See you on the other side.

The Stand in the Rain staff is on sabbatical!  Please excuse the temporary inconvenience.

In the meantime, the daily articles can be found by clicking the date below...

Thursday, June 30

Friday, July 1

Saturday, July 2

Sunday, July 3

Monday, July 4

Tuesday, July 5

Wednesday, July 6

See you on the other side.

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small change?

The Word for today:
Ezekiel 40:1-47

The chapters of Ezekiel that we now enter present the Bible scholar, commentator, expositor--and the Bible blogger--with some challenging interpretive difficulties.

Well, sometimes you have to be smart to be scared. And since I'm too stupid to be scared by the interpretive challenges of Ezekiel, here goes:

What God wants you to remember is the sparrow. And he wants you to remember your hair!

You are about to encounter one seemingly insignificant detail after another. We've encountered them before, in the ceaseless details concerning the tabernacle, and in name after name on page after page of the genealogical records.

The measurements of the Temple are enumerated with the same specificity. The doors, the chambers, the windows, and the pillars are all precisely described. Why is so much space given in God's great Word to such minutiae?

I think the answer lies in the story of the sparrow. It was said by Jesus that if even a sparrow should fall, God knows about it--because he cares about it.

It was said by Jesus that God knows the precise number of the hairs on your head--which means that if a hair should fall out God knows about it and revises yesterday's total!

Which means that if God were to describe your personal rebuilding, he would, in the most precise detail, lay out every minute detail of every hour of every day. Things that don't even interest you about yourself interest God.

One reason we aren't interested in "the small stuff" is because we call it small. So when we rank the incidents of our lives in the order of their importance, we think of the day we had that successful interview, or the day we failed that big test, or the day we were accepted into a certain college; or the day we got the promotion, or the day we broke up with Susie, or the day Dad died, or the day the towers came down.

But God sees eternal consequences in the left you took in 1989 at the corner of Elm and Spruce, when you thought it might gain you a minute or two. He knows that left put you on 3rd street when, ironically, traffic was stopped for 10 minutes because a garbage truck broke down. Fiddling with the car radio, an old song made you smile when it reminded you of a person who gave you a break long ago. So upon reaching home with a recently softened heart, you didn't--as you had planned--lay into your teenage son (who had been undergoing stresses you had no clue about.)

That you didn't respond in the way you would have responded before the left on Elm which put you on 3rd behind the garbage truck with nothing to do but hit the scan button on your radio until the grace notes of that song popped up--

That you didn't say what you were going to say to a teenage boy whose heart was already in the breakdown lane, unbeknownst to you--

is the factor, God knows, which set off the most consequential eternal reverberations--for both you and your son--of any moment you ever lived.

Now tell me that details don't have consequences, and that the fall of a sparrow is small change.

But looking back on your life, you'll give it nary a thought. Why would anyone remember so trivial a thing as a left on Elm in '89?

***

We are described in the New Testament as Temples of God, because he is present within. The details of your rebirth and growth are no less important to God than the minute details of the reconstruction of the Temple, which we read about today.

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the world is a ?…

(by Pastor Joe)

The Word for today: Ezekiel 39

What in the world is the world?
The band War declared that "the world is a ghetto"
The Smashing Pumpkins said "the world is a vampire"
Shakespeare said "the world is a stage," then he wrote
"the world's mine oyster." (1)

But after reading today's passage, the phrase "the world is a graveyard" comes to mind.
Seven months of burial (v. 14). Even more time to clean up what they missed. That's a lot of undertaking. Despite all their numbers and weaponry, despite all their plans, the hordes of Gog end up as carrion (v. 4) or as ashes (v. 6). Their armaments end up as firewood (v. 9) and they end up in the ground (v. 11)

But come to think of it, that is how the world operates, apart from God. Without God, isn't this true. If there is no life after death, no eternity, then we share the same fate as all these nations.
Without Him, it's as the Apostle Paul cries:
"If the dead are not raised, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.'" (2)

But thank God it does NOT end here. Compare today's passage with what we read a few days ago in Ezekiel 37. In that vision, the prophet Ezekiel certainly thought that it was over for that mass of dry bones, but God showed him that it was just the beginning.

