Be like a green olive tree

But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
forever and ever.
I will thank you forever,
because you have done it.
I will wait for your name, for it is good,
in the presence of the godly.
—Psalm 52:8,9

“David contrasts Do’eg’s arrogance and self-reliance with his (David’s) faith in God, which guarantees his safety and protection (verse 10). While the wicked will ultimately wilt and wither, the righteous, who place their trust in the Almighty, will be like a “fresh olive tree”; they will be saved from the schemes of their adversaries and will enjoy a long life of success, blessing and prosperity.” — From Daily Tehillim, Perech Summary

“Don’t use that tone of voice with me, mister!”

The other day my wife brought in a “newsletter” from the homeowners’ association. It began with a paragraph on how it’s spring and time to start making the properties look nice. It went on to say that several new people had moved in since the last newsletter. The remainder of the “newsletter” talked about fines people can expect and legal action if things aren’t done like the board members–elected by the homeowners–want things done. I guess the idea of mentioning the new folks was to let them know just exactly what they have gotten themselves into when they moved into the neighborhood.

It’s just not a friendly newsletter. It didn’t welcome the new folks to the neighborhood. It didn’t tell me anything that was “newsy” at all. It just lambasted us all in advance. It concluded saying that the board would be coming around on a walk through to inspect. That’s only one of the reasons I don’t care for this property!

When I was a kid, I might not have been the perfect gentleman that I, of course, now am. I may have once or twice spoken rudely my folks. I can remember hearing, “Don’t use that tone of voice with me, mister!” It’s all about how we talk to people that can make me a friend or an instant enemy. It’s about tone of voice. The board member who wrote the “newsletter” doesn’t understand Biblical principles.

Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity. . . [1 Timothy 5:1]

It’s about Respect, which is due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others. Matthew Henry comments “Respect must be paid to the dignity of years and place. The younger, if faulty, must be rebuked, not as desirous to find fault with them, but as willing to make the best of them. There is need of much meekness and care in reproving those who deserve reproof.” I disagree with Mr. Henry. I don’t see in Paul’s message that the young are to be rebuked, but despite that Mr. Henry cautions that it isn’t about finding fault, but helping make them better. Paul suggests we are to speak to others as if they were our fathers, brothers, sisters. Mr. Henry speaks to the need of much meekness and care in our speech.

Many years ago, a traffic police officer in Ontario, California, Officer Orr, had been on the job for nearly thirty years. In all that time, he had never written a traffic violation, yet when people saw him they sat up straight and checked their speed. Were these drivers afraid of Officer Orr’s rage should they be stopped? No. Quite the contrary, he spoke with each person gently, explaining why it was important for them to follow the traffic laws. He went into great, graphic, detail on the results of accidents in which he and others had encountered, and described the injuries. It took quite a while for Officer Orr to quietly explain the facts to these could-be accident victims. Quite a while. A quiet word does wonders.

A soft answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,
but the mouths of fools pour out folly. (Proverbs 15.1,2)

The point of our righteous and pure speech is to show that we respect the person to whom we are speaking. The feeling I get from too many things I read, hear these days is that the person looks at me with distain. This disdain may be construed as judging. Paul wrote to the Romans (2.3-5): “But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. . .”

My mother often said, “Chickens come home to roost.” She meant that how I treat someone will come back to me someday. If I treat you with respect, then I will earn respect. If I treat you with disdain, I will earn disdain–not only from you, but one day from others, too.

We do well to acknowledge our sins, our errors, and confess them to our Lord in prayer. Our repentance puts us on the righteous path with our Lord.

October

It seems I’ve skipped most of the month of October. It began with the representatives of Americans who wanted their voices heard about the way the Government is spending the people’s money. Lake of enough votes to actually pass a budget left my wife out of work for the first three weeks of the month.

So as the time flew by, my wife spent a lot of time in a corner of our house dedicated to her only real hobby, art. The passed five or so years she’s been gathering up photos, both old and new, and sorting through them, and preparing to build family scrapbooks. It’s really impossible to say exactly what I really did. I piddled around in the shop, did some things around the house that needed to be done.

One thing that we did, during the “furlough” is to go out for lunch together, at a few favorite places as well as trying out a few new ones. We discovered Mambo Jambo cafe, located near an old favorite lunch place. We ended up at Mambo when we arrived at that old favorite late, and confronted a crowd awaiting seats. It was so worth being late, and giving Mambo a try.

