Psalm 6: tears, trouble and redemption.

Psalm 6:1-10 ESV

"O Lord , rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.  Be gracious to me, O Lord , for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord , for my bones are troubled.  My soul also is greatly troubled."

Father, I remember when this was me. I fully deserved the discipline I endured. The sickness of soul and body - wanting healing without repentance - expecting death despite repentance - amazed that you didn't pour your anger and wrath on me. Grateful but not really surprised. You already poured out your wrath on Jesus, so that you could show grace to me.

"But you, O Lord —how long?  Turn, O Lord , deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.  For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise? "

You saved me not for my sake, or my family's sake, but so that you could display your steadfast love and receive the praise due to your name.

"I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.  My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes. " 

At that time tears were my nightly food. So much pain! So much regret! Then finally repentance, confession, forgiveness and restoration. Years of weariness till I finally came to my senses. How much pig food did I eat before thinking "my father's servants have food to eat. Let me return and become a servant."  I didn't expect a robe, a ring or sandals for my feet.  I didn't expect a party. Even now I know that some Christians here will shun me if they learn of my past sins. Who would throw a party for a repentant Christian leader? We are supposed to be above fault. Only you Lord would do such a thing, because to you I am not leader, pastor, missionary but only "child, son".

"Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.  The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.  All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment."

The powers of darkness that struggled for my soul have been put to flight. God has freed me and answered my cry for help. Thank you Lord for wiping away my tears, washing away my sin and giving me a hope and a future.

Psalm 5: groans, enemies and grace

"O  Lord , hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you. Listen to my voice in the morning,  lord . Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. "

It is easy to pray when I am in pain, when the waves look like mountains and my problems surround me like a gang of bullies getting ready to beat me down; or just afterwards when I lack even the strength to stand back up.  When that happens prayers come out as groans. Face down in the dirt, I don't even know what to ask you for Lord. All I can do is groan and hope you listen. At those times I'm not even sure it is me groaning. Perhaps it is the Holy Spirit groaning in me (Romans 8:26). Sometimes my groaning isn't for me, but for a loved one I wish I could help. They need you, but they don't acknowledge their need. They can't see how lost they are, and they don't have the faith to cry out to you. Today my groaning is for them, my King and my God. Listen to me. Listen to me. Listen to me as I wait expectantly for you. 

"O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked. Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence, for you hate all who do evil. You will destroy those who tell lies. The  lord  detests murderers and deceivers. "

"Some of you were once like that ..." 1 Cor 6:11 I was like that, Lord. I was totally UNqualified to even think of coming into your presence. I was like the man standing far off from the temple, not even daring to go near, beating my breast and praying "Lord be merciful to me, THE sinner." Lord you are holy, perfectly good. There is no shadow in you, so how can I know you? How can I approach you?

"Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe. Lead me in the right path, O   lord , or my enemies will conquer me. Make your way plain for me to follow."

Grace - grace is my only hope. "Unfailing love" - because of your grace demonstrated in Jesus my Lord, I can enter your house. I can worship in your temple with awe.  Because Jesus died for me, I have the right to enter your presence. That's awesome, Lord!

"Lead me in the right path. Make your way plain for me to follow." I'm not the brightest lightbulb in the pack, Father. I can be easily misled and deceived. I need you to lead me, to make your path easy to find and follow. Show me the way Lord. I will follow you.

 "My enemies cannot speak a truthful word. Their deepest desire is to destroy others. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with flattery. O God, declare them guilty. Let them be caught in their own traps. Drive them away because of their many sins, for they have rebelled against you."

 Lord, I don't have a lot of enemies. When I read the Psalms I have a hard time understanding all the talk of enemies. I know David had a lot of enemies, but my enemies are within. I know their names: lust, envy, self-hate, fear. They also tell me lies, deceive me and seek to destroy me and those around me. I long for the day when you have banished them forever and all that is left is the new man, the new creation. 

"But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy. For you bless the godly, O   lord ; you surround them with your shield of love."  

This is a good conclusion to a prayer that begins with groaning. Lord, may my loved ones take refuge in you. Give them the gift of faith. Help them to run to you for help and safety. Spread your protection over them. Lord you know their names. I can't write them down here, but they are written on my heart and on your heart. Fill them with the joy of the forgiven, the joy of the children of God. May they join the rank of the family of God, those who wear white because they are washed clean by the death of Jesus. Surround them with love. Love as a shield - what an odd thought, what a powerful shield. What can penetrate the love of God surrounding me, surrounding us? What can separate us from that love? (Romans 8:31ff.) I run to you, Lord. 

Psalm 4: Tremble but don't sin

I want to learn to pray, so I'm reading the Psalms and praying through them. This is what I read in Psalm 4 this morning.

"Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness. You have freed me from my troubles. Have pity on me, and hear my prayer!  You important people, how long are you going to insult my honor? How long are you going to love what is empty and seek what is a lie?  Selah  Know that the L ord  singles out godly people for himself. The L ord  hears me when I call to him.  Tremble and do not sin. Think about this on your bed and remain quiet.  Selah  Offer the sacrifices of righteousness by trusting the Lord .  Many are saying, “Who can show us anything good?” Let the light of your presence shine on us, O L ord .  You put more joy in my heart than when their grain and new wine increase.  I fall asleep in peace the moment I lie down because you alone, O L ord , enable me to live securely." Psalm 4

Lord, you are my righteousness. I have no righteousness of my own, only what you have given me in Christ Jesus. You have freed me from my troubles, yet I still desperately need you to show me mercy and hear my prayers. Unlike David, I don't have any important people insulting or attacking me. Thank you for that. And you know that I don't feel like I have a lot of "honor" to be insulted. If someone were to insult and attack me, I would probably deserve it. It is sad that so many of the world's important people are chasing that which is empty (fame, fortune, gratification of their urges). They have believed a lie. Lord, please wake them up to your reality.

