Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. – Psalm 68:19

Today's Scripture Reading (August 30, 2025): Psalm 68

I recently taught on what might be the most challenging passage in Paul's Letter to the Thessalonians. It is a familiar passage, but to be honest, I think most of us ignore what Paul says in hopes that maybe the passage will go away. At the very least, I think we treat this passage as one that is simply impossible to follow in our complicated contemporary world. What is this strange passage? "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). I mean, surely this is an exaggeration. How can we ever be thankful for every circumstance in our lives? I believe that life is a gift, but I also know that every life comes with its own challenges and difficulties. How could even God expect us to be thankful in our times of struggle?

Yet, I don't think that this passage is an exaggeration. In my teaching, I went back to five months when I went through a time of extreme stress, which included friends who were sentenced to prison for a significant period, the death of a friend due to misadventure, and the attempted suicide of another friend. The five-month period ended with the kidnapping of my roommate and then me being held at gunpoint in my apartment.

It was a harrowing story to tell, and not everyone received the story well. For some, it was just too much. As I taught, I felt the angry looks coming at me from some of the people in the room. However, now I get to look at this time in my life from a different perspective. When I was going through this time of trial, any possible purpose seemed impossible. Yet now, I can see the positives that emerged from this time of extreme stress. And one of them is that as a direct result of this time, the following year, I decided to go to a school that was 1500 kilometers away from where I had spent my first year of post-secondary education. When I was teaching, I had just celebrated forty-four years of marriage with my wife, and I knew that if it weren't for this troubling season of my life, I would never have met her. It might have been a trying time, but out of it grew some of the most important relationships in my life.

David writes, "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens" (Psalm 68:19). I love the way that David Guzik translates this passage, "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits." It isn't far from Paul's instructions to the Thessalonians: "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18a). Every day God blesses us, even in our times of trial. We may not see it immediately, but I believe that God blesses us. And we need to thank God for even these temporarily unseen blessings. We need to accept by faith something else that Paul wrote, this time to the Romans. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). Every day, God really does load us with benefits that come directly from his hand.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 69

Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. – Psalm 65:4

Today's Scripture Reading (August 29, 2025): Psalm 65

Several years ago, I attended a service at a local synagogue. It was a thought-provoking experience. The service itself was over three hours long, which was much longer than the hour to hour and half service to which I am accustomed. Of course, before I could enter the sanctuary, I had to stop at a box in the foyer of the synagogue that was filled with kippahs, often referred to as yarmulkes. The kippahs in the box were of varying designs. Some were quite plain, while others displayed intricate designs. Some were made of a dark fabric, while others were constructed out of a bright fabric. I actually own a kippah; it has no design on it and is made out of a light blue fabric, but on this day, I wanted to wear one that I had borrowed. Once I had placed the kippah on my head, we were invited into the next step of our visit. We entered the synagogue's sanctuary. As we entered the large room filled with pews, I was reminded that while I was invited to sit anywhere, every pew in the synagogue was owned by a family of the synagogue. Not all of them would attend on any one Sabbath, but if they did, they would likely want to sit in their pew, and my wife and I would be asked to move.

We sat down in a pew located near the back, and then began to participate in the service. When the scrolls were taken from their cupboard at the front and paraded around the room, I did reach out with my prayer book to touch the scroll, as many of the worshippers did who were in reach of the scroll. But there were several moments when it was pretty clear that we were visitors; we did not belong in this place.

David writes that those whom God brings near are blessed. Some experts have thought that David was speaking of the priests who came and ministered at the Tabernacle on a regular rotation. They might not be at the Tabernacle every week of the year, but this was a place that they came to regularly, and they were welcome at the Tabernacle, unlike the average person.

This interpretation of the passage might be accurate, but it is interesting that David uses the word "courts." The outermost court of the Tabernacle and Temple was called the court of the Gentiles. It is the one place where anyone could come, regardless of race, to worship God. I may not have belonged in the local synagogue, but there was a place at the Temple where even I could say that I belonged.

As Jesus died on the cross, the curtain was torn between the court of the priests and the holy of holies. The image was of a place where no one was welcome except for the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, where now everyone was welcome. But there has always been, within the Tabernacle and Temple, a place where we all could go. The only thing that holds us back is us. You are invited to come close, and as James reminds us, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you" (James 4:7-8a). 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 68

View from the Left - Right

This is a bit of a break from what you might find normally on this blog, but my only defense is that sometimes I get triggered. I saw half of the following diagram, the "View from the Left" on Social Media. Even though I would describe myself as a Conservative, or maybe better, a Fiscal Conservative, the diagram felt incomplete. And so I added the "View from the Right." However, the bottom line is that as long as we are willing to villainize each other. There are no solutions. 

