On Sunday we learned from Jesus’ sermon of how futile anxiety is. Jesus’ primary reason was the brevity of life and the length of eternity. Jesus loved the Psalms. As a matter of fact, our next series is called the Songs of Jesus, Psalms Jesus quoted or leaned on in difficult times in his life. I’m so excited to study the songs Jesus sung, the Psalms he prayed.
I wonder if Jesus was leaning on Psalm 90 when he talked about anxiety.
So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12
If you read what precedes this famous quote from Psalm 90, you’ll see that numbering our days requires that we see the brevity of life and the eternality of God.
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass this is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.
Psalm 90:1-6
God has always been. And will always be. He is eternally past and eternally present. (Think on that for more than two minutes and you’ll need another cup of coffee.) Compared to eternity, our earthly life is a leaf carried along in the flooding waters, a dream that comes and goes with a night’s sleep, a blade of grass that fades by evening.
Second, if we are to number our days we must remember our sinfulness and God’s holiness.
For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
psalm 90:7-8
God is holy. Without him we are not. As we discovered Sunday, God solved our greatest problem (the one with eternal implications). Every other problem pales in comparison to our sin problem. Our nagging aches and pains have never hurt us like our guilty conscience has.
God sees us as no one else does and loves us like no one else will.
Third, we must remember our frailty and God’s faithfulness, our weakness and his strength.
For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?
Psalm 90:9-11
We toil and trouble. The sin of Adam is your sin and mine. Work is hard. Parenting is hard. Our bodies and minds feel the pain and the weight of sinners living life in a sin-soaked world. Yet, because of the power of God’s answer was poured out on his Son on the cross, the rest of Psalm 90 is our every day reality. Let this sink in.
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!
Psalm 90:12-17
Because Jesus came and fully became one of us, minus the sin, we can be fully satisfied in this life because God is fully satisfied with us. That should calm our nerves, lessen our fears. The favor our Lord can also be interpreted the beauty of our Lord. I pray that today you will see the beauty of the Lord more than the anxiety of the world. And in so doing, this day will be numbered as one where God again made you glad.
Psalm 61 couldn’t be more fitting for the new year.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Of David.
Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah
For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations! May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him! So will I ever sing praises to your name, as I perform my vows day after day. (Psalm 61, ESV)
David begins with a prayer. Hear my cry, when (not if) my heart is faint. At times in 2024 your heart will be faint. So will mind. If you reflect on 2023, you’ll remember times that took your breath, that stopped you in your tracks and caused you to wonder what would be next. (And if you know me well, you know I have enough real-life fainting stories to fill a small book–I’m convinced I’m a fainting goat!).
We have a choice. Focus on the faint or focus on the faithfulness of God. Lead me to the rock. Why? Because you have been. How would you complete that sentence for 2023. God, you have been my ___________________________. For David, the words refuge and strong tower come to mind. As a result, King David wants to worship. He lives in a palace. He wants to dwell in God’s tent. Forever!
In the first stanza, we see the greatness of God. In the second, we see the mundane of Mondays. Yes, New Year’s Day 2024 is on a Monday. David writes, “you have heard my vows.” And later “as I perform my vows day after day.”
It is in the mundane of today that the joy of tomorrow resides.
Days determine years. If David’s years are going to endure to all generations, it will be because he fulfills his “day after day” vows. Eugene Peterson described discipleship as a “long obedience in the same direction.” It is in the mundane of every day that the joy of tomorrow resides.
What does your daily need to look like in 2024. Determine that today. And make a promise (vow) to yourself, to someone else, and yes to the Lord, what you’ll do every day.
Don’t forget to look behind you. You’ll see goodness and mercy (Psalm 23), or as David writes here, steadfast love and faithfulness, watching over.
Words seem insufficient in response to Sunday night’s shooting in Las Vegas. Still we want to make sense of senselessness. We want to make the inhumane, humane. In the absence of explanation, I’ll speak to response. How do we think? What do we do?
How do we think?
There is no excuse for senseless violence. Any kind. Anywhere. Since the shooter killed himself we will never fully know why he did what he did. Investigators will try to put the pieces of the puzzle together and find answers. Whatever they discover, we must hold fast to the reality that senseless violence of any kind is reprehensible.
Words kill like weapons. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus raised slander to the level of slaying. Words don’t just hurt, they kill. When 70,000 fans boo a bad kicker in a football game, something in that kid dies. When politicians and journalists throw verbal daggers at one another, someone dies. Whoever said sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me was denying reality.
Enough is enough. We are becoming desensitized. Push notifications bombard phones. Cable news reports violence all day, every day. Video games turn killing into competition. Music celebrates murder. Even too much news of the Las Vegas tragedy can desensitize. Overexposure deadens the conscience.
What do we do?
If you see something, say something. Yes, this is Homeland Security’s slogan, but it belonged to Christianity long before the government trademarked it. Don’t tolerate any form of bigotry, hatred, or violence. Jesus called us salt and light. Salt and light do the same thing: they reveal. Salt is a cook’s friend–when the right amount is put in a recipe, it reveals the flavor of the food. No one has ever said, “The salt in this casserole tastes good.” Light is a photographer’s best friend. People don’t look at a portrait and say, “I love how the light is coming in from the front.” Rather they talk about the subject of the photograph. As salt and light we flavor the world without drawing attention to ourselves–rather we reveal Christ.
