My latest book is available on Amazon! Mystery of the Gospel (Revised and Updated Version)
Contact me for a signed copy @ $10– (plus a $4– charge for postage)
If you’d like to order multiple copies at a discount on any of my books, please get in touch with me via email or the contact form for details!
Here’s my Amazon Author Page
Yesterday was somewhat of an African excursion for me. In the morning, I met with a young woman who spent seven months in the DR Congo. It's a nation mired in poverty and turmoil, not a comfortable place for a young white woman raised along the beaches of Southern California.
She's committed to going back there to work with children and young people, especially victims of rape and sexual abuse. I was impressed with the clarity of her vision and strength of her faith.
I love to watch tropical thunderstorms! The lightning, wind, rain, and thunder put on a great show, as long as you have shelter to watch it safely. But I don't like driving in these storms!
The power of nature, especially what we call natural disasters, ought to remind us of our Creator's power. It's wise to respect His power. This is an element of godly fear. Not anxiety but respect, awe, wonder.
How do you typically begin a prayer? Have you ever listened to how you address God in prayer?
The example of prayer the Lord Jesus gave His disciples begins with acknowledging who God is (Luke 11:1-4; Matt 6:9-13). This is critically important. Not the form but the perspective.
It's been said the most common prayer is summed up in one word. "Help!" Indeed, many of King David's psalms are poetic prayers of help.
He was slandered and chased by King Saul and later by his son Absalom. At other times, it was a call for deliverance from situations he brought on himself.
The tent (or tabernacle) during the time of Moses, and later the temple King Solomon built, represented the dwelling place of God on earth. Moses was told to build the tent (tabernacle) according to the pattern God gave him (Heb 8:5).
When the people of Israel traveled through the desert wilderness and then into the Promised Land, the tent of God's presence was a place of strength and security for them. It reminded God's people that their God was a living God, present with them, and His protection was more powerful than any army on earth.
A verse from this psalm is quoted by Jesus when confronted by Jewish leaders about His statement of being one with the Father (John 10:30-33).
Jesus said to them, “Don’t your Scriptures say, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’? (John 10:34)
This causes confusion for some people because of a lack of context for understanding it.
It's easy to blame God when things are not going well. We pray and it seems our prayers are going up into an empty sky. Questioning God when He seems far away is common and this psalm echoes that.
A great beauty of the psalms is the open, honest expression of prayer seen throughout the collection of 150 songs of prayer and praise. Sometimes the honesty is surprisingly raw, and it may make us feel uncomfortable when we read them.
People have a penchant for judgment. This is true worldwide. We are quick to judge or condemn someone as guilty or wrong. You and me, we all do it at some point.
We look for someone or something to blame when something goes wrong. We are especially quick to accuse or find fault with those who disagree with us or have a different view of things.
Yet, when we are accused, blamed, or condemned, we're quick to claim our own innocence or at least justify ourselves in some way. When our wrong becomes clear, we'll quickly plead for mercy. And yet, we have a hard time extending mercy and forgiveness to those who seek it.
