Philippians 4:6 - 9 to Frank (5)

 

Good morning Frank,

Thanks for your note yesterday.

One of the many reasons I strongly encourage us to read the Psalms every day is that in the Psalms we encounter all of the vicissitudes of life – from the lowest lows to the highest highs, from being surrounded by friends, to betrayal, to facing overt enemies – and of course our most dangerous enemies are those which live within us.

Above all, as we learn to see Christ in the Psalms, and ourselves in Him, they become a glorious realm in which to live – even when we walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

I have a friend who began reading the Psalms every day a few years ago, and after reading Psalm 88 for the first time he called me pretty upset, for there is no resolution in this Psalm. I said to him, “Well, isn’t this what life can be like? We have days or seasons in which all seems to be a dead end.”

As it so happens, in my own reading schedule I read Psalm 88 the same day I read Psalm 118, so I took him to Psalm 118, which is a Psalm of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. Just as Psalm 22, it has its bleak moments, but then it also has its Resurrection! There is always a resurrection for the sons and daughters of the Living God.

Paul writes to Timothy to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2:1 – 10). When we consider the call of Jesus Christ in Mark 8:31 – 38, we ought not to be surprised that life has its challenges, following Jesus will cost us our lives – but O what a Greater Life He gives to us, a Life that begins today and carries us forward into the eternals. (When you read 2 Corinthians, you will see that suffering is a deep theme, a theme found throughout Scripture).

On my office wall is the following, hand lettered by an artistic friend of mine and gifted to me, “Let us give what we cannot keep, to gain what we cannot lose.” This is from something that Jim Elliot wrote, “He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”

Also on my wall is a print of a lion overlooking a lamb on a sacrificial altar – echoes of Revelation Chapter 5. Whether as a pastor, or as an executive, this print has been on my office wall – if someone came into my office when I was serving as a CFO or COO, they would see this print – it represents both the One to whom I belong, and the Way I am called to live.

You mentioned memorization. I think the most important thing in the beginning is to drive the car. There are a few ways to read the Scriptures, but I think in the beginning the best way is to simply read and listen and get to know the lay of the land. Then I’d say that learning to be reflective and devotional and prayerful and to listen comes along with that. So I’ll have a section that I’m reading to read, to refresh my experience, and then a section that I am taking very s-l-o-w in order to listen, to ponder, to pray, to explore. And of course I have the Psalms every day. There is a section of John that I have been reading weekly for years – perhaps it is my nexus in Christ.

The Church Fathers taught that Christ became as we are, so that we might become who He is. I believe this is our inheritance and calling in Him, to be transformed into His image, individually and as His People – for His glory. (2 Cor. 3:17 – 18; Rom. 8:28 – 30; Col. 1:25 – 29; Heb. 2:9 – 13; Eph. 4:11 – 16; John Chapter 17).

This means that we share with Him in His Priesthood, and that means that we are both priest and sacrifice – 1 John 3:16; 1 Peter 2:4 – 10; Rev. 1:6.

Shalom! More later the Lord willing.

 

Bob