The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Category: Psalms (Page 13 of 14)

Don't You Know There's A King In Zion?

July 25, 2008 / / 1 Comment

TheJesusWay“I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.” ~Psalm 2:6

 Psalm 2 is the psalm most used by Bible writers, quoted or alluded to nine times in the New Testament. Psalm 2 forms the very center and focus of the Church’s first recorded prayer in Acts 4.

“Why do the nations conspire
  and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand
  and the rulers gather together against the Lord
  and against his Anointed One.”
  ~Psalm 2:1-2 & Acts 4:25-26

Like those very first Christians, when we pray Psalm 2 it allows us to personally realize and internalize the tremendous canyon between the world’s ways and the ways of our God. It puts the reality of this unbridgeable gap between our ways and the ways of “the nations” right into our hearts and minds and muscles and guts.

Eugene Peterson translates Psalm 2:6 this way, “Don’t you know there’s a King in Zion?”

Peterson expands on the idea in his book, The Jesus Way:

“The first generation of Christians took Jesus at his word when he announced that the Kingdom was at hand—a real (not ideal) Kingdom with a real king, King Jesus. The words and sentences of Psalm 2 dismissed the pretensions of all these other ways and let Christ the King permeate their preaching and prayers and following. They followed the resurrected Jesus with an air of triumph and praise. The gospel was not something private that they cultivated in the cozy security of their homes and hearts; it was public, the most powerful force in human history, shaping the destiny of nations as well as the souls of men and women.”

Following Jesus is a unique way of living. It’s like nothing else. There is nothing and no one like Jesus. Following him gets us little or nothing of what we commonly think we want or need. Following him accomplishes nothing on the world’s agenda. Following him takes us right out of this world’s assumptions and goals and straight to a place where we can “insert a lever that turns the world upside down and inside out.” Following Jesus has everything to do with this world, but almost nothing in common with this world.

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TheChallengeI’m preaching my first Gospel Meeting (they’re not called Gospel Meetings anymore, are they?) beginning this Sunday evening through Wednesday at the Keller Church of Christ. My good friend Kyle Bolton is the preacher there, a long time friend of the family that traces back to his parents and my parents and my grandmother at P-Grove.

Here’s the lineup:

Sunday: “The Challenge to Know God” God reveals himself to us at Sinai & Zion
Monday: “The Challenge to Trust God” Isaiah 46 and Matthew 8
Tuesday: “The Challenge to Obey God” Abraham and the binding of Isaac
Wednesday: “The Challenge to Share God” The parables of Luke 15

My personal theme for the week is “The Challenge to Preach Four Straight Nights.” I invite you to join us for any and all those evenings.

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BigFootballAnnouncementHereMondaySome of you have asked me lately, in emails and in person, why I’m not doing a 99-Days of Football on the blog this summer like we did last year. Well, we can’t do the exact same thing every year. Where’s the joy in that? Something much bigger and much better and much more interactive is coming soon. In fact, I’m planning on announcing it this Monday, July 28 on this blog. If you’re a hard-core college football fan, this will be right up your alley. If you’re interested in the 99 Days of Football, you can still click on the green tab at the top of this page to relive the glamour and excitement of last year’s countdown to football season. In the meantime, bone up this weekend on your college football scouting reports and predictions and join me back here Monday.

Have a great weekend.

Peace,

Allan

Feeding The Kids

May 2, 2008 / / 0 Comments

“…bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
  ~Ephesians 6:4

AllTheKidsThe verb Paul uses that is translated “bring them up” doesn’t do justice to the notion of nurture and care the apostle intended. “Bring them up” doesn’t communicate the loving and intimate relationship that’s a critical part of raising our kids. He uses the exact same verb earlier regarding the relationship between husbands and wives in Ephesians 5:29. And there it’s translated “feed.” “No one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the Church.”

The command is to nurture our children.

The idea is to feed them in the ways of the Lord.