Mambo Jambo is subtitled A Nuevo Latino Seafood Cafe. Entering, we were greeted warmly, and lead to a booth or table, our choice, in one of two dining rooms. We chose a booth. Splitting the cafe provided a more intimate experience. The decor is earthly, using lots of dark wood and black iron. My wife had a margarita, while I choose the Dos X beer on tap. My wife commented that her drink was exceptional, with a generous amount of tequila. We both ordered fish tacos. They were served with several sauces, each a marvel. I had the “signiture” salad, that included strawberries, walnuts, and goat cheese. Delicious. My wife had a Greek salad, and loved the delicate, yet spicy dressing. Not only was the food excellent, but the presentation was striking. Everything from having a carafe of water on the table to the plates and bowls that the food was served on made a delight upon which the eyes feasted.

Presentation. It’s an old concept, really. I first read of it in relation to food in a Chinese cook book. It seems to me, that presentation is as persuasive as fragrance when it comes to the enjoyment that one may take from the simple act of eating a meal.

I am reminded of a verse in my morning reading of Revelation:

Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Revelation 19:9

And when I think of The Feast, I think of what we call the Last Supper. I think of how Y’shuaJesus presented Himself. He said we should break bread and drink wine and do so in remembrance of Him. The Body and The Blood. A true presentation.

How do I translate this into Christian Living for the Twenty-First Century? Simple! We are more than the money we give to ministries, we are ministers to those with whom we come into contact. We are living Bibles to people we meet each day. We are a meal to tantalize the senses of the unsaved. We are the Body of Messiah.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Retrace Our Path

Our journey is to take us forward with Messiah pointing the way. We are on the Pilgrim’s Progress. Though to some we appear to wander about, we are blown by the Spirit. We are as the Earth, in constant motion. As one old sailor put it, “If I rest, I rust.” Certainly we linger once and a while, here or there, to help someone or to recover some malady, or even to rest. It’s all spelled out by King David in Psalm 23:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

In John’s Revelation, (2:4,5) the Lord points out to us, however, there are times in which we must take a few steps backward. We must retrace our path, our steps.

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

“Remember – Consider the state of grace in which you once stood; the happiness, love, and joy which you felt when ye received remission of sins; the zeal ye had for God’s glory and the salvation of mankind; your willing, obedient spirit, your cheerful self-denial, your fervor in private prayer, your detachment from the world, and your heavenly-mindedness. Remember – consider, all these.

“Whence thou art fallen – Fallen from all those blessed dispositions and gracious feelings already mentioned. Or, remember what a loss you have sustained; for so εκπιπτειν is frequently used by the best Greek writers.

“Repent – Be deeply humbled before God for having so carelessly guarded the Divine treasure.

“Do the first works – Resume your former zeal and diligence; watch, fast, pray, reprove sin, carefully attend all the ordinances of God, walk as in his sight, and rest not till you have recovered all your lost ground, and got back the evidence of your acceptance with your Maker.”
–Adam Clarke (1760 or 1762 – 1832) British Methodist theologian and Biblical scholar.

There are times when I really want to escape the “modern” life. I want to go back to the Good Ole Days, to return to the Life of Riley. I read Revelation 2, the letter to the Church at Ephesus, and immediately recall the tough yet glorious days I spent in overseas ministries. Nothing about my life then was routine, ordinary. There was struggle, but there were inner rewards. As The Reverend Clarke wrote, “blessed dispositions and gracious feeling” surrounded me. I think back the trucking ministry over the road, traveling the highways of America, meeting people, ministering. Tough, hard. Yes. But oh so wonderful.

Ah, but it’s so easy to forget that retracing steps taken to get me to where I am at this minute doesn’t necessarily mean physical steps. There are spiritual steps taken that have removed me somewhat from the reasons for the glorious feelings of past times. Have I failed to take opportunities each day to do something simple such as pray? When was the last time I sat simply waiting for the Spirit of G-d to fill me, changing my heart? The Reverend Clarke wrote “Resume your former zeal and diligence; watch, fast, pray, reprove sin, carefully attend all the ordinances of God, walk as in his sight, and rest not till you have recovered all your lost ground, and got back the evidence of your acceptance with your Maker.”

