I have been going back and revising blog entries for over a week now. Today I discovered that my June 20, 2016 journal entry was never included in my blog. Unfortunately, I cannot go back and insert it in its chronological order. It should have been sandwiched between mt June 13th and 23rd entries. These were uploaded on April 19th and 25th of 2017. So I include it here out of order.
June 20, 2016
Worship: Break Through Me by Bebo Norman
Today I woke up early, today I woke up sad
It's funny how it hurts me, the love I've never had
But I can feel You breaking me through this mess
Yeah, I can see You through this loneliness
{Chorus}:
Show me that
Life shines with You
You show me that
Life shines with You
Break me through
I think that I can hear it
Is it a trumpet or a train
And now I'm drawing near it
I think it's calling out my name
I got nothing to lose
I got nothing to prove in this mess
I got nothing to lose
But this emptiness
If I had a ladder
To reach up to the sky
I would climb up there forever
It would just be You and I
And I would feel You
Breaking me through this mess
Yeah, I would see You
Through my emptiness
Lyrics: http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/lyrics/BreakMeThrough.asp
Video: https://youtu.be/aU92vKHHGZg
Witness:
I’m sure by now you can tell that my life is a seesaw of emotions. Some days I’m in the green pastures – if I may refer back to Psalm 23. Some days I’m in the valley. Then there are the bright blessed days at the table. Lately, I feel like I’m in the valley again. So, what do I do? I don’t live by my feelings but by the truth revealed and promised to in Scripture. It is the only safe place to be. The path of the Lord is the way of truth and life I dare not deviate from it when my feelings lie to me and tell me that the Lord has abandoned me, that I am all alone, or worse – that the Lord was never with me in the first place – I am on the path to destruction. This is why I must pray daily (and I do now) that He show me His ways, His paths, His truth (Psalm 25:4-5). Notice while ways and paths are plural that there is only one truth – His truth (unlike the postmodern days we live in with its disdain for absolute truth and the love for many “truths” which really is a contradiction when you think about it - as opposed to your feelings about it).
So, I woke up this morning feeling much like the words in Bebo Norman’s song above. What can I do? I can remember to pray the prayer found in Psalm 25:4-5. I can remember the promise of Psalm 23:4 that my Shepherd is with me in the darkest valley. I can remember the “checed” of the Lord. That is, His eternal, faithful, and steadfast Love towards me. Finally, I must remember that He promises to never leave me nor forsake me (Deut. 31:6, Heb. 13:5). Negative feelings are powerful and can crush me or lead me astray if I abandon truth. If I turn away from Him, Who is Truth. Yet negative feelings are no match for the truth when I lean on the Lord and put my trust in Him. I must remember the words of the Apostle Paul who exhorts and warns me in 2 Timothy 3:11-14,
Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him.
If we disown him, he will also disown us;
if we are faithless, he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself. NIV
As I was writing these words the words to the song playing said,
“I’m holding on to Your promises.
You are faithful.
You are faithful.
And nothing formed against me shall stand
You hold the whole world in Your hands
I'm holding on to Your promises
(Words from Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies) by Chris Tomlin)
These words witness to the words in 2 Timothy 2:13 and also to a powerful promise found in
Isa 54:17,
... no weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and this is their vindication from me,"
declares the Lord. NIV
Yes, I realize this ultimately is a promise to Israel in the future yet I believe the principle is relevant in the present for the Church and in some ways for me personally. Therefore, I must remain faithful to the truth and not my feelings. And while I may experience defeats and wounds along the way, I will look at the battle scars and remember the promise that my enemy will not ultimately prevail. The Lord promises this in Matthew 16:18And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros — a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra — a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it]. AMP
The enemy has distorted the meaning of this verse for many. He has distracted us from the main import of this verse. It’s not about a human Pope who will oversee the church here on earth, but that the church (of which I am a member) will prevail because of Who is building it, that is Christ Himself who is the:
The Way
The Truth
The Life
John 14:6
WORD:
The Truth
The Life
John 14:6
WORD:
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Ps 25:6-7
6 Remember, O LORD, your
great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of
my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according
to your love remember me,
for you
are good, O Lord.
NIV
|
Ps 25:6-7
6 Remember, O LORD, thy tender
mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.
7 Remember not the sins of
my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy
goodness' sake, O Lord.
KJV
|
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Ps 25:6-7
6 Remember, O LORD, your
compassion and unfailing love,
which you have shown from
long ages past.
7 Do not remember the
rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember
me in the light of your unfailing love,
for you
are merciful, O Lord.
Holy Bible,
New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
|
Ps 25:6-7
6 Remember your mercy, O
LORD, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of
my youth or my transgressions;
according
to your steadfast love remember me,
for the
sake of your goodness, O Lord!
ESV
|
Here we stand at the end of this portion of prayer in Psalm 25. Each of these versions brings some clarity of this verse to me. I notice first, that David does not begin this portion of this petition the way he did in the two preceding petitions. Those began with “Remember,” but here he prefaces the word “remember” by the prepositional phrase “according to.” In fact, that is not really accurate either. If you consult an interlinear bible, you will see that the word “remember” appears in three different places in each portion of this prayer.
Young’s Literal Translation brings this out:
I do not know why he changed the last “remember” to “be mindful” for it is the same word in each case. Words even in the same context can be used differently, and perhaps this might be a helpful clarification though not as literal.
Thus, David does not begin with the word remember but the word “chesed” (the word’s “according to your steadfast love” appear as one word to the eye in Hebrew). I believe David wants to magnify the “checed” of God. Here, I believe it not only speaks of God’s steadfast, faithful, covenantal love, but also of God’s grace and mercy. Instead of the just punishment David deserves, he asks God to grant him His underserved kindness towards him. He emphasizes this by including the word “Thou,” a word found in the Hebrew but is missing in most translations because it makes for awkward modern English, but handled well in the KJV(“according to thy mercy remember thou me”). Not just “remember me” but “remember Thou me” is his plea! Thus we have come to a crescendo in David’s prayer. David is not being impertinent here, but he is imploring God to act in grace and mercy towards him.
Young’s Literal Translation brings this out:
Remember Thy mercies, O Jehovah, and Thy kindnesses, for from the age [are] they. Sins of my youth, and my transgressions, do not Thou remember. According to Thy kindness be mindful of me, For Thy goodness' sake, O Jehovah.
Ps 25:6-7 YLT
I do not know why he changed the last “remember” to “be mindful” for it is the same word in each case. Words even in the same context can be used differently, and perhaps this might be a helpful clarification though not as literal.
Thus, David does not begin with the word remember but the word “chesed” (the word’s “according to your steadfast love” appear as one word to the eye in Hebrew). I believe David wants to magnify the “checed” of God. Here, I believe it not only speaks of God’s steadfast, faithful, covenantal love, but also of God’s grace and mercy. Instead of the just punishment David deserves, he asks God to grant him His underserved kindness towards him. He emphasizes this by including the word “Thou,” a word found in the Hebrew but is missing in most translations because it makes for awkward modern English, but handled well in the KJV(“according to thy mercy remember thou me”). Not just “remember me” but “remember Thou me” is his plea! Thus we have come to a crescendo in David’s prayer. David is not being impertinent here, but he is imploring God to act in grace and mercy towards him.
Not by demanding impertinence
Nor by an impious command
In humility, I Thy seek forgiveness
On Thy goodness, I forever stand
Because…
Your kindness leads me to repentance
Your glory Lord forever shines
Your cross secures my forgiveness
Your grace by faith saves and sanctifies
