Where is your Temple? Where do you find God? For the writer of Psalm 84, the answer to these questions is easy, the Temple in Jerusalem. This Temple is all of this and more. It was magnificent and beautiful, inspiring awe in all who entered its gates. Psalm 84 Psalm 84 starts by singing her […]
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It’s only paranoia if your fears are not based in reality. Are the fears expressed in Psalm 83 real or paranoia? What do you do when God appears to be silent? Do you imagine the worst? Psalm 83 Psalm 83 starts with the people calling to God, trying to wake him up. The people are […]
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Where was God when the Twin Towers fell? When the tsunami swept away thousands of lives in Indonesia? When the woman was brutally raped and murdered? The child abused? Christians beheaded by ISIS? Where was God? Psalm 74 is a lament of the community that asks this question. Where was God when the Temple was […]
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“Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.” (1) Thus begins Psalm 73. The psalm ends with words of confident trust, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.” (26) But the path to reach this faith […]
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When you or a loved one are sick, it’s easy to become impatient with the slow healing process. You can’t wait for them to get better. The writer of Psalm 70 knows about being in a hurry! Dealing with Sick Kids When my kids were in grade school, it seemed that between snow days, special […]
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Several years ago, we had an unseasonably warm winter followed by a lost fruit crop because trees bloomed too early and the buds were killed by frost. The following year though was a boom year as the trees made up for the lost crop by producing in abundance, overflowing. Farmers had a difficult time harvesting […]
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Work is important but so is rest from labor. Psalm 62 is one of a group of seven psalms that focus on trust and confidence in God: 4, 11, 16, 23, 27, 62, 131. It is a welcome respite from the laments we’ve been reading. We need rest from lamenting, moving from lament to trust! […]
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There is something about human nature that relishes casting blame on others. Once my children were gone I had no one to fault but myself when I misplaced items or the house was in disarray. How convenient to now have a husband to accuse when I can’t find my car keys or sunglasses or if […]
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Yet another lament. Enough already! Like Michigan winters, they just go on and on. I look for relief and see weeks of snow, freezing temperatures and freezing rain in the forecast. I look for words of quiet and repose, yet I get words of sorrow and anger with little end in sight, including this week’s […]
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God, the tear catcher! Another image of God from Scripture. There are many images of God found in the Bible, including father, mother, spirit, way, truth, light, gate, gatekeeper, lion, eagle, mother hen, shepherd. The list goes on. Now, thanks to Psalm 56, I have another image for God, the tear catcher. Psalm 56 Psalm […]
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