Word Power

 Reading in my new Passion translation last week, I came across a verse in Psalm 81 that actually rhymed, like the original Hebrew Psalm may have.  Somebody should set these words to music. It's verse 10:

Open your mouth with a mighty decree.

I will fulfill it now, you'll see!

The words that you speak, so shall it be. 

It was a reminder to fill my mouth with the words of scripture, whether my five senses agree or not.  I do not have the right to interpret the Word of God according to my experience, but rather I need to interpret my experience according to the Word of God.

I think of Gideon, hiding in the wine press, a very unlikely place to be threshing wheat.  The Angel of the Lord appears to him, and says, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!...Go in this strength of yours.  Save Israel from the control of Midian.  Have I not sent you?"  Gideon looks around to see if the Angel may have been speaking to someone else, and says, in effect, "You can't be talking to me. I am the youngest in my family, and in my culture that means I am a nobody.  Not only that, but my family is the least in the whole tribe.  You really can't be talking to me."

And the Lord answers (I noticed that here if doesn't say the Angel of the Lord but the Lord Himself, so I'm guessing this was a pre-incarnation appearance of Jesus Himself), "But I am with you and you will strike the Midianites as one man" (Judges 6 Modern English Version).

The Lord called him a mighty man of valor.  He said, "Not me!"

That is how we are likely to respond too when God's Word says something that doesn't seem apparent or logical or reasonable to us.  But God isn't limited to what we can see and understand.  I sometimes think it's like we could liken ourselves to a small mouse on the ground explaining to a giraffe what the situation is around us when the giraffe obviously has a much better view of the entire surroundings.  Likewise, God sees not only what is present in our little space, but He sees the end from the beginning and He knows the plans He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11) throughout our entire lives.

Proverbs 18:20, 21:  "A man's stomach will be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips will he be filled.  Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit."  Jesus said, "By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12:37).

So, whatever your situation is, find out what God has to say about it, and put that in your mouth, even if it disagrees with everything your natural mind thinks.  "Open your mouth with a mighty decree."

Joel 3:10b says, "Let the weak say, 'I am strong.'"  Like Gideon.

When you face a dilemma, instead of moaning, "I just don't know what to do," claim James 1:5:  "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without criticism, and it will be given to him" and John 10:27 where Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."

When finances are short, and you are tempted not to be generous in giving, stick with 2 Corinthians 9:8 and say, "God is able to make all grace abound toward (me), so that (I), always having enough of everything, may abound to every good work," and Psalm 23:1..."The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

When you feel sick or have pain, agree with Isaiah 53:4, 5:  "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows...But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."  The word "griefs" in verse 4 is translated from the Hebrew word choli which is used 24 times in the Old Testament, and it is translated as "disease", "sickness" or "be sick" 20 times and "griefs" 4 times, 3 of which are right here in Isaiah 53.  Matthew 8:16,17 tells us, "When the evening came, they brought to Him many who were possessed with demons.  And He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all who were sick, to fulfill what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet,

     'He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses,'

confirming that it should have been translated as "sicknesses" or "diseases" in Isaiah 53:4.  It is truly very difficult to declare, "By the stripes of Jesus I am healed" when you feel and look anything but healed, and when the doctor gives you a report to the contrary.  But even here, it is essential that you speak out the Word of God about what you are experiencing.

So, go ahead and "Open your mouth with a mighty decree...The words that you speak, so shall it be."

New Translations

 I grew up with the King James Bible.  Much of what I have memorized is King James.  After that, I have worn out a New American Standard, a New King James, and I'm not sure what other translations.  As new translations popped up, I would use them mostly as comparison for new insights.  I enjoy the way The Message Bible expresses many verses, but in some instances, I feel that he missed the point.  When my husband died three years ago, I laid claim to his Modern English version, and now as a Christmas gift I received a lovely Passion translation of the New Testament, Psalms, Proverbs and Song of Songs.

My present Bible reading plan has me reading the entire Bible between September and the end of May, so most days, it's 4 chapters in the Old Testament and 1 in the New.  Since Christmas, I have been reading the Passion translation alongside my Modern English version.  Sometimes I prefer how one of them states a verse better than the other, and sometimes they're very similar. 

In today's reading, I found some gems in the Passion translation that I want to share.

Psalm 32:1,2   "What bliss belongs to the one whose rebellion has been forgiven, those whose sins are covered by blood.  What bliss belongs to those who have confessed their corruption to God!  For he wipes their slates clean and removes hypocrisy from their hearts."

Psalm 32, verses 10b,11   "But when you trust in the Lord for forgiveness, his wraparound love will surround you. So celebrate the goodness of God!  He shows this kindness to everyone who is his.  Go ahead - shout for joy, all you upright ones who want to please him!"  (I love the "wraparound love" phrase.)

Psalm 33:5-9   "The Lord loves seeing justice on the earth.  Anywhere and everywhere you can find his faithful, unfailing love!  