Your world may be full of old dry bones, loss and brokenness, but the message of Jesus Christ is that because of what He has done, we can live again! Jesus came to make dead people live! To his people, He promises restoration and compassion, and even more, His Holy Spirit.

But conversely, your life may have all the bearings of life -- all the comforts and luxuries and apparent meaning -- but without God, you face the same ultimate end as the hordes of Gog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(1) from "As You Like It" and "The Merry Wives of Windsor" respectively
(2) 1 Corinthians 15:32

forget Gog, what about God?

(by Pastor Joe)

The word for today: Ezekiel 38

You want me to talk about what!?!
The End Times!?!
Define Gog and Magog and give two examples?!?

I remember generating some concern in my first few months at this current church when I began a Sunday School class in a rather unorthodox matter. We began a series on the book of Revelation and in order to illustrate my desire that we rely on the Bible rather than external sources, I found all the books & movies I could about the end times (e.g. Left Behind, the Late Great Planet Earth, Apocalypse, etc.) and promptly had them tossed in the garbage bin in order that we might focus on the Bible alone. I did return the books to their rightful place later on, but the very next week, we had a concerned parent sit in and make sure everything was kosher.

I realize that the authors of these above titles have blessed many and brought people into the Kingdom of God. I realize that they may be right in some of their conclusions. What concerns me are some of the consequences when our interpretations and understanding of God's word are limited to the latest interpretation of the author en vogue. What concerns me is when we leave the so called "experts" to read the hard parts of the Bible for us. What concerns me is that we have a generation of believers who are on the lookout for a Romanian Anti-Christ named Nicolae Carpathia.

Oh boy. Here come the end times squad, out to set me straight.

I am sorry to say that I would rather discuss about 1,000 other Bible topics than get dragged into speculation on how to interpret various obscure passages (i.e. Ezekiel 38 & 39) and how they correspond to today's geopolitical climate. Gog & Magog have been interpreted as the Assyrians, or the Scythians (in ancient times) as the Goths or the Khazars (during the dark ages) and as the Russians or Chinese in more recent times.

What a waste of time. There are about 8 billion things I can and should do for Jesus Christ before I try to figure out if all the letters in Vladimir Putin's name add up to 666.

So what about today's passage? What do we know that's not just speculation?

1. This is in the future, for both Ezekiel and us.

Actually, from this chapter on, the remainder of Ezekiel speaks of a time ahead of us. This prophecy speaks concerning the "latter years" (v. 8)

2. A lot of bad people have a lot of bad ideas about what they are going to do to Israel.

All these known and unknown nations gather their weapons (v. 1-6), and share their evil plans (v.10-13) with each other- how to best victimize Israel.

3. God is well aware of the situation & He's got plans of His own.

Remember that God is the one leading these so called powers around by a "hook" in their mouth (v.4). All their might is a joke compared to His jealous anger and blazing wrath. Even the mountains bow according to His set purpose. (v. 17-22)

4. God does all this to make His holiness known in the sight of all nations. (v. 16 & 23)
His mission has never wavered once from day one. Before Adam fell, during the time of the patriarchs, the Exodus, the judges, the monarchy, the captivity. During the days of the prophets, the advent of His Son, Jesus Christ, the time of the church and in all history since, God does all things to "show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD."

Never forget that the above mission statement is much more fundamental to who we are, and what we focus on. Speculation may be fun, but never let it distract you from what is clearly revealed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

paused in Stage Two

The Word for today:
Ezekiel 37

Dry bones.

First of all, we are treated to a little display of God's sense of humor. Just imagine Ezekiel as God says to him, “Prophesy to these bones. Start out by saying, ’O you dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.’”

Well, I think it's funny! What isn't very funny is that this is precisely what God asks teachers and pastors and evangelists and disciples (that would be you) to do. He has commissioned us (Matthew 28:18-20) to bring the Word of the LORD to those who are dead in sins and trespasses (1). When we do, we are bringing to others what brought life to us:
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. (1 Peter 1:23)

***

Scripture communicates on various levels all at once. The vision of the dry bones has a spiritual application (as explained above) and a prophetic interpretation as well.

