Psalm

Psalm 23 Haiku

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

The psalmist beautifully depicts the life of sheep, and I can relate. I am a sheep going through a dark valley, with Satan working overtime, but I’m not alone. Two very close prayer warriors/friends reminded me of that truth recently.

Sheep in a valley.
A wolf’s hungry eyes craving.
Smack! The Shepherd’s staff.

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 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.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
[Psalm 23:1‭-‬6 ESV]

Praise Befitting

/ The Pastor

Praise the Lord ! Praise the Lord , O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
[Psalms 146:1‭-‬2 ESV]

Praise is befitting You for You are glorious.
Your beauty is beyond words,
for when I gaze at Your creation I stand in silent awe.
And that is just the tip of the iceberg,
for to see Your full glory and beauty would short-circuit my brain;
not to mention that as a sinner I can’t see You face to face and live.
Your beauty is beyond words,
and,
Your holiness is perfect.
And thus as a sin-stained creature I am nothing in Your sight.
But You, Oh Lord my God, are full of
Mercy
Grace
Compassion
Forgiveness
Yes, praise is befitting You for You do not give to me as I deserve.
But You gave me Jesus.
Oh wow, You gave me Jesus.
Your beauty is beyond words.
Your holiness is perfect.
and Your love is amazing.
Yes, Lord, Your love; for You are love.
Ohhhh,
I am at a lose for words as I meditate on You.
May even my groanings and sighings be praise befitting You.
Praise to You, oh Lord!
Praise to You!

Psalm of Discernment

/ The Pastor

Oh Lord, Your voice seems so far from me,
Your voice seems so distant.
The sound of Your voice is so very quiet,
Their words are lost on me.
I strain my ears to hear You,
I lean in to catch Your voice.
Oh Lord, why can’t I hear?
Why is the air so silent?
But I know You are not far,
For You are closer to me than I am to myself.
I know Your voice is not weak,
For Your created with a powerful word.
I know that You won’t leave me hanging,
For Your will, will be done.
Oh Lord, the silence is deafening,
it is loud in my ears,
but to You I cling,
and therefore I find my peace.
I know You will speak to me,
In You I place my trust.
To You be the glory,
forever and ever.
To You be everlasting praise.
Oh Lord, I will wait for Your voice.

Is It Right to Praise the Lord?

/ The Pastor

This “Psalm” was inspired by Psalms 146-150; Psalms with the bookends “Praise the Lord“.

Is it right to praise the Lord?
Oh let me think…
He is awesome and mighty
Gracious and merciful
Faithful and just
Powerful and gentle
Father
Shepherd
Creator
He has made the heavens and the earth.
He breathed the breath of life into all living creatures.
He perfectly made everything
We sinned
But He vowed reconciliation and restoration through crushing Satan.
And He followed through on His promises.
He sent Jesus
Jesus lived and loved and healed and forgave
Jesus suffered and died and was buried
Jesus rose victorious
Jesus reigns
Sins are forgiven
Death and Satan and tears are no more.
Joy and peace and Life forevermore.
Oh sinner, is it right to praise the Lord?
Yes
YES!
Praise the Lord!

A Psalm for the Morning

/ The Pastor

Oh Lord, You are my strength and my song,
You are my salvation.
You cause me to rise in the morning,
and gently lie my head down in the evening;
keeping me throughout the night.
You are my guard on all sides;
defeating those that would oppose You.
Keep me, oh Lord, from straying from You.
Keep me from despair.
Keep me from straying from Your ways.
May I be faithful and obedient.
May I be true and right.
May I know the way You have ordained for my life.
Oh Lord, on my own I am lost.
Lead me, guide me, direct me.
I want to know Your ways.
Oh Lord, You are my strength and my song,
never do I want to leave Your side.
Keep me, this day, and always,
that I may proclaim Your holy name;
that Your glory may shine.

To Begin My Day…

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

To You, oh Lord,
I place my trust.
To You, oh Lord,
I cast my eyes.
Hold me tight in the midst of the storm;
In the midst of enemies who claim victory.
Wield Your sword to defend me;
Your mighty arm is powerful.
Hedge me in on all sides;
Oh Lord, You are my fortress.
May I not fall into despair;
May I always see You.
To You, oh Lord,
I place my trust.
To You, oh Lord,
I give my praise.

The Pastor -|—

Make music to the Lord

/ The Pastor

Psalm 92:1-5
It is good to praise the Lord
and make music to your name, O Most High,
2     to proclaim your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
3     to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.
4     For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord;
I sing for joy at the works of your hands.
5     How great are your works, O Lord,
how profound your thoughts!

Today I am heading to LifeLight; a Christian music festival in Worthing, SD (south of Sioux Falls).  It is the largest FREE, outdoor, Christian music festival in the country.  There is 100+ bands and 6 stages.  And did I mention that it is FREE?

Lot’s of great music.
Lot’s of great food.
Lot’s of great worship.

I look forward to this event every year (always Labor Day weekend).  We set up camp in front of the main stage and sit there all day.  Today (Saturday) and Sunday will be spent there (with a trip back to Jackson for Sunday morning worship).   And considering that the fall season is upon us; Wednesday Night Live, Release time and confirmation starting soon, this festival is always a great way to kick off a new program year. It seems to jump start things for me.

So as I was reading my Bible today I came across Psalm  92 which spoke about my excitement of this weekend.   But these verses are not just about the upcoming weekend, but about our lives.

Our God is an awesome God and worthy of praise and worship.

Worship is not a duty.
Worship is not something to cross off your list.
Worship is not something you HAVE to do.

Worship should be your JOY; something you GET to do ~ not something that just happens on Sunday, but part of the other 6 days of your week.

