Seedplots

Some commentators link Psalm 4 with the previous Psalm, i.e. David’s prayer as he faces another night on the run from Absalom’s armies.  The author clearly faces great trouble.

His enemies are effectively using lies and slander against him and “honor has been turned to shame” (vs 2).

His followers have been demoralized, “There are many who say, ‘Who will show us some good?’”

In this “psalm of confidence,” David’s trust in God shines through.  He tells his followers not to give way to the rage they feel (vs 4-5).  Craigie paraphrases it like this,

You can tremble with anger and rage, but don’t sin by doing anything! You can speak your evil words within your hearts, but don’t speak them out loud! Lie still and silent upon your beds, where you can do no harm (Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 1-50).

Better still, he continues, put your trust in the LORD!  In Psalm 3, the focus is on “knowing” who God is (”the one who lifts heads and breaks teeth”).  Here in Psalm 4 the focus is on “trusting” that same God.

We too have difficult days.  David’s testimony speaks to us:

• Fellowship with LORD fills our hearts with greater joy than when “grain and new wine abound” (vs 7)
• The LORD provides peace in the middle of trouble, peace that enables us to ” lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me ?dwell in safety” (vs 8).

And this comes in the midst of the difficulties.

LORD, you are faithful to your people. You have “set apart the godly for yourself.”  You will not let me down in time of need.  You tell me not to “give way to fear”.  Fear that grips and paralyzes.  Father, create in me a quiet confidence and trust in you, confidence that enables me to lie down and sleep in peace.

Scripture provides examples of many different kinds of prayer.  Two of the most pronounced types are prayer as a daily spiritual habit, and prayer in critical times in life and ministry.  Both types are important for those who lead God’s people.

In the Gospels, there are 17 references to Jesus at prayer.  We read that Jesus prayed a critical junctures in his ministry:

• at his Baptism (Luke 3:21),.
• before deciding to leave Capernaum on his first missionary tour of Galilee (Mark 1:35-39).
• before he chose the apostles
  (In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve… Luke 6:12-13).
• before Peter confessed him as the Messiah (Luke 9:18).
• at his Transfiguration (Luke 9:29).
• before the cross in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-46).
• and on the cross (Luke 23:46)

In my own experience, prayer as a daily habit has been more of a challenge than praying at critical times in life and ministry.  When we are desperate and have nowhere else to turn, it is natural for us to turn to God in prayer.

We also see Jesus praying as a part of his daily schedule.  In Luke 11:1 we see Jesus returning from a time of daily prayer.  His disciples  notice, are impressed by Jesus’ prayer practices and ask him to teach them to pray – “Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.^“

What follows is what is usually called “The Lord’s Prayer.”  This prayer, recorded in Luke 11:2-4 and Matthew 6:9-15, is actually a “model” for daily prayer.

Jesus tells his disciples, “Pray like this…” (Matthew 6:9).  He had just finished warning them against “heaping up empty phrases” (verse 7), so he certainly didn’t expect this prayer to be used as a “mantra” to be repeated over and over.

I take it to be a pattern for daily prayer because of the context of Matthew 6, where three Jewish “disciplines” (alms, daily prayer and fasting) are being taught, and because of the reference in the prayer to asking for God’s provision of our daily bread (vs 11).

I’ve found the pattern of the Lord’s prayer very useful to use in my own practice of  “daily prayer.”  My mind often begins to wander when I pray and using the Lord’s prayer as a pattern helps bring back my attention and focus to prayer.  I’ll write more about this in another posting.

How do you practice the discipline of “daily prayer?”

David Allen’s advice in Getting Things Done on developing and using a “Project List” is excellent.

When we begin implementing his suggestions we quickly end up with a list of 30 or more projects.  That’s a problem.  Trying to do too many projects at once kills a person’s effectiveness.

I found Matt Perman’s advice helpful,

It is far better to focus your efforts on a few things, get them done, then move on to the next thing.

The less projects you have going on at once, the more quickly you will be able to move them forward. The more projects you have going on at once, the more slowly you will be able to move each forward.

The person whose efforts are diffused will generally be finishing his or her projects a long ways out and “in bulk,” with little sense of accomplishment and momentum carrying her along.

But the person who goes about those same projects largely one by one will have a continual record of progress all along the way — plus growing momentum and the satisfaction of actually getting somewhere.

Having 70 projects on your list naturally inclines you to diffuse your efforts over far too many things rather than focus on a few, most important things.

The Solution: Create an “Upcoming” Category in Your Project List
What’s the solution? It’s actually pretty simple. Divide your projects list into two categories:

• Current Projects
• Upcoming Projects

Keep your “current projects” category well-pruned and very short. Put the stuff that you need to do, but don’t have to be working on at the present time, in your upcoming category. As you complete items on the current projects list, transfer things up from the upcoming list.

