Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place. – Psalm 28:2

Today's Scripture Reading (August 14, 2025): Psalm 28 & 29

As children, we were probably all taught to pray with our hands folded. Part of the reason for this body position is that when we quiet our hands or keep them still, children are a little more likely to concentrate on their prayers. The reason why we knelt beside our beds to pray before going to sleep held a similar meaning. As we grew older, we picked up some other body positions for our prayers, such as holding our hands with the palms up in front of us. This body position anticipates the blessing that God wants to pour out on us. We still kneel, and sometimes even lie prostrate or flat on the floor when we pray.

Our Muslim friends might be some of the most diligent of our neighbors who assume specific positions in which to pray. Islamic prayer includes several different prayer positions, along with a desire to pray toward Mecca, which in my part of the world means praying toward the east. A church that I was connected with many years ago hosted an English as a Second Language course, which included some Islamic believers. And there was a corner in the room where they kept their prayer mats so that, at the appropriate time, they could pause from their lessons and pray to Allah.

As Christians, maybe we feel we have grown past the need to pray from certain positions. Sometimes we bow our heads, and possibly close our eyes, two positions which are meant to help us concentrate on our conversations with God, but sometimes we don't even do that. We just don't seem to feel the need to assume a particular position to pray. Personally, over the years, kneeling has become increasingly more difficult for me. As a result, I pray from other positions, often sitting.

Many years ago, I led a seminar that tried to expose Christians to some of the beliefs of our Islamic friends. At the end of the evening, those who wished could join me in praying to God following the various Islamic prayer positions. (After all, Allah is just God in Arabic. The Arabic version of the Bible has Allah included in every place where our Bibles have God.) We prayed in the direction of Jerusalem, instead of Mecca, a change in direction that didn't really make a difference because both cities were east, and a little south, of where we were praying.

David cries out to God for mercy; he understands that he needs help that can only come from his God. But David also assumes the position. First, he lifts up his hands. Prayer for David was a whole-body experience. Lifting of the hands was a sign that he was praying to a God who he believed was looking down on him. But he also assumes a direction. The participants in my seminar on Islamic beliefs prayed in the direction of Jerusalem. David says that he lifts up his hands toward God's Most Holy Place. The location of this place changes depending on when this Psalm was written. Early in his reign, the Most Holy Place, although it was missing the Ark of the Covenant, would have been with the Tabernacle at the town of Gibeon, ten kilometers Northwest of Jerusalem. But when David brought the Ark of the Covenant back to the spiritual center of Israel, he brought it to Jerusalem and had a tent erected there to hold it and take the place of the "Most Holy Place," which was still at the Tabernacle in Gibeon. "They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord" (2 Samuel 6:17).

At this point, David likely was praying in the direction of the tent that he had set up in Jerusalem to house the Ark of the Covenant. However, he believed he was praying in the direction of his God.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 30

I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked. – Psalm 26:5

Today's Scripture Reading (August 13, 2025): Psalm 26 & 27

Jesus, as he ministered to those around him in the first century, did several things which served as fruitful accusations for his opponents. One of those things was those with whom he chose to associate. Early in his ministry, we already saw these lines being drawn. Luke tells us this story of Jesus.

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:27-32).

It wasn’t a one-off situation. Jesus seemed to associate with those whom society considered wicked on a regular basis. And the message of the Gospels seems to be that we are to go and do likewise.

If any of this is true, then one of the struggles we might have is what to do with passages like this one in the Psalms. I admit, it is something with which I struggle. I remember an evening church service a few decades ago where the Pastor suggested that the church was designed to be the world’s garbage collectors. The church has been instructed to take the people that this world has chosen to throw away or given up on and offer them forgiveness and a new start. The comment received some pushback from an older, saintly lady listening to the message. She was brave enough to rise and make a statement in response to the Pastor’s comment. “But those are the people that I don’t want around my children and grandchildren.” The words were appropriate and, in many ways, highlight the problem.

David clearly states that he refuses to sit in the assembly of the wicked. But maybe part of our problem is “who exactly are the wicked?” C. S. Lewis makes this comment.