The prophetic interpretation concerns the nation Israel. The nation which had been lifeless came back to life in 1948--there is now flesh on dem bones.

But they are just bodies. As of today, the nation Israel is not born again. They are in the second stage, described in 37:8:
And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them.

As of today, Israel has returned to the land, but they have not returned to the LORD. Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones, currently in Stage Two, is on 'Pause.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Holy Hero

(written by Vickie)

The Word for today:  Ezekiel 36:16-38

Mark this verse: Ezekiel 36:23 --
"I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes."

Ever need a hero?
Little girls dream of romantic heroes on white horses who sweep in to rescue from impending disaster or the evil machinations of the villain. Little boys dream of heroes too. My sons have introduced me to the world of boy's heroes. These heroes have super powers, impossibly large biceps and perform great feats of bravery, daring, strength and honor.
These heroes rescue the underdogs, the innocent, the needy and weak.

Most of us outgrow these heroes. They become a mismatched remedy to the real life calamities and crises we experience. One of the most obvious reasons we leave them behind is that they are flawed --like us.

Life teaches us that we need more than what we can bring. We need a holy hero, a divine rescue.

The house of Israel had made a mess of things. Going about in the world dragging God's holy name through the muck. In our heroic stories they would make an unlikely people to rescue. They had traded innocence for compliance with evil, giving up faithfulness they made alliances with God's enemies all the while wearing the colors of the Sovereign Lord.

Still, God makes this grand announcement of His rescue:
"I will take you out of the nations..."
"I will gather you back..."
"I will cleanse you..."
"I will give you a new heart..."
"I will put my Spirit in you..."
"I will save you..." (36:24-30)

God makes His motives clear, " It is not for your sake that I do these things, but for the sake of my holy name...(v.22)." God's Kingdom is sure, safe, unsoiled or compromised by the behavior of his rebellious people. He doesn't discard His plan- His Kingdom goes forward. God will reveal Himself though these unlikely ambassadors- to bring His salvation to the world. His rescue is for those undeserving of rescue, for even the one who would slap away the hand of the rescuer.

Jesus Christ completed the "I wills" for all those who trust in His holy name and the Spirit has sealed that work.
Because of His holiness, He is able to save us.
Bless His holy name!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

reading the lay of the land

The Word for today:
Ezekiel 35:1-36:15

mark this: Ezekiel 36:8
But the mountains of Israel will produce heavy crops of fruit to prepare for my people's return – and they will be coming home again soon!

From the very beginning, the physical condition of the land has been tied to the spiritual condition of the people. In the Garden of Eden, when man sinned, the land felt the curse:
And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you. (Genesis 3:17-18)

The people and the land go together.

I worked for a dozen years in the dirty heart of Niagara Falls, NY. If you want to see a literal picture of the fall of man, of the ruin sin has wrought, of the Garden gone to hell, then drive through Niagara Falls.

What God's hand carved out, a delight to the eyes, (1) has been cursed at the hand of man.

I don't even know where Love Canal, the infamous ecological crime scene, happens to be. I don't have to, because there's enough curse to be seen without seeing that. There are the towering garbage hills; ahh, the fragrance. There are the dark, long-shuttered, satanic mills along the powerful and proud Niagara River. There are the tawdry shops. There's the stupid casino. All of it a monument to petty politicians, petty businessmen, petty unions, petty Mafia, petty greed, and monumental ignorance.

And the irony is that if they'd all shot straight, they could all be making a fortune off the Falls to this very day.

Sometimes as Bible students we get hung up on the little prophecies, the specific little prophecies concerning the end times. We would do well to consider Scripture's meta-prophecies. The condition of the land is one of these over-arching prophetic indicators.

Though national Israel has returned, we can tell that spiritual Israel has not returned, because when God restores the spiritual condition of Israel, He will also restore the land:
But the mountains of Israel will produce heavy crops of fruit to prepare for my people's return – and they will be coming home again soon! (Ezekiel 36:8)

That has not yet happened. Much of Israel is uninhabitable and unproductive. That is one sure indication that (as you will read in this space on the day after tomorrow) the flesh is on those bones, but the breath's not in those bodies.

