Starry Curtain…Not Quite!
Let all that I am praise the Lord.
O Lord my God, how great you are!
….You are robed with honor and majesty.
….You are dressed in a robe of light.
You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens… Psalm 104:1-2 NLT
Sometimes when I am weary or feel like I am getting too repetitive in my opening prayer, or maybe it’s not been an overly great day for some reason, I start off with a Psalm of praise. It’s been one of those days but as I sit to write, these verses, caught my attention.
How often do we think too highly of ourselves? Some of us would never think that we do, but we might be surprised at how frequently we place ourselves above others. We might do it consciously, or we may not even know we’re doing it.
On the way home from Columbus tonight, we were on a six-lane interstate. Part of the way home, in an attempt to get around a couple of semis, I pulled into the fast lane. I admit on this stretch, it is 70 MPH, so I set my cruise at 75. As a got over I got behind someone who was going 70.
There was a knot of traffic and I figured they’d pull into the middle lane once we were past the semis…but they didn’t. I finally pulled into the middle lane myself and moved past them. I never got behind them again, but they stayed in that lane, slowing down other drivers.
Now I’m sure my pride factored into the equation, but I think that the driver of that car was on a bit of a power trip. Numerous vehicles got behind him, I’m sure expecting him to let them pass, but they never did. They were probably thinking a little too highly of themselves in their own little way.
It may be one of humanity’s tendencies but reading these first verses of Psalm 104 quickly puts things in perspective. The second and third lines remind me of hymns we might sing on a Sunday morning in church.
O Lord my God, how great you are!
….You are robed with honor and majesty
But look at the next line. The Amplified Bible says,
[You are the One] who covers Yourself with light as with a garment…
That one made me stop and think. First of all, how would He do that? The New Living Translation puts it like this,
You are dressed in a robe of light.
I really don’t think that involves any bulbs or batteries or extension cords. He who declared in Genesis 1:3, “’Let there be light,’ and there was light” literally enshrouds Himself with Light! How awesome is that!
The last line, at the end of verse 2, simply states,
You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens
After my shower today, I pulled the shower curtain back into place – easy-peasy! There’s not much effort there but stretching out the starry curtain of the heavens?
And it’s just stated like, eh, easy-peasy, it’s just a thing God does…every day…for all the days of time.
Want to hold up traffic by driving slow in the fast lane? Ooooo…how impressive. NOT! See the “little” things God does and stand back in humility and awe!
For Better or Worse…
Praise the Lord, everything he has created,
….everything in all his kingdom.
Let all that I am praise the Lord. Psalm 103:22 NLT
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Yep, that is me and my beautiful bride on June 14, 1986! Thirty-six years ago, I was privileged to say, “I do”, before a gathering of friends and family. Many are still with us, but some have gone on to their eternal reward.
Some things have changed (neither of us has dark hair like that anymore) and while white hair may not be overly welcome, some things have changed for the better. I may not say it as often as I should and I’m sure I should live it more boldly, but I love Karen more today than I did all those years ago!
We have been through many ups and downs together. Some things we probably wish we could forget but many others didn’t last nearly as long as we would have liked. For better or worse… But such is life.
This will be a short one because I’d like to go and be with her as this day is coming to a close.
Lord Jesus, may I truly strive to love Karen as You loved the church. The Apostle Paul urged us to do so. I plead for Your love, Your strength, and Your determination. Amen!
For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. Ephesians 5:25-29 NLT
June 13th, 2022, Mon, 9:01 pm
Getting the “Look” from a Hummer
What a day, Father! You know what is on my heart. You know who needs You in a mighty way in their lives. You are with them, but I would pray that You would give them eyes to see. Amen.
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I recently got to thinking about hummingbirds. We have a feeder hanging in front of the bay window of our dining room. Often as we are eating at the table, when we will see them fly up to eat. “There’s a hummer!”, we’ll say.
One amazing thing that happens every spring is that I’ll be standing at the window and out of the blue a hummingbird, usually a female one, will fly up to the window, stare at me for a bit, and then zoom off. When I see her, I’ll tell Karen, “Hey, it’s time to get the feeder up. I just got that “look” from our hummer!”
You know, it’s the look that says, “Hey, what’s the deal! We’re here, but where’s the feeder? Get with it, man! We’re hungry!”
On the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds website, I read,
Most Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (which are the ones we see at home) spend the winter in Central America, and most get there by flying across the Gulf of Mexico.
That’s a 500-mile journey in one trip! No wonder I get the “look”! They’ve come a long way and need their nourishment!
I found the following information on the American Bird Conservancy’s website.
