Ep.098: Shepherd me, Lord.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

John chapter 9 ended with the Pharisees hurling insults at the man born blind and driving him away. But Jesus received him and invited him into faith.

In John chapter 10, Jesus interpreted this experience. He said to the Pharisees, “All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate for the sheep. Whoever enters through me will be saved” (John 10:8).

Clearly, Jesus identified the Pharisees as thieves and robbers, the type who would evict a blind man instead of welcoming him into the fold. Then Jesus gave the Pharisees a description of how bad religious leaders interact with people.

He said bad religionists don’t approach the flock through the gate–they climb over the fence like thieves and robbers. Instead of coming to scripture through the central theme of loving God and others, the Pharisees invented complex theologies and difficult rules, and taught these for the truth. They built a high fence of scripture interpretation and behavioural pedigrees and climbed over it to harass the sheep.

Jesus said the sheep are smart enough to tell the difference between the shepherd’s voice and that of a thief. The sheep respond to the shepherd, but they run away from the thief. Sounds like the blind man who left the Pharisees and went back to Jesus.

Jesus also said that bad religionists act like hired hands–as soon as a wolf comes they abandon the sheep and run for their own lives. They are like consultants who dispense high-priced advice, but are long gone when you discover it doesn’t work. In contrast, the shepherd risks his life to protect the sheep. Today, many shepherds act like hired hands. They build their own sheep folds and herd the sheep into them. They insist on their interpretation of scripture and their way of experiencing God. They reject seekers who question their methods or theology, like the Pharisees rejected the blind man.

Jesus announced, “I am the good shepherd. I am building one flock with one shepherd under my Father. To do this, I will lay down my life and take it up again.”

When he said this, some people said, “What does he mean, he will lay down his life and take it up again? This is crazy talk. He must be demon possessed.” Others said, “But remember, he made the blind man see. That’s not crazy.”

Let’s pray.

Jesus, we are the Pharisees. We interpret scripture and create our own religious systems. Did you say you are building one flock with one shepherd, Jesus? We can help you figure out what that looks like. We will be your consultants. We will submit our proposal with our doctrinal statement and our list of rules.

Jesus, we are the sheep. We hear confusing voices trying to explain what you mean. Preachers and teachers and scholars, Catholic and Protestant and self-styled theologians insist that they have found the truth of the Bible and distilled it into the right system of belief. But you said, “My sheep hear my voice.” O Jesus, in the conflict of interpretations, we listen for your voice. Help us hear you. Give us courage to ignore all competing voices.

Jesus, we look forward to the day when there will be one flock with one shepherd. When the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 11:9). When the tree grows who leaves are for the healing of the nations (Rev. 22:2). Come, good shepherd, come.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.097: Psalm 40: Out of the Pit.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Psalm 40 begins with a song of thanksgiving for God’s deliverance. “I was stuck in a muddy pit,” says the poet. “I was mired in the bog.” He waited in hope for the Lord, who lifted him out of the pit and set his feet on a rock. “He gave me a new song,” says the poet, “a song of praise to our God.”

Let’s pray.

Lord, we have felt mired in the pit. We have been in that place where everything falls apart, leaving us isolated, depressed, hopeless, fearful. How easily we are sent there by an unkind word, a minor accident, a fleeting argument, a small illness. How easily our world becomes dark and unfriendly and slippery. Thank you for finding us in the pit, thank you for rescuing us, thank you for setting our feet on solid ground, thank you for turning our pity-party into a song of praise.

With the poet we praise you,
Many, Lord my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you have planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare (v. 5)..

Yes, Lord, you have helped us escape from our prison, your have invited us to your God-party. We exchange our darkness for the light of your house, our muddy despair for a glimpse of your plan for us. We exchange our starvation diet for appetizers and wine at your table, we exchange our hopeless silence for the music of your orchestra. We don’t have enough words to describe your goodness; our spreadsheets don’t have enough numbers to count your blessings; for you are the rock on which we stand, you are the universe in which we live.

With the poet we say,
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire —
but my ears you have opened
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come. . .
I desire to do your will, my God;
your law is within my heart (v. 6-8).

There is a time for sacrifice, but what your heart desires is not technical obedience to the law, not a work-to-rule campaign by unhappy slaves, not bloody sacrifices for sin. You desire us, and you want us to desire you. Your loving presence in our hearts is all the law we need. A deep desire for your fatherly embrace is the only motivation we require.