Choose your words carefully. James 1:19 says, “Be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” His statement is both counterintuitive and countercultural. Our culture is quick to anger, quick to speak and slow to hear. Proverbs 18:21 adds, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Peter wrote, “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.” (1 Peter 3:10)
Filter what comes in. Examine your intake of violence. How much do you see or hear in a given day? Resolve to reduce it. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.” What goes in will come out. Kevin DeYoung writes, “Having a conscience is one mark of being a sentient human being. Scripture sometimes speaks of people “who do not know their right hand from their left” (Jonah 4:11), or of “children, who . . . have no knowledge of good or evil” (Deut. 1:39). Knowing right from wrong is what makes us functioning adults. To have a malfunctioning conscience is to be less than human.”
Perhaps in DeYoung’s statement lies the explanation for the shooter’s capacity to cowardly and mercilessly kill 59 people: he was less than human. Something happened to his conscience. Scripture says our conscience can be seared (1 Timothy 4:2) or defiled. Titus 1:15 says, “To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.”
Only Jesus can clean us up and clear our consciences. John said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Only Jesus can turn senselessness into salvation and make the inhumane, humane.
Take a few moments and read this. Take it in. Don’t read it too quickly.
Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness. The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!” The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever. May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace! (Psalm 29, ESV)
God’s voice is loud enough to be heard over the roar of the waters. Water was the primary source of fear for Israel. Remember that, in order to leave Egypt, they had to cross the Red Sea. In order to enter the Promised Land, they had to cross the Jordan River. And the Philistines, Israel’s bitter enemy, came to Israel across the Mediterranean Sea. This is why Revelation 21:1 says that, in the new heaven and new earth, there will be no more sea.
So what does this mean for you and me? God’s majestic voice is more powerful than your greatest fear, your darkest nightmare, your most feared diagnosis, your unexpected setback. God’s voice breaks cedars, spews fire, makes the deer give birth and strips the forest bare.
No wonder the Psalmist erupts in a prayer combined with a praise at the end: May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!
And that is my prayer for you today. The Lord, whose very voice is more powerful than anything we can do, is able to give you strength and speak peace into your fear. Now take a few minutes and listen to this powerful song, sung by a local church choir from Arkansas:
So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. (Luke 24:28-35 ESV)
They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” When Jesus taught them the Scriptures they had no idea it was Jesus. He preached Himself from the Scriptures–and their hearts burned within them. Preaching the Gospel of Jesus enlivens the believer’s heart. Preaching Jesus from the Old Testament turns weary forlorn travelers into winsome evangelists.
Allow me to wonder a minute. Did Jesus tell them he was the serpent of Numbers 21 lifted up on the pole? Did Jesus explain that David’s words in Psalm 22:1 were written for him: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Did he tell them Jonah’s stint in the belly of the fish was foreshadowing his own journey into the heart of the earth?”
What a sermon!
The good news of Jesus turns broken hearts into burning hearts.
He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” (Ruth 3:9 ESV)
At the very heart of God is His desire to cover you. God’s wings protect you from life-threatening enemies.
Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me. (Psalm 17:8-9 ESV)
God’s wings protect you from the destructive storm.
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. (Psalm 57:1 ESV)
God’s wings give you rest.
Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah (Psalm 61:4 ESV)
God’s wings form a canopy of praise when your life is good.
for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. (Psalm 63:7 ESV)
God’s wings shield you from nightmarish nights and difficult days.
He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. (Psalm 91:4-6 ESV)
Jesus’s wings gather you from your wandering ways into the family of God.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! (Luke 13:34 ESV)
These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:13-16 ESV)
We measure success by accomplishments, by wins and losses, by money in the bank. God doesn’t. He measures success by faithfulness. Failing does not disqualify you from the race–quitting does. Finishing matters more than achieving. In a world dominated by World Series and Super Bowls we struggle to embrace God’s definition of success.
Hebrews 11 opens with a list of people who lived their entire lives never fully receiving what they believed. They believed promises that were never realized, preached messages that were never fulfilled, wrote prophecies that never came to fruition. They lived and died believing what many thought was a lie. How did they do it? The writer answers that question: they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. They never expected life on this earth to be ultimately fulfilling. They lived here with another place in mind.
Think about it. If this is the only place you will ever enjoy life, then you will be compelled to do everything you can do, go everywhere you can go, and experience everything you can experience. Make all the money you can. Capture every memory. Exploit every adventure. Win every game. Take advantage of the latest technology. Why? Because when you die, there will be no joy, no pleasant memories, no money to advance your cause, no adventures. For those who do not believe in eternity, a sure eternity awaits. It is void of the presence of God and filled with the memory of every missed opportunity to know him. When the rich man died he looked into heaven. He saw Lazarus and begged him for a drop of water. He saw his brothers headed to Hell and begged God to warn them. Imagine an eternity where you wouldn’t want your closest family to join you. Some people are experiencing the only “heaven” they will ever experience now.
