It is not about me...never has been, never will be!

This last week has been a very good one spiritually for me.  Wrapped up my first stint of speaking on Wednesday evenings...and I have discovered that that time of sermon preparation has been very enriching for me.  This last week I spent some time talking with by best friend Kevin about Psalm 107 as I prepped for the message.  Couple that with my beginning reading Max's new book "It's Not About me."  Whats all that to say?  When we find ourselves, like the fourth group giving their testimony in Psalm 107:23-32, in situations that we have gotten ourselves into where the waves are soaring above our heads, we gasp for air, thinking we can get ourselves out of this proverbial pickle, we realize that it isn't about us, and that it never has been about us or anything we can do.  We can no more die for our own sin than we can solve the world's hunger problem.  God has been so incredibly good to us...blessing us by taking us out of the calamities of life we get ourselves into, hearing us cry out for help, rescuing and saving us...then, we are to respond by telling the whole world of the healing, redeeming, saving, powerful message of God!

Reflecting on the Benefits of God

This week I am speaking from Psalm 103. After reading and re-reading this psalm over and over, a couple of things come to my mind. Firstly, who ever gave anyone the right to complain? IF you read this psalm between vs 3 and 19, David lists off a mere 17, yes SEVENTEEN, "benefits of God." David, whether he meant to or not, in this song he wrote to be sung in tabernacle worship of the people of Israel all but undresses those who come to worship with this selfish attitude of "It's all about me..." And secondly, God is good, all the time! I thought that phrase was so trivial a year ago. But if you read this psalm, and you see your place in relation to a God who has redeemed, healed, forgiven, renewed, loved, and grace-covered you, how can you even begin to think that GOd is not a god who is eternally, unutterably good!!

"Bless the Lord, O my Soul...and all that is within me, bless His holy name"

July 6th...Quite a hiatus!!

It has been, yet again, some time since I last updated the ole' blog. Safe to say that I am not addicted...For the next 4 weeks I am speaking on Wednesday nights. We are doing a series at the moment based on titles of the songs we sing in worship...coming from the angle of how so often what we sing is at the core of our theology, and how when we sing such things we rarely let it soak in what we are singing about. I am constructing the first of these 4 sermonettes coming out of Psalm 63, one of my absolute favorite Psalms. Being the worship-junkie that I am, something came to my mind as I read the middle portion of Psalm 63 that I apparently just have skipped over in past sittings. It prompted a question I need to ask myself constantly. How often, in moments of spiritual and physical longing and thirst do we rejoice in worship; realizing that we are held in the palm of God's hand, "under the shadow of God's wings?" Do we...can we...truly get our hands around the fact that regardless of how awful our life is or how wonderful life is at any given time, God's all-encompassing love is better than life. If I read this Psalm now, it speaks to me that whatever state our life is in at any given moment, our minds, hearts, souls and strength should be so overcome with the depth of God's love that we shouldn't be able to keep from singing, worshipping, outstretching our hands in praise to God, awaiting to receive his blessing. When is the last time we lay awake in bed at night, unable to sleep, because we were so overcome with the incredible-ness of the love of God?

Read the words of this olden hymn, recently reworked by MercyMe, original words, still intact...
"The Love of God" F.M. Lehman, c.1917

The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell;

Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every ma a scribe a trade;
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Tho stretched from sky to sky.

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure the saints' and angels' song.