With the proet we pray,
     May all who seek you
       rejoice and be glad in you;
    may those who long for your saving help always say,
      “The Lord is great!” (v. 16).

Yes, Lord, may we not be sullen, duty-bound seekers. May we seek you with rejoicing and gladness. Day by day we look for you, sometimes feeling that we find you, sometimes feeling that you hide. Teach us to enjoy the search, teach us to enjoy the journey, teach us to enjoy the quest and the questions. You are bigger than our questions and greater than the answers we find.

Let those who long for you say, “The Lord is great!” Our hearts and motives are a mystery even to ourselves; but your heart and motives are as deep as the sea and kind beyond comparison. Our thoughts are sometimes profound, but yours are unfathomable. We long for you, and we believe you long for us.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.096: Who is blind?

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

In John chapter 9, Jesus and his disciples met a blind man on the Sabbath. The disciples had a question: “Was this man born blind because of his sin or because of his parents’ sin?” Bad theologians and incompetent managers everywhere still think like that. With the disciples they say, “Something has gone wrong here. Who shall we blame?”

Jesus was not interested in assigning blame. If he had an MBA, he might have said, “This isn’t a problem, lads, it’s an opportunity!”

Jesus solved the problem by mixing spit with dirt, perhaps remembering that God created humans from clay. He put the mixture on the blind man’s eyes, and told him to wash in a pool. When the man did, he could see for the first time in his life. Jesus, the light of the world, had put light in this man’s eyes.

The healing created a local sensation. The Pharisees tried to make spiritual sense of what happened. They listened to the man’s story. Some said, “Jesus can’t be from God because he healed this man on the Sabbath.” Other Pharisees said, “Obviously, God’s power is at work here. Sinners don’t do a miracle like this!”

The Pharisees called in the parents. “Tell us how your son who was born blind can see.” The parents knew the Pharisees hated Jesus, so they dodged the question. “You’re right,” they said, “he was born blind. And yes, he can now see. We don’t know how it happened. Why don’t you ask him? He’s an adult.”

So the Pharisees called the man back and asked him to retell his story. He replied, “I already told you and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become disciples of Jesus?”

The Pharisees didn’t have an answer, so they hurled insults. They said, “You are this fellow’s disciple, but WE are disciples of Moses! We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this Jesus person comes from.”

The man answered, “That’s remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. Nobody’s ever heard of making a blind man see. If Jesus is not from God, he could do nothing.”

The Pharisees said, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us! Get out.”

So he went back to Jesus who said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man replied, “Tell me who he is, so I can believe.” Jesus said, “You see him now. It’s me.” The man simply said, “Lord, I believe.”

Let’s pray.

Jesus, we are the Pharisees, amazed by what you do, and amazed that you break our rules when you do it. You broke the Pharisees rules about Sabbath keeping, you broke their view of scripture as rule-book, you broke their view of God as the one who wants people to be rule-keepers, you broke their social class by welcoming the man after the Pharisees condemned his experience and his simple theology. Jesus, work outside our narrow pharisaical religion that tells us how you ought to work; help us lose our religion of rules and judgments, and learn your religion of relationships and healing.

Jesus, like the blind man we come to you. Thank you for giving us sight. You healed our blindness, lifted our depression, heard our arguments with religious institutions, and invited us to believe in you. Lord, we believe.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.095: Psalm 39: Life is Short and Unhappy.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

In Psalm 39, the poet reflects on the transient and troubling nature of life.

We see this first in the tension between silence and speech. The poet begins the psalm with a vow to be silent, to say nothing good or bad (v. 1). That lasts for one short verse (v. 2), until his bottled up questions and emotions burst the dam of silence and pour out in speech (v. 3).

What he says introduces another troubling perspective–life is short and insubstantial. Life is only a breath (v. 5), our years are measured as the width of a hand (v. 5), we go around like phantoms (v. 6). And if we heap up wealth, no one knows who gets it when we go (v. 6).

A third troubling aspect of life is the problem of God’s role in sin and suffering. The poet says to God,
Remove your scourge from me;
I am overcome by the blow of your hand.
When you rebuke and discipline any for their sin,
you consume their wealth like a moth–
surely everyone is but a breath (vv 10b – 11).
The poet feels his suffering is God’s whip correcting him and a blow from God’s hand reprimanding him. Under God’s discipline, his carefully hoarded wealth disappears like a moth eating clothes. But the poet doesn’t understand what it means. He’s not sure what God is saying to him.

