My son David recently sent me this description of his pastor’s sermon:

You would have loved …the sermon yesterday. Sermons are never perfect, but it was a great message on getting in the word, based on 2 Timothy 3.16-17:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NIV84)

One profound and simple moment you would have enjoyed was when Pastor Jed, talking about “now what” once we believe the Word is important, said, “We over complicate things. Read it. Open the book.” The phrase “Read it” was literally a bullet on the screen by itself.

I love it:

READ IT

I wrote him back: “Love it. Doesn’t matter what you believe about the Word if you don’t read it. By contrast, I listened to an online sermon recently that was well-crafted with a lot of good points, but I have no idea what he wanted us to do.”

If you’re a pastor, I beg you, keep it practical. Tell the folks what you (or God!) want them to do. Don’t assume they can figure it out on their own. I wrote about the importance of practical teaching, quoting Andy Stanley:

Practical teaching that moves people to action is one of the primary things God uses to grow our faith...That being the case, our messages and lesson preparations are not complete until we know what we want our audiences to do with what they are about to hear. To grow our congregants’ faith, we must preach and teach for life change. – Andy Stanley, from Deep and Wide

If you’re not a pastor, encourage your pastor to keep it practical and actionable. Don’t demand that your pastor teach you some deep truth you don’t already know. And make every effort to apply at least one thing from every sermon you hear.

And no matter how your pastor preaches, you are responsible to do with the Word what my son David’s pastor recommended:

READ IT

And, put it into practice:

But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. (Matthew 7.26, MSG)

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1.22, NIV)

Back to Psalm 24 for a quick meditation:

The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. (Psalm 24.1, NKJV)

“The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness,” which includes spectacular beauty on an ordinary winter day. We didn’t get much snow last weekend, and it wasn’t super cold (for Colorado), but we did get a haze that nicely frosted all the trees before the sun came out. I was looking for just the right place for a picture, and I found it on my own street, returning from an errand:

Have you entered the treasury of snow, or have you seen the treasury of hail…? (Job 38.22, NKJV)

He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes. (Psalm 147.16, NKJV)

Psalm 24 has several memorable parts starting with:

The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters. (Psalm 24.1, 2, NKJV)

“He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters” takes us back to the first words in the Bible:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light… (Genesis 1.1 – 3, NKJV)

Then something reminiscent of Psalm 15’s answer to the question: LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

Here’s Psalm 24’s answer:

Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Psalm 24.3 – 5, NKJV)

We New Testament believers are tempted to say, “I can’t have clean hands and a pure heart, that’s why we have grace.” True at one level, but we shouldn’t let ourselves off the hook so easily. Jesus said,

Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5.48, NKJV)

The Apostle Paul told Governor Felix:

So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. (Acts 24.16, NIV)

And, as we shared the other day, the Apostle John wrote:

All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. (1 John 3.3, NIV)

And we remind ourselves that no matter what is going on, the King of Glory is reigning:

⁷ Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
⁸ Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
⁹ Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
¹⁰ Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah (Psalm 24.7 – 10, NKJV)

It’s worth the three minutes to listen to the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square sing “Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates” from Handel’s Messiah from the magnificent 21,000-seat Conference Center of the LDS Church. (I attended a secular concert there about 10 years ago. It’s quite a spectacular building and for this song, reminds us of God’s majesty.)

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.” (Revelation 11.15 – 17, NIV)

As I wait for my Psalm 20-inspired healing, Psalm 22 reminds me that things don’t always go as well as we’d like. Jesus quoted Psalm 22 from the cross!

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent. (Psalm 22.1 – 3, NKJV)

It’s a tough read, so I admit that I’m taking a little more comfort in Psalm 23:

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever. (Psalm 23, NKJV)

I’m not quite in the shadow of death, but “I will fear no evil” reminds me of a section from one of my favorite psalms:

Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
    they will be remembered forever.
They will have no fear of bad news;
    their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
    in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. (Psalm 112.6 – 8, NIV, emphasis mine)

As I write this, and as I read Psalm 20, I’m in the middle of a bout with a severely enlarged prostate. Three trips to the ER to get some help, and I finally got into the urologist’s office last Wednesday, January 22, where they put in a catheter that works and scheduled me for a cystoscopy on February 10 (way farther out than I would like). We can’t take any action to fix the prostate until after that. So I’m laid up, operating at less than half speed…

Psalm 20 feels like the prayer I need:

May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you; May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion; May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah (Psalm 20.1 – 3, NKJV)

Yes, Lord. Please remember me in this day of trouble. May your name defend me. Please send me help from the sanctuary and strengthen me out of Zion. Please remember my offerings.

