You have granted him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. – Psalm 21:2

Today's Scripture Reading (August 9, 2025): Psalm 20 & 21

She called me often. Usually, she talked, or more often yelled, while I listened. I never did meet her in the flesh, and maybe that was for the better. She had her list of complaints, prayer requests, and sometimes, I just thought she just needed someone to hear her. The problem was that over the years I knew her, I patiently listened, but the content of our conversation hadn't changed since our first phone call.

Part of her problem was that she felt that God had promised her the desires of her heart. She believed that she wasn't asking for much, but God wasn't giving her even her most humble requests, let alone her more extravagant desires. And while she was asking the question why, I don't think she ever really wanted an answer to that question. I could have told her some of the reasons why I believed her prayers weren't being answered, starting with the fact that her prayers tended to be very selfish. However, when I had attempted a similar response, it only lengthened our conversations and increased the vulgarity of her language.

David writes this Psalm in the third person. The "him" and "his" refer first to David, but then to possibly all of the Kings that followed him. As a result, this Psalm can be a little confusing to read. It is also a Psalm of thanksgiving for all that God had already done for the King, as well as a prayer for all that God would do in the future for David and all of his descendants. And David admits that God has already given him the desires of his heart and that God has not withheld anything from him. It is a prayer that would make my phone friend even angrier because these things had not been given to her. But part of the difference was that David had conformed his heart to God's in the moments when his prayers were answered, rather than expecting God to conform to David's selfish wants.

My friend wouldn't want to hear this, but when our prayers remain unanswered, we should treat it as a warning sign that something is wrong with our lives. There is something that God desires from us that is missing in our daily journey with Him. Maybe we need to pray more or be less selfish with our actions. Perhaps we need to spend more time in the Bible or pay attention to the sin in our lives. It is possible that we have not given God the thanks that he deserves in all of the ways that he has answered our prayers and taken care of us. If our prayers are unanswered, something likely needs to change in us. And that is a change to which we must be willing to commit.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 22

 

 

But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. – Psalm 19:12

Today's Scripture Reading (August 8, 2025): Psalm 19

One of the most disturbing comments of the post-modern society is that we seem to do what is right in our own eyes. What this means is that any opinion is a legitimate one, and no one has any right to say that we are wrong. The problem is that there are still things in which there is a definite right and wrong. How can anyone argue with the concept of Black Lives Matter unless it is to say that All Lives Matter, including Black ones? I understand that many argue that the phrase "All Lives Matter" decreases the importance of the problem, namely, the violence perpetrated against African Americans within the United States. I concede that that might be true, but even armed with that knowledge, we still cannot fall away from the truth that all life is important. Life matters regardless of the color of that life, and there will be a time when we will all be judged because we have not understood that simple concept. Anyone who says that Black Lives Don't Matter can't be seen as speaking truth just because it is within the realm of what they believe. The Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist organizations are wrong, not just as a matter of private opinion, but because of an objective reality.

There are many current issues in our culture that have an objective right or wrong. Hate is wrong wherever we might find it. Climate change is real and something that we need to come to grips with fast. After all, we are the caretakers that God has left on the earth to guard creation, not the invaders that God has sent to plunder the planet.

But with almost everything that I feel passionate about, that concern has been learned over time within the community. There are opinions that I held onto very firmly when I was twenty that I no longer hold. There are things that I now view as wrong that I didn't believe were wrong then. In some ways, I have grown up. But I have not come to the conclusion on what is right and what is wrong in isolation. I have had mentors and teachers, and I have existed within a community of believers that has taught and molded me. And I believe that this is just as God has designed it.

There are still things with which I struggle, things where right and wrong are not as clear within my mind. I know that error continues to exist in my beliefs. My problem is that I may not understand exactly where that error might be. Some things aren't all that important, so being wrong in these things really won't make a big difference. But other things are critical beliefs. And all I can do is pray this prayer with David. God, forgive me for the faults that I have not recognized within myself.

Because the reality is that it is a lot easier for me to see your faults than my own. And it is a lot easier for you to see my faults than your own. In a community, this is something that we can learn, as we ask God for forgiveness in the areas where we remain blind.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 20 & 21

Originally Published on April 8, 2016

The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! – Psalm 18:46

Today's Scripture Reading (August 7, 2025): Psalm 18

The German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote in 1882 that –

"God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves (The Gay Science or The Science of Joy)?

For Nietzsche, the proclamation of the death of God served as a springboard for him to develop a deeper and more natural moralism. Christian moralism was a disaster (and by the way, it still is). Not even Christians would live up to its most basic tenets (and we still don't). And by refusing to live up to our own description of morality, we were the ones who had killed God. His blood is on our hands. So, Nietzsche argued that we needed to develop something that actually works. Nietzsche ultimately argued for nihilism as the "something that works." Nietzsche believed that nihilism was the ultimate end in Christianity anyway. Nihilism essentially argues that morality does not exist and that there is no ultimate purpose to life. And since there is no purpose, whatever we feel is right must be right. What is right for me might not be what is right for you, but because morality does not exist, there is no problem with that.

