The Burden of PRIDE

 

Friday, April 30, 2021

A man named Simon had been a sorcerer there for many years, amazing the people of Samaria and claiming to be someone great.  Everyone, from the least to the greatest, often spoke of him as “the Great One—the Power of God.”  They listened closely to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic.  But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.  As a result, many men and women were baptized.  Then Simon himself believed and was baptized.  He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip performed.  When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there.  As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.  When Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, he offered them money to buy this power.  “Let me have this power, too,” he exclaimed, “so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!”  But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought!  You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God.  Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord.  Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.”  “Pray to the Lord for me,” Simon exclaimed, “that these terrible things you’ve said won’t happen to me!”  Acts 8:9-24

Simon the magician (as he was called) was a very perceptive fellow.  Most magicians are; their so-called magic is a means of deception to distract the audience’s eyes with the right hand, so the left can make stuff appear, change, or disappear. 

But perception is only in the eyes of the beholder (audience); reality is in God’s hands.  And Simon was smart enough to perceive something greater than his sham performances; he saw people turning to God and understood he was witnessing something much greater than himself.  So (as Acts tells us) he also believed, was baptized, and began following to see where it would lead.  When he witnessed the gift of the Holy Spirit being imparted to people, and the change that came over them, the old Simon within recognized a great opportunity to regain his status, and that old Simon tried to buy his way back into the limelight.

Aren’t the names significant here?  It was Peter who told Simon his heart wasn’t right, so his request would wash back the dregs of hell all over it.  Simon was being instructed by Peter, an apostle who used to be Simon, until Jesus renamed him Peter.  Now Peter, (Christ’s little rock) was telling Simon the disingenuous huckster, to get his heart straight before he’d see any blessing from above.

The short answer to the riddle of this account is that Simon the magician couldn’t let go of the old life.  And because of that he would not experience the joy and liberation of the new life in Jesus.  His jealous desire to be in the spotlight made him a captive to his sinful nature. 

The apostle Paul fought this as well; listen to his testimony:

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  I want to do what is right, but I can’t.  I want to do what is good, but I don’t.  I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.  But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.  I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.  I love God’s law with all my heart.  But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind.  This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.  Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?  Thank God!  The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.  So you see how it is:  In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.  Romans 7:18-25

For You Today

If this Simon-in-the-spotlight battle is raging within you, go back and read aloud how Paul found Christ’s solution – until the Holy Spirit starts to burn it within your heart that you won’t be able to do it alone.  And when the burden of self becomes great enough, you’ll know what to do…lay it down…right at the foot of the cross.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

Harvest Songs a Little Off-Key

 

Thursday, April 29, 2021

Then the Sovereign Lord showed me another vision.  In it I saw a basket filled with ripe fruit.  “What do you see, Amos?” he asked.  I replied, “A basket full of ripe fruit.”  Then the Lord said, “Like this fruit, Israel is ripe for punishment!  I will not delay their punishment again.  In that day the singing in the temple will turn to wailing.  Dead bodies will be scattered everywhere.  They will be carried out of the city in silence.  I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”  Listen to this, you who rob the poor and trample down the needy!  You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over and the religious festivals to end so you can get back to cheating the helpless.  You measure out grain with dishonest measures and cheat the buyer with dishonest scales.  And you mix the grain you sell with chaff swept from the floor.  Then you enslave poor people for one piece of silver or a pair of sandals.  Now the Lord has sworn this oath by his own name, the Pride of Israel:  “I will never forget the wicked things you have done!  Amos 8:1-7

There is enough about judgment in Scripture to have a true echo to this picture Amos has seen of harvest songs (usually a very happy time) turning into wailing in Jerusalem’s temple.  Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels is enough to make one sit-up and shudder over the Great Judgment Day coming.  The list is too long and discomforting for bedtime reading:

·       The Barren Fig Tree (burying your talents Luke 13)
·       The Good Samaritan (religious elitism Luke 10)
·       The Pharisee and the Publican (judging others Luke 18)
·       The Rich Fool (greed and selfishness Luke 12)
·       The Rich Man and Lazarus (ignoring the destitute Luke 16)
·       The Sheep and Goats (pretend Christianity Matthew 25)
·       The House Built on Rock (trusting in other than Christ Matthew 13)

Now that’s just an uncomfortable list of parables, little stories with multi-level lessons.  Greater stories of judgment that cut right to the chase have mountains crashing down on heads, stars falling, war with rivers of blood flowing deep enough to drown a horse.  Then, there are the results of judgment, everlasting torment, weeping, gnashing of teeth (as an ongoing expression of torment), irrevocable banishment into the darkness, never to experience God’s love, being cut in two, and on, and on.

The natural objection to all of this is to point to the fact that it has been two-thousand years since Jesus died, and the earth rocks-on.  So, where is the judgment?  And the traditional response to that is, so-what…justice delayed is a sign of God’s mercy, giving those who reject him time to repent and be saved. 

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.  2 Peter 3:9

But whether people want to forcefully object to Scripture’s warnings, or simply ignore them and hope they’re not true, there is an undeniable discomfort level with the whole subject.  This, in itself, is a measure of proof that there is, placed deep within each of us mortals, an understanding of our accountability to God, and the culpability of our sins.  For those poor souls who want to object to God’s judging the world and everything/person in it is like a flea having an argument with an elephant.  It just will not change the outcome.

For You Today

There is a harvest song that will never be sung off-key – that of the singer who recognizes what Jesus called the fields white unto harvest.  It is God calling the lost who need to hear the Good News that Christ will save all who come to Him in repentance.  When you work in that field, your song is echoed in Heaven, and you will return to Him someday, rejoicing and carrying with you sheaves of joy.  That is another of God’s promises:

They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.  Psalm 126:6

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

Wearing the Mess You Made

 

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Do not gloat over me, my enemies!  For though I fall, I will rise again.  Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.  I will be patient as the Lord punishes me, for I have sinned against him.  But after that, he will take up my case and give me justice for all I have suffered from my enemies. The Lord will bring me into the light, and I will see his righteousness.  Then my enemies will see that the Lord is on my side.  They will be ashamed that they taunted me, saying, “So where is the Lord—that God of yours?”  With my own eyes I will see their downfall; they will be trampled like mud in the streets.  In that day, Israel, your cities will be rebuilt, and your borders will be extended.  People from many lands will come and honor you—from Assyria all the way to the towns of Egypt, from Egypt all the way to the Euphrates River, and from distant seas and mountains.  But the land will become empty and desolate because of the wickedness of those who live there.  O Lord, protect your people with your shepherd’s staff; lead your flock, your special possession.  Though they live alone in a thicket on the heights of Mount Carmel, let them graze in the fertile pastures of Bashan and Gilead as they did long ago.  “Yes,” says the Lord, “I will do mighty miracles for you, like those I did when I rescued you from slavery in Egypt.”  All the nations of the world will stand amazed at what the Lord will do for you.  They will be embarrassed at their feeble power.  They will cover their mouths in silent awe, deaf to everything around them.  Like snakes crawling from their holes, they will come out to meet the Lord our God.  They will fear him greatly, trembling in terror at his presence.  Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people?  You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love.  Once again you will have compassion on us.  You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!  You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.  Micah 7:8-20

Of course the story of Israel, starting with Abram, is like the story of us all, starting with Adam.  The story begins with God’s kindness and gifts; it quickly progresses to a fall.  Sin is more than endemic, or pandemic, it is universally common to human DNA.  I have (what is probably) an annoying habit of taking impromptu surveys when I preach.  I may have asked one question more than any other; how many of you have NEVER sinned…not even once?  In 40 years of preaching I’ve never seen a single hand raised to claim perfect innocence.  The obvious conclusion is that we ALL make a mess of life.  Jeremiah said so in the Old Testament, and Paul validated it in the New Testament: 