I am inclined to think a Christian would be wise to avoid, where he decently can, any meeting with people who are bullies, or lascivious, cruel, dishonest, spiteful and so forth. Not because we are ‘too good’ for them. In a sense we are not good enough. We are not good enough to cope with all the temptations, nor clever enough to cope with all the problems, which an evening spent in such society produces.” (C.S. Lewis).

Our problem is that sometimes the bully, the cruel, the dishonest, and the spiteful take up residence in the church. It was what Jesus found with the Pharisees of his time, the very ones who criticized with whom it was that Jesus chose to spend his time. The evil one wasn’t the tax collector; it was the religious elite. And we have to be very careful that that is not who we become.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 28 & 29

Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. – Psalm 25:4

Today's Scripture Reading (August 12, 2025): Psalm 25

It is an ancient proverb. "Man plans and God laughs." The proverb is thought to have originated with the Jewish Talmud, a commentary on the Jewish oral traditions and teachings. The phrase often points toward the sometimes futility of our plans. We plan, but those plans frequently have to be amended. I am much closer to the end of my career than the beginning. And I had several plans, but those plans have changed over the years. Michael Smerconish of CNN has commented that we suffer from a Crisis of Nostalgia. If we are asked when the world was great, the answer is often whenever we were in our teens; that is the best era of our lives. And I have to admit that I agree. But that just might be because those were the days when our plans were still in development. Nothing had to be adjusted; everything was still in front of us. Our plans still had life, regardless of how futile those plans might end up being.

The Prophet is writing in Isaiah during the Babylonian Exile. He declares that God has revealed this to his creation: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways … As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9). The Prophet is writing in a time when the plans of Israel had collapsed. Living in Babylon and praying down by a foreign river was not part of the plan for anyone in Israel, yet this was where the nation lived. If you weren't in Babylon, then you were in Egypt, but that wasn't part of the plan either. And so, Isaiah reminds the people that "man plans and God laughs." His plans are not our plans.

I read an article recently that was based on this proverb, and the article pointed toward Jeremiah's famous thought, included in a letter that he wrote to the Babylonian exiles. In that letter, Jeremiah wrote, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). Jeremiah hears the word of God correctly; he has a plan. However, it wasn't a short-term plan. The people who received Jeremiah's letter and this promise were going to spend the rest of their lives in exile. It was their children and grandchildren who would have the opportunity to return to Jerusalem and the Promised Land. And yet, God still had a plan for everyone.

The Psalmist requests that God teach him His ways and lead him to His paths. The Psalmist's prayer is that God would rescue him, and us, from our plans by placing His plans in us. That God would take our journey and lead us down His path. And if we let Him, He will do precisely that.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 26 & 27

 

He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. – Psalm 23:3

Today's Scripture Reading (August 11, 2025): Psalm 23

I know, I should leave the Bible translation to the experts, but I really think that they have slightly misinterpreted this verse. The New International Version says that "God guides me," the King James Version says that "God leads me," but I sincerely think the proper translation of this Hebrew word is that "God brings me." Part of my reasoning is that that is what a shepherd does, especially to a lamb who has wandered off, which definitely describes me. A shepherd reaches out and brings the lost lamb back into the fold.

Max Lucado tells a story of an invitation that he received to a Christmas Party. The idea was unique; this was going to be a Christmas Cookie party. The idea was that each guest would bring a plate of Christmas Cookies to the party. The Cookies are your entrance fee. The cookies would be laid out on a table, and punch would be served, but during the party, you would choose the same number of cookies as you brought to take home. In other words, if you brought a plate of twelve cookies, then you would pick up twelve different cookies to take home with you. It was simple, except for one small problem. Apparently, Max Lucado and I share something in common, who knew? Neither one of us could bake a cookie if our lives depended on it. So, Max sent out an email to everyone involved. It sounded like an excellent idea for a party, but Max wouldn't be there because he couldn't pay the entry fee.

