Out of the Depths I Cry to You, O Lord

Posted on June 14, 2012 by richrockwood

Try to imagine you are the one who wrote these words:

Psalm 130 NRSV

1   Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.
2       Lord, hear my voice!
     Let your ears be attentive
          to the voice of my supplications!

It might have been you, because no one knows who to credit with these words.  It wasn’t you because they were written a long time ago.  Some scholars think they were written either during the Jewish exile in Babylon or shortly afterward.  The poet used a powerful image.  Back in those days, holes were dug to reach water and after the level had gone down they were sometimes used for storage or as prisons.  The prophet Jeremiah was thrown into one of those holes and no doubt did some crying out to the Lord for help.

Unfortunately, many of us can relate to the sentiment.  We feel at times we’re in over our heads.  It might be our job.  It might be our significant relationship.  It might be financial.   It might feel like there is no point in crying out for help.  No one will hear us.

As he cries out he (or she) is thinking of the nature of God, that God is merciful, that God is attentive to his situation, that God will act.  At the end of the writing, he positions himself to wait until he sees the Lord’s reaction to his pleas.  He (or she) is confident that God will help.

What assures me in this brief section is that the writer seems to have had some previous experience with God which gives him the confidence to cry out.  He knows his pleas will not go unanswered.    A cry to God qualifies as a prayer.

I appreciate such honesty from the contributors to the Bible.  Their honesty helps mine.

 

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The Only Thing that Counts is Faith Working Through Love

Posted on June 13, 2012 by richrockwood

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.  (Galatians 5:6 NRSV)

I have had pride over some of my accomplishments in the past.  I was in the first graduating class from the newest state college at the time.  I completed a Masters of Divinity Degree and served a congregation in upstate New York for nineteen years.  I served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War.  I am a published author.

It is quite natural to feel successful because of these accomplishments, but in terms of my relationship with God, these are not the things that matter.  The Apostle Paul in writing to the believers in Galatia was pointing out that pride in religious observances was not what counted under the terms and conditions of the Gospel.  The Gospel had come to them in simple terms (love one another) and conditions (faith in Christ’s victory over sin).

I was struck by the utter simplicity of Paul’s words this morning.  The only thing that counts with God is faith working through love:  His love for me and my love for others.    And I note that His love for me was not based on my love and obedience to His will.  Similarly, my love for others can not be based on their love and doing what I want them to do.   Faith is the vital ingredient.

The picture of living in faith through love to me is like someone who orients his sails so his vessel moves forward at maximum speed.  The movement comes from the wind and not human propulsion.

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An Oracle Within My Heart

Posted on June 12, 2012 by richrockwood

“An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked…” (Psalm 36:1 NIV)

The term “oracle” takes us back to ancient times and temples.  Then an oracle was a person or place which was thought to have wisdom for seekers.  There was the well-known Oracle at Delphi  in the southwestern projection of Mount Pernassus in Greece.  In Israel  an oracle was thought to be a communication from God.  As such it could also be considered a prophecy.

In this oracle the sinfulness of the wicked is contrasted with the righteousness of God.  David senses in his heart the message that evil has nothing to offer while God’s righteousness is vigorous, gratifying, and life-giving.  These words certainly qualify as wisdom for any seeker.

As beneficial as this oracle is, I am more impressed with the notion that in our heart, we too can hear oracles from God: intimate, stretching and soothing.

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My Life is Passing Like a Shadow

Posted on June 10, 2012 by richrockwood

“For who knows what is good for mortals while they live the few days of their vain life, which they pass like a shadow? For who can tell them what will be after them under the sun?” Ecclesiastes 6:12 (NRSV)

The older I become the more life seems to be flying by.  I tried to slow it down by breaking my routine, but that only left me disorganized.  I keep a journal so I can re-live events and accurately remember them, but the days still zoom past.  I start off each week fresh from my experience of worship and fellowship on Sunday.  Then I have my regular morning breakfast meetings, a few other meetings, Friday Date Night with my wife.  The next thing I know maybe two weeks have passed.  The activities I was anticipating or dreading are well down the river of time with all feelings I had about them gone as well.

Solomon is right.  My life is but a few days which pass like a shadow.  A shadow has no real substance and moves as fast as the object it is shadowing.  An airplane’s shadow can pass overhead and be gone in mere seconds.

Fortunately I know what is good for me during my fleeting life…following God’s path.  I first traveled a strange road to a cross with Him, and now as I face dark places like a tear in a relationship, I remember that where there is a shadow, there is also a light.

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Spring Cleaning of the Heart

Posted on June 9, 2012 by richrockwood

I know I have to do it each year, but sometimes I don’t.  I know I should do a more thorough cleaning than normal each Spring to get ready for summer.  Either with open windows or the ac running, the last thing I need is a dust storm inside my house.

My back can feel it when I move the furniture, but having it clean in all the hidden places pays off way past the happy finish of strain.

I sensed a prompting of the Spirit this morning to take a look at my heart as I read these words Matthew 15:8 ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;” (NRSV)  What is the condition of my heart today?  Am I harboring any resentments, anxieties or fears?  Has my precious faith been covered with dust from lack of use?  Am I trusting God with every area of my life?

