I started a job in May that requires me to drive nearly downtown every day, Monday through Friday. So, every day I drive down there, and before this job (with the exception of two years in between), I did the same for 8 - 1/2 years. I'm sure you're thrilled with this bit of my driving history, but the point IS coming soon.
Last night on the show, Dateline, they focused on how we miss things around us, even some important things, when we are not expecting them. So here I was, driving to work as usual yesterday, and about a mile before an exit before the one to the University of Washington, I happened to be stopped in traffic and looked around me. There, on the right side of the freeway, up an embankment, was a wall. In the middle of the wall was a door in a frame, opened. Looking through the door was...grass and open sky! A door to nowhere! Straining my brain, I tried to remember if I'd ever noticed it before over the past ten years. Maybe it was new. One can hope.
After passing that exit, I started to think about how many times I've let something important go unnoticed.... a sad or concerned expression on a friend, sudden change of attitude or behavior, a new person seated alone at church. I am often guilty of this, as I am more of a "big picture" as opposed to a "detail-oriented" person. What might I notice if I asked God to help me? How might I have more of an impact on those around me if I truly "saw" and "heard" those I came across every day, whether at work or play each day? I want to be, not only a "believer" ( "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even demons believe that - and shudder!" James 2:19) but true "follower" of Jesus in everything I say and do. Lord, open my (spiritual) eyes to see people and circumstances through yours, and show me how to be your instrument of love each day!
Welcome to Springs in Baca, based on Psalm 84, a quiet place to reflect and be encouraged by a fellow pilgrim, on our way to our eternal Home.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Welcome to Springs in Baca!
What in the world are "Springs in Baca"? Well, I'm glad you asked. The book of the Psalms is one of my favorites in the Old Testament, and the Bible in general. One of my favorite psalms is Psalm 84. It is attributed to "Sons of Korah." (refers to the Levitical choir made up of the descendents of Korah appointed by David to serve in the temple liturgy.) It is a psalm of praise and longing to be near God.
To give you the context for this title, "Springs in Baca," I'll quote the entire psalm here. I think you'll get the idea.
"How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord Almighty!
My soul longs, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young --
A place near your altar,
O Lord Almighty, my king and
my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your
house;
they are ever praising you.
Blessed are those whose strength is in
you;
who have set their hearts on
pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with
pools.
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in
Zion.
Hear my prayer, O Lord God
Almighty;
listen to me, O God of Jacob.
Look upon our shield, O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.
Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the
house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the Lord is a sun and a
shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
O Lord Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you.
That's the psalm. Beautiful in it's simplicity and devotion; longing.
Longing for God who is seen as a nurturer, protector, giver of strength, favor and honor, as well as all good things to those whose walk is blameless.
Now, we might look at that and go, "WHOA! Who can live up to THAT?" I am certainly NOT that person. Just ask my mother or any of my friends! Who IS?
Another good question, this time answered in the New Testament, and spelled out in the first nine verses of the second chapter of the book of Ephesians (as well as Rom. 3:21-18) which says, in paraphrase, that though we were (spiritually) dead in our sins because of our desire to do things OUR WAY, God, in His kindness and by His grace, gave us (spiritual) life through Jesus's sacrifice and His (physical) resurrection from the dead, so that only in HIM, not in ourselves, can we be declared "righteous" or blameless. It is a GIFT, and nothing that we can say we earned by our own goodness, which we don't possess.
Anyway, that's getting off the track a bit, but it spells out that by faith we can all enter into a living relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and in Him, we can get through the dry, desert lands of "Baca," and make them "springs" (of refreshing water) in the midst of them. I don't know about you,
but my life is full of deserts - especially lately (like the past 4 years or so!). I need those springs and that strength that can only come from the One who gives generously and freely, and who draws us lovingly to Himself. What other "god" can say that?
Do you want those "Springs" of refreshing in the midst of your desert? Then just cry out to Jesus and He WILL meet you. Jesus says in the book of Revelations 3:20, "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in and we will share a meal together as friends." He died and rose from the dead to make that invitation possible. Take Him up on it. He is the only One whose love will never disappoint or leave you empty.
To give you the context for this title, "Springs in Baca," I'll quote the entire psalm here. I think you'll get the idea.
"How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord Almighty!
My soul longs, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young --
A place near your altar,
O Lord Almighty, my king and
my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your
house;
they are ever praising you.
Blessed are those whose strength is in
you;
who have set their hearts on
pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with
pools.
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in
Zion.
Hear my prayer, O Lord God
Almighty;
listen to me, O God of Jacob.
Look upon our shield, O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.
Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the
house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the Lord is a sun and a
shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
O Lord Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you.
That's the psalm. Beautiful in it's simplicity and devotion; longing.
Longing for God who is seen as a nurturer, protector, giver of strength, favor and honor, as well as all good things to those whose walk is blameless.
Now, we might look at that and go, "WHOA! Who can live up to THAT?" I am certainly NOT that person. Just ask my mother or any of my friends! Who IS?
Another good question, this time answered in the New Testament, and spelled out in the first nine verses of the second chapter of the book of Ephesians (as well as Rom. 3:21-18) which says, in paraphrase, that though we were (spiritually) dead in our sins because of our desire to do things OUR WAY, God, in His kindness and by His grace, gave us (spiritual) life through Jesus's sacrifice and His (physical) resurrection from the dead, so that only in HIM, not in ourselves, can we be declared "righteous" or blameless. It is a GIFT, and nothing that we can say we earned by our own goodness, which we don't possess.
Anyway, that's getting off the track a bit, but it spells out that by faith we can all enter into a living relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and in Him, we can get through the dry, desert lands of "Baca," and make them "springs" (of refreshing water) in the midst of them. I don't know about you,
but my life is full of deserts - especially lately (like the past 4 years or so!). I need those springs and that strength that can only come from the One who gives generously and freely, and who draws us lovingly to Himself. What other "god" can say that?
Do you want those "Springs" of refreshing in the midst of your desert? Then just cry out to Jesus and He WILL meet you. Jesus says in the book of Revelations 3:20, "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in and we will share a meal together as friends." He died and rose from the dead to make that invitation possible. Take Him up on it. He is the only One whose love will never disappoint or leave you empty.
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