Psalm 6 – Glory Vessels

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This Psalm is heavy.

David is feeling condemned, sick, frail, and worn out from weeping. He is falling apart. “My eyes of faith won’t focus anymore, for sorrow fills my heart. (vs 7).”

I’ve been there.

I love the inclusion of this psalm in scripture. It tells me the Lord know’s how we talk when we are down.

This week as I have been meditationg on this psalm, the lyrics of Rita Springer’s song Defender, keeps playing in my mind.

“You know before I do
Where my heart can seek to find your truth

Your mercy is the shade I’m living in
You restore my faith and hope again.

When I thought I lost me
You knew where I left me
You reintroduced me to your love
You picked up all my pieces
Put me back together
You are the defender of my heart”

Jesus doesn’t just pick us up and put us back together, He fills us with His glory. According to Brian Simmons, “Paul uses figurative language [in 2 Cor.] to say that we are common clay jars (created from dust/clay) yet we possess the brilliant light of God’s glory, Jesus Christ, and carry him as treasure in our being. The outward vessel is not as important as the glorious treasure within. The metaphors here may allude to Gideon’s clay pots that had burning torches inside.”

“For God, who said, ‘Let brilliant light shine out of darkness,’ is the one who has cascaded his light into us—the brilliant dawning light of the glorious knowledge of God as we gaze into the face of Jesus Christ. 

We are like common clay jars that carry this glorious treasure within, so that the extraordinary overflow of power will be seen as God’s, not ours. Though we experience every kind of pressure, we’re not crushed. At times we don’t know what to do, but quitting is not an option. We are persecuted by others, but God has not forsaken us. We may be knocked down, but not out. We continually share in the death of Jesus in our own bodies so that the resurrection life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity. We consider living to mean that we are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake so that the life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity. 

So, then, death is at work in us but it releases life in you.” 2 Corinthians 4:6-12

 

Psalm 4 – Emotional Roots

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David is in the midst of intense suffering and yet he can sleep soundly. His emotions do not control him. He is absolutely confident that God will come through for him. If we allow it, suffering will cause our false gods, our disordered loves, our inordinate desires to burn away. We come to the realization that our idols won’t come through for us. Only God.

“Pull up your uncontrollable emotions by the roots and you will find your idols clinging to them.” – Tim Keller.

The other day I became frustrated when my daughter wanted to ask me a series of questions as I was trying to finish my cleaning. She was interrupting my productivity and I kept brushing her off. Later I asked myself why it was so important for me to finish my chores rather than spend time with her. As I dug underneath the emotion, I realized my heart was believing a lie… “If I don’t get xyz done, I am inadequate. I am unable.” My idol of productivity was more important than my daughter.

Tim Keller has a great test for exposing the idols of your heart. Ask yourself these questions:

  1. What are your daydreams? When you don’t have to think about anything, where does your mind wander? “Your real god is what you do with your solitude.” -Archbishop William Temple
  2. Where do your uncontrollable emotions show up? When you are angry, ask yourself “what am I defending?” Feelings of overwhelming fear or despondency are good clues you have an idol.
  3. What do you spend your money on most effortlessly? What are you looking to for your security?
  4. What are your nightmares? “If this happens, I could never go on.”
  5. What unanswered prayer has embittered you toward God? What are your non-negotiable prayer requests? Do you find yourself telling God you will obey Him if…. Your real god is on the other end of that “if.”

“Why is everyone hungry for more? “More, more,” they say.

“More, more.”

I have God’s more-than-enough,
More joy in one ordinary day than they get in all their shopping sprees.

At day’s end I’m ready for sound sleep,
For you, God, have put my life back together.”

Psalm 4: 6-8 (The Message)

Psalm 3 – Peace in the Pain

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“The storm may be around you, but it doesn’t have to be in you.”

– Kris Vallotton –

This Psalm shows us how David won his battles first in his mind. His own son conspired to build a case against him. He was distressed by the slanderous lies and whispers of his enemy. And yet, he has found peace in the pain; quietness in the storm.

