Tag: Prayer

Ep.233: Psalm 108: Over Edom I Cast Out My Sandal.

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

Psalm 108 was composed by combining part of Psalm 57 with part of Psalm 60. An original poem it is not! But it does remind us that old prayers can be reformatted and recycled to fit new and changing conditions of our lives. 

In this psalm, the poet is among the nations, singing to the God of Israel (v. 3). Presumably, he is in exile, perhaps Babylon. From that location, he views God not as the local God of Israel, but as the God who has travelled with him to a foreign land. He states that God’s mercy and truth reach to the heavens, covering all the earth: homeland and land of exile and everything in between. God’s presence encompasses the world. 

But the poet’s mind and heart are drawn to his homeland, to the Promised Land. He thinks of God in relation to familiar places like Gilead and Manasseh, to tribal territories like Ephraim and Judah. He quotes God’s rude comments about the local enemies, as God says, “Moab is my washpot, over Edom I cast out my sandal” (vv. 8-9). 

Then the poet remembers his present desperate plight and prays:
  Is it not you, God, who have rejected us,
    and no longer go out with our armies?
  Give us aid against the enemy,
    for human help is worthless.
  With God we shall gain the victory,
    and he will trample down our enemies (vv. 11-13). 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, the poet reminds us that the whole earth is yours. With him, we see your glory in the clouds that sail over all the world–over ancient Ethiopia, riven by famine and violence; over Syria, largely destroyed by recent war; over your ancient land of Israel, with its confusion of traditional orthodox Jews, modern liberal Jews, Palestinian Arabs, and endless variations.

The poet also reminds us that in this big and dangerous world, you care for your people. Wherever we are captive to identity politics and racial injustice; wherever dictators rule by coercion and violence; wherever we walk that narrow line between use and abuse of creation; we do so under the heavens you built, under the clouds that remind us of your faithfulness, under the blue sky you fixed above us and the sun that is the source of our energy.  

The poet reminds us that in this journey, human help is worthless. James says, human wrath will never achieve God’s righteousness (Jas. 1:20). Help us with the poet to see you always present in creation, to pray for your help in the complex politics of our world, to worship you with a steadfast heart, and to trust ourselves to your glory, which is over all the earth (vv. 1-5). 

Amen.

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

Ep.232: Confidence Man.

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

Hebrews 10 says:
  Since we have confidence to enter the most holy place
    by the blood of Jesus,
    by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain,
            that is his body,
  and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
  let us draw near to God
    with a sincere heart
    in full assurance of faith,
        having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience
        and having our bodies washed with pure water (vv. 19-22). 

The ancient Israelites approached God a bit like we might approach a nuclear reactor. If you get too close without proper precautions, you get burned or vaporized. 

The tabernacle, a tent of meeting, which Moses built, had a staged approach for those who wanted to come near to God. First, was an outside courtyard where priests conducted animal sacrifices. 

Next, the holy place inside the tent, where only priests were permitted. No animal sacrifices here. It was a quiet room with candles, incense, and bread on a table. At the back of this holy place, curtained from view, was the VERY holy place, also known as the Holy of Holies: God’s special place. It contained the mercy seat, sometimes called God’s throne. 

Only the high priest could go into the VERY holy place, and only once a year. On the day of atonement, he took a bit of blood into the VERY holy place, stood for a moment in the presence of God, and sprinkled blood on the mercy seat. If God didn’t annihilate the priest for coming too close, another year of forgiveness was granted. 

We don’t know when the tabernacle disappeared, but we know the Babylonian army destroyed Solomon’s temple in 587 or 586 B.C., carting off the valuables and burning the temple. Surprisingly, God didn’t annihilate the invading army when they entered his VERY holy place. In one of Ezekiel’s visions, it appears that God had abandoned his special place in the temple before the invaders arrived (Ezekiel 8-10). Ezekiel explains that the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and the exile to Babylon, was God’s nuclear option for Israel, punishing them for abandoning true temple worship to participate in competing religions. 

But back to the Book of Hebrews. Using the image of the VERY holy place where the priest went once a year, the author says Jesus opened the way for us to enter the VERY holy place whenever we want. We do not fear annihilation as the Israelites did. Instead, we expect a welcome from God, based on a new relationship Jesus negotiated for us.

Let’s pray. 

Our father, Jesus changed our view of how to approach you. We no longer fear that your presence will consume us, or your holiness burn us, or your light blind us, or your anger destroy us. We go confidently through the curtain into the VERY holy place of your presence because our hearts are sprinkled with the blood of Jesus’ sacrifice, and our bodies washed with the pure water of his word. 

