Isaiah 44: 21-28:
21 "Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I have made you, you are my servant; O Israel, I will not forget you. 22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you." 23 Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, O earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel. 24 "This is what the LORD says — your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, 25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, 26 who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'It shall be inhabited,' of the towns of Judah, 'They shall be built,' and of their ruins, 'I will restore them,' 27 who says to the watery deep, 'Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,' 28 who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, "Let it be rebuilt," and of the temple, "Let its foundations be laid." '
I completed the work to earn my PhD in 1998. The process took five years to complete – the first three with class work, the last two with a dissertation. During this time, my older son grew up too fast, I did not have a second child with my first wife, I borrowed money to help with expenses, and I was not working full-time for the first four of those years. Was it worth it? Yes. No. I do not think I am smarter than many people who do not have a doctorate, but I passed the educational endurance test. I half-agree with those who say PhD stands for Piled Higher and Deeper.
While I work at a state-supported college, I appreciate a Christian liberal arts school that incorporates Christian beliefs with a liberal education. Christianity in higher education has often been relegated to campus clubs or irrelevancy. But on a Christian campus, Christianity is merged with education. Understanding all of life from a Christian perspective creates an interaction, rather than a disjunction, between faith and learning.
A liberal education (college instruction that provides broad, general knowledge) offers an excellent learning experience. With many graduated students not working in fields directly related to their majors, students must be able to think through solutions rather than simply regurgitate answers. Technology is increasing exponentially and students need to learn which questions to ask in a transforming job market. A liberal education teaches students how to think for themselves.
God is not against all education in this passage. In fact, we are told in another passage that we are to love the Lord our God with all of our mind. The writer of Isaiah is reminding us that God still needs to be number one in our lives. Idolatry occurs when the creature imagines himself or herself to be the creator:
A Faithful Response: Help your child with his/her homework (or someone else’s child if you have no children).
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Obedience
Hebrews 5: 7-10
7 During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Obedience. Boy, do I often fail here. Don’t worry, I’m not going to list my many sins to offer satisfaction for voyeurs of the souls. But I often fail to do the things I know that I should. Why is that? One reason is probably because, in the midst of my most important busy schedule, I do not sit and reflect on God’s word often enough. This passage tells me that Jesus “offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries…” If Jesus, God’s Son, spent time in prayer, then why don’t I?
A friend of mine’s wife recently had minor surgery. He called me the night before and asked, “Can you sit with me for the two hours?” I said “Sure” and was immediately humbled by his request. What could I offer him? I had never sat with another man in the hospital and did not know what to say. But then I began to realize that he was seeking my presence more than anything I could say. We sat and we shared and I began to realize the strength in having another present in the time of one’s need. I hope that I have the courage to ask a friend to come and sit with me in my time of need.
That Great Myth of Self-Sufficiency. We just can’t make it on our own resources. Jesus cried out to God his Father to sustain him through his time of trial. Would he have made it had he not cried out? I do not know. Can we make it if we do not cry out? I doubt it.
A Faithful Response: Visit someone in the hospital.
7 During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Obedience. Boy, do I often fail here. Don’t worry, I’m not going to list my many sins to offer satisfaction for voyeurs of the souls. But I often fail to do the things I know that I should. Why is that? One reason is probably because, in the midst of my most important busy schedule, I do not sit and reflect on God’s word often enough. This passage tells me that Jesus “offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries…” If Jesus, God’s Son, spent time in prayer, then why don’t I?
A friend of mine’s wife recently had minor surgery. He called me the night before and asked, “Can you sit with me for the two hours?” I said “Sure” and was immediately humbled by his request. What could I offer him? I had never sat with another man in the hospital and did not know what to say. But then I began to realize that he was seeking my presence more than anything I could say. We sat and we shared and I began to realize the strength in having another present in the time of one’s need. I hope that I have the courage to ask a friend to come and sit with me in my time of need.
That Great Myth of Self-Sufficiency. We just can’t make it on our own resources. Jesus cried out to God his Father to sustain him through his time of trial. Would he have made it had he not cried out? I do not know. Can we make it if we do not cry out? I doubt it.
A Faithful Response: Visit someone in the hospital.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Multiple Sclerosis
Psalm 31
1 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. 2 Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. 3 Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. 4 Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. 5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth. 6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the LORD. 7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. 8 You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. 9 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. 10 My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. 11 Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends — those who see me on the street flee from me. 12 I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. 13 For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life. 14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." 15 My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. 16 Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. 17 Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I have cried out to you; but let the wicked be put to shame and lie silent in the grave. 18 Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous. 19 How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. 20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues. 21 Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city. 22 In my alarm I said, "I am cut off from your sight!" Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. 23 Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. 24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.
