Psalm 22

Read: Psalm 22

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?”

These are the very words that Christ uttered on the cross as God turned His face away.

This is the cry of someone who feels totally forsaken by God. At this point, the man does not feel like a man but rather less than a man. A worm, even. Someone, something that people despise.

It’s a hundred times worse than the feeling you got in elementary school when the kids made fun of your haircut.

It’s a hundred times worse than the feeling you got in high school when the blonde bombshell cheerleader took one look at you and cringed.

The feeling I get is of being lost in a dark cave with no end in sight.

Jesus Himself was in such a state at the time of the crucifixion. The people watching mocked him and openly showed him how much they despised him. “If you have the power, come down from the cross and save yourself.”

Verse 18, following this thought, says,

He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.

I often wonder what the psalmist was thinking about when he wrote this psalm. Did God give him a “sneak peek” into the future? Or God sudden inspire him to write a psalm about such a subject? I don’t know. We don’t know.

In spite of feeling crushed, the psalmist acknowledges that God put him on earth and became his God even at his birth. He continues, “Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.” There is no one to help, now, so I’m asking You.

The psalmist feels that his “heart has turned to wax” and has melted away. His strength? Dried up. His tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth. “A band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.”

Think about what happened long after the time of David. On a cross at Calvary, Christ was pierced for our transgressions and put to death so publicly and shamefully that people would stare and gloat over what once was. It must have been a spectacle — one that I could not have borne seeing. He was put on that cross for all to see what had happened.

He was put there for us to know that our sin had been atoned for. He was put there for us to know the great lengths that God would go for us. He was put there so that we would realize how much we were loved by a just and mighty God.

Even his garments, as in verse 18 of this psalm, were divided. The soldiers cast lost for his clothes because his clothes were made in a way so that they could not be torn.

But the LORD will rescue. He rescued David, He will rescue us. And He did rescue us from the punishment of our sins through the sacrifice of his Son. “He has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”

God has not forsaken us. He never has and never will.

And so, Christ did rise from the dead three days later.

He listened to our cry — the cry of a people that needed a savior. The cry of the lonely, the forgotten, the poor. Those that needed a refuge in times of trouble. He gave them eternal life, salvation and so much that I can not even put into words.

Later generations will talk about it to their children. They will proclaim what the LORD has done — “even to a people yet unborn.”

For He has done what He said He would.

Picture credits: RogueSun Media, ishankhosla, ks_focalpoint, and OviDogar.com

Isaiah 5: Count to Ten, Take it In

Read: Isaiah 5:18-30

There’s always black, white, and grey in the situations we face in life. Things are more complex than just black and white.

But not in matters of sin. Sin is sin, no matter the circumstance. The Israelites blurred the distinction between good and evil so that what was formerly evil was known as good. Darkness was light and light was darkness. Bitter and sweet ended up interchanged in some strange course.

Just the other day, I saw a comment on Youtube (gotta love those Youtube trolls) referring to Christianity as a mental illness. I really don’t think that his views are unique to himself. More and more, people are calling Christianity a curse on the development of mankind. It’s “backwards.” “Foolishness.” “Will keep us from progressing into enlightenment.” Just an example of light called darkness.

Perhaps the same people cite the crusades and the inquisition as ways in which Christianity was a blight.

I have a good example of an acquaintance who believed so. Years ago, I contributed to a hobby forum about fountain pens. The forum administrator was athiest and told to everyone and anyone that would listen. He started several “threads” (topics, in forumspeak) ridiculing Christianity and told everyone about his testimony. He used to be a strong Christian who taught Sunday School in his church, the works. However, one day, he saw the light and saw Christianity for what it was. Afterwards he left and spent the rest of his time trying to convince everyone who would hear him that Christianity was a waste of everyone’s time, God was dead, everything. I used to get involved with some heated debates with the guy, and he always talked about how American had been founded as a Christian nation, and look where it got us, and so on.

Though honestly I failed to see the correlation between what’s going on in the world right now and America being a Christian nation 300 years ago.

Me thinks he doth protest too much.

A beautiful piece of Aztec art

This man honestly believed that Christianity was a blight upon the world, perpetrated by close-minded people.