As Bible students, we must learn to read the lay of the land--from Israel to Niagara Falls.

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(1) Genesis 3:6

showers of blessing

The Word for today:
Ezekiel 34

mark this: Ezekiel 34:26
And I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.

What happened to Ezekiel? Where'd he go? Did he have a lobotomy? Will the real Ezekiel please stand up?

It may seem that the author of chapter 34 could not possibly be the author of previous chapters in the book of Ezekiel. But rest assured, the real Ezekiel is still with us.

The sudden change in tone is not caused by a changed Ezekiel. Instead, the change is caused by a changed "audience."

What changed the people was judgment:
In the twelfth year of our exile, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, "The city has fallen!" (Ezekiel 33:21)

Jerusalem's punishment, long threatened, had arrived. Ezekiel was suddenly speaking to a chastened people.

A prideful, idolatrous people had been broken down. Ezekiel was now addressing a humbled, spirtually re-dedicated people whom the LORD could now build up. Lovely and loving words ensue, as we hear the voice of the Shepherd...

Seeking the lost:
For thus says the Lord God: "Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away." (Ezekiel 34:11, 16)

Restoring the found:
"I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down," says the Lord God. "I will bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick."(Ezekiel 34:15, 16)

Pouring out blessing:
"And I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing." (Ezekiel 34:26)

***

We must recall that it isn't Ezekiel's tone that has changed. The prophet merely repeats the word he is given from God. So what we are hearing is a dramatic shift in the tone of God's voice.

The great lesson to be learned is that God uses judgment in order to move us into the place of blessing. When judgment has maneuvered us into that position, God's gracious intentions are suddenly realized.

God awaits the day when he can withdraw his heavy hand and his hard voice. That's not how he wants to be. Until then, he will do what the good Shepherd must to lead us beside the still waters, to make us lie down in pastures of blessing.

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"What He said."

The Word for today:
Ezekiel 33

The prophetic voice will warn of judgment:
So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.
If I say to the wicked, "O wicked one, you shall surely die," and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. (Ezekiel 33:7-9)

We glorify the word "prophet." The prophet in the Bible resembles nothing so much as he resembles a parrot.

I'm a prophet. ("Oh, dear," they're saying, "Franklyn's gone grandiose again.")

Oh, no I haven't, because for practical purposes, all the term "prophet" means is that if God were to say, "Polly want a cracker," the prophet writes "Polly want a cracker," and then hits the "Publish" button. If that's grandiose, then here--you can have it.

***

What, then, will a prophet sound like? In a word, the prophet will sound like hell.

If you never hear (from your teacher, preacher, pastor, priest, or guru) that there's hell to be paid for sin, then you are hearing from a false prophet--because The Word of the LORD clearly states we have earned the wages of sin, which is death. (Romans 6:23)

I don't bring you my own teaching. Frankly, I've forgotten whatever it was that I used to think, probably because my own "beliefs" conveniently shifted with every wind. I've gotten to the point where I, myself, don't have an opinion, because it wouldn't do either of us any good.

The kids have a neat phrase--"What he said"-- which indicates that they choose to express themselves in the very words that another has already spoken. The prophets said, "Thus saith the LORD," which is the exact Bible equivalent of "What He said."

The prophet of God defers to God's Word to the exclusion of all else. The original and absolute and ultimate "What he said" was first uttered by the original and absolute and ultimate prophet:
"My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me." (John 7:16)
"For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment--what to say and what to speak." (John 12:49)

***

Hear, then, what He said:
You are dead in your sins (1) unless and until you have received the salvation offered at the cross of Jesus Christ:
Whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:18)

But wait, there's more. Hear what else He said, just two verses earlier:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

The complete prophetic voice will tell us that we bought our ticket to hell--and that Jesus bought a way out for anyone who will receive it. So if ever you hear someone say that you're mired in sin so deep that there's no way out, that's not what He said. His Word tells us that even if we have a dump truck load of sin, Jesus paid it all:
He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:14)

"What He said," Franklyn wrote, pressing "Publish."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(1) Ephesians 2:1

he gave me a life, so I gave him a hand

The Word for today:
Psalm 89:38-52

mark this: Psalms 89:27
I will make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

Shelley just walked into the room and asked me why I'm clapping.

