May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. [Psalm 19:14]
I’m sharing these daily devotions in the hope they will inspire you to read God’s word. I’m praying that they will help you find your way to a closer relationship with God. [Read More ….]
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer! [Joseph Scriven]
“That’s more like it!” I thought as I read Psalm 47; I certainly preferred it to the imprecations in the previous set of Psalms I’d read. Having been reading the Bible in chronological rather than canonical order, that last set of psalms followed David’s trials and were ones of lament and grievance. It was only after reading the duties in the Temple that I finally came to the praise psalms. These psalms of worship, adoration, and thanksgiving seem more appropriate for Israel’s book of prayers and hymns than the earlier ones about wickedness, treachery, calamity, and vengeance.
Although I prefer the joyful psalms, there is a reason Israel’s prayer book has lasted over 3,000 years and continues to be our prayer book today. Rather than a sappy feel-good book of poetry, Psalms reflects the gamut of human experience and emotions. When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, I’m surprised He didn’t direct them to the Psalms for guidance. Prayer simply is a conversation with God and it’s in the book of Psalms that we witness humanity speaking to God as well as God speaking to us!
Prayer is what we do when we realize we aren’t the ones in control and the Psalms show us how to be honest with God. Their words are intense, raw, and honest. Concealing nothing, they encompass everything from extreme joy to overwhelming sorrow and fiercest anger to the deepest regret. If the Psalmist is suffering, fearful, angry, depressed, or exhausted, he says so as readily as he expresses his elation, adoration, and thanksgiving. Never pretending that all is well when it isn’t, he fearlessly lays out his feelings before God. Wretchedness and joy, pain and jubilation, wickedness and virtue, despair and hope, grief and thanksgiving, fear and confidence: all are articulated.
When I seriously evaluate my own prayer life, I’m nowhere near as unguarded and straight-forward as the psalmists. Of course, God knows my personal struggles but, unlike David and the other psalmists, I’m not as willing to lay them so passionately and openly at His feet. If we don’t pray with abandonment and freely bring God our outrage, anger, fear, and disappointment as well as our thanks, joy, and praise, then to whom can we bring it? When Joseph Scriven wrote the words, “Take it to the Lord in prayer,” he meant all of it, not just the pretty stuff. I’m sure God would prefer honest words of grievance to false words of praise any day.
A human heart is like a ship on a wild sea, driven by the storm-winds from the four quarters of the world. Here it is struck with fear and worry about coming disaster; there comes grief and sadness because of present evil. Here breathes a breeze of hope and of expectation of happiness to come; there blows security and joy in present blessings. These storm-winds teach us to speak with earnestness, and open the heart, and pour out what lies at the bottom of it. … What is the greatest thing in the Psalter but this earnest speaking amid these storm-winds of every kind? Where does one find such words of joy as in the psalms of praise and thanksgiving? … On the other hand, where do you find deeper, more sorrowful, more pitiful words of sadness than in the psalms of lamentation? … And, as was said, it is the best thing of all that they speak these words to God and with God. [Martin Luther, Preface to the Psalter]
Jesus clearly promises forgiveness of our sins but some people treat this gift like Monopoly’s “Get Out of Jail Free” card. In John Bunyan’s wonderful allegory, The Pilgrim’s Progress, we meet such a person—Mr. Selfwill. Confident in God’s promise of “eternal security,” Selfwill feels free to live any way he wants. Since David committed adultery, Rahab lied, and Jacob deceived, Mr. Selfwill reasons that he can deliberately do those things, as well. He thinks anyone who believes that Jesus has forgiven his sins has the freedom to sin willfully as long as he has some virtues to go along with his sins. Foolishly thinking his good deeds cancel out his bad ones, the unregenerate pretender deliberately sins.
