Psalm 92

It is good to praise the LORD

and make music to your name, O Most High,

to proclaim your love in the morning

and your faithfulness at night,

to the music of the ten-stringed lyre

and the melody of the harp.

For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD;

I sing for joy at the works of your hands.

How great are your works, O LORD,

how profound your thoughts!

The senseless people do not know,

fools do not understand,

that though the wicked spring up like grass 

and all evildoers flourish,

they will be destroyed.

But you, O LORD, are exalted forever.

For surely your enemies, O LORD, 

surely your enemies perish;

all evildoers will be scattered.

You have exalted my horn [strength] like that of a wild ox;

fine oils have been poured on me.

My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;

my ears have heard the route of my wicked foes.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,

they will grow like a cedar in Lebanon;

planted in the house of the LORD,

they will flourish in the courts of our God.

They will still bear fruit in old age,

they will stay fresh and green,

proclaiming, "The LORD is upright;

he is my Rock,

and there is no wickedness in him."

Psalm 1

Blessed is the one

who does not walk in step with the wicked 

                        or stand in the way that sinners take

                    or sit in the company of mockers,

but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,

and who meditates on his law day and night.

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither -

whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked!

They are like chaff

that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,

nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Moment-by-Moment Obedience

          “We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success.  We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us.  In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite.  We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not.  The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way.  What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.

            What is my vision of God’s purpose for me?  Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now.  If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me.  God is not working toward a particular finish-His purpose is the process itself.  What He desires for me is that I see ‘Him walking on the sea’ with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is alright because I see ‘Him walking on the sea’ (Mark 6: 49).  It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.

            God’s training is for now, not later.  His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future.  We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it.  What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.

            God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now.  If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time.  However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.”   (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, July 28)

June 2013

Click on the pictures to see them bigger or click here: June 2013

What we've been up to...
Patrick finished his ordination tests, Kingsley got sick, we went to Denver for the EPC general assembly, were greeted by a tornado, enjoyed the mountain scenery, and had a fun dinner with a cousin and her family.

Psalm 125