Tag: Psalms

This is the Path

Published on by DanLeave a comment

It was my observation while reading the Book of Psalms that the message in Psalm 119:105 is much more useful than first meets the eye. Consider the message in this verse – ‘My word is a lamp unto your feet’. From this verse, build a visual of an angel right in front of you, holding a lamp in the evening hours, so you can see the ground in front of you. That light gives us the direction that we need to walk safely and stay close to Elohim. Of course, we know the Lamp at our feet is God’s Word. But consider an actual lamp before our feet. Scripture paints the path we are to walk just as an actual lamp paints a path for us to follow. But how do we understand what God is telling us? For example, when The Spirit of God says, ‘I am your righteousness’, what does that word ‘righteousness’ actually mean? What does this word tell us about the one true living God? When Jesus says, ‘I am the truth’, do we focus on the word ‘truth’ or the phrase ‘I am’?

Verses matter. Phrases matter. Vocabulary matters. If you are going to meditate on a verse, having a vocabulary of biblical terms is immensely helpful. Otherwise, how do you know what to think about the verse? How do you ask proper questions? When the answer comes to you, how do you know what the answer even means? That is what vocabulary’s all about.

It is one thing to memorize a verse. It is another thing to understand the meaning of that verse. And it is yet another thing to understand how the words that are used to construct that verse relate to other verses and shape the meaning of the other verses. I know this is very intense, but this is what mining the Word of God is all about.

Furthermore, this is the essence and purpose of meditation. Taking a look at a verse, identifying the words that are important to you for today, and then really drilling down into what the verse means (unpacking), how does it affect me, what does God want me to know about this subject that he has put in front of me today. You want to know what Elohim’s plan is, But how? I suggest when you drill down into the Word, you will start to discover things. Then, his plan begins to unfold in front of you. Elohim gets excited when you show interest — incredibly excited. He shows up with lots of help!

The Spirit of God works diligently to help you get the message if your heart is ready to receive. That is part of the meditation process, getting your heart in the right place to receive. None of this is easy, it is much easier for me to write about it than it is to actually do it. I struggle with this just like you struggle with it — we all struggle with it. But I can assure you that understanding scripture over time does get easier as your biblical vocabulary becomes broader.

Take your time, try to learn one or two things a day. Get a notebook, try to express the definition for the new words you may have learned. And you will be amazed at the end of the month if you are able to achieve that daily goal — you will have 20 or 30 new words added to your vocabulary. Stay with it and at the end of the year you have added 300-400 new words to your biblical vocabulary. Scripture will be considerably easier to understand at that point.

What does it all mean? It all starts with a remarkably simple task — try and figure out the message — one verse, one term at a time. You want to know God; this is the path. You want to walk with God, this is the path. You want to feel his presence when you are mired in trouble, this is the path. You want to help your children; this is the path. You want to help your wife or your husband; this is the path. You want to know what to do on the job, this is the path. I can think of no finer way to spend your life. This is the path.

I choose Jesus.

Do not be Hasty!

Published on by DanLeave a comment

It has been my observation while reading Solomon’s thoughtful epistle Ecclesiastes, he recommends we guard our steps when we enter the house of God to worship. Being near to each other in corporate worship helps us to draw from the common expression of adoration towards Elohim by the community of God. On Sunday morning we move about with quiet expectation, we allow the lion within us to sing, but also to listen, we avoid haste and lack of self-control in our heart, guarding and measuring our thoughts before we utter anything to God. Please understand, He is close, not because we are in the House of God, but because He is close 24/7. He hears our thoughts even before we think them, he surrounds us with his presence; Under his protection, we rest and lean into his shelter. We are wise to let him envelop our worship, and then, in that framework, offer up a respectful sacrifice of praise, embracing and expressing the fear of God (massive respect for the formidable nature of God) in our worship.

Solomon writes — Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few (Ecclesiastes 5:1-3).  

