The Phil Files

I can’t imagine living in a city under siege in the ancient world. The terror of being surrounded by your enemies and cut off from the outside world would be awful. Knowing that they were going to wait and starve you until you were too weak to fight would rattle even the strongest warrior. But many of us, at one time or another, has clearly felt under siege by the evil one. Everywhere we turn there is a new problem. Each time we look up there seems to be another physical affliction. We got to bed wondering who would be the latest loved wounded, injured, attacked or stricken. We’re not talking about depression or pessimism, we’re talking about spiritual attack. There is only one place to go. There is only one source of hope. As I visited recently with a friend under such attack, her faith in God — the rock, the fortress the God of the Mountains — was stronger than her enemies. This Psalm is for her!

In you, LORD, I have taken refuge;
    let me never be put to shame;
    deliver me in your righteousness.
  Turn your ear to me,
    come quickly to my rescue;
  be my rock of refuge,
    a strong fortress to save me.
  Since you are my rock and my fortress,
    for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
  Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
    for you are my refuge.
  Into your hands I commit my spirit;
    redeem me, LORD, my faithful God.

  I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
    as for me, I trust in the LORD.
  I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
    for you saw my affliction
    and knew the anguish of my soul.
  You have not given me into the hands of the enemy
    but have set my feet in a spacious place.

  Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress;
    my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
    my soul and body with grief.
  My life is consumed by anguish
    and my years by groaning;
  my strength fails because of my affliction, 1
    and my bones grow weak.
  Because of all my enemies,
    I am the utter contempt of my neighbors;
  I am a dread to my friends —
    those who see me on the street flee from me.
  I am forgotten as though I were dead;
    I have become like broken pottery.
  For I hear many whispering,
    “Terror on every side!”
  They conspire against me
    and plot to take my life.

  But I trust in you, LORD;
  I say, “You are my God.”
  My times are in your hands;
    deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
    from those who pursue me.
  Let your face shine on your servant;
    save me in your unfailing love.
  Let me not be put to shame, LORD,
    for I have cried out to you;
  but let the wicked be put to shame
    and be silent in the realm of the dead.
  Let their lying lips be silenced,
    for with pride and contempt
    they speak arrogantly against the righteous.

  How great is your goodness,
    which you have stored up for those who fear you,
  which you bestow in the sight of all
    on those who take refuge in you.
  In the shelter of your presence you hide them
    from all human intrigues;
  you keep them safe in your dwelling
    from accusing tongues.

  Praise be to the LORD,
    for he showed me the wonders of his love
    when I was in a city under siege.
  In my alarm I said,
    “I am cut off from your sight!”
  Yet you heard my cry for mercy
    when I called to you for help.

  Love the LORD, all his faithful people!
    The LORD preserves those who are true to him,
    but the proud he pays back in full.
  Be strong and take heart,
    all you who hope in the LORD.

\o/ — Comments Psalm 31: My times are in your hands! — \o/

When we are in distress, when we feel that all of life is under siege, then we can begin to truly confess that our lives are in God’s hands. Without Him, apart from Him, is no lasting good thing. However, because the LORD is with us, we can be strong and take heart even during life’s most challenging times.

Vindicate me, LORD,
    for I have led a blameless life;
  I have trusted in the LORD
    and have not faltered.
  Test me, LORD, and try me,
    examine my heart and my mind;
  for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love
  and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.

  I do not sit with the deceitful,
    nor do I associate with hypocrites.
  I abhor the assembly of evildoers
    and refuse to sit with the wicked.
  I wash my hands in innocence,
    and go about your altar, LORD,
  proclaiming aloud your praise
  and telling of all your wonderful deeds.

  LORD, I love the house where you live,
    the place where your glory dwells.
  Do not take away my soul along with sinners,
    my life with those who are bloodthirsty,
  in whose hands are wicked schemes,
  whose right hands are full of bribes.
  I lead a blameless life;
    redeem me and be merciful to me.

  My feet stand on level ground;
    in the great congregation I will praise the LORD.

\o/ — Comments Psalm 26: My feet stand on level ground! — \o/

OK, I admit I would like to be able to recite the words to this Psalm as my own. BUT, to put it in cornbread English, I just aint that good. I love the LORD and want to serve Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. However, I fall so short. I could never make these boasts before the LORD. The only righteousness I can claim has been given me by Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21).So what I take from this Psalm — very much a claim to live the life advocated in Psalm 1 — is a desire to be more what the Father wants me to be and do what the last line of the Psalm says, “In the great congregation I will praise the LORD” for God has been so gracious and loving and merciful to me.

