The Lord is Righteous

Psalms 129

“Greatly^[a] have they afflicted me from my youth”—
    let Israel now say—
²“Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,
    yet they have not prevailed against me.
³The plowers plowed upon my back;
    they made long their furrows.”
⁴The Lord is righteous;
    he has cut the cords of the wicked.
⁵May all who hate Zion
    be put to shame and turned backward!
⁶Let them be like the grass on the housetops,
    which withers before it grows up,
⁷with which the reaper does not fill his hand
    nor the binder of sheaves his arms,
⁸nor do those who pass by say,
    “The blessing of the Lord be upon you!
    We bless you in the name of the Lord!”

This is one of many songs that is in the Septuagint. This psalm was originally song while making one of the three mandatory annual pilgrimages which is written about in Deuteronomy Chapter 16: The Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. Each of these pilgrimages were to call the people of God back to their main place of worship. This was a way of returning and remembering the goodness and providence of God. The Septuagint consists of the psalms 119-133.

In our western practice of Christianity, these have been used in daily prayers, particularly in the monastic and vesper practices. These prayers are still practiced today in many monasteries and convents. They are part of the three, seven, or nine daily prayers. In these prayers it is similarly the original Hebrew prayers, it is remembering a time in which we were oppressed as a religion and now we have the freedom under God to worship.

In childhood and throughout our lives we all have been the victim of bullies and verbal abuse. Sometimes it is passive, but others times it is overt and harsh. This teasing or demeaning behaviors can have some harsh and irrevocable effects on the individual. We are currently transitioning into a more open and accepting world, but bullying and teasing are still current. We as adults have to listen and console our children and others who are subjected to this unjust behavior. We have to encourage our sons and young men to be sensitive to others needs and be affectionate to others without any stigmas or questions of their masculinity. We need to enrich our daughters in the ways of engineering and backcountry knowledge and help them to become reliable in all situations without a question of their femininity. This psalm reaches out to us to remember our youth and allows us to be emboldened to not have the same ignorance of our past to dictate that of our children. This psalm teaches us to not forget the past but to remember and then move forward.

The main portion of this psalm is hidden in the middle: THE LORD IS RIGHTEOUS. No matter what has afflicted us in the past or what we think should be of the ones that afflicted us, God is righteous and his grace will be given to us all the time. No matter what has been done to us or held from us, we cannot allow this to shape who we are in God’s eyes. He alone is righteous and give this to us. Let us remember the times of our youth: the good, bad, and the ugly. These times make us who we are because God used his righteous to keep us righteous for His sake.

Power in brevity

John 11:35

Jesus wept.

This is the shortest verse in the bible. It has some of the most powerful imagery and connotation that can be given in the Bible. This is one of the most excruciating moments in Jesus life. It is summed up in two words.

I have in the past miscounted the simple terms and phrases, but as I reflect on these items I have found they are the most profound. I have also miscounted the sequences of name and events of their importance. This is something that we have been conditioned in our society to do. We have associated brevity as something simple and non-complex. We have associated the last as the least of the group.

But Christ has changed the system completely. In the simplest items he has given us the most complex entity : Blood :: Salvation. He has also changed the way we see order. The Spirit of God is not the least of the persons of God, but the unifying presence of the Father and the Son. The Spirit also unifies time: The Spirit was there in the beginning; in the creation of man; in the conception of Christ; in the resurrection of Christ; in the conversion of Paul; and in us today.

Psalms 117

Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
²For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!

This psalm is the shortest chapter in the Bible. It also is the exact middle chapter of the Bible. It is so powerful in many ways. Let us not discount this chapter due to its brevity, but let us mediate on this to see how powerful and amazing God will use this chapter in us.

Let this be our anthem for the week; the summer; and the remainder of the year.

Be Blessed

The Shema

Ten things that I have taken for granted is the past:

Kissing my kids and wife daily and telling them I love them
Talking with my parents and mentors often
Taking a shower (hot or warm water that is easily accessible)
Having the ability to do laundry whenever I need
Being able to walk and move without hesitation
Having a job and the ability to get there without any problems
Being able to go to the restroom without assistance
Being able to sit with my children and just be in their presence
Being able to breathe
The Lord’s Prayer

By no means is this a complete list, I would not be able to contain the items in finite pages.

