Category: Lent

Lent Spent with the Psalms Day Twenty Four

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Do you really walk alone? It can feel like that sometimes. Those we thought were friends have moved on to other pursuits. Loved ones have issues with us, real or imagined. We echo the thought of the psalmist..

You have taken my companions and loved ones from me;

the darkness is my closest friend. (Psalm 88:18)

The modern church would prefer that this psalm disappear from the Psalter. It doesn’t fit the current paradigm of happy, happy, everything is going to be great all the time forever when I’m a Christian. Believers cannot understand how God would leave His people in the midst of incredibly difficult struggles, perhaps even for the entire span of their lives.

Look to the Cross. Jesus hangs alone. The skies darken like night. No one rises to His defense. The Father alone is in control of a History that we sometimes cannot understand. We must walk toward the Cross despite the darkness, despite the fact that we might walk along. We walk in trust that the Father’s ultimate will is for the good.

Grace and peace to you.

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Lent Spent with the Psalms Day Twenty Three

imageWho journeys with you toward the cross? Jesus surrounded himself with a close-knit band of traveling companions, knowing that one of them would eventually be his betrayer. Despite that, he invested Himself fully in them. King David shared our more human perspective on a similar situation;

But is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with who I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God. (Psalm 55:13-14)

It would be easy to consider the painful betrayals we’ve suffered and decide to walk alone. To walk by oneself means we don’t have to risk betrayal any longer, we’re safe.

Except we weren’t designed to do that.

We were meant to be in community. The travelling companions we surround ourselves with complete us in bringing along those things that we lack. But, we say, I’m not alone, I have the Father as my companion. True, but look to see if He is alone or in communion with the Son and the Spirit.

Grace and peace to you…

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Lent Spent with the Psalms Day Twenty One

imageMost believers would say aloud that grace is not cheap. Whether out of habit, training, or true belief, the sentiment is expressed in our voices and writings. We ask ourselves today, is it apparent to those outside of the family? When the lost look at our lives and our churches do they see the same thing expressed?

Or have we forgotten this?

In Psalm 81, the psalmist reminds Israel never to forget what God had done for them..

Hear, O my people, and I will warn you—if you would but listen to me, O Israel?

You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. (vv 8-10)

Our prayers can rehearse the way in God has brought each of us up out of our personal bondage in Egypt. We can humble ourselves before the crucifix on the hill at Calvary. Or we can forget and cheapen the grace bestowed upon us, taking it for granted and blending back in with the world.

Grace and peace to you…

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Lent Spent with the Psalms Day Twenty

imageTell yourself the reason for the Cross today. Look ahead four weeks to the Easter weekend and explain to yourself the reason that Christ is sacrificed. It certainly isn’t rooted in anything we have or can do. It’s not that we are worthy of that sacrifice.

It is grace, pure and simple.

Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;

he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. (Psalm 20:6)

We place our trust in this grace and it induces an increase in our humility. We are reduced as the magnitude of this gift is realized. We are drawn closer to the giver of the gift.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. (v7)

Grace and peace to you…

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Lent Spent with the Psalms Day Nineteen

imageThe closer we stay to the steps and path of the Shepherd as He helps us to negotiate the dangerous way through this world, the more confidence we have. Strengthened in this way, the inevitable struggles that appear do not perturb us. They are no longer insurmountable challenges that we have to confront on our own. Our Shepherd knows the way and will lead us through. We have peace.

You still the hunger of those you cherish; their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children.

And I—in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. (Psalm 17:14b-15)

As you enjoy the security and calm, count the cost as well. Look forward to Calvary and the know the darkness that had to be faced on that Friday and Saturday before the joy of the first light on Sunday.

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Lent Spent with the Psalms Day Eighteen

imageMy steps have held to your paths; my feet have not slipped. (Psalm 17:5)

We contemplated our trust in the Shepherd yesterday, knowing that even when He leads us through dangerous territory we are ultimately secure. Fear dissolves as we follow hard on the steps of the Shepherd, our steps are secure. To wander is to face the world on our own.

The Lent season is a period set aside by the church for focused meditation on the cost of Salvation. Have you taken the time to check your commitment to the undeserved righteousness you’ve received? The Shepherd leads us but paid an enormous cost. He didn’t turn away and nor should we. Our commitment to a life of holiness must be equal to the price lest we cheapen the Cross.

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. (v 3)

Stay close to the path.

 

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Lent Spent with the Psalms Day Seventeen

imageApproaching the Cross at Calvary, the contemplative Christian cannot help but be struck by the juxtaposition of horror and joy portrayed in the event. The abuse and death of the Savior lead to the unspeakable joy of the Lord’s return. Logically, we can’t have one without the other. Our lives are similar in this division. We live with struggles in the midst of great promise. One of the best known of the psalms speaks directly to our condition. Most people, even non-Christians, know the first couple of lines by heart,

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. (Psalm 23:1-3a)

Yes, this is what we want Lord! Peace and well being and communion with you. Why then do the troubles continue to pop up each day? Why are we still challenged? Because, brothers and sisters, we’re called to be His people in the midst of a fallen world. Our lives show the strength of our Shepherd. They show that despite the challenges that surround us, our Shepherd has prepared a safe place for us, he has spread a table before us. We are able to face anything knowing that we are secure in His hand. We have peace, knowing that Easter morning is coming.

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Lent Spent with the Psalms Day Sixteen

image We conclude this week of Lent with with a question. Do we take the grace borne of the Cross for granted? To varying degrees, Christians have been guilty of this for centuries. A promise like that found in Psalm 30 can make us complacent,

When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.”

O Lord, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; (vv 6-7a)

Easter becomes just a marker in the year pointing out that Spring is imminent. What if Spring didn’t arrive? Would we take notice or simply accept it, soon taking the new weather pattern for granted. Likewise, if God were to hide His face from us, would we soon accept that as the way things are?

… but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. (v 7b)

Don’t allow the soporific world around you to lull you into inattention. The Cross was an eternally history changing event on your behalf. Never allow that grace slip from view. Never take it for granted. The price was too high.

Grace and peace to you.

 

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Lent Spent with the Psalms Day Fifteen

imageI remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.

I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. (Psalm 143:5-6)

It’s easy to become complacent in facing Easter. We look down the corridor of time back toward the Resurrection and want to know the power of seeing Jesus risen from the tomb. As the stores fill with Peeps and colored grasses for the baskets, we find it easy to satisfy our souls with trinkets and temporary fulfillments. Our often parched and dry souls are smothered by the cultural messages that bombard us with offers to fill us up with this or that. We drink the soda only to find ourselves thirsty again and hour later.

Many in the Church view Lent as ‘that time when we give stuff up’ at best and at worst, with a suspicious eye on the implied ascetic aesthetic. Sacrifice in emulation of our Saviors sacrifice is neither. Our purpose in observing the season of Lent is to put off the things that are controlling our souls and burying the dry, cracked surface of our hearts. Only when we reveal that surface can the grace penetrate deep within us.

Grace and peace to you.

 

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