So, enjoy with the sarcasm that is intended to go along with this chart.

My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose walk is blameless will to me. - Psalm 64:1

Today's Scripture Reading (August 28, 2025): Psalm 64

"Writing is like talking to yourself, just in a way that makes it look like you're not crazy!" I am not sure who said it, but I love the quote. Whoever it was that wrote these words was right. I am one of those people who talk to themselves. What makes my form of talking to myself even crazier is that I also answer myself. Maybe this is why I often like to spend some time alone; when I am alone, no other voices can disturb the conversation I am having with myself, and there are no people around to accuse me of being crazy.

I also admit that there are times when I talk to my television, although that practice seems to have diminished over the past several years. I used to talk to my television when I was watching sports, questioning what the teams were doing on the screen, like the 2015 failure in the Super Bowl of the Seattle Seahawks to run the ball from the half-yard line on a second-and-goal. Instead, they passed, the pass was intercepted, and the Seahawks lost the biggest game of their year, 28-24. "What are you doing?" That one was a bit embarrassing because I was in a public place at the time, and it wasn't a bar or a place where everyone was watching the game and asking the same question. I hope the television and the people in the airport have forgiven me for the frustration that I vented on it in that moment.

Another television target is religious programming. I love to argue with TV preachers. Yes, I know they can't hear me, but I talk anyway. I freely question the theology or absurdity of their comments and the strange beliefs of those who speak to me through the screen in my office or family room. A while back, I was listening to one of these television prophets talking about prayer, and he made this comment: When you pray, you speak out loud to God. We have a different name for silent prayer; we call it thinking. If you pray, you verbalize your request before God.

I am not convinced that is true. David writes this about his understanding of God.

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely (Psalm 139:1-4).

David seems to understand that God heard his prayer when he spoke, but also knew the silent requests of the King when he was "just thinking." It is a concept that is not just found in the poetry of David; it is also in the prophecy of Jeremiah.

"I the Lord search the heart
    and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
    according to what their deeds deserve" (Jeremiah 17:10).

Again, Jeremiah seems to understand that God knows both his thoughts and his deeds, and that he would be judged according to both.

In the New Testament, it again seems to indicate that Jesus knew the thoughts of those around him. "Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts" (Matthew 9:4).

I believe that God hears your silent prayers, even if some want to demote such prayers to "just thinking." However, there are times when we need to verbalize our prayers before God. Here, David says that he voices his complaint; he states it out loud. I think one reason to lend our voice to our prayers is that sometimes when we hear our request coming out of our mouths, we have a greater sense of reality, and understand the truth of what God wants from and for us, and how foolish some of the things we say and pray for really are.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 65

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. – Psalm 62:5

Today's Scripture Reading (August 27, 2025): Psalm 62

American poet Langston Hughes writes, "Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die life is a broken-winged bird, that cannot fly." We all have moments of darkness when the walls seem to be closing in on our lives. In those moments, it is only the presence of hope that can help us to find the passage out. If it were not for our dreams, we would sit in the darkness and believe that this is the way life has to be. We probably know several people for whom this is the reality of their lives. There is no hope, only darkness. Their dreams have disappeared, and passage out of the night is well hidden. The situation is hopeless, and they are convinced that they will never return to life.

As David writes this Psalm, this is precisely the place that he finds himself. David was a celebrated and much remembered Poet-King. He was a great military strategist. He found himself at the center of a nation that was shaping the world around him, and yet he often seems to find himself in places where he experiences a lack of hope. The darkness often seems to surround him, and the dreams that should show him the way out of his dark night have all disappeared. For David, life often seems to be "a broken-winged bird that cannot fly."

It is in those moments that he turns his focus toward God. For as strong and as militarily proficient as David was, even he was not strong enough to meet all of the trials of life. He needed God. And if David needed God, then so do we.

Charles Spurgeon remarks that "Here the psalmist steps off the sand, and puts his foot on the rock. Happy is the man who can say to the Lord, 'My hope comes from him.'" God is the creator of our dreams and the author of our way out of the dark times of life. And even when everything seems lost, he is the commander of the cavalry that is hiding just on the other side of the hill. He is not merely the author of our hope; he is our hope. And without him, life really is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 64

See also Psalm 39:7

For you, God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. – Psalm 61:5

Today's Scripture Reading (August 26, 2025): Psalm 61

Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022, at the age of 96. Her reign was 70 years, 214 days, the longest reign of any British monarch and the longest reign for any Queen anywhere on the planet. The only longevity mark that Elizabeth II did not beat was that of Louis XIV of France, who ruled for almost two years longer than Elizabeth II, but he also ascended to the throne of France at the age of four. In contrast, Elizabeth was 25 years of age with a three-year-old son, Charles III, and a sixteen-month-old daughter, Anne, when she became Queen. 

