Tag Archives: Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Psalm 147

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Celebrity visit. He heals the heartbroken and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and assigns each a name. Psalm 147:3-4 (MSG)

Many years ago I was at a Minnesota Vikings game in Minneapolis. It was back when star wide receiver, Randy Moss, played for the Vikings. I remember watching him catch a touchdown pass. On the side of the field was a severely handicapped boy in a wheelchair. After running, leaping and making a spectacular catch, the famous player ran immediately to the boy who, in this life, would never know the joy of running, leaping and catching a football. Moss bowed down and gave him the football.

I am always glad to see when celebrities and big name athletes take the time to make the day of children who are sick or soldiers serving their country far from home. I was reminded of it when I read the third and fourth verses of Psalm 147 and was struck by the contrast. The God of the universe who creates the stars and names each one still has time, love and energy to heal the broken hearted and bandage their wounds.

It's quite common to feel lost and alone in this crazy world. How comforting to know that the all-powerful God of creation, whose exhaustive presence knows each star by name, also cares for me so much that he intimately knows each hair on my head.

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Psalm 146

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Chains. God frees prisoners— he gives sight to the blind, he lifts up the fallen. Psalm 146:8 (MSG)

It's easy to read God's message with such literal, earthly eyes that we lose sight of the spiritual realities God is communicating. I have never been arrested or incarcerated, so it's easy to gloss over the verse above as though it has no meaning for me. Yet, I am daily captivated by things which aren't good for me. I have two good eyes, but am regularly blind to the needs of others. I can't see God's hand working in me and around me.

I have to remind myself, constantly, that the Kingdom of God is not of this world. It is possible to be physically healthy and spiritually sick. I can have 20/20 vision and be blind to the truth of God's Kingdom. I can walk in earthly freedom while my soul is chained and enslaved.

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Psalm 144

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The Playhouse. Blessed be God, my mountain, who trains me to fight fair and well. He's the bedrock on which I stand, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight, The high crag where I run for dear life, while he lays my enemies low. (Psalm 144:1-2, The Message)

I just returned from spending the weekend at the lake with a friend. It was a guys weekend, and I had the blessed experience of watching my friend melt before my eyes as he slowly decompressed. The tightness and intensity of his daily battle gave way to the peaceful effects of water, wind and wave. His eyelids grew heavy with weariness. His body relaxed. Stress yielded to healing slumber.

Our family's playhouse at the lake has always been a place of refuge. A quiet waystation, well behind the battle line of daily life, where weary individuals can find safety, rest and healing. I get to experience it regularly myself, and it's cool to share it with others in need.

As I read the lyrics to David's song, I was struck by his line "the high crag where I run for dear life." I thanked God for a place of retreat to which I, my family, and my friends, can run. A place to feel God's healing presence away from life's daily battle.

 

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Psalm 143

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Choices. Point out the road I must travel; I'm all ears, all eyes before you. Psalm 143:8b (MSG)

How often we find ourselves at the crossroads. Which way now? Which college should I go to? Which house should I buy? What job should I take? Should I stay or should I go?

It is so easy to be paralyzed by fear that the next step will be the wrong step. If I make a wrong move, I'm doomed forever. Like David's lyric, we plead with God to point out the road. "Why am I left standing here with nothing but my imperfect sense of direction? Why didn't God equip life with GPS navigation?!"

As my daughter stood at the crossroads a year or so ago, I saw her struggle with some paralyzing life choices. Drawing on a musical metaphor, I tried to express a little fatherly wisdom from my own journey in a letter to her:

I don’t think that there is always a right and wrong choice – I believe that you must do right in the choice you make. I don’t believe that our choices are prescribed by God, but are more like notes on a blank sheet of staff paper. Our choices are the melody line we plunk out- it can be beautiful and melodious or dissonant and discordant. Either way, God the great composer stands behind us and creates his own inimitable orchestration around the little melody line of life we plunk out in our choices. Does that mean it doesn’t matter? No! For the notes we choose affect each listener and each person who is a part of the orchestration of our lives. Some choices may be bold and begin a new movement in your symphony. There will be choices that aren’t right or wrong- they just are. God will weave his baton as the audience waits breathless in anticipation of what will emerge. 

Sometimes, the important choice is not which road to take, but the choice to stop looking for a map and start moving.

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Psalm 142

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The best Birthday present of all. Your people will form a circle around me and you'll bring me showers of blessing! Psalm 142:7b (MSG)

Last weekend we attended the birthday party for a young friend who was turning three years old. We sat with a veritable hoarde of family and friends to eat cake, drink punch, and watch him open his gifts. After opening each gift, his parents reminded him to go and hug each of the people who gave him the gift. Hugs for grand parents. Hugs for great-grandparents. Hugs for aunts. Hugs for uncles. Hugs for friends.

On the way home from the party, my wife, daughter and I commented on our young friend's large "circle of love." His three-year-old brain is just developing cognitive memory. It's likely he will forget 99 percent of the memories of that day. The presents he received, which were the highlight of his day, will soon be lost, broken, worn out, and grown out of. He doesn't yet realize that the greatest gift he received that day was the doting love of so many people. He will not grow out of it, and it will not be lost, broken or worn out.