In 2016, I was shocked by a bomb blast in Medina. How could anyone, let alone a Muslim, set off a bomb that close to the tomb of Muhammad the Prophet? It didn't make any sense to me. It would be like a Christian bombing Bethlehem. Yet nihilism offers the idea that anything can be right if it is right to the individual performing the action, because, ultimately, morality does not exist.

I believe that Nietzsche is very wrong. At the most basic level, anything that hurts someone else is wrong. There is no excuse for bombing anything, period, let alone the bombing of a historical and religious site such as the one bombed in Medina. But while I believe that Nietzsche is wrong, he is also right. If God is dead, then we are the ones who killed him. In 2016, one of the problems I asked those around me was, "When Muslims bomb Medina, can Mecca be far behind? And if the holy sites are no longer sacred, can we truly believe that Allah lives?"

Christians don't have holy sites. But we do believe that people are essential and the dwelling place of God. And when we disregard or ignore people, when we criticize and cut people "down to size," can we really believe that there is a God still reigning on the throne? All people are holy and of great worth to God. So, if God is alive, would not those same people be of great worth to us?

David, with one phrase, restores life to God. "I know that my God lives. He is my rock and my salvation." And, therefore, I will live my life knowing that truth. My life will conform to that morality. As Christians, this is the confession that should be on our lips continually. "I know my God and my Redeemer lives. And because of that knowledge, I declare that my life will bear testimony to the God who is not dead, but rather, very much alive." We may have killed God (okay, not really, but functionally within our lives) with our unbelief, but we also have the power to raise him back to life. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 19

See also 2 Samuel 22:47

They close up their callous hearts, and their mouths speak with arrogance. – Psalm 17:10

Today's Scripture Reading (August 6, 2025): Psalm 17

I get a lot of unsolicited mail. Some of it is the run-of-the-mill spam that we all seem to receive. Whether it's unwanted emails or phone calls, it appears that there are many people trying to scam us in some way or another. Sometimes, it makes me angry, and at other times, it makes me sad. However, my strongest emotion may be one of fear, especially for the older people in my life. In the last years of my grandmother's life, I began to suspect that she was receiving some calls claiming that she owed money or hadn't paid her taxes. As a woman who had passed the century mark, this world of people phoning and making accusations must have seemed both a strange and scary place to live.

Many years ago, a friend of mine fell victim to one of these schemes. At least, I think he did. He had built a relationship with a young mother on a social media site. The two had never met in the real world, but my friend started sending her small amounts of money to help with rent and food. The amounts were never huge, but over time, he gave a significant amount of money to this person. I tried to explain that the young mother he had been helping was likely a male teenager living in his parents' basement and using the money to support his Xbox habit. But even though he had never met or even spoken to this young mother, I was never able to convince him that she probably wasn't what she claimed to be.    

For my generation and younger, we have hopefully learned the lesson of those who want to take advantage of us. Our hearts have become callous to the claims we receive. My nephew is not really in jail and doesn't need to be bailed out. My taxes are paid, and that phone call telling me that the police are on their way is a lie. For many of us in the age of smartphones, we have stopped even answering calls from numbers we don't recognize and no longer respond to emails from people we don't know. Our hearts have become callous as a matter of survival. The world around us will take whatever it is that we are willing to give to it.

However, sometimes a callous heart can be a problem because we don't react when a reaction is precisely what is necessary. David accuses his opponents of having callous hearts and of speaking with arrogance. They have stopped seeking the truth because they believe they already possess it. They have stopped hearing and reacting to the world around them. They dislike David because they are unfamiliar with him, and they misinterpret his intentions. If only God could soften their hearts and remove their pride. However, in our world and in David's, that is often almost impossible to do.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 18

 

 

How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? – Psalm 13:1

Today's Scripture Reading (August 5, 2025): Psalm 13 & 14

I have often thought that I am a lot like Peter. When I read the Gospels, I can see myself in some of the actions and decisions of this Apostle. Like Peter, I often find that my mouth is in drive while my brain is still in neutral. I tend to rush into places where I should have considered my actions a little more before allowing my feet to take me there. Would I deny Jesus? I'm not sure, but there have been times when I've been tempted to deny the Church. Sometimes, we struggle mightily in being the Bride or Body of Christ. However, I hope my faith also echoes the Apostle.

But the reality is that while I think I am like Peter, I can also often find myself in the story of David. I love Charles Spurgeon's (1834-1892) comment on this passage. 

Whenever you look into David's Psalms, you may somewhere or another see yourselves. You never get into a corner but you find David in that corner. I think that I was never so low that I could not find that David was lower; and I never climbed so high that I could not find that David was up above me, ready to sing his song upon his stringed instrument, even as I could sing mine (Charles Spurgeon).