I was singing the first verse of Psalm 89, accompanied by a catchy little melody and some happy clapping:
I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever;
I will sing (clap clap clap); I will sing (clap clap clap);
I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever;
I will sing of the mercies of the LORD.
With my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness, thy faithfulness;
With my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

The emotional shift from Psalm 88 to Psalm 89 makes us feel as if we are at the mercy of the waves.

Psalm 88 is the darkest corner of the Bible, literally ending in darkness. It takes Jesus from the cross to hell, then leaves him there:
For my soul is full of troubles,
And my life draws near to the grave.
I am counted with those who go down to the pit;
I am like a man who has no strength,
Adrift among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And who are cut off from Your hand.
You have laid me in the lowest pit,
In darkness, in the depths. (Psalms 88:3-6)

But not for long. Stepping into Psalm 89, he's alive again--the firstborn:
I will make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. (Psalms 89:27)

Jesus became, in resurrection, the firstborn from the dead. He was always alive as the Son of God, but in resurrection he is the firstborn of those who were dead in sins and are now alive in Christ:
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

***

Psalm 89 is all about what Bible scholars call the Davidic Covenant (which can be found in 2 Samuel chapter 7). The covenant with David is the is the most important promise in the Old Testament. It promises that a descendant of David will be king forever!--
When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. (2 Samuel 7:12-13)

Psalm 89 confirms that promise:
I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.
Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness--and I will not lie to David--
that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun. (Psalms 89:34-36)

Taken together, Psalms 88 and 89 form a picture of the gospel:
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; he was buried; and he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

Psalm 88 is the death and darkness of hell. But Psalm 89 is resurrection and sunlight. That, Shellster, is why I'm clapping!

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Two Ethans, One Song

(by Pastor Joe)

The Word for today: Psalm 89:1-37

Ethan is a great name. It comes from the Bible. It means "strong/steadfast." It has recently grown in popularity -- reaching #2 in 2010.

In the Bible it is mentioned 8 times, and those are talking about more than one Ethan.
We are going to distinguish between two Ethans, which is tricky seeing as both of them are connected with the Psalms.

(As a side note, make sure you don't skip the various headings that are before the Psalms. They are inspired Scripture and therefore not to be missed. Often they can give key information to better understand a Psalm, such as Psalm 18 or 51. )

Today's passage was written by Ethan the Ezrahite. He was from the tribe of Judah (1 Chr. 2:6) and lived during the reign of Solomon & Rehoboam. Evidently, he was one smart cookie (1 Ki 4:31) .

The second Ethan was also known as Jeduthun. He is the musical composer of at least 3 Psalms (39, 62 & 77) and most likely more, as he was one of the "directors of music" that are not mentioned by name 38 times in the Psalms. He was from the tribe of Levi (1 Chr. 6:42) and lived a generation before the previous Ethan. Their years overlapped and they most likely knew each other.

But what is even more remarkable about these two men is not that they have the same name or that they are linked to the same dynasty in Judah, it is the similarity of their compositions. Compare Psalm 89 (Ethan 2) with Psalm 77 (Ethan 1 aka Jeduthun).

Psalm 77 takes us through personal struggles and troubles that lead to questions. "Where is God in all of this?" "How long is this gonna be?" Then God's faithful love in the past is remembered and therefore, there is hope and confidence in the future.

Psalm 89 takes us through the nation's struggles and troubles (after they were bullied by Egypt- see 1 Kings 14:26-27). These difficulties also lead to questions (Ps. 89:46-49) that question the timing and goodness of God.

Although the order is different, the concepts are the same.
Two different Ethans, two different Psalms, but One God, and ultimately one message.
Because of who God is (89:1-8), what He has done in the past (89:9-18), and what He has promised (89:19-37) we can have confidence, even in the worst circumstances.