Because we are sinners, all Christians will struggle with sin and it is not until we see Jesus face to face that we’ll be completely free from sin. Nevertheless, Christ didn’t die on the cross so mankind would continue to sin! Bunyon’s characters Honest and Great Heart explain to Selfwill that falling into sin and deliberately committing it are not the same things. There is a difference between a stumble into the mud puddle and an eager and deliberate leap into the muck so one can wallow in it! Selfwill, however, has the attitude of, “Since I’m saved and all my sins are forgiven, I can (and will) keep sinning.”
While a genuine believer won’t lose his share in Christ’s salvation when he sins and repents, Mr. Selfwill isn’t a genuine believer. Nor is he repentant! Confident that he can’t lose his salvation when he eagerly and intentionally sins, Selfwill doesn’t realize he’s never been saved! Believing that Jesus died for our sins is the correct doctrine but believing in a doctrine is not what saves us. We are saved when we believe in and give our lives to the right person—Jesus Christ—a distinction Selfwill missed. We don’t just believe in Jesus with our minds; after all, even Satan believed in Him. We must believe in Jesus with our hearts and souls—our entire being! Forgiveness is not something to be taken lightly and, for the true believer, willfully continuing to sin is not an option. Rather than deliberately committing a sin, the true believer wants to be delivered from his sins.
If we are living a life that is indistinguishable from that of an unbeliever, it’s time to look in a mirror and examine ourselves. Have we truly received Christ as our Lord and Savior? In Bunyon’s book, Mr. Selfwill bypassed the narrow Wicket Gate opening into the Way. When he (and others like him who climbed over the gate) arrive at the Celestial City, they will find the door locked and be unable to gain admittance. The same will be true in real life for those who’ve not been reborn—whose lives have not been transformed by the Holy Spirit.
When I was a girl in elementary school, the teachers would speak ominously of our permanent records. While the warning that Santa knew when we were good or bad only worked during December, a teacher’s threat of, “This is going on your permanent record!” scared us into obedience the entire year! I suspect elementary schoolers in the 1950s were more naïve than today’s youngsters, but my friends and I were convinced that each of us had a permanent record that logged more than test scores, grades, and attendance records. It listed every infraction or disciplinary action from kindergarten on through high school and beyond. Every time we used our outside voices inside, chewed gum in class, forgot the hall pass, passed notes, lost our lunch money, or were sent to the office, our transgression was documented for posterity. Passed from teacher to teacher and school to school, we suspected that permanent record might even follow us into “grown-up” life!
I imagine that feared “permanent record” is no longer a threat in the 21st century. Nevertheless, with the advent of social media and apps like Tik Tok, Instagram, Snapchat, BeReal, and You Tube, today’s youngsters are far more likely to have a real permanent record of their assorted transgressions, pranks, foolishness, idiocy, and misadventure than I ever was! Sadly, many of their bad decisions are saved for posterity and truly will follow them into adulthood.
Fortunately, God doesn’t keep a permanent record of our transgressions, failures, disobedience, and offences. When Jesus died on the cross, He paid for our sins (past, present, and future) once and for all. Once we repent and accept Jesus, our sins are both forgiven and removed. Erasing them from our permanent record, God chooses not to remember them. His forgiveness, however, doesn’t mean we’ll never sin. We’re flawed human beings. And, just as we didn’t get 100% on every test in school, we won’t do life perfectly. Nevertheless, because of Christ’s sacrifice and our faith, our sins no longer have any bearing on our salvation. When we repent and ask forgiveness, God’s loving grace forgives us and yesterday’s mistakes have no bearing on today. God gets out his holy eraser again and again and wipes them away. Along with the Apostle Paul, we can forget what is behind us and look forward to what lies ahead.
