365 Reflections

Psalm 144:1–2 (ESV)   Blessed be the Lord , my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; 2 he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. I've always liked the opening words of this Psalm. David worships God for the fact that He has trained his hands to fight skillfully. Make no mistake, David did not "luckily" win out over his enemies (particularly Goliath). He wasn't a one hit wonder who struck it big at just the right moment. He was always victorious. More importantly, David knew where that victory came from. God had trained his hands and fingers.  I like this passage because it reminds me that our prayers to God are not supposed to simply be desperate pleas cast to heaven like a Hail Mary pass in the 4th quarter when we are down by 7. Sometimes that is the case, but most times God is in the training business.  Jesus TRAINED disciples: Mat...

Psalm 6 is a prayer from David to God that the Lord not be harsh in chastisement. David knew he deserved worse but asked God for mercy... Psalm 6:1–3 (ESV) O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. 2 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled. 3 My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O LORD—how long? One of the worst attitudes of prayer we could have is to believe we are entitled to something from God. The name-it-claim-it-mentality we may have heard about just isn't the manner in which the Scriptures implore us to come to God. David comes humbly. He fully knows God would be right to punish him harshly for his actions. But he seeks the mercy of a loving Father. Whatever it is that David has done, it has robbed him of sleep and rest: Psalm 6:6–7 (ESV) I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. 7 My eye wastes away because of grief...

1 Corinthians 4:14–16 (ESV) I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me. Paul tells these boastful Corinthians they need a spiritual dad. They have guardians. They need a father. The difference is substantial . The word for "guide" or (better translated) "guardian" in the New Testament times referred to someone who worked for the family as a slave and shuttled the children to and from school, gave them instruction, and generally watched over their conduct. Like a nanny or tutor of sorts. A guardian is someone who will tell us what we should be doing. A guardian will train us. A guardian will correct us.  A guardian is great, but we need fathers. That's what Paul is saying. A Father will love us. And most of all, a...

Still in Matthew 4 and I found something interesting... At some point everybody gets "Arrested." By that I mean - at some point, you will leave this Earth.  What do you plan on leaving behind? In Matthew 4, when Jesus learned that John had been arrested he then  left Judea and move to Galilee. Matthew 4:12 (ESV) Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. Matthew 4:18–19 (ESV) While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Once in Galilee  the first thing Jesus does is chose disciples to develop. Could it be that John's arrest made Jesus just think about his own arrest approaching when He willingly lays down His life for our sins?  In response to that - Jesus knows there is precious time remaining to training a team of men ...