I have a mild cae of Multiple Sclerosis. Lesions show up on my MRI. I have trouble seeing, especially in bright sunlight; the backs of my legs are often tight, and I sometimes have tingling sensations down both my arms and legs, I do not sleep well at night I can relate to the psalmist who writes: “[M]y eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.”
This psalm reminds me that I need to place my tired body in God’s palm. “Since you are my rock and my fortress,… Into your hands I commit my spirit, But I trust you,… My times are in your hands,… How great is your goodness,…” At no place in the psalm does the writer blame God for causing afflictions. I could never love a God that directly caused all bad things to happen to me. I understand and appreciate the theological reflection that God’s Love overshadows his all-powerfulness. A loving God does all that He can to help his creatures. “In the shelter of your presence you hide them…”
Placing my life in God’s hands is often difficult for me. I want to control my destiny. Western society teaches me that I am best off when I help myself. This Psalm teaches me that I need to recognize my neediness and lay my life in God’s hands. Afflictions are not always physical. Some of our afflictions are more readily apparent, but we all have afflictions. Perhaps the greatest affliction is never acknowledging our afflictedness.
A Faithful Response: Write down your afflictions and then tear them up – ask your minister about having a service where everyone can place their torn up afflictions in an offering plate to God.
1 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. 2 Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. 3 Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. 4 Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. 5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth. 6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the LORD. 7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. 8 You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. 9 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. 10 My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. 11 Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends — those who see me on the street flee from me. 12 I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. 13 For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life. 14 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." 15 My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. 16 Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. 17 Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I have cried out to you; but let the wicked be put to shame and lie silent in the grave. 18 Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous. 19 How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. 20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues. 21 Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city. 22 In my alarm I said, "I am cut off from your sight!" Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. 23 Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. 24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.
I have a mild cae of Multiple Sclerosis. Lesions show up on my MRI. I have trouble seeing, especially in bright sunlight; the backs of my legs are often tight, and I sometimes have tingling sensations down both my arms and legs, I do not sleep well at night I can relate to the psalmist who writes: “[M]y eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.”
This psalm reminds me that I need to place my tired body in God’s palm. “Since you are my rock and my fortress,… Into your hands I commit my spirit, But I trust you,… My times are in your hands,… How great is your goodness,…” At no place in the psalm does the writer blame God for causing afflictions. I could never love a God that directly caused all bad things to happen to me. I understand and appreciate the theological reflection that God’s Love overshadows his all-powerfulness. A loving God does all that He can to help his creatures. “In the shelter of your presence you hide them…”
Placing my life in God’s hands is often difficult for me. I want to control my destiny. Western society teaches me that I am best off when I help myself. This Psalm teaches me that I need to recognize my neediness and lay my life in God’s hands. Afflictions are not always physical. Some of our afflictions are more readily apparent, but we all have afflictions. Perhaps the greatest affliction is never acknowledging our afflictedness.
A Faithful Response: Write down your afflictions and then tear them up – ask your minister about having a service where everyone can place their torn up afflictions in an offering plate to God.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Mustard Seed Faith...
Mark 4: 26-34
26 He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
My now 18 year old son began praying the dinner blessing as a very little boy. He learned good praying habits but more than that, God probably smiled at the earnest child giving thanks to God his father more than any words I can dream up. Once a small friend corrected him for saying, ‘God is great, God is great.’ My little boy in turn corrected me for using the repeated words as I proudly mimicked him at one meal. However, when I assured him that God is always great, he happily went back to praying, ‘God is great, God is great.’
College Park Baptist Church has a wonderful tradition. Easter morning the worshippers are encouraged to bring fresh flowers to put into a wire mesh surrounding a six foot cross. The whole congregation participates in this colorful procession. Huge baskets are set on the altar to collect the flowers which then are placed in the wire mesh by several members of the church. Naethan went down with the children for the first time way back when he was three. With the press of the congregational crowd, I lost track of watching him. But as I came to the front of the church with my flower to place in the basket, I spied my little boy wandering with his flower. He saw me at the same time and immediately ran towards me, “Daddy, Daddy,” he cried excitedly, “look at my flower!” I proudly smiled and said very pointedly that he indeed had a beautiful flower. Then I took him by the hand and led him to where the rest of the flowers were being placed .... and I and my son together placed our offering on the altar of God. His mustard seed faith is growing....
What services are special in your memory?
