You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. – Psalm 39:5

Today's Scripture Reading (July 7, 2022): Psalm 39

Christian author Joyce Rachelle argues that we shouldn't "be afraid to make mistakes. But if you do, make new ones. Life is too short to make the wrong choice twice." As someone who seems to make the same mistakes repeatedly, I may need to heed that advice. But the problem is that we get into a rut, even when it comes to our mistakes. For instance, I keep making the same spelling and grammar mistakes over and over again. I am sure that if my computer had a will of its own, sometimes it would just quit and flash this message on the screen; "Really! Won't you ever learn?" And the answer is maybe life is too short for me to figure out how to spell 'traveler" right (I always use too many L's – as in traveller).

And the truth is that the older you get, the quicker time seems to pass. Is it possible that my oldest grandchild has already finished her first decade of life? Or that I have been married to my wife for over four decades. I remember when I was young and wanting to jump ahead to see where my life would end up. Now, it has all passed by me so fast that sometimes I wish I could go back and do it all over again.

David admits that life is short. He calls it a handbreadth which is one of the smallest measurements in Jewish society, a little less than two inches. And even the King is not immune to the passing of time. Part of David's prayer is that God would remind him of how quickly time passes. But the purpose of the reminder is not designed to depress David or the readers of this Psalm but, instead, to remind the King to make the most of each moment.

Life is short, but it is not too short for us to make a difference. Jesus saved the world in three years of ministry, and most of us are given much longer. I agree with Rachelle that we should not be afraid to make mistakes. What we should fear is doing nothing and not making a difference in the world where God has placed us. I pray that we would love lavishly because this life is too short for hate. This life might be a handbreadth or a vapor that is here one moment and gone the next, but we can still be change agents in the lives of those around us. And if we all change our world, then the larger world will be transformed, all because we decided to make a difference for good and God.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 40

My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. – Psalm 38:4

Today's Scripture Reading (July 6, 2022): Psalm 38

I love what Canadian author D. D. Barant, in his novel "Dying Bites," has to say about guilt. Barant writes, "I've got a bad case of the 3:00 a.m. guilts - you know, when you lie in bed awake and replay all those things you didn't do right? Because, as we all know, nothing solves insomnia like a nice warm glass of regret, depression and self-loathing." Unfortunately, I know all about 3:00 a.m. guilts; I also suffer from them. And once they get hold of you, sleep is lost cause. I can't tell you how often I have been lying in my bed, and my mind begins to go down an avenue of guilt. And I immediately try to stop that line of thought because I know that if I go there, I will never get to sleep. But guilt can do more to us than just disturb our sleep. It has the power to make us very sick. It can upset every corner of our being.

David was sick. But it wasn't any ordinary illness. David understands that what is making him sick is his guilt. David was never one to hide his sins from God. It is part of the function that his poetry seems to fulfill. His poetry often seemed to serve the purpose of a diary in which David recorded some of his most private thoughts and sins.

We aren't sure on this occasion if the guilt that the Poet King felt was from the old guilts of his past or something fresh that had recently happened. The 3:00 a.m. guilts don't usually discriminate between old and new sins. My battle with the 3:00 a.m. guilts is about both the old and the new sins that plague me.

David hopes that, through this act of confession and repentance, he will feel the mercy of God and that his confession will move God to compassion, and he will be forgiven.

It is the hope that all of us who suffer from the 3:00 a.m. guilts hold. The Apostle John writes,

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us (1 John 1:8-10).

The truth is that the 3:00 a.m. guilts are often nothing more than Satan's tool to destroy us. At three in the morning, he reminds us of all the ways we have failed, destroying our sleep and health. The truth of which we need to be reminded is that if we have confessed our sins, we have been forgiven. The deed is done, and the 3:00 guilts should no longer hold sway over our nights.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 39

Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, LORD, preserve both people and animals. – Psalm 36:6

Today's Scripture Reading (July 5, 2022): Psalm 36

My grandfather loved to drive. He was one of those who loved the tradition of a Sunday afternoon drive. And he was also willing to veer off the well-worn path to see some places where people didn't normally go. I remember one such drive when I was a child that led us into the heart of a First Nations reservation area. As a child, probably younger than ten, I can still remember the questioning eyes of the First Nations residents as they watched this fairly new car with a strange white family traveling through their territory. I was a kid who had watched way too many westerns, usually with my Dad, and I can still remember just wanting to get back to the main road before the inhabitants of the reservation decided to confront us. We all survived that experience, and that drive left me with an important memory.

One of my grandfather's favorite spots was up on the side of a mountain. The road wound up the side of the mountain, and often there was wildlife available for viewing at the side of the road. But further up the mountain, there was also a great parking spot which led to a wonderful viewpoint. The top of the mountain still stood just above you, but the outlook gave you an excellent view of an alpine meadow, sometimes fully equipped with wildlife, and far below was a mountain town with a railroad running through it. It was a good place just to sit and watch the world pass by.

