Together in God’s Word 02/09/10 • Reflections from the One Year Bible / by Stanley A. Parker

Psalms 31:24 (ESV)
[24] Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD!

cour•age (kûr′ĭj, kŭr′‑) n.
“The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution.”

vici-WHO?!?!

vi•cis•si•tude (vĭ‑sĭs′ĭ‑to͞od′)n.
1. “A change or variation.”
2. “One of the sudden or unexpected changes or shifts often encountered in one’s life, activities, or surroundings.”

I definitely connect the need for courage with danger and fear!

…but connecting the need for courage with experiencing change is a new thought!

…yet one that in reflection makes total sense!

Most people I know have a strong aversion to change!

…they just don’t like it!

Specifically in this case, sudden and uninitiated change!

…unplanned for!

…unprepared for!

Why the aversion?

Why the distaste?

Because this change exposes me to the risk that the new reality will be harmful to me in some way!

Also known as “putting me in DANGER!”

Which pretty much always creates FEAR in my heart!

And thus the connection to a need for courage is complete and clear!

Whether the danger is clear and present or whether it is potential…

…how do I face it and the accompanying fear with self-possession?

self-pos•ses•sion (sĕlf′pə‑zĕsh′ən) n.
“Full command of one’s faculties, feelings, and behavior.”

Not by trying to find courage in myself!

The risks very well may be too real and too significant for that!

Not by “finding” courage…

…but by TAKING courage in the Lord!

The Lord who is NEVER caught off guard and unprepared!

That change at work, change in health, change with my family, change in my finances…

…the Lord saw it coming from eternity past!

…plenty of time to have made provision for me in it!

I just need to stay in possession of my faculties so I see it WHEN it presents in the midst of the chaos of the change!

Some courage-taking verses come to mind…

Romans 8:28 (NASB)
[28] And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Psalms 42:11 (ESV)
[11] Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.

Romans 8:31-39 (ESV)
God’s Everlasting Love
[31] What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [32] He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? [33] Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. [34] Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. [35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? [36] As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
[37] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38] For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Together in God’s Word 02/08/10 • Reflections from the One Year Bible / by Stanley A. Parker

Matthew 25:34-36 (ESV)
[34] Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. [35] For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, [36] I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

Jesus didn’t say, “It was my birthday and you took me out to lunch!”

Jesus didn’t say, “I got a promotion and you threw a congratulations party for me!”

Jesus didn’t say, “I moved into my new home and you welcomed me with a plate of fresh cookies!”

Each person described by Jesus was in need of compassion!

God has a special place in His heart for the hurting.

Proverbs 19:17 (ESV)
[17] Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD,
and He will repay him for his deed.

Proverbs 14:31 (ESV)
[31] Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker,
but he who is generous to the needy honors Him.

Etc. Etc. Etc.

God has a special place in His heart for the hurting.

He prioritizes and moves towards those is need!

And His expectation is that I as a follower of Christ will do the same.

James 1:27 (ESV)
[27] Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

How am I doing with that?

No really!

I know what I would claim was in my heart, but what has shown up in my life?

If someone was counting, in the 46 years of my existence, what is my “compassion count?”

I would do pretty well if the question only related to friends and family.

Or even if it only related to those I came in contact with on the normal path of my life.

But it doesn’t!

As well intentioned as I am, and even though I have SOME examples of compassion from my life…

…I would NOT want to stand before Jesus today and be judged solely by my acts of compassion.

What does that say about the truest condition of my heart?

And what am I going to do about it?

Together in God’s Word 02/06/10 • Reflections from the One Year Bible / by Stanley A. Parker

Matthew 24:42-46 (ESV)
[42] Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. [43] But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. [44] Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
[45] “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? [46] Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

If I KNEW Jesus was coming back TODAY…

…what would I do?

A better question is…

…what SHOULD I do?

The best question is…

…what would JESUS want me to do?

Jesus’ answer?

The exact same thing He would want me to be doing if I knew He was NOT coming back today!

That would not have been my answer!

Mine would have been a flash of the extraordinary!

Yet as I reflect, the thought strikes me, why would Jesus ever choose flash over faithfulness?

Together in God’s Word 02/05/10 • Reflections from the One Year Bible / by Stanley A. Parker

Proverbs 7:6-23

I have often wondered in the back of my mind whenever I read this section of Scripture why God included it.

How many people are pursued by a married woman who wants to sleep with them?

Women readers are instantly excluded from application.

So are most men I know that have never had this happen to them… and likely never will.

This morning the thought passed through my head, “I wonder if I can find any wisdom here that could apply to other situations.”

That thought led me to the thought, “Could that be exactly what God intended for this passage?!”

In fact, just like the beauty of wisdom was clearly personified as a lady in proverbs, could this passage be personifying the seduction of sin & folly as an adulteress?!

As I reflected on this thought, a verse came to mind that directly connect the seduction of sin with words that would totally fit with an adulteress!

James 1:14-15 (ESV)
[14] But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. [15] Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

I am getting a lot of mental traction with this thought as I compare and contrast lady wisdom and adulteress folly!

