Closer than your iPhone – Psalm 145:18-21

Have you noticed how much smaller our world has become, especially over the last 20 years or so? I’ve been privileged enough to live through this resizing and reshaping of the world, experiencing the mind blowing difference it has made – that already we take for granted!

For the majority of the history of the world, distance has mattered, especially in regards communication. For thousands of years the only people who could hear you yell were those close enough to hear you! If you were to cry out for help, only those who lived within earshot could have responded. At best (and not often, nor reliably, nor to everywhere), you could write a letter or send someone with a spoken message to communicate with someone far away.

It wasn’t until the late 1800’s that communication started to change – with the invention of the telephone. Suddenly, though only for a minority at first, you could pick up this wooden or bakelite thing and speak to someone on the other end! Suddenly our friends were closer.

And then in the 1980’s two more revolutions really took hold. The internet and mobile telephones. The culmination of which is the smartphones and tablets many of us have access to today. Today I can jump on my phone anywhere with mobile signal (most places I go!), and say hi to a friend, or even broadcast a request for prayer or help. Email, Twitter and Facebook connect me to potentially millions of people at the click of a button. No longer do I need to call out and hope someone hears – I can communicate with almost anyone, anytime, anyplace, in many different ways.

But even with all of this amazing technology, many of us can still find ourselves alone. We can still find ourselves in anguish, in distress, with no one to help us and no one to call upon. We might find ourselves in a place with no friend to listen to our cries, to comfort us in our distress or to guide us into new hope.

Well, not quite no one.

The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
The LORD preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
(Psalm 145:18-21 ESV)

Despite the rapid proliferation of modern technology, it has nothing on God! Despite the fact that He created the universe and all that is in it, if we call on Him in truth He will be near to us. Not just near in distance, but truly near as a friend and helper.

I don’t know if you have thought that through, but it is a pretty revolutionary thought.

If I said I could today call on the ten richest people in the world to help me, despite being nothing myself, you would probably write me off as a fraud. And since I don’t know any of them personally, you would be right!

Despite that, the Bible constantly declares that God is near to us when we call. Not just ‘some guy’, not even a rich guy, or a wise guy (just what we need….), or a powerful guy. But that the God who spoke the whole universe into being – just spoke it – is near to me when I call on Him for help.

Yes, that is a truly mind bending thought, but if only we could get it into our heads, it would utterly transform our lives!

No wonder at the conclusion David (the author of this Psalm) declares -

My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

God of the Open Hand – Psalm 145:14-17

Today I have two pictures for you!

Have you ever seen someone in need – someone really in desperate times – get something to help them along? It is a face of relief, of thankfulness, even of love. It is the eyes and smile of someone who knows that suddenly everything is going to be alright – they are going to make it through.

Or maybe have you ever seen a child get a surprise gift? Their eyes light up with surprise, there is nothing like a small child to really register clear emotion! The picture in todays post is from Operation Christmas Child – which strives to give gifts to children who won’t receive any, to share and show the love of Jesus.

We have just spent a bunch of time looking at the greatness of God and the awesomeness of His works. And yet, this same God who created the universe and can completely blow our mind with the complexity and beauty of the universe, is willing to come down from the heights and help us in our need.

The LORD upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
(Psalm 145:14-17 ESV)

That truly is a picture of us isn’t it? We have nothing really to offer. In the scale of the universe, we are essentially invisible! And yet, the God who created it all comes down with kindness, grace and love and lifts us up, especially when we call.

He is the God of the open hand! You have heard the term ‘tight fisted’ before I am sure. A tight fisted person is someone who holds on to everything they have unwilling to share a penny with anyone. But our God is the opposite – he has an open hand, showering His love, mercy and grace on us all every day.

So again, take time today to recognize God’s work in your life – that despite how great and awesome and powerful He is, He still steps down to our level and lifts us up from the trouble we find ourselves in. Doesn’t that fact alone make Him doubly worthy of our worship and honour?

Made for this! Psalm 145:10-13

Have you ever felt ‘made for something’? I am sure you know the feeling – you start doing something and it just works for you – everything goes well, you enjoy it, and you reach the point that you feel like ‘I was made for this!’. I’ve got two examples for you.

The first one was when I was about 20. You see, I bumped into this girl in church one day…. A friendship grew, and it was pretty obvious very early we were made for one another! Long story short, we have known each other over 16 years now and married over 14, and even more today than 16 years ago I can honestly say ‘we were made for this’.

Vocationally, for me that was almost always working with computers. I just sit down and seem to know what I am doing most of the time. I just ‘click’ with them – that is no doubt a gift from God! From the moment I first got one around 1986 (yes, that long ago), I knew I was made to work with them. (That may well change in the future, but that is a topic for another post already planned…)

Now taking a look at the next part of Psalm 145, I think there is something else we are all made for.

All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
and all your saints shall bless you!
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
(Psalm 145:10-13 ESV)

We were made to worship and give glory to God. ‘All your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power…’. Sounds just what a ‘church service’ should be! Sounds also like what a Christian’s life should become – always giving glory to God and telling of His power.

So there is something we are all called to do – give thanks to God for who He is and what He has done.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 ESV)

Road Rage! Psalm 145:8-9

Just about everyone has seen or experienced it. The holy and terrible anger of the offended motorist.