It is not hard to imagine David sitting at such a viewpoint as he writes this Psalm. Above him stood the grandeur of the mountain tops. And David imagines the mountains that he sees mirror God's righteousness, standing tall about the plain of men. And then, he looks into the deep valley and pictures that the valley is God's justice, delving deep into the ways of the human race. Together, the mountains and valley symbolized the ways of God as he dealt with his creation.

And in this process, David saw how God cared for his creation. For God, every aspect of his creation is incredibly important and worthy of his attention. And David understands that God is concerned with all of his creation. The mountains and valleys of God, symbolizing God's righteousness and justice, are important to care for both the people of the towns and the animals that stood alongside the roadways and inhabited the Alpine plain.

One of my favorite verses in the story of Jonah is the last one, one that is not about a man being swallowed by a big fish. In the aftermath of the repentance of Nineveh, God tries to reason with a pouting Jonah. And God finishes the story of Jonah by asking this question.

But the Lord said, "You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals" (Jonah 4:10-11)?

God cares for all of his creation, his righteousness and justice are for all of the created beings on the earth, and that includes the animals of the field.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 38

Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Say to me, "I am your salvation." – Psalm 35:3

Today's Scripture Reading (July 4, 2022): Psalm 35

He met me at the back of the church and asked, "Can we go somewhere and talk?" I ushered him into a room that happened to be empty off to one side of the church foyer and sat down at a table. My young friend pulled out a chair, sat down, and looked at me. I waited. I knew that he needed to be ready to say whatever it was that he needed to say, and I was content to wait for whatever the words were that he was trying to find. Finally, they came out. "Is it possible to be a Christian and still doubt?" I am pretty sure that he thought he was the first person in history to consider this question, but he was wrong. Whether we voice it or not, I think it has occurred to almost every Christian. We all have our moments of doubt.

Among the disciples, we remember Thomas as the doubter, although I believe that that dispersion is unfairly cast. Thomas may have doubted, but he wasn't the only one. Of the disciples, only John showed up for the crucifixion, and that was partially because they all had their doubts, especially during this moment of extreme uncertainty and despair. And it is often those moments of struggle that cause all of us to doubt.

In the popular Christian allegorical poem "Footprints," a man looks back at his life and notices that there are often two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonged to him and the other to his God. But then he sees that there was only one set of footprints in the most desperate moments of his life. And so, he asks God, why? When I needed you the most, why did you leave me and let me walk my path alone?

The Lord replied,
"My son, My precious child, I love you and I would
never leave you. During your times of trial and
suffering, when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I Carried You." 

David is once again finding himself amidst the struggle. And he asks that his God would pick up the spear and javelin and fight for him. But even that wasn't exactly what David really needed. David needed God to continue to remind him that he (God) was his salvation. David needed to remember that he couldn't save himself but that that was precisely what God had promised to do. I love how the early 20^th-century theologian, G. Campbell Morgan, sums up this passage.

"So trying were the circumstances, so poignant the pain, that he was at least in danger of losing his assurance in God. Hence the plea that God would give him the inward sense of certainty: 'Say unto my soul – I am thy salvation.' It was a request for the renewing or strengthening of the inner communion with God, which is ever the secret of strength in days of turmoil and sorrow" (G. Campbell Morgan).

Doubt is part of life, which is why faith is so important. And, like David, it is because of our doubt that we need to keep asking God to remind us that he is our salvation.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 36

Happy Independence Day!

 

May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you. – Psalm 33:22

Today's Scripture Reading (July 3, 2022): Psalm 33

In her best-selling book “Twilight,” Stephanie Meyer writes, “I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars.” I live in an area with great seasonal differences between the length of day and night. Around Christmas, the sun doesn’t get too high in the sky, and the nights are long. In fact, unless you have a window in your office that points the right direction (I don’t), you might not see the sun. You drive to work and come home in the dark, with the sun well below the horizon. But during the summer, the opposite is true. I remember a camping trip when I was a kid when we stayed up most of the night telling stories around the campfire. On that night, when the glow in the west finally disappeared, it was replaced with a light in the east as the sun started its trip back to the horizon to rise once more.

I like both times of the year. I love it when the sun stays up in the sky well into the evening, but I also love the darkness of Christmas time when the stars come out before supper and stay in the sky into the mid-morning hours. But regardless of how long the night reigns, I know that the sun will return, and it will reign in the sky, at least for a little while. But when it is absent, I get to look at the stars, which are just distant suns, and dream of all the secrets that they might hold. And amid all of the possibilities of the stars, hope reigns.

