Psalm 18
Have you seen the 1996 film Jerry Maguire? There’s a scene from that film that had most women swooning and most men rolling their eyes. It’s where the character played by Tom Cruise looks at his estranged wife, played by Renee Zellweger, and tearfully says, “You…complete…me.” That’s what I thought about when I read today’s psalm in The Message. It rendered verse 20 this way: “God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him.”
Psalm 16
This is a Stop the presses! sort of blog title. The kind of thing that makes you think, Did I read that right? For I bet you’ve heard a lot of things about God, but I’m sure there are many of you who have never heard God described as a pleasure-seeker. In fact, in many circles, it might be an abomination to put the words God and pleasure together in the same sentence!
Psalm 15
In English, when we say that somebody is “above board,” it means that they deal completely honestly and fairly with others. Ironically, its origins are from the gambling world: In a card game, if a person put their hand “below the board” (sideboard was a common word for table), it was easier for them to cheat. Keeping their hand “above board” ruled out the option of dishonesty.
Psalm 14
Well, David isn’t so sympathetic to the atheist position, here: “Only fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!” (vs 1) This is a little counter-cultural in our day and age. We believe that people don’t have to believe in God to be good (just be good for goodness sake). We believe in the more refined notion of tolerance for different opinions on this and many other topics.
Psalm 13
After I got pregnant the first time, my husband bought a T-shirt that epitomizes the kind of father he hoped to be (and that I can report he is—most of the time). On the background of this shirt is the same bit of dialogue repeated over and over:
“Are we there yet? . . . No.”
“Are we there yet? . . . No.”
Psalm 12
In this psalm, David compares the evil person (who employs flattery and deception) with God (whose speech is pure like gold). It seems that everywhere David looks, all he sees is deception: “Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts.” (vs 2)
Psalm 11
I imagine there have been many eras throughout history when it looked like the world was on the edge of collapse and disaster… only to have peace arrive and quiet things down once again. So, this era may be no different, but when I watch the news or read the newspaper, it’s easy to believe that the world is hurtling ever closer to a total, chaotic meltdown. And when Earth’s final events begin to take place, the Bible says that God’s friends will be in the crosshairs.
Psalm 10
Right off the bat, I’m going to have to ask you to forgive me for today’s blog. As an author, I usually don’t like to write about something unless I’ve mulled it over long enough in my mind to be able to write about it as if it were a little package all tied up with a bow. But today’s psalm has sent my mind off in a somewhat-new direction, so what I will write about today may be more like musing out loud. I’ll try not to babble.
Psalm 9
For many years now, one of my favorite television programs has been Judge Judy. But it is often sad to see the steady parade of young people (usually girls) who have found themselves in a tight spot because they were taken advantage of. When Judge Judy asks them why they were stupid enough to do whatever it was they did (loan money, co-sign for a car, etc.), the answer invariably is, “Because I trusted him, Your Honor.”
Psalm 8
This has always been one of my most favorite psalms, especially this part: “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens... When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (vs 1, 3-4)
Psalm 7
In this chapter of Psalms, God sounds a warning through David: Beware of sin. It always backfires and injures the one who engages in it. Here’s how David put it: “An evil person is like a woman about to give birth to a hateful, deceitful, and rebellious child. Such people dig a deep hole, then fall in it themselves. The trouble they cause comes back on them, and their heads are crushed by their own evil deeds.” (vs 14-16)
Psalm 6
A few years ago, my husband read a book called Why Men Hate Going to Church by David Murrow. Out of the many things he told me about the book, the one thing that has stuck with me is that a lot of men are a bit uncomfortable with all the “relationship” imagery the church uses when it comes to God—especially referring to God as a Lover. And I will agree that much of church (and church language) has become “feminized.” Here’s one example from Murrow’s book:
Psalm 5
A friend of mine recently posted a video on Facebook about the potential collapse of the American economic system (and, presumably, the eventual collapse of the global economic system as well). The video talked about how, once the dollar collapses, food and energy prices will skyrocket—leading to starvation, desperation, riots, looting, and violence. The creator of the video hypothesized that, at that point, martial law will be attempted but will fail, as the soldiers will realize that they need to protect their own families from the growing masses of angry, out-of-control people.
Psalm 4
Several years ago, I used to edit and produce a monthly newsletter for Canadian business people who were trying to either get rich or stay rich. It was an interesting job, to say the least. On the average, I edited articles from, roughly, 30 “experts” in various fields of business. I learned a lot about investing, marketing, and real estate. But, in all time time I produced that newsletter, I was never tempted to drop everything and run after the wealth. Maybe you could say I’m lazy. (I know that’s what at least four of those “experts” would have said!) Or maybe you could say that I just have different priorities in life.
Psalm 3
I can’t imagine writing a song when I was running away from my child. That’s what this is—a psalm David wrote as he was fleeing from his son. Absalom was trying to kill him so he could take over the kingdom. Apparently, however, even while he was on the run, David wasn’t losing sleep: “I can lie down and go to sleep, and I will wake up again, because the Lord gives me strength. Thousands of troops may surround me, but I am not afraid.” (vs 5-6)
Psalm 2
Once again, two types of people are contrasted in this psalm—those who submit to the Lord’s authority and those who do not. The ones who do not are those who have come to believe that submission to God is akin to slavery: “‘Let us break their chains,’ they cry, ’and free ourselves from slavery to God.’” (vs 3)
Psalm 1
Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers. (vs 1)
If there is one thing to know about God, it is that He goes on forever. He’s always on the move, onto bigger heights and deeper depths. He is always seeking to tell us more, to show us more, and to give us more. His love for us never sleeps, and His care for the entire universe is never idle. God is a mover. (As further evidence of this, scientists have discovered that the universe itself is constantly expanding. And not only is it expanding, but it is expanding at an ever-increasing speed.)
Job 42
After having gone through the book of Job, chapter by chapter, with a fine-tooth comb, I find that I love this final chapter now more than ever before. I used to love it for the fact that God exonerated Job and put Job’s friends in their place when He said, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has” (vs 7), but I see so much more in this chapter now than I did previously. I guess that’s because God is always wanting to show us more! And that’s the picture of Him I saw here.
Job 41
Most people believe that Job got to the end of his life without ever understanding why he went through all that he did. They don’t believe God gave His friend any explanation for his sufferings. I disagree. I think God’s explanation to Job is contained in this chapter, and it’s stunning, considering that a general knowledge of Satan didn’t enter Israelite thinking until close to the end of the Old Testament time period.
