But you…

“But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.”  -Psalm 3:3a

I read this passage and found great comfort from it this morning.  David begins the passage reflecting on the actions of his enemies and the growing number of them.  The only action he states that they have taken against him are words of contempt for him and God.

“But you…” just seems to echo in my head.  “But you…” are MY shield, and MY God.  Lord, I find great comfort in reciting these words back to you today.  “But you…” are my insight,  my wisdom, my self control, my attitude adjuster, my calm, my peace, my joy, my rest, and my hope.  Help me be dilligent in being ever cognizant of you and my need for you.  My heart longs for it.

Where’s the love?

I’ve been reading 1 Corinthians 12-14 over the past few days.  The discourse on having love as being greater than the gift of speaking in tongues, the gift of prophecy, understanding ALL mysteries and ALL knowledge, and the faith to move mountains fascinates as well as makes me ponder it’s acceptance by current day Christians.

Unfortunately, I find more “christianettes” in my limited perspective than true Christians.  I find some pursue the loud, clanging symbol type of spiritual gifts as it feeds their outgoing, people-oriented personality.  Then there are the more reserved types who pursue the gift of “understanding” but only to the extent that it makes them feel more intelligent than others.

{brief interruption – for those who are wondering why I am so pessimistic today, I woke up yesterday with the worst sinus headache in my entire life followed by a day of brain fog making it incredibly difficult to process thought.  My newborn is congested and kept me up half the night.  My 3 year old had trouble sleeping and kept me up the other half.  If you have a positive word for me, hang on to it until tomorrow when it will most likely be received more receptively and have actual benefit. }

By the way, I love that term, “christianette” which I first heard posed by Rice Broocks on one of his audio series.  It so aptly describes the person who most likely was confusingly told they were a Christian instead of actually becoming one through the process of salvation.

So where is the love?  I am not completely blind on this front.  I do see true Christians demonstrating the relationship they have with Christ by their actions on a daily basis.  The Life Pointe church my brother is now part of appears to be absolutely full of them.   {to be continued…}

Shiny Face

In reading Henry’s commentary on Romans 12 this morning, I came across his explanation describing how we should understand the text, “to think soberly…” from verse 3 wherein he states, “It was an excellent thing for Moses to have his face shine and not know it.“

What a fantastic example of having the power of God demonstrably affecting the body of Moses, representing clearly to all the intimacy of his relationship with God, and YET he did not know it.

Apostle Paul…a nice guy?

Just doing a little Bible reading before I go to bed…noticed something new about Romans 12:1.  My study notes follow:

Romans 12 begins with fascinating approach by Paul where he uses the Greek word, “parakaleo” (pronounced par-ak-al-eh’-o) to call his listeners attention for what was most likely a difficult word to hear.

Strong’s defines this as “to call near, that is, invite, invoke (by imploration, hortation or consolation): – beseech, call for, (be of good) comfort, desire, (give) exhort (-ations), intreat, pray.”

My previous bias has interpreted this statement as an overtly authoritative command from Paul to his listeners. After reading Matthew Henry’s commentary on the matter and reviewing Strong’s reference, I’m inclined to agree with Mr. Henry who states, “Though he might with authority command, yet for love’s sake he rather beseeches…” The thought that Paul would provide such a gracious entreatment to a rather mean-spirited group is exemplary of the Holy Spirit within him.

It is possible that Paul desired to approach the coming chapter as a lamb instead of a lion, knowing the weight of what was to come.

Hand Washing

As I read Matthew 15 again this morning, I could not help but hear Cheryl reminding the children, “Wash your hands!”  I wonder how long before one of them reads this and attempts to use it to debate the doctrinal principles of hand washing.

Mat 15:20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. [KJVR, 1850 red letter edition]

Bible Reading

Matthew 15:1-20

Matthew Henry’s commentary on Matthew 15:1-9