It’s not the occupation in the former ministries that brought me closest to G-d, it was the way in which I approached G-d. It was the way I loved and responded to Messiah. The Apostle Paul found the same satisfaction in his Lord, our Lord, in times of terror and imprisonment as he found in times of blessed respite and fellowship. He was content in all things. Contentment isn’t a product of things external, but of what’s going on within.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Present Truth

Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

2 Peter 1:12

“We must be established in the belief of the truth that we may not be shaken by every wind of doctrine, and especially in that which is the present truth, the truth more peculiarly necessary for us to know in our day, that which belongs to our peace and which is more especially opposed in our time. The great doctrines of the gospel, that Jesus is the Christ, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, that those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved, and all that believe in God must be careful to maintain good works. These are the truths the apostles insistend on in their day. These are faithful sayings and worth of all acceptation in every age of the Christian Church.” -Matthew Henry

It seems to me that one might easily write these “present truths” on a card, kept ready to refer to when anyone states anything regarding the maintenance of our religion. These are our Standards, by which all is to be judged. We will weed out deceptive thinking before it embeds in our souls. We may use this present truth to purge false and damaging ideas from our being.
Have a great day and weekend. Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Practice: Undisturbed and Unobserved

Practice makes perfect (credit: tom_1984)

In a recent post, I shared from an article about learning to handle a boat. The author’s mentor suggested that he go out in on a quite day to a place undisturbed and unobserved in which he could practice. I got sidetracked from writing, as I said on Monday, but still thought more about this sort of practicing as it relates to our Bible Walk. I recalled an interesting young man that appeared on the television show American Idol a few years ago. He wore a western-style (cowboy) hat and boots, and successfully auditioned for the show, and went on to Hollywood to compete with others. I don’t recall his name, and couldn’t find him in an internet search. His voice was good, though I believe he was eliminated before the final ten contestants. What made him remarkable, to me, is that he’d never sung to an audience until his audition with American Idol; he’d sung only to the ranch animals for whom he’d tended as he grew up. He didn’t even sing to his parents.

Another man comes to my mind that did a lot of practicing where he was undisturbed and unobserved: King David. Here’s part of the story that illustrates the success he had after long practice.

. . .David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him[Goliath]. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, and David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!” Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off.

1Samuel 17:32-39

David fought lions and other predators that would have killed the sheep in his charge. During this time, David also spent time with G-d. Long evenings singing to G-d lead to other songs that we enjoy—Psalms. David learned in the years tending sheep to trust G-d. David learned warfare, too. David put it all together, especially the trust of G-d, to fight the battle against Goliath, and win in the Name of the LORD, through His might.

And then there was another gentleman. Saul, who became Paul. Saul was well trained in the Jewish Law and its traditions. Quite the fellow. As Saul, he persecuted the Jews who’d come to believe in Y’shuaJesus as Messiah. Saul had an epiphany; while on the road to Damascus to harass, even slaughter, more Jews, he met Y’shuaJesus. From this time forward, he was one of those Believers he’d persecuted. We read in Acts 9 that Paul “was with the disciples in Damascus for some days. Immediately he began proclaiming Y’shua in the synagogues.” He ruffled a lot of Jewish feathers, and a conspiracy began; the Jews would have Saul killed. With the help of disciples, Paul got out of Dodge. It seems likely at this point, prior to arriving in Jerusalem, he went into the desert (see Galatians 1:17), where he was with the Lord and relearned the Bible from a Messianic perspective, and learned that G-d extended Himself to all people, not just the Jewish nation.

While their stories contrast on some points, both David and Paul spent time in preparation. Practice. I’ve heard it said that we Americans want things instantly. Instant gratification. Instant knowledge. Instant success. We are thrilled to read the success stories that seem to show no amount of preliminary work, preparation, with instant results. It doesn’t really happen. One of the key ingredients in preparation Is not only the physical practice that builds muscle memory, but it is the time spent in mental and emotional preparation. For Christians, that’s utter devotion to the Lord. It is about being with the Lord, then we know what and how to practice the parts we’ll be called to play.

In thinking more on this topic of practice that is undisturbed and unobserved, I am reminded of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (see Luke 24:13-35). Like Paul, they knew the scriptures but came to know them in a different way as they walked with Y’shuaJesus. For it was while with the Lord that the scripture became alive to them.

So we don’t necessarily need to run off to the desert to practice our Bible Walk. But we do need to escape the daily grind to be with the Lord. It doesn’t have to be planned, and doesn’t need to be for weeks or years at a time. Moments during our ordinary day are fine. STOP what we currently are doing, let the Spirit of G-d into those moments to transform our inner persons so that our outer person walks the Bible Walk, not just talks it. This, then, becomes our practice.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .