When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. – Psalm 65:3

 Today's Scripture Reading (July 14, 2022): Psalm 65

In his classic western novel, "True Grit," American author Charles Portis wrote, "you must pay for everything in this world one way and another. There is nothing free except the Grace of God. You cannot earn that or deserve it." God's grace is the one thing we cannot buy, and that we will never deserve, yet it is one of our most desperately needed conditions. We need grace every moment of our day.

David showed proper respect for the sacrificial system of his day. He made the sacrifices as prescribed in the law, but he seemed to know that something more was needed. It was one thing to go through the rituals of Judaism, but the Poet King knew that what he really needed, no sacrifice would be able to give him. It was something that he could not buy or earn. He needed grace, and he couldn't obtain that by fulfilling the rituals of the faith.

But not only did David need it, he felt he had received it. Even in the moments when he knew that he had sinned so much that he felt overwhelmed by his own actions, God's grace covered his transgressions. And not just David's sin, but God's grace was big enough for the entire nation. Regardless of how much Israel sinned, grace was there for the asking. And with the grace came the forgiveness that their lives, and ours, need.

Grace was something that, living a couple of hundred years after David, the Prophet Jonah understood. After the salvation of Nineveh, Jonah makes this complaint to God.

"Isn't this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live" (Jonah 4:3).

History has recorded how great the sin of Nineveh was, and Jonah didn't want to go to the city because he was afraid the grace of God was big enough even for Nineveh. And the Prophet was right.

The good news is that the grace of God is still big enough, even for us. We are still a people overwhelmed by our sins, but if we accept it, we are still covered by the grace of God. God is still the only one who has the capacity to forgive our transgressions.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 68

He will turn their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn. – Psalm 64:8

Today's Scripture Reading (July 13, 2022): Psalm 64

President Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. is sometimes known as the King of the Gaffe. He often says things he probably believes but shouldn't have said. Of course, after President Trump, who often seemed to say the things out loud that others would have said only to themselves, maybe we shouldn't notice. But we do. The King of Gaffes was always a longshot for the presidency, despite the many talents that he brings to the highest office along with his long history in politics. But the continual gaffes always seemed to outweigh any positive potential for Joe Biden. Even as president, Biden still seems to keep tripping over his mouth. It is not that he lies; he just can't stop telling people, including reporters, what it is that he really thinks and believes. And it keeps him in trouble, wherever he might be.

David prays that God will turn the tongues of his enemies against them. But it is more than just that they will become the King of Gaffes. David believes that they have become the masters of the untruth. They invent things to say about David, using their words like arrows aimed at the King's heart. They make plans and plot injustice believing that no one will ever know the tales are all invented. But David requests that they will trip over their own lies. He prays that the words they have aimed at him will instead become friendly fire directed at his enemies' cause. David asks that God would do this.

I love Mark Twain's quip, "if you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." Twain is right, and David hopes that his enemies will lie so much that they won't be able to remember the lies that they have told. Therefore their tongues will become the stumbling block that will bring them down.

Too often, those who lie find that David's prayer has been answered in their lives. Lies that start as an advantage to the teller soon grow so big that the originator of the lie can no longer control the tale. And eventually, the lies doom the liar. The falsehood becomes the liars' ruin, and the liars end up trapping themselves in the same way that they had hoped to trap their victims.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 65

Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. – Psalm 62:2

Today's Scripture Reading (July 12, 2022): Psalm 62

Galileo (1564-1642) championed the concept of Copernican heliocentrism. If you want to impress someone, fit that term into your conversation. Copernican heliocentrism just means that Galileo believed that the Sun is stationary and that the earth and other planets circle the Sun. We now know that even our Sun is not fixed but moving around the center of our galaxy. But the Catholic Church disagreed with Galileo. The church felt that such a belief went directly against the specific teachings in the Bible. The Bible states in several places that the earth was stationary and everything in our universe revolves around us. And one of those places is 1 Chronicles 16:30. The author of Chronicles clearly states that we should "Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved (1 Chronicles 16:30). And so Pope Paul V ordered an investigation of Galileo. And as a result of his research, the Pope met with Galileo in 1616 and commanded him not to teach any form of Copernican heliocentrism from that point forward. And once again, it seemed that faith and science were at odds with each other.

But, part of the problem was that the Bible spoke with the level of knowledge of the first readers, who believed that the earth was still and that the celestial objects moved around them. It seemed to the citizens of the planet at that time that the world was firmly established. We know, or maybe I should say, that most of us understand that the earth spins on its axis as it twirls around the Sun. And yet, even with that secure knowledge, we still talk about the Sun rising and setting, even though we know that the earth is really the one doing the moving. Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu argued, "give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world" (Lao Tzu). But we understand that that is a bit of hyperbole in the statement. It might be true, but we would never have a lever long enough or a fulcrum to move the world. But it is important to understand that Galileo, Lao Tzu, and Chronicles describe the same world, but they approach it from different directions. And there is no contradiction between the ideas.

But, while the earth might be in continual motion around the Sun, God is not. We don't place our hope in the stability of the planet beneath our feet. We set our hope in our God. David says that he is our rock and our fortress. He is our hope of salvation. And if we place our trust in him, we will never be shaken. Chronicles talks about what appears to be true, that the world is firmly established and cannot be moved. But David has struck on the real truth. "Tremble before him, all the earth! God is firmly established; he cannot be moved." And because I find my home in him, I will never be shaken.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 64

Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. – Psalm 61:1

Today's Scripture Reading (July 11, 2022): Psalm 61

Do you pray? To whom do you address your prayers? And maybe even more importantly, why do you bother? As a Protestant believer, I sometimes wonder about the prayers of my Catholic brothers and sisters directed at Mary or one of the Saints. I had a great conversation with an older Catholic believer many years ago, and she gave me a very good reason to pray to Mary. She told me that she knows the power of a mother's influence over a child. So, while Jesus might not listen to her, he just might listen to his mother, Mary, if she could convince his mom to pick up her plea. It is not bad reasoning, although, if the cause is just, I am not sure that Jesus needs to be convinced by his mother.

Some pray because it is a ritual that is commanded of us. As another believer explained to me, he believed that every aspect of human history and the future had already been written and that it could not be changed. Still, Jesus told us to pray, so we pray because it is commanded, but not because we hope that God will listen to our plea.

Or, maybe, we pray, hoping that God will change us so that we fit into this God-written future. The idea is not that our prayers will change God but that our prayers might change us. God's desires, through our prayers, become our desires.

And some have simply given up on praying. These believers do not expect their prayers to change anything, so why bother. Often, they will say that they will "send good thoughts" toward the problem at hand, maybe because they believe that good thoughts will make as much of a difference in our lives as righteous prayer.

I have admitted that I am a bit of a heretic. And part of my heretic tendencies is that I am not convinced that the future is written. I am not confident that our prayers are powerless in a world that cannot be changed. I believe very strongly that prayer changes things. Healings result because of our prayers. The prayers of the Christian Saints can defeat armies. The future changes because the people of God have decided to pray.

In deference to Catholic brothers and sisters, I don't pray to Mary because I don't believe my brother Jesus needs her encouragement. If my prayer is just, I have faith that God, who Jesus taught us to pray to as "Our Father" or with an even more intimate term, "Daddy," hears our prayers. And he can be moved to change the future.

David has two requests for his God. The first is that God would hear his cries. But maybe even more importantly, that David's spiritual Father would listen to his prayers. God, don't just hear my words; listen to my petition, evaluate my prayers and see if there is any way that you can help me. And it is amazing how often God answers "Yes" to the inquiries of our hearts.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 62

Let them vanish like water that flows away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short. – Psalm 58:7

Today's Scripture Reading (July 10, 2022): Psalm 58

In 1865, the town of St. Thomas, Utah, was founded by a group of members of the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons). The town grew until, at its peak, it had about 500 people living within it. St. Thomas was a business hub that served the farms in the area. The town was even the county seat at one point in its history.

But in 1871, the area was surveyed, and it was found that a previous survey had drawn the state lines one degree north of where the state line should have been. As a result of that one-degree change, St. Thomas found itself now in Nevada instead of Utah. Other nearby communities also found themselves with a similar problem, finding themselves in either Nevada or Arizona instead of Utah. The citizens of St. Thomas woke up one morning and found that the lines on a map had been moved, and they were now citizens of a different state. And Nevada attempted to make money off of the mistake. Nevada insisted that the citizens of St. Thomas owed them six years of back taxes. And so, the citizens of St. Thomas made a huge decision. They decided to leave their property behind and abandon the town rather than pay six years of back property taxes.

