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Remember the childhood experience of getting soap in your eyes during a bath? The moment the soap would trickle down, the natural reaction was to look down, which only made it worse. However, as parents, we've all told our young children to "Keep looking up." When trying to wash that young child's hair, if we could get them to keep looking up, the soap wouldn't get in their eyes. Well, when I read Psalm 121, I think of that scene. I hear God telling His children to "Keep looking up!" Psalm 121:1–8 (NKJV) 1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore. The book of Psalms is considered as the hymn book of the people of God in the Old Testament. This passage is from the Songs of Ascent, which is a collection of Psalms (Psalms 120-134) sung as the people of God journeyed to Jerusalem for one of the three annual festivals. As they came from all over Israel to worship in Jerusalem, they were always ascending. When my group and I visited Israel last year, we noticed that regardless of where we came from in Israel, we were always going up to Jerusalem because it's located at a higher elevation, surrounded by hills and mountains. In this context, they would walk together and sing these songs to God. In Psalm 121, we find a pilgrim who, as he journeys, looks upon the hills that surround him. Commentators interpret the first verse in two main ways: 1) It could refer to the "high places" mentioned in the Old Testament, which were sites of idolatrous worship by the pagan nations around Israel. Some Israelite kings would establish or tear down these high places, which symbolized idol worship. So, in saying, "I lift my eyes to the hills; from whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth," the pilgrim is affirming his trust in the one true God, Jehovah, rather than in these idolatrous high places. 2) As the pilgrim journeyed, he could be contemplating the natural beauty of the hills and the surrounding landscape. The act of gazing at this awe-inspiring creation leads him to declare, "I look at these hills; I look at the beautiful creation. From whence comes my help? My help does not come from the creation itself. It comes from the Creator of all this beauty - God Himself." So, Psalm 121 invites us to focus our trust on the Creator rather than the creation and to remember that our help ultimately comes from the Lord. Whether in times of temptation to worship false idols or when marveling at the majesty of the natural world, the psalmist's message resonates through the ages: our ultimate source of help is the Lord who made heaven and earth. Dear God, I praise You! I worship You! You are the Creator of all this beauty I see all around me. I pray that my eyes stay on You today. I pray I keep looking up! In Jesus' name, Amen. In his book The Law of Happiness, best-selling author and Christian psychologist Dr. Henry Cloud helps explain some of the traits found in people who live happy lives. We naturally think that we live happy or unhappy lives because of our circumstances. However, according to his research, that only accounts for 10% of our happiness. 50% is based on our natural wiring (our biological makeup). A full 40% of our happiness can be attributed to practices that we control on a regular basis. That is the emphasis of his book. In one of the chapters, Dr. Cloud expresses the value of friendships. He writes: “One of my favorite studies is one, in which researchers put monkeys in a high-stress situation and measure the stress hormones in the monkeys' brains. After the baseline measurement was made, scientists changed none of the stress (loud noises, lights, and so forth) and did only one thing differently: they put another monkey in the cage. When they measured the stress hormones again, these were reduced by about half just because the monkey had a buddy in there with him! Remember the happiness formula that we looked at earlier, how almost half of your happiness comes from matters that you can control (10 percent circumstances, 50 percent natural wiring, and 40 percent practices that we control)? Remember, no difference in circumstances or in the monkey's genes were introduced. The difference in stress level occurred because of the other 40 percent in a person's life, the part he or she can control: whether or not you are alone in a stressful world. And just like the monkey's stress level was cut in half, we know from research that the same kind of relief can be yours as well. Get some other monkeys in the cage of life with you." [1] Isn’t that an interesting discovery? Of course, thousands of years before these findings were published, the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon, wrote: Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 (NKJV) 9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. I also like how the New Living Translation reads in verse 9: “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.” It is important to invest in relationships. Ask God to help you find some friends who can strengthen you and lighten the emotional load. If possible, invest time and effort in your church community. God has made us for relationships. They are worth the effort. Dear God, thank you for helping me cultivate positive friendships and begin to build new ones. Lord, help me understand the value of these friendships and invest in them. In Jesus’ name, Amen. [1] Henry Cloud, The Law of Happiness (New York: Howard Books, 2011), 98. Alan Stein is a performance coach who has worked with world-class athletes. He once crossed paths with 5-time champion and NBA great Kobe Bryant at a basketball camp. Stein asked Bryant if he could watch him train, and Bryant told him to show up the next day at 4:00 a.m.! When Alan showed up early the next day, Kobe was already in a full sweat. Kobe was working through many of the same exercises that one would teach a younger novice in the game. Alan wondered why Kobe would be working on drills like this and not something unique or more advanced. Kobe’s reply was, “Why do you think I’m the best in the world? I don’t get bored with the basics.” 1 Timothy 4:7b (New American Standard) says, “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” The word “discipline” comes from a Greek word that means “exercise”. We get the word “gymnasium” from this word. Godliness is the goal. Discipline is how we get there. There are some fundamentals to getting in good physical shape – exercise, nutrition, rest. It’s the same whether we are 10 years old or 50 years old. They are basics. Well, in order to develop spiritually, there are some basics that we need to work on, whether we are experienced in our Christian walk or we have just begun. We spend time in God’s Word. We pray. We praise and worship God. We thank Him for His blessings. We ask Him for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. We memorize Scripture. We look for opportunities to share our faith with others and be a witness for Christ. We serve the church in our area of giftedness. We connect with brothers and sisters in Christ – the church community. We faithfully give our money to help support God’s work in the church and in the world. These are some of