Every day we are given blessings that we are not aware or don’t acknowledge. Over the last several years, I have been more aware of my blessings that God has instilled upon my family, my friends, and myself. Sometimes, I take for granted the waking up in my bed or being able to walk from my bed to the restroom or to the kitchen without assistance. Currently, the patients that I serve want to do these activities, but are physically incapable of performing these tasks. When we become more aware and attentive to our surroundings and our privileges, then we are more appreciative of the small things that causes us to be where we are and where we have come from. I have found the more that I am reminded of God’s glory in my everyday life, the more I can give Him more praise and give it unconditionally.

Psalms 105 is a reminder of the hidden blessings that we can take for granted. This psalm is an echo and reminder of the Shema: Deuteronomy 6. The author of this psalm is reminding Israel of the complete promise and fulfillment of the Promise that God gave Abraham. He would give the people of Israel a land that was full of blessings and all they had to do was to enter and remember God’s provisions.

When I first encountered this psalm, I had the feeling of deja vu. As we have prayed through and reflected in the Psalms we are reminded of the promise and liberation and joy of the God. This particularly echos the Shema because in Deuteronomy 6:6-12 it is a statute that we must remember and not take for granted our current situation.

Deuteronomy 6:6-12

Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.

^10-12When God, your God, ushers you into the land he promised through your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you, you’re going to walk into large, bustling cities you didn’t build, well-furnished houses you didn’t buy, come upon wells you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive orchards you didn’t plant. When you take it all in and settle down, pleased and content, make sure you don’t forget how you got there—God brought you out of slavery in Egypt.

Each of our current situations, God is in the midst and providing all our needs. Our current situation could be better and it could be worst. We must allow ourselves to see what God is doing and remember what he has brought us through. We must also remember when we are in the wilderness at different times in our lives, God will fulfill his promises if we allow Him to show us in his time.

The main sustenance of Psalms 105 is summed up in the last part of the verse : When you take it it all in and settle down, pleased and content, make sure you don’t forget how you got there.

Be Blessed

The Roaring Sea

Psalm 93 (The Message)

^1-2God is King, robed and ruling,
God is robed and surging with strength.

And yes, the world is firm, immovable,
Your throne ever firm—you’re Eternal!

^3-4Sea storms are up, God,
Sea storms wild and roaring,
Sea storms with thunderous breakers.

    Stronger than wild sea storms,
    Mightier than sea-storm breakers,
    Mighty God rules from High Heaven.

⁵What you say goes—it always has.
“Beauty” and “Holy” mark your palace rule,
God, to the very end of time.

Since the beginning of time the seas have always intrigue us. The immense size and depth of the waters continue to perplex us even today. There are many areas and places in the oceans and seas that still have not been discovered. Approximately five percent of the total oceans have been explored. The same can be stated about the many seas that we have on earth. The seas and the oceans have one particular predictability: they can have calm or storms at a moment’s notice and these two (peace and chaos) can happen simultaneously on the same body of water at two different locations.

There are several seas that are referenced in the Bible. Two particular seas are the Red Sea and the Sea of Galilee. These bodies of water are places of many miracles. For the Red Sea one of the first major miracles was performed by Moses delivering the Israelites from Egypt. On the sea of Galilee there was several miracles that shown by Christ. On the Sea of Galilee, Jesus shows himself to the disciples in the night and Peter understands Christ power as he walks on water. The other miracle is when the disciples are in dismay and angst during the tempest and storm. During the storm Christ is slumbering and has to be woken by the disciples. When he awakens, he silenced the storm with a whisper and a flick of the hand. These are some of the ways God shows us magnificent power over the most complex part of nature. He shows us that He is all powerful and able to control the things where we still do not understand but only 5% of the waters.

This particular psalm is meaningful to me this past week, this past month, and this past year. The Lord reigns over everything and can be heard, even over the roaring and raging seas. The seas of life are raging everywhere. Sometimes we can not hear the love and peace that God has for us because we are listening to the sea and not His voice. In the midst of the roar, we have to remember that Jesus was able to rest in the storm because he knew whom he belonged and who has the power over all things. This coming week, I will rest in Him who has the voice that pierces over the roar of the sea. He who can give me utter peace in the storm. How will you react to the roaring seas this week?

Be blessed

Are we listening?

Psalm 81 6-16

I hear this most gentle whisper from One
I never guessed would speak to me:

^6-7“I took the world off your shoulders,
    freed you from a life of hard labor.
You called to me in your pain;
    I got you out of a bad place.
I answered you from where the thunder hides,
    I proved you at Meribah Fountain.