Not those mentioned in Hebrews. They desired a heavenly country. In other words, they lived on earth with heaven in mind.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. God, the architect of the universe, is also the architect of Heaven. For those who desire Him, he has prepared a city. He’s not ashamed of you. He’s proud to call you his, proud enough to build a city–for you.
Plant your feet on the earth. Fix your eyes on the sky.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. (Isaiah 9:2 ESV)
Isaiah spoke of this before it happened as if it already had. It wasn’t wishful thinking on his part. God’s promises are as sure as the air you breathe, the ground on which you stand, the earth on which you live. Paul, addressing Titus referred to the God who “never lies.” When God speaks, it will happen. We call this hope.
Hope is not wishful thinking; it is confident expectation because God is trustworthy. Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 1:20-22 ESV)
This Christmas as you ponder the reality of Christ’s birth remember that the God who gave His Son has given us two surefire guarantees. One is mentioned above–his Spirit. Christ, through the Spirit, lives in our hearts as a guarantee of things to come. The Spirit guarantees you will never be alone. Though you do not know the future–you are never alone as you face it.
The second guarantee is Christ Himself.
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32 ESV)
This is a classic greater to lesser argument. If God would give his most prized possession, will he not also give us every other lesser possession? If God will meet our greatest need, will he not also meet our lesser needs?
God the Father sent His Son.
On this Christmas day stop to thank God for sending His only Son…and giving you everything else you will ever need. Deep darkness dispelled. Light dispersed!
Timing is everything. Yogi Berra, former MLB player and coach, said, “You don’t have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you got the timing, it’ll go.” According to Paul, Jesus’ birth was right on time. In Galatians he writes:
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5 ESV)
Scholars have identified several factors that made the arrival of Jesus and the spread of Christianity so timely. Check these out:
Pax Romana–Rome was a massive empire controlling most of the known world. While Palestine squirmed under Rome’s heavy hand at times, the reality is that Rome’s dominance created peace over most of the known world. This Roman peace paved the way for Jesus’ message and the ability of the Apostles to travel unhindered and spread the Christian message.
Developed roads–Because of a highly developed system of roads, the Gospel message could spread quickly and efficiently.
Common language–Greek had become the common language of the Roman empire, and it was a variety of Greek that was easy for the common person to understand and write. Language has always been critical to the spread of the Gospel. It was no different in the 1st century.
Anticipation by Israel–Rome’s heavy hand made Israel long for someone to step in and release them from oppression. While their view of a Messiah was very different from Jesus’ life and ministry, they were looking for the long awaited Messiah.
God’s timing is perfect.
Years ago I discovered John Oxenham’s poem (God’s Handwriting) and have returned to it many times:
He writes in characters too grand
For our short sight to understand;
We catch but broken strokes, and try
To fathom all the mystery
Of withered hopes, of death, of life,
The endless war, the useless strife,–
But there, with larger, clearer sight,
We shall see this–
Wendy and I have had our fair share of waiting on doctors. Just this year Trent has seen five different doctors–we have waited in all kinds of doctor’s offices. Once we waited…and waited…and waited only to discover that they had forgotten we were there! They felt terrible. Sometimes despite people’s best intentions they forget you. Joseph was forgotten.
While Joseph was in prison the cupbearer and the baker showed up because they offended the Pharaoh. Joseph was appointed to take care of them. One night both of them had a dream. I love how Joseph responded to them the next day. Don’t miss this. Joseph is unfairly imprisoned. He has done nothing to deserve his sentence. Listen in on his conversation with the baker and the cupbearer:
When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.” (Genesis 40:6-8 ESV)
Joseph, who could have been wallowing in self pity, noticed the troubled faces of his fellow inmates. Their dilemma? Dreams. The last thing Joseph wants to hear about is dreams. His dreams landed him in a pit, then Potiphar’s house, and now a prison. Why would he care about two foreigner’s dreams. But he did. He cared for them.
Not only did he care for them, he kept his faith in God. Do not interpretations belong to God? Joseph’s faith in God never faltered. In the midst of his unfair treatment, he trusted in a just God.
They told him their dreams. He interpreted them and then made a simple request of the cupbearer. Listen to his passionate plea:
In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.” (Genesis 40:13-15 ESV)
Note Joseph’s words: Only remember me. Please do me the kindness. Get me out of this house. I was stolen. I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit. Don’t ever think Joseph got used to his unfair treatment. Do not allow yourself to believe that Joseph was super spiritual and never felt the sting of rejection. Don’t be fooled into thinking that Joseph never wrestled the fear of abandonment. He never got used to the prison. He never grew accustomed to incarceration. He wanted out.
The cupbearer’s life was spared and he was restored to his former position with the Pharaoh. But what about Joseph?
Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. (Genesis 40:23 ESV)
Forgotten? God hasn’t forgotten you. Some estimate that Joseph stayed another two years in prison after his passionate plea to the cupbearer. Tomorrow we’ll see what happened when the Pharaoh sent for him.
Enough for Today 