Let’s pray.

God, your presence is not always a comfort and joy to us. Sometimes, like the poet, we feel oppressed by what you do and what you don’t do. We feel your frown of disapproval at our sins. We feel your discipline making our lives short and unhappy.

But like the poet, we cannot just shut up and say nothing. We must express what is on our unhappy hearts, we must vent our confusion to you. We state our complaint. We keep asking the questions you never answer. We wait for an assurance that never comes.

Look at us O God. Our lives our short. Our wealth trickles away. Our doctors give us bad news. Our breath is fleeting. And we don’t know how to make sense of it all. What are you trying to teach us? What prevents us from hearing and learning?

With the poet we say,
Hear our our cry for help;
do not be deaf to my weeping.
We dwell with you as foreigners,
strangers, as all our ancestors were (v. 12).
Yes, Lord, we are strangers in the world you gave us, people with no permanent home, wandering in an uncharted land, looking for hope and meaning. Wishing for a map. We weep at life’s troubles. we weep for the poverty of the poor and the injustice of the oppressed. We weep at our own sin.

With the poet we say,
Our hope is in you.
Save us from our transgressions;
do not make us the scorn of fools (vv. 7b-8).

O Lord, in life’s mysteries and confusions, you alone are the quiet centre. We hope in your mercy. We trust you to save us from our transgressions and from the scorn of fools.

We feel your hand heavy on us as the poet did. With him we pray,
Look away from us, God, that we may enjoy life again
before we depart and are no more (v. 13).

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.094: Who is Jesus Anyway?

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

John chapter 8 opens with the Pharisees’ suggestion to stone the woman caught in adultery. The chapter closes when the Pharisees decide to stone Jesus.

Between that unhappy opening and the murderous closing, Jesus made three big claims for himself. Let’s look at them.

Jesus’ first claim was, “I am the light of the world” (v. 12). The people responded, “What? It’s not credible for you to make big claims like that! That’s what liars and insane people do. You need a reliable, external witness as proof.” “Well,” said Jesus, “that external witness would be God. And since I come from him, I can be my own witness.” That didn’t convince anyone.

Then Jesus said, “I am going away, and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. You can’t come where I am going.” “Really?” they said. “Where are you going? Are you going kill yourself? Who do you think you are?” Jesus replied with his second big claim: “I am the son of God my Father.” Some people believed him, but many felt he was delusional.

Then Jesus said, “If you accept my teaching, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” The people responded, “We are Abraham’s descendants, we’ve never been slaves to anyone. We don’t need you to set us free.” Jesus replied, “On the contrary, you’re all slaves to sin. You’re not in Abraham’s family. Your father is the devil!” The people replied, “Who us? No way! You are demon-possessed. How can you know Abraham? You’re not even 50!” Jesus responded with his third big claim, “Before Abraham was, I am.”

Did you hear that? Listen again to Jesus’ words: “I AM.”

“I AM” is an important Old Testament name for God. The people listened when Jesus claimed to be the light of the world. They listened when he said God was his father. But when he appropriated for himself the holiest name of God, the Pharisees had enough. To protect God’s honor, they picked up rocks to stone Jesus, but he walked away and hid himself.

Let’s pray.

Jesus, we believe your claims about yourself.

We receive you as the light of the world. Often, we walk in darkness and confusion, not not sure how to love you and others, not sure how to grow spiritually, not sure of our way through this valley of shadows. Do we need more Bible study? More faith? More service to you and others? Jesus, light our way, show us the way to God.

Jesus, we receive you as the Son of God. Your relationship to God is different than the rest of us humans. As John said of you, “God loved the world so much he sent his only son” (John 3:16). You were God’s son when Abraham was a wandering pioneer; you will be God’s son long after the world spins into its unknown future.

Jesus, we receive you as the only human who could ever say, “I AM” about yourself. You lived as a son of Mary, you worked as a carpenter; but you spoke and taught and died and lived again as one who came from God.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.093: Psalm 38: Sickness and Sin.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Psalm 38 is a psalm of lament for sin. The poet is incurably sick and says,
     My back is filled with searing pain;
          there is no health in my body (v. 7).
     My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds (v. 11).