We need hope to live, but we don’t need false hope. We need something worthy of producing hope. I can hope in the coming day, even in the middle of the winter, because I know that the sun will rise, if only for a few hours. But the night also reminds us that there are times when the darkness must reign as well. Light will come, it always does, but first, we have to survive the night.

David is in the midst of some darkness, yet he has hope that God’s unfailing love is with him. It is not a hope that is based on his performance. Instead, David’s hope is based on the nature of the God he serves. Like the sun that rises every morning or the stars that reign in the dark, David understands that God’s love is always with him, even when he can’t see him. David understands that the size of his army doesn’t save a king, a warrior can’t depend on just his strength, and even a swift horse will not always be able to deliver you from your trials, but God is always there. And in him, we can place his hope.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 35

Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. – Psalm 32:2

Today's Scripture Reading (July 2, 2022): Psalm 32

Confucius argued that "To be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it." Not remembering those who have wronged us is good advice, but often hard advice to live out. But the problem is that we continue to pay the price for something that someone else has done. As I write this, I have a friend who is suffering through the words that someone made in a public meeting. My friend is in pain, and I know that he is replaying the words that he heard over and over again in his mind. But the tragedy is that I suspect that one[s] who spoke the words that hurt my friend have already forgotten them. The instigators are not in pain or suffering from any kind of guilt. They may not even know that they have caused significant pain in my friend's life. And so, my friend continues to pay the price.

I wish that my friend could concentrate on the ones who stand with him in his corner. Many of us love him and want the best for him. But it is not us that he thinks about as he sits alone in the dark. It is the thoughtless words of people who stand on the other side of the debate, which is the tragedy. To be wronged and to continue to play the wrong over in our minds is to give our tormentors all the power. And I know because I have been the on the receiving end of wrong and have played that wrong repeatedly in my own mind. In the process, I magnified both the wrong and the pain.

David knows that he has sinned. But he also knows that God does not count his sin against him. David has wronged God, but God does not continue to remember his wrongs and hold them against him. God is willing to let the wrongs go, and because of that, in the eyes of God, the wrongs are nothing.

We often think that we serve a God who knows all things. But that is not true. The Bible says that there is one area where God's knowledge is limited. Isaiah writes that even God admits to this limitation in his being. "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more" (Isaiah 43:25). God says that he does not count our sins against us for his sake. And because he does not count our sins against us, his anger does not grow.

And because he does not remember our sin, we don't have to pretend that we have not sinned. We can admit our shortcomings, knowing that they will be forgiven and forgotten. For us, God has done this. We might remember the wrongs committed against us and allow the hurt to fester inside of us, but God does not. And in forgetting our sin, he models a healthy response toward those who have wronged us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 33

 

I hate those who cling to worthless idols; as for me, I trust in the LORD. – Psalm 31:6

Today's Scripture Reading (July 1, 2022): Psalm 31

Whenever I say that I hate something, I try never to hate someone, my wife reminds me that hate is a strong word. Actually, so does my computer. Just typing the words "I hate" causes my computer to tell me that I might be overly harsh. As a result, I really try to limit my use of the word. But there are times when, usually in frustration, I exclaim, "I hate this." And those words are typically followed up with the words, "and I know hate is a strong word."

But my wife is right. Hate is a strong word and one with which we need to be very careful. I have been in significant conflict with people, and I have been tempted to hate, but I usually understand that hate is a useless emotion when I take a step back. Hate only engenders more hate. As a result, hate tends to grow, spreading from place to place. Hate quickly becomes a never ending circle and a problem for all of us.

In 1971, the Canadian band "The Poppy Family" released their album, Poppy Seeds, which contained the hit song "Where Evil Grows." The words of the chorus tell us that;

Evil grows in the dark
Where the sun it never shines
Evil grows in cracks and holes
And lives in people's minds

 It is not just evil that grows in the dark and cracks and holes, living in all of our minds. Hate can usually be found there as well, growing and spreading and infecting everything that it touches.

David says he "hates" those who cling to worthless idols, but I sometimes wonder if "hate" is the right word. David is saying that he rejects the idols which many had adopted. They have no power to change anything, so they are to be despised. But is it right to hate those who cling to such useless gods? 

But hate is easy. Some stand in conflict with me. I suspect they might even hate me and those who stand by my side based on their words and actions. And because hate grows, it would be easy to return the hate to them. But I find hate hard. I pity them because the path they have chosen, like those who chose idols in David's day, is a path without power. Hate often feels like strength, but it usually opens us up to great weakness and significant failure. Love is harder, but it is a way of power. I think what David was describing was his hatred for anything that would dare to take his people away from the God of Israel. Idols promise much but can't deliver on their covenants. And we need to stand up and rebel against anything that would steal God's power away from those we love and even those with whom we are in significant conflict. Life is short, and we have no time to waste on the idols or powerless emotions that tempt us in this world.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 32

Happy Canada Day!