Like…

A lady, while being inviting by her beauty, waits to be pursued!

So it is with wisdom!

An adulteress, while already being quite seductive in appearance, ALSO throws herself freely on a man as she initiates and induces!

So it is with sin & folly!

I will be chewing on this for a WHILE… so I will close now!

Would love to hear your insights if you join me!

Together in God’s Word 02/04/10 • Reflections from the One Year Bible / by Stanley A. Parker

Psalms 28:7a (ESV)
[7] The LORD is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

Reflecting today on the need for God being BOTH my strength AND my shield…

Strength…

“The power to resist attack.”

Implications?

There are some things I can not handle apart from God…

yet

…with God it is still I that must handle them!

God doesn’t give me strength so I can run and hide!

…or stick my head in the sand!

…or pull the covers over my head until it goes away!

I must engage!

I must resist!

I MUST FIGHT!

Shield…

“To protect or defend.”

Implications?

There are some things I can’t handle… PERIOD!

There is no fight left…

yet

…I am not left!

God covers me!

HE IS MY SHIELD!

Father, please grant me the wisdom to know

…when to trust you for strength to fight!

and

…when to run to You and hide!

Together in God’s Word 02/03/10 • Reflections from the One Year Bible / by Stanley A. Parker

Proverbs 6:27-28 (ESV)
[27] Can a man carry fire next to his chest
and his clothes not be burned?
[28] Or can one walk on hot coals
and his feet not be scorched?

I have always remembered a statement I read years ago…

Not an overly creative statement, yet it made the point…

A point well taken!

“If you pick up one end of the stick, the other end always comes with it!”

ALWAYS!

There IS an accompanying consequence to EVERY behavior!

As I have reflected before, discretion is paying close attention to what that consequence is so the you can apply wisdom, making a great decision that lands you where you want to be!

In reflection, Proverbs 6:27-28 is trying to stimulate discretion!

The real insight for me today is what is implied by the analogies used here.

The writer is stating OBVIOUS behavior/consequence!

WHY?

Because the consequence isn’t always obvious!

And further insight… why isn’t it always obvious?

Because it isn’t always instant!

And THAT is what can cause me to lose sight of the consequence, setting me up for self-deception, leading to foolish choices!

In the examples given, the consequences are clear, costly and instant!

If all consequences where that clear and that instant we would ALL have the discretion and wisdom of Solomon!!!!

But for many consequences there is a delay!

If I eat the fry today, I don’t have a heart attack today!

If I neglect my workout today I am not fat and out of shape tomorrow.

If I am unkind to my spouse today I am not divorced tomorrow.

There is an accumulation factor to some behavior/consequence.

Behavior over time is what creates the delayed negative consequence!

This is why my habits are so critical!!!

There is safe wisdom in not doing once, what I will regret doing 100 times.

Especially if I have addictive tendencies or if that thing has addictive qualities!

The negotiating away of wisdom happens when I listen to the voice of self-deception whispering…

“It is only one!”

and

“I can handle it!”

If “it” needs to be “handled” I need to be warned!

Another cause of delayed consequence is when they only happen WHEN my actions get found out!

Wisdom is to not do in secret that which has a painful consequence if it came to light.

…Scripture would say WHEN it came to light!

Numbers 32:23b (ESV)
[23] …be sure your sin will find you out.

The negotiating away of wisdom happens when I listen to the voice of self-deception whispering…

“No will ever find out!”

and

“I can keep this secret!”

Another verse of discretion to help quiet this particular self-deception is…

Proverbs 5:21 (NASB)
[21] For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD,
And He watches all his paths.

And another…

Proverbs 15:3 (NASB)
[3] The eyes of the LORD are in every place,
Watching the evil and the good.

Bottom line from today for me…

BEWARE OF THE DECEPTION OF DELAYED CONSEQUENCE!

It can cause me to lose discretion and make foolish choices that cost me much!

Together in God’s Word 02/02/10 • Reflections from the One Year Bible / by Stanley A. Parker

Exodus 16:8 (ESV)
[8] And Moses said, “When the LORD gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the LORD has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the LORD.”

Am I grumbling against God?!

How did Israel grumble against God?

By verbalizing discontentment regarding the place God had brought them and the circumstances therein!

dis•con•tent (dĭs′kən‑tĕnt′)
A restless longing for “better” circumstances.

Better from who’s perspective?

There is no denying Israel faced difficult and even unpleasant dynamics in this place where God had brought them!

The funny thing is how quickly they forgot the unpleasant dynamics of where they were and would be again without God!

God had NEVER promised them a life absent of pain! That would take a removal of them out of this fallen world!

What He promised them was FREEDOM!

Which He delivered!

What promised them was HIMSELF…

…presence

…protection

…provision

…guidance

Once again all of which He was delivering on!

To grumble against my circumstances is to deny God…

…of His sovereignty!

“God couldn’t be in control AND put me in this circumstance!”

…of His wisdom!

“God couldn’t be in His right mind AND put me in this circumstance!”

…of His goodness!

“God couldn’t be good AND put me in this circumstance!”