You can let the upcoming list get up to 70 or 100 or more. It doesn’t matter there, because you aren’t giving your efforts to that list. And when you do move items up from it onto the current list, you can see the big picture and make sure you are picking what is truly most important to do next.

Now, make note of this: Whenever it is time to activate more upcoming projects, you should re-evaluate your whole list to see if your priorities remain the same. Then activate the 1-2 items on that upcoming list which now most reflect what your priorities are… This generally results in new and different priorities.

Can You Still Have Multiple Projects Active at Once?
Now, don’t we have to be able to do some projects simultaneously? Yes, we do. I’m not saying that you should only have one project on your current list. You might have 5 or even 10.

In your actual day-to-day execution of tasks, literally do one thing at a time when it comes to things that require focus. There is a limit to how many projects you can do simultaneously. Abide by that limit — and, in order to do this, you need to make your project list reflect it. And if you ever have any free time, you can always work ahead on that “upcoming” list.

The original article is found here.

Sinclair Fergson highlights an important truth for those who serve God:

“We do not preach “the atonement” as such, or “salvation,” “redemption,” or “justification” as such, but Jesus Christ and him crucified. These blessings were accomplished by Christ and are available only in Christ, never abstracted from him.

“We must learn to avoid the contemporary plague of preaching the benefits of the gospel without proclaiming Christ himself as the Benefactor in the gospel.

“We do not offer people abstract blessings (peace, forgiveness, new life) as commodities. Rather we preach and offer Christ crucified and risen, in whom the blessings become ours and not otherwise. We preach the person in the work, never the work and its blessings apart from the Saviour himself.”

– “Preaching the Atonement” in The Glory of the Atonement (Hill & James, eds), p. 437

Current reading  . . .

In an effort to encourage others to read, I share
what I’m currently reading.

To the Golden Shore
Courtney Anderson, 1987, Judson Press
A classic biography on the life of the first
missionary from North America, Adoniram Judson. His lifework was in Burma.

An Old Testament Theology:
An Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic Approach
Bruce Waltke, 2007, Zondervan
I’m reading selections from this book as part of my preparation for a class I’m teaching in April on Biblical Characters.

The Cross and Christian Ministry:  Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians,
D.A. Carson,  2004 [1993], Baker
Through his exposition of sections of  1 Corinthians, Don Carson explains what it means to make the cross central in preaching and ministering to God’s people. I’m reading this book a little bit at a time.  It is excellent.

Recently finished  . . .

A Tale of Three Kings: A Study in Brokenness
(in Bosnian) Gene Edwards, 2004 (1980, Tyndale)
This tale based on the biblical figures of David, Saul, and Absalom.  It is subtitled “A Study in Brokenness” and reflects about the use and misuse of authority among Christians.

David is in tight spot – worse trouble than you or I will likely face in our lifetime.

Listen to Peterson’s paraphrase, “Enemies sprouting like mushrooms, Mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery:  “Hah! No help for him from God!” (vv 1-2).

David’s own son is leading those enemies.  To make matters, worse, David knows the cause of his troubles – his own sin.

Yet, and this is even more amazing, David, at the close of that awful day of fleeing from Absalom,  is able to “lay down and sleep,” and wake refreshed in the morning (vv 5-6).  He credits that to God’s help,  “the Lord sustained me.  I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me.”

What would you have done?  I suspect I would have tossed and turned restlessly all night.

In Psalm 3 David models faith in a faithful God.  He had learned, through experience, that “deliverance comes from the LORD” (vs 8).  One writer put it like this,

This Psalm teaches a simple lesson:  God is both the One who lifts heads and breaks teeth. A powerful, sustaining, defending God like this can remove all fear (Reinke).

The hero here is not David.  He’s the one who got himself into this mess.  The hero is God – the one David turned to in trouble.  Look at David’s own testimony “But you, (an emphatic construction)  O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” (vs 3).

Because David, knew from experience, that God delivers (saves) those who trust him, he turned to God when in desperate need.  He “cried aloud”  and God answered him (vs 4).

Think again about the lesson of Psalm 3,  God is both the One who lifts heads and breaks teeth. A powerful, sustaining, defending God like this can remove all fear.   Deliverance is from the Lord.

An easy way to keep up with web sites is to use a RSS feed reader.  This allows you to daily monitor postings made to multiple sites without spending a lot of time.

Most web sites have a RSS feed symbol you can click on to subscribe.
It usually looks similiar to the orange square pictured here.  On
my web site its found in the panel to the right of the text and is labeled
“Subscribe.”