Lord, you single out the godly for yourself. That sounds like the NT phrase "set apart" that is the root of the word "holy". The struggle I have is with the word "godly" because if I heard someone say "you who are godly please stand up", I would stay seated. I am not godly... or am I? I know that you chose me to be "holy and righteous before you" (Eph 1), so there must be some sense in which I am godly (god-like). When I look at myself I see all the ways I am not like Jesus, but hopefully there are some parts of my character that are Christlike, godly. Because I am your child, your "saint" you hear me when I call. I should call out to you more often.

"Tremble and do not sin." Thank you for this reminder Lord. When I feel stressed and worried that is when I fall into old patterns and sin. There are "triggers" that tempt me to sin. High stress and uncertainty is one of them. I need to learn better how to handle these negative emotions without falling into old patterns of sin. Instead of sinning I need to meditate and be quiet. Nighttime is a good time to do a little introspection. Negative emotions can also trigger me to call on you, to examine my heart, to allow you to "search me and know me and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Through trust in you I can offer you a good and acceptable sacrifice. Today Lord I offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to you. So many are pessimistic. When I watch the news I feel like carrying a sign "Repent, the end is near." What I need is to experience your presence - may the light of your presence shine on me today. May it shine on our office, our workers, customers and the ladies we serve. Lord, you give me a joy that is beyond anything material goods can give, beyond any accolades that worldly accomplishments can offer. I fall asleep at night in peace knowing that you are my security. Wow! You give me your presence, your joy, your peace, your security and your righteousness. All of these are mine through my Lord Jesus. Thank you Father. Today I want to experience your presence. Thank you! Amen

Thank you Father

"Every time I think of you I thank my God" Philippians 1:3 

Father, thank you for your forgiveness and grace towards me. Thank you for the putting in me both desire and strength to go on, to continue following you. Thank you for your love and acceptance. Thank you for my family, my loving wife, my wonderful daughters, my precocious grandson. Thank you for my mother and father, and my brothers and sisters. They have been a wonderful gift to me and I'm grateful for their love and encouragement. Thank you for my friends like Dennis Ahern, Steve Taylor, Ben Wong, Samuel Chan, and Kevin who know all about me and love me still.

Thank you for my church, JIFF, for the sisters who faithfully follow and serve you in this foreign land. Thank you for helping them to adjust to this completely weird DH lifestyle. Thank you that although they are treated as servants, sometimes slaves, you constantly remind them that they are princesses, children of the King. Thank you for Pastor Jorge and Pastor Ruel. Thank you for their faithful leadership and service. Thank you for watching over them and their families. Thank you helping PJ recently to recover from the infection he had. Thank you for continuing to provide for Pastor Ruel and the ministry of JIFF. Thank you for our leadership team, both the formal and the many informal leaders. Thank you for continuing to work in and through them. Thank you for the newcomers we meet every week. Thank you that the older sisters are reaching out to the newly arrived ladies to wrap your loving arms around them as they adjust to HK.

Thank you for Arrow. Thank you for providing customers for us to serve. Thank you for our staff who serve out of love for you and others. Thank you for the joy we feel in serving together and for the fun we have in the midst of what is sometimes very stressful. Thank you for our partner MRH and the faithful team they have there. Thank you for Ma'am Nely and Rowena. Thank you that you are using them to love and serve these ladies who hope to come to Hong Kong. Thank you for providing jobs for the applicants, and a livelihood for their families.

Thank you Father that you include such weak ordinary people as us in your kingdom work. Thank you that you are working in our lives, our family, our ministry to bring about your own good purposes. Thank you that I can trust you to both will and work your good pleasure in my life. Thank you that you began a good work in us and that you won't stop working before it is complete. Thank you for your faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness.

Amen

What's in a "hello"?

How do you greet people? I struggle with this. When I write an email to a customer, do I use their surname and "Dear" or address them by the first name with "Hi". What is the right balance between respect and friendliness?

Paul greets the people in the church at Galatia with a prayer.

"I pray that God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!  Christ obeyed God our Father and gave himself as a sacrifice for our sins to rescue us from this evil world.  God will be given glory forever and ever. Amen." Ga. 1:3-5

 Imagine that - "Dear Michael, I'm praying that God ..." It's kinda cool. Who doesn't want to be prayed for or blessed? Who wouldn't want God to be kind to them and bless them with peace?

The tough part of Paul's greeting and prayer is his specificity (the spell checker didn't highlight it, so it must be a real word, yeah!) He prays that God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to them. He goes further and makes sure that they know which Jesus He is talking about - the one who obeyed God our Father and gave himself as a sacrifice for our sins to rescue us from this evil world - that Jesus. Paul was specific because the Galatians were struggling with some fuzzy thinking about who Jesus was. Some false teachers had confused them, so he starts out in his prayer - by being very clear as to who Jesus is.

Does this mean that a generic prayer is wrong? Am I compromising the gospel if I pray for someone and don't mention the cross and salvation? Is is okay just to pray for people and ask God and Jesus to be kind to them and give them peace?

Of course it is. No one wants to be force fed the gospel, especially when you haven't established a relationship or credibility, but praying for people are asking if you can pray for people is a very nice and appropriate way to show Christian love. Of course, you need to follow through and really pray for them.

How do you say "hello"? Even if you don't vocalize it, when you meet someone why not whisper a prayer to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ asking "God, Please be kind to _________ and give them peace." It might change the way you relate to people.