Brotherhood

Naysayers asked....

You're going to do what? Travel for over 2 weeks by car? Share a room as you go? 4 adults with 1 bathroom? Do you think you'll still be speaking when you return home?

We did it all---it was great!

We drove and ate our way across America. Loading and unloading our Toyoto 4 Runner many times was a full time job for our men!

The trek included spectacular and diverse scenery, coupled with unbelievable discoveries and mixed with lots of fun----even in the midst of snow in 3 states along with unseasonable low temps in all, a tornado in 1, a traffic jam in San Francisco and a blow out in South Dakota.

We were not only speaking, we were still laughing!!!

For Buddy and Charlotte, it was 17 states in 17 days---for us just 16, as we started our jaunt in TN and returned with 5,890 miles logged on our odometer.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers (and sisters) to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

SATURDAY RE-BREW: "Liber-TEA"

Set me free from my prison that I might praise your name. (Psalm 142:7, NIV)

THe psalmist David moves from complain to confidence in this maskil. (a psalm of instruction, yet prayerful in nature) Though didactic psalms are not usually my favorites, verse 7 speaks volumes to my heart and offers comfort.

God can set me free from my "prison,"...... I have occupied several prison cells in my mind over the years. I have been a prisoner to the approval of others, a prisoner of worry and a prisoner of self-pity. Even depression, which I sense this psalm alludes to in verse 3. "When my spirit grows faint within me....." Have you ever been there? Been so imprisoned by those dark thoughts that your entire body seems weakened? David was there---in a dark cave and "brought very low." (Psalm 142:6)

That's why this psalm brings comfort---the thought of God setting me free from those anxious and self-critical thoughts. What relief.

But....the verse doesn't stop with, "God can set me free from my "prison." It goes on to give the motive. Relief is a motive that might first come to mind. But is relief a pure motive? Is there a motive that speaks to the greater good?

In all of one's life's choices, motive is key. Motive reveals our heart. ".....that I might praise His name." The conclusion of the verse states the pure motive of praise and glory to the Lord.

That's the pure cuppa "liber-TEA"---
a cuppa that  might provide warmth of comfort and relief...

BUT, it pours out in praise.

difficul-TEA

I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. (Isaiah 45:3, NKJV)            

Have you ever felt like a lone sheep?  As if wolves in the distance were waiting to devour you? Especially in the dark of night. Isn't that when fear is greatest? During the night watch.

You're not alone---even though you might feel alone. 

Pain is unavoidable in life. Yet, we try everything to keep it at bay. Pain avoidance is common in our culture. We run from it. Both ease and convenience are promoted. There's even a credit card that will "pay" for it. Difficul-TEA is a fact of life, regardless of what the ad-men say. Even money can't always "buy" your way out of it.

So what does one do with the unwanted, sometimes unwarranted, pain of struggle?

The Psalmist David tells us in Psalm 23, that our Shepherd is with us in the shadow of death. Not just death, but any dark ravine of pain through which life leads us. Those detours of darkness. 

We need to seek the face of the One whose face gives light during those days---and nights. According to the words of Isaiah the prophet, God can use those dark times and actually give them to us as treasures. Life lessons of struggle learned with the One who calls us by our name---just like the psalmist's shepherd.

Some of life's best lessons are taught in the most difficult times. 

A cuppa difficul-TEA might not be our choice....But God.....can use it for our good. Just knowing that, soothes my heart.

Maskil--מַשְׂכִּיל NOT a “light and easy” blog

6/1/12 NOT a “light and easy” blog….but needful for heeding.

Started the day early in the Psalms---not too unusual, But God….showed me an unusual word in the subscript of Psalm 55. A maskil of David. (After maskil was a lower-case v) After a refresher in cross-referencing, I found the bold print in the margin , 55:1-23, indicating chapter and verses where I would find “v”. A quick scan showed “v” in verse 11

Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets

Hm-m-m that sounds like our world, doesn’t it? Just as in David’s time, destructive forces of sin and wickedness are all around us and, like David, we need to be aware of what we’re up against. That verse (11) had a cross-reference to Psalm 5:9 and I pretty much “camped out” in Psalm 5---which is a blog waiting to happen.

Continuing in Psalm 55 long enough to gain insight, I began to understand that this psalm of David was written as he was in great anguish over rebellion and rejection by his son, Absalom. But…not only was his own flesh and blood against him, he also encountered treachery from a close friend, one with whom David had worshipped and had sweet fellowship in the house of the Lord. David was caught off guard by such reproach from another who seemed a “saint”. But God, the “searcher of our hearts" knows the difference, so He is the one David cried out to for relief. David lays his heart open before the Lord needing to “vent” his grief before Him. We too have that same privilege which is a great reminder when we began to understand (maskil) that in this world there will be tribulation (John 16:33) and it might even come from within the house of the Lord. But also knowing that “greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

A clearer defining of “maskil” comes in as David recounts the moral teachings that are part of this psalm. Yes, wickedness may abound and David may long to “fly away” from it all and be at rest. (v.6) (Ever felt that way?) Yet, David in his distress continues to call out to the Lord morning, noon and night. (v. 16 & 17) Not sticking his head in the sand thinking wickedness ends up in someone else’s yard, but taking heed and learning from the circumstances and consequences that surround him. That’s being circumspect and that’s saka. Saka the root word for maskil.

That’s the maskil (wise teaching/understanding) in it for us---learn from this. Be aware but continue to seek God knowing, as David did, that if one “casts his cares on the Lord, the Lord will sustain him.” (v.22) Take heed of David’s last words, “But as for me, I trust in You.” (v.23)