Every day, we can join in the chorus with both Ethans and declare along with them, not that life is easy, nor is it always fair, but that God is always faithful and His love endures forever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

when God turned off the light of the world

The Word for today:
Psalm 88

There are many rooms in our Father's house, but some we'll never see. The doors will all be open, but I don't think we'll find the switch.

I have read what men call the great authors. I have read them all. But when I met up with the Bible, I put childish things away. (1)

Since then, I have read and re-read the Bible--all of it perhaps 20 times; portions of it 100 times. And I have entered Psalm 88 one thousand times, but I have never entered in.

When the covenant that saved us was fulfilled on the cross, our Father turned the light of the world off for three hours. What occurred there was done, our souls to save--but not our eyes to see:
Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. (Matthew 27:45)

My meager comments can only get in the way of Psalm 88, because the psalm speaks of what David called "things too high:"
LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. (Psalms 131:1)

So I will tiptoe out of this room now. You linger, and listen. Although God shut our eyes to the cross, he did not shut our ears.

But before I leave, let me direct you to Psalm 22. Reading Psalm 22:1-2, you are reading, as it were, the title and first verse of Psalm 88:
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

Listen a long while. A man once spent three hours right here. And don't bother looking for the switch. I've looked one thousand and one times now, and never found it.

Psalm 88

O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:
Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.
Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.
Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.
Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?
Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.
LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?
I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.
They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.
Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(1) 1 Corinthians 13:11

two's too many, none's too few

The Word for today:
Psalms 86, 87

mark this: Psalm 86:11
Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Are you single? (No, this is not a matchmaking service or advice for the lovelorn.)

I'm married, but I'm trying to become single! That's because King David, in today's reading; and Jesus, in the New Testament; and decades of Camp Kenan counselors all urgently advise us to get single and stay single...

In Psalm 86:11/NIV, David asks God for "an undivided heart:"
Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Which is rendered "a united heart" in the KJV:
Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth:
unite my heart to fear thy name.

What does the Bible mean by an undivided, united heart? That depends on who you are.

If you're an idolater, it means you've got to decide who your God is.
If you're an adulterer, it means you have to remember your marriage vows.
If you're a hypocrite, it means that what's on your inside and your outside must become the same.
If you're a liar, it means that words and truth have to become one.

I'm an authority on this subject, because at one time or another in my life, I was all of the above. Sin is substance, not hypothesis, to me. So I hope you are listening attentively, because heavy dues were paid to lend these words their weight.

I am constantly struggling against one symptom or another of a divided heart. Presently, I am trying to rid myself of secondary sources of strength.

What I mean is that my parents raised me to be self-reliant. Then I myself raised self-reliance to the level of an art form. Then I raised it to the level of a crusade.

Even now--knowing that apart from God we achieve nothing that lasts--I will instinctively revert, when it's crunch time, to reliance on sources other than Jesus.

I might rely on my own talent for awhile, until that topples. Then I will rely on sheer hustle, until that proves useless. I might rely on three or four things before I remember to rely on God by taking the problem to him in prayer.

I hope to be single-hearted. I hope to learn to look--immediately and only--to God. Jesus put it this way:
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. (Matthew 6:22)

***

At Camp Kenan, a summer camp where I grew up, the campers loved "4th Period" because for that hour they were allowed to independently choose from a dozen different activities. But some of the campers, especially the 7-10 year olds, would sign up for two or three things! And some of them would forget to sign up for anything. So we counselors composed a little jingle, which went like this:

Two's too many;
None's too few.
One thing only
Is the thing for you!

Then we'd get those campers to chant it over and over, and 4th period sign-up was a problem no more!

***

What form does your divided heart take? Maybe you do struggle with--as mentioned above-- idolatry, or adultery, or hypocrisy, or mendacity. Or perhaps you are struggling, like I am now, to become reflexively reliant on God alone. Whatever the case, I hope you'll remember what King David wrote in Psalm 86:
Teach me your way, O LORD; give me an undivided heart.

And remember what Jesus said:
If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

And though our choices aren't as simple as the choices of children, it can't hurt to apply a Camp Kenan chant to the divisions that divide our grown-up hearts. So always remember:

Two's too many;
none's too few.
One thing only
is the thing for you!

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