Amen. 

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

Ep.231: Psalm 107: Deliverance.

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

Psalm 107 is a hymn of thanksgiving. It begins:
    Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
      his love endures forever.
    Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story
        those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
    those he gathered from. . .
        from east and west, from north and south (vv. 1-3). 

The backdrop to Psalm 107 is a joyful homecoming of exiled Israelites. Behind that backdrop is another homecoming–the return led by Moses through the Red Sea and across the desert, after the Israelites had lived in Egypt for 400 years.

The psalm tells four stories of deliverance, ending each with the encouragement:
  Give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love,
      and his wonderful deeds for humankind (vv. 8, 15, 21, 31). 

Here are the four stories: 

Some people were lost in the desert, dying of thirst. They cried to the Lord, who led them to a city they could call home (vv. 4-9).

Others were prisoners in darkness and chains. They cried to the Lord who broke their chains and brought them out of darkness (vv. 10-16). 

Some were sick, near death, unable to eat. They cried to the Lord who sent his word and healed them (vv. 17-22). 

Some were sailors in a mighty storm. They too cried to the Lord who stilled the storm to a whisper (vv. 23-32). 

Let’s pray. 

Our Lord, Psalm 107 tells our story. 

We are lost in a desert of modern culture, working our computers, reading endless news, worrying about politics and wars, and chasing rabbit trails on social media. In this desert, we are thirsty for truth, thirsty for life, thirsty for news of eternity. Lead us through our wilderness to a city we can call home, to a new Jerusalem where you will live with us. 

We have been prisoners, chained to our narrow thinking and constricted theology, not sure how to understand evolution and the Big Bang and the expanding universe. We live in a world of decaying morals, where truth is despised and persons are measured by productivity and wealth. Bring us out of our prison into the light of Christ. May he take away our chains, reveal the shallowness of the things we trust, and establish us in his light and truth.  

We are sin-sick, O Lord. Our lives are full of petty jealousy, endless selfishness, needless anxieties, daily sadness. We cry to you in our sickness, deliver us from ourselves, deliver us from our habits, deliver us to sing your praise and give you thanks.

We have been at sea. Our lives are like the Titanic, navigating confidently, heedless of storms and icebergs. O Lord, teach us wisdom on the  sea of life. Teach us temperance. Teach us to put our trust in you. Be our navigator. Pilot us safely to harbor.  

With the poet, we praise you:
  We give thanks to you for your unfailing love,
        for your wonderful deeds for mankind.
  You turn our desert into pools of water,
        our parched ground into flowing springs (vv. 31, 35).
    You poured contempt on the nobles
        and made them wander in a trackless waste.
    But you lifted the needy out of affliction
        and increased the families like flocks.
    We see and rejoice in your works, O Lord (vv. 40-42a).  

Amen.

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

Ep.230: How to Get Rid of Sin.

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

Hebrews 10 says:
  When [Christ] had offered for all time
      one sacrifice for sins
      he sat down at the right hand of God,
  and since that time
      he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.
  For by one sacrifice
      he has made perfect forever
      those who are being made holy (vv. 12-14). 

It might surprise evangelicals to hear that the “substitutionary atonement” theory we learned in Sunday school and church is a relatively recent development in Christian history and theology. 

In the first thousand years of Christianity, the most common view was likely the “Christ as Victor” view, which teaches that Christ died to defeat the powers of evil–sin, death, and the devil. This theory doesn’t provide a detailed explanation of how Christ shares his victory with us. 

Another early view was the ransom theory: through Adam and Eve’s sin, the human race became hostages to Satan. Christ’s death was a ransom God paid to the devil to release us. 

In the 12th century, theologian Anselm was offended by the thought of God paying a ransom to Satan, so he moved the atonement from a kidnapping and ransom metaphor to a debt and repayment transaction. His take was that we owe God a debt of obedience and honor, but our sin dishonored God and incurred a debt. Jesus paid the debt on our behalf and satisfied the injury done to the divine honor.  

Late medieval and Reformation theologians changed the metaphor again, moving it into the courtroom. Our sin requires punishment, not just repayment of a debt. We deserve to die, but Christ stood in God’s courtroom and accepted the sentence of death, so the judge could declare us not guilty.  

In other atonement theories, Christ is a suffering servant, not a sacrifice. For example, in the scapegoat theory, Christ was a victim, not of God’s wrath, but of human malice and anger. By receiving our sin, he exposed and rendered ineffective human violence. 

In Mere Christianity, CS Lewis wrote, “Theories about Christ’s death are not Christianity; they are explanations about how it works.” He pointed out that we trust in Christ for salvation, not in our favorite theory about how his death works for us. 