Lord, we confess our wickedness and that of our ancestors, too.  We all have sinned against you.  Jeremiah 14:20
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.  Romans 3:23

If you listen very closely to what Micah wrote about Israel’s mess-up, and how the prophet steps into Israel’s shoes, he, on behalf of his people, is owning it, confessing it, wearing the mess.  And in the middle of that messy-dress admission of guilt, the prophet speaks a word to every one of us who possesses human DNA:

When you’ve messed up it’s right to confess two things:

     1.     That YOU messed up, you’re not a victim; you’re the perp!

     2.     That God’s not done with you, because you’re willing to admit the mess-up, and ask for help to change.

For You Today

It’s important to see the hand of God mete out punishment for our sinfulness.  And it’s just as important (maybe more so) to see that God derives no joy in doing so; as the perfect parent, our Heavenly Father punishes in order to correct.  And that tells us He hasn’t written us off.  You correct what you are still going to keep and use; you don’t throw away what you love.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

Blood White

 

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?”  And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.”  Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation.  They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.  “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his Temple.  And he who sits on the throne will give them shelter.  They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun.  For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd.  He will lead them to springs of life-giving water.  And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”  Revelation 7:13-17

It has always fascinated me, this strange image welling-up in my mind of white robes, having been cleansed by blood.  Blood creates a stain that is hard to remove.  And that is as it should be.  Scripture tells us that the life of every creature is in the blood.[1]  It is fitting that life should not be easily washed away.

As a side note on a callous attitude towards life in this nation (and in much of the world’s countries) today, life is too easily discarded.  There is a mood of violence in our land, and it makes my blood go sour to ponder just how far we have travelled from Pilgrims escaping the persecution of religious intolerance four hundred years ago, to the daily doses of murder and manslaughter in our day. 

Jesus told his disciples that in this life they would have tribulation.[2]  That is so for everyone who follows Christ.  There are always difficult decisions to make.  We are called to a life of obedience, and that requires accepting some things beyond our comfort zone, and rejecting those things which our natural appetites crave.  But, the toughest of all is standing against the tide and swell of public opinion when they come crossways with clear Scriptural mandates.

One of the most difficult pills to swallow is how lightly we tread around the choice to abort life.  In the name of personal freedom, the laws of this land permit infanticide.  This stands in direct opposition to the teachings and commands of the great Life-giver, Jesus Christ, who said:

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.  John 10:10

The callous attitude which disposes of life is not going away.  Scripture points to a time of awful tribulation, where lust for power will supercede virtue and kindness.  Death will be the penalty for lack of conformity to the rule of human idolatry.  Those who openly worship Christ will be terminated.  What we see today in barbaric displays of abortion, genocide, terrorism, and travesties of justice will be minor playground skirmishes compared to the Great Tribulation.  But that is on earth.  In heaven a different story is being worked out.  Evangelist Leighton Ford wrote the following about his son Sandy:

During the months following Sandy's death, to cope with my grief and sense of loss, I kept a journal.  Through a series of "conversations" with Sandy, I continued to express my grief and bring our relationship to a close.   In one of those chats, I said, 

"Sandy, you've been dead two months earthtime."  

"I feel as if I have been alive forever, Dad.  It's a lot like one big long today."  

"It's not a matter of time, Sandy, except that time heals. It's more a matter of nearness.  I guess I'm concerned that as our time goes on, we will lose any sense of nearness."  

"But why, Dad?  You're moving closer to eternity every day. You're no longer moving from, but to me!  And besides, the 'Wall' between is so thin -- you would laugh if you could see it."  

"I think more of you than when you were at Chapel Hill."  

"Sure!  I know you do.  I hear those thoughts."  

"Night, son!  Enjoy the stars!"  
"It's morning here, Dad.  Enjoy the light!"

My friends, only the nearness of Jesus can provide the kind of peace that can be called eternal.  The world is looking for peace, talking of peace, and imagining peace can be had on a worldwide scale; they are wrong.  But there is a peacemaker who is coming.