Holy Scripture explicitly places a high value on our children; a value that should not be taken lightly. And the clear commands from the Law of Moses to the Letters of the Apostles to teach our children cannot be relegated to back-burner status. And the job can’t be left for someone else to do. Our children are not to be merely tolerated, but cared for and instructed about life in Christ Jesus.

If stewardship is the proper management of assets, Christian stewardship should focus first of all on nurturing our children. We don’t have any asset more valuable than our kids.

“Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.” ~Psalm 127:3

Game5ToniteGo Stars!

Allan

Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

March 13, 2008 / / 0 Comments

“This evil generation hath labored to take away from God the sword of his justice; they have endeavored to prove to themselves that God will clear the guilty and will by no means punish iniquity, transgression, and sin.”  ~from “Turn or Burn,” a sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon in 1883

I suppose things really haven’t changed that much in 125 years. While we (I) gravitate quickly and fiercely to Christ’s love, we (I) tend to overlook or ignore the righteousness of our God that demands justice and judgment. But the truth is there is no need for salvation through Christ Jesus if there’s no coming judgment. God’s grace is entirely unnecessary if there’s no coming punishment. We can’t begin to comprehend the magnitude of God’s love in Christ and the enormity of our deliverance through his death, burial, and resurrection until we set it against the reality of God’s holy judgment.

In studying for last night’s “Oasis” lesson on 2 Corinthians 5, I came across a couple of very, very old sermons: the Spurgeon homily on Psalm 7:11-12 quoted above and a classic preached by Jonathon Edwards during the Great Awakening in 1741. The title of Edwards’ sermon was “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” It’s probably the most famous sermon ever preached in America.

“The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect, over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked; his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. (He’s just getting warmed up here) You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet, it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment.

It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell last night; that you were suffered to awake in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose this morning, but that God’s hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in this house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing else to be given as a reason why you do not at this very moment drop down into hell. (At this point, if one of us were attempting to preach this sermon today, an emergency session of the elders would already be gathering and a couple of deacons would have already dialed 9-1-1)

O Sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in; it is a great furnace of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against any of the damned in hell. You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder; and you have nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you have ever done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment.”

Wow. And that’s just a part of the introduction.

Ever heard a sermon like that? I never have. I doubt I ever will.

Maybe we’re too sophisticated now. Maybe it’s too blunt for our sensitivities. It’s not loving enough or tolerant enough for us today.

Or, maybe in this country in this age, we’re caught in a deadly and eternally damning cycle. As our sense of self grows larger and larger and our sense of God becomes smaller and smaller, maybe we fear God so little that we don’t understand the seriousness of our sin. And we sense the seriousness of our sin so little that we seldom fear God.

The words of the old hellfire and brimstone preachers are true. And that’s what makes the love and the mercy and the grace and the forgiveness of our holy and righteous God through Christ Jesus all the more wonderful and amazing. That’s what makes the words of the old apostle John so powerful:

“And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.” ~1 John 2:28

Peace,

Allan

Confession & Forgiveness

February 5, 2008 / / 13 Comments

“Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit…I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’ — and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” ~Psalm 32:1-2, 5

My daily Bible reading took me to Psalm 32 this morning and I was immediately struck by the repitition David uses in this song of thanksgiving and joy for the forgiveness we receive as a gracious gift from our God. “Blessed is he…blessed is the man…” He rejoices in the happy state of experiencing God’s forgiveness. And then “are forgiven…sins are covered…not count against him…you forgave.” Over and over David stresses that the sins we confess to the Lord are completely washed away when we confess them to him in total faith and trust.

 Paul uses this same psalm in Romans 4 and asks the rhetorical question, “Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?” Yes, this blessedness that comes from God’s forgiveness is for everyone. It’s for all people who will confess their sins to him in honesty and integrity and faith. We hide nothing. We don’t lie. We bring all of it to God and lay bare and vulnerable before him, begging for his forgiveness. And he gives it gladly and freely and abundantly.