The poet points to two causes for his pain and sickness.
First, he says to God,
     Because of your wrath
          there is no health in my body” (v. 3).
He thinks an angry God sent sickness to teach him a lesson. He asks God to relent:
    Do not rebuke me in your anger
        or discipline me in your wrath (v. 1).

The poet says another cause of sickness is his own sin. He says:
There is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.
My wounds fester and are loathsome
because of my sinful folly (vv. 3b, 4b).

So what did cause his pain and sickness? Was God punishing him? Was it a natural consequence of his sin? Maybe the problem was not spiritual at all. Perhaps it was an infection that needed antibiotics instead of a psalm. Perhaps it was a mental health issue that needed cognitive therapy and rest.

David Levy, a neurosurgeon for 20 years, prayed with patients before operating on their brains. When an ex-marine was preparing for complicated surgery, Dr. Levy said, “If you want every chance of healing, you also need good emotional health. Stress, anger, and resentment can have powerful negative effects on you. Bitterness is like an acid that eats its container” (Levy, David. Gray Matter. Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House, 2011. pp 134). Levy asked the man if there was anyone he had not forgiven. This lead to the man forgiving an abusive parent, and asking God’s forgiveness for bitterness and resentment. Levy says, “His countenance went from stone to sunlight. There was a bounce in his step as he left” (Levy, p. 183). A week later, the six-hour operation went well.

Of course, the problem in applying this is knowing which of our problems need medical solutions, which need spiritual solutions, and which need new thought patterns. I suspect most of our problems need all three. But who can give us an accurate diagnosis? And who can prescribe the treatment that will heal us? For many of us, it’s a lifelong journey, researching different options and trying various solutions.

Let’s pray.

Our father, we pray with the poet,
All our longings lie open before you, Lord,
Our sighing is not hidden from you ( v. 9).

You see our deepest needs.
– We need a relationship with a god who is not angry at us.
– We need to lose our conviction that we are mostly right.
– We need to see and confess our sins.
– We need deliverance from our enemies:
        from people who hate,
        from sickness that debilitates,
        from selfishness that obstructs our vision of you.
– We need to give up our despair, self-pity, and obsessions.
– We need freedom to love you and worship you with all your people on earth.

And our sickness is complicated by sin which harms our lives and frustrates our search for health. We pray with Rabdula of Edessa, who wrote this prayer 1600 years ago:

My thoughts confuse and cloud my mind. I am in despair because my guilt is vaster than the ocean and my sins more numerous than the waves of the sea. When I remember how I have fallen, I tremble at the thought of your justice. I dare not look upwards, because my sins reach as high as the heavens. When I look down, earth is an accusation to me, for my offences exceed the number of its inhabitants. Have pity on me, Lord.
Van de Weyer, Robert, ed. The HarperCollins Book of Prayers. Edison, New Jersey: Castle Books, 1993. p. 298, prayer of Rabbula of Edessa, d. 435

With Psalm 38 we pray,
     Lord, do not forsake me;
         do not be far from me, my God.
     Come quickly to help me,
         my Lord and my Savior (vv. 21-22).

Amen

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.092: Woman in a Trap.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

John chapter 8 opens with the story of the woman caught in adultery. It goes like this: The Pharisees and teachers of the law brought a woman to Jesus and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The Law of Moses commands us to stone such women. What’s your take on this?”

Clearly, the Pharisees had invented the mother of all technical questions to stump Jesus. And in a stroke of genius, they had a guilty woman available for immediate stoning. “Since you teach Moses’ law,” they said to Jesus, “will you obey the law by endorsing capital punishment for this woman? Or are you just playing at teaching scripture, and you wimp out at tough judgments like this?”

When people like the Pharisees and Jesus set out to interpret scripture, I find it helpful to know what they are willing to sacrifice in support their position. The Pharisees, to prove that Jesus was not a credible teacher of the law, were prepared to sacrifice a woman, exposing her to shame and public humiliation and possibly even capital punishment. But their approach ignored relationship and compassion, which are also in the law.

In contrast, Jesus wasn’t prepared to sacrifice the woman. We don’t find out until later in the Gospel of John what he was prepared to sacrifice.

In the end, Pharisees weren’t prepared to sacrifice the woman’s life either. After demolishing her dignity and reputation, they walked away without throwing stones.

