Saturday, June 27, 2020

strong enough hope

Psalm 116 
I love the Lord because he heard my plea for mercy, and listened to me. 
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. 
The ropes of death tightened around me, the snares of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted with trouble and sorrow.  
I called on the name of the Lord,“Please Lord, rescue my life!” 
The Lord is merciful and fair; our God is compassionate. 
The Lord protects the untrained; I was in serious trouble and he delivered me. 
Rest once more, my soul, for the Lord has vindicated you. 
Yes, Lord, you rescued my life from death, kept my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling. 
I will serve the Lord in the land of the living. 
I had faith when I said,“I am severely oppressed.”  
I rashly declared, “All men are liars.” 
How can I repay the Lord for all his acts of kindness to me? 
I will celebrate my deliverance, and call on the name of the Lord. 
I will fulfill my vows to the Lord before all his people. 
The Lord values the lives of his faithful followers. 
Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;I am your servant, the son of your female servant. 
You saved me from death.  
I will present a thank offering to you, and call on the name of the Lord. 
I will fulfill my vows to the Lord before all his people, in the courts of the Lord’s temple, in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord! ©NET

I've been reading Psalm 116 this week. Over and over. Like, when you hear a new song and immediately want to listen again. Or, when you find one you haven't listened to in awhile, and then you play it over and over because there's more to learn or more to feel.

Spurgeon calls it a Paschal song, but my recent personal experience doesn't match the Passover. Sure, my firstborn son is living and well, but the blood spilled wasn't from a lamb. The ropes of death tightened, the snares of Sheol confronted, and God continues to reveal compassion.

This psalm is passionate and powerful; a reflection of God's goodness during suffering. I can claim God's mercy, fairness and protection. I can proclaim God's redemption. But, I wasn't enslaved. That's where the Paschal history transforms into hope for the future. Jacob's children spent 400 years in Egypt as slaves. Severely oppressed.

"How can I repay the Lord for all his acts of kindness to me?" The Psalmist asks a question that resonates with our American 2020 reality. Like the psalmist, I will celebrate deliverance and call on the Lord's name and fulfill my vows. Sacrifices for my oppressed neighbor, my sisters and brothers in Christ. I will value the lives of faithful followers because GOD does. I will thank the Lord and love well.

There is beauty in this ancient Israeli song. It's a remembrance in the desert. The power is revealed in deep pain. And the hope is for the faithful.

So, sisters and brothers who are tired, have hope in the LORD. The LORD is our salvation, not a king or even a chosen nation. Serve the LORD in the land of the living. Fulfill your vows. Rejoice, give thanks! There's a strong enough hope for the severely oppressed.
Innocent Lives, by CommonHymnal


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Ephesians 5

Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly loved children and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. But among you there must not be either sexual immorality, impurity of any kind, or greed, as these are not fitting for the saints. Neither should there be vulgar speech, foolish talk, or coarse jesting – all of which are out of character – but rather thanksgiving. For you can be confident of this one thing: that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them, for you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light – for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth – and find out what pleases the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For the things they do in secret are shameful even to mention. But all things being exposed by the light are made evident. For everything made evident is light, and for this reason it says:

“Awake, O sleeper!

Rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you!”

Therefore be very careful how you live – not as unwise but as wise, taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil. For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise by understanding what the Lord’s will is. And do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery, but be filled by the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for each other in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church – he himself being the savior of the body. But as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, so that he may present the church to himself as glorious – not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. In the same way husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one has ever hated his own body but he feeds it and takes care of it, just as Christ also does the church, for we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This mystery is great – but I am actually speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each one of you must also love his own wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

hey guys