For You Today

Peace is an eternal thing that is offered by the Prince of Peace, one person, one human heart at a time.  It is offered to you.  It is for those who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.  And it means the eternal presence of Jesus.  Are you washed in the blood?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

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[1] Leviticus 17:14

[2] John 16:33

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Standing Out Where No One Can See

 

Monday, April 26, 2021

Now the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem.  Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.”  But Samuel asked, “How can I do that?  If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”  “Take a heifer with you,” the Lord replied, “and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord.  Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me.”  So Samuel did as the Lord instructed.  When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town came trembling to meet him.  “What’s wrong?” they asked.  “Do you come in peace?”  “Yes,” Samuel replied.  “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.  Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.”  Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice, too.  When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”  But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them.  People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  1 Samuel 16:1-7

David was about to be picked as the next king of Israel, and Samuel, prophet, and consummate-insider to the current king, doesn’t have a clue.  He was looking for the tall, impressive, kingly sort, and Eliab seemed to fit that profile.  His picture would look good on Israel’s Chamber of Commerce brochure inviting people to visit and spend their cash.  He would be a dashing, electrifying figure in a chariot for the army and cavalry soldiers – a very inspiring presence for sending them off to war.  But God said, Nope…not him.  He doesn’t have the heart I’m looking for.

And who, exactly is the one who does have that kind of heart?  It was David – somewhat less-impressive in the Instagram sense – not likely to grab the attention of the Kardashian followers.  But David had a heart in tune with God’s heart.  And that is always where God is looking.

We live in a world that has gone mad for the rock-star mentality.  It is about as certain as the sun rising in the east that sound-bites, beauty, charm, and outlandish lifestyles will grab the attention of the public like a dangling lure will attract trout (for at least 5 minutes).  But in the realm of substantive choices, God is looking for those who have heeded what David’s son, Solomon would one day write:

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.  Proverbs 4:23

So, what was it about David that developed such a heart?  David lived a life of quiet, but certain, dedication to finding and following God’s will.  His heart was bent towards all the things God loves, faithfulness, purity in lifestyle, righteousness over appetites, and more.  It is the simple statement of another of God’s prophets that wraps up having a heart of which God approves:

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8

For You Today

It’s easy to get sucked-into grabbing for attention and an audience of followers.  That’s mainstreaming, but it also leads to a façade of glitz, which, at the end of the day, will fade into a newer, glitzier model.  But a heart for God will never go out of style.  And never is a lot longer-lasting than just a moment in time.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

 

Friday, April 23, 2021

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees.  These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead.  They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning.  But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000.  Acts 4:1-4

The experience of the early church included growing like a supernova, an exploding star.  Pentecost Day saw 3,000 souls baptized and added to the church roll.[1]  This short time later the number was up to 5,000 men.  If you add the men’s households to that count, the first church was a megaforce of probably 20,000. 

Of course, with any substantial explosion, (think nuclear bombs) there is always great heat, light, and percussive fallout.  For Peter and John healing a paraplegic on the Temple steps was like igniting the fuse.  It set off two explosions; the church grew like an atomic blast epicenter, and the established religious leaders retaliated by lighting a backfire of persecution.  We read in the Scriptures and annals of church historians how that season of explosive growth and rejection by the leaders of the Jewish hierarchy touched-off the Roman Empire’s obsessive persecution of the church. 

An unintended consequence accompanied that attempt to stamp-out the followers of Jesus – their persecution was like pouring water on a grease fire; believers fled Jerusalem and travelled all over the known world, eventually spreading to the very center of persecution, Rome.  Paul was sitting in a Roman prison, chained to the kind of Roman soldiers that put Jesus on the cross.         Paul used those days and nights to witness to, and win many of Caesar’s guard to faith in Christ. ^{(See Philippians 4:22)}  How ironic, that the very government obsessed with destroying Christianity became the place that embraced it. 