I can’t deny that that particular history (referring to the crusades, and the inquisition) was nasty and not something that I believe God honestly could have condoned. Perhaps it was people blinded by religion instead of having their eyes opened by God.

My point is that often times, those who want to point fingers look at religion instead of God. Even some of us well-meaning Christians do so. If my history is right, during the times that the Spanish went to South America, they brought some people over to try to convert the heathens. These people inflicted indescribable cruelties upon those who resisted. Their creed said, “Believe in God. Otherwise we shall torture you, kill you, and put your head on a stake as an example to the heathens that shall come after you.”

They painted a cruel picture of God.

And that’s the image that a lot of us have been stuck with, all these years. We don’t think of the God who calls us to Him by grace, we think of a God that delights in torture. The God of the Bible was not one who tortured needlessly. It wasn’t God’s FAULT that those earlier so-called “Christians” did such horrific things. People will do what they want to do, no matter what God or the Bible says. No matter that what they’re doing in the name of God and religion is so against what the Bible teaches.

As a result, what once was known as light to many was known seen as a darkness that cruelly tortured and killed people if they did not choose to believe what they were “supposed” to believe in the eyes of others.

Good was known as evil in those days. Perhaps with good cause.

But it was sad.

Similarly, evil has taken the place of good as the norm. I’ve talked about premarital sex and issues like adultery. This brings to mind a discussion I had in church. Someone argued that homosexuality should be accepted because times have changed. The pastor also talked about women preachers as an example of how times have changed. Then a friend of mine said something earth shattering. Roughly stated, she said, “You may say that times have changed. But what about issues like premarital sex? That’s still a sin and will always be a sin. People are doing it all the time now and accepting it as normal and even good. But that doesn’t mean that it’s NOT a sin.”

She was right.

Isaiah continues. “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.”

Woe to those who think they’re so smart, they have all the answers to life, they know everything, etc.

Woe to me, who once believed at age 15 that I had nothing more to figure out.

I was wrong. And I found that out quickly, believe me.

Verse 22. “Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks…”

In some places it’s a common practice to hold drinking games. See who can hold the most alcohol. The one who passes out first or gets rid of the alcohol by puking loses automatically and has to hand the winner a huge chunk of moolah. That of course depends on the bets placed. Drinking games seem a lot of fun on movies (Raiders of the Lost Ark comes to mind) but in real life they’re quite dangerous.

No wonder God was angry at these types of people. I would have been angry too. In fact today, I get angry whenever I see such things glorified. It’s so common for people to just drink and drink and get drunk. Especially teenagers my age, who really aren’t supposed to be drinking. Their brains aren’t developed, for goodness’ sake! They’re killing their brain cells! But seriously, drinking ends up destroying a lot of their chances in life. If you’re caught drinking and driving as a minor, you get to go to DUI school and a whole lot of good stuff. Plus it remains on your driving record and you have to report it whenever you have to

I knew a girl who went into a coma because a friend (or her? I don’t remember) drove her home from school. And the driver, being drunk, crashed into a tree. The girl fell into a coma for days. A friend of mine organized a fundraiser and painted several pictures to raise awareness about this girl. The girl eventually recovered, but she had to retake a whole year of high school because of all the time she spent off recovering.

Such things do not come without consequence. These happenings are compared to tongues of fire licking dry straw, or dry grass bursting into flames. You put a tiny spark to all that dry tinder and the whole thing immediately goes up in flames.

Israel was invaded.

In that day they will roar over it like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks at the land, he will see darkness and distress; even the light will be darkened by the clouds.

Picture Credits: Markusram, OpenSkyMedia, cathyse97, Akash K, Gret@Lorenz, and ercwttmn.

Isaiah 5: Sheep Will Graze

Read: Isaiah 5:1-17

Once there was a man and a vineyard. He took care of his vineyard for he loved it very much. He cleared all the stones away and planted all the best fruit. The soil was good and fertile. This man even built a watchtower to make sure no one would harm the vineyard. He did all he could.

However, at harvest time, he found only bad fruit.

What would you do?

What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?

He decided to let the vineyard go to rot. What more could he do for his vineyard? Maybe he felt disappointed in the vineyard he had sweated over and loved and sang to.

Wine is great in moderation.

