Psalm 119: The Movie and the Songs

At the risk of looking like a full time blogger, I expose my addiction to this media, and this subject.

This week LifeChurch is reading Psalm 119. Some suggest its the Psalm that David used to teach Solomon as a child, though the authorship is not definitive (it sure sounds like David). David was not a lawyer, he was a musician, a shepherd and a lover and a king.

As many of you know, my background requires me to post a caveat to this treatise on "the law". I believe that the ONLY way to read this is by the Spirit (see Tony's 2 "rules" about reading the bible in prior post :). The law kills, but the spirit brings life (2Cor 3:6), Wretched man that I am (Romans 7:24-25), who will save me from this body of death? What follows are some of the most hopeful words ever written: "Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord." God speaks to our heart through His living and active word (Heb 4:12), so I have to see this as a channel by which I can have that conversation.

All that said, here are a few resources that might help read Psalm 119.

1. Matthew Henry commentary (Shorter synopsis)
   
2. Spurgeon Commentary (A very detailed commentary)
   
3. The links below are from Zion Christian Press That has taken Each of the "Letters" of Psalm 19 and set to acoustic Guitar (mp3 and chords in PDF) and seperately made a movie of the song. The author gives this material away freely for the glory of God.
   Psalm 119a (Aleph)Blessed Are They Whose Ways Are Blameless
   Psalm 119b (Beth)How Can a Young Man Keep His Way Pure?
   Psalm 119c (Gimel)I Am a Stranger on Earth
   Psalm 119d (Daleth)I Am Laid Low in the Dust
   Psalm 119e (Heh)Turn My Eyes Away From Worthless Things
   Psalm 119f (Vav)I Will Talk About Your Statutes Before Kings
   Psalm 119g (Zayin)Your Decrees Are the Theme of My Song
   Psalm 119h (Heth)You Are My Portion, O LORD
   Psalm 119i (Teth)It Was Good For Me To Be Afflicted
   Psalm 119j (Yodh)Let Your Compassions Come To Me
   Psalm 119k (Kaph)How Long Must Your Servant Wait?
   Psalm 119l (Lamedh)Your Word O LORD Is Eternal
   Psalm 119m (Mem)I See More Clearly Than The Ancients
   Psalm 119n (Nun)Your Word Is A Lamp Unto My Feet
   Psalm 119o (Samekh)Away From Me You Evil Doers
   Psalm 119p (Ayin)It Is Time For You To Act O LORD
   Psalm 119q (Peh)Streams Of Tears Flow From My Eyes
   Psalm 119r (Tsadhe)Your Promises Have Been Thoroughly Tested
   Psalm 119s (Qoph)I Rise Before The Dawn And Cry For Help
   Psalm 119t (Resh)Your Salvation Is Far From The Wicked
   Psalm 119u (Shin)Great Peace Have They Who Love Your Law
   Psalm 119v (Tav)I Have Gone Astray Like A Lost Sheep
   

Revolutionary "Wanna-Be": Part 2 Embracing Truth

The hardest part is being short.  Blogs should be short.

Below are notes from the LifeChurch message today. 

Any fool can count the seeds in an apple, only God can count the apples in a seed. His power is in the seed, our choice is in the soil (Hard, Rocky, Choked with weeds or good soil Mark 4:13-20).

1. The Path-Hard:  We have allowed hurts and disappointments with people have to make us hard-hearted, stubborn and willful.  God turns that manure into fertilizer, a place from which we can minister to others.
   • Antidote: Tell God "I am getting hard, cold not feeling, don't want to be that way.  God will you just love on me?  He will bring verses, remembrances
2. Rocky Places: Trouble and Temptations take you away Ps. 119:9-11
3. Thorns?: Our Own Kingdom, weeds
   • We are unfruitful, saved but little to show
   • Ps 119:105  Lamp to my feet
   • Ps 119:133  Direct our footsteps
4. Good soil, Bearing Fruit, whoever has will be given more, 30, 60 or 100 times

Two quick rules to Studying the bible:

Never open the Book without praying that "I believe you will speak to me through your word".  God depends on us reading His word.

Don't open it unless you're committed to obey "Help me to receive the grace to obey".  He will till the ground.