I heard a great teaching this week from the Passion Translation team, explaining David’s process of unburdening. David does not stuff his feelings. He doesn’t ignore his feelings. This is what we can learn from David in this Psalm:

  1. Express your feelings to God. “This is what the enemy is saying about me. These are the accusation from my Enemy….” 
  2. To win the battle in your own mind, talk to yourself. “But this is what I truly know… this is who the Lord is… This is what I know about my Father…” Absorb yourself in the Glory of God, not your pain.
  3. Simply ask. Make your petitions to God in Faith, not fear.

Psalm 3 The Passion Translation (TPT)

Covered by the Glory

3 King David’s song when he was forced to flee from Absalom, his own son

The Humbling of a King

1 Lord, I have so many enemies, so many who are against me.
2 Listen to how they whisper their slander against me, saying:
    “Look! He’s hopeless! Even God can’t save him from this!”

Pause in his presence

The Help of God

3 But in the depths of my heart I truly know
    that you, Yahweh, have become my Shield;
    You take me and surround me with yourself.
    Your glory covers me continually.
    You lift high my head when I bow low in shame.
4 I have cried out to you, Yahweh, from your holy presence.
    You send me a Father’s help.

Pause in his presence

The Song of Safety

5 So now I’ll lie down and sleep like a baby—
    then I’ll awake in safety, for you surround me with your glory.
6 Even though dark powers prowl around me,
    I won’t be afraid.

The Secret of Strength

7 I simply cry out to you:
“Rise up and help me, Lord! Come and save me!”
    And you will slap them in the face,
    breaking the power of their words to harm me.
8 My true hero comes to my rescue,
    for the Lord alone is my Savior.
    What a feast of favor and bliss he gives his people!

Pause in his presence

Psalm 2 – My King

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6  Yet I have set My King
      On My holy hill of Zion.

7  I will declare the decree:
    The Lord has said to Me,
    ‘You are My Son,
    Today I have begotten You.

8  Ask of Me, and I will give You
   The nations for Your inheritance,
   And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

 

Meditate on this illustration by Barbara Boyd:

If the distance between the earth and the sun (96 million miles) was the thickness of a piece of paper, that would make the distance from the earth to the nearest star a stack of papers 70 feet high.

Just the diameter of our galaxy would be a stack of papers 310 miles high, and our “little” galaxy is just a speck in the expanse of the universe that we can see.

If Jesus is the Son of God who holds all this together with one word of his power (Hebrews 1), is this the kind of person you ask into your life to be your personal assistant?

Have you noticed how easy it is for us to accept the loving Jesus, the comforting Jesus that assists us through our troubles, but not the Holy Jesus? What is it about us that rejects Jesus as King? Even the religious moralist can use their moral achievements as a way to avoid Jesus. “If I’m good enough, I won’t have to really surrender to him.”

As Flannery O’Conner wrote in her novel, Wise Blood…

“There was already a deep black wordless conviction in him that the way to avoid Jesus was to avoid sin.”

Some of us don’t want to be yoked to anything. And others will anchor their hearts to any cause or person.  We have a deep spiritual need to surrender to something. If not the TRUE King, we will find someone or something else to worship. To adore. To protect.

 Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

No human or cause is meant to sit on the throne of our hearts. Only Jesus. He holds the universe together with one word and yet He is as close as your next breath. He is BOTH Lord and Savior. Take refuge in Him alone.

 

10 Listen to me, all you rebel-kings
    and all you upstart judges of the earth.
    Learn your lesson while there’s still time.

11 Serve and worship the awe-inspiring God.
    Recognize his greatness and bow before him,
    trembling with reverence in his presence.

12 Fall facedown before him and kiss the Son
    before his anger is roused against you.
    Remember that his wrath can be quickly kindled!
    But many blessings are waiting for all
    who turn aside to hide themselves in him!

(Passion Translation)

PARADISE GARDEN SALAD

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One of my biggest pet peeves of Food Blogs is the lengthy story that precedes the recipes…  the relationship the writer has with each ingredient, the explanation as to why this recipe is their new favorite why it is certain to be the… Next. Best. Thing. Not to mention the copious amount of photos.

You won’t find that here. Recipe first. Story below. Here goes…

 

PARADISE GARDEN SALAD

– Inspired by Song of Songs –

 

“I have come to you, my darling bride, for you are my paradise garden.

What a beautiful paradise unfolds within you.”

