Seas Have a Voice

Seas Have a Voice

October 9, 2017

Psalm 93:3 "The seas have lifted up, Lord, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves."

Many of the Psalms were written to music, as in a ballad or celebration to what is going on in the psalmist's heart and life. Psalm 93 is a short, five verse song, comparing the Lord's magnitude and strength to that of the ocean. The psalmist sings that the seas have a voice, with their dangerous and pounding waves, declare how magnanimous is the Lord of Heaven. It is not known if this is the psalmist writing and singing from the safety of the shoreline, being afraid of the stormy ocean, or if this was written from a death defying experience on the open waters. Maybe this is a storm in the psalmist's heart and the ocean is an allegory for his problems that cannot be controlled or harnessed. Whatever the case may be, any of the above mentioned scenarios hold true. The ocean is vast and powerful, dangerous, but the Lord is bigger than it all and the ocean declares it so.

The psalmist may have written it to encourage his heart, reminding him no matter how big the situation, how powerful or scary or dangerous, the Lord is bigger and mightier than it all. The Lord made that which is feared, and the psalmist was suggesting one need have more respect for the Lord than the pounding waves, or dangerous situation. The pounding ocean waves, representing a formidable scenario to a weak human being, declared the Lord's greatness. Simply stated, the potential problem declared how strong the Lord was and is and will be in our lives. The psalmist wrote these words to encourage himself, to sing the words that lifted the Lord up above the scary scenario. If the psalmist wasn't afraid of the situation, he would not have used the words "pounding waves," "thunder of the great waters," and "breakers of the sea."

He writes that the Lord is above it all, stronger and mightier, secure enough to not be rocked by the pounding breakers. In the last verse he determines that the Lord is steadfast, resolute and unchanging. He was declaring the Lord, no many how many scary situations arise, the Lord will be bigger than all of them, for all eternity. You would not know how big your God is without a big and scary situation needing overcome. There are a million scenarios right now in this world to be feared: earthquakes, floods, terrorists, and rogue gunman, bill collectors, doctor reports, and loneliness. The Lord is bigger than them all, resolute and unchanging, mightier than whatever situation you fear right now. 

Whatever you are fearing, the Lord is bigger. It is the Lord you should fear, not your situation. He can calm the waters, move the mountains, heal the sick, and pay any debt. Make sure you are right with the one who can overcome your breaking waves. They will not overtake you.

Don't take my word for it; look it up: Psalm 93, Psalm 111:10, Mark 4:35-41, 1 Peter 5:7

Get Behind Me

Get Behind Me

October 2, 2017

Matthew 16:23 "Jesus turned and said to Peter, '"Get behind me, Satan!'

Jesus called Peter a bad name; He called him Satan. Peter and Jesus had many famous conversations; usually with Peter arguing with the Lord. On one night the two had a dynamic exchange in which Jesus suggested Peter was either being controlled by Satan or possessed by Satan or was Satan, himself. Peter was trying to convince Jesus that the idea of Jesus being put to death should and would not happen. Of course Jesus knew it had to happen, but Peter thought surely there would be a way for Jesus to escape death, to which Jesus replied, "Get behind me, Satan." These seemingly aggressive words were actually directed at Peter, not Satan. Yes, Jesus was calling Peter, Satan, sort of.

The quote must be reviewed in full context. Just prior to the harsh discourse, Jesus asked the disciples if they truly knew who He was. Peter answered that He was the Christ. Jesus was thrilled with Peter's answer because it had not yet been revealed that Jesus was the Christ. Peter was the first to figure it out, the real identity of Jesus. Jesus was proud of Peter's personal revelation; it showed he was paying attention and was sensitive to the Lord's work.  Peter declared that Jesus was the Savior, and Jesus was impressed, commending that Peter was truly a critical man in the Lord's plan. Then Jesus went on to explain as the Christ, He had to suffer and die, to fulfill all that was written about Him.  This is where Peter argued and suggested there was another way. Then Jesus got slightly aggressive, and called him Satan. I bet Peter was shocked.