The Sunday following the Queen's death was September 11, 2022, a day that was already full of meaning for people who live on my side of the pond. But on that Sunday, I decided to do something a little unusual. On significant days, I have been known to throw in the national anthem to sing in the worship service, even though I believe that my allegiance to the Kingdom of Heaven takes precedence over the nation in which I live and am a citizen. However, on September 11, 2022, the national anthem I chose to use to open the service was the anthem of the United Kingdom, a song entitled "God Save the King." The title of this anthem changes with the gender of the monarch. On September 11, 2022, I remarked that while I have sung the song "God Save the Queen" several times in my life, even though I have never been to Britain, this would be the first time I would sing "God Save the King." But first, in memory of over seventy years on the British throne, we sang "God Save the Queen," followed by "God Save the King."

Some severely criticized me for my decision. We have long memories, and the evils of rulers and their houses often dominate our memories. Why would I choose to sing that song, knowing all of the evil that the monarchs of the United Kingdom have perpetuated throughout history? Murder, slavery, false imprisonment, the sins of colonization in the New World, were just some of the sins for which the former Queen and the new King could be blamed.

My reaction was that I have a shorter memory, and blaming any of us for what our ancestors might have done doesn't make much sense to me. Elizabeth and Charles could be blamed for the sins that they have committed, but at the same time, so could we. And there comes a moment when what we need is to forgive each other. And so we sang.

God save our gracious King.
Long live our noble King,
God save The King:
Send him victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us:
God save The King.

David prays that "you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name." It is a phrase that speaks of his reign as King, but it also speaks of those who went before and those who would follow him. The words carry a similar meaning to the one we would find in "God Save the King." God, you have heard my vows, and even when I have failed you, I know that my reign and that of those who follow me will be in your hands. Therefore, you remain the one who deserves all of our praise.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 62

No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth. – Psalm 58:2

Today's Scripture Reading (August 25, 2025): Psalm 58

Gerrymandering. You have probably heard the term and even know basically what it means, but do you know where the name came from? The name originates from one of the founding fathers of the United States, Elbridge Gerry. Gerry was the Governor of Massachusetts in 1812, and he signed the bill that created the first gerrymandered district. The idea behind gerrymandering is that it is sometimes possible to draw electoral districts in such a way that it benefits one party or the other. The idea is to create one or a few Districts with a high percentage of supporters for one party, and then several moderate districts that favor the other party. The result is that one party can receive most of the seats of an area, without most of the votes. And if they have a majority of votes, they can have an overwhelming majority of seats or, possibly, even all of the seats that are allocated to the region.

Someone noticed that the first artificially manipulated electoral district looked like a salamander, and so a name was born, Gerry from the Governor of Massachusetts, and "mander" from the salamander-like shape the new electoral area resembled; a name was born, gerrymander. That first manipulated district benefited the Democratic-Republican party.

With the use of computers, we have taken gerrymandering to a new height. Political parties can ensure their survival, not with better ideas and policies, but with manipulated borders for electoral districts within any region. It is possible that, in the future, the one who controls the electoral borders is the one who will control the election.

I know my district has been gerrymandered. The district borders seem to be in almost continual flux. The location of my house has bounced between different electoral districts a few times over the years.

Gerrymandering electoral districts is just one of the pieces of evidence that, in the depths of who we are, we like to devise injustice. No one gerrymanders the borders so that an election is fairer. The grand purpose of gerrymandering is to give one party an advantage over another and to devalue each individual vote. It is what makes some believe that the electoral system is inherently unfair. Shouldn't the one who has the most votes win an election? If there are ten house seats involved and the vote is a 60-40 split, then 60% of the ones seated would be from the party with 60% of the vote; in this example, it would mean that the winning party would get six of the ten available seats. The perceived problem with such a system is that it would make the opinions of rural voters have less impact.

Maybe there isn't an easy solution to the problem. However, the real problem begins within us. Our willingness to be involved in efforts like gerrymandering is a result of our desire for injustice over justice, especially if the injustice serves our beliefs, plans, and hopes.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 61