Solomon’s focus is to guide us away from the world, by showing us the vanity of human-ness, we find the path to God and to our calling, that we may not walk in the way of the world, but by God’s will, nor depend upon the wealth of the world, but focus on prayer, praise, worship and doing the will of God for others. This is why we linger with the community of God; this is why we listen more and talk less.

Consider the fact that Solomon is nudging us towards the House of God; our place of public worship, created by men and women – at God’s direction. Notice in Ecclesiastes that Solomon reflects with regret on much of his life activities (implied in Ecclesiastes 2:4) claiming they were meaningless. I do not recall Solomon regretting creating God’s House, rather he indirectly reflected on God’s House with pleasure, completing the task his father David had assigned years earlier. This observation is not openly discussed in Solomon’s epistle lest it appear to be a point of pride. I think he did find quiet pleasure in building this focal point for the community to gather and worship the one true living God. Some things do not need to be spoken about in detail to be clear.

When David was anxious or confused, he went into the sanctuary of God. David wrote — If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood (Psalms 73:15-17).

We read in Proverbs – Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way (Proverbs 19:2). We should render our approach to the one true living God with a quiet pause, take time to compose our heart, avoiding carelessness and haste with our feet. During worship preparation we should harness our thoughts from roving and wandering from the task; for when we worship the one true living God – our sacrifice should be an all-encompassing effort. Some think this level of worship embodies the request from God for Moses and Joshua to put off their shoes (Exodus 3:2-6, Joshua 5:13-15) as a sign of subjection and reverence. I suggest you keep your feet clean (Exodus 30:17-21).

The Deeper Truth is — our sacrifice should not be the sacrifice of fools, that we bring our passive attention, lame thoughts, and careless words (implied Proverbs 15:7-9). We should not bring second best to the table, we should not revel in the sign, ceremony, and performance, without embracing the sense and full meaning of it, for that would be the sacrifice of fools not the sacrifice of praise.

You all know I am a musician; I have spent considerable time on worship teams; I have struggled with this. But, in the end, God accepts our meager offerings. He knows we are broken people who bring a ‘less than perfect worship’ to his alter. If our heart is in the right place, God’s mercy washes over all our failure and brings the true worship to surface. We are blessed to have permission to enter into the temple. Embrace it. Humble yourself and worship the one true living God…

I choose Jesus.

Gulliver’s Travels

Published on by DanLeave a comment

It has been my observation while reading Ecclesiastics that Solomon struggled to find something new that had not been done. He really struggled with this idea. Permit me to fast forward and talk about things that are new today. Consider the lowly cell phone, our ability to talk to computers, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Were we not introduced to these things in the mid 60’s by the Star Trek Communicator? Gene Roddenberry created the prototype Star Trek show in 1964, you may recall that most historians believe that Gene was influenced by the thought ‘engine’ in Gulliver’s Travels, a 17th century novel. In the mid 60’s Captain Kirk used a flip-phone and talked to his computer all the time, just like we do now. So, do we really have ‘new stuff’ or just clever remakes and embellishments 60 years later? New Stuff? In 1956 the initial ideas for AI were explored at Dartmouth – I took a few classes on AI software development at the University of Nebraska in 1985. Now, 70 years later, Google uses AI for routine searches. Yep, I think Solomon got it right, nothing much is new under the sun.

We read in Ecclesiastes 2: 12-17 — I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king’s successor do than what has already been done? I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. … Then I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?” I said to myself, “This too is meaningless.”  For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered; the days have already come when both have been forgotten. Like the fool, the wise too must die. So, I hated life, the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, chasing after the wind [NIV].

At the beginning of chapter 2, Solomon builds and creates everything he can imagine, his world is opulent. Yet, when he completes the work, he felt no satisfaction. Just more angst. He learned that ‘doing stuff’ without a goal outside of himself leads to the blahs. When he did things that included God, he felt settled, content. With out God in the formula, any pleasure derived from the action was short lived, the pleasure wore off and he drifted deeper into despair and self-hate.

He wonders if things would have been different without God’s wisdom. Perhaps being a simpleton, oblivious to the endgame, was best. In time, he reasoned that enjoying God’s company was a better plan. God’s wisdom prevailed.

