the only thing that saves, and nothing or nobody can change or add to that.

You see, one is hiding in a cave or the belly of the ship (ala Jonah), and the other is the Israelites marching forward without the Lord and getting slaughtered (Joshua 7, 1 Samuel 4). The scriptures, and the Spirit both call us out of the safe cave of the easy and known, out into the unknown world where faith and work is required to move forward, but we must stay with Him. We must stay constrained by the word and focused solely on Him and Him being glorified, or we will be lost. We must leave port, but we must be steered by and toward Him.

So I hope this helps think about those things and realize that if those two parts of this chapter are heeded, everything else is preference. What can you and I do sitting with the congregation? We can learn to worship no matter the sound, because the commendation to sing new songs and play skillfully also applies to us in the seats. Don't come with the desire to be entertained and avoid thinking about singing to Him except when it's time to do it together. At my church, I send out the sets the night before in the form of youtube playlists in the hope that at least some will take advantage of it before the service. But you can also buy music your church sings and listen to it during the week. Believe me, worship pastors aren't trying to hid that info from you and I am positive they would be blessed to see you ask about it, and would do their best to facilitate you getting a hold of those bands and songs. You shouldn't be passive, the same as the leaders shouldn't. Put some effort into it outside of Sunday for Him and I'm sure you will see a change in your heart, and hopefully the service. Ok, that's it for now. Till next time...

In Christ,
paul



music for the week (as usual: no claim of being not "offensive" but it is really good):

Your Surrender - Psalm 32

Ok....so have you ever felt the pressure to repent for something are doing or have done. Like an overwhelming pressure? It keeps you up at night. You really can't seem to get rid of it. I really have come to realize over the years that, that is the Spirit. Jesus in John 16 says about the Spirit

"And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment."


One of the primary roles the Spirit fills that of convicting us of our Sin. Kind of sounds like downer but if we remember the actual title for the Spirit that Jesus gives is The Helper. So if He says the three main rolls of the Spirit really function together as a warning to keep short accounts with the Lord and to look to Jesus, I would that qualifies as help. I really live in denial about my sin or just plain ignore it. My flesh wants to live an oblivious life of sinful bliss. The Spirit is in the world to bring us down to the ground and back into reality. In our Psalm, David examples for us what this looks like when the Spirit isn't [inevitably] ignored.

3When I kept silent,

my bones wasted away

through my groaning all day long.

4For day and night

your hand was heavy on me;

my strength was sapped

as in the heat of summer.

5Then I acknowledged my sin to you

and did not cover up my iniquity.

I said, “I will confess

my transgressions to the Lord.”

And you forgave

the guilt of my sin.

So I'm sure you are thinking "ok so what's the big deal and what does this have to do with worship?" I really get the feeling looking at all of that and it's like looking or talking about being happy about the nurse for pouring the painful hydrogen peroxide on your scrap. But it isn't some disinterested  nurse who doesn't know you, inflicting pain for your "good." It is really more actually like your mom doing it. Those two people are doing the exact same thing. What is different is the motivation, and the care that is informed by the motivation. Hebrews 12:6 says:

because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.

The Lord does it all because He loves us. All that He is and all He does for us is by and for His love. C.H.Spurgeon says that even the "sword of Gods justice is sheathed in the jewel encrusted scabbard of His love." When I look at it that way I can't help but want to sing His praises...even for His conviction. Let us welcome that pressure with glee and sing of His good work. Lord help this inform our praises this Sunday and every day.

In Christ,
paul




music for the week (as usual: no claim of being not "offensive" but it is really good):

This Is A Fire Door Never Leave Open - Psalm 31

Honesty and transparency is hard some come by. We can really hardly ever find it in others much less ourselves. We are so unwilling to open up and say we are at a deficit and are hurting; that we are struggling to move on forward. I even stutter when I know I need to be and reluctantly relent to the truth. David says:

9 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and body with grief.
10 My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction,
and my bones grow weak.