^8-10“Listen, dear ones—get this straight;
    O Israel, don’t take this lightly.
Don’t take up with strange gods,
    don’t worship the popular gods.
I’m God, your God, the very God
    who rescued you from doom in Egypt,
Then fed you all you could eat,
    filled your hungry stomachs.

^11-12“But my people didn’t listen,
Israel paid no attention;
So I let go of the reins and told them, ‘Run!
Do it your own way!’

^13-16“Oh, dear people, will you listen to me now?
Israel, will you follow my map?
I’ll make short work of your enemies,
give your foes the back of my hand.
I’ll send the God-haters cringing like dogs,
never to be heard from again.
You’ll feast on my fresh-baked bread
spread with butter and rock-pure honey.”

Happy Easter.

God is awesome.

He has given us the amazing opportunity to experience his love and joy. For most of my life I had the perception that Easter was only one day. I knew it as Resurrection Sunday. But as I grew older, I found that Easter was not just a day but it is a season that spans over 40 days after the resurrection of Christ.

In this psalm we see that God is speaking to the children of Israel. In God‘s beautiful providence, he is showing it as directly after the Passover. We are completing the Passover. This is Psalm is directly to speaking to us today. In this song God is telling us again about his love for us and how he has provided for us and how He will continue to provide for us. The one thing you have to remember as his children we need to LISTEN to his direction.

There are so many times in my life where I’ve had my mentors and family members tell me a story. They can tell the story several times. The story can be told so many times it can become an inside joke. We have heard stories so many times that we can tell it word-for-word from the person telling the story. One thing that we cannot do is miss the underlying meaning . We have to acknowledge the story but also remember and analyze the story each time it is told.

In this song the children from Israel have been out of Egypt for several centuries. The meaning of the Passover is to remember the deliverance that God gave their ancestors. But over the years they have forgotten what God has done for them. In this song they are re-telling the story to make sure that we listen.

It is Easter, we have the joy of the resurrection and the blood. Are we listening? What is God telling us? This Easter we were able to celebrate with others, but last Easter we were sheltering in place. This Easter we can celebrate open, last Easter we could not touch each other. This Easter we are able to celebrate at church, last year we were fearful of touching or breathing on each other. What has God revealed to you in this last year and how will it change your relationship with Him? Will we have to have another awakening with verse and psalm centuries from now?

Be blessed.

Why are there enemies?

Enemies.

We all have tried to erase or mitigate the things that are in opposition to us or our interest. It is natural to avoid conflict and come to resolution. In Psalms 69, we are presented with a real dire situation with David. He is being overwhelmed with so many adversaries that he is in complete desperation.

He does not have a friend or any person that can help him. Every where he looks he cannot find any assistance or aid. He then turns to God and acknowledges his weaknesses and sins and is aware of the consequences of these sins.

The themes that are echoed throughout these verses are:

Psalm 69: 4

More in number than the hairs of my head
    are those who hate me without cause;
mighty are those who would destroy me,
    those who attack me with lies.
What I did not steal
    must I now restore?

When we are in relationship with God the world will be against us. The relationship with God stops us from having a true relationship with the things of this world: list, hate, greed, loss, frustration, etc. When the world recognizes that this relationship has been severed it then comes against us. The world has become our “enemy” since God has become our main focus. Psalm 23: 5 , in order to be blessed you have to have enemies. Psalms 23:5 : You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

Psalm 69: 5; 19-20

O God, you know my folly;
the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

You know my reproach,
    and my shame and my dishonor;
    my foes are all known to you.
Reproaches have broken my heart,
    so that I am in despair.

After David tells his situation, he acknowledges his own sins. He recognized that God is the supreme judge and justifier. He knows that man would only give him grace when it is appropriate and good for the other. In the light of God’s eye, the justification is genuine and permanent. No matter how many issues that we face, when we believe in God and the price that Christ paid for us, we will be able to acknowledge all that is wrong in us and have the peace that God can cover all of our transgressions and downfalls .

Psalms 69: 30-31

I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

This will please the Lord more than an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs

God wants your heart, not the sacrifice. So many times we attempt to do things and make sacrifices to gain better standing with God. But God doesn’t want our deeds, he wants our heart. He wants us to have the relationship with Him and not the objects of sacrifice. Sometimes we get into the “doing” of the things and try to check them off. But we forget why we are doing these “things”. God wants us to remember why we are doing the things for him. What is the mission behind the journey? How will this sacrifice bring God glory?

