"Every year you grow, you will find me bigger." --Aslan.
There's something we need to be able to pray effectively: humility.
If you don't know who Bill Jack is, you should get acquainted. I had the honor of meeting him at TeenPact. I bought some of his DVDs, of one which discussed the power of asking good questions.O the cross I look and to the cross I cling
of its suffering I do drink
of its work I do sing
on it my savior both bruised and crushed
showed that god is love
and god is just
at the cross you beckon me
you draw me gently to my knees, and I am
lost for words so lost in love
I am sweetly broken wholly surrendered
what a priceless gift undeserved life
have I been given
through Christ crucified
you called me out of death
you called me into life
and i was under your wrath
now through the cross I’m reconciled
at the cross you beckon me
you draw me gently to my knees and i am
lost for words so lost in love,
I am sweetly broken wholly surrendered
at the cross you beckon me
you draw me gently to my knees and i am
lost for words so lost in love,
I am sweetly broken wholly surrendered
in awe of the cross I must confess
how wondrous your redeeming love and
how great is your faithfulness
at the cross you beckon me
you draw me gently to my knees and i am
lost for words so lost in love
I am sweetly broken wholly surrendered
at the cross you beckon me
you draw me gently to my knees and i am
lost for words so lost in love
I am sweetly broken wholly surrendered
I’m broken for you
I’m broken for you my lord
Jesus, what love is this
I am sweetly broken
Listen to the song
11He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13This is why I speak to them in parables:
"Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
" 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.'--Mathew 13:11-15
Jesus told a lot of parables. Some where about fish, other about wheat, and another about rebellious sons. Jesus didn't tell these stories merely as a form of entertainment. He told stories to make a point, or to show us something new about God.
Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists.
--Blaise Pascal
Psalms 31 has two very clear word patterns. The first theme describes God as a protecting fortress. The second theme describes all the trouble David is having in his life. So what is one to do when afflictions come? When sorrow and grief arise? When it feels like everyone has abounded you?
14 But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God."15 My times are in your hands;
deliver me from my enemies
and from those who pursue me.
The word "but" is very important. Even though everything around David looks hopeless, he is remembering the promises of God. He remembered who God is. He remembered what He has done in the past. He remembered that He is a protecting fortress, and he trusted in Him.
In the first part of Psalms 31, David describes God as being a strong refuge. Now, the theme of the psalm is going to change. In verses 6-8, we start to see the second theme creek into the passage.
6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
I trust in the LORD.7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.8 You have not handed me over to the enemy
but have set my feet in a spacious place.
Can start to see the second theme creek in? All though David is still speaking to God and how God had helped him, you start to see trouble and sorrow coming; my afflictions, anguish of my soul, enemy, etc. You didn’t see any of these words in the first theme of the psalm.
From verses 9-13, we see the second theme fully.
9 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and my body with grief.10 My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction, [a]
and my bones grow weak.11 Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors;
I am a dread to my friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me.12 I am forgotten by them as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.13 For I hear the slander of many;
there is terror on every side;
they conspire against me
and plot to take my life.
In the second theme, David is in the pit. Everything is going against him. He is weak and broken. So what is one to do when afflictions come? When sorrow and grief arise? When it feels like everyone has abounded you? We’ll see how David responded in the rest of the Psalm.
I love how David describes God in the Psalms. He captures who God is with his good and rich adjectives. Psalms 31 is a good example. The whole psalm is well written; it describes God as a refuge, how wickedness is trying to destroy David, and last, how David cries out to God. We also see rich word patterns and a strong contrast between God and wickedness.
Today, we will look at the first word pattern in verses 1-5
1 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.2 Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.4 Free me from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.
Can you see the word pattern? David has a very strong and vivid description of God. He is strong fortress, refuge, deliver, etc. I like to look up the definitions of words. Let’s look at the adjectives in this passage:
Refuge-- a place of shelter, protection, or safety
Deliver--to set free or liberate: to release or save
Rescue--to free or deliver from confinement, violence, danger, or evil
Rock of Refuge--a firm foundation or support shelter, protection, or safety strong fortress
My rock--a firm foundation or support
My fortress--a large fortified place; any place of exceptional security; stronghold
Free--pertaining to or reserved for those who enjoy personal liberty
Commit--to give in trust or charge; to pledge (oneself) to a position on an issue or question
Redeem--to discharge or fulfill (a pledge, promise, etc.); to buy back or recover
Don’t you love David’s rich word choices? With his words, he is about to paint a dramatic picture of God.