Isaiah reveals that the house of Israel was the vineyard that God had loved. He had nurtured His people, kept them, watched over them in the hopes of reaping justice. Yet He was left with bloodshed and chaos. All he heard were the cries of distress.

Then Isaiah, on behalf of God, starts proclaiming woes and judgements. “Woe to those who drink in the morning, continue to drink, and stay up late still drinking.”

One thing I remember from driver’s education is that blood alcohol content is cumulative, meaning that if you continue to drink during the day, you will continue to add alcohol before you can digest it properly. As a result, the alcohol overflows into your bloodstream. At perhaps 0.6 BAC, you will die. Someone who drinks that much is asking to die. Woe to them indeed.

Sadly, there are people now who do drink like that. I learned about a college student somewhere who drank so much that she passed out and never woke up. It happens.

The people of that time were rich. They raised great mansions with their money and had 10 acre vineyards.

Yet they had no respect for God.

Wealth in itself is not a bad thing. It’s wonderful to have a lot of money. Money in itself is not an evil thing that should be avoided. However, with much wealth can bring the danger of arrogance. One with much wealth can so easily feel that they can do anything, be anything with all the money they have. If they make a mistake, they can bribe off the paparazzi with some cash. Or if they really want something very badly, they can always lay down a few grand and come home with it. With wealth, one can easily feel that, “I don’t need God. I have money.” With wealth, one can come to believe that much money equals their salvation.

That’s why I greatly admire those who have great wealth, yet use that money to glorify God. I admire those who have almost never lacked for anything, yet remain humble before God.

But for those that fall in the trap of believing that money is salvation?

Whiskey is probably the most alcoholic drink there is

God decreed that they’d die of hunger, be dehydrated, and end up in exile for “lack of understanding.”

Does our lack of understanding stem from simply being clueless, or does it stem from refusing to listen to God’s word?

It’s worth much thought. Did I not know because no one told me, or was this lack of knowledge because I refused to heed the warning that had been there all along?

I have the feeling that in this case it stemmed of a stubborn refusal to listen to God.

The result is that God will once again bring us to our knees.

That isn’t a bad thing. In the world today, I can sense more and more a tendency to rely on oneself other than God. Jesus, according to a New Age leader, did not come to teach us that He was divine, but instead came because He wanted to show us the Divine in us. We listen to our inner voice and look for spirit guides. There’s Oprah and her Law of Attraction which tires to teach us to call things to ourselves and control our lives to make things how WE want them to be.

We desire to search for the divine in ourselves instead of seeking out the Divine that is God.

We are becoming an arrogant people, distrustful of God and His wisdom and instead chasing after our own desires. You can see where it’s leading us. Places where we should not go and should not ever be in.

We need to fall from the pedestals that we’ve erected for ourselves and our own so called nonexistent divinity and realize that we are nothing without God and his grace.

We need to be on our knees again in front of the One who gave it all.

Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture; lambs will feed among the ruins of the rich.

Picture credits: Jacob Childrey, Mr. T in D.C., Unlisted Sightings, Tavallai, and Rat Goddess.

Psalm 21

¹ O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength.
How great is his joy in the victories you give!

² You have granted him the desire of his heart
and have not withheld the request of his lips.
Selah

³ You welcomed him with rich blessings
and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.

⁴ He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days, for ever and ever.

⁵ Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.

⁶ Surely you have granted him eternal blessings
and made him glad with the joy of your presence.

⁷ For the king trusts in the LORD;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.

⁸ Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;
your right hand will seize your foes.

⁹ At the time of your appearing
you will make them like a fiery furnace.
In his wrath the LORD will swallow them up,
and his fire will consume them.

¹⁰ You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their posterity from mankind.

¹¹ Though they plot evil against you
and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed;

¹² for you will make them turn their backs
when you aim at them with drawn bow.

¹³ Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength;
we will sing and praise your might.

Battle of Bull Run was fought here in this field

Psalm 21 sounds like a recap of Psalm 20, except it includes the results. Psalm 20:4-5 proclaims, “May he give you the desires of our heart … may the LORD grant all your requests.” Psalm 21:2 says, “You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips.” God granted the king in this psalm the desire of his heart and granted his requests. What those requests were we can only guess at. However, he ended up with a crown of pure gold and nations below him (verse 3). The king acknowledges that he is blessed indeed.

