Psalm 137

 Psalm 137

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept 

when we remembered Zion.

There on the poplars we hung our harps.  

For there our captors asked us for songs.

Our tormentors demanded songs of joy. 

They said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

HOW CAN WE SING SONGS OF THE LORD WHILE IN A FOREIGN LAND?

I sat with my Bible this morning and this Psalm showed up as I opened it.  I use the Bible app, so I’m not exactly sure how that happened.  But it struck me forcibly. The world of the Israelites, when they were slaves in Babylon, was not so very different from our world today.  I thought about that and put myself in this picture.  The words rang multiple bells.  As we read these phrases stand out to me.

“We remembered Zion.”  Today, we may remember the times God spoke to our hearts, the times when, unasked and unrecognized, His Holy Spirit comforted us every day and when our worries were only short lived. We remember a world, a life, filled with less ugliness, and less “in your face” disobedience to His will and His word.

We may remember a world that was less bombastic – a world that didn’t seem to be screaming at the top of its lungs,” Hear me!  Look at me! Imitate me!  Worship me!”

“We hung our harps.”  Maybe today we stopped the music of speaking His words, the beautiful music that came from the talent given to us by God.  We hung up our harps, out of reach.  We stopped, and when the culture asked us to write a song for them, we did not!

We are being asked to "sing a song of joy."  The world wants our joy, but in a strange voice.  “Sing a song of joy.” they say. They want God to bless their own song, not His song.  

How can we sing of The Lord while living in a foreign land?  We are citizens of God’s eternal kingdom, every other land is a foreign land, no matter how pleasant it might seem.  So yes, today we must sing the songs of our LORD in this world, in this foreign land.

How can we?  That’s the question.
We must and we can, but the song must be God’s song from God’s heart, from God’s word.  We can, only if we remember Zion.  If we remember God in His Glory.  If we remember God with His might and His strength, we can sing His song.

Psalm 137

They say 

sing a song in our presence and stay.

Sing joy from your hearts and then play evil’s song
in a wonderful, beautiful way.

Sing - praise to the sins of today.

“Sing a song filled with Joy” they will say

“Sing the song you sang loud on that day

when you were there near His presence

when you lived in His Kingdom.

Sing a song and bring blessings our way.”

But we hung up our harps we might say.

‘cause this world is so empty and grey 

that the song from our hearts could never be sung 

in a world that has traveled this way.

But there must be a way
to remember to sing

if God’s kingdom we claim,

if we honor His name

to sing in our joy, with the courage He’ll bring.

If we remember Zion’s beauty 

and know our welcome there,

if we see the picture of the sins
that we no longer bear - 

our greed, our envy, hate and pride

the dreadful things we could not hide,

then

we’ll sing the song of welcome 

to the sinner by our side

and

we’ll help them see a God
who loves each person there. 

Let’s pick up our harps and sing 

to God our Almighty King.

We’ll sing of THE TRUTH AND LOVE – 

who is

JESUS, sent from above.

We’ll play the tunes the angels wrote 

on clouds that God designed.

We’ll sing of Jesus Christ, the Precious Lamb, 

Savior Divine,

Reflection

 

I woke up this morning – staggered into the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

Sometimes that's enough to ruin someone’s day!  It was for me.  What I saw was hair standing on end, puffy eyes, new wrinkles where I had engaged with the pillow all night, and a semblance of my 84-year-old self.

What I saw was a reflection, a likeness, a replica of the person standing in front of the mirror.  Oh my goodness!  There was work to be done!

Nothing could change the me I saw in that mirror
 into the me I wish I'd seen.

But at least there was something I could do to help. (That’s what a hairbrush, a washcloth, cold water, face cream and of course a toothbrush were for.)

This got me to thinking about reflections.  Mirror Images – replicas – likenesses – resemblance – representation.  They all speak of basically the same thing.

So as we normally do, let’s look at a couple of scriptures.

Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV) Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

1 John 2:6 (NIV) Whoever says he abides in him (Jesus) 
ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Walking the way that Jesus walked?  When we read Jesus’ words, we find that He made it perfectly clear what our walk should be like. 

The sermon that Jesus gave on the mountain to His disciples (Matthew 5-7) begins with Jesus describing people as He sees them.  He calls them all blessed - those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are meek, are humble, merciful, and hunger to be righteous, and then some who are pure in heart and peacemakers.  

Then Jesus goes into the importance of the law (the teachings of God that were taught through the ages.)

Next, He elaborates on some of the commands that His people have tried to keep over the centuries.  He shows us that those commands are only helpful if we understand the bottom line – that obedience that must come from our hearts and minds, not just a thoughtless action.

Jesus is really showing us how to live as imitators of Himself.  He spends a lot of time discussing the reason people do the things they see as good. Those actions, giving to the poor and praying, etc. mean nothing when they are done to glorify ourselves.