I found it interesting how David's lyrics were all about how lonely he was, but the last verse finds him blessed within a "circle of love." It's easy to feel feel the isolation of our melancholy. Depression is often a blinding fog. In our fear we lose sight of, and keep ourselves out-of-touch with, the veritable hoarde who love us.

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Psalm 141

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Pop quiz Post a guard at my mouth, God, set a watch at the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3 (MSG)

I went to a leadership conference last week, and I walked away with a hefty list of personal action items. There was a veritable laundry list of ways I needed to step it up. It honestly felt, at times, as if God was giving me a swift kick in the rear end. One of the items on the list was for me to guard my mouth in the way I talk about others. It's so easy for me to get cynical and sarcastic when I talk about others who, for one reason or another, drive me crazy.

As I read verse three this morning, it was like God was calling a little pop quiz accountability to last week's test. "So, Tom," God says, "how are you doing on being more gracious in how you talk about others?"

Didn't you hate that feeling when teachers called a pop-quiz and you knew you were dead meat?

Like a student who walks away from class and never cracks his textbook, I sit here busted. I haven't done much of anything to consciously guard my mouth or watch what comes out of my lips. Ouch.

We will never change without consciously taking steps down a different path.

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Psalm 141

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Pop quiz Post a guard at my mouth, God, set a watch at the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3 (MSG)

I went to a leadership conference last week, and I walked away with a hefty list of personal action items. There was a veritable laundry list of ways I needed to step it up. It honestly felt, at times, as if God was giving me a swift kick in the rear end. One of the items on the list was for me to guard my mouth in the way I talk about others. It's so easy for me to get cynical and sarcastic when I talk about others who, for one reason or another, drive me crazy.

As I read verse three this morning, it was like God was calling a little pop quiz accountability to last week's test. "So, Tom," God says, "how are you doing on being more gracious in how you talk about others?"

Didn't you hate that feeling when teachers called a pop-quiz and you knew you were dead meat?

Like a student who walks away from class and never cracks his textbook, I sit here busted. I haven't done much of anything to consciously guard my mouth or watch what comes out of my lips. Ouch.

We will never change without consciously taking steps down a different path.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and bdunnette

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Psalm 140

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The law of the playground. I prayed, "God, you're my God! Listen, God! Mercy! Psalm 140:6 (MSG)

I remember, as a kid, playing a game called "Mercy." It was your typical alpha male, king of the mountain, game of physical domination and abject humiliation. I'm sure it was created by some bully named Zeke who thought it up after he'd already given wedgies to every kid on the playground. Basically, two people face each other and put their hands together as if they were giving each other high fives. However, they lace their fingers together so that their hands are now clasping. Then they try to bend the other person's hands back until one of them is on their knees in submission and cries, "Mercy!"

How easily we come to equate "mercy" with defeat and humiliation. How quickly mercy becomes a cry to be avoided as we hang desperately to our pride and rugged self-sufficiency. As a child on the playground I learned that asking for "mercy" was a repugnant admission of defeat.

But, God is no school ground bully. If life were a mere playground game, God would have sent Jesus to be King of the Mountain. From his throne, Jesus would tyrannically force people in submission to his will. Instead, God sent Jesus to suffer humiliation and death on our behalf. The way of salvation became, not a meritous reward we earn in the dominating power of our own goodness, but an undeserved gift to any who are willing to pick up their own cross, follow Jesus and cry to God: "Mercy!"

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Psalm 139

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The action list is full. Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I'm about; See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong— then guide me on the road to eternal life. Psalm 139:23-24 (MSG)

Yesterday and today I'm attending a leadership conference. I posted a tweet at the morning break stating that the conference was only 25 percent over and my action list was now 125 percent full (btw, you can find me on Twitter: tomvanderwell). As I sat there through the session yesterday my pen was a blur of thoughts, ideas and things I was learning. To be honest, most of what I was learning was how far I have yet to grow as a leader in every area of my life. I felt like God did exactly what the verses above describe. He placed a huge magnifying glass over my heart and let me take a peek. I got a clear picture of what I'm about and I didn't like everything I saw.

I'm tired this morning. My wife and sat up late into the night discussing what I'd learned yesterday and determining some things I need to do differently. There were even some things she agree she needed to join with me in changing in her own walk. It made for a short night, but I think we'll look back and see that it was a worthwhile investment of our time.

Yesterday's chapter, Psalm 138, reminded me that God wasn't through with me. Today's chapter reminds me that God isn't the only agent involved in the process. God may help me examine where I've wandered on the path behind me, but I've got the responsibility to take that information and let Him change me, so that I can walk differently on the road ahead.

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Psalm 136

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His love endures forever. "Takes care of everyone in time of need. His love never quits." Psalm 136:25 (MSG)

Twenty-six times the psalmist penned "His love never quits" in this song. Each verse is tagged with the refrain reminding us that God's love endures forever.

Today, I needed to hear it all twenty-six times.

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