Again, it’s not because of what this individual did but what God did. It was not the strength of David’s arm, or his tactical abilities as a commander. Rather it was God, the God who gave him the ability and the capacity to lead. All David had to do was step out in faith and trust. “… through the unfailing love of the Most High he will not be shaken.”

Verse 5 talks about the victories God gave. David was a warrior king. From passages in the Bible, the reader can clearly see that David was a strong guy. He could fight. He could kill people and subdue nations. Plus he started off by killing lions and bears with a slingshot. When he turned his deadly slingshot on Goliath, David was made a hero. Afterwards he started fighting for Saul, and won most times. He was destined for many great victories of war.

However, David’s God was also a warrior God. He was and still is a God who makes his enemies like a fiery furnace. His fire consumes them in His wrath. He destroys their descendants, and I’m sure that He is also a brilliant tactical commander, because though His enemies try to outplot Him and scheme their way around Him, He can see through their every move. Plus He can shoot from a drawn bow.

Ever play chess?

It was the LORD who gave David victory in battle.

There is one more thing that David asked form the LORD and received.

He asked for life, and God gave him life. “Length of days, for ever and ever.”

David asked for life, and God gave him eternity.

I asked for life and I received Eternity.

Picture credits: Bethany L. King, and Tucker and Swiss.

Psalm 20

¹ May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

² May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.

³ May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.
Selah

⁴ May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.

⁵ We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.

⁶ Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he answers him from his holy heaven
with the saving power of his right hand.

⁷ Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

⁸ They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.

⁹ O LORD, save the king!
Answer us when we call!

One of the former pastors in my church had a nice benediction that he spoke after every service. I don’t remember all of it, for it was a long time ago and he has long since retired and left the church and gone somewhere else. He said, “May the LORD’s face shine upon you and give you peace.” It made me feel happy and blessed. I was maybe 10 or 11 at the time.

Psalm 20 is basically a benediction. “May the LORD answer you when you are in distress…” There are a total of five verses that continue in this manner.

The first two verses concern crying out to God. When we cry out in distress, God answers. He sends us help from His sanctuary and grants support. We’ve seen from earlier psalms that God is the God who answered David’s cry for help. He does the same for us in this present day. He has come to my rescue when I called in the past, and He will continue to do so in the future.

I know a young woman who knew about “crying out to God.” When she was a girl, whenever she had an exam, she’d pray to God to “kill her textbooks.” Later she realized that God does not kill textbooks. Instead He supplies His people with the wisdom and grace to keep on going even when it’s hard. And motivation as well, I daresay.

Verse three talks about sacrifices and burnt offerings. IN those days, sacrifices were done as appreciation for what God had done as well as to atone for sins. I think burnt offerings were the former while sacrifices were the latter — to atone and acknowledge wrong doing.

Verse four happens to be one of my personal favorites.

May he give you all the desires of your heart and make your plans succeed.

What is the desire of your heart? I have had many desires, not all of them wholesome. But I desire to serve God to the end of my days. There’s another, deep desire of my heart that I’ve yearned for for many years now.

Verse five has an interesting phrase: “May the LORD grant all your requests.” All? All? Not all, I bet. The godly ones, yeah… concerning who the psalms were generally aimed at that would make sense.

Verses six and seven focus on where our trust should go. Some trust in chariots and horses. Others in God. Guess which are the first to fall? Or rather, which are the only ones to fall?

Chariots and horses were a sign of wealth and rank. People sat on a donkey or walked. Not many could afford to have chariots. Chariots were like Mercedes Benz. Those with chariots owned the road. (Make way! Make way!) Most of those driving chariots were rich and important. They could afford not to walk. Others, like the eunuch that Philip encountered, borrowed their rich and important masters’ chariots and horses on rich and important business. Horses ate, so those who owned a horse had to pay a lot to keep them healthy and happy, like now. Someone with lots of horses was rich and important. Plus you need something to pull the chariot and there’s nothing better than a horse.

People envied the one with lots of horses and chariots.

If you wanted to give an impressive gift, you gave someone a horse or two.

Paris Hilton in the horror movie House of Wax. She was the first character to get killed.