 

Eagle or Prairie Chicken? The eagle egg, rolling down the hill, adopted as a prairie chicken.  Looked up one day to see a eagle flying.  "WOW, I'd love to do that", the chickens told him to stick to pecking in the dust.  You can soar with the eagles (Is 40), if you feed on the truth....

Read Psalm 119, a little each day 

Melissa summed it up...I could  "delve" into the word more, share what he says more.  That's meat.

Revolutionary "Wanna-Be": Part 1 past due

Ever since I began blogging, I don't remember taking the time to put down notes about my time with LifeChurch.  This is actually some of the most special time, when I see lives that are changed, people who are hungry for Life, and we get to pray and worship our Father together, and get pearls of wisdom from our Leadership: Tony Portell, Scott Himes and TJ Hampton. 

Recently we started  a series on Revolution,  with the idea that we must become the change we envision (Ghandi, no we are not new-age, he stole the idea from God). 

Here I sit, every week, sometimes through the same message twice, and I do not allow this to change who I am. Shame on me, what a waste of my time and God's if I don't treat this at least as seriously as the "random" stuff that God lays in front of me.   Last week, I took serious notes, and I while I was cleaning up and helping the band pack, someone threw away all that I had written....bummer.  Here is what I can remember.

1. A lark, threatened by death from singing would still have to sing.  Why should I change who I am in the presence of others?  Where is my identity?
• A revolution is not a bed of roses, ...a revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past.  (Fidel Castro  1961)
• Simply put, if you are not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people and kiss it goodbye, you can't be my disciple (Luke 14:33 the message bible)
2. Revolutionaries look like their leader, shouldn't we?  (2Cor3:18)
3. Revolution is a sudden change in organizational Power (We give God control) 
• Question: What is holding us back?  What are we not letting God have dominion over in our lives? 
• Answer: It's the stuff that upsets us when we don't get our way.

 

 

Revolutionary Love

David Crowder

Desperation leads us here 
Leads us here
Illumination meets us here
Meets us here
Revelation brings us here
Brings us here
Restoration frees us here
Frees us here

And I don't want to leave
I don't want to leave this place
No, I don't want to leave
I never want to leave this place

CHORUS
It's so amazing
Your unchanging love
Simply amazing
Never changing love
Love, love revolutionary love

Reparation leads us here
Leads us here
Liberation meets us here
Meets us here
Jubilation brings us here
Brings us here
Higher elevation frees us here
Frees us here

Your revolutionary love
Your revolutionary love, love, love

You're a revolution I want to be Revolutionary
You're a revolution I want to be Revolutionary
You're a revolution I want to be Love, love, love
Revolutionary love

Canoe Trip: which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

 

Last week I had a special privilege to canoe with Garry, his boys and my son Dave. 

The trip down was an adventure as we listened to a Rudyard Kipling poem (IF).  We talked with the boys about being able to risk everything, and loose, and still gain Jesus.  The bridge was down so we had to take a long detour to the canoe place, challenges along the way in the river with new canoe'rs and old men. 

Once we got past the throngs of people we enjoyed standing in the river and feeling the rush of the current of warm water around our legs.  We saw tadpoles becoming frogs and boys becoming young men, growing past the challenges and even car sickness.    We finished the trip with a stopped at Mayberry Cafe (a la Andy Griffth and Barney Fife) in downtown Danville.  I had fried catfish and stewed apples. 

This is how every day should be, fathers and sons. 

IF
Rudyard Kipling

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Starfish: 2008 Mega Kids Camp

The Soccer Team that Curtis and I coached: Natashia, Nathan, Devon, Hunter, Mikyle, Noah.

 

LifeChurch put on a sports camp for the Boys and Girls School down on Minnesota street.  It was clearly a "different" setting than comfortable middle class surroundings most of us knew.  Yet in some ways, it was the same.  A small boy, hit by the ball, not knowing how to be comforted.  A young girl, hurt in a soccer move, falls to pieces, yet becomes endeared to her coaches as most children did during the brief 5 day event.  That's what happened to Bill and I and others we realized that God was making a way for us to stand up and serve Him, even though we all felt so ill-prepared.   