Ecclesiastes 2:22-26 says — What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days the work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless. A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God [NIV].

Solomon was bright enough and wise enough to know the proper response, but he was a bit stubborn and not able to wrap his mind around the solution initially. He gradually learned that we do better when we learn to accept the simple pleasures of work and taking care of our families as an offering to God. “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence” (Psalms 16:11). “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress — I will never be shaken” (Psalms 62:1-2).

When we find contentment in these things, we start losing the angst and moving towards God’s peace. Solomon knows the truth about work is simple – there is no enjoyment without God’s involvement. If we do our tasks and projects with him at the helm, cognizant of his presence, we can find joy and peace in our life. When you walk with God, the angst will ebb away.

 I choose Jesus.

This is the Path

Published on by DanLeave a comment

It was my observation while reading the Book of Psalms that the message in Psalm 119:105 is much more useful than first meets the eye. Consider the message in this verse – ‘My word is a lamp unto your feet’. From this verse, build a visual of an angel right in front of you, holding a lamp in the evening hours, so you can see the ground in front of you. That light gives us the direction that we need to walk safely and stay close to Elohim. Of course, we know the Lamp at our feet is God’s Word. But consider an actual lamp before our feet. Scripture paints the path we are to walk just as an actual lamp paints a path for us to follow. But how do we understand what God is telling us? For example, when The Spirit of God says, ‘I am your righteousness’, what does that word ‘righteousness’ actually mean? What does this word tell us about the one true living God? When Jesus says, ‘I am the truth’, do we focus on the word ‘truth’ or the phrase ‘I am’?

Verses matter. Phrases matter. Vocabulary matters. If you are going to meditate on a verse, having a vocabulary of biblical terms is immensely helpful. Otherwise, how do you know what to think about the verse? How do you ask proper questions? When the answer comes to you, how do you know what the answer even means? That is what vocabulary’s all about.

It is one thing to memorize a verse. It is another thing to understand the meaning of that verse. And it is yet another thing to understand how the words that are used to construct that verse relate to other verses and shape the meaning of the other verses. I know this is very intense, but this is what mining the Word of God is all about.

Furthermore, this is the essence and purpose of meditation. Taking a look at a verse, identifying the words that are important to you for today, and then really drilling down into what the verse means (unpacking), how does it affect me, what does God want me to know about this subject that he has put in front of me today. You want to know what Elohim’s plan is, But how? I suggest when you drill down into the Word, you will start to discover things. Then, his plan begins to unfold in front of you. Elohim gets excited when you show interest — incredibly excited. He shows up with lots of help!

The Spirit of God works diligently to help you get the message if your heart is ready to receive. That is part of the meditation process, getting your heart in the right place to receive. None of this is easy, it is much easier for me to write about it than it is to actually do it. I struggle with this just like you struggle with it — we all struggle with it. But I can assure you that understanding scripture over time does get easier as your biblical vocabulary becomes broader.

Take your time, try to learn one or two things a day. Get a notebook, try to express the definition for the new words you may have learned. And you will be amazed at the end of the month if you are able to achieve that daily goal — you will have 20 or 30 new words added to your vocabulary. Stay with it and at the end of the year you have added 300-400 new words to your biblical vocabulary. Scripture will be considerably easier to understand at that point.

What does it all mean? It all starts with a remarkably simple task — try and figure out the message — one verse, one term at a time. You want to know God; this is the path. You want to walk with God, this is the path. You want to feel his presence when you are mired in trouble, this is the path. You want to help your children; this is the path. You want to help your wife or your husband; this is the path. You want to know what to do on the job, this is the path. I can think of no finer way to spend your life. This is the path.

I choose Jesus.

