Episodes
Sunday Aug 31, 2014
Psalms of Lament... for when life hurts.
Sunday Aug 31, 2014
Sunday Aug 31, 2014
We’ve heard it said, “God is good all the time. All the time, God is good.”
Is He?
What about when our life experiences collide with our faith in a way that is seemingly contradictory to that declaration?
Disappointment. Disaster. Loss. Pain. Rejection. Suffering. Death.
What happens then? How do we process through those things, when it seems our faith in God & belief in Him is confronted with the tough stuff?
For thousands of years, God’s people have been using the book of Psalms as a ‘songbook’ for life – meaning, they actually sang & declared the Psalms in both obedience to God, and as a way of working through life circumstances beyond their understanding.
The book of Psalms in the Bible is made up of 150 chapters written by King David, Solomon, a poet named Asaph, & a musical group called, “The Sons of Korah.” In bible days, Psalms was a was 5 songbooks included in one volume. Here are some examples of the themes of the Psalms:
- Psalms of Thanksgiving – acknowledging God’s character, goodness, & provision
- Psalms of Lament – 68 Psalms dedicated to crying out to God in times of great suffering, loss, abandonment & death
- Psalms of Ascent 120-134 (to be sung as Jewish pilgrims returned to Jerusalem during the 3 main annual feasts)
- Psalms for public worship (tied to specific festivals & celebrations)
- Psalms for celebrating wisdom/God’s law
The Psalms of Lament provided an avenue for processing through “life’s DOWNs” – the language in them is often negative, questioning God, wondering where He is & why He’s (seemingly) not acting on the behalf of His people.
Personally, I have found that praying the Psalms has been very helpful to me in working through life’s junk – & they have been a springboard to prayer: real, honest, yelling at the heavens prayer. And the great thing is, God can take anything we dish out - & still be RIGHT there with us, supporting, sustaining, & carrying us through the “valley of the shadow of death” to the other side.
Sunday Aug 24, 2014
Entering God's Rest(oration): SABBATH REST
Sunday Aug 24, 2014
Sunday Aug 24, 2014
It’s easy for us to get caught up in the 24/7 “busyness routine” that is the ‘normal’ for the world we live in, where our schedules are jam-packed, & where our identities are defined by DOING (our work, education, activities, recreation, etc.) … And even when we’re not actively busy, our version of ‘rest’ is done at a hectic pace.
As I’ve been studying for our “Entering God’s Rest” series, I keep going back to the first time “REST” is mentioned in the Bible. It’s in Genesis 2:1-3, & it happens right after God has finished with the creation of the earth & everything living in it. It says:
The heavens & the earth were finished, & all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished His work that He had done, & He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. So God blessed the seventh day & made it holy…
Makes me wonder: WHY did God rest?
I don’t think that it was because He was tired… rather, I believe God intentionally included REST as a part of the creation process because of His desire to establish REST as an integral part of the rhythm of life. Later, in the Ten Commandments, God declared that His people would celebrate the Sabbath, a.k.a. “holy time,” as a reminder of what He did & of our need for ceasing from our labors (see Exodus 20:8-11).
Today we’re going to explore Sabbath Rest & learn more of the WHY’s & HOW’s of entering the rest that God intends for His people.
Blessings, grace, peace & REST to you -
Sunday Aug 17, 2014
Entering God's Rest(oration): COME TO ME
Sunday Aug 17, 2014
Sunday Aug 17, 2014
As you read through the Gospels, you’ll see that Jesus’ interactions
with others are very interesting. His dealings with those of bad
reputation (sinners & tax-collectors) wasn’t focused on His pointing
out their failures or centered on the things they needed to do to
become acceptable to Him & God. Rather, the message He communicated
was repentance (turning from sin & a wrong way of thinking, & turning to
God & His way of thinking.) And rather than wait for them to get
their act together, He emphasized relationship, living out the fact that
He truly is Immanu’El, God with us, by entering their homes, eating
meals, & spending time with them. It would be really difficult
(& wrong) to portray Jesus (& God the Father) as cold &
distant, only concerned with whether people were carefully keeping the
list of “don’t do’s.”
Contrast that with Christ’s interactions with the religious leaders
(Pharisees) & the teachers of the law (those who helped explain
Torah to people.) His harshest rebukes were aimed at these 2 groups,
precisely because, instead of accurately portraying God’s heart for
people & His mercy & grace, they made it tremendously MORE
difficult for people to come to God, leaving them weighed down with
countless rules & regulations (Check out Luke 11:37-53 for one example.)
Jesus’ heart for people is illustrated in this invitation: “Come to Me, all of you who are weary & carry heavy burdens, & I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble &
gentle at heart, & you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is
easy to bear, & the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, NLT)
Coming to Christ isn’t a burden – it’s the LIFTING of
our burdens. Coming to Him, & walking with Him brings rest to the
deepest part of our hearts & souls, & allows us to live in
freedom & to be becoming the very best version of ourselves.
My hope for this week is that we will continue to discover the rest that comes from being with Jesus, & the soul-filling joy that comes from living our lives with Him.
Sunday Aug 10, 2014
Entering God's Rest(oration): EXPECTATION
Sunday Aug 10, 2014
Sunday Aug 10, 2014
Turning 13 for a Hebrew boy was a big deal – it was the official
recognition that the boy was now a man – they even had a special
ceremony to commemorate it: the Bar-Mitzvah, which means, “the son of the commandments”. (Girls had a similar ceremony at age 12 - the Bat-Mitzvah, which means, "the daughter of the commandments.") This reminds me of passage in Ephesians 4 where Paul shares the expectation
that every Christ-follower is to GROW from spiritual infancy (beginning
our relationship with God) to full spiritual maturity using the life of
Jesus Christ as our example & our aim for our own lives. (See Ephesians 4:11-16)
Jesus came in the flesh & grew from a baby to maturity, both
physical & spiritual. He did this not by playing the proverbial “God
Card,” but in the same way we are challenged to do it: through
meditating on & obeying God’s Word; through putting it into
practice; & through developing endurance as a result of it. (NOTE:
the Greek word used for maturity is usually translated “perfect” or
“perfection” in English; using the Biblical context as our source, it
would be better understood to say “to come to full
maturity/completion”).
The expectation is that each Christ-follower will do
the same – come to know Christ as Savior & Lord, grow in wisdom,
understanding, & Christ-likeness, & develop to full-maturity.
Like Christ.
In Hebrews 5, the writers correct their readers –
confronting them, in love, because, though they should be growing toward
maturity in Christ, instead they were still living as babies, surviving
on milk alone, not solid food, frozen in an unchanging state of
development. The writers encourage, challenge, & communicate their expectation
that they will GROW – starting with the basics, & then moving
toward adding to their application of God’s Word & their depth of
relationship with Him.
I feel challenged by this – to ask the Holy Spirit to point out where
I’ve gotten stuck in my development, where I’m functioning in veritable
spiritual infancy - & to lead me towards the goal: being like Christ
in every way.
NOTE: Lisa Rivera tells her story at approx. Minute 32:45 of this podcast.
Sunday Aug 03, 2014
Entering God's Rest(oration)
Sunday Aug 03, 2014
Sunday Aug 03, 2014
Today's passage explores Hebrews 3 & 4.