In You I Trust

Psalms 25:1-2 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.

This passage seems like a quintessential prayer appealing directly to our human nature. It asks God to let us reign supreme in our dealings with our enemies and to allow us our dignity. Thankfully, the first part balances this perspective out.

What’s interesting in this passage is how the passage first starts by surrendering the soul to the Lord. It is just as we all should do. When we place our soul in the hands of the Lord, we place him in the driver seat of our life, now and forever. This should also remind us of how short-lived our life here on earth really it. It compares to a drop in the bucket of time. And our long-term focus should not be on where we are. Rather, our focus needs to be on where we are ultimately going. With that thought in mind we need remember to look carefully at what we desire in our lives. We should seek to find balance with what God would have us do.

The final part of the passage asking to not be put to shame would seem to fly in the face of how the life of Jesus Christ played out. The passage should also serve as a reminder that pride is strong and when shamed we are often tempted to lose our trust in God. This temptation certainly happened in the life of Christ. He was humbled in coming down from heaven. He lived among us and suffered the humiliation of the cross so that we would be reconciled to our Father in Heaven. Yet, in the end his short-lived humiliation was just that - It was short lived. He was raised from the dead. He walked among us once again, and then he ascended into heaven in glory. We, who tend to embrace a short-term out look need to pause and look at the long term. Our immediate situation has a purpose. Determining through prayer what the purpose is should be a focus for all of us. For if we truly lift up our souls and trust in the Lord, we have all the assurance we really need. There will be a purpose in our lives. We will learn what we must learn when we need to learn it. We will be able to share those valuable lessons with others. It is tough in the midst of a crisis, to accept it is for our own good. Really it really boils down to one thing. We either trust God, or we don't. There's no middle ground we can carve out that says we trust God on a limited basis. We either do so completely, or not. My prayer for all of us is to hang on to Psalm 25 :1. "To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God."

PRAYER: Almighty God, we lift up our souls to You. We place our trust in You, and You alone. Your own Son died on the cross for our sins that we would be once again reconciled to You. This important lesson needs to ring clear in our lives. Just as Jesus placed his trust in You, help us through the Holy Spirit to have that same faith. This we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Spirit. One God, now and forever. Amen.

The Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-13 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

One of my favorite quotes is attributed to John Wayne. “You got to be tough if you’re going to be stupid.” It implies that if you are going about your life without thinking, you are going to suffer the slings and arrows of ridicule from those who live thoughtful lives. I can honestly say that I have not always lived a thoughtful life. But I have learned, sometimes painfully to think before acting. How about you?

The Ephesians 6 verses above carry a strong reminder that we must be cautious at all times. We tend to think of our adversary in this world as mere flesh and blood. Sometimes we try to put a face to evil. We might go so far as to say “So and So is the personification of evil.” The reality of the situation is we are standing against the powers of the dark world. We are reminded in verse 12 that we are up against “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” How many times have you seen someone who is struggling mightily against an addiction, or sin issue? They are worn down, exhausted from their struggle. And in all likelihood they are casualties on the field of battle. They may have tried, with all the essence of their being, to defeat that which they struggled to defeat and ultimately lost. It is not a mortal being, they are spiritual forces. Alone we stand as much of a chance as an ant does when stepped on.

So, what are we to do? Obviously we cannot stand alone. The answer is found in verse 13. We must "put on the full armor of God." The reference the Apostle Paul uses is drawn along the lines of a soldier in the Roman Army. The component parts are a belt, breast plate, boots or heavy shoes, shield, helmet, and a sword. We will explore in greater detail how each of these parts is used in the battle with evil. The key to victory is we must not try to defeat evil by ourselves. Having God on our side is imperative. For if God is with us, who can stand against us?

PRAYER: Almighty and Everlasting God, You stand alone as our source of strength. Our mortal efforts are feeble in the face of the evil one and his minions. Help us to remember to stay close to you, as a child stays near a parent. Keep us safe from harm. Guide us on the field of battle we call our daily lives. Let Your Spirit fill us to overflowing and let that love flow out to those who struggle on their own. Direct us to reach out to those who are in need of Your help. This we ask in the name of Your Son, who reached out from the cross to us. Amen

Seeing is Believing

Matthew 20: 29-34 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Back on track today. It is like the fog has cleared. Maybe I had a brain-cloud? I hope you can see clearly what our Lord has planned for you.

Seeing is believing. How many times have you doubted something until you saw it with your own eyes? Seeing is believing is an idiom first recorded in 1639 that means “only physical or concrete evidence is convincing.” Our faith is based on believing that the words in the bible, which we can actually see, are all the evidence we need. We did not actually see the events unfold, as the disciples did. But we believe them to be true. Our faith flies in the face of the phrase seeing is believing. Maybe that is what makes having faith so difficult for some people. They truly have to see to believe.

Have you ever stopped to think that you are just like the blind men in Matthew Chapter 20? Think about it. The blind men had never actually seen Jesus. They had never physically been able to gaze upon his miracles. They had only heard about him from those who had seen him, or who maybe had only heard of him. And yet there they were sitting beside the road calling out to Jesus. “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The blind men were shouted down by the nearby crowd, yet the shouting of the crowd only inspired the blind men to shout louder. “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

Now, what about you? Here you are. You have not actually seen Jesus. You have only heard about him, or read about him. Yet there you are shouting at Jesus to have mercy on you. The world around you is trying to drown out your cries, doing its’ best to distract you so that you will miss Jesus as he passes by. The world may try to convince you that your sins are too great and that Jesus will just pass you by so stop shouting. However the truth is that we need to be just like the blind men. We need to have their faith that Christ can heal us. We need to be able to see the love God has for us. We who are broken in sin need to see that our Savior is always there for us. We need to have the faith of the blind men because we who have not seen still need a Savior we have only heard about or read about. John Chapter 20 relates how Jesus tells Thomas “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen yet have believed.” We belong to the group that has not seen, yet believe. We are truly blessed by our awesome Savior. We need to hang on to the faith that makes us just like the blind men in Matthew 20. We need to shout to Jesus.

Prayer: Lord and giver of life, help us in our lives to see what we must see. Help us to overcome the blindness that grips us. Show us what we need to see. Help us to find the lost and those who are blind to Your love. Guide us along the path of Your choice. Help us to drown out the crowd shouting down those who are searching for You. This we ask in the name of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.