Once you click on the symbol, you are offered a list of readers.  I use the Google reader.  It took me a while to figure out how to use it, but once I got it set up it is not complicated.  Using the reader, in 15-20 minutes I can monitor about 50 web sites daily.  I scan the new content and copy what I’m interested in into OneNote (an ordinary word process would also work fine for this).

Then go back and read and file those articles I’ve “clipped.”  I find doing this about once a month fits my schedule best.  Doing it this way transforms the process into a learning experience for me and really does facilitate “stew-pot” learning as the writer I refer to below claims.  This process also allows me to “find” articles that I want to refer back to later on.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - - – - – -

Here’s four reasons (from a helpful Posting by Mike Anderson) on why you might want to consider using a feed reader.

1. You never miss a blog post from your favorite sites

Once you subscribe to a feed, your feed reader will make sure that you see every new post from that feed. Whether you want to read your websites once a week, once a day, or every ten minutes, any unread items will be saved for you.

2. You can scan a ton of articles quickly.

When using a feed reader, you can quickly filter through the articles that you don’t want to read. When surfing the web, you have to shuffle through different interfaces, type in web addresses, and surf bookmarks. This takes a ton of time. It’s much better to have the content you want delivered to you than to have to go find it every time you get online.

3. Stew-pot learning.

One of the great side-effects of using a feed reader is that you begin to learn about various memes in a stew-pot fashion. You’ll learn new ideas over time, and understand the relationships between them.

4. You can save articles for later.

Feed readers allow you to save articles to read for later. In Google Reader, you can put a star next to items you like and come back later to read them in full. You can also tag articles and search for them later.

I’m trying to better understand the relationship between the Gospel and Christian living. The following comments by Don Carson on 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 helpfully clarify the link between the two,

[Notice] how Paul’s exhortation about giving and money is tied to the Gospel.  In chapter 8 Paul invokes the example of Christ’s self-giving:

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (8:9). [Then] in chapter 9 Paul says that, if the Corinthians come through with their promised gift, people “will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity” (9:13, italics added).

In any case Paul never lets Christians forget that all our giving is but a pale reflection of God’s “indescribable gift” (9:15), which of course lies at the heart of the Gospel.

So much of basic Christian ethics is tied in one way or another to the Gospel. When husbands need instruction on how to treat their wives, Paul does not introduce special marriage therapy or appeal to a mystical experience. Rather, he grounds conduct in the Gospel: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25)…

We must avoid the view that, while the Gospel provides a sort of escape ticket from judgment and hell, all the real life-transforming power comes from something else—an esoteric doctrine, a mystical experience, a therapeutic technique, a discipleship course. That is too narrow a view of the Gospel. Worse, it ends up relativizing and marginalizing the Gospel, stripping it of its power while it directs the attention of people away from the Gospel and toward something less helpful (D. A. Carson, For the Love of God : A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God’s Word. Volume 2 (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1998). 25.)

Current reading . . .

In an effort to encourage others to read, I share
what I’m currently reading.

An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic Approach
Bruce Waltke, 2007, Zondervan
I’m reading selections from this book as part of my preparation for a class I’m teaching this week on Preaching and Teaching from the Life of David.

A Tale of Three Kings: A Study in Brokenness
(in Bosnian) Gene Edwards, 2004 (1980, Tyndale)
This tale based on the biblical figures of David, Saul, and Absalom.  It is subtitled “A Study in Brokenness” and reflects about the use and misuse of authority among Christians.

The Cross and Christian Ministry:  Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians,
D.A. Carson,  2004 [1993], Baker
Through his exposition of sections of  1 Corinthians, Don Carson explains what it means to make the cross central in preaching and ministering to God’s people. I’m reading this book a little bit at a time.  It is excellent.

Recently finished  . . .

1 Samuel: Looking on the Heart
Dale Ralph Davis,  2007, Christian Focus
A practical, non technical explanation of 1 Samuel, chapter by chapter, based on careful exegesis.  Davis is currently a pastor and was formerly an Old Testament seminary professor.  This is a delightful book – spiritually rich and a pleasure to read – I enjoyed reading it.

Psalm 1 introduces the Psalter by stressing that the “blessed” person (Psalm 1:1) is the one who delights in God’s way and soaks himself or herself in God’s Word.

Psalm 2 continues that introduction, stressing that the “blessed”  person is the one who fears God and trusts in him (Psalm 2:11-12).

It gets off to a rocky start, beginning as it does “with the turmoil of the nations.”