We are all invited to a party. It is going to be a phenomenal party; I mean, the guest list is out of this world. If you have ever wondered if a big fish or a whale swallowed Jonah, or maybe what it was like to be inside the fish, you are in luck, because Jonah is going to be there. If you have ever wondered what it was like for Peter in those moments and days after he denied Christ, or maybe what he felt in that moment when he looked to the shore of the Sea of Galilee and saw Jesus cooking breakfast, Peter is going to be there. If you want to know the details about the fight between Paul and Barnabas, they will both be there. If you want to know if there is any truth to my sermon on Agabus at Pentecost, sorry if you missed it; he will be there to tell you that I made it all up. Here is the problem. To get into the party, you have to be walking along the right paths. It is what it means when we say righteousness: being right. Now, I am a man, so everyone knows that that means that I am always right, but you might be in trouble. (And, yes, if you can't tell, that was what we call sarcasm.) Here is the truth, and I know this about myself. I wouldn't know the right path if I tripped over one. Oh, I know sometimes, almost by accident, I do something right. But that may not be a problem because David says that my shepherd will bring me to the right path. It isn't anything that I can do; it is what God will do for me, and He will do it for you.

Max didn't get an immediate reply to his email. But the word had spread, because just before the party, this saintly little older woman from the church brought him a plate of what Max calls "twelve circles of kindness." He had his entry fee to the party, but it had nothing to do with him.

We are invited to the party, and we have the entrance fee, but the entrance fee is unrelated to us. It is only because we have allowed God, our Shepherd, to bring us to the right path. He has paid the entry fee for us to come to the party. So, are you going?

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 25

My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. – Psalm 22:2

Today's Scripture Reading (August 10, 2025): Psalm 22

Abandonment is the first word that comes to me as I read this Psalm. Many years ago, back in my youth pastor days, I was taking our youth group to an event that was outside the church. We had a church van, but we often needed several cars as well to move all of the teens to and from these events. And that was often a challenge.

On this night, we had met at the church. I had instructed the kids to get into one of the several vehicles that we had prepared to take them to the event. Once we got everyone into the vehicles, I jumped into the Church van, and our caravan of cars started off toward the event. We had driven a few blocks from the church when it occurred to me that there was one teen I hadn't seen as I was getting everyone into the vehicles. The missing teen happened to be a teen that I knew very well; she was my daughter. I remember pulling over on the side of the road, and the caravan pulled over behind me. I started to go through the vehicles looking for the one kid I hadn't seen. I found my son. I had been pretty sure that he was in the van I was driving, but my search confirmed that my daughter was missing.

As a parent, there is this moment when you start to imagine all the things that could have happened. Did she realize that we had left? We armed the alarm system at what we had thought was the now-empty church before we had pulled away, which meant that if she was in one of the many rooms of the church, as soon as she ventured into a hallway, a thunderous alarm would begin to ring, an event which would undoubtedly scare her. At this moment, was she feeling abandoned by her parents and her friends? Where was she?

We rushed back to the church and disarmed the alarm. It had not been ringing, so wherever my daughter was, she hadn't ventured into an area that was equipped with a motion detector. We started a search for my little girl. Somebody found her. She was talking with a couple of friends in the Women's Washroom. She didn't even know we had left, so she didn't feel abandoned, even if, for a few moments, she had been.

There are times when we all feel abandoned. When I was in my early twenties, I attended a small-town church. I have admitted that some of the darkest times for me emotionally have happened in that space between Christmas and New Year's Day. This year was no different; I was spiralling.

Back in the day, we used to do something on New Year's Eve, which we called a "Watchnight Service." Often it began earlier in the evening with board games or some other family activity. Around 11:00 p.m., we would move into a time of worship, often with communion and prayer celebrated as we approached the midnight hour. On this night, I was deeply depressed. I remember as the watchnight service began, I was sitting on the stairs leading to the basement of the church. I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere. The singing in the sanctuary started, and I just didn't want to move. I was feeling abandoned, as if I couldn't enter the sanctuary, and yet I also didn't want to stray far away from the worship service either. And so, for the next hour, I just sat there, listening to the events that were taking place just a few feet away.

I don't know, but I kind of think that this is a universal experience, that there are times when we reach that point of feeling that our God has forsaken us. Maybe some of us get to that point more often than others. The lucky among us may only feel that way a couple of times in a lifetime. But there are at least a couple of times when each of us is tempted to utter the words from Psalm 22.

"My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest" (Psalm 22:2). It is the way we feel, but that doesn't mean that the abandonment is real.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 23

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