Do Not Be Hasty

Published on by DanLeave a comment

It has been my observation while reading Solomon’s thoughtful epistle Ecclesiastes, he recommends we guard our steps when we enter the house of God to worship. Being near to each other in corporate worship helps us to draw from the common expression of adoration towards Elohim by the community of God. On Sunday morning we move about with quiet expectation, we allow the lion within us to sing, but also to listen, we avoid haste and lack of self-control in our heart, guarding and measuring our thoughts before we utter anything to God. Please understand, He is close, not because we are in the House of God, but because He is close 24/7. He hears our thoughts even before we think them, he surrounds us with his presence; Under his protection, we rest and lean into his shelter. We are wise to let him envelop our worship, and then, in that framework, offer up a respectful sacrifice of praise, embracing and expressing the fear of God (massive respect for the formidable nature of God) in our worship.

Solomon writes — Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few (Ecclesiastes 5:1-3).  

Solomon’s focus is to guide us away from the world, by showing us the vanity of human-ness, we find the path to God and to our calling, that we may not walk in the way of the world, but by God’s will, nor depend upon the wealth of the world, but focus on prayer, praise, worship and doing the will of God for others. This is why we linger with the community of God; this is why we listen more and talk less.

Consider the fact that Solomon is nudging us towards the House of God; our place of public worship, created by men and women – at God’s direction. Notice in Ecclesiastes that Solomon reflects with regret on much of his life activities (implied in Ecclesiastes 2:4) claiming they were meaningless. I do not recall Solomon regretting creating God’s House, rather he indirectly reflected on God’s House with pleasure, completing the task his father David had assigned years earlier. This observation is not openly discussed in Solomon’s epistle lest it appear to be a point of pride. I think he did find quiet pleasure in building this focal point for the community to gather and worship the one true living God. Some things do not need to be spoken about in detail to be clear.

When David was anxious or confused, he went into the sanctuary of God. David wrote — If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood (Psalms 73:15-17).

We read in Proverbs – Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way (Proverbs 19:2). We should render our approach to the one true living God with a quiet pause, take time to compose our heart, avoiding carelessness and haste with our feet. During worship preparation we should harness our thoughts from roving and wandering from the task; for when we worship the one true living God – our sacrifice should be an all-encompassing effort. Some think this level of worship embodies the request from God for Moses and Joshua to put off their shoes (Exodus 3:2-6, Joshua 5:13-15) as a sign of subjection and reverence. I suggest you keep your feet clean (Exodus 30:17-21).

The Deeper Truth is — our sacrifice should not be the sacrifice of fools, that we bring our passive attention, lame thoughts, and careless words (implied Proverbs 15:7-9). We should not bring second best to the table, we should not revel in the sign, ceremony, and performance, without embracing the sense and full meaning of it, for that would be the sacrifice of fools not the sacrifice of praise.

You all know I am a musician; I have spent considerable time on worship teams; I have struggled with this. But, in the end, God accepts our meager offerings. He knows we are broken people who bring a ‘less than perfect worship’ to his alter. If our heart is in the right place, God’s mercy washes over all our failure and brings the true worship to surface. We are blessed to have permission to enter into the temple. Embrace it. Humble yourself and worship the one true living God…

I choose Jesus.

Gulliver’s Travels

Published on by DanLeave a comment

It has been my observation while reading Ecclesiastics that Solomon struggled to find something new that had not been done. He really struggled with this idea. Permit me to fast forward and talk about things that are new today. Consider the lowly cell phone, our ability to talk to computers, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Were we not introduced to these things in the mid 60’s by the Star Trek Communicator? Gene Roddenberry created the prototype Star Trek show in 1964, you may recall that most historians believe that Gene was influenced by the thought ‘engine’ in Gulliver’s Travels, a 17th century novel. In the mid 60’s Captain Kirk used a flip-phone and talked to his computer all the time, just like we do now. So, do we really have ‘new stuff’ or just clever remakes and embellishments 60 years later? New Stuff? In 1956 the initial ideas for AI were explored at Dartmouth – I took a few classes on AI software development at the University of Nebraska in 1985. Now, 70 years later, Google uses AI for routine searches. Yep, I think Solomon got it right, nothing much is new under the sun.

