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I love reading Scripture for the umpteenth time. I always find something new. I always see a new angle or get a new picture. Today, this psalm created a vivid image for me.

Imagine the beginning of a movie with ominous music. The camera does a slow fly-over of a vast body of water with no apparent shores. In the middle you see one little dot that doesn’t belong. It’s a person desperately trying to stay afloat. That’s the image that jumped into my head when I read this:

“Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.

I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.” Psalm 69:1-2

The viewer might first wonder if there are any rescuers nearby.

“I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God.

Those who hate me without reason
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.” Psalm 69:3-4

Not only is nobody answering his cries for help, but he is outnumbered by his enemies and feels utterly helpless and alone. Now, the viewer wonders how this poor fellow got into this predicament.

“You know my folly, O God;
my guilt is not hidden from you.” Psalm 69:5

Ah, the viewer sees now. This is likely the consequences of actions taken by this very man earlier in his life. And, now, the realization sets in that this could be any of us. Not necessarily treading water in the ocean, but feeling utterly alone, running out of time, and surrounded by enemies. And, worse, it’s all because of consequences of our own sin.

The beauty of it is that God will hear this cry. God will answer. David knows it:

“But I pray to you, O Lord,
in the time of your favor;
in your great love, O God,
answer me with your sure salvation.” Psalm 69:13

David is crying out desperately, but he is sure that God will save.

I imagine this movie takes the viewer on an adventure that explains how the man arrived in that situation and how he escapes. The climax of the story is when he is rescued from his predicament by his Savior. The epilogue describes his entry into Heaven.

I like this movie because I can identify with the main character. Also, I like happy endings.

“[...]And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b

This verse is often quoted as encouragement and support for those who feel alone or overwhelmed by their situation. As I read about God being with the army of the Israel in the Promised Land, I realize that confirmation that God is with you can bring about some other emotions, too.

I can imagine annoyance. Maybe you don’t really want to go fight that battle or talk to that person. It’d be nice to say to yourself, “Nah, he’s not interested in my thoughts on my faith. What’s the point? I’ll just leave him be and we’ll both be happier.” But, you can’t, really, because God is with you. God will guide you through the conversation and give you the words if you are acting according to His will. There is still the possibility that you’ll make a fool of yourself, but you’ll be doing it for God. He can use it all. There’s no excuse if He’s always with you.

I can imagine fear. If God is always with me, I can’t get away from Him. We all have that American desire for the right to privacy. With God, there is no absolute privacy. He is witness to all. That fear comes from realizing that you can’t split your life into God time and non-God time. It’s all God, all the time. The fear goes away when you realize that He’ll never condemn you for that which you confess. He’ll never stop forgiving you for that which you ask forgiveness. He’ll never turn you away when you humble yourself.

I can imagine others, but you get the idea. Being safe means you can’t hide. Being in His presence means you’ll have to come clean. Following Christ isn’t easy or always pleasant, but it’s right and it’s what’s best.

Besides, you’re not alone. He’s always with you.

As a kid, I often heard something millions of kids have heard over the years, “Don’t fill up on junk food before dinner!” It was annoying because it was right. If you fill your stomach with salty snacks or candy soon before dinner, you won’t have room for the nutritious food that Mom put on the table. Then, later, after you’ve digested the junk, you’ll find yourself hungry and badly nourished. So, it’s a double whammy of consuming junk that doesn’t do you much good and probably contributes to some problems and then missing out on the stuff that is good for you.

It was that familiar refrain from my mother that came to mind when reading this Proverb:

“He who is full loathes honey,
but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.” Proverbs 27:7

If you fill up on the junk of the world, then you’ll have no hunger for Christ and His Word. Even though what He offers is so much better for you, you’ll have no room to take it in and digest it. It’ll be loathsome to you.

The man that denies himself, though, will develop a hunger and, then, a hunger for what will best nourish him.

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” ” Matthew 16:24

I even see a more subtle message in the Proverb. When you are appropriately hungry for spiritual truth, you’ll even take that which is a little bitter. You’ll take what’s good for you even though it is hard to swallow. If doing God’s will means taking less pay, moving to a smaller home, or doing something that’s not your favorite, it can be tough to accept. However, it is God’s will.

You need to be hungry for the best spiritual food for you and you need to be willing to take that which is bitter when it’s better for you.