Things like wealth and rank are soon forgotten, however. Many of the rich and important have died poor and forgotten. Wealth can be lost. Just gamble wildly. Rank can be lost. Offend someone higher up and it’s all gone. Will the nauseatingly wealthy Paris Hilton be remembered for long? Maybe, maybe not. However, it’s true that even now there are those who only know Paris Hilton from her sex tapes. Following the trends that have come to pass, it looks like she’ll someday be lost somewhere, known only as that rich girl who made a sex tape. Probably replaced by yet another sickeningly rich young woman who does crazier things. Believe it or not, Paris Hilton will get old someday.

And someday, those things will fall. Wealth and rank will have no meaning. To those who allowed their wealth and rank to define them and become the very meaning of their existence will be a bleak future.

What about us? That’s up to us to make the right choices.

Picture credits: WTL photos, Richard Monteverde, MinivanNinja, Ezra Casteel, and Cowboy Dave under a Creative Commons license.

Psalm 19

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

² Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

³ There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.

⁴ Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

⁵ which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

⁶ It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.

⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.

⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.

⁹ The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.

¹⁰ They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.

¹¹ By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

¹² Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.

¹³ Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Ever take a walk out on a warm summer night and see the stars? Amazing.

Or driving out through the country. That’s the best for star viewing. The Milky Way would be visible as a dense sprinkling of stars across the night sky.

No wonder David said that “Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” In those days, without our newfangled modern street lamps, the stars were so easy to see. And much more beautiful in that way. Now they are still beautiful but it is us who cannot see their beauty anymore. We’ve surrounded ourselves with car headlights, street lights, and TV screens. Which isn’t bad but it does keep us from seeing the stars.

Shame, because we can learn a lot from the stars, as well as help us put life into perspective.

When I gaze up at the stars after a hard day, I am reminded that even though I am so small compared to that enormous cosmos out there, God still picked me out of many for His purpose. He still cares for me. He created the stars, hundreds and thousands of stars and planets, reminding me that the world is increasingly complex. My problems just seem so small in comparison to that. At the same time, He reminds me that He will take care of my problems. That He will take care of ME.

Then David talks about the law of God. The laws are right, perfect, and radiant. They are described further as more precious than gold, even pure gold, and are sweeter than honey.

I’m not a honey person. My father used to eat it every day. However I do like honeycomb. It has the right blend of crunchiness and sweetness. Too bad my parents don’t buy honeycomb anymore. I wonder if there’s something about fresh honey or honey straight from the comb. Health benefits? I guess fresh is good, unless it’s wine or certain types of cheese.

Though God’s commands are filled with warnings and the consequences that will come if you do so and so, they also give great reward. King David found this to be true.

Finally, the last verse brings to mind the song the band Shane and Shane did on Psalm 19. I couldn’t find a Youtube clip, unfortunately. But it is a beautiful song.

Indeed.

Picture credits: NASA’s website, brilliant star trails photo by tunaboat, and jenkang75.

Psalm 18: Darkness Turns to Light

Read: Psalm 18:25-50

The first two verses of this passage intrigue me. To the faithful, God is faithful. To the blameless, He is blameless. To the pure, He is pure. To the crooked, He is shrewd. Do you notice a trend here?

Shrewd isn’t a bad word. It doesn’t mean that God is evil, though some people do take the word to mean something negative. The feeling I get is that shrewd means smart, wily. The dictionary defines “shrewd” as “mischievous” (Archaic), “dangerous” (obsolete), and (more modern meaning) “marked by clever discerning awareness and hardheaded acumen.” God is a clever God. He’s not stupid. He’s just.

David then talks about what God means to him. God keeps his lamp burning and turns darkness to light. With Him, David feels that he can advance a troop or scale a wall.

Any wall climbers here?

For me, it’s different. With God, I feel that I can get published in a big magazine. I can lead a small group of hyper middle schoolers (and have, for the record). I can use discernment driving in dark places. He keeps my computer screen from the blue screen of death and my car headlights on.

David was in most people’s eyes a highly successful man. A former shepherd boy, he killed the giant Goliath, got into the king’s good favor, and then after a roller coaster adventure of strife, became the king. His tale is the classic rags to riches story that we love so much. He also was a “man of war.” David fought countless wars, for Saul first and sadly against Saul. He knew all about action. Battle. Fighting. “Bows of bronze” and “shields of victory” were quite familiar to him.