We read in Ecclesiastes 2: 12-17 — I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king’s successor do than what has already been done? I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. … Then I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?” I said to myself, “This too is meaningless.”  For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered; the days have already come when both have been forgotten. Like the fool, the wise too must die. So, I hated life, the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, chasing after the wind [NIV].

At the beginning of chapter 2, Solomon builds and creates everything he can imagine, his world is opulent. Yet, when he completes the work, he felt no satisfaction. Just more angst. He learned that ‘doing stuff’ without a goal outside of himself leads to the blahs. When he did things that included God, he felt settled, content. With out God in the formula, any pleasure derived from the action was short lived, the pleasure wore off and he drifted deeper into despair and self-hate.

He wonders if things would have been different without God’s wisdom. Perhaps being a simpleton, oblivious to the endgame, was best. In time, he reasoned that enjoying God’s company was a better plan. God’s wisdom prevailed.

Ecclesiastes 2:22-26 says — What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days the work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless. A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God [NIV].

Solomon was bright enough and wise enough to know the proper response, but he was a bit stubborn and not able to wrap his mind around the solution initially. He gradually learned that we do better when we learn to accept the simple pleasures of work and taking care of our families as an offering to God. “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence” (Psalms 16:11). “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress — I will never be shaken” (Psalms 62:1-2).

When we find contentment in these things, we start losing the angst and moving towards God’s peace. Solomon knows the truth about work is simple – there is no enjoyment without God’s involvement. If we do our tasks and projects with him at the helm, cognizant of his presence, we can find joy and peace in our life. When you walk with God, the angst will ebb away.

 I choose Jesus.

Find your Deliberate Dance

Published on by DanLeave a comment

It has been my observation when searching for how the Holy Spirit empowers us (as defined in scripture) that we owe everything to the superior strategy and planning of God the Father, including the amazing purchase of our soul by the Son (redemption), and the transformative power and implementation of God’s Plan in us by the Holy Spirit (infilling).

We read in Romans 8:9 — Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. All believers have the Holy Spirit. Continuing, we read in Ephesians 5:18 — Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit. This suggests we are not continually filled, but we are filled for a purpose, a season, then there is rest. Consider the plight of a Gas engine with a nitro injection system. We do not always use the nitro system, just when power is required. We are told to seek the infilling; seek all the fullness we can garner; and, at the same, we are cautioned to avoid quenching the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and to avoid grieving the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). This is a deliberate dance.

Let us look at four overlapping ideas that lead to the infilling of the Spirit. First, we are told to meditate on Scripture. There is a life-giving connection between the Spirit of God and his Word. Jesus said — It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. (John 6:63). Paul says — Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. (Ephesians 5:18–19). Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16).

Second, we are told to believe what we read in the Word. Paul asked (Galatians 3:5), “Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?” I think it is clear the Holy Spirit is supplied to us and works powerfully in us as we hear the word with faith — as we believe it – as we put it into practice. Stephen and Barnabas were men of faith and full of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:5, Acts 11:24). I think we are wise to not trivialize the relationship between faith and the infilling of the Spirit. It is by meditation and faith we experience the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. This leads to belief in what we read in scripture.

Third, we to be obedient to scripture. One of the disciples asked Jesus — Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world (John 14:22)? Jesus answered — “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). When you keep his word, he draws close – really close.

Fourth is the thirst, the desire to know God. The glue that brings together meditation, belief, and obedience is desire. We are told to thirst for Him. Our dance with God is to be Deliberate. Jesus says — If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink … Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive (John 7:37-39). The Psalms says — Drink from the river of [his] delights” (Psalms 36:8). As a deer pants for flowing streams, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God for the living God. (Psalms 42:1–2). O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Psalms 63:1).

Embrace meditation on scripture, believe what you read in scripture, become obedient to the guidelines in scripture, and thirst for God. You do this and the Spirit of glory will rest upon you (1 Peter 4:14). Do not hold back. Implement the plan. Seek his presence. Seek the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Find the ‘deliberate dance’ in your life.

I choose Jesus.