Prayer is powerful. It helps us to understand ourselves in relation to God and pushes us to be honest. I find it harder to lie to myself when I'm praying than any other time. I really think it isn't possible to worship the Lord, to reach to grasp the master, until we have let go of ourselves. Pain and struggles have a tendency to show us ourselves. It shakes our foundations of self confidence. I believe it is there to wake us to conscientiousness, to wake us from our selfish slumber, in order for us to seek out something (really someONE) that is trustworthy to hold onto. Unfortunately in a society of defiant self-reliance, we are told to scream our uniqueness and toughness over the proverbial affliction. We wear shirts that say "I beat cancer" or post things about "proudly being an introvert" that subtly (or not so subtly) imply "I will gladly sacrifice my brothers and sisters in Christ on the alter of my self comfort." Is it awesome that you have recovered from a disease? Yes! Did you really beat it? Is it cool that you know something about yourself? I think it is. But is it really something to be celebrated? No. It has a set of strengths and a set of weaknesses that need to be overcome same as being an extrovert. When we celebrate impediments, or suffering we've "overcome" we really defeat the Divine purpose of it. I want to admit my failings and my need, thereby freeing my hands of myself to grasp on to Him. Think about this line of thinking looking at the concluding verses of this psalm.

21 Praise be to the Lord,
for he showed me the wonders of his love
when I was in a city under siege.
22 In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from your sight!”
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all his faithful people! (the call)
The Lord preserves those who are true to him, (the promise)
but the proud he pays back in full. (the warning)
24 Be strong and take heart (in Him),
all you who hope in the Lord

Let us abandon ourselves and grasp on to Him. Confess, repent and praise Him for He loves us and has forgiven us!

In Christ,
paul



music for the week (as usual: no claim of being not "offensive" but it is really good):

Last Call - Psalm 30

I think probably the single greatest praises we have come as a result of answered prayer. And particularly the prayer of helpless surrender brings salvation; starting the road that is narrow. It is almost the easiest time to sing His praise. Often we call back to our conversion to fuel our song.

1I will exalt you, Lord,

for you lifted me out of the depths...

2 Lord my God, I called to you for help,

and you healed me.

3You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;

you spared me from going down to the pit.

I think that is good but I think that is a bit shallow when it comes to singing to Him. I mean look at it, only singing about things we have received by prayer is the short end of the stick so to speak, because what happens when they aren't answered or they aren't answered with a comfortable response? Our worship subtly becomes about us and it takes more and more just to get us singing. Greater heights, more lights and eventually herecy. Manufacturing gold dust and feathers to be "moves of the Spirit" become the norm and claiming nonsense as our own. To appeal to ourselves is truly the lowest common denominator. It feeds our pride in order to do what we ought. Lewis puts this well in Mere Christianity:

"Teachers, in fact, often appeal to a boy's Pride, or, as they call it, his self-respect, to make him behave decently: many a man has overcome cowardice, or lust, or ill-temper, by learning to think that they are beneath his dignity—that is, by Pride. The devil laughs. He is perfectly content to see you becoming chaste and brave and self-controlled provided, all the time, he is setting up in you the Dictatorship of Pride—just as he would be quite content to see your chilblains cured if he was allowed, in return, to give you cancer. For Pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense."

It may be a more satisfying and subtle devil but it is still the devil none the less. I definitely lean more to our freedoms in Christ but knowing how sadistic pride is, even the music of those churches, divorced from their pastor's heretical teaching, still makes me uneasy. I'm not going to say people can't worship the Lord correctly by singing a Bethal or Hillsong song but it definitely makes me weary. My pride loves to be fed no matter where it comes from.

The best way to ensure we sing and we sing rightly is to sing of the works of the Lord. Not what we get, but rather what He has done. Making Him the focus of most of our worship songs fuels and reorients our hearts. So whether what comes is hard or easy, painful or pain relieving, it is all His work. We can get to the point where we can say as Job did, "though You slay me, yet I will praise you." Look for the work of the Lord in the psalms, and the songs we sing.

4Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;

praise his holy name.

5For his anger lasts only a moment,

but his favor lasts a lifetime;

weeping may stay for the night,

but rejoicing comes in the morning.

In Christ,
paul





music for the week (as usual: no claim of being not "offensive" but it is really good):

Deeper Well - Psalm 29

Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings,

Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;

The Lord is enthroned as King forever.

The Lord gives strength to his people;

The Lord blesses his people with peace.

