Thoughts on John Wesley, UMC, life, faith, and anything else!
Psalm 60:1-12
You thought you had it all figured out. You planned. You strategized. And then…failure. Not a small failure, but a colossal failure. A failure so big you had to step back and reassess your approach and ask, “What went wrong? Where did I get off track? How in the world did things get so bad?”
Continue reading “Missing God – Reflection on Psalm 60”
Psalm 59:1-17
I don’t like problems. When I have a problem I try to fix it, or get it fixed, as soon as I have. Problems are enemies which work against my goals and agenda.
Imagine my surprise when the psalmist ask God to allow his enemies, who represents threats to his goals and agendas, to hang around! Usually in these psalms, the psalmist asks God to destroy his enemies in no uncertain terms. This time, however, he doesn’t. Even though he wants to be delivered from his enemies, in verse 11, he asks God to not destroy them!
Continue reading “Purposeful Problems – Reflection on Psalm 59”
Psalm 58:1-11
Psalm 58
People gravitate toward the Psalms because of their complete and utter realness. I was taught that if I didn’t have anything nice to say…then don’t say anything. The psalmist doesn’t follow such motherly advice. Instead, the psalmist lets his fury fly.
There’s a scene in The Dark Night when Bruce Wayne (aka Batman) is trying to understand the Joker’s motivation. Alfred (played by Michael Cane) shares a story about trying to negotiate with tribal leaders in Burma with precious stones. However, a bandit kept stealing the stones. When they went looking for the bandit and the stones, they discovered the bandit had been throwing the stones away.
Wayne asks, “Why steal them?”
Continue reading “Destroy the Wicked – Reflection on Psalm 58”
Psalm 57:1-8
Some problems can’t be fixed no matter how hard we try. The problems are bigger than we are. I used to try to fix my problems. After much frustration, I finally admitted that some problems can’t be fixed, or at least not by me.
Continue reading “Big Trouble? No Problem! – Reflection on Psalm 57”
Psalm 56:1-13
Bad things happen. How do you respond? What do you do when life doesn’t work out the way you want? What’s your reaction when someone actively seeks your destruction? Perhaps destruction is too strong of a word. Maybe somebody tries to destroy your reputation, limit your opportunities, or steal your thunder. What do you do? Where do you turn?
Life doesn’t always go as planned. Stuff happens. Sometimes bad stuff happens. You find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time or end up a victim of circumstances beyond your control. What’s your response?
Continue reading “Bad Stuff, Deep Trust – Reflection on Psalm 56”