How can we see the blessings in the midst of our enemies? How can we acknowledge our downfalls to God? How can we bring back the mission to our sacrifices?

Be blessed.

In the face of fear

Psalm 57: 1-3

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,

for in you my soul takes refuge;

in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,

till the storms of destruction pass by.

I cry out to God Most High,

to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

He will send from heaven and save me;

he will put to shame him who tramples on me.

Selah

God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

During our time traveling through the Psalms, we have seen many faces of David revealed in his songs. We have seen joy and adoration. We have seen sorrow and despair. We have seen adultery and murder. In this song we see a different face of David, this is his face and attitude in the presence of fear.

In the beginning of the David story, we see David as a strong young man with confidence and strength. David is on the front lines of the Israelites war, where the entire army of the Israelites are shaking with terror. But David is strong in his determination to win the battle against Goliath. This courage has been conveyed over the ages as a pinnacle part of courage in the face of fear. In his later years David also experiences fear when his son is king and David is exiled from his kingdom.

But in Psalm 57, this experience of fear is when David is being pursued by Saul the king of Israel. At this time Saul is David’s father-in-law. David has served as a major general in Saul’s army. David has been his personal musician. David is Jonanthan’s best friend. David knows that king Saul has been anointed by God. Because of this David will not raise a hand against him. Saul relentlessly pursues David for an extended amount of time upto the point where David hides in the cave. In this cave, Saul comes within inches of death and harm from David, but David spares his life.

Psalm 57 illustrates how God protects us in the face of certain death and fear. The only way I can equivocate this setting is if you are standing in front of a tiger who is three feet from you but the tiger does not see you and he does not harm you. The overwhelming presence of that fear can immobilize a person or cause so much fear that the person falls dead. But when God is with us he protects us and gives us calm and peace in the fear. God protects David in such a way that he blinds the threat and allows no harm to come to David.

There are many people currently that are experiencing such terror and fear in the direct face of opposition and they try to run or fight and do not succeed. This psalm is telling us that when we actually believe that God is in control and He is true to his promise. We can literally stare at anything that threatens us and be calm. This is not only physical, emotionally, mentally, financially or spiritually. He is able to comfort us and allow us to rest in the midst of adversity and condemnation if we are in him.

Because of this I am able to smile every day despite what is happening around me. I hope that the Spirit will allow you to rest in him as well.

Blessings on the way

Today’s Reading: Psalms 45

I have a confession: I really read and focus on the first 75% of the psalms and most readings on my first read through. This leaves the remaining 25% of the passage as a skimmed portion. Because I have recognized this in myself, I have made it a practice to read through passages twice on the first time through and then I have to commit to reading the passage several times that week to fully gain the information and knowledge in the passage.

With this preface, I read the passage for the blog several times and now I am able to understand several messages in the passage and see how it reflects what I believe. The two main ideas that have been revealed are: 1.) Blessings are on the way and 2.) We need to get out of the way of the blessings.

In the beginning of the Psalm, the author is writing about the beginning of a celebration and festival. The first ten verses are setting up the splendor and the amazing things that are at hand.

Psalm 45:4-8

In your majesty ride out victoriously

for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;

let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!

Your arrows are sharp

in the heart of the king’s enemies;

the peoples fall under you.

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.

The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;

you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you

with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.

In these verses it shows the goodness and mercies that God has in store for each of us. God delights in the preparation and celebration that we can enjoy being in union with Him. It details the protection and the blessings that are ready for us in this union.

As we read further, it also demonstrates that we are at risk of not allowing ourselves to enjoy the fullness of the blessings. I have seen this in myself, I have not allowed the richness and fullness of the blessings to be accepted because I allow the past to dictate the future. The things that are in my past continue to try to remind me of who I was and not who I have become in this new union. But as I have grown in my relationship with God, I can forget the past and look toward the future.

Psalm 45:10-11 ; 16-17

Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:

forget your people and your father’s house,

and the king will desire your beauty.

In place of your fathers shall be your sons;

you will make them princes in all the earth.

I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;

therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.

These verses are not saying to negate the past experiences that have created the circumstances that have made you available to this blessing, but to allow them to help you grow into the new creation that He has in store for you.

I believe that God is always ready to give us more blessings and he has them ready, but we have to not allow the past or other influences to hinder the manifestations. Two of the mentors that I look to for direction in the fullness of blessings are Peter and Paul. Both were plagued with their past lives before and with Christ, but through His Love and Patience they became founders of the Church. Stay prayerful and be blessed.