the basics – they are sometimes referred to as spiritual disciplines. They bring us closer to God, and we are stronger spiritually as we stay committed to practicing them in our lives. Lord, thank You for these regular practices that bring me closer to You and help me be all that You want me to be. Help me not get bored with the basics but see how You are conforming me into Your image, little by little. For Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Living in a democratic republic as a Christian American has a unique set of challenges. At times, we are misunderstood by Christians living in other countries, whose form of government is more of a dictatorship. Christians in these kinds of countries quote Romans 13:1, which says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.” We are told to be more submissive as faithful Christians. However, our country is unique. Here, we have certain freedoms and responsibilities enshrined in our Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Christians living in our specific time and history should realize that there are cultural and societal differences between America in the 21st century and the Roman Empire of the 1st century, under dictatorships. That was not a democracy. We should be submissive as law-abiding, Christian Americans, but we should also be informed and involved in our civic responsibilities. For instance, citizens in other countries may not get to vote on who will lead their country. We not only can vote in America, we should vote, and we should be active in the process. Citizens in other countries may not have the freedom of religion or the freedom of speech like Americans have. With those freedoms, Christians in America have a right and a responsibility to do what is possible to help shape the country in which we live. We have the privilege of being a voice in the marketplace of ideas. Unlike non-democratic settings, we are not merely submissive but actively engage in self-governance—of the people, by the people, and for the people. We must embrace the responsibility of sharing our thoughts, ideas, and convictions. Our vote matters. Our voice matters. Proverbs 29:2 reads, "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan." Americans choose to vote for a candidate based on what issues they perceive are essential versus non-essential. There are substance issues to consider and style issues to consider. Substance should be more important than style, but style is not unimportant. The choice between two parties or two candidates may be very difficult. You may not prefer either platform, party or candidate, but to not choose is a choice. Christians must prayerfully think through what is essential and what is non-essential in making their political choices. Pray, be informed, and vote your Biblical convictions! Lydia and I once had the opportunity to visit Yerevan, Armenia. While we were there, we visited a monastery named “Khor Virap” (which means “deep dungeon”), which is located on the border with Turkey overlooking Mount Ararat. The site is so beautiful that you can see the two mountains when the sky is clear. It's an incredible view from that position. Merchants in Yerevan, which is close to the location, will try to sell you something related to Noah's Ark, as they, too, believe that the ark is there on Mount Ararat. Genesis 8:4 says Noah’s Ark “came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.” The monastery has a whole description of the Genesis account of Noah's Ark, signifying its biblical significance for those who might visit. The monastery was built over a pit, which holds great importance for the Armenians beyond the Genesis account. The man connected with the pit and the monastery was Gregory, who became a saint and also is referred to as Gregory the Illuminator. He was a strong Christian who served in the army of Armenia. Gregory’s father, Anak, was believed to have assassinated King Khosrov II, who was the father of King Tiridates III. During a time when Armenia had a pluralistic society and Christianity was not yet a widely accepted religion, King Tiridates III asked Gregory to burn incense to a pagan idol. However, Gregory refused to do so because of his Christian beliefs. The king was outraged by Gregory's refusal and by his father’s assassination, so he decided to punish Gregory by imprisoning him in a dungeon to rot and die. He would have died if it were not for a kind lady who would visit him every day for fourteen years and give him a loaf of bread. In 297 AD, the king wanted to marry a Christian nun, but she had already taken vows of chastity and refused to marry him. In his fury, he killed a group of Christian nuns who were fleeing from Roman persecution. As a result, he lost his senses, experiencing lycanthropy, a condition in which the person behaves like a wild animal. He would roam the forest like a wild boar. After a period of time, those close to him had lost hope that he would ever improve. However, Tiridates’ sister had a dream that revealed the only man who could help the king was Gregory. She believed that Gregory could free the king from his affliction and pray to his God for healing. The problem was that since Gregory had been put into exile in a cave many years ago, it was believed that he had already died. Nevertheless, they sent for Gregory anyway. When they found him in the cave, he was barely alive and emaciated. They brought him to the king. They asked Gregory to pray for the king's healing, which he did. To everyone's amazement, the king regained his senses almost immediately. He was healed of his affliction and was able to reason and think clearly once again. The king then acknowledged that Gregory's God was the one true God. In 301 AD, the king proclaimed Armenia a Christian nation and thus made Armenia the first Christian nation officially. Daniel 4:1-37 is the account of how King Nebuchadnezzar came to acknowledge Daniel’s God as the one, true God. This is the same man, who one chapter earlier had thrown Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fiery furnace for not bowing to his idolatrous statue. Daniel 4:1–3 (NKJV) 1 Nebuchadnezzar the king, To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. 2 I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me. 3 How great are His signs, And how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And His dominion is from generation to generation. I imagine Nebuchadnezzar went to Daniel and said, “Daniel, I can see that you're writing the court stories. I can see that you're writing about the things that have happened while your people have been in exile in Babylon. You must include this story in your book.” Here you have the powerful testimony of a once-pagan king coming to faith in the one true God. We may not be the king of an empire like Nebuchadnezzar nor the king of a country like Tiridates. But, if God has proven Himself in your life, you have a story to proclaim. If Nebuchadnezzar was alive today, he would pass out a gospel tract to every one he could, which would be Daniel chapter four - how God proved He alone is the One True and Living God. Who needs to hear your story today? |
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