…of His praise!

“God couldn’t expect my worship AND put me in this circumstance!”

Or…

God IS in control!

AND

God IS really really smart!

AND

God IS good!

AND

God DOES deserve my praise!

AND

I STOP GRUMBLING!!!!!!

Together in God’s Word 02/01/10 • Reflections from the One Year Bible / by Stanley A. Parker

Exodus 14:1-2 (NLT)
[14:1] Then the LORD gave these instructions to Moses: [2] “Tell the people to march toward Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea. Camp there along the shore, opposite Baal-zephon.

From a human point of view, God put Israel in a horrible position!

By having them camp by the sea He took away their options and put their backs against the wall, placing them in front row seats to observe a massacre!

Completely indefensible!

From a heaven point of view God put Israel in a wonderful position!

By having them camp by the sea He took away their option to trust in themselves and put their back against the Rock, placing them in front row seats to observe a miracle!

Completely undeniable!

What eyes am I using to look at my circumstances?

Human eyes?

Or

Heaven’s eyes?!

Together in God’s Word 01/31/10 • Reflections from the One Year Bible / by Stanley A. Parker

Honestly, as I read out Matthew passages today, I was a little aggitated.

…over the two “prayer encounters” captured there.

The two blind men and the whithered fig tree.

I will spare you the detailing out of my agitation and focus on God’s revelation… what He told me.

Because of the narrative nature of most of scripture, complete teachings about even vital topics are not neatly gathered together in chapters.

Instead, the whole of Scripture must be “mined” to end up with a complete, balanced and accurate picture of whatever it us you are “looking” at.

Maybe a good analogy would be puzzles. No one piece of the puzzle reveals the whole picture! One must place faceup ALL the pieces and then fit them together to see what is there!

In this mornings case, for me, it was prayer.

In the wholistic picture of effective prayer, 2 pieces were flipped over…

1. The DESIRE of the one making the request.

Matthew 20:32-34 (ESV)
[32] And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” [33] They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” [34] And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

What THEY wanted WAS a piece of the prayer picture!

Staying with that analogy, it must have been the final missing piece because once Jesus turned that piece over, the picture was seen… the prayer was answered!

The balance is this…

What they wanted mattered BUT it wasn’t ALL that mattered. In this case it was just the last thing that mattered.

2. The FAITH of the one making the request!

Matthew 21:21-22 (ESV)
[21] And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. [22] And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

Whether or not faith is present IS also a piece of the puzzle of prayer!

When praying, whethere or not I have faith matters BUT it is not ALL that matters. In this case it was just Jesus’ focus.

Another prayer piece is the motives of the one making the request.

James 4:3 (NASB)
[3] You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

And still another is the will of God!

1 John 5:14-15 (NASB)
[14] This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. [15] And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

My reflection today isn’t so much on the specific pieces of the prayer puzzle, but on the fact that it IS a puzzle!

…with multiple pieces!

And so a personal reminder to not evaluate the validity of one part when it doesn’t turn out to be THE part needed for the picture to immerge in a particular case.

What I desire DOES matter!

…so don’t surpress desires!

But it is not the only thing that matters!

…so yield desire to the whole!

And on down the list!

Also a reminder that whenever I am praying about a specific thing, to keep turning over pieces of the prayer puzzle until I get to the LAST piece and the prayer is realized!

It will be a differnt piece at different times!

Together in God’s Word 01/30/10 • Reflections from the One Year Bible / by Stanley A. Parker

Psalms 25:2-3 (ESV)
[2] O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
[3] Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

Waiting

The only time I am actually GLAD to be waiting is when I am waiting on something I really don’t want to do anyway, but need to do.

“I think I will WAIT to have that cavity filled!”

Etc.

If it is something I really want on the other end of waiting, then my language is…

“I can’t wait till the new iPad from Apple comes out!”

And in those cases I am not waiting because I want to!

I am waiting because I HAVE to!

“The iPad I want won’t be in stores until early April!”

In today’s Psalm there is a clear connection between faith and waiting.

Indeed in verses 2 & 3 they are used interchangeably!

By the way I unconsciously define waiting, I wouldn’t make that connection on my own.

As I look up waiting I see that my “gut” definition is not the primary definition! It is actually third in line!

wait (wāt)
v. wait•ed, wait•ing, waits
3. To remain temporarily neglected, unattended to, or postponed.

Nothing positive or faith-filled in that definition!

I feel like I NEED faith in many of the instances of this type of waiting.

The delay isn’t ANYTHING I chose, but in an attempt to keep a positive attitude while neglected, unattended to or postponed I choose “faith” …I choose to trust that God will make it all turn out right!

But as I looked at the primary definition this morning, the connection is clear!

wait (wāt)
v. wait•ed, wait•ing, waits
1. To remain or rest in expectation!

This type of waiting isn’t pacing!

This type of waiting is RESTING!

This type of waiting isn’t focused on the unknown!

This type of waiting is focused on Him who has made Himself known!

…it is an expression of faith!

…faith in action!

Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
[11:1] What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.