Thanks for the Memories (Nov 29)

Psalm 105

1 O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. 2 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. 3 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. 4 Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore. 5 Remember his marvelous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; 6 O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. 7 He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth. 8 He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. 9 Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; 10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant: 11 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance: 12 When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it. 13 When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people; 14 He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; 15 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm. 16 Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread. 17 He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: 18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: 19 Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. 20 The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. 21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance: 22 To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom. 23 Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. 24 And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies. 25 He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtly with his servants. 26 He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen. 27 They shewed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham. 28 He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word. 29 He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish. 30 Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings. 31 He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts. 32 He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land. 33 He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts. 34 He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and that without number, 35 And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground. 36 He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength. 37 He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes. 38 Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them. 39 He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night. 40 The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. 41 He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river. 42 For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant. 43 And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness: 44 And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labor of the people; 45 That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the LORD.

Let me also share with you a reading from Chris Tiegreen's Walk With God.

Gratitude Remembers

Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced. - Psalm 105:5

Gratitude is born in hearts that take time to count up past mercies. - Charles Edward Jefferson

Many people are waiting to be thankful until they have something to be thankful for. It's a flaw of fallen humanity. We are always looking forward to what we want and always aware of what we don't have. For most of us, the glass is always half empty—at least.

What is our remedy? It's given often in Scripture. We are to be “rememberers.” God urges us to rehearse His past mercies intentionally and actively. Whenever we begin to focus on what we are lacking, we're to redirect our focus to what we've been given. The change in attitude that will result is remarkable. Joy begins to resurface and faith gets stronger.

That's what Psalm 105 is all about. It is a brief summary of history from the call of Abraham to the victories of David. It reminded Israel's worshipers that God began a great plan with His people and would certainly continue it. It encouraged them to count the miracles He had done. It helped them think of God as their Provider, Deliverer, Protector, Strength, Warrior, and more—just in case they had forgotten, as fallen human beings are prone to do. It stirred up a sense of destiny and a confidence in God's ability to bring them through. It created the context for true worship.

Don't we need such reminders? We easily forget God's providence, salvation, and love. We fear that He might not protect us this time, or that He might not hear our prayer this time, or that He might abandon His plan for us. An intentional memory of His works will help us dispense with those lies. It will cultivate all the things we need to believe in Him and worship Him again.

Try making a list of all the things you are thankful for. Remember God's past mercies and write them down. Try composing your own psalm of remembrance. Then read over these things often. Set them to music if it helps. Let your mind be saturated with the goodness of God, and you'll be amazed at how the goodness of God become real. (Tiegreen, 331)

Psalm 105 is a psalm of remembrance. It rehearses the things that God did for His people throughout parts of Israel's history. If I were to take a few moments to think back over this past year, I could come up with a long list of things that God has done. I would be able to come up with quite a list of the times that I said, “God is good.” Unfortunately, there were also many times throughout the year when my thoughts were probably more along the lines of “This predicament is bad.” or “This person is a problem.” How many of those times did I find myself also thinking, “God is good.” instead of focusing on the bad? Well, if I had spent some time strolling down “Memory Lane,” then I would have remembered all of the amazing things that God has done at other times. I would have remembered all of the times when God answered my prayers in His perfect timing and in His perfect way. I would remember all of the times when I have said, “God is good,” and responded with a new proclamation that indeed “God IS good!”

Whether you choose to keep a journal of God's goodness toward you, write a “psalm” of remembrance as Chris suggests, or just take time every now and then to reminisce about all that God has done, it is definitely very important to be reminded over and over again of God's mercy and love. Today I am looking forward to many things. I am hoping for some changes. I am hoping for new attainments. I am looking for a good future. But perhaps we can't necessarily be thankful for something that we don't have. But when I am reminded of how good God was yesterday or six months ago, I am truly thankful and my faith and hope are strengthened for today, tomorrow, and six months from now. God IS good. Yes, God WAS good. But, even today, He IS good and WILL BE good! Praise Him! And thank Him for the memories...and hope for what is to come!

(1) Tiegreen, Chris. The One Year Walk with God Devotional: 365 Daily Bible Readings to Transform Your Mind. Carol Stream, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004.

