June 30 Reflection

Reading - Psalm 55-57

Reflection Text - Psalm 55

What do you do when you're anxious, stressed or worried?

I remember when we were traveling abroad through an airport without many modern conveniences I spent the entire night before NOT sleeping because of anxiety over whether or not this airport could meet our needs. I read, I watched TV, I counted sheep, nothing worked.

This verse came to me that night (and has sustained me on any trip) and I began to pray it.

"Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken...As for me, I trust in you."

I realized that I would still be anxious and worried but that I was limiting God from experiencing my "CARES" with me. I was keeping God out of that area of my life because I thought it was petty or I thought I should be beyond that. The reality was that God wanted to sustain me and it came when I cast (read, LET GO OF) my burdens into His lap.

What do you do when you're stressed?

June 29 Reflection

Reading - Psalm 52-54

Reflection Text - Psalm 54

Verse 4 says, "Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me."

I want to get practical today. Copy and paste this verse to a document, enlarge the font size and print multiple copies of it. Cut out those verses and put them around your life in key places so that you remember it. Here are some suggestions:
1. In your checkbook, wallet or purse
2. Above your kitchen sink
3. On your computer monitor
4. On your TV
5. On your dashboard

What would it do to your psyche to see/read/hear this verse over and over throughout your life?

June 28 Reflection

Reading - Psalm 49-51

Reflection Text - Psalm 50

This is one of my favorite passages as God seems to be saying back to our insistence that the world either revolve around us or that we have a small God. God speaks...

"I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know every bird in the mountains,
and the insects in the fields are mine.
If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it."

So, why give to God if God doesn't need it? Maybe our giving to God has more to do with us than with what God needs or doesn't need. If that is the case then what happens WITH the offering becomes secondary.

Also, why do I limit God's provision for my life? Why do I insist that God can only do with what I see in front of me? How big is my God?

June 27 Reflection

Reading - Psalm 46-48

Reflection Text - Psalm 46:1-2

Some thoughts:

1. "God is..." - after this weekend's sermon, I had to stop here and just acknowledge that no matter what precedes or follows these words, they simply and powerfully speak of a reality that undergirds it all. The creator IS. The redeemer IS. The One who makes the impossible possible IS. Faith believes in this reality even when God seems absent. How does the fundamental nature of God have room in your life?

2. "...our refuge, strength, a present help in trouble." - God is the place we can go when we just need to hide or seek shelter. God is also our strength to stand in our place no matter what kind of arrows are thrown our way. And when trouble comes, God is not distant but instead PRESENT. Present = a gift. When trouble assails me, God gifts me with His self.

3. "Therefore we will not fear." - What a powerful, simple declaration. The psalmists are saying "therefore" or "because of what I just said..." Because God IS, because God is strength, refuge and help, WE WILL NOT FEAR. Fear then becomes a reality, when not acknowledged or surrendered to God honestly, that emerges because of a lack of confidence in God's primal identity. Fear is real and not something to deny or gloss over but it is not a place that God wants us to linger in because doing so becomes a denial of God's power to embolden, to give courage and to move.

4. "Though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea." - What if the way we saw the world (church, family, job, income, success, etc.) changed one day? What if all that we knew was thrown into the sea? The poets are saying "EVEN THEN, we will not fear."

God, EVEN WHEN ________________, I will not fear. Ok, maybe I will a bit. But my heart's desire is to get to a place in my relationship with you where fear does not grip me, numb me or keep me from all that you have for me. Be near O God.

June 16 Reflection

Reading - Psalm 34 -36

Reflection Text - Psalm 34

"Taste and see that the Lord is good"

Is there anything more enjoyable than an old fashion homemade chocolate chip cookie just out of the oven. My mom has a great recipe for chocolate chip cookies so I enjoying making them from time to time. Unfortunately her recipe was for a family of six including plenty for the neighbors. That means lots and lots of cookies, plenty for the residents at Brookhaven, plenty for the guys at work and all too many for us. I try being good by limiting myself to a couple each day. With that being said they sometime lasts us a couple weeks.