Because Jesus turned their argument on its head saying, “Let one who is without sin throw the first stone.” Jesus confronted them with the same problem they had put to him, namely, “Do you take Moses’ law literally enough to implement the death penalty right here?” One by one they drifted away. Perhaps because they understood their own failures . .. perhaps because they knew the law provided mercy as well as judgment . . . perhaps Jesus’ convinced them it was unwise to execute uncompromising judgment on the woman when they themselves needed all the mercy the law could give them.

When they were gone, Jesus said to the woman, “Does no one condemn you?” She answered, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and leave your life of sin.”

Let’s pray.

Jesus, how often we sacrifice others on the altar of our own righteousness. How quick we are to argue our interpretation of scripture. How quick we are to judge the wrong we see in others and in their view of scripture.

Jesus, help us to turn the technical questions on their head. Whether we are right or wrong, teach us not to use scripture as a tool to win arguments or throw stones at sinners. Teach us to use the scriptures as a tool to expose our own narrowness, to expose us as just another sinner in a world full of them, to expose us to God’s judgment and mercy.

Jesus, when we act like Pharisees, help us see the weakness of our arguments, and to walk quietly away from the traps we set for ourselves and others. And when we are caught in sin like the woman, help us to receive your words, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and leave your life of sin.”

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.091: Psalm 37: Land, Logic, and Heart.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Psalm 37 highlights three notable topics: land, moral logic, and the heart. Let’s look at these three.

First, the land. Five times, God promises that those who trust him will inherit the land. Jesus borrowed verse 11, “The meek will inherit the land” (v. 11) for his beatitudes, widening it to “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” The land is both local to Israel, and also a picture of God’s gift of the whole earth to the human race. I like this promise, I’d like to inherit some land, but I’m not expecting God to deliver a title deed to me any time soon.

A second striking feature in Psalm 37 is the confidence with which the poet states his moral logic: God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked. Of the righteous he says,
I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread (v. 25).
And of the wicked he says,
   But the wicked will perish:
      though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
      they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke (v.

John Calvin commented his reservations about this moral logic, saying, “It is certain that many righteous men have been reduced to beggary.” He cites Jesus’ story in Luke (Luke 16:20) about the righteous Lazarus begging at the rich man’s door (Calvin, John. Commentary on the Psalms–Volume 2 (Christian Classics Ethereal Library: http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/calcom09/cache/calcom09.pdf, p. 32)). Calvin’s opinion was that life isn’t as logical as the poet describes it: Sometimes God blesses the righteous with health and wealth, sometimes he doesn’t.

To the poet’s credit, he also recognizes shades of grey. In the first verse he says:
    Don’t fret because of those who are evil,
Don’t be envious of wrongdoers (v. 1).
When evil succeeds, we are tempted to think, “Life isn’t working out right. God is supposed to reward good, and punish evil.” But the poet reminds us that God is in charge and we can afford to wait patiently because,
The Lord laughs at the wicked,
               for he knows their day is coming (v. 13).

A third topic in this psalm is the heart. God’s promise of land, his moral logic, and his laws are not simply promoting good behavior. The poet looks beyond behavior to the heart. “Trust in the Lord,” he says (v. 3). Don’t just obey God or submit to him. Open your heart to him. “Delight yourself in the Lord,” he says (v. 4). Our posture toward God is
– not just to believe right doctrine,
– not just to keep his laws,
– not just to be afraid of judgement.
No, our posture is to love him and delight in him.

Let’s pray.

Our father, once again we feel the smallness of our religion. We like the simple formula of moral logic: Obey and be blessed, disobey and be punished. We want our right behavior to earn an inheritance. We want a guarantee that we will never become beggars.

But under the poet’s formula, he describes a heart turned to you. Whether our life is comfortable and well-behaved, or miserable and stumbling, you continue to care for us, God. When we stumble, you help us up (v. 24). When circumstances overwhelm us, you lead us to a future and an inheritance (vv. 6, 11. 37). When we envy the wealthy and comfortable, you offer us lasting delight and riches.

Our father, with the poet we look to you in the present where you are our refuge and strength (v. 39) and we look to you in the future where you will give us the desires of our heart (v. 4).

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.090: Jesus and the Birther Conspiracy.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

In John chapter 7, every time Jesus spoke, he stirred up controversy. His brothers in Galilee said, “Your miracles are making you a celebrity. You should go to Jerusalem and get wider exposure.” But Jesus replied, “They hate me up there and it’s not time for me to go.” But soon after, he went to Jerusalem anyway.

