Reflections for Advent

At the congregation where my family and I worship, we have a regular booklet to guide our devotional thoughts during the week.  It's a great resource to have, especially as it keeps our thoughts in view of the message we hear at the assembly of the saints on Sunday.  We are encouraged daily with a Scripture reading, as well as guiding thought for the day.  And as is appropriate for Advent, quite often these reflections are on some promise that God makes to us.

Taking time to reflect on God's Word is not easy for us in the Western world.  We have been raised and taught that we are to be busy, active, and focused on all sorts of things.  When at work, we are taught to focus on our work.  We rarely take time to slow down, to stop, to think things through.  I remember hearing from a number of pastors over the years that many in the congregations they served would view their personal study time as something to be questioned.  Why?  Because the pastor wasn't "doing something".  His personal time of devotion and growing was seen as a waste because there was no activity to it.

It's difficult for us to slow down, to think, to reflect.  In fact, I would dare say that we are bad at it, and don't want to develop that discipline within ourselves.  Just imagine if you were sitting on your couch, or in your chair at work, quietly quoting a Psalm to yourself, letting the Spirit guide your thoughts, for about 4-5 minutes.  How focused on the Psalm would you be?  I would imagine that you would have all kinds of thoughts intrude and distract you from it.  On top of that, what if someone saw you doing this.  Would they think you were taking a nap?  Bored?  Needing more to do?

Quiet reflection time is precious.  If you ever get a chance to read all the way through Psalm 119 (all 176 verses), one theme you will see is that of reflecting and meditating on God's Word and Law. How do we do that, though?  What is gained by doing so?  Well, we do it by taking a verse or two, reading them (sometimes even multiple times), and then considering the areas of our lives where these speak. We let the Spirit guide us to see where we may be doing this, or to correct us when we aren't doing it well.  We may uncover sin issues that need to be confessed and dealt with.  And as a side benefit, we also start to develop discipline in our thinking, which benefits us outside of our reflection times.

For this Advent season, I simply want to encourage you to consider taking 2-5 minutes daily for a reflection on a Scripture reading of some sort.  Make it short, so you can remember it (or maybe even memorize it). Then let that Word work on you, your heart, your soul. If you find that you are not focused, take a deep breath and start again.  Don't be frustrated with yourself over your lack of ability, especially if you haven't developed this discipline before.  Start small, and work your way up.  Maybe start with two minutes, with the goal of four or five by the end of the season.  And let God's promise fill you as you reflect and develop this discipline.

Psalm Reflections: Psalm 98

One of the things I'm am discovering as a difficulty is limiting the number of Psalms that I like which I wish to include in these reflections.  I've read the Psalms so many times, and have come to know and love many of them, but don't wish to make this a 4 month excursion through the Psalms. 

Psalm 98:1-9 is another beautiful Psalm which speaks of the joy that we have in God.  Over the years, I have heard a number of different characterizations of God, most of which have some basis in accuracy, but never paint a complete picture.  Many fear God as someone just waiting to extract His price from them for a lifetime of wrong.  Others focus merely on a God of love and bypass the idea of a God who demands justice.  Others focus on God as a God far away, and others see Him as a God nearby. 

Psalm 98 focuses on the God who is full of steadfast love and faithfulness.  While God does indeed know of us by our nature, separated and fallen away from Him, He doesn't give up on us, no matter how far we may run or how deep we may fall.  He remembers His love and is faithful to us, and that's the reason that we can give thanks and sing a song of joy and praise to God.  He, and He alone, can overcome this distance and depth.

This Psalm paints a beautiful picture that it's not just us who recognize this, but the whole world.  The rivers clap their hands.  The hills sing.  The waters roar.  Everything acknowledges and praises the God of this world, who does such great things.  That's the joy and hope that I find in this Psalm.

Thoughts on Psalm 4

Psalm 4:1-8 has come to have a great deal of meaning for me recently.  Just this past winter, I wrote a research paper on it, about 12 pages total.  (Yes, it says something about me that I can write a 12 page paper on a Psalm that's only 8 verses long.)  In fact, I really focused on only two verses of the Psalm for that paper.  Yet, this Psalm is remarkable for how it applies to our lives as Christians.

David, the writer of the Psalm, seems to have had an experience where he had followed what God said and outlined for life, but others were pointing to it as a dishonorable thing.  Maybe it was an occasion such as the time when David could have killed Saul, but chose to let him live.  Doing what God had said by honoring the life of a fellow human could have been seen as dishonorable, since Saul was trying to kill him. 

Yet, even as that is happening, David doesn't let his spirit get down.  He knows that God hears.  He knows that there is a place for anger at that, but that the anger is not an excuse to sin.  And then, David does something that is truly astounding to me.  He gives thanks to God that God will see him through it, and that God's face will shine upon him.  He is so assured of this that he can lie down and sleep without having to worry about it at all.

It's difficult to do the right thing when you know that others will criticize you for it.  I've experienced that a time or two in my life.  And yet, this Psalm reminds me that life is not about simply being liked by others.  It's about living God's design, being thankful that God has made me His own.  I don't have to worry about what others say or think because I am in the hands of the God who loves me enough to lay down His life for me.  And that is so reassuring that I can sleep at night, knowing that I am in His hands, and I am His.

Psalms: Music, Poetry, and God

I love reading through the Psalms.  Some of the most well-known verses of the Bible are found in them, and I just find them a refreshing word from God when I read through them.  They are the kind of words and phrases that paint pictures of God for us, and that make us think about who God is, what He has done.  They engage the mind, while at the same time touching the heart and the soul.

Also, a good number of the Psalms give titles to tell the tune in which they were to be sung.  Music has a way of touching our hearts and souls at a very deep, personal level.  For me personally, there are times where I just have to put down the books, close my eyes, and let some music play to re-orient myself in life.  Sometimes it's just instrumental, but sometimes it involves words.  And that's what the Psalms seem to have been written for.  They were the way that God's people would sing and rejoice and grow in their faith as they sang them, whether together or when they were alone.

Over the next few days, we'll walk through some of the Psalms.  I'll share some of my thoughts on them, and how they point out a number of things about God that are good and useful and beneficial for us.  But above all, I hope you get a glimpse of how God works in our hearts through words and phrases that really serve to engage our minds and hearts and souls.