Teach Me Thy Way

Psalm 86:11-13.

Teach me Thy way, O LORD; I will walk in Thy truth: unite my heart to fear Thy Name.

I will praise Thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify Thy Name for evermore.

For great is Thy mercy toward me: and Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

I was caught by David’s words in v. 11 when he prayed that God would unite he heart to fear God’s Name.

How can one’s heart NOT be united with itself? As I pondered this, I thought of two little children playing in the same room, though not playing together. Whatever the younger one picked up, the older one immediately demanded to have it. He kept one hand on the toy he’d already been playing with while he held on tight to the toy he’d just taken away from the younger child. The younger child, apparently used to the “MINE!” behavior of the older, simply picked up another toy. The older child immediately demanded to have it, letting go of the toy he’d recently taken from the younger. As he grabbed the newer choice, he of course had to let go of the one he’d already taken. The younger child calmly recaptured his original toy and walked away with it, leaving the older child frustrated and angry. By the way, these were not my children. I was observing all this while having coffee with their mother, who was not in the least concerned.

The older child had a divided heart. He wanted the toy he already had. He wanted the toy his brother had. He wanted ALL the toys, all the time, and his brother had already learned to manipulate the situation to his own benefit.

We have divided hearts, too. We want to serve God; we want to follow Him and observe His Word. However, we also want to satisfy our own desires, even when they run contrary to God’s ways.

David was simply asking God to bring all the desires of his own heart into compliance with God’s desires for David.

We have such a merciful God. His patience, it seems to me, should grow very thin at times when He observes His people struggling with themselves and with each other, and with Him, because of their divided hearts.

Sunday Morning (Late) Coffee: Weather Again?

No I won’t dwell on the weather today. Only want to say that it’s a beautiful summer day, only 72 here in my corner of PA, with a lovely breeze and clear blue skies. I have the house open.

This is the Lehigh River, north of Allentown on the way to the Poconos:

But, you may ask, why am I home on this lovely Sunday morning?

Well, it’s because I did a really dumb thing last night. My bed is adjustable, at both ends, and I always keep the foot end as high as it will go. Raises my legs and takes the pressure off my lower back. Usually, I have the head raised just a bit to facilitate reading myself to sleep. Last night, my right leg started it’s jumpy routine, so I put the head of my bed down flat so I could lie on my right side, putting some weight on the leg. Next thing I knew, it was 5:30 a.m. I’d been sleeping on my side, or flat, for at least 3-4 hours, and I could hardly move. This has not happened before. I’ve always been aware of falling asleep, and I reset the head of my bed and sleep on my back. Not last night.

I had to get up, but needed my cane to do it. Good thing I keep it nearby. I had to just stand still for a few moments before I could walk. Went back to bed, and briefly back to sleep.

Terry got up. I could hear him clinking dishes around in the kitchen, tried to ignore and go back to sleep. Then he started running our small hand-held vacuum. For a LOOOOOoooong time. Really? This early in the morning?

I already knew church was not going to be an option for me today, by this time. Sitting in the car for 40 minutes, then in services and back home–no, not an option. I did manage to sleep a little more after he left, but I had to take a pain pill. I rarely have to do so that early in the day.

Well, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. I will, however, have a question for him when he gets home.

PS: He says he didn’t do it. Could have been the young woman next door cleaning out her car.

Saturday Soliloquy: Yeah, It’s Hot!

The dog days of summer. Ever wonder where that expression comes from? I picture a dog with heavy fur , stretched out on the grass, in the shade, with his tongue lolling out of his mouth to help him cool down.

I found this video that humorously explains the origin of the phrase:

https://abc7news.com/video/embed/?pid=1417447

So it really has nothing to do with my image of the hot dog 🙂

It also has nothing to do, in my opinion, with climate change. It’s HOT in July and August. It’s summer. Nothing new.

When I was a teen, my mom had a huge garden. We harvested tomatoes, potatoes, corn, peas, beans, and more. It all had to be processed and preserved, and it was always hotter than hot in those August days when everything seemed to ripen all at once. No air conditioning back then. We didn’t miss it, because we’d never had it :). Just a big fan to help move the heat around while we worked.

Later, I had my own garden, and this was in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where they considered anything above 70 to be excessively hot. Well, harvest time beat that temperature easily. Lots of sweat equity in all those jars of canned produce or boxes of frozen food.

Back then, we didn’t have weather forecasts predicting coming doom every single day. They just told us what to expect each day and maybe for a few days ahead. Sometimes they got it right :). But it was August, and we knew it would be hot. Really hot, even for the UP.

When I was a little kid, we played outside all day, every day that it wasn’t raining. We sweated, and got sticky and dirty and didn’t care. We had a great time. Roller skating on the sidewalks all around the block cooled us down for a short time. Sometimes we’d go to Loring Park across the street and splash in the kiddie pool. At the end of each sweaty, grimy day we’d have a bath in the big claw-footed tub that was almost as good as a swimming pool.

It was summer. We expected it to be hot, and no one predicted the end of the world because it was hot in August. Temps often went well above 95 in Minneapolis during the summer. Nothing to see here, folks. It’s summer. It’s hot.

We’re thankful for the rain we’ve had in my corner of PA in the past few weeks. It was a very dry spring, but right now the grass is lush and growing fast. But yeah, it’s hot. It’s supposed to be hot. It’s summer.

God Alone!

Psalm 86: 8-10.

Among the gods there is none like unto Thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto Thy works.

All nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord; and shall glorify Thy Name.

For Thou art great, and doest wondrous things: Thou art God alone.

Mr. Shea was a young man when he sang this beloved song in 1957. When I saw the video of him at nearly 103, shortly before he died, I couldn’t resist sharing it with you. Same man, still singing this tribute of praise to God, Who is God alone!

As I read through this psalm, I can’t help but consider how often our own prayers are more along the lines of “Help me with this or that, Lord!” And that’s okay. God loves to answer our prayers. But this psalm is not just asking. It is praising, glorifying, and honoring the One Who is God above any and all other gods that man has devised. It recognizes His power, and all that is good about Him.

I’ve learned to enjoy praying the scriptures back to God. This psalm is one that lends itself to doing that.

Good all the Time

Psalm 86:5-7.

For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon Thee.

Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.

In the day of my trouble I will call upon Thee: for Thou wilt answer me.

I wonder if any of us come close to understanding the goodness of God. Pure, unadulterated, sinless goodness. Never selfish, always righteous, always merciful, always compassionate. Never-failing, never a shadow of turning, always faithful, always good.

David knew beyond a doubt that God would answer his prayer.

Sometimes we think that God doesn’t answer our prayer because we didn’t get the answer we wanted, or thought we should receive.

We need to remember that His ways are higher than ours. He knows better than we do what is actually good for us. He knows our paths, and He knows what lies ahead.

My mother and sister and I used to sing a song that was new back in the 1960s. Let me see if I can find it:

Poor, Needy, and Holy

Psalm 86:1-4.

Bow down Thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.

Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O Thou my God, save Thy servant that trusteth in Thee.

Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto Thee daily.

Rejoice the soul of Thy servant: for unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

The heading in my Bible says this is a prayer of David. I can’t encourage you strongly enough to read it all. I will be discussing other of its verses this week, but reading it all at one time is important in getting the emotion and the humility before God.

I was stopped on v. 2 in which David says, “I am holy.”

Really? In the first verse he says he is “poor and needy.”

Strong’s numbers give the following definitions of this phrase in different contexts in the Bible:

1. faithful, kind, godly, holy one, saint, pious
   1. kind
   2. pious, godly
   3. faithful ones (subst)

BlueletterBible

Well, that clears things up. Even though he may have been feeling down and out (poor and needy), he was also faithful, godly, and kind. Surely most of us can identify with David in these two verses.

I’m a saint because I’m a born-again, blood-washed believer. I don’t always behave in a saintly manner, though, and neither did David. That not-so-holy behavior always brought David to his knees in remorse and repentance. I can’t get on my knees these days, but God knows when my heart is bowed before Him in grief over my sin.

I find great comfort in knowing that He sees my moments of sorrow over my sin, and that His forgiveness is complete.

Sunday Morning Coffee: Music–Again :)

It is not unusual at all for me to wake up with a song playing in my head. This morning it was Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Sweetest Name I know!

Listen to that piano! I wish I could do that!

What a happy way to wake up 🙂

Go to church today. Sing with enthusiasm. Pray with heartfelt concern. Listen to what God has for you today. Take a minute to be thankful that we still have the freedom to attend church. Take some time to greet someone you haven’t seen before, and to encourage a friend who needs to know someone cares.

This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Saturday Soliloquy: A Dream

I had a realistic and upsetting dream last night. It woke me up with a start! I wanted to run away!

When I realized I’d been dreaming, I felt silly for having such a strong reaction. I dreamed that I was signing up to start a doctoral program in a school that would require me to move far away from my husband and family, and would take at least five years to complete.

I’m even keenly aware of what I was wearing as I went through the registration process. Every other female in line was wearing black yoga pants and a white sweatshirt. I was wearing a long, somewhat formal bright red dress, with pearls around my neck.
I had so many questions, and no one seemed to have the answers. Here I was, a 76-year-old woman who had earned a master’s degree at age 53, worked 18 years, retired at 72. And now I’m starting something brand new? NOOOoooooooo!!

At that point, I woke up. What a relief!

Can you guess what upset me the most? No? Well, it was wondering–if it takes five years, I would be 81 at graduation. And how in the world was I supposed to repay my student loan at that point?

Right now, I’m looking forward to relaxing while I knit a sweater. No pressure. I like reality.

Mercy and Truth; Righteousness and Peace

Psalm 85: 10 and 13.

Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Righteousness shall go before Him; and shall set us in the way of His steps.

I feel like I hit the jackpot today with a perfect picture and a perfect quote from Spurgeon.

Mercy, in this context, is goodness, kindness, faithfulness. Such meets together with Truth as embodied by Jesus Christ. The righteousness of Jesus as Messiah; of His character as God; of His authority to rule the earth: All this leads to Peace, and Righteousness and Peace greet each other with a holy kiss as a salute to the Father of all righteousness, and the Bringer of all Peace.

It is His righteousness that will lead us into His peace. Selah! Thank of that!

Revive Us Again!

Psalm 85:4-6.

Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause Thine anger toward us to cease.

Wilt Thou be angry with us for ever? wilt Thou draw out Thine anger to all generations?

Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?

The psalmist is using rhetorical questions in these verses. God has already forgiven, already restored. What is being asked here is that it continue. That forgiveness and restoration will result in a spiritual revival that will sweep over the nation, bringing lasting results that will affect the following generations.

It’s what we need in America, too. Repentance, forgiveness, restoration, and revival. Please, God.