We learned To Go the Distance you need…

Change (Monday)

Endurance (Tuesday)

Rest (Wednesday)

Teamwork (Thursday)

Finish Strong (Friday)

Reading Ps 23 on the last night with one of the parents was especially precious. Love is rare, but even more rare for these children.  No child should go unloved or feel unsafe.  Seeing children who have every reason to give up, yet reach out to love others is amazing. Days later as they met us at LifeChurch and the Ugandan Orphans Choir, even the crusty and hardened children reached for the hug they had been so longing for that morning, and they got what they deserved.      

Bill O., Jessica, Tony Portell, Curtis, Julie, Johnathan, Joshua, Amanda, Rachel, Steve A.,  Matt and Mellisa, Chris H., April C., Andy M., Scott H.,  and so many others came night after night to encourage the children and each other.   This is what we talked about.

I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith.
Now there is in store for me
the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will award to me on that day”
The Apostle Paul
2 Timothy 4:7, 8

Eric, the leader of the Ugandan Orphan's choir told the story about Starfish many of have heard...

Each morning as the tide receded, a young boy would walk along the
beach picking up starfish from the drying sand. Abandoned by the
water, the starfish were sure to die in the growing heat. So the boy
would toss each starfish he came upon back into the cool and calming
waves.

A passerby shook his head at the boy’s slow pursuit and grunted,
"Don’t bother, child. There are thousands of those starfish. They go
on for miles. You cannot possibly make a difference throwing them
back into the ocean."

But the boy picked up another starfish, looked at it thoughtfully
and remarked as he tossed it back into the sea, "It made a
difference to that one."

This time, it was personal.

Never let Go: Our Guardian

This clip from the Guardian shows the pure compassionate heart of God, who will never let go. He did so once and for all, sacrificing His life to save us. He cares deeply about me, as he did in the times of Jonah, to save those who are without hope. He loves perfectly, and our love is made perfect and complete when we are compassionate towards others (see the Veggie Tales version, really!)

This is not who I am, but who I want to be. A partner, with him, helping others like me. It's the only way to bring glory to Him, to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice Romans 12:1.

(Note, I reloaded the video, original link broke)

Interview With God: Are you afraid?

DJ reminded me again a few weeks ago about the "Interview with God".  So the other morning I read it, and was pierced by the line... "it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and it takes many years to heal them".  God's answer to me is His Spirit, the Comforter...my Advocate (and yours).   

Yesterday at work I had an instant message conversation with my purchasing agent, while we had a telephone conversation with a vendor.  It was the closest experience I can recall to talking with God...because as we talked with the vendor on the phone, the purchasing agent and I would send direction and encouragement to each other using text messages simultaneously about where the conversation should go.  He helped me, but sought my input, and encouraged me to carry parts of the conversation without forcing anything.  It was wonderful being not just a servant, or even a client, but a partner.

Doesn't God want that too, as a Father?  Preventing us from going too far, but encouraging us to go father in the ordinary situations of life....all within the boundaries of choice and love (not law). My boss told me yesterday, if you feel you are about 70% "right" or more, you should go for it. If you make a mistake, I will back you up and we will learn from it.  God knows my weaknesses.

Are you afraid of mistakes you've made, others made or might make?  Does that keep you from hearing God?

 

 

I dreamed I had an interview with God.
“So you would like to interview me?” God asked
“If you have the time” I said.
God smiled
“My time is eternity”
“What questions do you have in mind for me?”

“What surprises you most about humankind?...”
God answered...
“That they get bored with childhood.
They rush to grow up and then long to be children again.”
“That they lose their health to make money
and then lose their money to restore their health.”
“That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present,
such that they live in neither the present nor the future.”
That they live as if they will never die,
and die as if they had never lived.”
God’s hand took mine and we were silent for awhile

And then I asked...“As a parent”
what are some of life's lessons”
you want your children to learn?”
God replied with a smile
“To learn they cannot make anyone love them.
What they can do is let themselves be loved.”
“To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others.”
“To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least.”
“To learn that it only takes a few seconds
to open profound wounds in persons we love,
and it takes many years to heal them.”

“To learn to forgive by
practicing forgiveness.”
“To learn that there are persons who love them dearly,
but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings.”
“To learn that two people
can look at the same thing
and see it differently.”
“To learn that it is not always enough that they
be forgiven by others. But that they must
forgive themselves.”

“And to learn that I am here always.”