The psalm ends with a promise:

Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the LORD our God. They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright. (Psalm 20.6 – 8, NKJV)

I appreciate the help I’ve gotten from the medical establishment, some more helpful than others. But I can’t trust “in chariots and horses.” I have to trust “the name of the LORD our God.” I’m praying for healing, however God chooses to send it. I’ll keep you posted.

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (Mark 11.22 – 24, NKJV)

…who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. (1 Peter 2.24, NKJV)

Monday, January 20, Ohio State defeated Notre Dame for the College Football Championship. I’m a Clemson guy so I have a right not to be an Ohio State fan. Look it up. That said, I had read before the game and again after the game that there were committed Christians on both sides.

John Stonestreet of BreakPoint wrote an article about the Christians on both teams. Click anywhere on the picture to see the whole article.

Here are some snippets:

Outspoken faith has also been part of the story line in college football this season. This is especially the case with Notre Dame and Ohio State, two teams who put together incredible runs of victories to advance to Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship game…

Though it’s not unusual for athletes and coaches to thank God after big games, faith in Christ was consistently and specifically credited for the culture of both programs. So much so in fact, that, ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt and Rece Davis made it a point of emphasis in their post-game analysis. As Davis said,  

We hear a lot of times people talk about their faith and people sort of dismiss it. These guys were sharing their faith and reaching out and baptizing guys on campus … not just football teammates. And it became something powerful, not because they thought it was going to be handed to them to win a game, but it changed their relationships. It changed selfishness and made it go away. … It didn’t guarantee they were going to win. And Notre Dame had a lot of that going on as well. We heard [Notre Dame coach] Marcus [Freeman] talk about that a lot this year … that it made guys selfless, and I think that’s the power in it. It’s not some magical thing … it helps you relate to your teammates differently.

The quarterbacks from both sides confirmed this analysis. Ohio State’s Will Howard, accepting the Offensive Player of the Game, said, “First and foremost, I gotta give the glory and the praise to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” He then went on to talk all about his teammates and coaches, emphasizing the strong relationships that made this year so special. 

The losing quarterback, Riley Leonard from Notre Dame said:

Us and Ohio State were the two teams who praised Jesus Christ the most, and I think we strengthened each other in our faith. … I’m happy to see Godly men come out on top no matter what the circumstance is. I’m happy to praise Jesus in the lowest of lows. 

And that’s something we don’t see every day. It’s a false narrative that if we follow Jesus, we always come out on top. It wouldn’t even be possible in this case because both quarterbacks followed Jesus!

It is good that God has people everywhere, even Ohio State! In fact, I already wrote about one football player reaching another at Ohio State – see Priests in ALL Places.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2.9, ESV)

And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out… (1 Thessalonians 1.6 – 8, NKJV)

Today, January 28, is the 39th anniversary of the the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, which exploded 73 seconds into its flight killing all seven astronauts aboard including teacher Christa McAuliffe. I was an Air Force major working in Space Command Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the time.

Ronald Reagan’s speech, written by Peggy Noonan, is considered a classic, and it ends:

The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and “slipped the surly bonds of earth” to “touch the face of God.”

The quoted portion comes from “High Flight” a 1941 poem by John Gillespie Magee, Jr., a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was killed three months later in a training accident.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds,—and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air ….
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew—
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

The last line of the poem and the speech was the inspiration for the January 29, 1986, editorial cartoon by Chuck Asay of the Colorado Springs Gazette.

Illustration by Chuck Asay © Pikes Peak Library District, 448-35.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (Hebrews 11.13, NKJV)

Psalm 19 is special: only 14 verses, but it’s widely quoted and rightly so, from “The heavens declare the glory of God” to “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Yesterday, we reminded ourselves of God’s general revelation in creation. Today we look at David’s homage to God’s Word: God’s special revelation.

First, we see different NAMES for the Word, followed by an Attribute, closing with an action or result of meditating on the Word.