Confession is good for the soul. It’s good for the Church. It’s good for husbands and wives and church leaders and preachers and parents and kids. Confession is good for me. And you. In Psalm 32 the confession is to God, but it’s meant to be heard as worship by God’s people. It’s personal. And it’s corporate. It’s done individually and it’s done in community.

Lay your soul out to your God today. Confess to him your sin and your weakness and your complete dependence on him. And then rejoice in his forgiveness, the removal of your sin, and the trampling of your guilt.

“Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you are upright in heart!” ~Psalm 32:11

Peace,

Allan

The Lord is My Rock

January 9, 2008 / / 0 Comments

“My God is my rock in whom I take refuge.” ~Psalm 18:2

CavesAtEnGediThe stories of David and his men hiding from King Saul and his men are packed with eye-opening contrasts between the two men anointed by God. Saul trusts in his own power and his own armies and has no choice but to rely on the spy efforts and information from his men because God is not speaking to him anymore. His attitude and his continual disobedience have resulted in Saul basically being on his own. On the other hand, David trusts completely in his God. And God protects David and delivers him from the enemy.

David learns the truth of God as his rock and his fortress in the wilderness of En Gedi (1 Samuel 23-24). He found the EnGediWadisafety and strength and salvation from the two-thousand foot cliffs riddled with hundreds of caves and the life-giving water at the bottom of the wadi to be symbolic of the provision of his loving God. No, more than that, he saw it as the actual protection and provision of his God.

Today, we reside in a spiritual landscape that is every bit as hostile, threatening, and dangerous as David’s enemies out in the Judean desert. Just like David suffering from thirst and mortal danger, we too in a spiritual sense face death and destruction. Where does our help come from? Where can we find safety and hope and salvation? It is only found in one place, in God, through his Son Jesus, the Christ. Just like stepping into an oasis filled with life-giving water or into an impregnable mountain fortress, when you enter Jesus you are truly safe. The things of this world and the things of the other evil spiritual forces cannot harm you.

Run, don’t walk. Run to the rock of salvation and hope. Run to the Lord. Call on him and he will hear you and deliver you.

“He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?” ~Psalm 18:30-31

 Peace,

Allan

Life Together

January 2, 2008 / / 9 Comments

“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” ~Psalm 133:1

AtTheCrossWe should never take for granted the great blessing we enjoy to be disciples of Jesus living with and among other disciples of Jesus. Most Christians know nothing first hand about that experience. They live in isolation with family members who do not follow our Christ or in communities where the Son of God is not recognized, or worse, where followers of Jesus are persecuted for their beliefs and practices.

The physical presence of other Christians is a source of great joy and strength to the believer. The imprisoned apostle Paul calls Timothy to come to him in the last days of his life. He remembers Timothy’s tears when they departed and longs to see his beloved son in the faith “that I may be filled with joy.” Remembering the saints in Thessalonica, Paul writes, “night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again.” John knows his joy will not be full until he can come to his own people and speak face to face with them instead of writing to them with ink “so that our joy may be complete.”

At times in their lives these great men of God did not have the fellowship with other believers that we enjoy daily, sometimes hourly. They longed for it. They relished it. They looked forward to it. And they savored it with great delight. Fellowship was everything. It’s what got them through.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote this about Christian fellowship in 1934 in his classic work on the community of faith, Life Together:

“What is an unspeakable gift of God for the lonely individual is easily disregarded and trodden under foot by those who have the gift every day. It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us. Therefore, let him who has the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.”

We live together in and through Christ Jesus. The fellowship we share together is only in and through our Lord and Savior. Christian friendships should be treasured, never assumed. Time together should be cherished, never avoided. Opportunities to be together should be seized, never scorned.

“About brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God  to love each other. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.” ~1 Thessalonians 4:9-10

Peace,

Allan

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