As the sermon progresses, He speaks of reactions when you are hurt, of favoritism in your interactions. And then He speaks of the love and care His Father has for all His children.

Jesus sums it all up with the directive to build our lives on His teachings.  Build your house on THE ROCK!

Those three chapters in Matthew are enough to begin seeing whether our lives reflect the face, the walk, and the heart of our Savior.

I look into my mirror Lord,
and there looks back at me
a tarnished broken piece of art
that’s not what it should be.

If I could see
Your mirrored face
within that glass 
I’d see

all beauty strength and goodness
shining,
blazing 
back at me.

My Father, help me as I strive
to reflect your face today,
to be a mirror of Yourself
as I try to walk your way.

May kindness, love and patience shine 
in the glass that other’s view.

And my Father, God, I humbly pray 
that when I rise and greet the day 
I will reflect my Savior’s face
in ways that honor You.

But God Was

           In the beginning

 the earth we stand on was not 

 

but God was!

The light that shines on us was not 

but God was!

No mountains, no valleys, no oceans, no streams,

no sunshine, no moonlight, no trees and no dreams.

God Only 

Almighty

Eternal

The One

not made nor created, God, Spirit and Son

from the beginning – beginning of time

before minutes and hours only God 

The Divine

No form yet detected, emptiness – night

water hung in the darkness 

awaiting the light

The Spirit then floated, hovering still

as our world saw its birthing, awaiting God’s will.

And GOD said

“Let there be light,” and there was light. 

He spoke and it was!  

It had not been.  

But know this with certainty 

God Always Was!

Psalm 90:1-2 (CJB)

Adonai, you have been our dwelling place
in every generation.

Before the mountains were born,

before you had formed the earth and the world,

from eternity past to eternity future you are God

Psalm 108:1-5

Psalm 108:1-5 
I wonder if David woke up with a smile on his face the morning he wrote these words. 

He says, “My heart, O God, is steadfast.”   David was full of confidence, trusting - maybe even feeling secure in God’s love and in his own relationship with God – the Almighty.

Next David makes a commitment to “sing and make music with all my soul.”  In other words, when he sings, when he makes that music, he promises that it will come from his heart and deep in his soul.  He speaks as if his musical instruments are almost alive.  He says, “Awake harp and lyre.  I will awaken the dawn.”

Maybe he said, harp and lyre help me praise.  Help me make music so special that it will even make the sun come up over the horizon.   

“I will praise you Lord among the nations.  I will sing of you among the people.”  David was convicting me that my own singing, my own life, my own writing should be all about praising God.

Telling people of His glory, His majesty, His might and His love - that’s praising Him.  Praising Him is also telling God Himself that I love Him; telling Him that I know - I believe - that He is wonderful! 

The word, “wonderful” is often used carelessly.  But “a wonder” refers to something that is almost impossible to fathom - inexplicable.  That’s the wonder that David felt about the God of the universe.

David talks about God’s love being higher than the heavens.  He says, “Your faithfulness reaches to the sky.”  David can’t describe in words something he can’t see, or hear, or feel.  We’re like that as well.  The most expansive word David seems to use for something beyond his comprehension is the heavens – the sky.  So David says that God’s faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Isn’t it exciting to you that when we finally see God in all His splendor, majesty and might, we may even be able to describe Him?

When David praises God for His “faithfulness” it seems that is a word our current world doesn’t seem to understand.

Faithfulness - God IS faithful – committed and trustworthy.  He will never let us down.  He will never be torn away from his care for us.  We can go our own way; God does allow us free will.  But He never turns his back on us.  He is always at the door, ready to say, “Welcome home child.”  He is the Father.  He is the Savior.  He is the comforter.  He is a very perfect faithful God.

David finally says in verse 5, “Be exalted O God above the heavens.  Let your glory be over all the earth!”  All the first portion of Psalm 108 leads us to this!  

My heart, O God, is steadfast; 

I will sing and make music with all my soul. 

Awake, harp and lyre! 

I will awaken the dawn. 
 

I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; 

I will sing of you among the peoples. 

For great is your love, higher than the heavens; 

your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; 

let your glory be over all the earth. 

Psalm 108:1-5 (NIV)

Pilgrimage

 The dictionary definition of a pilgrimage is basically a journey.  Sometimes it's a journey for personal growth and exploration that may or may not have a spiritual focus.  

Or could it possibly be a pathway that leads to an encounter with God?

Jesus said

“I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly.”  John 10:10 (ESV)

We are each on a Pilgrimage, on a journey through life.  On this journey we can, if we choose, grow closer to the one who created and sustains all of life.  God created us to glorify His name; To give Him glory; To let people know just how awesome He is.

“. .  bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.”  Isaiah 43:6b-7 (KJV)

Our journey continues.  It doesn’t stop!  We keep moving, even when we don't think we are.  As long as we live, we’re on that journey.