Today I am going to let the Holy Spirit vacuum out all worries, doubts, and sins so my faith in God will be in good working order.   He does the strain and I get the gain.

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Stress Relief in God

Posted on June 7, 2012 by richrockwood

I met with a friend of mine for breakfast this morning.  When I asked “how are you doing?” his answer was “I’m under a lot of stress lately.”  He and I then talked about some unhealthy ways people use to relieve the stress in their lives.

I told him of a technique I use when I need an escape.  I sit in front of a painting I purchased several years ago which shows a man in a boat looking to the background where there are clouds overhead but a shaft of light breaking through.  He is sitting there with his oars out of the water.  I like to sit in front of the painting and imagine that I am that man looking to the light in the midst of confusion with all my controls at rest.  This is a good reminder that I am not really in control and therefore I should and can allow God to move me where He wills.

This thought was affirmed in my reading this morning from Psalm 81, verse 10:  “I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.”

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True Confessions of a Closet Perfectionist

Posted on June 6, 2012 by richrockwood

“For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:19-21 NRSV)

I have a confession to make.  I am a closet perfectionist.  I get a great deal of joy doing things exactly the way they were meant to be done.  I prefer cleaning the table and doing the dishes right after I have eaten.   I feel good when I have a neat desk.  I love writing something which is both accurate and delightful.  Why?  I was raised always to do the best.   I think mom and the church might have only said “do the best you can,” but I heard only”be the best.”  I needed to be the best at everything.

I used to play ping-pong at the YMCA with three older men.  They were content to just hit the ball back and forth, but not me.  I had to keep score and I wanted always to win.   The odd thing was, I would be so focused I wouldn’t enjoy the game and many times would lose anyway.

I think the Apostle Paul might have been like me a little bit also.  In Philippians 3:5-6 Paul lists all his accomplishments before he “saw the light.”  His perfectionism at that time could be seen by all the other religious leaders.

But then his eyes were opened to the truth.  God is not impressed by perfectionism.  In fact, Paul wrote to the Galatians that by trying to be perfect in the observance of the Laws of Moses, he finally realized it was hopelessly impossible.  And that truth opened him to the wonderful experience of feeling Christ living within Him.  When he finally realized his perfectionism got him nowhere with God, a flood of grace came in.   He was reborn without the perfectionism gene.

May it be for you and for me this day and from now on.

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Planning for the Unimaginable

Posted on June 5, 2012 by richrockwood

One of my readings this morning reminded me of a thought I had a day or two after my wife died unexpectedly:  “When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.” (Psalm 146:4 NRSV).  She and I had made plans for my retirement.  She was already retired.  We had just figured out where we wanted to live after I retired in another year.  Then while playing Bridge one morning, she died suddenly because of a ruptured brain aneurysm.  That day all our plans perished too.

I had always feared something like that would happen to me.  For years I would tell my wife if ever she was going to be later than expected to please call me, because I am a worrier.   Fortunately, I had decided years earlier that there was no way I could protect her from the inevitable.  Since I had no control over that, the only thing I did have control over was making sure she knew I loved her.

On that morning, I saw her getting ready to leave from across the parking lot and I could have just waved good-bye.  I didn’t.  Instead I walked over to the car and waited while she rolled down the window.  Then I leaned in and said “I love you” and kissed her.

A popular singer has these lyrics in a song: “shower the people with love that you love, show them the way that you feel.”  There is no way to plan for the death of a loved one, but there is a way to make sure they know how you feel.  Tell them.

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I Love Your Church, Lord

Posted on June 4, 2012 by richrockwood

I thought of church when I read this scripture today:  “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by.” (Psalm 57:1 NRSV)

I thought of the thousands of worship services I have seen and heard over the years, the countless messages and songs I have sung connecting me to the Creator.  I thought of the hundreds of churches where I felt the comfort of refuge while in them.  I thought how all this was freely given without any admission fee.

What price can be put on the Lord’s places of refuge?  What value can I place on the heart-filling comfort I have felt in them?  How can I say thanks for the thousands of smiling people who warmly greeted me on a Sunday morning?

Today this verse calls me to be thankful for all the places my soul has found refuge.

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God is Not Easy to Understand, Still

Posted on June 3, 2012 by richrockwood

“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:  ‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?  Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me.  Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.'” (Job 31:1-4 NRSV)

After Job has exhausted all arguments about why he was suffering such painful things, God finally shows up.  He then asks Job a series of questions about life.  Job, of course, is speechless.  He really does not comprehend much at all.  Yet, at the end of the story he has a new, deeper respect and appreciation for God’s care.

In Psalm 103, King David blesses God because:    The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. (Psalm 103: 8 NRSV).  This explosion of praise probably springs from David’s personal experiences with God.  He cannot fully account for God’s mercy, he can only experience it.

God’s ways are beyond understanding.  In difficult times, we are asked to trust and do our best to praise Him.  In happy times, it is easy to praise Him although we sometimes forget to do so.  In either case we cannot understand God, but we can always praise Him and trust Him.  He is always in control and always merciful and gracious toward his creatures…you and me.

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