"All he had to do was speak by his Spirit-Wind command, and God created the heavenlies.  Filled with galaxies and stars, the vast cosmos he wonderfully made.  His voice scooped out the seas.  The ocean depths he poured into vast reservoirs.  

"With breathtaking wonder, let everyone worship Yahweh, this awe-inspiring Creator.  He breathed words and worlds were birthed.  "Let there be," and there it was - no sooner said than done!"

And verse 20:  "The Lord alone is our radiant hope and we trust in him with all our hearts.  His wraparound presence will strengthen us."  (There's that wraparound expression again!  The New King James has it as "He is our strength and our shield.")

I truly love the King James version of Psalm 34, some of which we sang fairly literally word for word in the 80's, and much of which I memorized, but it's still cool to see the new perspective in the Passion translation...

"Lord!  I'm bursting with joy over what you've done for me!  My lips are full of perpetual praise.  I'm boasting of you and all your works, so let all who are discouraged take heart.  Join me, everyone!  Let's praise the Lord together.  Let's make him famous!  

"Listen to my testimony:  I cried to God in my distress and he answered me.  He freed me from all my fears!  

"Gaze upon him, join your life with his, and joy will come.  Your faces will glisten with glory.  You'll never wear that Shame-face again.  

"When I had nothing, desperate and defeated, I cried out to the Lord and he heard me, bringing his miracle-deliverance when I needed it most.  The angel of the Lord stooped down to listen as I prayed, encircling me, empowering me, and showing me how to escape.  He will do this for everyone who fears God.

 "Drink deeply of the pleasures of this God, experience for yourself the joyous mercies he gives to all who turn to hide themselves in him.  Worship in awe and wonder, all you who've been made holy!  For all who fear him will feast with plenty.  Even the strong and the wealthy grow weak and hungry, but those who passionately pursue the Lord will never lack any good thing." (verses 1-10)

I hope you'll find encouragement from these Psalms today.

Facing Goliath

There are verses we read in the Bible where we want to say, "Really?"  Near the top of the list are probably "Rejoice in the Lord always" and "In everything give thanks."  And we may tend to think, "You can't be serious, God!  You want me to rejoice when I feel sick, or I lost my job, or I lost my spouse, or my marriage is falling apart, or my kids hate me, or I have a horrid boss or neighbour, etc., etc."  God says, "Yes!" 

 In my read-through-the-Bible plan, I found myself in Psalm 8 today. "O Lord our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!"  Yesterday, I had Psalm 3 which David wrote when he was fleeing before his son, Absalom, who wanted to take over the throne, and was out to defeat and kill his father.  Here is what David had to say in the midst of that situation:

     Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! 

     Many are they who rise up against me.  

     Many are they who say of me, "There is no help for him in God."  Selah.

     

     But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, 

     My glory, and the One who lifts up my head.

     I cried to the Lord with my voice,

     And He heard me from His holy hill.  Selah.

     I lay down and slept;

     I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.

     I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people

     Who have set themselves against me all around.

In another fearful situation years earlier, when Israel's original king, Saul, was out to kill him, David wrote Psalm 34:

     I will bless the Lord at all times;

     His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

     My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;

     The humble (or afflicted) shall hear of it and be glad.

     Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

     And let us exalt His name together...

     The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, 

     And delivers them.

     Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;

     Blessed is the man who trusts in Him...

     The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,

     And delivers them out of all their troubles.

What an example for us to follow!

He must have started practising a life of praise and thanksgiving when he was young and guarding the family's flock of sheep out in the meadows alone.  That is where he would have found the strength to kill a lion and a bear when they came to attack the sheep.  When he was faced with the giant Goliath (1 Samuel 17), he had the same "I can't lose because I have this covenant with the one true God" attitude.  He told King Saul, "The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will delver me from the hand of this Philistine."  His words when faced with Goliath's scorn and threats are priceless.  Here is their exchange:  

Goliath:  Come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!

David:  You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin.  But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you.  And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.  Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands."

Such confidence!  

As we practise living a life of thanksgiving and praise and rejoicing, our confidence and strength will increase as well so that we will not worry about who or what rises up against us, because we will know the One who is our shield, our glory and who lifts up our heads, who sustains us and fights our battles. 

As so often happens, this all brings a song to mind.  It's Don Francisco again, with a very simple song, just one verse and one chorus repeated several times, but it reminds us of some things we should always rejoice over.  It has a very upbeat, happy sound and when you hear it, it would be really hard not to dance and sing along.  The title is "I Will Rejoice":

     I will rejoice and praise the name of Jesus.

     To praise You brings joy to my soul.

     I will rejoice and praise the name of Jesus.

     To praise You brings joy to my soul.

     I will rejoice because Your blood has purchased my salvation.

     I'll rejoice because Your Spirit dwells in me.

     I will rejoice because my name is written down in heaven.

     I'll rejoice because I'll live with You through all eternity.

Right there is enough reason to "rejoice always", even when we're facing a Goliath.