Believing in Thanksgiving (Nov 22)

I would like to share with you today a reading selection from Chris Tiegreen's Walk With God.

Gratitude Believes

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. - Psalm 105:4

Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude. - John Henry Jowett

Faith without thankfulness is like a huge, unanswered question. It come to God with possibilities, but has no assurance that He will address them well. It knows He can do things, but it doesn't know that He will. Forgetting the God of the past, it tries in vain to figure out the God of the present and the future. It is weak.

Faith with thankfulness doesn't just look for the Lord, it looks to the Lord. It knows who He is. It remembers past mercies and bases today's needs on their proven source. It comes to God with possibilities, not knowing how He will address them, but knowing He will address them well. It is not a tentative question about God; it is a knowledgeable statement. It understands His grace.

We need no reminders to seek God; it is a natural impulse, especially when we're in trouble. No, our problem is remembering how to seek Him. Paul's letters are abundant in instructions to utter prayers filled with thankfulness. The faith that Jesus always applauded was a faith that acknowledged up front who He was. We may have lots of questions when we come to God, and we may be confused about many spiritual issues. But we have no reason to ever come to Him questioning His goodness. Our gratitude for what He has done in the past will prepare us to know what kinds of things He will do in the future. It will get us in sync with His heart.

Are your prayers filled with fear and confusion? Do you wonder if God will be good to you? There is no need for such uncertainty. Scripture is filled with His goodness, and so is your life. Look between the hardships and the pain and see that He has granted life and redemption. There are always blessings to find—far more than we can count. Gratitude makes faith strong. Thankful people understand the God who is strong. They see His face and are not afraid. They aren't just hoping for His goodness. They're expecting it. (Tiegreen, 330)

Thanksgiving Day is coming up this week and we always use that time to think of things for which we are thankful. Usually, I'd say that if we were to make a list, we'd probably fill that list with all kinds of good and happy things. I doubt that we'd put anything on there that we didn't like. After all, how can we be thankful for something that we don't like? Well, then we read scriptures like 1 Thessalonians 5:18 - “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” - and we realize that even some things that we don't necessarily like need to be on that thanksgiving list. We then discover that all things have a purpose and that God works all things for good. (Romans 8:28 - “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”) When we can see God's purpose through all things and in that be truly grateful, then we can truly believe that He is who He says He is and He will do what He says He will do. When we are thankful, we can believe!

Praise God today! Praise God in all things! Be thankful for what He has done and how He has been working in your life (even if it sometimes hurts in the process). And, remembering the works of God, you can believe when you pray. You can believe when you wait for the answer. You can believe for tomorrow!

In thankfulness, believe!

(1) Tiegreen, Chris. The One Year Walk with God Devotional: 365 Daily Bible Readings to Transform Your Mind. Carol Stream, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004.

Blue Books (Nov 15)

I'm sure that everybody that has been through college has fond memories of the blue books. It gives me a warm feeling just thinking about it. No, I'm kidding. You know, the blue books are those small composition notebooks (with a blue cover of course) that many professors require you to use for exams, particularly if the exam requires essays or pertains to literature or philosophy. If you've ever taken a blue book exam, you'll remember the feeling of coming into the classroom and having nothing on the desk except for a blank blue book and a pencil. Then you begin to write. You write and write until the book is full. Sometimes you have only one question and sometimes many questions, but you must fill that book with all of the right answers if you hope to get an A for the course. There are other exams, of course, which don't require the blue book, but these written exams came to mind as one of the more pressured and stressful types of exams. But, for any exam, you'll remember that you usually study a lot before hand. Sometimes the professor gives you an idea of what information will be on the exam and sometimes they leave it very vague so that you will study everything (after all, they want you to learn ALL of the information). I'm sure we all had at least one professor that would give exams that were so difficult that we had to study for days, memorizing every little detail so that we had a chance of getting most of the answers correct. But, I also had the occasional professor that would let us use notes or some other resource while taking the exam. These exams were often the easiest, because if I had good notes or a good resource, I could readily find the answers.

Well, let's face it: life can be difficult and every day we usually face a test. We go through trials and we deal with temptations. Even on a good day (which are hopefully more often than the bad ones), we have decisions to make.

Psalm 119:105-112

105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. 106 I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments. 107 I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word. 108 Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments. 109 My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law. 110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts. 111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart. 112 I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the end.

