August 31

Genesis 3

This week we will be reading a series of passages about prominient biblical characters. The common characteristic of each passage is that these great people of faith fail. As you read these stories, I want you to think about your own life of faith. There are moments where we clearly are obedient, and there are times we are not. What can you learn and how can you grow from the times you have failed?

There are a couple of fascinating aspects to this story in Genesis 3:
- that Eve would take the serpent's advice rather than be obedient to God.
- that when Eve realized what she would get from eating the fruit, she had to have it regardless of what God had said
- not only did Eve it the fruit, she involved Adam.
- Adam chose to listen to Eve instead of being obedient to God.

Here is a couple of thoughts for you to consider:
Where do you turn for advice?
Do you ever chose to listen to yourself rather than God?

August 29 - Psalm 149 & 150

Psalm 149 & 150

The call to praise, along with the reasons to praise in Psalm 150 is a fitting conclusion this book. We have read calls and reasons to praise and give thanks to God many times in the Psalms. The Psalmist has taught us that praise and thanksgiving are at the heart of the life of faith. Praise and thanksgiving sets the tone of our lives and helps us keep a proper perspective. They keep our spirits turned to the Lord.

August 28

Psalm 147 & 148

"the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.'

Ever wonder what makes God happy? With my families and friends I find myself on a regular basis attempting things that will be pleasing to them.. I enjoy making others happy, don't you? Do you have the same thoughts about pleasing God? I must confess that I generally think about what God can do to make me happy.

The word "fear" in this passage does not mean to be terrified. Fear means a healthy respect. An understanding of who is the creator and who is the creation. When we fear in this manner it keeps our relationship with God in order and provide a foundation for a great relationship. God is finds joy when we have such a perspective of God. God is happy.

August 27

Psalm 145 & 146

"The Lord is good to all, he has compassion on all he has made."

I want to think that God is on my side. I long for God's thoughts are similar to mine. I guess if I am honest, I want God to be like me. The problem is that such thinking is backward has everything backward. God doesn't want to be like me, God wants me to be like God. God sent Jesus to show us how to live, how to love one another, to help us understand how God sees the world.

This verse is a powerful word on how God sees the world. God "has compassion on all he has made". Think of the implications of that. God has compassion on people I don't like, on people I think are evil, on people that I am against. If that is the case, and I am to be like God, consider how I should change to be like God.

August 26

Psalm 143 & 144

"for no one living is righteous before you"

To be righteous before God means we live in a in right relationship with God. Righteous living is to act as God calls us to live. This verse reminds us that none one is righteous. We all fail. We all fall short (Romans 3:23). None live completely as God wants the us to, that is one reason that Jesus said no one is good.

What is astounding is that God's love is extended to us even while we are doing the very things God does not want. God's love is not dependent upon our behavior, God's love arises from the nature and character of God.

August 25

August 25 - Psalm 141 & 142

The Psalmist is free with God to express his frustrations, doubts, concerns and joys. There is no aspect to his life that he does not lay before God. In chapter 142 he writes of sharing his complaints and troubles with God. When he wears out and feels alone he goes to God. The Psalmist gives us a model of prayer. Our prayer lives are to be open and honest discussions with God. As we are honest with God in our prayer life, it opens our lives to the involvement of God. Opening our lives to God's involvement is always good.

August 24 - Psalm 139 & 140

Psalm 139 & 140

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made"

Psalm 139 gives us a glimpse of the understanding God has of each of us. The Psalm describes God surrounding us, and knowing our thoughts. In essence, God knows everything there is about us for God created us.

You are God's creation. You are created in a unique manner with a purpose in life. The greatest moments in life come when we understand that purpose and live it. What is that purpose? What if it begins very simply by seeking to follow the way of Jesus every day? In doing so, we will be open to what God brings our way.

August 22

Psalm 137 & 138

The despair in Psalm 137 is almost overwhelming. Israel has been conquered by Babylon. The leadership of Israel has been taken as captives to live in Babylon. This Psalm is written by one of those captives. They see no hope. They see no future. They are wondering where God is.

That the Psalmist would go to God in pray in the midst of such despair is an amazing act of faith. Even though the Psalmist does not see God and feels abandoned by God, he reaches out to God. For me that is amazing faith.

I think it is much the same for us. When everything in life is great, faith is barely necessary to believe in God. It is when life is very difficult, when we wonder where God is or we just don't feel like believing, that is when the depth of faith is revealed. When we still reach out to God in the midst of our doubts.

August 21

Psalm 135 & 136

"His love endures forever"

Psalm 136 is a beautiful piece that proclaims God's love for us. The Psalmist begins with creation and moves through some of the great moments of Israel's history in recounting the way God has acted. Every act God is seen as a means of God's love reaching out to humanity.