The Other Side : My Belief -Psalms 33

Today’s Reading Psalms 33

One of the most common practices among gardeners is the pruning and cultivation process. This pruning process is one that takes off small pieces of the plant that allows the plant to grow and flourish and to become more fruitful. Sometimes pruning process is difficult and sometimes it changes the complete structure and the base of the plant. But in the correct hands the pruning process is something that makes a tree into a more sustainable and profitable plant.

If the pruning process is not done correctly the tree or the plant can overgrow and this can cause devastation in the future. Several weeks ago when the ice storms came there were several trees in our backyard that had massive branches that fell on the ground and caused several light outs and electrical issues. These trees had not been pruned properly. This maintenance that was deferred and created several nights that were cold and dark for the family.

Many times in our life God being the master gardener chooses at the right time to prune things from our lives so that we can better focus on Him or turn attention to Him in order for us to grow. Sometimes these are easy and sometimes these are hard. Sometimes pruning happens in our health; sometimes it happens in our wealth; sometimes it happens in our families; so sometimes it happens in our bodies. This process happens when we allow God to be sovereign in our lives.

The best part of the pruning process is the Other Side.

Psalms 33 : 1-3

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
²Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
³Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

In Psalm 33, the writer is telling the joy and praise that they have for God and the goodness of his works. This author cannot explains these things without going through some traumatic events. This person cannot exhibit the joy and sun without the nights in anguish and heartache. This person has truly seen the harshness of life and is able to see the Other side of the the pruning show a beautiful as stronger side.

Psalms 33: 16-19

The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
¹⁷The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.

¹⁸Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
¹⁹that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine.

I believe the sun is always shining and the the rain will come and dampen the day. But I also believe and have witnessed the goodness and mercy that God has given me as related in this beautiful Psalm.

My prayer is that if any of you are going through a period of pruning, that you are able to see the promise of the other side. If you see someone else in the mist of a journey, give them hope of the Other side. Be blessed

Lynden McGriff

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Why I believe – Psalm 21 – Move

In the first psalms I shared about the gardener and the seed. As reflecting on the last entry of Psalms 9, I see my belief rooted in God as the gardener in the garden from the beginning of the Bible. He nourishes me and prepares everything that I need. He gives me strength and places me where he needs me to be please in order for me to grow into the mature person he has for me. The gardener creates life in each one of us.

In gardening, after the seed germinates it starts to grow and there are several steps in order to make the seed turn into a plant. One of the main things that has to be done is the seed has to be moved. The seed moves from the seedling starts into a bigger pot. The seed is moved into the ground. Each of these movements is essential for the true growth of the seed.

In our lives, God moves us at the optimal time in which He sees that we can no longer grow in our current situation.

A master gardener knows that if the seed is left in the seedling form there would be no growth for the seed. The seed has to be moved to change and make the seed more mature in order for fruit to grow. The seed’s movement has to shake the foundations of the roots in order to become stronger. This movement causes a change in the plant in order to bear more fruit.

Psalm 21:1-7

O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices,

and in your salvation how greatly he exults!

You have given him his heart’s desire

and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

For you meet him with rich blessings;

you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.

He asked life of you; you gave it to him,

length of days forever and ever.

His glory is great through your salvation;

splendor and majesty you bestow on him.

For you make him most blessed forever;[a]

you make him glad with the joy of your presence.

For the king trusts in the Lord,

and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

In the Psalms 21, we see the life of David that God has given and has purposed for David. This is David’s life in review: David is a shepherd. Then David is a musician in a court. Then David is a soldier. Then David is a prince. Then David is a sojourner. Then David is a king. Then David is exiled. Then David is a king that rules his lands.

In each of these movements God is with David and God placed him in the new situations. This is what Psalms 21 shows: how the king David has been blessed by God in the mist of these moves. How lovely is it to have God in the mist and then have God move in us.

It is sometimes difficult for us to understand when God moves us. Sometimes the move is voluntary. Sometimes the move is involuntary. But we have to understand that each movement in which God has for us He still bestows upon us his protection and in the end for his glory.

The question we have to ask ourselves daily is how will I respond to God’s movement of me in this life and will I rejoice at the movement and at the results that he has given me.

This is why I believe: Psalms 21:1-2

O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices,

and in your salvation how greatly he exults!

You have given him his heart’s desire

and have not withheld the request of his lips.