This psalm begins with a call to worship and then ends in actual worship. You would think it would be opposite. Paul talks on and on about theological topics, showing the length and breadth of the gospel. He then on occasion breaks into song. Here is the other side of the peak of praise. One side is stating the truth, the other side is singing the truth. We dig into truth, realize that we should praise Him, and then praise Him for/by the truth we have dug into. When I feel it is hard to sing, when I feel the motivation isn't there, I think my instinct like all of us, is to just try harder; that is if you even desire to try if the feeling isn't there. We dig into ourselves and attempt to muster more strength to sing. That is, much like our sanctification, the wrong way to do it. We must dig into the Lord and what He is and what He has done in order to grow in our fuel for praise. When we dig into ourselves for strength, direction, and motivation, we dig into a dead well. There is nothing there. It is the fallacy of Pat Robertson/fundy crowd. It is faulty logic that if I just hid from the world, and do things like "pray the bad spirits out of goodwill sweaters," I will have enough strength to remove all the sin in my life. It will somehow remove all temptation from my life and I can just stop sinning all together. This. Is. Wrong. Thinking. No amount of isolation, and strength of my own will make me sinless. It is again, digging into a poisoned well. We must dig into a deeper well. The well that has no end. 

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

John 4

Dig into Him and sing.

In Christ,
paul




music for the week (as usual: no claim of being not "offensive" but it is really good):

Just Give Up - Psalm 28

I often times think about the Christian life, salvation, and my life, trying to distill it down to it's most basic forms. I do this to try find a pin point; a place of motivation from my beginning to go to my end. It really involves being honest about myself and not trying to b.s. my way into an ever stipulated world where I feel better about myself, but a place where I cut the crap about where I am in order to move on. I think, it is important to strip away our excuses to get us down to the bedrock. We excuse ourselves with every identity label in the book. "I don't do that because I'm an introvert," "I avoid my neighbor because I'm busy," "I don't talk to that person because they have a habit of talking down to me," "I grumble about that person because they always 'look at me that way'," and on and on and on. In a society of ever increasing "identity culture" it's easy to forget our place before Christ and where we are and what we are commanded to do now that we are in Him. Now pretty much anyone who knows me and has had any discussion around this knows I am generally adamant about abandoning self reflection and introspection, but I don't really see this as the same. I look to see where I am excusing myself to elevate how I feel about myself for the express purpose of getting back to ground zero. I am full of pride, that is the root of all my sin, and that made me deserving of death. Others commend me to do that to find out the intricacies of myself; to find out more of myself or with the foolish thought that I have any ability to purge sin from my heart. It really ends, in my opinion, in a place where I am, whether directly or indirectly, feeding the root. That root is the extent of the power in my being, and it really just has the power to make death. Humility and Christian charity (love), is inherently outward focused. Even in 1 Peter 2, Peter even examples this perfectly in verse 21

...Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

Christ gave up Himself for us. Zacchaeus gave up his pride and status to see the Lord, and so did the blind man in Luke 18. It's quintessentially a letting go of ourselves to cry out for mercy to the Lord of all creation. It is an outright abandonment of ourselves to be near Him. All my excuses for my sin are just impediments to seeing Him. I would say that if we can't let go of ourselves, seeing our real state (our identity which is really that root of pride), to give Him all we have, we will never let go of "the sin that so easily besets us" to seek out others; to love them and serve them as Christ's example has shown us. What do we think "die to yourself daily" and "pick up your cross and follow me" means? The call of the Lord is always to do that. It is really, in my opinion, the distillation of the work of the Spirit: to call us to that by showing us the step above, and then empowering us to do that. It is like a force like gravity and we fight against it like a cartoon person hanging to a root on the side of a cliff. The call of the Lord is let go of the root of sin, and only with the power of the Spirit we can. We don't believe He will take care of us if we do....but the truth is He always does. So I'm left with the psalmists call:

1To you, Lord, I call;
you are my Rock,
do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who go down to the pit.
2Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.

Lord I need your mercy now more than I ever have. Give me the strength to abandon myself on my cross, and to love and serve You, Your people and those who don't know you. Help me by your Spirit, and remind me by the time I spend with your people and by the songs we sing of You.

In Christ,
paul




music for the week (as usual: no claim of being not "offensive" but it is really good):