26 He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
My now 18 year old son began praying the dinner blessing as a very little boy. He learned good praying habits but more than that, God probably smiled at the earnest child giving thanks to God his father more than any words I can dream up. Once a small friend corrected him for saying, ‘God is great, God is great.’ My little boy in turn corrected me for using the repeated words as I proudly mimicked him at one meal. However, when I assured him that God is always great, he happily went back to praying, ‘God is great, God is great.’
College Park Baptist Church has a wonderful tradition. Easter morning the worshippers are encouraged to bring fresh flowers to put into a wire mesh surrounding a six foot cross. The whole congregation participates in this colorful procession. Huge baskets are set on the altar to collect the flowers which then are placed in the wire mesh by several members of the church. Naethan went down with the children for the first time way back when he was three. With the press of the congregational crowd, I lost track of watching him. But as I came to the front of the church with my flower to place in the basket, I spied my little boy wandering with his flower. He saw me at the same time and immediately ran towards me, “Daddy, Daddy,” he cried excitedly, “look at my flower!” I proudly smiled and said very pointedly that he indeed had a beautiful flower. Then I took him by the hand and led him to where the rest of the flowers were being placed .... and I and my son together placed our offering on the altar of God. His mustard seed faith is growing....
What services are special in your memory?
Sunday, March 28, 2010
A Long and Faithful Life
Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah. 8 Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." 11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah.
My father’s mother taught me by example what it means ‘to be still and know that I am God.’ She was raised Catholic but joined the Episcopalian church when she married my grandfather. For years, until she was in her 80’s, my grandmother would begin and end every day with an hour’s prayer. The Catholic Rosary’s words were ingrained in her: Blessed Mary, mother of Jesus, have mercy on me.... (This devotional is not about the theological rightness or wrongness of the Catholic prayers. I am sure most of us would agree that Mother Teresa will be seated closer to God than any of us.)
My grandmother had a heart attack when she was 89. We did not know whether she would survive as she lay in a coma. I decided to drive the six hours to Washington, DC, to spend a weekend with my father. We visited the hospital that Saturday. As we walked into the hospital room, my grandmother was mumbling. As I bent forward to kiss her cheek, I heard the words I had not heard from her mouth in several years: ‘Blessed Mary, mother of Jesus, have mercy on me....’ I smiled and immediately doubted words of prayer would be coming from my mouth if I was the one unconsciously murmuring words.
My grandmother died at the age of 91. I remember her preparing huge Sunday dinners, her taking me and my brother to the zoo, and the city sounds outside her apartment. But most of all I remember her devotion to her prayers. She was buried with her prayer book and rosary beads in her hands. She lived a long and faithful life.
God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day....
A Faithful Response: Visit/call/e-mail your grandmother if she is still alive.
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah. 8 Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." 11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah.
My father’s mother taught me by example what it means ‘to be still and know that I am God.’ She was raised Catholic but joined the Episcopalian church when she married my grandfather. For years, until she was in her 80’s, my grandmother would begin and end every day with an hour’s prayer. The Catholic Rosary’s words were ingrained in her: Blessed Mary, mother of Jesus, have mercy on me.... (This devotional is not about the theological rightness or wrongness of the Catholic prayers. I am sure most of us would agree that Mother Teresa will be seated closer to God than any of us.)
My grandmother had a heart attack when she was 89. We did not know whether she would survive as she lay in a coma. I decided to drive the six hours to Washington, DC, to spend a weekend with my father. We visited the hospital that Saturday. As we walked into the hospital room, my grandmother was mumbling. As I bent forward to kiss her cheek, I heard the words I had not heard from her mouth in several years: ‘Blessed Mary, mother of Jesus, have mercy on me....’ I smiled and immediately doubted words of prayer would be coming from my mouth if I was the one unconsciously murmuring words.
My grandmother died at the age of 91. I remember her preparing huge Sunday dinners, her taking me and my brother to the zoo, and the city sounds outside her apartment. But most of all I remember her devotion to her prayers. She was buried with her prayer book and rosary beads in her hands. She lived a long and faithful life.
God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day....
A Faithful Response: Visit/call/e-mail your grandmother if she is still alive.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Faith Sustains Us
Ezekial 17: 22-24
22 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. 24 All the trees of the field will know that I the LORD bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. "'I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.'"
This passage may be an early messianic reference. The messiah will be for people of every kind. Or perhaps Jesus had this passage in mind when he told the parable of the mustard seed (Mark 4: 26ff). Faith only requires a tender sprig from the topmost shoots. God does the planting and nurturing and the tree produces the branches and fruit it was created to produce. The passage may also be a reference to Israel desiring to turn in upon itself and keep her faith rather than spreading Yahweh’s message. The Word of Christ is for everyone.
