June 24, 2021 — Psalm 59

“Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
 protect me from those who rise up against me.
Deliver me from those who work evil;
from the bloodthirsty save me.

 Even now they lie in wait for my life;

the mighty stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!
You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Awake to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.Selah

Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
with sharp words on their lips—
for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”

But you laugh at them, O Lord;
you hold all the nations in derision.
O my strength, I will watch for you;
for you, O God, are my fortress.

 My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.” Psalm 59:1-10

“God can never be perfectly present to us here below on account of our flesh. But he can be almost perfectly absent from us in extreme affliction. This is the only possibility of perfection for us on earth. That is why the Cross is our only hope.” (Simone Weil, “Waiting for God”)              

Verses 4b and 5 of Psalm 59 read, “Rouse yourself, come to my help and see! You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.  Awake to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.”  We have here a possible disturbing image of a G-d who is asleep – who is distracted – who is not paying attention. Are their times in your life where you have felt that way about G-d, that G-d needed to “remember” that you were here? Have there been times in the life of this country that you have felt that G-d was asleep, or needed arousing to remember us? Do you think that G-d forgets about us, or removes (himself) for periods of time?

I believe that G-d is always aware of our circumstances, always trying to make us aware of G-d’s presence in our lives – or at least G-d is trying to do just this. We simply are not paying attention, and therefore feel we need to plead with G-d, hoping that G-d is not asleep, but aware and walking with us.

Perhaps that is the point. G-d is always present – but we are so busy with the circumstances of life that we forget that G-d is always there. So, if you think G-d has forgotten about you, please remember, Jesus promises to be with us to the end of the ages.

Pastor Dave

June 23, 2021 — Acts 4:32–5:16

“But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property;with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. “Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land?While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!” Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it.The young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him.

After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.” Acts 5:1-11

“Sin is more dangerous than wild bears, more deadly than blazing forest fires. Ask Nebuchadnezzar, who lost his mind because he refused to deal with his pride. Ask Samson, who was reduced to a pathetic shred of a man because he never got control over the lusts of his flesh. Ask Achan and Ananias and Sapphira, who all lost their lives over “small,” secret sins.” (Nancy Leigh DeMoss)

I don’t know about you but when I read the story of Ananias and Sapphira, I get just a little uncomfortable. What could the story of their unwillingness to share all they have and their eventual demise tell us about G-d and about faith? Perhaps we are reminded of the pitfalls of wealth – and how money can get a hold on us so much that it separates us from a relationship with G-d – at least one that G-d would want from us – without restraint or other “god’s” between us.  

As we seek relationships with friends or spouses and a relationship with G-d we are continually reminded of the pressures of money, wealth, and the striving to accumulate more and more stuff that our society tries to place upon us. Sometimes we must live with a text and the difficult message that it speaks, knowing of course that each day, each minute, each second that we live gives us another opportunity to experience G-d’s grace and forgiveness as we live in relationship with G-d – one of repentance, of sharing out of our abundance, and trust in G-d.

Pastor Dave