It is a reminder that David doesn't voice an unattainable level of faith. He might have been the King of Israel and someone God called "a man after his own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14), but David also knew the reality of the dark nights of the soul —nights and times when God seemed so far away. Even David asked, "How long will this be my reality? How long until you remember me again?" Of course, the truth was that God had never forgotten him. And even though the night was dark, God's face was not hidden from him.

But I know how David felt because it has been my reality. And maybe it is yours, as well. If that is where you are, taking comfort in the fact that it is a common experience of our race, and even when it feels that God is far away, he remains closer than your next breath. And Jesus has left us with this promise: "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20b).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 17

 

 

For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. – Psalm 11:2

Today's Scripture Reading (August 4, 2025): Psalm 11 & 12

There is something about the shadows that causes shivers to go down our spines. It is the basis for all the ghost stories that we tell around the campfire, and the basis of some of the most persistent problems of our childhoods. It forms the concept of the ever-present boogeyman living in our closets or under our beds, and in any other place where shadows lurk. It is the shadows that scare us; it always has been.

The fear of our childhood never truly leaves us. As we grow older, it becomes a fear of dark nights and dark alleys, because you never really know what is lurking in those shadows. A few years ago, I was working out at a local gym, and I was on the cross-trainer with two girls using the machines beside me. The two women were conversing with each other, and one of them was telling a story about an unpleasant experience she had with a guy that had surprised her from, yeah, the shadows. She is describing this guy, and finally, she looks for someone in the gym who is close to the size of her nemesis. Finally, she looks at me and then back at her girlfriend, motions in my direction, and says, "He was bigger than him." I wanted to tell her that I was not all that dangerous, but I wasn't sure that would have been all that helpful at that moment.

David pictures his enemies as being ready to attack from the shadows, their weapons were already in their hands and prepared to be fired. His problem is that there is no defense against weapons fired from the shadows, because we never really see the attack coming. Every person who gossips or accuses us from a distance is doing nothing more than shooting at us from the shadows. It was an experience that we, and David, know all too well.

But David also knows that it is not the voices in the shadows that define him; it can never be the unknown enemy firing from a distance that gives him his identity. That role belongs only to his God, just as our identity belongs only to our God.   

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 13 & 14

Originally Published on February 9, 2013

I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High. – Psalm 9:2

Today's Scripture Reading (August 3, 2025): Psalm 9 & 10

I first saw the Rock Opera Jesus Christ, Superstar, when I was fourteen. It was a Sunday afternoon, and Rhonda, a friend of mine, and I planned to see the movie after church, which is what we did. I fell in love with the Rock Opera that afternoon. It is a love affair that has stuck with me over the past five decades. Many of the songs I still know, and the lyrics are ingrained in my memory.

Early in the Opera, the priests Annas and Caiaphas hold a meeting about what to do with this Jesus. Annas and Caiaphas seem to have differing opinions as to what to do next. Annas believed Jesus could be left to his own devices, commenting that "He's just another scripture thumping hack from Galilee;" to which Caiaphas replies, "The difference is they call him King, the difference frightens me" (Then We Are Decided, Jesus Christ, Superstar, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice)! Later, I discovered that this song was added to the movie and was absent from the original concept album. It was added to fill in some of the questions about why the religious establishment decided to go against Jesus. The song, entitled "Then We Are Decided," finds those words at the end of the song, first spoken as a question by Caiaphas, and then as a statement by Annas, sung in a bit of a tone that spoke of the conspiracy that had been born between the two men, "Then we are decided." Regardless of the cost, they would throw their considerable influence behind a plan to kill this "hack from Galilee." They had agreed on and decided upon this course of action. It was a decision that would shape the story from this moment forward.

The same is true for us. What we decide shapes our stories. We have more control over our stories than we think we have. I have conversations with people every week who seem to believe that life simply happens to them, or that some group of people has made the decision for us. But that is only true if we fail to decide the direction and goals of our lives. We are still the captains of our own existence. We get to make the decisions. In the story of Jesus, Caiaphas and Annas may have thought they were making the decisions for Jesus, but as Jesus would tell Pilate later in the Opera; "Everything is fixed, and you can't change it" (Trial Before Pilate, Jesus Christ Superstar, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice). The decision had been made, both by God before this journey began, and by Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before; "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42).

As David opens his Psalm, he speaks of the decision that he has made. David has decided to be glad and rejoice in God, regardless of the situation. He has decided to sing praises to God. His attitude seems to be that the reader can choose whatever they want, but this is what he would do. We have the ability to do the same. We can take control and decide whether to give praise to God or whine about what life has given us. We can determine which way our lives are going to go. However, if we don't, someone else will decide for us. And they will be the ones who will direct our path and decide which way we will go.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 11 & 12