With Your Greatest Fears Realized, You Will Not Be Comforted - Psalm 27

I've had a pretty lame week. Since Monday I've been wreaked with stress because, as I like to put it, my boss likes to pour stress over me like syrup over pancakes. It's a lot of cutting me off mid conversation with the number one technician running one of the departments. A verbal post-it note stapled to my forehead accompanied with an actual post-it note, or a folder, or a file. It really gets under my skin and I lose my cool. It usually is a petty request for detailed information that will take me an hour to track down for an update, and it won't be specific or it'll be wrong, or whatever. It's adding hours to my day for something that won't really bring comfort or really information. I know why he does this. He is getting crazy pressured and the stress is rolling down hill per-se. I'm really no different. I'm a terrible at not dumping on others. I try really hard not to but it happens. My lovely wife talked me off a cliff today. I mean, look at that! A whole week ruined by, if I'm being honest, one day. All the accusing, and lost packages; bad information, and unanswered emails, didn't amount to anything. I actually had a fairly relaxed week, work load wise. What was I afraid of? Losing my job? Being told I'm as worthless as I already think I am? I don't really know. Maybe it's a combination of those and more. I just couldn't hear anything else but that pent up torture. I couldn't declare with confidence that I really trusted the Lord. I wonder sometimes if David didn't declare what he did as a way to talk himself into what he knew. To have faith as C.S. Lewis described it; to hold on with his mind and reason, the things that his fickle heart sometimes gives up on.

1The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
2When the wicked advance against me
to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.

I don't think this is just brash confidence because he ends the psalm with:

14Wait for the Lord;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the Lord

David, in times of trouble does his fair share of fearing. He also does his fair share of reminding himself and us to turn to the remedy of our fear. A confidence in a sovereign Lord that has our best interest at heart. Many times not the most fun, or effortless times, but the best ones for us. What would happen if all my worst fears were to be realized? What one hope would or could carry me? Everyone and everything in this world can tear me down with failure after every cutting insult. Only my Lord has taken those cutting, tearing and hurt upon Himself....and that, for my sake. Ultimate power, and ultimate love, for me. I turn and remember that love every time I enter His house. When I sing His praise, I am at piece. When I resound a response, only then I am set at peace.

4One thing I ask from the Lord,

this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord

and to seek him in his temple.

in Christ,
paul





music for the week (as usual: no claim of being not "offensive" but it is really good):

Vindicated - Psalm 26

Vin·di·cate
verb
[past tense: vindicated; past participle: vindicated]
    clear (someone) of blame or suspicion.
    "hospital staff were vindicated by the inquest verdict"
    synonyms:    acquit, clear, absolve, exonerate;

This is probably one of my favorite double meaning words from the psalms that is then filtered by the gospel. David screams to the Lord to vindicate him, because he thinks he has not done anything wrong, and that could be right, often in David when it is concerned with outward actions to Saul. David was upright in his relationship with Saul and his pleas are to the only one who can show him right but we know something else from the new testament authors: no one is right before the Lord. When David says in Psalm 26 "Vindicate me Lord" and we look at the following sentences, they aren't true before the Lord. Like Psalm 130 says "if You Lord kept a record of sins, who could stand?" The answer is no one. So when we look at David's petition "vindicate me Lord" it becomes a plea to be made right. The definition pivots its weight, and to "clear someone of blame" means something totally different. But isn't that what Jesus is? The great vindicator? God remains the only one who can vindicate us but to do so becomes, not totally different, but totally deeper! Jesus is the one who makes us right before the Father. He IS the one who clears us of blame before the holy and just judge: himself. He makes this true in the eyes of the Father.

"1 Vindicate me, Lord [He has by His obedience and sacrifice],
[therefore] I have led a blameless life;
I have trusted in the Lord
and have not faltered.
2 Test me, Lord, and try me,
examine my heart and my mind;
3 for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love
and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness."

Isn't that such wonderful news! Think of that as you sing. God has vindicated you, and not in a temporary way that depends on you but depends on Him. Praise Him!

in Christ,

paul



music for the week (as usual: no claim of being not "offensive" but it is really good):

They Look Like Strong Hands: Psalm 25

Over and over I run my own self into the ground. I try and hold my own ground. I trust that somehow, strength is inside me. It's like every time you swear you won't eat so much or [insert self control issue here] and you just end up doing that. I think "that porn site," "those cookies," "that shopping site/store," "my phone," "that couch," "that guitar," "that book," "those Netflix marathon"...those are just things. Inanimate objects, date, furniture. They can't hurt me, and they can't make me do anything I don't want to do. I just have to say "no" just like Nancy Reagan taught me to. That is totally true. Those things cannot do a thing to you and they cannot do a thing to me...that we don't want them to. But when the chips are down on the table, what do we do? We place our trust in ourselves, don't we? We think we can have strong bodies, strong minds, or strong hands and nothing or nobody can push us around!!! THAT, my friend was never the real problem. When the old testement and particularly the Psalms, talks about shame it means this: to be found to have placed your trust in something that failed you because it was not trustworthy.

