.jpg)
If you grew up around a grandfather like my maternal grandpa*, there were tools everywhere!! Living in Henniker village, our barn was for wood, tools, and storage. Some were used fairly often, like hammers and saws, including the one my grandpa built the table for. Others saw very little use, like the vices and files. What do tools have to do with God, or spirituality?? Read on and see --
This week we continued on the theme of prayer, using the Psalms as our guide. Once again, Nate Parks graced us with his presence on the platform. Simply put, he defines prayer as communication and connection. However, there are several different ways in which to pray. Several "tools" in the "toolbox", as it were. Just a few examples of these are requests (clearly the most common), praise, lament, confession, and listening. While the "tools" of request and praise are used frequently, others are used far less, particularly, I think, the tool of listening. I know my prayer time rarely includes it. But if you think about the basic ideas of communication and connection, you realize that both of those are a 2 way street. No relationship can be successful without both parties doing both things in turn.
The World will tell us that if something is wrong, we need to essentially, "open the hood and start pulling wires." Do random things to fix the problem rather than determining the problem and dealing with it accordingly. As you may imagine, that will not go well. Nate's "share story" was about a plan that sounded good in the moment, but did not go as planned. He and some church friends were on the way back from an event. Nate spotted the other car just ahead on the highway and told the driver to catch up, pull up beside them, and he would put his hand on their window. Okay, so things progressed and aligned... until Nate got his head out the window and his glasses flew off his face at 65 mph... LOL Oooopsy!! I'm guessing he's not going to be trying that again!! That's just one example of how our plans can "go south" in a hurry. Nate brought out 3 major areas in which our lives can "go south". I'm sure we can all relate to all 3 of these a different times. I know I can...
Path -- our life goals, jobs, relationships, etc.. can change based on our experiences.
Presence -- the people we are surrounded by either by family, friends, or work may change due to locations, relationship breaches, or even death.*
Pleasure -- the 80's song "Jack and Diane" comes to mind here... "...life goes on, even after the thrill of livin' is gone..." Sometimes depression can get the best of us, and we just "survive" every day rather than truly "living" each day to the fullest.* As we know, David had a real-life Goliath to defeat, what is the "Goliath" in your life?? Ask God to help you conquer it, and watch what happens!!
Turn to Psalm 16 for the content of today's lesson -- Our "prayer tool" of the day is that of Alignment. (in my limited experience, this would be a wrench, level, or plumb line) :) And as Nate said, in a crazy world, alignment puts us where we need to be.
Psalm 16
A miktam[a] of David.
1 Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” 3 I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” 4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips.
5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. 7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful[b] one see decay. 11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
In the course of reading through this psalm, Nate went verse by verse and pointed out key elements for us to take note of. It shows the depth of David's unlimited love for, and ultimate trust in God.
"my God" -- the word used here is the generic, non-spiritual word of the day. David is simply acknowledging the existence of a god.
The first instance of the word "Lord" here is recognizing the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is just saying, "the Lord", or more accurately, "Yahweh". The second is taking Him on as a personal father/friend, "My Lord". David is acknowledging in humility that he is no good without God.
"Saints", people of God. David is relating to God's people as the only acceptable source of friends.
"Sorrow of others" -- this shows David's alignment with God possibly more than anything else mentioned in the entire text. David makes it abundantly clear that he will not make sacrifices to, accept sacrifices for, or even mention the very names of any other gods. As Nate phrased it, Worldly function vs Godly alignment. The World would have us make exceptions for those who don't believe, and have us invite them into our "inner circle", but David was only out to please God, and so determined to steer his life away from those people as possible.*
"Lord", "Yahweh" -- chosen portion. David was relating to the Levites in this statement, but flipping it around and saying that God is his chosen portion. David was choosing God above all else. He was trusting his future to Him.
"Boundaries of life" -- David was grateful for all God had done for him, but also looked forward to a better future.
In the first part of verse 7, David is seeking God's counsel. In the second, he is acknowledging that God's help comes even when we wake in the night to seek Him.
Verse 8 is powerful for it's imagery in the context of the times -- "set the Lord before me" - this is not speaking of God being in the lead in front of David, but facing him literally "eye to eye"/"toe to toe". Nothing else would be in focus. "Right-hand" - as we know, the right hand was a position of honor throughout history, and may still be today, for all my limited knowledge of modern official etiquette. In David's context, it was not only a place of honor, but of strength by reason of proximity. David was seeking stability here. Those of you in more earthquake prone areas know exactly the steps to take when you think there is cause for concern. I'll cover them here for those who may not be so familiar -- 1) Spread your feet -- is it you or the ground/building that's moving?? 2) Find a 2nd verifier. Vase of flowers, glass of ice water... 3) Ask others. "Did you feel that??"
"Heart is glad" -- entire body joyful and at peace.
"God will not abandon my soul to Sheol..." God's eternal existence = our soul's eternal existence. He will not let His loved one see corruption.*
"...make known the path of life... joy in presence... eternal pleasures..." (where did we see these before??) Not only can we, like David, take pleasure in God's presence, but He takes pleasure in us. God enjoys what we enjoy (within reason). Good music, dancing, clean humor, pets, books... (after all Who make it all possible??)
In terms of tools, we may also think of prayer as a plumb line, orienting us straight up and down. Remember to use all the tools as needed for a good result!! God Bless!!
Footnotes --
My parents and I lived with my maternal grandfather from April 1974 until his passing in April of 1987. He was a wonderful man with amazing Yankee Ingenuity. You can look him up in the Aug. 1971 issue of Yankee Magazine and read about the road he built mostly by hand!!
Remember what we said a week or 2 ago, the 5 people you spend the most time with determine who you are and where you go in life, so choose wisely!! I am well aware that family can put a real strain on this issue, but do what's needed to keep yourself sane. That's more important than anyone else's feelings. If they truly want you around, they'll take steps to make it happen. In the meantime, forgive them and enjoy your life without the toxins. If it's necessary to spend time on any regular basis, just try to limit your exposure and make the best of it. (yes, I'm speaking from personal experience here)
For your listening pleasure -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feeHTm-dYGg
4. Granted, Jesus ate with "sinners", but we see the majority of His time spent with His Disciples or teaching at the Temple. He mostly spent time with the sinners in order to invite them into the Kingdom by showing kindness.
5. Pastor Matt closed the service out with Communion, but took the text from Acts 2:25-29 where Peter is quoting David in today's text.
This week's worship songs -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDE74QQ3sbA
Comments