The ending is peaceful – “the blessing of those who trust in the Lord.”   Psalm 2 points us to God’s mission – salvation for the nations - and how it is carried out.  God’s mission centers on his Son.  No surprise then, that Psalm 2 is one of the most quoted Psalms in the New Testament, where Jesus is revealed as that Son.

When the people of God sing Psalm 2, they remind themselves of how God made David and his descendants to be kings in order to enable them to fulfill the very purpose for which Abraham was called (i.e. to bring blessing to all nations) (ESV Study Bible.)

The Psalm begins with questions:  Why do the nations rage against the Lord and his anointed?   In light of the New Testament, Why is Jesus, the anointed one, so hated?

The response given should encourage us who follow Jesus.  God’s mission, salvation to the nations – will succeed. God looks down at efforts to oppose his mission and simply laughs.  Those feeble efforts to stop what he is doing will amount to nothing.  He is secure in his majesty.

The deed is already done.  God has made his decree – his Son will rule the nations.  Nothing can change that.  The only wise response is to bow, to serve, to submit.  Kiss the Son in submission.  Take refuge in him alone.  This is the only way to blessing.

Could it be that when we get into a fret and stew about evangelism and spiritual warfare that we don’t have enough of a Psalm 2 perspective.  God knows what he is doing.  He sits on the throne.  His mission will prevail.  Yes, it’s no accident this Psalm was a favorite of the first followers of Jesus.

I follow the postings on a good number of web sites daily, using Google Reader.  Along the way, I learn new things and am often challenged and encouraged.  This posting, by John Piper on the www.desiringgod.org website encouraged me.  I share it with you…

2 Stages of God’s Care for Us: Fettered and Freed

In this age, God rescues his people from some harm. Not all harm. That’s comforting to know, because otherwise we might conclude from our harm that he has forgotten us or rejected us.

So be encouraged by the simple reminder that in Acts 16:19-24 Paul and Silas were not delivered, but in verses 25-26 they were.

First, no deliverance:

• “They seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace.” (v. 19)
• “The magistrates tore the garments off them.” (v. 22)
• They “inflicted many blows upon them.” (v. 23)
• The jailer “fastened their feet in the stocks.” (v. 24)

But then deliverance:

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God…and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. (v. 25-26)

God could have stepped in sooner. He didn’t. He has his reasons. He loves Paul and Silas.

Question for you: If you plot your life along this continuum, where are you? Are you in the stripped and beaten stage, or the unshackled, door-flung-open stage?

Both are God’s stages of care for you.

If you are in the fettered stage, don’t despair. Sing. Freedom is on the way. It is only a matter of time. Even if it comes through death.

Here’s the original link.

In an earlier posting I wrote about dividing the work day, when possible, between key projects and daily routines/office work.  I shared the simple observation that the best way to tackle key projects is through concentrated focus and attention.

We all know this, of course, but we also look up to the person who is skilled at “multitasking.”  The evidence points in another direction.  The well known writer Peter Drucker made the startling observation,

“I have never encountered an executive who remains effective while tackling more than two tasks at a time.”

Multitasking, per se, is not bad.  In the reality of the everyday world, it is often necessary.  But it doesn’t mesh well with concentrated focus on important projects.  Research conducted at the University of California suggests it takes a person from 6 to 20 minutes to recover and refocus after and interruption. If you are interrupted several times an hour, concentrated focus becomes impossible.

It’s not a question of “either-or’” but “both-and.”

Set aside time in your daily schedule for the multitude of small tasks that need doing, and use your multitasking skills.

But also create chunks of time in your day when you won’t be interrupted.  Use these periods for concentrated focus on key projects.

This simply will not happen without planning and discipline.  That’s the rub.

If you work to make this happen, the “Tyranny of the Urgent” will take over and your work day will become a constant stream of “multitasking” or “switching” as the author of The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing It All” Gets Nothing Done prefers to call it.

Leadership is about influence, the experts tell us.

Where does spiritual influence come from?  Listen to the wise words of the Scottish pastor Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843),
.

Men return again and again to the few who have mastered the spiritual secret, whose life has been hid with Christ in God. These are of the old time religion, hung to the nails of the cross.
.

In other words, The depth of our relationship with Christ, and the extent to which the cross is operative in our lives determines the extent of our spiritual influence on others.

I first heard this quote from my Bible School president and teacher, L.E. Maxwell (1895-1984).  He was a man of considerable influence in his time.  I think McCheyne’s quote was his favorite saying.  It has stayed in my memory over the past 35 years and come to mind often.

Maxelll probably came across this quote in Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) devotional classic My Utmost for His Highest. This book is still in print (available in over 40 languages) and is read daily by Christians around the world.  McCheyne’s quote impacted Chambers, is highlighted in the forward as the reason the book was compiled.