Stubbornness is not often counted as a positive character trait. I know most of the things over which I display my stubbornness are usually not worth the hassle it causes other people and myself. But there is a kind of stubbornness that is a holy trait. We’ll call it “God stubbornness.” (BTW, today’s insights come from yesterday’s daily Bible reading, Acts 5, I’m a little late on this because I traveled out of town for a funeral yesterday.)

Being God-stubborn means being stubborn for the same things God is — loving the world, faithfulness, loving-kindness, merciful, not wanting people to perish, and willing to do anything to communicate His care. It took awhile, but the apostles of Jesus began to demonstrate some God stubbornness in their lives. Acts 5 gives us a glimpse at one of these times:

//Inspiration: Acts 5:29Peter and the other apostles replied [when threatened with persecution and possible death], “We must obey God rather than human beings.”

//Incarnation: Do I love the things God loves? Am I willing to stand up for what God wants and where is His heart is? Am I willing to do it even in the face of threats? Are bringing people closer to God and sharing the message of Jesus the most important things in my life?For me to ever experience the power of God in the ways the early believers did, I’ve got to be able to live what these once fearful followers of Jesus do in the book of Acts: share God’s love with boldness, conviction, passion, love, and God-stubbornness.

//Invitation:O Holy Father, you are the Almighty, and I am your servant. Make me courageous and compassionate so that I can share Your grace with others with the same grit and determination, a real G0d-stubbornness, that Jesus demonstrated and the apostles followed. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

The comments were laced with sarcasm and cynicism. “If Jesus loves the children, then why do so many of them suffer in the world today? Did they do something in a former life that made them deserve their suffering? Oh yeah, you aren’t the ones who believe in reincarnation …”

Unjust suffering, especially the suffering of children, is a soul-searching subject and not addressed with trite slogans or easy answers. I wanted to let the guy know, however, that it was our job to bring an end to the unjust suffering of children. My words would have been wasted on him, I’m sure. He wasn’t seeking truth, he was wanting to take a jab at religion, and Christians in particular.

However, I believe the message he triggered in my heart wasn’t meant for him, but for me … and us, those who claim to be followers of Jesus. We have to be different than the religious leaders who walked by the suffering man on the road to Jericho in Jesus’ story about the “Good Samaritan” (Luke 10:25-37). We have to be people who do things God wants of us, but we have to know that the most important things he wants of us are living with “justice and the love of God” (Luke 11:42 — our daily Bible reading today is Luke 11).

I’m not sure why, but we resort so easily to practicing the tenets of our faith while losing the heart of God behind that faith. Our faith becomes a religion, focused more on the rules and regulations than on the will of God. That’s why Jesus confronted the religious host who had invited the Lord over for a meal. The Lord’s host appears to have invited him to check on how well Jesus kept the religious rules. As the religious leader discovered, Jesus didn’t do religious rules very well: the Lord was focused on the needs of people. So to the hosts unspoken criticisms, Jesus replied:

//Inspiration: Luke 11:41
But now as for what is inside of you — be generous to the poor and everything will be clean for you.

//Incarnation:
In this context, Jesus is offering a trio of attitudes to offset the stiff, religious, rule-making he encountered all around Him. Justice, love, and generosity are the three qualities of this trio. But are these three actually priorities in my life as I try to follow Jesus? Am I living these out in the way I spend my money, allocate my team, focus my teaching, work in my community, train my children, or choose a political candidate? How much does this trio command the attention of our church, our ministries, our vision, and our budget?
With the upcoming trip to Uganda with Compassion International to try to find sponsors for children in need, I feel God is giving me an international outlet to continue my growth in these precious three marks of faithfulness to the character and compassion of God. But, how I am going to reflect these priorities at home? This is a question I must answer, and not just intellectually, but in terms of how I live my daily life in my own city, neighborhood, and family!

//Invitation:
O LORD God, use your Holy Spirit to work on my heart and mold it to see people and their needs as you do. Please give me wisdom to know how I should help others in tangible ways and demonstrate your generosity, justice, and love. In Jesus’ name, and for His sake, I pray this prayer. Amen.