You ask: How can I live righteously? How can I know the answers? How can I do the right thing? I make a commitment today to follow God and live for Him, but how can avoid going my own way and know the fullness of the truth to live by?

You have the Word of God and also access to the Heart of God. It's like being allowed to bring notes and other resources in to take that big blue book exam. One time I had a professor that gave the class a question a day or two before the exam. We were allowed to study it, consider it, and even write out some thoughts. On exam day, we had only a blank blue book and had to fill it cover-to-cover with an essay that answered the given question. Can you imagine how it would have been if we were allowed to bring in notes? I could have written the essay at home with all of the resources at my disposal and then simply copied the essay into the blue book on exam day. You have all of the resources of God at your disposal. Spend much time in God's Word! Spend much time in prayer discovering the heart of God! Be open to hear God's voice! Later today or maybe tomorrow you might have a real-life blue book exam, but remember that you can have the notes with you! You can have God and His Word with you!

Clutter (Nov 8)

Many times at work, I notice that my desk will become quite cluttered. I work on several projects at once, and before I know it, there is so much junk everywhere, that it just gets messy and hard to find things. It gets hard to focus on one project and it gets hard to concentrate at times. I've noticed the same thing sometimes in life. I often have a lot to think about. I suppose it has also been said sometimes that I think too much. But I also get busy at times. Between work, church, other things that need to be done at home, things to work out in my personal life, etc., I end up getting a lot on my plate. When I have a lot going on, sometimes I find it hard to focus or concentrate on anything. My life gets cluttered. My mind gets cluttered. And, well, I just don't think that's a good thing because how do you really focus on God and what's important when you are constantly stumbling over and around clutter?

1 Timothy 4:13-16

13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. 16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Psalm 119:57-64

57 CHETH. Thou art my portion, O LORD: I have said that I would keep thy words. 58 I entreated thy favor with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word. 59 I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. 60 I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments. 61 The bands of the wicked have robbed me: but I have not forgotten thy law. 62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments. 63 I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. 64 The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy statutes.

Acts 2:44-47

44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness [or simplicity] of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

I think that it is important to reduce clutter. Sure, it would be great to reduce the clutter in your room, your desk or study area at home, where you spend devotions with God, and even your work area at your job. But even more importantly, I think that it is important to reduce clutter in your life, in your mind, and in your heart.

It's Not Them; It's Me (Nov 1)

People very often find it much easier to find faults in others, rather than themselves. They tend to blame other people for problems instead of shouldering some of the responsibility. Even when innocently pointing out something wrong to somebody, the other person may have a tendency to feel accused. Today we are going to look inward a bit, to see our own faults and shortfalls.

2 Samuel 12:1-14

1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: 3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. 4 And there came a traveler unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. 5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: 6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. 7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; 8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. 9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. 13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. 14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.

Nathan came to David and described a terrible sin that a man had committed against his fellow man. David was outraged. This man was bad! He did very bad things and should pay the consequences! He should die! How dare he wrong his neighbor in such an insensitive way? How dare he do such a wrong act as if nothing was wrong? Then Nathan stopped David and said, “You are the man!”

We hear lots of preaching and lessons that teach us all about who God is and how sin contrasts His holiness. I think it is so easy to sit back and say, “This is bad. That is bad.” I can even look around and say, “Hey, that person's life is messed up. This person has fallen away from God and is living in sin. That person is doing some really bad stuff. This person is living a lie.” They are sinners. They are bad. They, they, they.

It's not them; it's me. David responded, “I have sinned against the Lord!” David seemed like a pretty good guy, but he had lust in his heart. He even acted on that lust and people still saw a good guy because nobody knew. Then he had a guy killed so he could take his wife. Is there a hidden sin in your heart? Is there a hidden sin in my heart? Sometimes I think it takes a situation to happen where we act out a sin that we had forgotten as it was hidden in our hearts before we realize: wow, it's not them; it's me. Please, let us pray that God will show us our hidden sins and let us come to repentance. Yes, people need to hear about sin and we need to reach out to them and preach evangelistic messages, but first, I need to see that I am the man. God, cleanse my heart and let it be free of sins so that I might be used by you to reach others.