On that journey we follow a pathway, a road, a trail.  Life goes on and on and on.  No matter how often you’d like to get off that pathway, sit down by the side of life and quit, or run ahead on the pathway to see what’s around the next corner. There is no way, you still go, step by step, by step.  Sometimes you take those steps alone and sometimes you are carried. 

When you were just a tiny baby the pathway was bright and noisy.  But you didn’t have to worry about anything, those around you provided what was needed.  You didn’t look ahead because you didn’t know anything but your own place on that pathway – the place was called NOW. 

As you grew and took your first steps you learned just how hard that pathway was, you fell and weren't always picked up.  You cried and weren’t always comforted.  But during that time you still knew there was One who had watched over you from the day you were conceived.  You fell asleep knowing that He would still watch over you.  Truly, you knew it in your heart.  You may not remember that, but God was there all the time. And as you grew you learned just who it was that carried and watched over you.

Psalm 139:7-12 (NIV)

Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee
from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far
side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light
become night around me,” even the darkness will
not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, 
for darkness is as light to you. 

For you created my inmost being, you knit me together
in my mother’s womb.

When we are on the journey through life, we can rejoice or resist, grieve or grow, compare our path to our neighbor’s path, or be contented with the road we’re traveling on.  We can take a detour around our ambitions, or stubbornly go our own way.  We can walk with God and with other Christians or try to “go it alone.”  We can try to circle back, speed up, slow down or even crumble. But we cannot stop!  You are still on that journey.  That sounds so tiring, doesn’t it?  

But here’s the blessing.  God has made us so that we can rest. We can sleep.  Sleep is like the rest in the middle of a musical piece.  It gives us a chance to breathe, and the rest gives the music an added dimension, an added atmosphere.

When I wake from my slumber I see in my window
a mantle of light 
softly touching the morn.

When the black sky recedes
from my wakening sight, 
and the sun’s mighty radiance erases the night,
I reach for my Savior.  I call on His Name,
and the strength to go on
is reborn.

May your day and your night be filled with the blessing of knowing who watches over you as you travel this path of life.

Diane

Why, God?

How many times do we ask “Why” in our daily lives?  We see hate and crime.  We see a heartbreaking news headline.  We see a child mistreated.  We see disasters.  We see people pushing grocery carts in the street, and we ask “Why?”

Why, God?  Why do you not “fix” it all?  Why, God?  Why do you not make life easier?  Why God?  Why?

Do you listen for the answer?  Or do you prefer to question in a tone that sounds like you’re telling God that He’s not measuring up to your expectations?

My husband and I just finished reading the book of Job in the Bible.  Job was really facing a heartbreaking, painful time, and he and his “friends” all questioned why.  The friends seemed to think they knew the answer, but God didn’t see it that way at all.

I sometimes like to think that, if I ask God, He will straighten me out – straighten it all out - straighten the world out.  But God knows me, He knows what I need.  He knows what the world needs and much of the time the answer is not rescue from the hardships.  

Many times, the hardships are what we need to drive us in the direction of His arms.  But dear friends, your hardships may not be sent to drive just you in that direction; instead they may be used to drive others to the arms of our Father.  You, my friend, may have a major role to play in bringing others to the knowledge of God’s love through your own pain and hardships.

If I ask “Why” when skies are black and clouds spill tears

If I ask “Why” infirmities grow constant with the years

If I ask “Why” this world is up-side-down

If I ask “Why” I see not smiles, just frowns

If I ask “why” but don’t discern God’s presence in the pain,
I’ll never understand the answers
or know God’s power and majesty will reign.

Am I a Pilgrim?

Am I a pilgrim?  A pilgrim is one who is journeying – not at home. 

The dictionary defines a pilgrim as “possibly a person who is traveling to a sacred place-a better place.”


Have you heard the saying, “Home is where the heart is?"  Do you believe that? 

If I am a pilgrim - someone searching for a better place, my heart must be telling me that I am not at home.  If my home is within the arms of Jesus, then that’s where my heart will be, that’s where I will feel at home.  

 Deuteronomy 33:27 

The eternal God is your dwelling place,

and underneath are the everlasting arms.

We are living in a world of fear and anxiety.  Could it be that we're not sure where we really belong?  Could it be that we feel lost – or that we don’t recognize our own true home?

Perhaps it’s because it’s been too long since we’ve spent any time there.  Or perhaps what we thought was home - what we pictured in our mind, was not real, but "photoshopped."  That idea of “home” conformed not to God's design, but to the picture we see in the world. 

But if we look at the verse in Deuteronomy 33, we see that God is our home.  He is our dwelling place and His everlasting arms  will never fail us.

My home is in the arms,
the mighty arms of Jesus,

those arms that held my sins upon the tree.

My home is in the arms,
the gentle arms of Jesus,

arms that reach to comfort and to free.

My home is in the arms, the steady arms of Jesus,

who changes not and will forever be.

My home is where God's heart is,

the heart that broke with His great love for me.

See you at home, my friends.