One day I accidentally left my cookies I took to work in the car. It was bright and sunny day that really warmed the car up. When I bit into that 2 week old cookie it was as if I just pulled it out of the oven. The warmth of the sun restored that chocolate chip cookie to what it was designed to be, a delicious pleasure, after a hard days work.

If God through the SUN can restore a chocolate chip cookie to it's original design, how much more can God, through His SON restore us. When we seek God in all of His creation he opens our senses to a new and exciting adventure. His beauty, His love, unfolds all around us. We begin to allow His nature and His beauty to surround us , to engulf us. He becomes our refuge. We turn to Him in our difficult times, in our brokenness, and allow Him to redeem us.

Taste and See, receive the goodness of the Lord!

June 15 Reflection

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Reading: Psalm 31 - 33

Reflection Text - Psalm 32

This Psalm is about the forgiveness that comes from our Lord. It talks about the importance of silence and confession as we seek God's forgiveness.

The sentence that I am drawn to is found in verse 7; You are my hiding place. Wow, David really touches me here. He tells of a place that I never thought of being, a place I never thought of going. So often in our sin, in our brokenness, we look for all kinds of places to hide. Our guilt and shame drive us to all kinds of evils and all kinds of false comfort. David though finds comfort and protection in you God. Instead of running from his sin, he grabs it and dives into You. While so many look for places to hide, David finds forgiveness and peace in His Creator. He understands that in presenting our woes to You and trusting in Your unfailing love that we become new. We find a new way, Your way.

May we all rise from your hiding place and share Your instruction and guidance. May we sing songs of freedom for the sins that used to bind us. It is you dear God that makes our hearts right!

June 14 Reflection

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Reading - Psalm 28 - 30

Reflection Text - Psalm 29

What images appear as you read this Psalm? Do you see God at that moment of creation as he speaks life into being. Do you see God breathe life into the words of His scriptures as this Psalm comes to life. Imagine His still small voice as it thunders power and majesty in the world around us. Who is this God who can speak and breathe new life into a world that is twisted like the oaks of the forest.

This is our God! When we speak, when we sing, when we lift His name up, the Lord strengthens us. Our worship of our God, our King forever, covers us in His blessings of peace.

Help us to listen, to look, to seek and to trust in this voice of God who speaks His love for us all always! May we hear God's voice in the ordinary and the everyday!

According to Your Love

Monday, June 13, 2011
JUNE 13 REFLECTION

Reading: Psalm 25 - 27
Reflection Text: Psalm 25

In Psalm 25, David asks God to show him His ways and paths. He asks to be taught and guided by God, our Savior.
David asks that God not remember the sins of his youth and his rebellious ways. Oh how we all at one time or another have prayed that God forget those crazy things we did when we were young. I wonder if it's not in those sins of our youth, those rebellious times that God teaches us and guides us to His ways and paths.

Often it's when we have fallen or stumbled that God opens our eyes to His ways. He provides light in our darkness, He lifts the fog so we might find our way.
David really hit the mark when he asks to be remembered according to God's love and not his own. Our love often falls short and, at best, is a work in progress. God's love is immeasurable, all encompassing, unconditional and covers all of our sin.

Help us to become Your followers, not just Your fans. Open our hearts so that we might truly receive Your love!

June 12 Reflection

Reading - Psalm 22-24

Reflection Text - Psalm 22

When you read Jesus' last words as he hung on the cross, you'll hear the same words from David in Psalm 22. Jesus, in complete brokenness cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"

There is much commentary on WHY Jesus said these words and my thought is that he was deliberately referencing Psalm 22. Re-read Psalm 22:11-18 in light of what we now know that Jesus was doing on the cross.

11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 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.
15 My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce[e] my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.