You know the scene. Traffic is bad. There has been an accident 3 miles ahead and all the freeways and side streets are stopped. Everyone is late, it’s mid summer and crazy hot already, and the anger is rising. People start hitting their horns for no reason (like that is going to help move the accident 3 miles away), yelling at cars in front, riding on other peoples tailgates and generally making a scene.

And then someone changes lanes.

The spot that they left is filled instantly with a gleeful (and maybe even giggling) motorist who feels like they just made a mile on the other cars. But woe to that motorist, for someone else feels like they just lost a mile! The hate filled anger, the wrath of the motorist who has been ‘cut off’ is a terrible sight to behold.

How quickly we let our emotions go out of control! Reason goes out the window, and we become creatures of our anger, spitting fireballs at any and all who would dare cross our path…

The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The LORD is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.
(Psalm 145:8-9 ESV)

Can you imagine what life would be like if God was like some of us in traffic? Not one of us would survive.

Now picture this scene.

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.
(Luke 9:51-53; Luke 9:54-56 ESV)

The disciples, now feeling they are no longer on the receiving end of God’s wrath, show their true feelings when they feel like they are righteous and just. Despite Jesus having shown them mercy, they are not yet willing to show that mercy to others. I reminds me of the Queen in Alice in Wonderland…

“Off with her head!”

Rarely do any of us question God’s mercy toward us. We know that we have sinned, we know that we have done the wrong thing – and often continue to do so. But we praise and thank God for His mercy towards us. We praise and thank God that He is ‘slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love‘.

So there are two takeaways from this verse in Psalm 145 today.

Firstly, we are to praise God that He is good, that He is slow to anger, that He does abound in steadfast love to all of creation. We are not just take God for granted by coming before him with our to do and wish list for the day – but to praise Him for His good works. To meditate on the good things He has done for us, the love He has shown us by sending His Son in our place, to suffer and die on a cross, so that we might be right before Him.

And once we learn the mercy that has been shown to us by God, we need to learn to be like Him – and show mercy to others. Don’t be like the disciples who thought ‘we are on God’s side, so it is right to condemn these sinners’, but recognize just as God was slow to anger with us, He is showing His grace to others as well, that they might come to know Him.

So today, meditate on God’s love towards you. On his steadfast love and grace, that gave you the chance to become a child of God. Then take that love and mercy and show it to another. It could be as simple as letting people in front of you on the freeway, or forgiving someone who angers you. Just as with God’s goodness, if we understood how much mercy and love God has for us, we couldn’t help but show it to the rest of the world!

Called to Speak! Psalm 145:4-7

Why is social media so popular with the companies we do business with? Why are they always desperate to maintain a presence on things like Facebook and Twitter? Why do they have competitions now that you have to retweet lines or like products, or even sharing things on your Facebook page to get extra entries?

Because the best way to get the word out about something is through people who like what you have. TV, print and internet advertising might get people interested, but nothing excites people more than hearing from others who have experienced a product or service.

In my house I am known as the Kindle Evangelist – because I think the product is really really good. And I tell everyone who wants to know. Amazon love people like me – because I have used their product and love it! That is worth more to them than thousands of dollars of advertising – because people listen to what their friends have to say!

One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
(Psalm 145:4-7 ESV)

Coming back to our Psalm for the week – how does the Word of God spread? Through people telling others about it. For most people (not all, but most), their first and primary experience with the Word of God was when someone told them about it.

Just this week I had a conversation with someone at work. He’s only a few years out of school – and he knew absolutely nothing of the Gospel. He had really no idea about anything to do with the Bible, about Jesus, or even about history as a whole. He thought all Christians believed the world was 2000 years old, and that as soon as anything was considered ‘science’ we would reject it immediately no matter what. He said he knew he was baptized but doesn’t even know what that means! (A conversation around infant baptism maybe we should move to another day). So in a modern western nation, we have people who have lived their whole lives without any exposure to the Gospel. They know nothing of God, they know nothing of His Mighty Works. All they know is what they learned in school – which in many cases is not much!

So what are we called to do?

The first thing is that we need to be told of the wondrous works of God. The next thing is that we experience them in our own lives – I have experienced God’s hand directly in my life many times, and I could tell you experience after experience where my life was affected!

Next, we need to meditate on these things. We need to truly understand – deep in our hearts – how awesome God really is. Not just as a door to door salesperson who is just looking for their next commission, but as someone who has truly experienced God in our lives and are thankful and for Him! Going back to the Kindle – it is something I have experienced and can speak out of, rather than something I have to do but don’t want to.

And finally, when we truly understand what God has done for us, it is time to share. It becomes our responsibility to share that greatness with the next generation so that they too can experience the forgiveness and grace of our Lord.

Even now in western nations like Australia, America and Europe we can no longer expect that people even know what Church is, apart from the negative societal stereotypes found in modern entertainment (which just make our job harder!). To many of them, they don’t even understand what the joke is anymore, because they don’t know the first thing about God – they don’t even know He exists!

So what do you need to do? Meditate on the awesome things God has done for us – and we will not be able to keep it to ourselves! Instead when the opportunity arises, we will want to share not only who God is, but what He has done for us.

They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

So this week? Share the love and mighty works of God with someone! Just like in yesterdays passage Christianity is not a team sport, don’t leave the work of sharing the Gospel to the ‘professionals’, but let the goodness of God overflow out of your heart and touch others.