Teachable Moments

Psalm 25:1-9

(All verses are from the New King James Version.)

  

Teachable Moments… We all have them, but do we always learn from them? For me it usually takes a 2x4 upside the head before I say, “Oh yeah!” The Israelites were like that. They learned the same lesson over and over and over again. Kind of makes you wonder if they actually ever learned it at all.

 

David’s prayer in Psalm 25 is about teachable moments during the crucible of life.

² O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.  

 

We know that David had many enemies. Some of them were those closest to him. Saul, his mentor, hunted him down like an animal. His own son, Absalom, rebelled against David declaring himself king. Indeed, David knew what it was like to have mortal enemies, but he also knew what it meant to struggle with enemies within.

⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.           

 

David’s sins are well documented. He seduced Bathsheba with his power, and then had her husband, who was a courageous warrior for David, killed in battle; quite a resume of failure. But in this Psalm, David cries out to the Lord and asks him to use his failures, his struggles and his enemies to teach him.

⁴ Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
⁵ Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
 

No matter what kind of struggles you face, how big your

demons are, how overpowering your temptations, how shameful your past sins; God can teach you, change you and use you for His Kingdom.

 

 

 

Just cry out to Him like David.

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
² O my God, I trust in You… On You I wait all the day.        

 

 

 

 

 

And the Lord will answer.

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.

⁹ The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.

 

 

 

 

Deja’ Vu All Over Again

(This is not my normal devotional thought for the week but my thoughts and observations following one of those life changing events that often occur in our lives.)

 

 

 

Like the old Yogi Berra quote, “It’s like Deja’ vu all over again”.

 

I can still remember it like it was yesterday. Walking into the empty house, going into the kitchen where the high chair was sitting. It was July 14, 1978. Debbie had delivered our still born daughter earlier that day. She was staying at the hospital overnight while I came home to all the reminders of the baby that we would never know.

 

The refinished high chair, which was a family heirloom. The nursery, which Debbie’s sister Janice had wall papered. The little stuffed sunshine that my parents gave us. It played “You are My Sunshine”. We both had broken hearts because nothing could replace the child that we would never know.

 

On Friday, May 20, 2016, I walked into an empty house around 10pm. After a very long day that had started about 12:30am that morning, I was looking forward to relaxing by sitting down in front of the TV to watch a movie that I had recorded earlier and drinking a glass of wine.

 

But there on Debbie’s ottoman was the blanket, rice sock and pillow that she had used only the night before to nurse her knee that had had knee replacement surgery only five weeks ago. The memories from 1978 came rushing back into my head. How close I had almost come to never having Debbie to return to at home again.

 

When we left in the morning we were concerned but had no idea of the severity of the situation. At Dublin Methodist, the first diagnosis was a heart attack. This was based on an EKG that they had taken and compared to the one Debbie had had prior to her knee replacement surgery.

 

This was the worst possible scenario. Her family history was horrendous. Her Father and brother had died from massive heart attacks. Her mother had died from hardening of the arteries. Not a good prognosis.

 

The staff at Dublin Methodist were caring and efficient following all the protocols for such a situation. A half dozen or more people came into her room to do what needed to be done. Finally the squad arrived that would transport her to Riverside Methodist.

 

Everybody seemed urgent in their tasks but not hectic or panicky like it was an emergency. However, I found out later that the squad drove with their lights flashing and siren blaring as they sped down the highway.

 

Following her emergency heart catheterization, the doctor told me that Debbie had not had a heart attack but suffered from stress-induced cardiomyopathy, or “Broken Heart Syndrome”.

 

As it turns out, if you’re going to have heart attack symptoms, this is the best diagnosis because there is no permanent damage to the heart. In fact, the heart heals itself and the recovery is normally quick and complete with no reoccurrence of the syndrome.

 

We’d already suffered a broken heart once, I’m glad for the outcome this time.

 

On the following Sunday, Jerry’s sermon title was “Finding Joy in Rejoicing”. It was based on Philippians 4:4 which states: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice”.

 

This is a nice saying but in the crucible of life, how realistic is it? When the squad is flying down the highway with sirens blaring and lights flashing, how can we be expected to rejoice, let alone find joy?

 

The bottom line through all of this is that God is sovereign; that He is in control; that He has the final word. Not pain or suffering. When we realize that, then we can rejoice in the Lord always.

 

 

Now Imagine This

Psalm 82

 

Imagine this: All the leaders and people with power of this world gathered together in a great hall - the Hall of Justice. They wait nervously for the Great Judge to enter the room where they realize He will judge them according to His values, His priorities, and His character.