Let’s pray. 

Our father, we receive the many pictures scripture provides to describe what Jesus’ death and resurrection mean for us. 

In Isaiah’s story, we are sheep gone astray, and the suffering servant bears our iniquities and heals our wounds.  

The author of Hebrews says that sin requires sacrifice for cleansing and forgiveness.  We accept Jesus’ death as the sacrifice that washes away the dirt of sin.

Like the mob under Jesus’ cross, we have vented on Jesus our anger at you, God. But now we surrender to Jesus, receiving his prayer, “Forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”

In the Lord’s Prayer we say, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” We owe you an unpayable debt, and we accept Christ’s payment on our behalf.

We have been hostages to sin. We accept Christ’s ransom that sets us free.

Like the prodigal, we are lost and we need to find our way home to you, our father. We accept Jesus as our only way.

In the courtroom of your justice, we see the evidence of our sin and we plead, “Guilty as charged”. We accept Christ’s offer to take our guilt and punishment, declaring us righteous.

Like a country defeated in war, we need a commander to lead us to victory. We accept Jesus as our king, who conquers sin and death, and leads us into everlasting life. 

Amen. 

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

Ep.229: Psalm 106: Bad Memories.

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

Psalms 105 and 106 present sharply different views of Israel’s history. Psalm 105 is an optimistic and uplifting account of how God made promises and protected the Israelites all the way from Abraham to the Promised Land.

Psalm 106, in contrast, is like a modern novel that deals in dysfunction, angst, and moral confusion. The psalm tells story after story of Israel’s sin and rebellion. As I present a summary of the psalm, ask yourself, “Why would a poet focus on such negative history?” 

Here’s my summary.  

Soon after leaving Egypt, the Israelites were trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea. They promptly forgot God’s miracles in Egypt, and complained to Moses, saying, “There were plenty of graves in Egypt. Why did you bring us here to die?” (Ex 14:10). 

While wandering in the desert, some Israelites wanted to be priests like Aaron, so they petitioned Moses for religious equality. But God punished them in an earthquake, and sent fire on their followers. Then the Israelites blamed Moses for God’s punishment and the needless deaths, so God sent a plague among them until Aaron offered incense to make atonement (Num 16:1-50). 

When Moses was on Mt. Sinai with God, the impatient Israelites created their own god–a golden calf. God wanted to destroy everyone and start over, but Moses convinced him that was a bad idea (Ex 32). 

The spies who surveyed the Promised Land reported that it was a pleasant and fruitful land. But they also reported the natives were giants who killed invaders. So the people complained to Moses again, and said, “Take us back to Egypt” (Num 13:25-33).

After the Israelites accepted Moab’s invitation to make sacrifices to the local idol, Baal of Peor, God sent a plague among them, killing many, until Aaron’s grandson, Phineas the priest, intervened (Num 25). 

At Meribah, in the desert, the Israelites complained about lack of water, saying to Moses, “Why have you brought us to this wretched place?” God told Moses to speak to the rock, but Moses, in frustration, said to the people, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring water out of this rock?” and he struck the rock with his rod. 

The poet is telling us that the Israelites were so contrary and uncooperative, they provoked Moses himself to dishonor God. God responded to Moses by telling him he would die in the desert instead of leading the people into the Promised Land. 

The sorry history did not improve when Israel lived in the Promised Land. They continued ignoring God, worshipped false gods, and sacrificed  children to idols. It got so bad that God punished the whole nation by letting other nations conquer and enslave them. The nation that provoked Moses and God in the wilderness continued provoking God in the Promised Land. 

The the poet concludes: 

     Many times God delivered them,
      but they were bent on rebellion
      and they wasted away in their sin.
  Yet he took note of their distress
      when he heard their cry;
  for their sake he remembered his covenant
      and out of his great love he relented.
  He caused all who held them captive
      to show them mercy (vv. 43-46).

The poet then offers a strong and unexpected conclusion: a prayer. Let’s pray with the poet.
  Save us, Lord our God,
      and gather us from the nations,
  that we may give thanks to your holy name
      and glory in your praise (v. 47). 

Yes, Lord, with the poet we confess the history of Israel, the history of the world, and our own history. Our sins and unfaithfulness have provoked you and landed us in trouble. In our despair, we tell you our sordid history. Hear our confession and deliver us, for in every age, your grace is new and undeserved. In judgment, O Lord, remember mercy. As we experience the consequences of our sin, remember to be kind to us. Lighten our darkness with rays of hope. 

Amen.

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