Make this your prayer today. Spend time thinking back over the key moments of your life. For me it would be moments like when I accepted Christ, the day I met Kenda, the different churches I have served, the birth of our children and grandchild. After thinking of the moment say the phrase "His love endures forever". Let the remembrance of the moment and the acknowledgement of God's presence be your prayer.

August 20

Psalm 133 & 134

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!"

It is great when a group gets along well. When a family, a team, or a group of friends is united, it is a wonderful feeling. When we as individuals can set aside our own desires for the benefit of others, our lives are mutually blessed. In your life you have many different groups you are around. Are there groups for which you are willing to set your own desires aside?

August 19

Psalm 131 & 132

"I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me."

One of the problems of living in an information age is that we hear about every problems. The major issues of our day are constantly before us. Issues such as health care reform, Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea, the economy.... We discuss these issues with our friends, knowing we want them fixed, but we really have no more solutions than world leaders. Yet, they become our problems. We hear on the news about a crime that has taken place in Florida or California and somehow if feels as it has happened next door. The consequence is we live in a very safe community, but it feels dangerous.

I think a great deal this issue of how do you live in an information age and not "concern myself with great matters". I believe it is one of the reasons we have so much stress in our culture, a stress that I never feel when I travel to Kenya, for there I am "disconnected" from access to the information. My challenge is to deal with the issues that are present in my life, and trust God with things that are too great for me.

August 18

Psalm 129 & 130

"If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, therefore you are feared."

As I was trying to turn on my computer this morning, my cat felt the need to walk between me and the computer screen. I don't know what she was doing, but she kept getting in my way. I removed her gently once. Then a second time. The she walked across the keyboard, causing the computer to do things I did not want. I chased her out of the room.

Now I could settle in to read the scripture, focus on God and what do I read, a prayer of thanks that God does not keep a record of sin. I had a prayer of thanks that God treats me better than I treat my cat. A word of thanks that God does not chase me away.

August 17

Psalm 127 & 128

"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain"

I believe that reading scripture on a daily basis is one way the Lord builds our house. The regular exposure to scripture opens our lives to the influence of God. You may not feel God every day but the discipline of the practice helps you draw near to the Lord. That allows God to guide and direct us in the ways that are pleasing to God.

August 15

Psalm 125 & 126

Psalm 126 celebrates the Lord bringing the people back from captivity, most likely captivity in Babylon. The Psalmist understands that the Lord worked a great work on their behalf. Giving thanks and praise to God are the point of this Psalm. What is not spoken of in this time of praise is why or how they ended up in captivity. If a person read only this Psalm, the person would miss a great deal of the story. That is one reason it is so important to read all of the Bible. In reading all of the Bible when we come across a particular word of praise or thanksgiving, we can read it in the context of the whole story. Otherwise, we could read a passage like this and believe that only good comes for those who love the Lord. Thus missing that these people had seen their country conquered, Jerusalem destroyed and spent 70 years in captivity in Babylon.

August 14

Psalm 123 & 124

"If the Lord had not been on our side"

The Psalm acknowledges that "if the Lord had not been on our side" there were times when Israel would have been destroyed. I think for us, we should turn this statement around. The question is not whether God is on our side, the question is are we on God's side? Have we positioned our lives to be involved in the work and movement of God in the world around us?

August 13

Psalm 120-122

These three Psalms have verses that are often quoted.

"I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me."
"I lift up my eyes to the Lord, where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."
"The Lord will keep you from all harm, he will watch over your life"
"I rejoiced with those who said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.'"
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."

I want to encourage you to memorize scripture. Learning passages like these can bless your life. It incorporates the scripture into our daily lives and allows us to recall the passage in a moment of need.

August 12 - Psalm 119:113-176

Psalm 119:113-176

"I have put my hope in your word"

We use the word "hope in many ways. We "hope" it will rain. We "hope" that our team will win. We "hope" for the doctor to say there is no problem. We "hope" our family will be blessed. We "hope" our friend will have a good day. We "hope against hope" that something will happen. We use "hope" in so many ways, from casual comments about the weather to matters of life and death, that we forget the power of the word.

"I have put my hope in your word" means that I believe, desire or trust in God's word. This sentence is a statement of faith of how the Psalmist views his life. He has placed his future in following God's word. Where is your hope?

August 11

Psalm 119:49-112

I had jury duty yesterday. My name was called, I filled out a questionnaire and was assigned to a jury pool in a particular court. Once the proceedings began, the prosecuting and defense attorneys each had specific amount of time to question the jury panel. They asked a number of questions about the experiences of the members of the jury pool. Their questions revolved around the issue of whether past experiences would shape the ability to be fair and unbiased. In essence, would past experience shape how the jury pool members would view this case. Person after person said their past experiences would not shape how they viewed the evidence of the trial. At first, I thought I was could be completely fair and unbiased, that seems like the right thing to say. It seems almost American. By the time I left the courtroom, not having been chosen, I realized that I could not. I am the sum of my experiences. My experiences shape who I am and how I see the world. I don't think I can just turn that off.