As the former citizens of the town moved out, new citizens moved in, making the most of the town's structures that were being left behind. And the town continued to thrive for another six decades. But in 1931, during the early years of the Great Depression, the Federal Government decided to build a dam on the state border between Nevada and Arizona. The Boulder Dam resulted, and once it was finished, it threatened to flood the whole area. (In 1947, the Boulder Dam was renamed the Hoover Dam.) Among the communities threatened by the dam was the town of St. Thomas. The threatening flood waters of the reservoir that would become Lake Mead caused an exodus from St Thomas one more time. The last resident to leave St. Thomas was Hugh Lord, who left the town on June 11, 1938. Soon the waters of the reservoir created by the Boulder Dam flooded the village of St. Thomas. And St. Thomas now only existed under the waters of Lake Mead.

But the combination of drought and high-water demand has threatened the water of Lake Mead since 1983. Currently, the reservoir only holds about 25% of the capacity for which Lake Mead had been created. And as a result of the lack of water, the town of St. Thomas has reemerged from the lake and now sits on the dry ground once again.

David prays that his enemy will disappear like water that runs away and is not refilled. Maybe the current situation of Lake Mead is a good example of what David imagined. The once-great lake is great no more; its power has been weakened, and it has lost ground to drought. The water is running away and cannot be refilled as long as the drought continues; David hoped that his enemies would do the same thing. Now they are strong, but his petition to God was that their strength would be drained away, and their weaknesses would be revealed in the process. If God answered his prayer, David's enemies would no longer pose a threat to the Poet-King and Israel. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 61

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad! – Psalm 53:6

Today's Scripture Reading (July 9, 2022): Psalm 53

George Ball (1909-1994), an American diplomat and banker, argued that "Nostalgia is a seductive liar." And he was right. We often seem to remember only the good about the past, and the struggles seem to be usually either long forgotten or minimized. I remember the good things about my history and often dream of its simplicity, but deep down, I also know that the past was never as simple as I remember it. There was stress in the past, just as there is in the present. No age is free of it, but sometimes we forget that.

For Israel, there existed a nostalgia for the time of David. It was the golden age, the age to which they longed to return. And the hope was that one day the Messiah would come, and he would be a Moses and a David rolled into one. But in many ways, the people's hope in the coming of a new David was just nostalgia.

David suffered through much during his life. And even David longed for the day when the Messiah would come, and victory would arise out of Zion. Israel longed for a restoration that went far beyond anything that David could accomplish. As good a King as David was, there was always a need to be rescued from the day-to-day stress of life. The day of this rescue was a time for which David longed.

And so do we. When we think with nostalgia about the simple times that existed in the past, what we are really longing for is a time in the future when the Messiah will come. It is a day  John describes to us in his "Revelation."

Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new" (Revelation 21:1-5)!

We are not waiting for David but the second coming of Jesus. And all we can ask is that he would come and make all things new.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 58

 

I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart." - Psalm 40:8

Today's Scripture Reading (July 8, 2022): Psalm 40

In the Science fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation, there is an interesting moment when the inhabitants of a backward planet, Mintaka, are trying to decide what to do with their strange visitors from space. One of the men decides that what God wants of them is that they sacrifice the visitors, beginning with their Captain, Jon-Luc Picard. This idea of sacrificing the captured Enterprise crew members promotes a conversation among the primitive planet dwellers, the Mintakans, and among their captured visitors from space. And it is at this point in the plot that Counsellor Deanna Troi responds with a question. "Are you sure you know what he {God} wants? That's the problem with believing in a supernatural being – trying to determine what he wants."

It is an important question for all of us who are followers of God. How do we know what God wants? How do we understand the will of God? It is a question I have wrestled with throughout my life and one with which I continue to wrestle. God, what is it that you are asking of me? And this is made even more difficult when the Bible offers differing views or interpretations of a situation. How do we know what to do?

For me, the answer is always to err on the side of love. I want to be on the side of those being bullied rather than supporting the bullies. It is the side that I think God would be on. After all, its fits well with the instructions given to us by Micah. "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). And I want to do the will of God.

David says that he desires to do the will of God and that his understanding of the will of God was intimately connected with God's law. And so, he says that God's law is written on his heart. God's law is hidden away in the one place where it will govern all of David's actions and behaviors.

Jesus was once asked how he read the law? It is another good question for all who seek to do God's will. How does Jesus, the one we follow, interpret the law of God? I can't think of any other interpretation that should hold sway in our thinking. But Jesus didn't tell the man what it was that he thought. Instead, he turned the question around on the man. How do you read it?

The man replied," 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Luke 10:27). Jesus replied, "You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live" (Luke 10:28).

I am convinced that this hasn't changed. If we want to do the will of the Father, we must respond with love for God and each other. Do this, and God's will is completed in your life. Don't do this, and your life won't matter; it will be as if you had never lived.

I know what I want to do. I want to live!

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 53