Just after Christmas, 1992, my family and I were traveling from Illinois to Maryland to spend a few days with my family. We were going to be a couple of hours late, so I stopped to call ahead. A baby-sitter for my sister’s three little children answered the phone and haltingly told me my brother-in-law had succumbed to the throat cancer he had been battling for two and one-half years. My sister became a widow at 28 with three children under the age of six. I remember sobbing, “It’s not supposed to happen that way!”
Today is my sister’s birthday (written for June 27, 1996). Since her husband’s death, my sister, who was a “C” student in High School, attended a two-year Nursing program and earned mostly “A”s on her journey toward the Associate’s degree. Her faith sustained her and continues to sustain her. I am proudly planning to drive up next month and watch her graduate.
Never claim your theology from one verse. Our relationship with God travels beyond the seemingly robotic image of verse 24. God does not sit up above us and push little “smite” buttons. If this is an early messianic reference, the vision offers shelter for all of us. Sometimes in the ,midst of life’s tragedies we might not feel Grace – the shadow of Grace shelters and sustains us.
A Faithful Response: Ask your brother/sister what are the top three experiences of his/her life.
22 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. 24 All the trees of the field will know that I the LORD bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. "'I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.'"
This passage may be an early messianic reference. The messiah will be for people of every kind. Or perhaps Jesus had this passage in mind when he told the parable of the mustard seed (Mark 4: 26ff). Faith only requires a tender sprig from the topmost shoots. God does the planting and nurturing and the tree produces the branches and fruit it was created to produce. The passage may also be a reference to Israel desiring to turn in upon itself and keep her faith rather than spreading Yahweh’s message. The Word of Christ is for everyone.
Just after Christmas, 1992, my family and I were traveling from Illinois to Maryland to spend a few days with my family. We were going to be a couple of hours late, so I stopped to call ahead. A baby-sitter for my sister’s three little children answered the phone and haltingly told me my brother-in-law had succumbed to the throat cancer he had been battling for two and one-half years. My sister became a widow at 28 with three children under the age of six. I remember sobbing, “It’s not supposed to happen that way!”
Today is my sister’s birthday (written for June 27, 1996). Since her husband’s death, my sister, who was a “C” student in High School, attended a two-year Nursing program and earned mostly “A”s on her journey toward the Associate’s degree. Her faith sustained her and continues to sustain her. I am proudly planning to drive up next month and watch her graduate.
Never claim your theology from one verse. Our relationship with God travels beyond the seemingly robotic image of verse 24. God does not sit up above us and push little “smite” buttons. If this is an early messianic reference, the vision offers shelter for all of us. Sometimes in the ,midst of life’s tragedies we might not feel Grace – the shadow of Grace shelters and sustains us.
A Faithful Response: Ask your brother/sister what are the top three experiences of his/her life.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
God's Creation
Psalm 8
1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Frank Tupper taught Theology at Southern Seminary for over twenty years (he currently teaches at Wake Forest). One of his grand illustrations when speaking about the awesomeness of God is to magnanimously take a pen and place a dot on the wall of the classroom. He then proclaims we are like the dot and the large lecture room is like the universe. Then Frank tries to find the dot on the wall which is so insignificant to the rest of the room... and yet, he states convincingly: God cares intimately for each person! God is SO BIG – yet he cares for you…
God’s creation is amazing. We, being part of that creation, are also amazing. God does care for each of us. He wants us to care for his creation, also: “You make him to rule over the works of your hands” (v. 6a). We should rule over the animals and the rest of his creation as though we were the Sustainer. “All sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas” (v. 7-8). What else can this mean than that God also wants us to care for the fields where the beasts live and the heavens where the birds fly and the seas where the fish swim?
A Faithful Response: Share an instance in the coments area of when God’s love was very real for you.
1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Frank Tupper taught Theology at Southern Seminary for over twenty years (he currently teaches at Wake Forest). One of his grand illustrations when speaking about the awesomeness of God is to magnanimously take a pen and place a dot on the wall of the classroom. He then proclaims we are like the dot and the large lecture room is like the universe. Then Frank tries to find the dot on the wall which is so insignificant to the rest of the room... and yet, he states convincingly: God cares intimately for each person! God is SO BIG – yet he cares for you…
God’s creation is amazing. We, being part of that creation, are also amazing. God does care for each of us. He wants us to care for his creation, also: “You make him to rule over the works of your hands” (v. 6a). We should rule over the animals and the rest of his creation as though we were the Sustainer. “All sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas” (v. 7-8). What else can this mean than that God also wants us to care for the fields where the beasts live and the heavens where the birds fly and the seas where the fish swim?
A Faithful Response: Share an instance in the coments area of when God’s love was very real for you.
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