Can you hear both the poet and Jesus' desperation? Does it bring you comfort knowing that in the middle of this agony is when God's ultimate plan bore the most fruit?

Could it be that while we are suffering God is actually about to bring rebirth?

June 11 Reflection

Reading - Psalm 19-21

Reflection Text - Psalm 19

This is one of my favorite yet convicting Psalms.

Verses 7-11 are a beautiful story of how the poet sees the commands, regulations and expectations of a covenantal God. Can you imagine your children telling you that the rules you use to guide their lives are "refreshing, trustworthy and more precious than gold?" The poet here says these things because when followed, the expectations of God actually give life. Maybe you could say it like this:

Obedience gives rise to Freedom

7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the LORD are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.


These final 3 verses seem like a prayer...pleading for God's mercy and guidance against the errors and faults that keep one from blamelessness.


12 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Write verse 14 on a post-it note and hang it on your computer to memorize this week.

June 10 Reflection

Reading - Psalm 16-18

Reflection Text - Psalm 18

Just a quick question:

What is something that you've prayed a ton about that God has answered in the last month or so?

How did you respond to God's response?

This Psalm is a lengthy one I think because David, the writer, is overjoyed that the prayers for vindication, safety, refuge, hope and deliverance were answered. When God intervened in his life, he offered back to God a word of thanks.

How can I take a moment and thank God with a LONG poem or song of thanks?

Now, go read this.

June 9 Reflection

Reading - Psalm 13-15

Reflection Text - Psalm 13

I love different musical interpretations of Scripture. Here is one from Psalm 13 from the David Crowder Band



How long will I wait?

What does hope sound like? (it's not banjo music to me, but maybe Pearl Jam)

Do I trust God to bring hope when it feels like God isn't there?

June 8 Reflection

Reading - Psalm 10-12

Reflection Text - Psalm 10

Verse 4 says, "In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God."

The poet here is saying that the prideful do not seek God because how could he when all he's thinking about is himself. In other words, when we are so focused on ourselves, when we are so content with a self-sustained and self-contained life then we essentially crowd out the place where God wishes to dwell. It's kinda like filling your living room with wall-to-wall furniture and then inviting over a guest. You may want them to come in but essentially you've labeled other things as more important.

My prayer today: Oh God, forgive me for my pride. I've often left no room for you in my life because of my arrogance and wrong priorities. Create a longing in me that is strong enough to move whatever I've put in your place. Amen

June 7 Refelction

Reading - Psalm 7-9

Reflection Text - Psalm 8

Let this be your prayer all day...repeat the words that resonate deeply in you throughout the day.

LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
5 You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

June 6 Reflection

Reading - Psalm 4-6

Reflection Text - Psalm 5

The Psalmist says, "In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly."

I was wondering if the rhythm of his requests has merit still for us.
Movement 1 - "in the morning" - before the day begins, "you hear my voice" - the poet makes sure God hears from him early in the day.

Movement 2 - "I lay my requests before you" - This God must be a God who is close if the poet feels safe enough to share personal requests.

Movement 3 - "and wait expectantly" - Whenever I hear "expectant" I think of a pregnant woman waiting, anticipating the coming of the new life.

Reflection:
-What needs to happen in my life where I can be this intimate with God?
-How do I cultivate a prayer life that is eagerly expecting God? What difference would that make in my life?

June 5 Reflection

Reading - Psalm 1-3

Reflection Text - Psalm 3

David was facing opposition for a close friend. It was in fact, his son. David wrote this poem, this song, while he was fleeing from his own blood. I love that he wrote that many did not think God could deliver him, but David said,

"3 But you, LORD, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the LORD,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me"

With his head on the line, David could sleep and have assurance to know that God would protect him, lift him up, answer him and deliver him.

A question or two for our discussion: What would it look like for me to have that same sense of trust, confidence and assurance in God's faithfulness for my life? Can I have that without being completely desperate like David?