The Psalmist's faith and how he has experienced God in the past, shapes how he sees life. He believes that if he follows the commands of God his life will be blessed. He believes he can turn in difficult times. He believes he can complain to God about the events of life. His past experience has led him to believing that God is part of his life. Where do your past experiences with God shape your perception of life?

August 10 - Psalm 119:1-48

Psalm 119:1-48

"You're blessed when you stay on course" (Psalm 119:1 Message)

In the first 48 verses of this chapter, the Psalmist speaks of following the statues and decrees of the Lord. I think that is what he means when he writes "stay on course". That does not mean the course will be easy. We know it will require discipline, but in the end our life will be blessed.

August 8 - Psalm 117 & 118

Psalm 117 & 118

"His love endures forever"

What do we know that lasts forever? We know that good economic times don't last forever, and it only seems like bad economic times last forever. Our bodies don't stay young, nor babies stay babies. Cars don't last and technology changes. Even relationships change, sometimes for the better and other times for the worse. I guess you could say that everything changes. What can we say about our lives that endures forever?

The Psalmist tells us that the love of God endures forever. When all else fails, the love of God is there for us. We can always depend on the love of God being there for us.

August 7 - Psalm 115 & 116

Psalm 115 & 116

"How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?" Psalm 116:12

How can we repay the Lord? The Lord does not ask for repayment. The love, forgiveness and grace of God is a gift. We can't earn it. We can never be good enough to deserve this gift. It is a gift for us to receive. This is a difficult idea for many of us. We feel we have to earn everything. But this gift is not about us, it is about God and who God is.

August 6

Psalm 113 & 114

The Psalms repeatedly tell us that praise of God is central to how we live. Praise changes the way we view the people around us. Praise changes how we view the circumstances of our lives. Praise helps put things in perspective. Scripture teaches us this is how we live. Of course it is difficult. For our culture teaches us there is never enough. That we should not be content, that life will be better when we obtain __________ (you fill in the blank). It is our choice which becomes the focus of our lives. The praise of God or the desire for more.

August 5

Psalm 111 & 112

What do you fear? Fear is a very powerful part of our culture. Think how we have locks on every door and alarms on our cars, houses and business. Fear shapes how we feel in the dark, it shapes how we see the future of our country. The irony is that fear is part of our entertainment. We watch horror movies (I don't) and we ride roller coasters (I do). As a culture we seek thrills that come with being afraid. Rather ironic, on one hand we are afraid of everything but for fun we seek fear!

Both chapters today speak of the fear of the Lord. This fear is neither being terrified or having fun. This fear is a deep respect that helps us remember who the Creator is, who is the creation. The fear of the Lord is about the proper perspective of life.

August 4

Psalm 109 & 110

I don't think the Psalmist is very happy with the "wicked and deceitful men" he writes about in chapter 109. He lists out their evil acts and describes what he hopes happens to them. They have obviously hurt him very deeply.

I have been thinking a great deal about sin in recent weeks. One of the ideas I have been pondering is that I am always disappointed in sinful action, but I am seldom surprised. I am disappointed when I see a person fail because of their sinful action. Whether it is a prominent pastor who has an affair, a church member who speaks harmfully about another member or my own terrible behavior, I am disappointed that a Christians (including me) would act that way. I have hopes that our faith would guide our behavior, but at times it is clearly not our faith guiding our lives.

At the same time, I am seldom surprised when sin rears its ugly head. Scripture makes it clear from the story of Adam and Eve in the beginning of Genesis, to the Psalms that we have been reading, that sin is a part of the human condition. Sin is so deeply embedded in our lives, that Jesus had to die for our sins to set us free. In essence, if I believe the Bible, sin is all around us. Why would I be surprised when I see sin?

Thanks be to God that sin is not the final word. Thank God, that Jesus came so we have a way out.

August 3

Psalm 107 & 108



God's unfailing love is the driving thought of Psalm 107. "Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men" is the refrain the Psalmist keeps using to remind us that all else fails, except for the love of God.

After what our country has been through in the last year, this is a good refrain for us to remember. The economy may collapse, many people will lose their jobs, most everyone lives with a sense of economic uncertainty, there is disagree amount about the direction of our country, but let us "give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for" us. By having this refrain at the core of our lives, it keeps our hearts on God.

August 1

Psalm 105 & 106

These two Psalms are remembrances. The reader is invited to remember the actions of God and the people of Israel. It is good for us to remember. Remembering builds our faith, it gives us hope. When we are in a difficult situation a remembrance of how God has helped us in the past can carry us through. The hard thing about remembering is that we forget. We forget what God has done for us in the past. We forget those moments when we feel God's presence.

Four years ago I started a journal. I do not journal on a regular basis, I journal when those moments happen that I know God has acted. It helps me to remember and have faith in difficult times.