 

God presides in the heavenly council;
    in the assembly of the gods he gives his decision:
² “You must stop judging unjustly;
    you must no longer be partial to the wicked!
³ Defend the rights of the poor and the orphans;
    be fair to the needy and the helpless.
⁴ Rescue them from the power of evil people.    GNT

 

The Great Judge, the King of Kings, the Living God, shows a pattern throughout His Book that protects the powerless against those who would exploit or oppress them. Likewise, God calls each one of us to live accordingly. Listen to the words of Jesus as he told the parable of the Sheep and Goats in Matthew 25.

 

³⁵ I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, ³⁶ naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’  ³⁷ ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you… ⁴⁰ The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!’     GNT

 

Now, imagine this: You and I, along with all the people of the world gathered together in a great hall - the Hall of Justice. We wait nervously for the Great Judge to enter the room where we realize He will judge us according to His values, His priorities, and His character.

 Have we been faithful?

 

 

 

 

 

Elite Athletes

Psalm 8

 

Two weeks ago a record number of Ohio State University football players were drafted by the National Football League. Each one is an elite athlete in his own right. Each one exceled at the top of the college level and those that know talent best, believe they will excel at the next level.

 

However, not everybody that plays football has that kind of talent. In fact, most people don’t. According to the NCAA website, of the total number of NCAA student athletes playing football, only 1.9% will play professionally. Basketball is even a smaller percentage.

 

These are not very good odds. In fact, for the majority of high school athletes, they could easily feel intimidated and overwhelmed. They could feel like a miniscule nobody in an eternal universe of stars.

 

^3 “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, ⁴ what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”             NIV

 

One of the life lessons of being on a sports team is that every player contributes; from the starters to the last player on the bench. The same is true for us as believers in Christ. Every person has an important role to play. Every person has God given talents that they are to use to share and build the Kingdom of God.

 

^5 “You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. ⁶ You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: ⁷ all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, ⁸ the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.”    NIV

 

Because God has created us in His image, we hold a position of great honor. He has

called us to serve Him with authority and responsibility.

 

In the Parable of the talents, Jesus tells the story about the master who gave talents to his three servants while he was away. To the two who invested their talents, the master responded by saying, ²³ “Well done, good and faithful servant!” But to the third servant who hid his talent he said, ²⁶ “You wicked, lazy servant.”        

 

In the world of following God, we are all elite athletes as long as we use the talents He has given us. Will you be a responsible steward of your time, talent and treasures? Will the Lord say to you on that day, “Well done, good and faithful servant”?

 

 

 

Your Safe Place

Psalm 46

 

"God is our safe place and our strength. He is always our help when we are in trouble. ² So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken and the mountains fall into the center of the sea, ³ and even if its waters go wild with storm and the mountains shake with its action.”   NLV

 

Many years ago, I was sailing with some friends on the Grand Traverse Bay in northern Michigan when the winds suddenly picked up. We were in a 26 foot sailboat, not big enough to withstand the tumult of the wind and the waves. The sails quickly filled, and pulled the boat to about a 45 degree angel with the water. My life flashed before me.

 

It’s not very often that our world gets turned upside down, or using the metaphor of Psalm 46; “the earth is shaking, the mountains are falling and the waters go wild from the storm”. But it happens, and not just literally like in the sailboat.

 

Maybe you’re version of this metaphor is that you’re having trouble starting your career; or you’re struggling after having a still born baby; or your workplace is not just stressful, but oppressive; or your best friends seem to have drifted away; or you make a move out of state away from family and friends. Take your pick.

 

How do you respond when your world seems to be turning upside down? What do you do? Who do you turn to?

 

In our culture of rugged individualism, the first response is often to “dig in and deal with it yourself”. Sometimes people will bury themselves in their work or a relationship or even self-destructive behavior. The human spirit is capable of discovering all kinds of ways to attempt to control their world.

 

So many things in life can cause us to feel lost, alone, insecure, afraid, out of control. The psalmist suggests turning to God; that He is our safe place. When I was a little boy I used to crawl behind the couch and lay snuggled between the couch and the heat vent. On a cold winter morning, it felt like a very safe place.

 

How do you get to your safe place; to the throne of grace; to hear His still small voice; to know that He is God?

 

Take time to reflect and mediate on the word of God. This will bring you into His presence; into your safe place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 *****HERE ARE SOME VERSES TO GO ALONG WITH THE BLOG*****

 

^10 “Be quiet and know that I am God.”    Psalm 46:10 NLV

 

“…but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: ¹² And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”       1 Kings 19:11b-12 KJV

 

^16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”                 Hebrews 4:16 NKJV

 

“God is our safe place and our strength. He is always our help when we are in trouble.”            Psalm 46:1 NLV