7 The LAW of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The TESTIMONY of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
8 The STATUTES of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The COMMANDMENT of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The FEAR of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The JUDGMENTS of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. (Psalm 19.7 – 9, NKJV, emphases mine)

You want wisdom? Joy? Enlightenment? Permanence? It’s all there. You want to give your life to something perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, and true? It’s all there. Therefore,

More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb…and in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalm 19.10, 11, NKJV)

Wow. What kind of wealth are we chasing when real wealth is in the Word?

Finally, the Word protects us from sin:

Moreover by them Your servant is warned…Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression. (Psalm 19.11 – 13, NKJV)

Psalm 119 is a 176-verse, 22-stanza meditation on the Word. Psalm 19 is a short version! Just memorizing verses 7 – 9 might inspire you to spend more time with God through the Word. Try it, along with the closing prayer:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19.14, NKJV)

We come to Psalm 19, a favorite for many, and it’s too rich to write just one blog on! So let’s do the first half today:

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,
5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
6 Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. (Psalm 19.1 – 6, NKJV)

The heavens declare the glory of God. I don’t know what David had in mind, but perhaps it was spectacular sunsets and sunrises. The original draft of this post contained some sunrise and sunset pictures I had posted before, but it’s hard to beat this one I just saw on FaceBook after the unusual deep south snow. The post includes appropriate appreciate to God for his handiwork.

There’s no requirement humans react to natural phenomena with awe and delight, but we do. My dog, for example, doesn’t seem to appreciate a sunset or a sunrise, but I do. Enough to stop what I’m doing to take pictures.

And do they communicate? One rendition of verses 2 – 4 expounds on “declare” this way:

Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19.2 – 4, NIV)

They pour forth speech…but they have no speech, they use no words…yet their voice goes out into all the earth. A strange mix of descriptors.

The fact is, creation and “the heavens” in particular do proclaim God’s glory, but not in language specific enough for people to understand God. Hence we need the second half of Psalm 19. Stay tuned. In the meantime, click the picture:

Stand up and bless the LORD your God Forever and ever! Blessed be Your glorious name, Which is exalted above all blessing and praise! You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You. (Nehemiah 9.5, 6, NKJV)

As we come to Psalm 18, recall that I mentioned when blogging Psalm 3 that some of the psalms come with introductions that are actually part of the text. I call them “verse 0.” In the scriptures our Hebrew friends carry, they’re “verse 1.” In seminary, apparently, they are called “Superscriptions,” and here’s a reminder not to miss them: When Reading the Psalms, Don’t Forget the Superscriptions by Andrew Wilson. Early on, he explains:

I am talking about…the way that many (if not most) Christians treat some of God’s inspired words as if they do not exist. I am referring, in particular, to the superscriptions in the Psalms. I have noticed it frequently in my church: If, for example, someone is given Psalm 51 to read, the reading typically begins with the first verse—in this case, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love.” Which means it omits what the passage says immediately beforehand: “For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.” Most people hardly realize they have missed anything. If you mention it afterward, they might be puzzled, as though someone had suggested reading the contents page or the index.

Psalm 18 has such a superscription:

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David The Servant of the LORD, Who Spoke to the LORD The Words of This Song on the Day that the LORD Delivered Him from the Hand of All His Enemies and from the Hand of Saul. And He Said: (Psalm 18.0, NKJV)

We looked at this last year when we went through 2 Samuel: Psalm 18 is identical to 2 Samuel 22 except for the verse numbering. The superscription is called “verse 1” in 2 Samuel.

Here are some verses that spoke to me, beginning at the beginning (after the superscription!):

I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. (verses 1 – 3, NKJV)

David had problems:

The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. (verses 4, 5)

So he prayed:

In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears. (verse 6)

And here’s the cool part: God acted…violently!

Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry. Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet. And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him was dark waters And thick clouds of the skies. From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire. The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them. (verses 7 – 14)

It goes on…50 verses! Take the time to read it all, see what jumps out at you. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite sections – promises and something about the Word (in bold):

For You will light my lamp; The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop, By my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places. He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. (verses 28 – 34)

David closes:

The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me; He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man. Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name. Great deliverance He gives to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore. (verses 46 – 50)

PS As this comes out, June is recovering nicely from her fall, but I am a week into a bout with a severely enlarged prostate. It will be several more weeks before I have a permanent fix. I will be singing Psalm 18 when God defeats all these enemies!