Yet David knew that this was all because of God. God was the one to “stoop down to make me great” (verse 35).

You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet. You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes (verses 39-40).

People he did not know became his subjects. The former no-name shepherd boy whom you wouldn’t look at twice was now obeyed at his every whim. Maybe this could have gone to David’s head. It most certainly would have gone to mine. But it didn’t. Oh sure, he had his moments like all of us, but he still exalted the LORD above all. God was the real man in charge, not David.

David, like us, merely acted as His instrument.

When people praise me for something good I’ve done, I tend to let it get to my head. My head is like a bubble that is so easily filled with air, but gets popped so easily. It’s hard to be humble and remember that God is the one who stooped down from heaven to broaden our paths so our ankles wouldn’t turn. We fail to remember all too often that God turned back sin by sacrificing His own son to pay the penalty for our wrongdoing. Satan can flee.

Yet remember we must.

(Starting to sound like Yoda, I am.)

———

Credits:

WTL photos, Scelera, Simon, James Jordan,

Psalm 18: The Rescue

Read: Psalm 18:1-24

Spock

In many great stories, there is a Rescue. The prince saves the princess from the dragon. Or vice versa. Sometimes a great sacrifice is involved. Like Frodo in Lord of the Rings who gives up his happiness in the Shire to save those he loves. There are those who have given up their health, their loves, or their life to save someone else. Spock in The Wrath of Khan comes to mind. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one.” The creatures in the popular book series Redwall by Brian Jacques believe in this principle and live by it. The Rescue theme is always a prominent fixture.

Before the Rescue, there must be someone in need of rescuing. Rescues don’t go well when they’re unnecessary. They don’t always go well when the other person doesn’t want to be rescued.

It has long been my contention that the “rescue” in Attack of the Clones was unnecessary. After all, Padme and Anakin only got captured. “What are you doing here, Anakin?”

Frodo

“Rescuing you, Master.”

“Nice job.” (looks at chains)

A fair maiden, ordinary people, good mice/badgers/hedgehogs entrapped by evil “rats,” or Klingons.

You can need rescuing without knowing it.

In this story that is playing out, we are the ones who need rescuing.

Brings to mind that scene in Superman Returns where Clark says to Lois, “You say the world doesn’t need a savior. But every day I hear them crying out for one.”

The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears (verses 4-6).

And so, He came to our rescue.

He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind (verses 9-10).

Picture taken by Warren T. Creative Commons license

The wrath of God is terrible to behold. At least it’s not aimed at me — anymore. Smoke from his nostrils? Consuming fire from is mouth? Coals? I can’t help thinking of a dragon. Hailstones and bolts of lightning? stop stop stop.

He is so powerful that His rebuke can expose the valleys of the sea and lay bare the foundations of the earth. We fid later in the book of Hebrews that He can also see through us. Through our actions to our motives and thoughts, even those hidden away in the most secret places.

That’s why He can see that we truly are in need of a Rescue.

If we could handle our foes, we’d be all set. No need for God. But as verse 17 says, the foes were too strong for us. Extremely powerful. As it so happens, we can’t always handle whatever comes our way by ourselves, though we’d certainly like to. Sometimes I try to handle everything by myself and end up breaking. Satan is a lot stronger than us weak humans — when we are alone. But with God, we are more than enough.

Remember that you are not alone and unsupported. God is there. He will be your support in the good times and in your times of desperate need.

Isaiah 4: In that Day

Read: Isaiah 4

Picture by wolfpix

Whoa. What a short chapter. Though a mere six verses, this passage still remains packed with promise and meaning.

I could divide the themes into two parts. Both parts with “In that day.” However both parts are quite different.

In the first part, the people of Israel are disgraced.

In the second part, the people’s disgrace is taken away. They are redeemed. Verse four speaks of a time when things will be good and this land will no longer reek of decay or filth but instead be a shelter and a refuge.

Grace is an amazing thing.

Psalm 17

¹ Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;
listen to my cry.
Give ear to my prayer—
it does not rise from deceitful lips.

² May my vindication come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.

³ Though you probe my heart and examine me at night,
though you test me, you will find nothing;
I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.

