Monthly Archives: February 2013

Psalms 85-86

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Psalm 86 is a prayer of David. It portrays a humble man, aware of his shortcomings, constantly striving to do better, and grateful for God’s mercy.

It provides us with an example to follow, an imperfect man living a life with a balance of thankfulness, teachableness, and reverence.  David’s attitude towards life and God is really inspirational.

“save your servant, who trusts in you – you are my God”

“for to you [God] do I cry all the day”

“you, O Lord, are good and forgiving”

“teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth”

“great is your steadfast love toward me”

“you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”

Psalms 83-84

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“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

Psalms 81-82, Mark 12

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More Psalms of Asaph, drawing lessons from the history of Israel. Verse 7 describes an interesting sequence:

In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

The Israelites called to God in their distress, God heard and delivered them, answering their prayers. But the process didn’t end there, the Israelites were then tested.  Deliverance wasn’t sufficient to develop Israel’s faith and character, they needed to be tested too.

God follows the same sequence in our lives.  He listens when we cry to Him for help, and helps us in our time of distress.  But He is also interested in developing and strengthening our characters, so we too are tested.

By contrast, there is no help to be had from the world in our times of distress.  “They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness”.  We have a great example, a high priest, “the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him”.  Let’s follow the example of Jesus, and “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

Psalms 79-80, Mark 11

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Asaph mourns the destruction that has come upon Jerusalem.  He pleads for God to have compassion, to deliver them and destroy their enemies.  He compares Israel to a vine that was once tended and kept by God, but now its protection is broken down, ravaged by animals and burned with fire.

These psalms are full of Asaph’s despair at the current state of Israel, but that despair doesn’t prevent him from appealing to God for deliverance and atonement.  Even in this broken, ruined state, Israel was not without hope.

I think this hope is equally applicable to our lives. Whatever state we’re in, no matter how much the world has taken over our life, we can trust in God to help turn things around. Jesus says “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Mark 10

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Life often seems difficult, unfair. But consider Bartimaeus, a poor blind man in a time when such people were regarded as inferior, almost inhuman. His faith in God was sufficient to loudly and publicly seek Jesus’s help, despite opposition from those around him. He didn’t let the constant challenge of blindness or poverty prevent him from doing what he knew to be right.

His faith was rewarded, “your faith has made you well”. Our faith also has the potential to overcome the challenges of our life, culminating in the opportunity to serve God for ever. The “treasure in heaven” that results from following Jesus is within our grasp, if we follow the example of Bartimaeus, swallow our pride, and publicly display our faith.

At times it may seem like no amount of faith in the world could help us, but fortunately “all things are possible with God.”

Psalm 77

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This is one of 11 psalms written by Asaph. In this Psalm he is deeply troubled by something, to the extent that his “soul refuses to be comforted”.  He writes “I am so troubled that I cannot speak”, and seems to have lost his faith.  “Has [God’s] steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”

Yet in this time of dispair and doubt, Asaph doesn’t abandon God.  He prays to God.  “I cry aloud to God, and he will hear me”. He recalls the miracle of God bringing Israel through the red sea, and is reassured. “You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph.”

Asaph’s rediscovery of his faith, finding his way back to God, is an inspiration for us all.  It highlights the power of prayer, especially when we least feel like praying.

 

Mark 8

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Mark 8 records the enormous empathy and compassion that Jesus had. He’d been speaking to the crowd for three days (imagine a talk that went for 3 days!), and the people had run out of food, so again he performs a miracle  to dramatically extend the amount of food still available.  But the miracle is done so that the people wouldn’t faint from hunger on their way home.  It’s not done for Jesus’ benefit.

Jesus “sighed deeply in his spirit” when the Pharisees had again missed the point .  He patiently educated his disciples, explaining his reference to the leaven of the Pharisees.

Following Jesus was not an easy thing to do, requiring one to “deny himself and take up his cross”.  This is our challenge today also, to learn to serve others and deny ourselves, “setting our mind on the things of God”.

Mark 7

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Jesus says to the Pharisees, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me”.  While this is clearly related to the practices of the Pharisees in all their traditions, the underlying idea has some merit for us to consider.  Is our praise of God based only on words, or does it extend to the core of our being, affecting our heart?

Jesus is quoting from Isaiah 29, a passage referring to the lack of faith of the Israelites, because of which God would provide a sign.  “Therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder”.  We have the benefit of historical accounts which describe those wonderful things that God did to inspire faith and true service.  Let us be similarly motivated to serve God with our whole hearts.

 

 

Exodus 16, Psalms 70-71

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In Exodus 16 we’re first introduced to the manna that fed Israel throughout their time in the wilderness.  An amazing miracle every day, especially on the 6th day when the manna lasted for two days.  Yet the Israelites get sick of it later on, grumbling for meat instead.

It’s easy to have that same attitude as the Israelites, in our lives today.  We can dismiss their mistakes as those of a faithless generation, but when we look in that mirror at our true face, we have many of the same problems.

That feeling of inadequacy when our phone or computer is out of date, for example.  Contentment in this age of consumerism is difficult to achieve. It’s natural to covet what we don’t have – there’s a reason covetousness was identified in the Law of Moses as being a problem.  Paul says “Godliness with contentment is great gain”.  I find the practical application of this concept to be a difficult one, and I suspect I’m not alone in this.  Fortunately, the Bible is full of examples of people that struggled with their own tendencies towards sin, so we know our generation is not alone in the problems that it experiences.

The Psalms are helpful in putting things into perspective.  David writes “In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame! In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me! Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.”

Whatever our struggles, God is a strong foundation in which we can trust, turn to in times of difficulty, content in the knowledge that He will always listen.

Exodus 15, Psalms 69, Mark 3

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The song of Moses reminded Israel of the great deliverance they’d had from the Egyptians.  Very similar themes to many of David’s psalms.

  • “The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him”
  • “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them.”
  • “The Lord will reign forever and ever.”

The ideas of praise and thankfulness are rarely translated into our modern life.  We experience so few moments where there is some monumental event to be thankful about.  So instead we need to find ways of identifying small victories, or events in which we can retrospectively see some form of guidance.

With nothing to be happy or praise God about, it’s easy to end up much like David in today’s Psalm.  “Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.”  The cares of this life, all its troubles and vanities, can easily become overwhelming.  David’s answer to that feeling is prayer.  “My prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.“

Prayer will almost certainly never produce immediate results.  For me, part of the power of prayer is that, for those few short minutes, I’m thinking of someone or something other than myself.  Whether it’s just the mighty power of God, or prayer for others in need, it results in outward-focused thoughts.  I sometimes wonder what Jesus spent all night praying about, all those times.  I think it’s fair to assume that he spent a considerable amount of time praying for the needs of others.

Jesus’ selfless personality is highlighted in today’s Mark reading. “And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him”;  “Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat”; “And a crowd was sitting around him“.  Jesus is constantly attending to the needs of others, even at the expense of his natural needs.