Oh, and God forbid we ACTUALLY restrain. Say you say no to that extra helping; say you say no to those sweats that will for sure lead you to a minimum 5 hour Law and Order marathon. What then? How do you feel about that? What swells up within you? Your pride. The chief, numero uno, the big bad daddy that is at the root of all sin, and kicked off our fallen condition. You lay that beside the Cross. See Jesus in pain, and look that in the face. See what that puffy feeling feels like and that trust in yourself did. It should make you and me meek. Often enough, it does not, but when it does, truly does, it looks a little like this:

16Turn to me and be gracious to me,

for I am lonely and afflicted.

17Relieve the troubles of my heart

and free me from my anguish.

18Look on my affliction and my distress

and take away all my sins.

20Guard my life and rescue me;

do not let me be put to shame,

for I take refuge in you.

21May [the] integrity [of Christ] and [His] uprightness protect me,

because my [fruitful] hope, Lord, is in You

If and when we place our trust in Him, we place it in the only thing in the whole of creation that is trust worthy to save us....Jesus. The one who was not of creation but what all creation is from. Sing to Him your thanksgiving because:

"...no one who hopes in you

will ever be put to shame"

in Christ,

paul

music for the week (as usual: no claim of being not "offensive"):

When They Really Get To Know You They'll Run: A Psalms Devotional Introduction

I'm fairly certain this will all be me rambling but I honestly think it will be a good way to process the Psalms as I go though them. I guess I ought to introduce myself. I am Paul. I currently lead worship, all be it intermittently, but I love it. I never thought that I would be in this place since I've been jaded for a long time about church music and the church's view of art but I picked up a used book for $0.99 on a whim about a half dozen years ago. This book by Erik Routely (Church Music and Theology, 1959) changed a lot of what I thought about church music and art. That coupled with some new music coming out of Seattle and Florida put out by label runners that I knew and trusted as well as musicians that were beyond excellent, softened this old band dude. I read as much as I can on the subject now. Once "our band could be your life" sat alone and tattered in my bag; now it rests next to roughed-up copy of "rhythms of grace." I still play with some guys on the weekend in an emo band but I have grown into a love of applying my theological training with my musical training into something the blesses the body of Christ.

Now, I have a pretty simple morning reading schedule. I read a Psalm and the few following it every morning during the week, and the next week I just shift it one Psalm down. Usually I just share my thoughts on it with the body I worship with but I thought it might be a good idea to share them out as a way to digest and apply what I'm reading....if someone else gets something out of it, GREAT! I'm a pretty eclectic guy so if suggestions of  music that I'm listening to are too out there or I soapbox a bit, wait a week and I'm sure something will change and I'll calm down.

Anyway, I will filter all of these Psalms though a Romans lens, and specifically chapters 6, 7, and 8. Trying to balance the emotional appeals of psalmists should always be tempered by good new testament theology lest we get the wrong idea. I've dropped a couple of examples before this. They will look a lot like those but I'm sure things will grow. Please feel free to comment (graciously please), and ask questions. I will do my best to respond.






Music of the week (as usual: I make no claim of this music not being "offensive"):

Psalm 21 (originally posted 8/20/17)

 There is so much pressure around, and so much uncertainty it feels like even the ground beneath our feet is swaying. I mean it seems like that to me. Through the news and social media we see the destructive hate, fulled by pride, firing one side to the other and back again. It seems our country is almost at war with itself. It saddens me. Last Saturday I spoke with a spoken word artist that I respect (a lovely brother in the Lord Micah Bournes) about just what I've seen both in my lifetime in my family and across the country....and I actually began to weep. So many people being hurt by such hate just almost takes me out at the knees. Even dear brothers and sisters in Christ being hurt in their heart from being hated for the color of their skin. In my own life, the only grandfather I knew on my dad's side of the family was my grandpa Milton. He was a 6' 5" African American fisherman. Christina and I just celebrated our 19th anniversary but it reminded me that he didn't come. Not because he didn't love us, and not because we didn't love him. He didn't feel welcomed by extended family. He didn't feel safe from slander, derision or shame to come to our wedding. I don't feel like there is much difference in our country seeing the actions of groups as of late. It is no wonder the ground seems to shift around my heart. Where is there to hope? Where is there to rest?

