Pastor’s Blog
Unknown Territory: Psalm 139:9-10
What place on this planet seems the most foreign to you? Would you be most out of place in the big city or out in the solitude of the mountains, forests, or deserts of the world?
Psalm 139:9-10 says, “If I take the wings of the morning” —that means going east— “and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me” (ESV).
Conscience: Psalm 103:13-14
Thank God for the conscience! It's like the moral pain center. Without the experience of pain, which no one likes, we'd get hurt worse and worse. The saying in the gym is, "If it hurts, stop." And without the conscience, we'd go deeper and deeper into sin until consequences became irrevocable.
The Fight: Psalms 57 & 142
When David was on the run, hiding to save his life, he wrote two psalms about living in caves. During that period, sometimes he felt hopeful and encouraged (Psalm 57), and at other times he felt hopeless and discouraged (Psalm 142). In both, he is up and down, fighting for faith.
Redirection: Mark 9:6-7
There's a joke used in movies and sitcoms sometimes of the jaded teacher's lounge: a sad, dim place filled with tired adults smoking and ignoring the kids. The kids are up to their shenanigans, and the teachers either yell or ignore them. No energy to attempt patient redirection anymore. There's another joke used sometimes about the bright-eyed, eager young teacher who thinks he or she can change the world. Both stereotypes are often played against one another. The kids have worn down teacher after teacher, and they'll get this next one eventually too..., or will they?
All Things Well: Mark 7:37
There's a bookstore in the college town where my daughter lives that sells the best puzzles. I buy one for my wife from time to time. They hold together even when you pick them up vertically. They are well-made puzzles.
Sometimes I feel like a poorly made human being, or perhaps another way to put it is that sometimes I feel like a well-made puzzle. Sometimes I just cannot figure myself out. What's wrong? Why do I feel like this? I don't know. It's a puzzle.
Deer Feet: Psalm 18:33, 36
I once met a man who called his son a “rock climber.” His son wasn’t someone who dabbled in buying the gear or who went on a trip to a national park that one time. No, he was a full-fledged rock climber. He plans trips based on the mountain’s challenge to his personal fitness, requiring his absolute attention to safety, and then he goes and takes on those challenges! So cool!