Creator and King

Psalm 93 is a praise song, lauding the Lord of Creation and ruler of the nations. The Israelites knew their privileged status as the nation whose king was the creator of the whole universe, even if they didn’t act like it all the time! And they understood God’s plan to bring salvation to all the nations through them.

The psalmist describes God as strong, mighty, holy, majestic, and trustworthy. He is greater than towering, roaring floods; his creation will never be moved. This is a fearsome God who is Creator and Lord of the universe and the reigning king of all the nations.

 

Cool Number Dates – 8/9/15-8/15/15

Sorry, but I have no identified cool number dates this week, other than today is my sister and dad’s birthday.

But take heart! Every week for the rest of 2015 has at least one cool number date. You can peek ahead if you like.

And 2016 has great promise! Powers of 2, 4, and 8, ten consecutive palindromes in June, and Christmas is on December 25 once again.

He IS Coming Back

There are many historical events and miracles (God breaking in on “natural” events) in the Bible that may be troublesome or hard to believe – the Flood, the virgin birth, the shadow going back in 2 Kings 20. But the future miracle of Jesus’ return is somewhat neglected.

We can understand why. It’s been nearly two thousand years since he went away, and we know we won’t know when it will happen. Science fiction writers and recent electromagnetic thruster discoveries are full of the possibilities of life on other planets and easy trips to Mars and beyond. For many people, the future does not include an ending point.

But 1 Thessalonians 4 makes a big deal about the return of Jesus. The Thessalonians were concerned about their friends who had died – would they be part of the resurrection? Paul assures his friends that even though the Lord’s return will be loud and awesome, there will be an orderly process for the dead in Christ and the elect who are alive to “meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

The phrase Maranantha, meaning “The Lord is coming” or ”Come, O Lord,” replaced the traditional Jewish greeting “Shalom” partly because there would be little peace for early Christians. The thought of Jesus’ return was a comfort and assurance for them.

Fortunately the way for twenty-first century Christians to show we believe in the promised arrival is to continue in the faith – grow in sanctification, study scriptures, pray, be part of a good fellowship, tell the good news to those around us; these are just the things Jesus told his disciples to do when he left.

Future Focus

When looking ahead as a group, Psalm 90 is a refreshing resource to use for prayer or a group devotion.

For a prayer time, hand out a copy of the words (with verse numbers) and have each person read one verse, going around the room until finished. Then read the following quote from the ESV study Bible:

“This psalm stresses time and how it passes, as can be seen from the various time words throughout (days, years, eternal, in all generations, everlasting to everlasting, etc.).   The awareness of how short human life is leads to earnest prayer for God’s help, without which his people can accomplish nothing of lasting value (vs 16-17).”

Then add a list of prayer requests that cover upcoming issues and events in the life of your group. For example, type up something like the following:

Let us plead with the LORD for

  • Thankful hearts to proclaim His praises; contrite hearts to confess our sins
  • Keeping his promises to forgive our sins and to work all things together for our good
  • His guidance, power, and favor for what we do as individuals and as a church
  • Understanding for members retiring in next few years to not waste their lives
  • Continued equipping of the saints for God’s service
  • Making our days count for the good of God’s kingdom
  • Jesus returning to find us awake and faithful (vs 13; Matthew 24.45-46)
  • Other items suggested by the psalm

 

For more of a devotion time, replace the ESV quote with questions that cover the time emphasis and God-centeredness of the psalm, e.g.

  • Identify “time” related words in this psalm.
  • How is God’s time different than our time?
  • What are some instructions for not wasting our lives?
  • What is our best option for accomplishing something of lasting value?

 

Psalm 90 A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

[1] Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

[2] Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

[3] You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!”

[4] For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.

[5] You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning:

[6] in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.

[7] For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed.

[8] You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

[9] For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh.

[10] The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

[11] Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?

[12] So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

[13] Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!

[14] Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

[15] Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.

[16] Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.

[17] Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

Law Abiding?

Sitting on the side of the highway waiting to catch speeding drivers, a State Police Officer sees a car puttering along at 22MPH. He thinks to himself, “this driver is just as dangerous as a speeder!”. So he turns on his lights and pulls the driver over.

Approaching the car, he notices that there are five very old ladies inside. The three in the back are wide-eyed and white as ghosts. The driver, obviously confused, says to him “Officer, I don’t understand. I was doing exactly the speed limit! What seems to be the problem?”

“Ma’am” says the officer, “You weren’t speeding but you should know that driving slower than the speed limit can also be a danger to other drivers”.

“Slower than the speed limit? No sir, I was doing the speed limit exactly…twenty-two miles per hour!” the old woman says, a bit proudly.

The State Police Officer, trying to contain a chuckle explains to her that “22” was the route number, not the speed limit. A bit embarassed, the woman grinned and thanked the police officer for pointing out her error.

“But before I let you go Ma’am, I have to ask….Is everyone in this car ok? These women seem awfully shaken and they haven’t uttered a single peep this whole time,” the officer asks.

“Oh, they’ll be alright in a minute officer, we just got off Route 119”.

Two Quotes

Dr. Sinclair Ferguson describes two thoughts in his book , In Christ Alone, that I resonated with immediately. Both are related to the systematic design of all that God has done.

The first is the need to gather input from well-trusted scholars, in addition to studying the scripture for myself. Dr. Ferguson talks of identifying scholars to study and realizing, “As I studied Romans, wrestling with some of its great truths, struggling with some of it tough passages, it became clear that countless feet had walked this way before.” Greater insights are available from greater minds than mine!

The second quote is a comment on the Word but is also about the overall grandeur of its contents. The context is how it every part fits together; the gospel truth of the exchange of Christ’s righteousness for our unrighteousness is

(a) consistent with the justice of God,

(b) consistent with all the teaching of the Old Testament, and

(c) possible only because of God; we contribute nothing.

The quote: “The sheer genius of the divine strategy is simply breathtaking.” Awesome.

Still More Steven Wright

“Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.”

“Hard work pays off in the future, laziness pays off now.”

“I intend to live forever… So far, so good.”

“Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines.”

“If your car could travel at the speed of light, would your headlights work?”

Check out more Steven Wright statements here, here, and here.