– The Bridegroom King –

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BASE:

Mixed greens and arugula

 

TOPPINGS

Goat Cheese

Figs

Apricots

Pomegranate seeds

Grapes

(Use your judgment on the amount of each. Make it yours. Own it.)

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WILDFLOWER HONEY VINAIGRETTE (from Anne @ A Salad for All Seasons.com)

Serves: 1 CUP

INGREDIENTS

  • ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup of white wine vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons of finely chopped shallots
  • 3 Tablespoons of wildflower honey
  • ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Whisk to combine, adjust to taste. Place all the ingredients in a rounded bowl* and give it a good toss. 

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Now for the story. The following is a description of how each ingredient is inspired by the Song of Songs, with footnotes by The Passion Translation.

*Rounded Bowl

 7:2 “Your navel is a rounded bowl that never lacks mixed wine.”

Passion Translation: “Out of your innermost being is flowing the fullness of my Spirit— never failing to satisfy. Within your womb there is a birthing of harvest wheat; they are the sons and daughters nurtured by the purity you impart. How gracious you have become!”

 

Song of Song ingredients:

 

Goat (cheese)

4:1 “Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead.”

Passion Translation: There is great symbolism in this verse. Hair is a symbol of our devotion to Christ. Mount Gilead (“hill of testimony”) is where the best sacrificial animals were kept in preparation for temple sacrifices. So, a goat coming down Mount Gilead was a sacrifice ready to be offered.

 

Figs

2:13 “The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.”

Passion Translation:  In the language of allegory, the fig tree is a picture of destiny and purpose. The sign of a fig tree blooming is the sign of an early spring, a new season.

 

Apricots

2:5 “Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apricots, for I am lovesick.”

7:8 “I said ‘I will climb the palm tree and take hold of its fruit.” May your breasts be like the clusters of grapes, and the fragrance of your breath like apricots.

Passion Translation: These are the sweet promises of grace that sustain us.

 

Pomegranate and Cinnamon

4:13 “Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nards, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices.”

Passion Translation: Pomegranates were engraved on the tops of the pillars of Solomon’s temple and were also sewn into the hem of the robes of the high priest. They speak of our open hearts of love, filled with passion for him. The Hebrew word for “pomegranate” is ramam, a homonym that means “to rise up.” Pomegranates were also placed on the hem of the robe of the high priest, interspersed with golden bells.

Cinnamon emits a fragrance that is representative of an odor of holiness to the Lord. It was used in the sacred anointing oil of the priests and the tabernacle.

 

Grapes

7:7-9 This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes. I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;

Passion Translation: You stand in victory above the rest stately and secure as you share with me your vineyard of love. Now I decree, I will ascend and arise. I will take hold of you with my power, possessing every part of my fruitful bride. Your love I will drink as wine, and your words will be mine.

 

Honey

4:11 “Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue.”

“Your loving words are like the honeycomb to me; your tongue releases milk and honey, for I find the Promised Land flowing within you.” – Both the Promised Land and your heart flow with milk and honey. You have become the Promised Land of Jesus Christ.

 

Oil

1:3 “Your oils have a pleasing fragrance, you name is like purified oil; therefore, the maidens love you.”

“Flowing Oil” – The Hebrew contains a wordplay with the words “name” (shem) and “oil” (shemen).     

 

Arugula (bitter herb)

Exodus 12:8 “They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.”

 

Some fun for the “literal-ists” among us:

Artist unkown

Psalm 1 – The Tree of Life

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“Blessed is the one…

…whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.“

I believe that Psalm 1 is the gatekeeper for the entire book of Psalms, if not the entire bible. In this introductory chapter to the Psalter, we are given an incredible promise. A life of Blessedness. The Hebrew word for “Blessed” is much richer than our English. It means total fulfillment. Absolute well-being. It is a promise to the believer who puts down roots into the Living Water of God that we can become a person of Substance and Stability. A person that remains Fruitful, even through the winter seasons of life. Unwavering through life’s circumstances.
 
How do we get there? What is the key that unlocks this blessed state?

Steady, persistent Meditation on the Word of God. Friends, this isn’t mere bible study or the practice of simply reading scripture so we can check it off the daily schedule.