This one quote, written 170 years ago, influenced Chambers, who influenced Maxwell, who influenced me.  And by God’s grace, it will pass from me to others.  It has been influential because it is true.  The cross in our lives makes a difference.

Last month a biography of the Oswald Chambers, a Scottish preaching and bible teacher was offered as the free download of the month on a website.  I knew of Chambers’ daily devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, but I knew nothing of his life story.  So I downloaded it.

Two weeks ago, while doing daily housework, I started listening.  From the start, I was hooked.  Oswald (and Biddy) Chambers entered my life.

Strange as it seems, I began looking forward to daily housework!  I didn’t know the story and as I listened, I kept wondering, “What happens next?”  Now the book is finished and I miss Oswald and Biddy.

That set me a thinking.  What’s the value of a biography anyway?  Simply enjoyment of a good story (assuming it’s a well written biography)?  Or something more?

A person like Oswald Chambers can make you discouraged.  His was an unusual life and he had unusual gifts.  But the book didn’t have that effect on me.  Let me take a stab at unraveling lessons I gleaned from reading (i.e. listening) to this biography.

• It pointed me to God. In Proverbs it says, “The mind of man plans his way, but God directs his steps.” The plans Oswald made for his life and where he eventually ended up had very little in common. I am reminded of God’s word to Jeremiah, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” That encouraged me to trust God for our future.
  .
• It reminded me that each person’s calling is unique. Chambers had unique gifts but they were gifts that fit his calling. His wife’s gifts were very different, but in the long run, just as important. It was Biddy’s gifts and ministry that made possible the lasting impact Chamber’s had (and is having) over many generations of believers. Amazingly, My Utmost of his Highest, first published over 70 years ago, is even being read in the country where I live, in translated form.
  .
• It highlighted again the important place of context in ministry. It is dangerous, I think, to turn a person’s experience into a formula. “When Oswald did this…, God blessed him, therefore, copy Chamber and God will bless you.” Every context is unique, and God’s way of working with every individual is unique.
  .
• Oswald Chambers, and later Oswald and Biddy had a very hard life. It didn’t get easier as they grew older. Yet, throughout the story, I noticed an underlying note of joy and thankfulness in those difficult circumstances. That, I think, is a mark of God’s presence and a sign of a life lived in fellowship with God.
  .
• Chambers was at heart an artist.  Many of the books I read are written by people who at heart are scholars.  These two groups of people see the world quite differently.  It was refreshing to get a different perspective.  I’m amazed at the way God uses all kinds of people.

Those are bits and pieces of what I learned.  I commend the biography to you.  It’s worth reading.

Life
C.S. Lewis, in his classic  The Chronicles of Narnia series, provides an unforgettable description of the creation of Narnia.  It is, I suppose, his imaginative understanding of Genesis 1.

What makes it unforgettable is the overwhelming presence of life – everything grows and multiplies at an astounding pace.  This is precisely the picture in Genesis 1.  God speaks living things into existence, blesses them and they begin multiplying (vs 11, 20, 24, 26, 28).

The world simply teems with life.  In chapter 2 God breathed into man’s “nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (vs 7).  He planted in the midst of the garden “the tree of life” (vs 9).

Life vs. Death
In chapter 2, this emphasis on life is set in sharp contrast to death,

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (vs 16-17)

Life, the author reminds us, comes from God.  Death comes from disobeying God.  The choice is given to man – life or death, living God’s way, or one’s own way.

Death
Adam and Eve chose their own way, and suffered the consequences – consequences that affected not only them, but their children.  Whereas Adam had been “made in God’s likeness” (Genesis 5:1), the children he fathered were in his own fallen likeness, “after his own image” (vs 3).

The depressing consequences are highlighted in Genesis 5.  Notice the author’s pattern:

xxx lived xxx years, fathered xxx, had other sons and daughters.  Thus xxx lived xxxx years, and he died.

This pattern doesn’t occur in Genesis 11, where another major genealogy occurs.   The difference is in the little phrase “and he died.” Why is it added here in Genesis 5?

Walking with God
Apparently to highlight the one exception to the depressing pattern – Enoch.  Unlike all the others in the list, Enoch’s time on earth ended differently – “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (vs 24).

We are told by contemporary artists, “Not matter how hard you try, life is hard, then you die.” Yes, that’s true.  Because of the garden and Adam and Eve’s decision to go their own way, that’s the way it is.

But there is a way out of this depressing cycle.  Enoch’s way.  The author of Genesis wants us to understand one thing – Enoch “walked with God” and instead of dying, he lived.