Praise Him

Psalm 34.

“I will bless the Lord at all times;  his praise shall continually be in my mouth.  My soul makes its boast in the Lord;  let the humble hear and be glad.  

O magnify the Lord with me,  and let us exalt his name together.  

I sought the Lord, and he answered me,  and delivered me from all my fears.  Look to him, and be radiant;  so your faces shall never be ashamed.  

This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,  and was saved from every trouble.  The angel of the Lord encamps  around those who fear him, and delivers them.  

O taste and see that the Lord is good;  happy are those who take refuge in him.  O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,  for those who fear him have no want.  

The young lions suffer want and hunger,  but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.  

Come, O children, listen to me;  I will teach you the fear of the Lord.  

Which of you desires life,  and covets many days to enjoy good?  Keep your tongue from evil,  and your lips from speaking deceit.  Depart from evil, and do good;  seek peace, and pursue it.  

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,  and his ears are open to their cry.  The face of the Lord is against evildoers,  to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.  

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,  and rescues them from all their troubles.  

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,  and saves the crushed in spirit.  

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,  but the Lord rescues them from them all.  

He keeps all their bones;  not one of them will be broken.  

Evil brings death to the wicked,  and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.  

The Lord redeems the life of his servants;  none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.”

Hold on to this. Go back and sing this Psalm. Make your own tune. Get it in your spirit. Oh he’s good. He’s better than good. Praise him for his wonderful works. Praise him for his promises. Praise him for his favor. Praise him for his love. Praise him, he loves us that much. enough for now.

Be Still

Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God!  I am exalted among the nations,  I am exalted in the earth.”

That’s who he is! Be still and watching amazement. Be still to hear from him, be still and trust what he is doing. Be still. enough for now 

Do This

Isaiah 58:6-12 NRSV

“Is not this the fast that I choose:  to loose the bonds of injustice,  to undo the thongs of the yoke,  to let the oppressed go free,  and to break every yoke?  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,  and bring the homeless poor into your house;  when you see the naked, to cover them,  and not to hide yourself from your own kin?  Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,  and your healing shall spring up quickly;  your vindicator shall go before you,  the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.  Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;  you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am.””

The Israelites were too busy in their own ‘me’ issues and were complaint to God about him not answering. But he tells them what a true fast look like. And gives a series of if/then statements. Go back and reread Isaiah 58.

If you do these things you will have Divine License to call upon the Lord: (Verses 8&9.) 

If you feed the hungry, give shelter, clothe the naked, and take care of family. “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear. 

Then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of God will be your rear guard.

The righteousness from your obedience will go before you and God has your back. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer, you will cry for help, and he will say, “Here am I.””

As believers, we are to make a stand as one against unfit social conditions. We must be ready to fight against systemic oppression and support those marginalized by society.

But when you call God, he will answer. We have the divine license to call upon the Lord. Vs 9 haneh Predicator of Existence (10.3b in Hebrew book). We have no English word that this properly translates. So the best we can do in the English is say, “here am I” 

The NLT says, “Yes, I am here, he will quickly reply.” But the Hebrew translation of “Behold Me!” says it better. 

That ‘behold’ is to look upon or to listen to something amazing or unexpected, and in that context it is more of a command. So, for God to say, ‘Behold Me’, I got your back. Gaze upon something so absolutely amazing- Me. Watch me, don’t worry about that.What else could there be that is bigger? NOT A THING. That is something we can hold on to. enough for now.

Watch Him Work

Acts 12:4-11 NRSV

“When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.  Peter Delivered from Prison The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists. The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

While there is great power in prayer, there is great power in collective prayer. Get the picture of how God delivered Peter from sure death as he would be executed right after Passover. The thing is that while the church was praying, Peter was resting. With all of the precautions to keep Peter locked up, he walked right out. 

There are times in our lives that we may feel so bound, under duress and in distress that there is no way out. But God. When we are clear of whom we serve, we can rest in spite of - we rest knowing that God is moving. We rest knowing that prayer changes situations. Trust that God is moving on our behalf. Watch what he is doing. 

enough for now.

Change Agents

2 Chronicles 7:13&14 NRSV

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 

‘When’ and ‘if’ are subordinate conjunctions. ‘Then’ is a conjunctive adverb which joins the independent clauses. You can’t have a’then’ without the ‘if’.  We have three movements: Our foundation: in our identity (my people) and heritage (called by my name). The action we must take: (humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, turn from wicked ways), if we do that, the we will receive-

The promises from God: He will hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal the land.

When we do that, we become the change agents he created. Our doing, our following him changes everything. The divine formula: humble+pray+seek God+turn from wickedness= God hearing from heaven, forgiving our sins, healing the land. The land needs healing, we need healing. It will happen as we step up as God’s change agents. enough for now.

Stay in It

I Cor 9:24-26 NRSV

“Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.”

After coming out of conference I was reminded of one thing- while that was the business of the church- the responsibility is to advance the kingdom. Our responsibility is to hear from God, wait on God. We are still in this race. It is ours alone, no one can run it for us. Sometimes we may slow down, but at all times we stay in the race. Stay in the race. It has already been secured for you. more later.

You Need A Word

Luke 4:1-13 NRSV

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”  Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written,  ‘Worship the Lord your God,  and serve only him.’ ”  Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,  ‘He will command his angels concerning you,  to protect you,’  and  ‘On their hands they will bear you up,  so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”  Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.”

We know the story of Jesus taken by Holy Spirit  to the wilderness. Satan’s temps with physical needs, power & fame, and by testing God. But each time he tempted Jesus, Jesus answered with scripture. We need a word to keep us when crazy happens. To hold us when temptations come. We need a word to hold in our heart. 

I have always been stuck in that last sentence. “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.” 

Temptations will come and we can succeed because Jesus did. We suceded with a word. We need a word in our heart, a word for that situation. “Your word have I hidden in my heart that I may not sin against you.”

When studying Hebrew in seminary, we studied the passage, Isaiah 58:9 , “Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.” Now in Hebrew the word “Hanai” takes on a grander meaning. It’s not just ‘here I am’ it’s “Behold me.” How powerful is that? No one can say that but God. Behold me! 

With that knowledge and a word that is in our heart, we will stand, as we are standing on God’s word and with him having our back. Get a word! enough for now.