Tag: messy

The Enemy Is Still Out There (Psalm 10)

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

PSALM 10

2 The wicked in [his] pride persecutes the poor; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised. 3 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire; He blesses the greedy [and] renounces the LORD. 4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek [God]; God [is] in none of his thoughts. 5 His ways are always prospering; Your judgments [are] far above, out of his sight; [As for] all his enemies, he sneers at them. 6 He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity.” 7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue [is] trouble and iniquity. 8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages; In the secret places he murders the innocent; His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless. 9 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den; He lies in wait to catch the poor; He catches the poor when he draws him into his net. 10 So he crouches, he lies low, That the helpless may fall by his strength. 11 He has said in his heart, “God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see.” 12 Arise, O LORD! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble.

PSALM 10:2-12

THE ENEMY IS STILL OUT THERE

Psalm 10 is a broken psalm. It doesn’t have an introduction. It is written in an acrostic style that somewhat completes psalm 9 but it has letters missing and out of order. Even in the chaos of it’s organization it reminds us that we live in a broken world. There is much that needs to be fixed. 

In verse eleven we get a glimpse into the sinister mind of the wicked man. He thinks God doesn’t know or doesn’t care about what he does. He uses the seeming inactivity of God as a reason to figure and devise more wicked schemes. 

At this point we have to ask ourselves why does the psalmist feel so much need to give us so much detail about the wicked man? Why is he so concerned that someone is out there prospering by doing wicked things and setting his heart against God? He is reminding us that we cannot coast because the enemy is still out there!

History is filled with moments where a city was under siege or a war was being waged, but those in official power were drinking and celebrating their victories early. They fell into laziness or unconcern and later lost the city or the war because they celebrated before it was all finished. The psalmist is saying, “We can’t truly celebrate yet because wickedness still prevails!”

Part of the point of this Psalm is to register such a dissonance that we cannot slumber on wickedness. We must remember that our lives are always at odds with the wicked and how they would live. Isn’t the news we hear of wickedness winning in our own day something that drives us to prayer? When we hear of those who have taken advantage of others, doesn’t that drive us to intercession? 

 The Psalmist cries out to God to put things right. We know that there will come a day and time when God will set all things right. All injustice will be settled in him. We know that day is coming. Sometimes it just seems so far away. 

Notice the prayer in verse 17 for the orphan and those who are oppressed. “Prepare their heart” or strengthen their heart. Even when we don’t see justice in this moment or in our day. Set it right in my heart that I might bear up until I see your final justice. Give me grace and strength and hope in YOU until that day comes. 

PRAYER

Father, thank you for this psalm and all the chaos it presents. It doesn’t wrap up neatly in a bow and it reminds me of the messiness of life apart from you. In the celebration of your goodness it can be easy to forget we still live in a sinful and fallen world. Help me not to be content while wickedness prevails around me. Guide me in my community and my moment in history to stand against wickedness and intercede for victims of injustice. Don’t let me be idle while others are suffering. Thank you for your grace in bringing this to our attention to read and meditate on today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I’m reading and blogging the Psalms Through The Summer. I’d love for you to join me. You can find out a little more here.

Why Church People Are Sometimes Messy

On By pastorjonathanIn Ministry1 Comment

Proverbs 14:4 ESV Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

In many ways that’s my life verse. I should probably get Proverbs 14:4 engraved on my desk, but if I did you would never see it because I keep my work on my desk. Think about the meaning of the verse for a moment. In the case of an ox and a manger, you have to pick between productive and clean. You can have a clean manger or you can have an ox which is what a manger is for and who helps bring in the crops. You may have a clean manger AND an ox for short periods of times, but not all the time and not without someone shoveling the manure.

It’s kind of the same with small kids. They make messes. You can have a clean house or you can have kids. You may have both a clean house and kids but only for short periods of time and not without someone picking up the toys, cleaning the vomit, changing the diapers, etc… But the beautiful thing about kids is that if you train them, they grow up and eventually pick up after themselves, use the restroom by themselves and feed themselves (with a little pressure from Mom and Dad).

Church isn’t really all that different. You see with church we reach out to people who don’t know Jesus. And when someone comes to church and doesn’t know Jesus, they act like people who don’t know Jesus. And when someone commits their life to Christ, they act just like someone who just committed their life to Christ. While Jesus washes away our sin when we put our trust in him… we still may have a tangled mess of ungodly decisions that we have made in the past that have consequence in our present lives. And let’s be honest there may just be a lot of stuff we just don’t know yet. We’re kind of like new born baby’s in that regard (John 3:3, 1 Peter 2:2, Hebrews 5:12).

We make messes. However, every day we are growing more and more in the likeness of Christ (Ephesians 4:22-32). Our goal is to be presented as mature in Christ (Colossians 1:28). But that takes time and patience from godly teachers and leaders.

Leave room for the immature to become mature at your church. It will involve a little messiness but you will help people grow! You know the barn is a place for oxen and oxen do make messes. The church is a place where both the immature and the mature gather to worship Jesus and the immature do make messes. I’d rather have a messy church that works to raise infants in Christ to maturity in Christ than a clean church without new believers. Because there are those who are weaker in the faith among us perhaps we should challenge them to grow rather than judging them for their weakness (Romans 15:1-6).