Devotionals

Devotionals

Dear Friends,

How do you fight?  i do not mean militarily nor in the utmost of self-defense.  These are matters that may have or never will directly confront us.  (Yes, i know there are serious exceptions much beyond my purview here).  No, what i'm thinking of are those (daily?) battles with anxiety, frets, fears, imaginations, or occasional relational strife.  How then do you fight?  How then are we to fight?  In a word -- like so much Biblical wisdom -- it is counter-intuitive.  That is, it is usually the complete opposite of what our gut tells us.

i've been meditating on Philippians 4:1-9.  Please read it.

Is Paul crazy?  Sisters Euodia & Syntyche are at odds and it is spilling over in the church.  And others are dealing with the general anxieties of daily life.  Yet, his 'war' counsel is surprising especially for a city with a disproportionate number of retired soldiers.

Paul exhorts the beloved to "stand fast". That makes me think of heart and muscle and backbone.  It makes me think of bold separation from the enemy.  It makes me think of verbal rebuke, and in other contexts perhaps even weaponry.

But Paul rather commends this odd assortment of rejoicing, gentleness, thanksgiving, prayer, supplication, and meditating on whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtue, or worthy of praise.

The result: peace, yea a supernatural, circumstance-defying peace!!!  You want to drive off an enemy?  Give him peace and an undisturbed composure.

You can stop here, but i also tried to work this devotion into a lil sonnet:

O Father, Paul exhorts me to stand fast;

A posture taken to require heart,

Or oddly kick of dust and to depart,

Perhaps even a gun or sharp bombast.

And yet he importunes as gentle wren

With overflowing overtones of joy,

And as a cause for thanks and to rejoice,

And charges the be-loved not fighting men.

Is it true anxious i'd not really be

By making supplication to the Lord --

Yea, passing understanding & mere sword

To fight by thoughts of the pure & lovely?

"Transformed to peace before your enemy -

Son, is there more sublime a victory!"

in CHRISt,

tIMCOOK \○/

Dear Saints,

"The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended." (Psalm 72:20).

In Psalm 72 David prayed for Solomon.  Before you read it, guess: What are its two repeated themes?  Note above it was also in some sense his last prayer for him.  Many think David uttered this upon his death bed.

#1.  David prays that Solomon would be "exceedingly abundantly" prosperous.  And prosperous in manifold senses.  That is, that he would have wealth in gold & tribute; abundance of food; expansion of territory; victory in battle; longevity of reign; be remembered famously; respected, served, honored by others; and be altogether righteous.

Hmm, i feel i have been too narrow and too reserved in praying for the success of my children.  In whatever sphere and niche they are called, the idea is to be extravagantly bold.  Something like this ...

As an athletic trainer, may Natalie be renown as an innovator of concussion-preventing designs and concussion-healing techniques.  As a statesman, may Susie be  eminently helpful yet wholly uncompromising in her counsel to Kim Jong-il.  As a dog-walker, may John also be a dog-whisperer par excellence.  And may John's kennel be a marvel of miracle turn-a-rounds for dysfunctional but dearly beloved rescues.  May Einstein more than a smartphone salesman be.  Rather than transactions by means of savvy style and shtick, may he be a matchmaker of phone & handler and able to bring sure solutions to issues of overuse and content management (until, of course, he realizes i, i mean the Lord, was right about him being a preacher).  And yes, may Parker be a true friend to the growing neighborhood pack.  Yea, a quiet, confident alpha, able to 'lead' barky, mischievous betas and the omega followers safely away from trouble.  As future parents may their parenting grace be lauded on/in a hundred playgrounds and ball fields and church nurseries.  Well, these are a few ideas that come to mind for my children.  And this would be but a beginning if Psalm 72 be the model.

#2.  And that second major theme (did you guess it?) aid generally the prosperity of all those in your sphere of influence & responsibility, specifically the poor, needy, weak.  Now this surely included economics, but also prosperity of soul.  Let me put it this way, for every one person / couple that comes for financial counsel, seven come with a deep ache to fit / belong.  Finally, it includes doing them justice.  That is, doing whatever is possible to drive off their oppressors / oppression.  The idea is to bring one, a couple, few, several, dozen, a team, flock, nation along with you on the narrow hard road.

Finally note: Psalm 72 is also our Father's prayer breathed out by the Holy Spirit.  Is it being answered in us?

in CHRISt,

tIMCOOK \○/

Dear Saints,

So many things can pollute a well: filthiness, foolish talk, crude joking, curses, careless / rash words, speaking deceit, taking the Lord's Name in vain, worthless oaths, anger, clamor, slander, murmuring, backbiting, etc. (Ephesians 4:31, 5:4; James 5:12; Matthew 12:36; 1 Peter 3:10; Deuteronomy 5:11; Hosea 10:4; Proverbs 18:8, 25:23; etc. etc.).

But ... "the mouth of the righteous is a well of life". (Proverbs 10:11).

If we would but examine the clarity and drink back a few samples poured fourth from our own wells, we'd quickly "taste and see" if it requires maintenance.

Indeed, they always need maintenance and sometimes major repair.  What follows are the basics:

#1.  Let's see, to properly maintain a well we must understand: "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks [i mean the well pours]. (Matthew 12:34).

#2.  And so to freshen our wells we need to regularly add in what we want to pour fourth.  It is called: "Thy Word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against Thee." (Psalm 119:11).

#3. And Perrier, Pelligrino, etc. drinkers know a bit of mineral content makes fresh water taste even better.  i think this is the Holy Spirit factor.  Paradoxically, the Bible calls it: "Let your speech always be ... seasoned with salt. (Colossians 4:6, c.f. Acts 2:3?, Mark 9:49?).

#4.  Even having done the aforementioned a filter is helpful to keep out the yuckies that tend to creep in.  "When words are many, sin is not absent." (Proverbs 10:19).  "Let every man be ... slow to speak" (James 1:19).

#5.  Finally, we put it all together and dedicate the well to His service.  We pray: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer! (Psalm 19:14). 

The result is water from the Rock!!! (c.f. Exodus 17, Numbers 20).

in CHRISt,

tIMCOOK \○/

Dear Church,

"He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord." (Proverbs 18:22).

Any guy with a loving, helpful, virtuous wife can say an "Amen, Amen!".

But the language sounds awkward nonetheless.  "A good thing" sounds utilitarian, objectifying, demeaning or something.  Now i'm no Hebrew scholar, but even if that is a literal translation, i suspect NIV is closer to the meaning; that is, "finds what is good".

In any event, it reminded me of another word that sounds awkward in our culture.  Now sometimes Biblical words, phrases, verses, ideas are awkward culturally because God's Word does not bend and bow to culture.  But sometimes things are simply lost in translation.

For instance, in Genesis 2:18: "The Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helpmeet/helper fit for him".

Hmm, awkward.  Is woman Biblically subservient?  No! Something is really, really lost in "cultural" translation.

Actually in Biblical culture this is an expression of woman's strength.  Ask yourself, in married couples, if God should call one home, woman is generally far more adept at carrying on.  Statistics bear this out i believe.

Moreover and more interesting, in Biblical culture, helpmeet/helper was a position of strength.  In other words, scholars tell us God uses the same word "helpmeet/helper" in terms of his relation to man and later of the Holy Spirit in Greek. In other words, woman AND GOD help man from a place of unique strength -- not merely as an extra hand.  Woman AND GOD "help" man by lending unique skills, talents, and strengths he simply does not have or in a comparatively diminished capacity.

We don't really even need the Bible to tell us this, it's obvious.  Just look around, the Cooks are perfect example.

IN CHRISt,

tIMCOOK \○/