Hummingbirds have outstanding spatial memory and can remember feeder locations years later. They are also able to keep track of bloom peaks and remember which flowers they’ve visited. This is because a large portion of a hummingbird’s brain is occupied by the hippocampus, an area dedicated to learning and spatial memory.
Some may not agree but I see Divine Creator written all over that!
What else but an almighty, imaginative, loving God could create a bird that weighs less than a nickel, that lays eggs no bigger than a coffee bean., whose wings beat 60 to 80 times per second, and of all things, can fly up to my window, just to let me know, with a look, that she’s ready for lunch!
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
….or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
….or let the fish in the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know
….that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every creature
….and the breath of all mankind.” Job 12:7-10 NIV
June 12th, 2022, Sun, 8:54 pm
Smarty-pants
Father, I would pray for Your guiding hand as we come together this evening. Direct my thoughts in a way that would bring glory to Your name. Amen.
Acts 17:16-23 (<<click here to read the passage)
Growing up many of us knew someone that we would have labeled as a smarty-pants. The term was used to describe a know-it-all, a smart-alack, a show-off. Someone who is described as a smarty-pants…is annoying to engage with and difficult to be around. A smarty-pants has to always be right, and always tries to force others to acknowledge that he is right.*
Soon after the Apostle Paul and his companions began to have a good, positive impact among those in Berea, problematic Jews from Thessalonica came to Berea to stir up trouble, and the believers there sent Paul the Athens, leaving Silas and Timothy to wrap things up.
Paul was certainly no dummy but landing in Athens, he found himself amongst men who would have been considered some of the most learned of his day. Luke the author of Acts inserted a note that states, (It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.) v21 NLT
And because of this, some were put off by what he was saying but others were intrigued and invited him to speak before the big guns of the city’s philosophers at a place called the Areopagus. v22 NIV
After he arrived in Athens, Paul found himself deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city. v16 NLT and as he found himself with this great opportunity before him, he addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. vs22-23 NLT
The Life Application Study Bible’s note on verse 23 states,
Paul explained the one true God to these educated men of Athens; although these men were, in general, very religious, they did not know God. Today we have a “Christian” society, but to most people, God is still unknown. We need to proclaim who he is and make clear what he did for everyone through his Son, Jesus Christ. We cannot assume that even religious people around us truly know Jesus or understand the importance of faith in him.
There may be “Christians” all around us, but how many are so in name only. In reality, church attendance and supporting those churches with money and energy – even saying they believe in Jesus – don’t add up to a hill of beans if those actions and beliefs are not accompanied by a relationship with Him.
The smarty-pants in Athens (and maybe even some we know personally) may have thought they were always right, and always tried to force others to acknowledge that they were right, but they cannot escape having to accept or deny the reality of who Jesus was…and is still today.
May our heart’s goal be to patiently, lovingly point out the importance of personally knowing Jesus. And may we diligently strive to be a living example of what it means to do so. Lord Jesus, help us. Amen.
*Grammarist: Smarty-pants and smarty-boots
June 9th, 2022, Thurs, 9:04 pm
Seek Out the Truth
Thank You, Father, for a productive day. Now we can move forward with our summer break! May we be wise stewards of the time and resources given to us by Your gracious hand. Amen.
Acts 17:10-15 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of the most dangerous places to be is under the leadership of a pastor that takes offense at anyone questioning him. I have read too many horror stories of individuals who have submitted to such “authority” because of falsely aligned submission and obligation.
Most certainly a pastor is in the right to hold firmly to his beliefs and convictions but a true and authentic messenger of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ must serve in humility as He did. And he must willingly withstand the scrutiny of his teachings when held up against the truth of God’s word.
If said pastor questions the mindset, then they would do well to read through this passage which finds Paul and Silas finding a receptive cross-section of the Jews and Greeks in Berea. They were open-minded and listened eagerly to Paul’s message.
But here’s the clincher, we see at the end of verse 11, that these new believers …searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. NLT
Did Paul and Silas get defensive? Nope. Did they try to expel anyone for questioning them? Nope. They diligently continued to teach and because they let the wise Bereans affirm to themselves through God’s own words that they spoke the truth many of them became believers… v12a AMP
If you hear something you’ve never heard or a spin on something that goes against the grain of what you have been taught, check it out, scrutinize it, and don’t just blindly accept whatever is being espoused as truth. It may be the truth but be diligent in holding it up to God’s word and with prayer see what God has to say. Seek out the truth!
Lord Jesus, may we through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives be able to clearly decern what is truth and what is divergent from said truth. No man or woman is perfect, we all can err. May we willingly submit to You and only You. For only You are the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through You! Amen. (John 14:6 AMP)
June 8th, 2022, Wed, 8:18 pm