I remember our kids growing up and hearing from each of them, at least once, “I didn’t ask to be born!” It was usually during one of those times when their hormones were bouncing around like a popcorn machine working at light speed. It wasn’t much of an answer, but at least it was an answer to discipline. Of course children grow up and grow out of such notions, or at least most do. Those that don’t grow out of it just graduate to a more sophisticated answer to discipline with things like, “It’s not my fault. God made me this way!” Of course this argument is silly:

“Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness,” Genesis 1:26

Now, if we were made in the likeness of God, we were not made to act badly. I can imagine someone standing in front of a judge and jury and saying, “Look, my behavior is not my fault. God made me this way.” The argument, of course, is frequently fine-tuned down to something like, “It’s not my fault, it’s my mother, father, society, etc.” In some cases, these other folks can share in the input, but in the end the law holds the individual responsible.

Of course, the precedent-setting case was one set by God very early on:

“The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.’ So the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ And the woman replied, ‘The serpent tricked me, and I ate.’ ” Genesis 3:12-13

We all know the rest of the story. God held Adam and Eve responsible for their actions. He held the serpent accountable, too, and the cost has been enormous. All three were, at one time, in perfect relationship with God and, now, one is condemned and mankind has only one option to avoid the same fate.

Men, we are responsible for our behavior and for teaching our children that they are responsible for theirs. I know what it is like to have God come looking for me in the garden while I hide quaking in the bushes trying to come up with an excuse. Trust me, it’s to be avoided.

I’ve been listening and reading many of the speeches over the last two weeks. There have been an awful lot of words about what makes a good leader. Of course, each side is trying to make the point that their candidate has precisely what you need and the other guy doesn’t. During all of this, I have read many lines that make me shake my head because they just don’t jibe with reality. Either the speaker doesn’t know the law, doesn’t know the Constitution, or assumes the audience is ignorant. Any of those choices is insulting in a candidate or spokesman.

I appreciate those who speak of carrying a copy of the Constitution in their pocket every day. Some who say that make me wonder if it’s the same one I use, but I do respect the idea that they are attempting to work within the original rules laid down by the Founding Fathers.

I thought of this need for our leaders to know the law as I read the directions God gave to Israel through Moses before entering the Promised Land. This passage is about how kings should act.

“When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.” Deuteronomy 17:18-20

A king should know the law backwards and forwards. He should know this so that he won’t consider himself above the law or better than his citizens. This certainly sounds like sage advice for our next President.

How does this apply to you? I’m glad you asked. If you are a man, you are likely acting as a leader at work, at home, at church, or elsewhere. If you aren’t leading now, you probably will someday. My point is that this is good advice for all of us. Know the Word as much as possible.

Know it so you won’t consider yourself exempt from it in any way.

Know it so that you won’t think of yourself as better than anyone else.

Know it so that you can prosper.

I realized today how knowledge determines ownership and control. What I mean is that knowledge of a process, an object, or some detail effectively gives you some de facto control over the thing that is known.

My son has a computer that nobody else uses. For all intents and purposes, it is his computer. Today, however, when it needed some major overhauling, it was me he asked to help. And, because of the complicated work and the specialized knowledge I happened to have, I was in control of the computer. He basically had to stand back and watch even though he wanted to help. If I were malicious, I could cripple the machine such that he could never use it.

All software developers know the problem of “He who touched it last, owns it.” The idea is that if you made the last changes to a particularly unpleasant or gnarly piece of code, chances are you’ll be the only one asked to work on it again. The unfortunate owner is likely stuck with this responsibility until he no longer works for the company. Knowledge of the code determined the ownership.

It works in the positive direction, too. People go to college to study areas of interest so they can gain knowledge such that they can be the professionals or experts called upon to gain control of something. Those who can exert some control over money, often gather much of it. Those who can exert some control over political power, gather much of that as well.

Knowledge implies some control whether you want it or not.

This is why, subconsciously, the flesh resists the idea of an all-knowing God.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Matthew 10:29-30

“Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.” Job 14:5

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; [...]” Jeremiah 1:5a

He knows us better than we ever could know ourselves. So, who should have control here? The flesh doesn’t want to admit that. It wants to believe that it has control.

But, what’s the point in fighting it? Isn’t it obvious Who knows more and Who is in the best position to be in control?

I remember my father teaching me a deep truth about the working world that I have witnessed innumerable times and has paid off for myself. He told me to find something important in the company and do it very well so as to make myself indispensable. That recipe has worked countless times. I have made myself the expert in one or more areas that few others chose to understand. As a result, I made myself very valuable to the company and, therefore, hard to replace. I’ve been laid off twice in my life. The first time was because I was replaceable. The second time didn’t matter because everyone got laid off, but I lasted to the last day. Even then, they offered me a bonus to stay to the last day and not leave early. Do something well that is rare or unique (but useful) and it will pay off.

Recently, I find myself flocking to books and teachings of those who can defend the faith well. While there are several names to choose from, I’m beginning to learn that some are better at this than others. I expect that my list of trusted sources will be fairly short in the near future, but each man on that list will be very valuable to me.

“Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,
but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.” Proverbs 20:15

I now realize just how this truth impacts me directly. If not for this collection of scholars and defenders, I’d be at a loss as to how to defend my faith other than through years of study. These men are my rare jewels.

That leads me back to my first point. We should not only treasure as jewels those who speak knowledge into our lives, but we should also desire to become speakers of knowledge ourselves. The best way to spread knowledge is not from a small number of authoritative sources speaking to thousands, but by droves of men with knowledge sharing with their own circle of brothers. This verse should prod us to action.

So, that makes it a three step process for us all:

1. Gain knowledge
2. Speak knowledge
3. Repeat

I am often at odds with my Lord. I say this with the understanding that I do not question His authority or His right to make His decisions, but rather how I react to His discipline. When God makes a decision regarding my life, I often rebel because it is my nature to do so and, usually, it’s just a knee-jerk reaction. I believe that God knows what He is doing, but there are times when my behavior certainly does not reflect that belief. I have memories of my mother trying to explain my behavior. She’d say things like, “I don’t know why he’d do such a thing. He knows better,” or, “We did not raise him to act that way.” In most cases, my bad behavior was something my mother could not have imagined, so it was obvious she didn’t raise me to act that way. It’s just in my nature to act badly when I don’t think first.

God chooses to be just, that is to say, fair. He is only bound by the rules He made for Himself and one of those rules is to be fair. You do the crime and consequences will follow. It’s not a matter of fitting a punishment to your action, though. One person jumps off a cliff and breaks an arm. Another does it and breaks his neck. One learns a lesson and the other dies. God is fair in that, if you jump off a cliff, there will be consequences. “Unfair!!” we cry. “Why should one live and one die?” That misses the point. The point is to not jump off of cliffs. “But, it’s my right to jump off cliffs. It’s a free country!” Fine, go ahead and jump, but there will be consequences.

“For there is no partiality with God.” Romans 2:11

Disregarding help from God, namely the good sense to not jump off a cliff, means it’s your fault, not God’s.

“It is your destruction, O Israel,
That you are against Me, against your help.” Hosea 13:9

Finally, the very idea that any man questions God’s judgement is proof enough that He’s dumb enough to jump off of cliffs.

“On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?” Romans 9:20

Come on, guys. It ain’t rocket science. It’s Biblical.

It’s alive! Well, maybe not alive, but that’s kind of the feeling I get at times like this. Let me back up.

I’ve spent the better part of a day writing some custom software for my church. It’s purpose is to automate something that normally takes several steps so that it will be less of a hassle for the people who are normally responsible for running through those steps every Sunday. Because of various odd requirements, the beast I’ve constructed is a bit of a Frankenstein. I’ve wired together a few different kinds of applications that don’t normally work together. It works, but it’s fragile and hanging together with the equivalent of baling wire and bubble gum. Still, when the whole process runs through and works, I want to yell, “It’s alive!” Each time I run it, though, I cross my fingers and hold my breath. I just don’t have great faith that it will work every time in every situation.

I note this apprehension only as a contrast to the complete confidence I have in my salvation. I’m surprised and saddened at folks who place their bets on, “I’m better than most,” or, “I think God loves us all and will save us all!” or, “That’s fine for you, but I’ve found a different way.” I’m baffled by this logic. If you aren’t going to take the time to actually discover what the facts are, then wouldn’t you still want to pick the choice with the best chance of success?

If God saves us all, then what do you have to lose to follow Him now?
If God will save those on the upper half of the Bell curve, then what do you have to lose to follow Him now?
If God will only save those who have accepted Christ and chose to follow Him, you have quite a bit to lose if you don’t follow Him now.

You want to depend on the idea that there’s more than one way to God?

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ ” John 14:6

You want to go with the plan of following another prophet or savior?

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

You want to place your confidence in someone else making the connection to God for you?

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” 1 Timothy 2:5

There’s not much point trying to get to Heaven at all if you are looking for a path other than Jesus. He’s the solid rock. He’s the relationship that cannot be broken. You don’t have to cross your fingers and hope for the best.

You can know. I love that I know.

Martin Luther King gave a speech that is commonly referred to as his “I have a dream” speech. The problem with the onslaught of politicians that followed the speech and want to ride on its coattails is that they always say, “I have a plan to reach King’s dream!” There is a big difference between having a dream and having a plan. The Christian - and I do believe Dr. King was one - will pray, “I have a dream, Lord, that you have a plan.” You see, our plans mean nothing unless they fit into God’s plan. God has, to a degree, confirmed that King’s dream is in His plan. To the degree that God’s plan has come to fruition, no politician can take direct credit.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
“If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. ” John 14:12-14

Now, do you ask for your plan? Or, a dream that fits God’s plan?

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