If you want a good place to practice looking for word patterns, the book of psalms is a good place to start. I’ve been reading through Psalms and have been amazed how much David uses word patterns. Sometimes, there are two or three contrasting patterns. Psalms 21 is a good explain of this.
O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength.
How great is his joy in the victories you give!2 You have granted him the desire of his heart
and have not withheld the request of his lips.
3 You welcomed him with rich blessings
and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him— length of days, for ever and ever.
5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.6 Surely you have granted him eternal blessings
and made him glad with the joy of your presence.
As you can see, David is very thankful for the blessings God has given him. Why?
7 For the king trusts in the LORD;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.
Now David spends a little time to contrast. What happens to thoughts who don’t trust in the Lord? Look for the words patterns.
8Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;
your right hand will seize your foes.
9 At the time of your appearing
you will make them like a fiery furnace.
In his wrath the LORD will swallow them up,
and his fire will consume them.10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their posterity from mankind.11 Though they plot evil against you
and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed;12 for you will make them turn their backs
when you aim at them with drawn bow.
As you can see, there is a big contract between the how God responds to the ‘those who plot evil’ and ‘those who trust in the Lord.’ To the righteous, God blesses and gives. To the wick, he takes away and destroys.
As for most of David’s palms, he ends the psalm like he began it; with praise.
13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength;
we will sing and praise your might.
Last post, we looked at how word patterns can show us what's important in a current. Sometime it can be tricky to find word patterns since we loved to use a thesaurus today.6 When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.
7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me.
10 and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people."
11 But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons-
15 "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."
21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
As you can see, the concept of returning is very strong in this first chapter. Therefore, we know the that returning is a strong theme in the book of Ruth.
When you're studying the Bible, it's good to have a few tools to help you understand the meaning, or point of the passage. One of these helpful tools is too look for patterns. If a phrase or word is repeated, it is important. For example, look at Psalms 150: The word "Praise" is repeated. In six verses, the word "praise" in there 13 times. The word praise is apparently important.
Sometimes it can be trickier to find the patterns. In today's world, we are taught not to repeat words, but to use a thesaurus. Sometimes, the translator doesn't like to use the same word over and over, so he turns to his thesaurus. In the example above, instead of using the word "praise" every time, he might also use "respect" "worship" "extol", etc. All though it may be easier to read, it will be harder to find the word patterns. We’ll look at an example from the book of Ruth tomorrow.
The word “but” has an interesting meaning:
When we are talking to God, this is the wrong way to use the word “but.” However, when we share our testimony, the word should come up often:
“Things were out of control, but God was in control.”
“I was wounded, but God healed me.”
“I didn’t know what to do, but God guided me.”
When talking to God, we shouldn’t say “but.” When we are talking about God, we should always say “but.”
How often do we use the word “but” in the wrong conversation!
You are a leader.Wait, you may say. I’m not a leader; I don’t speak to crowds of people, and I’m not the president of a big business. I’m not a leader.
You’re wrong. We all are leaders. A leader doesn’t necessarily standing up in front of thousands of people to give a speech, or make million dollar choices.
The definition of a leader; a person who has influence.
We all have influence over thing, or someone; your friends, siblings, kids, co-workers, etc. If you have influence over a person, you have become a leader to him.
Since all have influence over something, we all are leaders. You no longer have to ask yourself, “am I a leader?” You need to ask yourself, “What kind of leader will I be?”
Thanks to everyone who posted on my ‘who’s a good leader?’ poll.
All of you choose George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and rightly so. Those men were outstanding leaders with great influence. They united people to a common goal.
What might surprise you is that all the men in my poll were good leaders. All men had great influence. Hilter was one of the greatest leaders of time. They all had influence to change people’s mind, and ultimately to change their course of action.
The difference between these men wasn’t if they were good leaders; it was where they lead. Washington and Lincoln were godly and servant leaders, while Hitler and Darwin promoted a lie, and death. They all had influence. The questions was whether it positive or evil.
A new worship song I've found. I really love this song, and I hope you enjoy it.
Lyrics
If you are interested in looking more in depth at the nature of man and worldviews, I would recommend you check out The Deadliest Monster by J.F. Baldwin.