"through the unfailing love of the Most High
we will not be shaken."
Psalm 21:7

We need His love. The only steady place is His love for us. That love is not deserved, it is not earned, and it is not a commodity to be paid for by good deeds or even righteous indignation. Our sin earns us death and wrath....but God saved us. Humility and grace for those around us and across the country comes in seeing our state before Christ and then our state IN Christ. We can stay standing in the love of the Lord and testify of the good news of His great work. Lets us do this Sunday. Let us prepare our hearts to do it together and then to do it apart at our work and in our homes.

"On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand..."

in Christ,
paul

Psalm 22

I just want to share, since my weekly psalm reading landed on 22 that we read last week, a little of a message I heard at the Canvas conference 2 weeks ago from Cole Brown. David wrote this psalm about how he felt so see this first how he wrote it...

Suffering feels like:

1) Abandonment: vs 1, 2

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me,

so far from my cries of anguish?

My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,

by night, but I find no rest.

2) Condemnation: vs 7, 8

All who see me mock me;

they hurl insults, shaking their heads.

“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,

“let the Lord rescue him.

Let him deliver him,

since he delights in him.”

3) Worthlessness: vs 6

But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by everyone, despised by the people.

4) Loneliness: vs 11

Do not be far from me,

for trouble is near

and there is no one to help.

5) Prison: vs 12,13

Many bulls surround me;

strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

Roaring lions that tear their prey

open their mouths wide against me.

6) Death: vs 14, 15

I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart has turned to wax;

it has melted within me.

My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;

you lay me in the dust of death.

These are all the things suffering feels like. It reminds me of Isaiah where he names Jesus as "a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Think about it, if David says all of this is what suffering feels like, when we apply it like we see the story of Jesus unfolds in Matthew...suffering feels like all the things Jesus suffered for us. It feels like abandonment, but He was totally abandoned: it feels like death and He actually died, etc. He knows what suffering feels like in total. How we feel falls somewhere in the middle on a scale of 1-10, but He has gone all the way to 10 in every category....and He did that for US!!! Finally, suffering ends praise: vs 22-26

I will declare your name to my people;

in the assembly I will praise you.

You who fear the Lord, praise him!

All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!

Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

For he has not despised or scorned

the suffering of the afflicted one;

he has not hidden his face from him

but has listened to his cry for help.

From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;

before those who fear you, I will fulfill my vows.

The poor will eat and be satisfied;

those who seek the Lord will praise him—

may your hearts live forever!

in Christ,

paul

Your Problem With Sunday Worship Is A Problem With Your Heart

 

It's so ridiculous that we are still having to have these discussions. We do not have to sacrifice lyrical content to have good music, NOR do we have to dumb down the music to validate the words. It's maddening to me that anything outside the normal musically is dismissed as being a "rock show" or what is above the normal lyrical baby food is responded to like "Um...I don't get it...there are too many words." This isn't to say that few words are bad or a simple song is either, but the idea that either side is promoting, i.e. a wholesale dumbing down of either music or lyrics, is completely preposterous. There is no grounds for the "holiness" of simple music or simple words. You can prefer either of those but please, let us stop putting on airs that our preferred area of simplicity is more holy. God created us in His image. Part of that is that we imitate Him in His creativity. By saying we have too many instruments or volume, words or ideas is so ignorantly void of the context of God's creation that glorifies Him, I am usually left to wonder if people even look around them once in a while. Even in the simplicity of the seeds, there are complex levels of dna, potential energy and systems designed to get a plant started. I think we have the wrong idea that God only speaks in the "still small voice" of 1 Kings 19. But do you think when the Psalmist declares in 148 "Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths," that they do it in a whisper? Do you really think a subtle and simple noise is spoke of in Psalm 98 "Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." Of course not. We can not assume simple words or music 100% of the time is even acceptable by scriptural standards. There are no grounds for that. We can not be stagnant. We must continue to respond to the greatness of what God is, what God has done, and what God has promised He will do in like manner. Let us consider these two passages and ask ourselves these questions: does my worship sound like this, and does it even attempt to match the grandeur He has made to surround Himself to bring Himself glory?

Psalm 150

1Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens.

2Praise him for his acts of power;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

3Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise him with the harp and lyre,

4praise him with timbrel and dancing,

praise him with the strings and pipe,

5praise him with the clash of cymbals,

praise him with resounding cymbals.

6Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

Revelation 4

1After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

“ ‘Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,’

who was, and is, and is to come.”

9Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

11“You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they were created

and have their being.”