So remember to take some time and make some music unto the Lord.  Or in my case…I will make a joyful noise 🙂

Either way ~ PRAISE BE TO GOD!

-edh -|—

Monday morning check in

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

Greetings on this lovely Monday morning!

Finally…
After long last I finally got my yard done.  I have been staring at my long grass and abundant leaves for a couple weeks now wondering when I was going to get some nice weather and time to clean up my yard.  I never seemed to get those two parts of the equation at the same time.  Well…Sunday was a beautiful day and I barely had enough time.  I borrowed a riding lawn mower with a bagger and finished the yard.  I looks great and I feel much better.  The problem is I think I cut my grass way too short.  That could be a problem later.  Oh well…my yard looks nice so I am going to enjoy it for the time being.

A visit
I had one of those nice visits yesterday.  While I was on the lawn mower I saw someone pulling into the church parking lot…obviously looking for me.  I stopped to chat.  It turned out that he just wanted to explain to me why he hasn’t been in church the last few weeks.  It turned out to be medical reasons.  He is doing fine but it got me thinking:  I wish more people felt this sense of duty to be in worship; not because they HAD to be there, but because they wanted to be there to praise God.  Also:  I wish more people felt this calling to talk to people who have been absent and check in with them, "We’ve missed you in worship recently".  Wouldn’t that be nice?

Disturbing movie
I am usually not one to pass on email forwards or pay much attention to them, but I thought this was worthy to pass on to you.  There is a movie coming out that everyone needs to be aware of, especially if you work with children or care about children at all.  The movie is called The Golden Compass.  This movie is based on a series of children’s books with anti-religious themes.  Actually, the author talks about killing God.  The worry is that children will enjoy the movie so much that they will want to read the book series.  Please follow the above link to learn more so we can collectively protect our children.  This is indeed very disturbing.

Web site
Thank you for the comments I received for the new web site we are working on for Salem (www.salemjackson.org).  The site is still a work in progress but it is coming along quite nicely.  If you think of any other suggestions please let me know.  As a visitor what information would you like to see.  What needs to be improved or communicated more effectively?

Personal stewardship update
I finally reached the 20 pound mark in my weight loss.  I had been stuck at 17 to 18 pounds for a while.  I still have another 10 pounds to go to reach my first goal.  I hope to reach that by the end of the year, but with Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, that might be difficult.

Thank you (as always) for stopping by.  God bless you today and everyday as you live out the promises given to you in baptism.

-edh-

"…weeping may last for the night, but joy comes with the morning…" (Psalm 30)

Sunday morning prayer – 11/04/07

/ The Pastor

Today is All Saints Sunday.  Today we remember those who have gone before.  Those who have set an example for us to follow.  Those who have taught us life lessons, taught us the faith; and showed God’s love through their actions, words and deeds.  But most importantly, we celebrate, worship and praise the one who made us saints, Jesus Christ – without whom we would have no hope.  Remember, celebrate and laugh, for this life is just the beginning.

Let us pray…
Tender and merciful God, we have mourned the death of many loved ones; ones who have gone prematurely and those who have passed after great suffering and/or struggling.  And in a lot of cases we still mourn and shed tears over their absence in our lives.  These saints have taught us many lessons about life and about faith.  They showed your love through their words and deeds.  They set an example for us to follow.  But in the midst of this mourning there is joy.  In the midst of the tears there is laughter.  In the midst of the pain there is hope.  Through Jesus Christ we have been given the promise of New Life through the forgiveness of our sins.  And because of this…this life is just the beginning.  Thank, O God, that because of Jesus, weeping only lasts the night, but joy comes in the morning (reference to Psalm 30).  Through Christ’s name we pray…Amen.

God bless you this day and always.

-edh-

Text study – Psalm 146

/ The Pastor

Psalm 146 is the Psalm assigned for this Sunday (18th Sunday after Pentecost).  It is a Psalm praising God for being in control.  And I for one am glad GOD is in control because as we all know things hardly ever go as we plan.  The Psalms reads as follows:

Praise the LORD!

Praise the LORD, O my soul.
   I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
   I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

Do not put your trust in princes,
    in mortals, in whom there is no help. (emphasis mine)
When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
   on that very day their plans perish.

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
   whose hope is in the LORD their God, (emphasis mine)
who made heaven and earth,
   the sea, and all that is in them;
   who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed;
   who gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets the prisoners free;
   the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
   the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD watches over the strangers;
   he upholds the orphan and the widow,
   but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The LORD will reign forever,
   your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the LORD!
(Citation: Psalm 146, NIV)

Maybe you have hear this phrase: "We make plans and God laughs".  I think there is a lot of truth in that statement.  Does that mean we shouldn’t make plans in life?  No way!  Making plans is fine…the troubles comes when we put our faith in such plans and them alone – when we put our faith in this world alone.

How many times have we made grand plans for something and have things "fall apart".  We stress and worry.  We fret and maybe blow up at someone.  We say something we regret and why?  All because OUR plans did not work out.  We get angry because we have lost control.

But then…in the end…everything works out…and sometimes for the better…and…in a way you never thought possible. 

GOD is in control!

In those moments I think back and hear a chuckle coming from God’s direction.  "If only they knew.  If only they would trust me".

Do not put your trust in princes,
    in mortals, in whom there is no help.

But…

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
   whose hope is in the LORD their God…

There is a great song by contemporary Christian artist, Twila Paris, and currently re-recorded by Avalon titled, God is in Control.  I more than really enjoy that song but I love that title.  God IS in control.  And when our trust is put in God, then we can rejoice in no matter how our best laid plans work out.  Because when God is involved, then it HAS to be great, awesome and perfect.  And I for one am all for that.

So go ahead…make plans…prepare for the future.  But remember…GOD is in control!

Praise the Lord!

-edh-