The picture of biblical meditation is likened to a cow chewing cud… constantly re-digesting, chewing and chewing, over and over until the substance completely works itself into the system. Cows spend at least 8 hours a day chewing their cud. When we meditate we are feeding on the word. We think about it, reflect on the implications, digest it, regurgitate it, chew on it some more. It’s a process of speaking to our own heart until it is ablaze. “Look, soul…. think, soul… how should you respond if you are THAT forgiven… how should you live your life if you are THAT loved…?” We don’t just read for information, we take it in, drink it up until it affects us at the center of our being.

Augustine called Meditation “the ascent of the soul unto God.” Love that.

Here are Dr. Tim Keller’s descriptions of Augusitine’s three-part method of Meditation: Retentio, Contemplatio & Dilectio.

“First, Retentiomeans the distillation of the truths of Scripture and holding them centrally in the mind. This means study and concentration on a passage of Scripture to simply understand it, so you see its thrust. Retentio is thus learning what a passage says.

Second, Contemplatio, means “gazing at God through this truth.” It is to pose and answer questions such as:

  • What does this tell me about God; what does it reveal about him?
  • How can I praise him for and through this?
  • How can I humble myself before him for and through this?
  • If he is really like this, what difference does this particular truth make to how I live today?
  • What wrong behavior, harmful emotions, false attitudes result in me when I forget he is like this?
  • How would my neighborhood, my family, my church, my friends be different if they saw it deeply?
  • Does my life demonstrate that I am remembering and acting out of this?
  • Lord, what are you trying to tell me about you, and why do you want me to know it now, today?

Above all, the purpose of Contemplatio is to move from a kind of objective analytical view of things to a personal dealing with God as he is. It is to deal with God directly, to stretch every nerve to turn this “knowing about” into knowing — to move from knowing a fact about him to actually “seeing” him with the heart — to adore, to marvel, to rest in, or to be troubled by, to be humbled by him. It is one thing to study a piece of music and another to play it. It is one thing to work on a diamond, cutting and polishing it; it is another to stand back and let it take your breath away.

Third, Dilectiomeans delighting and relishing the God you are looking at. You begin to actually praise and confess and aspire toward him on the basis of the digested and meditated truth. If you have moved from learning to personal meditation, then, depending on your spiritual sharpness, the circumstances of your life at that time, and God’s sovereign Spirit, you begin to experience him.

Sometimes it is mild, sometimes strong, and sometimes you are very dry. But whenever you are meditating (“contemplatio”) and you suddenly find new ideas coming to you and flowing in, then write them down and move to direct praising and confessing and delighting. That is (as Luther would say) the “Holy Spirit preaching to you.”

May the streams of Living Water spring up in your life. Let you roots go down deep. Chew the cud and Be Blessed, friends!

Weekly Creative Challenge through the Psalms

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Who wants to join me for a Creative Challenge through the Psalms? One Psalm per week (no pressure). It will be a long and steady journey (150 weeks!). Begins Monday, July 23.

Read, Contemplate, and Express through any medium (photo, paint, lyric,… ). Share on your wall. Instagram: use #PsalmsArtChallenge so we can build a collection.

I believe this will be a potent, passionate journey that will show us how to worship our way out of our woes, unlock mysteries and bring us face to face with the Living God.

So put on your garment of PRAISE, your robe of SPLENDOR and join us!

Growing in Wisdom

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🌼🌱Growing in Wisdom 🌿🌺

This week I have been learning some powerful truths about obedience and doing the hard things. As a result, God has been faithfully restoring and tending to the garden of my soul. I believe this is a season of RESTORATION. If you feel like you are not hearing Him directing you, go back and do the last thing you remember Him asking you to do. And hold on to His promises…

“God, your God, will restore everything you lost; he’ll have compassion on you; he’ll come back and pick up the pieces from all the places where you were scattered.” Duet 30:3 (MSG)

Adoration

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Adoring the Father

When we adore You Father,
You send forth Your armies to fight on our behalf
Against principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness
They are bound, gagged,
and sent to the pit
by Your Mighty Hand
Then You come back and tell us
What an awesome warrior we are
‘But I was just adoring and worshiping You…’
‘Yes, my child. And I already won the battle for you.
Rest in My LOVE.’
Most powerful weapon ever:
Keep your eyes on the Prize:
You LORD, are my Prize!” -Carol Nemitz.

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