The people didn’t recognize him, but they found his teaching amazing. They said, “Where did he learn this stuff? He’s not a graduate of any school we know.” Jesus replied, “I’m from God and you are trying to kill me.” Amazement turned to scorn and the people said, “Are you demon possessed? Who is trying to kill you?”

Then Jesus explained who he was, “I healed one man on the Sabbath, and now the narrow-minded Pharisees think I’m such a threat to their religious system, they want to kill me.”

“Ohhhh . . .” said the people. “This is the man the Pharisees hate. Why aren’t they trying to stop him? Perhaps he is the Messiah. Where is he from?” Jesus said, “You know where I’m from. God sent me.” But the people said, “Impossible. The next prophet comes from Bethlehem, not Galilee like you.”

Sounds like the Obama birther arguments! Was the president born in America or not? Did Jesus come from Bethlehem or not? Jesus ignored the conspiracy theories and the furore. He didn’t produce his Bethlehem birth certificate, he just proceeded with the business of being Messiah, and let people be offended if they chose to.

In the midst of this controversy, Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me. . .rivers of living water will flow from within them” (John 7:37-38). Is that your experience? Do rivers of living water flow from within you?

Let’s pray.

Jesus, we don’t know what to make of all the controversy you stirred up. What kind of celebrity are you? When are you going to Jerusalem? Where are you from? Are you thumbing your nose at the Pharisees? Is it necessary to alienate them? Why won’t you answer a simple question about your birth certificate?

In our confusion your promise draws us to you, for you said, “Whoever believes in me, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” We picture a river flowing through dry country, watering trees, irrigating gardens, satisfying thirsty people and animals. Is that what you offer us? To be a source of water that will flow into a dry and desert world? To be people who give your gifts to others–healing of the body, healing of the memories, knowledge of God, loving relationships, wisdom in walking through life?

Jesus, our lives are dry, narrow, constricted, calculating. Open within us the sources of living water, let it flow freely through our lives, let it flow freely to the world around us. May the power of your spirit melt the glaciers that constrain us and burst the dams that constrict us. May it turn our lives from stagnant ponds to flowing, life-giving rivers.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.089: Psalm 36: River of Delights.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Psalm 36 paints a dark picture of the unrighteous. Here’s how the poet describes them. They flatter themselves, not caring about sin or goodness. They operate in post-truth mode: if news annoys them they call it false news, if it flatters them they call it true. They are all image and no substance. Because they do not fear God, their only morality is self-promotion. Whatever enhances their ego and image, whatever get votes, whatever makes money, whatever paints their opponents in a bad light is OK by them. They lie in bed making evil plans.

Against this dark background, the poet sketches a colorful picture of God whose love reaches to the heavens, whose faithfulness is bigger than the skies, whose righteousness is like a high mountain, whose justice plumbs the ocean depths (vv. 5-6). What a contrast to the small minded, self-interested, scheming perpetrators of evil.

God cares for people. We take refuge in the shadow of his wings, we feast in the abundance of his house, we drink water from his river of delights, in his light we see light (vv. 7-9). God’s generous gifts are in stark contrast to the greedy, grasping evildoer who schemes in the darkness.

Given this picture the poet says to God, “Continue your love to those who know you.”

Let’s pray.

Lord, the news we read, both true and false, is often a meditation on darkness and evil. Each month brings mass shootings, crushing accidents, vicious wars, and economic collapse.

But you invite us to turn away from our obsession with evil, and to turn toward evidence of your goodness. The world you have given us is good–each year it produces food for seven-and-a-half billion people. We live on the bounty of your faithfulness: wheat grows and we make bread, grapes grow and we make wine, olives grow and we have oil.

Your faithfulness reaches the heavens; the sun shines each day, the moon and stars rule the night. Like the mountains, your righteousness watches over us. Like the ocean, your justice plumbs the depths of our unjust world. Like the mother eagle, you spread your wings over our precarious lives.

You are at home in this world (v. 8), and you wine and dine us at your table. You are the host who delights us with stories, who gives us gifts of welcome and well-being and life. We drink at your river of delights, in your light we see light (vv. 8-9).

With you is the fountain of life. You teach us to leave our fears and to play in the fountain. Nothing can separate us from your love, so we need not fear sickness or death or darkness or evil. With the poet we pray,
Continue your love to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart (v. 10).

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.