⁴ As for the deeds of men—
by the word of your lips
I have kept myself
from the ways of the violent.

⁵ My steps have held to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.

⁶ I call on you, O God, for you will answer me;
give ear to me and hear my prayer.

⁷ Show the wonder of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.

⁸ Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings

⁹ from the wicked who assail me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.

¹⁰ They close up their callous hearts,
and their mouths speak with arrogance.

¹¹ They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.

¹² They are like a lion hungry for prey,
like a great lion crouching in cover.

¹³ Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down;
rescue me from the wicked by your sword.

¹⁴ O LORD, by your hand save me from such men,
from men of this world whose reward is in this life.
You still the hunger of those you cherish;
their sons have plenty,
and they store up wealth for their children.

¹⁵ And I—in righteousness I will see your face;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

We don’t have to fight for ourselves all the time.

Take the matter of sin and salvation. We don’t have to take it on ourselves to pay the penalty for our sins. Because Jesus already paid it. We no longer have to atone for our sins.

Long before (and still now), the Catholic faith held the concept of purgatory. Purgatory was an in-between place for Christians who had sinned. The length of time one spend there was based on how much one had sinned. The more sins, the longer time was spent just sitting there. At the same time, the church leaders took advantage of this concept to earn a little money. They installed the idea that one had to pay penance for one’s sins. This would reduce the time spent in purgatory.

In essence, one had to fight for oneself, to buy off God for a little time. One had to pay for one’s own sins with a little money and a scrap of a paper. In short, the people thought that they would actually get to heaven faster with minimal time spent in purgatory.

Martin Luther denounced this. He knew that the common people did not know how to read, or could not get access to a Bible if they could read. They had no way of telling whether the church leaders were right — or wrong. They trusted the church leaders to lead them to the right path, which the church leaders had failed to do. It was easy to have the common people buy into this concept.

Martin Luther then told them that it was by grace that they were saved, not through paying penance or good deeds.

In a way, they were fighting for their own salvation, even though Jesus had already paid it all.

I feel that we still do that nowadays. When we put ourselves through guilt trips for our wrongdoing. Or when we do things out of a fear that we’re not going to heaven and we’re simply not good enough. A very good friend of mine puts herself through a guilt trip every time she does the least improper thing. Though I understand that it’s also partly because of her heritage (a family that upheld proper behavior), I have the feeling that she didn’t want to forget that she had done something wrong. She wanted to remember the wrong things she had done so that she wouldn’t do them again. If she did them again, then she was pretty harsh on herself.

Some people also do this because they believe that they haven’t atoned enough for the sin. Putting themselves through this mental beat down makes them feel that they’ve atoned a little more and are a little more worthy of God’s grace.

I also believe that it really is not necessary to beat yourself down like that. There’s no need to dredge up the memories of the wrongdoing and shuffle through the whole list like a deck of cards. The penalty has already been paid. You don’t need to punish yourself. You don’t even have to fight to be worthy.

But maybe all this is ingrained into our culture. The idea that we have to fight for everything we own and are entitled to. Rights. Payments. Jobs. The pressure to be on top of things. When we’re little, we fight for candy, toys, and the right to sit in the swingset. When we become elementary school kids, we fight about what’s “fair” and what’s “not fair.” Then when we become teenagers, we fight to control the emotions swirling inside of us. We struggle to control our raging hormones and the changes in our bodies. It’s like holding back the tide. We also start a way for independence. We don’t want to have to depend on our parents more than we have to, and then some.

And then when we become adults, we fight for our jobs. We fight for our husbands, our wives, our children, and our parents. We fight for the paycheck that comes in regularly. We fight for our marriages, and try to keep the passion alive. We fight to keep our lives and checkbooks balance. We juggle so many things.

Every single day, we fight so hard for everything.

Yet it is tiring. After a while, it starts to feel like it’s too much for us to handle. We get exhausted. Burnt out.

Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down; rescue me from the wicked by your sword. O LORD, by your hand save me from such men, from men of this world whose reward is in this life. You still the hunger of those you cherish; their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children.

We have to let God go before us and help us fight our battles. Our pride can so easily get in the way, saying, “I can handle it” when we really can’t.

But because of Him, we don’t have to live life alone.

Why do we continue to act as if we’re all alone?