If seven times a day we offend him and repent, does he forgive? Ay, that he does. This is to be unfeignedly believed, and I do believe it: I believe that, often as I transgress, God is more ready to forgive me than I am ready to offend, though, alas, I am all too ready to transgress. Hast thou right thoughts of God, dear hearer? If so, then thou knowest that he is a tender father, willing to wipe the tear of penitence away, and press his offending child to his bosom, and kiss him with the kisses of his forgiving love. [Charles Spurgeon]
The Sinner’s Shack Gentlemen’s Club wanted to open an establishment in a small Midwest community. It’s a rather conservative town and, since there’s nothing gentlemanly about the goings on in such an establishment, many people were up in arms about it. When the Holier than Thou Evangelical Church started a campaign to halt the tawdry business from locating in town, prayer sessions were held three times a day and the City Council was inundated with letters and calls of protests. Unfortunately, in spite of the prayers and pleas, proper zoning was attained and construction on the “gentlemen’s club” began. Just a day before its grand opening, however, lightning struck the Sinner’s Shack and it burned to the ground!
The Holier than Thous were rather smug and self-righteous about the fire until Honey Bunn, the owner of the club, filed suit against the church, its pastor, and the entire congregation on the grounds that they were “ultimately responsible for the demise of the building and business, either through direct or indirect divine actions or means.” In response, the Holier than Thous vociferously denied “any and all” responsibility for the lightning and the building’s loss.
As the judge read through the plaintiff’s complaint and the church’s reply, he admitted confusion. “I have no idea how I will be able to decide this case,” said the judge. “I have a staunch sinner who appears to believe in the power of prayer and an entire congregation of Christians who don’t!”
Of course, this is just a bit of silly fiction, but it poses some interesting questions about our belief in the power of prayer. If we were opposed to the establishment, would we have joined in those prayer sessions or would we have considered the issue a lost cause? If we attended those prayer sessions, would we have gone out of a sense of duty or because we truly believed our prayers could make a difference? Do we ever pray without believing in the power of our prayers? Do we ever consider something such a lost cause that we don’t even bother to pray? Do we ever pray without the confidence that our prayers are heard? When our prayers are answered, as they appear to have been in the story, are we surprised? Then, instead of crediting it to the power of prayer, do we chalk it up to coincidence or good luck?
In regard to answered prayers, Thomas Aquinas said, “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” Nevertheless, when God’s answer is as spectacular as a fortuitous lightning strike, it’s difficult not to attribute His answer to coincidence. Nevertheless, nothing happens that hasn’t passed through God’s hand first. When we pray, we better believe that we’re praying to the almighty God who can change reality to meet a request—if it is according to His will! If we don’t believe that, there’s really no point in praying! As for those who regard answered prayers as little more than coincidence or luck, I’m with Archbishop William Temple who said, “When I pray, coincidences happen; when I don’t, they don’t.”
Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous. [Albert Einstein]
The world will never starve for want of wonders, but only for want of wonder. [G.K. Chesterton]
Recently, our pastor asked what amazed us. I thought of his question and Agur’s observation about snakes when we were at the zoo recently. I was amazed watching the 12-foot Burmese python effortlessly slither into the water. Her roommate, a 19-foot 200-pound reticulated python was equally amazing as he slowly unfolded and glided along the enclosure’s edge.
It wasn’t just snakes that amazed Agur; he was astonished at the way an eagle freely soars in the sky, a ship easily sails on the sea, and the way of a man with a woman. Although wise, Agur was at a loss to explain these wonders of nature. When looking for a common denominator, they all seem to have an invisible means of propulsion. The eagle soars in the sky while barely moving a wing, the legless snake simply glides over the rocks, a boat sails windward powered by nothing more than a piece of cloth, and something unseen draws a young man to a certain young woman like iron to a magnet.
Of course, we know there is a scientific explanation for each of these phenomena. By telling us about thermal and orographic updrafts, ornithologists explain how an eagle can precisely and effortlessly ride currents we cannot see and how the eagle’s large wingspan and slotted wingtips add lift and reduce drag. Agur, however, wasn’t an ornithologist.
Herpetologists explain that a snake’s ability to move forward lies in its belly scales. The ridges in between the snake’s underside scales function like the treads on the bottom of a boot—they can both get a grip on the ground and push off against it. As the snake glides across a rock, it creates traction and pushes off the ground in some parts of its body, while frictionlessly gliding forward in other parts. But, Agur wasn’t a herpetologist!
