Psalm 54 - Picturing God

This has been an interesting week for me and this Psalm. i have not don't an entry with it because i just wasn't solid on where it was supposed to go...so each day I read the psalm and pray about it and each day I got little pieces...a picture here, but nothing complete. Then today, as I read the psalm, all the pictures came together and I realized the blog was to be about picturing God.

Do you picture God? How do you picture God?

If you are like me, when you hear a phrase, you get an image of God that goes with that phrase...for example:

¹ Come with great power, O God, and rescue me!
      Defend me with your might.

I get a picture of a warrior dressed in armor sort of like the classic pictures of the archangel Michael) ...

⁴ But God is my helper.
      The Lord keeps me alive!

I picture a healer, holding a vial of cure-all ointments (sort of like Lucy in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe)

⁷ For you have rescued me from my troubles
      and helped me to triumph over my enemies.

And I see a sage (a little Dumbledorish) who is understanding and knows things beyond what is visible.

The truth is that God is all of these things and the fact that the pictures in my head transcend gender and age is completely appropriate. God is without gender and age and different times, different passages, different circumstances, all lead us to different visions of God.

As I write this, I can't help but remember the book The Shack (if you haven't read it, I recommend it!) where the author shares three characters that are God and each share different characteristics and aspects of God.

Take a little bit of time today and think of how you picture God. If you need to, read a few passages and let them inspire your vision.

I would love to hear about your pictures of God, so feel free to share them as a comment.

Psalm 53 - Broad or Narrow Look

Did you ever take a broad look at a situation and either see that it was amazing or that it was a disaster...only to later find that it wasn't quite what you saw?



Sometimes when we look broadly at a situation we only see a small piece of what is really happening and miss the details or discount them.

² God looks down from heaven
      on the entire human race;
   he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
      if anyone seeks God.
 ³ But no, all have turned away;
      all have become corrupt.
   No one does good,
      not a single one!

You can certainly see the discouragement and complete black and white perspective. I was actually reminded yesterday in the message at church that psalms are musical poems...designed to appeal to the emotions and are therefore over-the-top...very much like a persuasive argument.

The truth is, that ALL have not turned away and become corrupt. There were still followers of God, including the psalmist, but the psalmist is trying to influence people around him to think about God and choose righteousness.

As you read this psalm, you should see it as motivation to evaluate your life...don't see it as a discouragement on life, but a motivator.

Psalm 52 - Duality

As I read this psalm, I think I was thinking about duality within us and although the psalm doesn't describe the duality of one person, i saw it that way....

So do you ever find yourself filled with thoughts that belong to your sin nature. Thoughts that don't become acts because of the Christ in you...but you think them, feel them, and sometimes wish for them...but are stopped by your sense of right and wrong.

Maybe I am the only one who experiences such a thing...I hope so, but I doubt it.

I definitely find myself wrestling with desires that the duality in me struggles with. The desire to let myself go with abandon and pursue pleasures that could become very destructive but they run up against the wall of righteousness and my desire to live a long and healthy life.

It can be a difficult thing and a real struggle.

Look at these verses from the psalm:

 ² All day long you plot destruction.
      Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor;
      you’re an expert at telling lies.
 ³ You love evil more than good
      and lies more than truth.

⁸ But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God.
      I will always trust in God’s unfailing love.
 ⁹ I will praise you forever, O God,
      for what you have done.
   I will trust in your good name
      in the presence of your faithful people.

In these two portions we can see both the evil plotting and  the strength of living in unity with God. While it wasn't describing just one person, I can't help but wonder. I think of David and his anger towards the people who persecuted him and his commitment not to return evil for evil, but I can only imagine that he must have been tempted. And then I remember how he got Bathsheeba. David certainly had a duality as well.

So how do you fight the duality in you? Is it a daily struggle or just an occasional battle?

Psalm 51 - The Cleaning Only God Can Do

This is a favorite psalm of mine and there is so much that can be discussed in it, but I want to focus on this verse:

⁷ Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
      wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

We are all sinners and if we examine our lives, we can see the stain of sin all over it. Stains that we can't take back or erase. You know exactly which ones they are. But look at this verse...purify me and I will be clean...wash me and i will be whiter than snow. God is capable of removing our sin and cleansing us. In fact, Jesus traded his purity for our sin on the cross.

Do you really accept that? Do you really allow God to purify and cleanse you or are you holding on to the stains of your sin?

Since we can clean it up, we often have trouble letting God do it. We are creatures of control and independence and want to do it ourselves. we don't like to rely on others including God, but the truth is that we either let God cleanse us in a way that only God can or we remain stained.

And just the knowledge of our stain can hold us back from being who we were created to be and accepting all the blessings that are available to us.

Will you let God clean you? Will you accept God's grace and mercy? Let today be the day that you are purified and become whiter than snow.