The word that Jesus called Peter was not actually the same name that is given to Satan, although it translates to that in our modern text. Peter was not possessed by Satan and Jesus was not speaking to Satan; Satan was not in the room. The word Satan means adversary, or one who opposes as the enemy, specifically opposed to the work of redemption. Jesus used a word that was a diminutive of Satan when He used it against Peter. It was as if Jesus was adding the letters "ish" or "esque" to the name of Satan when He used it in context. Jesus was referring to Peter's words as something that would sound like they were coming from Satan. Jesus wanted to get Peter's attention, to understand the words Peter was suggesting were actually opposed to the redemptive work of the Christ through His death. If Peter was right, and Jesus did not suffer death on the cross, there would be no redemption, no salvation of sins. Peter had declared Jesus was the Christ but if the Christ did not die for the sins of mankind, then Salvation could not be attained. If this happened, then Satan would have won. Jesus was telling Peter that his human thoughts and reasoning would have opposed the plan of salvation just as much as Satan opposes it.

Jesus was not calling Peter, Satan, but referring to the opposition as something in favor of Satan and siding with the enemy. Jesus was nipping it in the bud, refuting the thought rather aggressively, to make sure the reasoning did not spread or continue. We must ensure our ideas do not get imposed upon the work the Lord is trying to accomplish. We must make certain not to cross the line and enter human reasoning into the equation, rather always seeking the Lord's design for it all, even if it includes death. The Lord's design for our lives, His plan to use you, may not make sense but to deny it would be akin to siding with the enemy, being like-minded with Satan.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Matthew 16:13-28

A Good Break

A Good Break

September 25, 2017

Genesis 2:3  "The God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done."

On the seventh day He rested. The story of creation is easy to remember. Sure, we may forget the exact order in which He created things during those six days, but everyone remembers He created everything during the course of six days and on the seventh day He rested. The seventh day, as we call the Sabbath, was the the first example we were told to follow. The Lord's first act as a Heavenly Father was to demonstrate rest. Not only did the Lord demonstrate rest, but He demonstrated a rhythm to the rest, an actual schedule. There is far more to that rest, though, than many people realize.

As the Lord decided to rest on the seventh day, it became set apart. Anything in the Bible referred to as set apart meant that it was Holy. The Bible specifically calls the seventh day, a day of rest, Holy. Recount the story again. The Lord created the sun, the earth, the animals, and mankind but none of them ever received the description of Holy. In fact, it wasn't an actual thing that was called Holy, it was the act of resting on a schedule, because the Lord rested, that was called Holy. If you re-read all the creation details, after every day of creating, the Lord reviewed His handiwork and called it, "good." The act of creating and the things that He created were good, but the act of rest became Holy. This demonstrates the importance the Lord wanted to place on a scheduled day of rest.

The Lord never told us to create, like He did, but the Lord told us to rest like He did. Ironically, we attempt to create every day, but seldom to we actually rest on schedule, maintaining complete holiness. We work, six days, and then some more, many times doing good works. Most of the time, the work that we do is Christ-centered, well intended and even on behalf of our fellow man, but the Lord says despite it goodness, it isn't Holy. Resting on the seventh day is Holy.

Just as we do acts of kindness for our fellow man, even on behalf of the Lord, we rest on schedule, even from those acts of kindness, to be Holy. We do good works, that is required, but the good works are not Holy, despite the righteous intentions. Resting on the Sabbath, however, that is Holy. The Lord set this up. He goes even further to make sure that the Sabbath is blessed. Not only was it emulated by the Lord, required of us, and Holy, but it is also Blessed. I'm not sure how you can bless a schedule of time, but the Lord declared it so. The Lord declared that our time of rest is blessed, as in it blesses not only Him but ourselves, when we take a scheduled rest from doing good works. So often we think of our good works as something to bless the Lord, but resting somehow from those good works, on a regular schedule is also blessed. The Lord knew of our propensity to burn ourselves out, even in doing good things. Many times we feel guilty, or even lazy, if we stop doing good works for a short while, but the Lord says it is actually blessed to schedule a break from good works. He even requires it. 

Don't take my word for it; look it up: Gen 1, Ex 20:11, Eph 2:10, Phil 2:13