Fools: Psalm 14

I mailed my dad a copy of Kellers', "Reasons for God" this week. I just have a pressing sense that his days are numbered. I texted a number of my friends, whom I knew would, to pray.

David says, "The fool says in his heart, there is no God." My dad, in his unbelief, has often made me to feel like the fool, and it has too often felt foolish believing. It feels foolish holding onto promises that are future, wrapping my life around commands that only make sense if God is real? Where is he as I have cried out for years for my dad to know and believe? Only he can make the fool wise, so why has he been so silent?

"The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand,

who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one." 

All the unbelief of the world is going on under the watchful eye of God, and yet it is not going unnoticed for David says, "There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous." This is what has compelled me of late to pray more fervently for my dad, to send the book, to see if there is any open door to his heart. The reality is he will either be brought to the Lord or utterly destroyed by God's anger and just judgment. Thus, my heart must not be sidetracked with self-pity and doubt, but a real sense that today is either the day of salvation or judgment. Either way it is not the day for me to be sidetracked by uncertainty and doubt. 

I am not sure who that person is or those people are in your life that may not know, but don't give up and don't loose heart. Our heart should not shrink in fear or unbelief, but we should diligently pray that those around us experience the same eye and heart opening conversion that God granted us. We should go after them to hear and know that the Lord is real, good and true and that grace is available in abundance for one thing is for sure and that is that God will bring salvation to His people and restore all things to Himself: 

"Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad."

Psalm 13: Alone with Faith

To believe, but not possess is to struggle. Thus, life is a struggle.

"How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul

and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?"

This doesn't mean life is miserable, just incomplete. Even the best times are not best, only a taste of what should and will be. Even laughter is a foretaste of a better joy to come. To not possess fully what is promised is to feel, at times, abandoned, alone with nothing but the promise. To have hope, but not what is hoped for is to know sorrow. 

Yet, it is a hope possessed that drives us to our Hope!

"Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;

light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,"

To want Him and all He promises, and to feel if you don't have Him you will die is life this side of hope. To struggle with faith and press deep into Him is life in a cursed and dying world. 

Yes, to hope in Him in the face of all things evil is to know that you will one day possess what is promised and be glad. 

"But I have trusted in your steadfast love;

my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,

because he has dealt bountifully with me."

Cut Off Flattering Lips! Psalm 12

That would hurt, and does the punishment fit the crime. Is flattery that bad?

I have to raise money, a lot of money for Downtown Church to move forward or else there will be serious consequences. People will loose their jobs, and lives negatively impacted. I have been seeking a meeting with a man who told me he would meet with me, but I can't seem to nail him down. He has given money in the past, but now is being very illusive. When I see him, he seems to be a good friend, but what he says and what he does don't line up. As a result of his seeming willingness to give what he has given in the past, I have planned and am moving forward, but if he doesn't come through, the consequences will be bad.

This makes me think about how I speak to other people. I have many who come to me for help. I tell them I want to help them find a place to live, and/or find work. They continue to call and I feel as if I string them out. I tell them, "Just keep moving forward, things will get better." For some, things have not gotten better and I wonder how my words have done more harm than good.

What if everyone, especially those in authority, those with power, constantly flattered, telling us things were OK when they were not? What if our insurance company told us all was well but, when our house burned down, we came to find they had no money? What if those around us told us they loved us, but they didn't? What if they really had one thing in common, namely their disdain of us?

"The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. You, O Lord, will keep them..."

 This all points to our need to have a sure word, to be surrounded by lips that speak truth! The only lips that are true are God's. We all need the lips of God. We need words that are true, good and strong. We need One, who never lies, to say, "I will never leave, nor forsake you." "I did not come for the righteous, but for sinners." "Your sins are forgiven." "Therefore, now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." "In this life you will have many troubles, but take heart, I have overcome the world." 

So, may we sink deep into the words that come across His lips today and find hope. May we listen to the words of those around us, but not rest in them. For, when our hearts rest on His words, no other words can either falsely encourage us, nor utterly destroy us. And may we seek to speak words that are true, having no use for flattery, which only brings harm.

love, 

dad