9/11

Thursday Devotions ~ Psalm 46

/ The Pastor

I remember the day very well – Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I was in seminary at the time. I had just returned to my dorm room after studying in the library early that morning. After I logged into my computer and pulled up my news source, I was horrified by what I saw. Being in disbelief, I immediately turned on the TV where my fears were vividly verified. I stood in the middle of my room stunned. Soon others who had walked by my open door joined me in silence. Not a word was said. Soon we heard the bell calling us to the chapel. In unison we left my room. I do not even remember turning the TV off or locking my door. We simply made our way across campus to the chapel. Tuesdays typically were not a highly attended chapel day, but that day was different. It was packed. We needed a refuge. We needed a Word. The Dean of Students opened the service with Psalm 46. I do not remember much else, but that opening moment I do remember, because verse 1 was what I needed. I think we all needed it.

“God is our refuge and strength, 
   a very present help in trouble.”

When someone is in trouble, there are two needs that often bubble to the surface. The first is a safe place. Sometimes the person feels embarrassed and wants to hide. They might feel attacked and thus the need to be shielded. They might feel they are on shaky ground and thus want something firm that they can trust. The second need that bubbles up is the need for strength. When in trouble the person might feel powerless about their situation. They might feel like they have no defense or no way to fight back. These needs are ingrained. It is the fight or flight response. In that moment I had no fight in me, only flight.

And that is where we were on 9/11 and thus when our Dean read this Psalm, we re-discovered the fact that God is our mighty and impenetrable fortress. We were reminded of the fact that God is sovereign and thus He is in control since He has all power. In that moment, we found our comfort in the promises of God. Though it appeared everything was crumbling down around us, we were being held in God’s loving arms. Though it appeared the enemy had struck a crippling blow, we heard victory proclaimed in the name of Jesus.

Whatever your trouble, run to God. He will never turn you away. He will never lock you out. Run to God and find your refuge and strength in Him. God will fight for you, and when you need to hide, He will shield you.

“God is our refuge and strength, 
   a very present help in trouble.”

Amen to that!

LET US PRAY: Father God, when trouble finds me or when I find trouble, I praise You that You are my refuge and strength. You are my comfort. You are my shield and buckler. You are my home. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Never Forget

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

911-cross

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
[Psalm 46:1-3]

That says it all.

The Pastor -|—

Preaching forgiveness

/ The Pastor / 6 Comments

I am thinking and praying about forgiveness this week.  The text providing the backdrop is one I have always struggled with…

Matthew 18:21-35

This is the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.   It deals with God forgiving us such a large debt and us not being willing to forgive the debts/sins of people in our lives.

In the parable a king’s servant amasses a debt of 10,000 Talents (a debt that the servant could not even hope to repay even though he says he will).  The king threatens to sell him and his family into slavery but after some pleading for time, the king forgives the debt.

Wow!  That is grace!

Immediately after the immensely gracious act, the servant finds a buddy of his who owes him a few dollars.  When the buddy can’t repay, the servant throws him into prison until he can repay the debt.  The king then gets word of this ungracious act; becomes angry; restores the previously forgiven debt and hands the unmerciful servant over to the jailer to be tortured until he can repay (which he won’t be able to).

Jesus then ends this teaching with “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

Ouch!

I can understand this response from God.  I mean, after all, who are we to think that people hurt us more than we hurt God.  Who are we to think that our debt to God is insignificant and not important.  True ~ if God forgives such a large debt that we have incurred through sin, then we ought to forgive one another.  But how does one preach such a message ~ without attempting to tip toe around God’s Word in an effort to avoid offending people.

The other interesting tid bit in all of this is that Sunday is the 10th anniversary of 9/11 (like you didn’t know that).  I didn’t choose this text but rather it is the one “assigned” in the lectionary.  Does preaching this message of forgiveness sound insensitive on the anniversary of such a tragic event?  What preaching points would you use?

Just throwing some thoughts and questions out there for consideration.

edh -|—