In the days of Peter, John, James, Paul, and others in the roll call of the faithful, religious freedom was dependent on the whim of powerful rulers.  In most of the civilized world today religious freedom is taken for granted.  Most prayers you hear (particularly around July 4^th) thank God for that freedom.  While I also offer thanks for that, I cannot shake the uneasiness of knowing that the church, birthed with the blood of Christ, and matured in revival fires started by persecution, has lost the will to persevere.  Institutionalized by our love of ceremony and routines of ease, we have managed to quench the Spirit’s call to passionately labor unceasingly, giving our lives (if called-upon), to win souls to the Kingdom.  Hard times and growing churches have always been garden mates.  Hard times are like a pottery kiln to the church’s need for fire-finishing.  We go through fire to show the majesty of Christ, and His mastery of eternity.  It is the hard time of winter ice that produces the bloom of spring and harvest of summer.

As ironic as Paul leading the early church while sitting in a Roman dungeon, imprisoned by a pagan emperor, and winning souls, even of Caesar’s houshold, is the church of today, languishing in the Bohemian luxury of religious freedom, tax exemptions, sewing circles, and yearly antique car shows with auctions.  The only “hard times” of the church are generally the internal strife we create ourselves, over whether to have red or blue carpet in the santuary.  In the days following the persecutions of Nero and Domitian, the believers (not the apostles) scattered everywhere telling people how to be saved.  Today we’re too sophisticated to do that; we’d rather not offend people.  Funny, isn’t it?  We don’t want to offend, so we don’t proclaim Jesus.  How is that even possible, to make the leap from what gave power to the early church, to what passes for being Christ’s disciple today?  We manage to escape the harsh glance of people who consider proclaiming Christ foolish and offensive, so we don’t go through hard times.  But what we suffer in doing that is losing the very power of God.

For You Today

Let’s let one who understood hard times and Kingdom power have the last word:

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction!     But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.  1 Corinthians 1:18

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

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[1] See Acts 2

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Good Shepherd

 

Thursday, April 22, 2021

Each morning I sit at my desk and study God’s Word.  It is early enough to still be dark, and it always strikes me as the most peaceful, renewing, and blessed time of the day.  And I’m always aware of what King David called the peaceful streams of such restful, reflective moments, the holy hush of being close to the Good Shepherd.  I’ve been pursued by His goodness and unfailing love; I’m in the midst of living in His house forever.  The images come flooding from God’s Word:

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,  John 10:14
And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor….Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you 1 Peter 5:4, 7

And, of course, there is the greatest of Good Shepherd passages, Psalm 23.  Consider the ways this Shepherd carries the lambs (and this old sheep):

Peace to regroup and renew

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.  He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.  He renews my strength.

Life can certainly wear one down under the kinds of burdens we face.  One look at the news channel can suck the hope out of you if you let it.  And who doesn’t let it from time to time.  For that, God reminds us we have everything we need, and He renews our strength to persevere.

Guidance for the next steps in life

He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.  

God’s Word is our GPS.  It’s purposes are many, but all directed to helping sheep like us find our way in this minefield of life in the 21^st century.  A shepherd’s job is to see the sheep through life’s journey.

Comfort and Courage against fear

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.  Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.  

This is the one I treasure greatest of all.  When things happen that don’t make sense, and life gets scary, and I tremble with fear at the thought of going on another step for dread of the darkness, it is then I reach out to hold-onto the Good Shepherd’s robe, just ahead of me, His light showing the next step…and that is astounding, that He has already been there.  He has faced the darkness, and the darkness scatters in His presence.  And he turns back to look at me…and His smile lifts my soul.  And the darkness loses…again!

And then, the ultimate question is answered as the Shepherd gives:

Confidence in the future and beyond death’s veil

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.  You honor me by anointing my head with oil.  My cup overflows with blessings.  Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. 

Life with the Good Shepherd is a never-ending, always-unfolding, ever-widening, and increasingly-blessing story.  It’s more than epic…it’s eternal.

Usually, by the time I finish writing a devotional reflection on the day’s passage, I begin to notice how the darkness outside my window is beginning to give way to the new day’s light.  The Good Shepherd has been with me through the dark night, and we start another day of going where He leads in the light; embracing where He labors, and rejoicing in the way He blesses.

Perfect!

For You Today

The next time you’re greeted by an acquaintance, or the cashier at WalMart, or the one who fixes your car, and you get that question, how’s your day going, haul out Psalm 23 and hit the highlights of every day with the Good Shepherd.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

Everything that Breathes

 

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Praise the Lord!  Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heaven!  Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness!  Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn; praise him with the lyre and harp!  Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes!  Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals.  Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!  Praise the Lord!  Psalm 150:1-6

The picture of a three-ton elephant next to a two-pound egret is a perfect symbol for this last chapter of the Psalms.  Juxtaposition, seeing the contrasting difference between two or more of anything placed together, is today’s word for praise.  To paraphrase the Psalmist’s encouragement, let’s just say let everything that breathes praise the Lord, however that creature can offer praise, no matter how much they differ from one another.

The juxtaposition of different kinds of praises are represented in the Psalm-writer’s musical instruments.  Ram’s horns blasting and cymbals clanging are what they do…loud, bombastic, and overpowering to declare God’s majesty.  The contrast of strings, flutes, and harps, so gentle and lilting, are just as authentic paintings of God’s beauty and kindness.  And then, there is dancing to the beat of drums and tambourines, a frenzied release of the heart’s joy to celebrate the goodness of God’s mercy towards His created universe, and all its inhabitants.

Praise to God comes in so many differently-wrapped packages it is difficult to even have a category list, let alone a comprehensive dictionary of the ways creation offers praise.  But, maybe the juxtaposition of church and cicadas come close.  Church services lift praise in song, and many other ways.  

The lowly 17-year cicada locust eats everything in sight and blasts a chorus of night songs that could keep Rip van Winkle awake.

Our first introduction to these little beasts came many years ago when our children were preschoolers.  Our two-year-old son, Jason, was lying prostrate on the back patio, chin on the ground, facing one of the little buggers.  He had his tongue extended for the ugly little beast to crawl up.  I’ve tried, but cannot imagine what was going on in that little mind.

The eggs from which cicadas hatch were buried 17 years prior in the ground.  Somehow God awakens them all at the same time in 204 months, and they come out of the earth like…well….locusts.  They do the locust thing, eating like they’ve been stuck on a diet for decades.  The sound of their wings and hind legs rubbing together is an opus dei similar to a thousand lions roaring for dinner.  The sound is the male mating call, which is followed by more millions of cicada eggs buried in the ground. 

And in just a few short weeks they’re gone, leaving empty shells of bodies strewn all over, stuck to tree trunks, on patio floors, gutters, and every other nook or cranny you can imagine.  Their song of praise is always short, loud, unstoppable, and no mistake.  In this dance of praise to their Creator’s design they serve a purpose, pruning mature trees, aerating the soil, and, when they die, returning vital nitrogen to the soil from whence they came. 

Now, stand that image of annoying cicada bugs in your mind against a four-year-old child singing “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so”.  And there it is, juxtaposition!  They’re so different…and so alike…offering to God the praise He placed within them. 

The next time you see a hurricane building in the tropics, or watch on tv as a volcano erupts, or the 17-year-locusts return, try to remember God’s creation doing what the Almighty hand has given them to do…praise His holy name.  And while you’re at it think of your neighbor, or that person on the other side of town, or the other side of the world, and how differently he may offer praise than you do.  And then offer the praise he put inside of you, in just the way He designed it.

For You Today

Whether you’re an elephant, an egret, or a cicada, or just somebody who happened to wake up today in God’s universe, there’s a song inside you.  Sing it loudly or softly, on-key or off, but don’t keep it to yourself.  Offer it to Him!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title Image: Wikimedia Commons  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©