As for the physics of sailing, it has something to do with Bernoulli’s Principle—that the faster-moving air on the outside (windward) of a sail creates lower pressure, while the slower air on the sail’s inside creates higher pressure and the pressure difference (lift) is what pulls the sail and the boat forward. Meanwhile, the resistance of the keel in the water also generates lift and moves the boat forward. Agur, however, didn’t live in 1738 when Bernoulli published his principle!
Although scientists and researchers have spent decades trying to determine what draws a young man to a certain young woman, it still remains a mystery today. Although pheromones and scent play a role, attraction is a mysterious mix of physical, emotional, and social factors. Agur’s observation was spot on—we don’t know what causes a young man to love a young woman! As for love, I’m with the psalmist who said, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!” [139:6]
Agur didn’t fully understand these things and, truth be told, I still don’t fully understand thermals, traction, lift, and attraction—but I know the One who created them! Although the internet gives us access to a plethora of scientific information, we must never let all those facts rob us of our sense of wonder at all that God created. Knowing about things like Rayleigh scattering, the wavelengths of light, refraction, and reflection must never prevent us from being amazed at how God colors the sunrise and sunset or hangs a rainbow after a storm. I, for one, will continue to be amazed every time I visit the python enclosure at the zoo or see a rainbow in the sky! God gave us a world that defies explanation. Like Agur, a wise person knows that not everything can or need be explained to be appreciated!
What amazes you?
Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf. [Albert Schweitzer]
There is a burden of care in getting riches; fear in keeping them; temptation in using them; guilt in abusing them; sorrow in losing them; and a burden of account at last to be given concerning them. [Matthew Henry]
Last Christmas Eve, people stood in long lines at gas stations and convenience stores to make a last-minute purchase, but it wasn’t for a Christmas gift; they wanted a Powerball ticket! Christmas morning, someone woke up to discover they won $1.817 billion and had become a billionaire overnight! By choosing the lump sum payout of $835 million, their status dwindled to multi-millionaire. Once taxes were paid, approximately $550 million remained which, in anybody’s book, still counts as a fortune!
Even though the odds of winning the Powerball are 1 in 292.2 million, Americans spent between $3.6 billion to $4 billion to get the jackpot to up to $1.87 billion. Those ticket purchasers certainly had a different perspective on wealth than did Agur—the man who didn’t want riches! After asking God to give him integrity and honesty, Agur’s second request was that God give him “neither poverty nor riches.” Instead, he asked for just what he needed.
We all understand Agur’s desire to be kept from poverty—no one wants to be poor. While I’m not sure I’d steal were I poverty-stricken, I suspect I’d complain, worry, and have difficulty believing in a loving God. Agur’s request to be free from riches , however, certainly is contrary to the American way. Wanting better, bigger, newer, and more, we strive for success, prosperity, and upward mobility.
Agur had good reasons for not wanting riches. With riches, there’s a temptation to self-sufficiency and pride. Wealth and poverty can be equal opportunity destroyers. Indeed, while their problems would be different, a person with too much could confront as many challenges as one with too little. For example, winning the lottery doesn’t buy you happiness but it does buy you “friends,” relatives, predatory “financial advisors,” and sham business opportunities! Financial windfalls tend to blow away. Whether they win $1 million or $500 million, within five years, between 30% and 70% of jackpot winners have lost or spent all their money!
Agur’s prayer doesn’t mean it’s wrong to be wealthy. His simple prayer is about what we desire. While none of us desire the desperation of poverty and need, we shouldn’t desire the power, possessions, status, self-satisfaction, and luxuries of wealth. Both riches and penury can lead us away from a relationship with God. Rather than wealth or poverty, Agur desired contentment—the ability to say that whatever God put on his plate was enough! Like him, we should desire a relationship with God that acknowledges and trusts in His daily provision—His manna or “daily bread.” Indeed, contentment is realizing that God has given us all we need.
There is nothing wrong with men possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess men. [Billy Graham]