Scott, May God's grace be upon you, again

My good friend Scott is launching a mission trip to Costa Rica again today. 

Earlier today it didn't even occur to me why I was drawn to this song he put on the DVD of our last trip.  I honestly couldn't stop listening for about two hours yesterday.  In particular, it was the idea that God doesn't need us, BUT he wants us. 

There is much more to this song...but when I got home, and got the reminder about Scott's trip, it made me smile, because like Bill and I were talking about at dinner, God has a marvelous way of bringing all these puzzle pieces together, and its way beyond our ability to even appreciate it. The fun part is being reminded He is there, and we are part of His plan.

Scott, We pray for your team to be draw into a deeper walk, to join with the Spirit in God's Work, and to bring strength and support to Dan and Cindy and the people of Costa Rica, by the power of Christ in you, the hope of glory!

 

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27

 

In me

(Casting Crowns )

....'Cause when I'm weak,
You make me strong
When I'm blind
you shine Your light on me
'Cause I'll never get by
living on my own ability

How refreshing to know You don't need me
How amazing to find that you want me

So I'll stand on Your Truth,
and I'll fight with Your Strength
Until You bring the victory,
by the power of Christ in me

Amen, Amen, Amen

More Info Here

Keep an eye on the iphone!:)

Community: The release of our the Spirit in our heart

I found some hope earlier this week in the thought that only a few find it (Matt 7:13)....not as a barrier, but as a way of community. God's heart about community seemed worth a few more notes from "Waking the Dead", by John Eldredge. Most of the notes from the book are not ways to achieve salvation, but to fully experience the freedom and purpose to which we are called.

How would you live differently?

How would you live differently if you believed your heart was the treasure of the kingdom? ...Something stronger than fate has chosen you. Evil will hunt you. And so a fellowship must protect you. ...Together we train for battle. Together we plan our path. What makes this community so powerful ? You help me remember my story, my role and where I am. I don't have to carry the burden of remembering alone. "All the believers were one in heart..." (Acts 4:32)

Sitting for a sermon will never expose me, that's why most folks prefer it, but a community will. Do we keep our meetings short, our conversations superficial...a comfortable, anonymous distance? Our we an army that keeps meeting for "briefings", but never breaks into platoons and goes to war?

The "four streams" that lead to the full release of the Spirit (Rom 7:4-6).

1. Discipleship: Walking with God, both in wisdom and revelation
2. Counseling: Asking God, asking friends of God
3. Healing: Restoration, being forgiven, forgiving others...forgiving ourselves,
4. Warfare: Setting captives free

"Be kind, for everyone you know is facing a great battle." (Philo of Alexandria)

WOW, the missing keys in most relationships and community:

• First you know the heart is good.
• Second, we know we are at war.

Finally, community is NOT a substitute for God.

Only He can validate me, appreciate me, fill the aching void in my heart. We go first to God, alone so that we have something to bring back to the community.

Few Find It

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Matthew 7:13-15

For years this verse hung like a cloud over me, because between the lines people had read it to say "It is difficult to find" or "you must work harder than all the rest", "God's kingdom was only ever meant for a few". It was used by more than one group to justify its own small size and exclude others from "true Christianity".

This morning, the cloud broke as I was reading this:

We have stopped short of being an organization; we're an organism instead, a living and spontaneous association of individuals who know one another intimately, care for each other deeply and feel a kind of respect for one another that makes rules and bylaws unnecessary. A group is the right size, I would guess, when each member can pray for every other member, individually and by name.

Brother Andrew, God's smuggler

This is not a rant against big institutions, its just a recognition that those settings by themselves cannot be the place of personal interaction that brother Andrew describes. John Eldredge (Waking the dead) uses this quote to explain how crucial it is to have a small fellowship to walk with you and fight with you and bandage your wounds so that you can live fully the life you were ransomed for by Jesus.

This idea that our relationship with God is bound in a community of believers is one I think most of us recognize in our heart, and lack in our relationships. Thankfully, it is NOT because our Father only wanted it, or expected it, for a few. It can be part of the reason I feel more (or less) connected to the love of God and his purpose for my life. Thanks Bill, Garry, Laura, Kevin, Scott, Tony, DJ, Steve and a few others.

Much, much more to this than I can write now.