Flattery

OK, it's been a while since I've posted. I have done some posting on other blogs, but nothing substantial in over four months. Well, this morning as I was reading, a verse struck me that I just had to blog about.

He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.

Daniel 11:32 (ESV)

I realize that I am living outside of the historical context of this prophecy, but nevertheless, I am challenged by it. There is a stark and even dangerous choice presented here and I want to examine that closely.

"...seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant..." This seems to me to be a two-way street. Depending on which translation each half of this comes first sometimes. Violating the covenant may lead to being seduced by flatteries. Being seduced by flatteries may lead to violating the covenant. It's easy to let a simple "Atta boy!" or "Good job" cause your head to swell, isn't it? Let a little pride slip in and it drives a wedge between you and God. It's even easier to swell up with pride if you've already turned your heart away from God. It's one thing to accept kind words of edification, it's another thing entirely to be seduced by them.

...but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action Stand firm and take action sound really good don't they? I think I will stand firm and take action. Isn't that great? Yes it is, thank you! Who's going to stand firm and take action? The people who know their God! This one isn't a two-way street. Standing firm and taking action will not necessarily lead you to knowing God. But, knowing God will lead you to standing firm and taking action. Knowing God is the key to this.

¹O LORD, you have searched me and known me! ²You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

    you discern my thoughts from afar.

³You search out my path and my lying down

    and are acquainted with all my ways.

⁴Even before a word is on my tongue,

    behold, O LORD,

    you know it altogether.

⁵You hem me in, behind and before,

    and lay your hand upon me.

⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

    it is high; I cannot attain it.

Psalm 139:1-6 (ESV)

Know God and stand firm and take action or violate the covenant and be seduced by flatteries. The choice shouldn't be that hard. At times it's harder than it should be. Our circumstances may change even though God does not. It's real easy to get distracted. God doesn't change. He causes all things to work together for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. Know God. Stand firm. Take action. Know God. Know God.

Perhaps kind of quiet this week...

I don't know how much I'll be blogging on this blog this week. However, my other blog Brock Family Bible Study will be active this coming week. We have been working through "Training Hearts, Teaching Minds" by Starr Meade in our family devotions for a while, but this week with one of my two boys away at Cub Scout camp, we'll be studying my other son's favorite verse during our devotion time. It's been fun for me to be digging into the Greek (I am in know way a Greek scholar but I can use e-sword and online tools to dig into the meaning).

My Refuge

My soul finds rest in God alone;
      my salvation comes from him.

Psalm 62:1 (NIV)

OK, I haven't blogged in about a week. I've still been doing my daily reading, but my routine has been a little off this week and I haven't blogged. Perhaps today, I'm getting back in the habit.

Psalm 62 is a favorite of mine. Back in 1996 there was an afternoon where I sat down with my Bible open and my guitar. By the time the afternoon was over, I had written three songs. One of them, "You Are My Refuge" was inspired by Psalm 62.

You Are My Refuge

© 1996 Kevin Lee Brock

My soul finds rest in You alone
My salvation comes from You
You alone are my Rock
You are my fortress, I will not be shaken

I will trust in You forevermore
I will pour my heart out to You
You are my refuge

Waiting

I waited patiently for the LORD;
      he turned to me and heard my cry.

Psalm 40:1 (NIV)

As I was reading this morning, I could almost hear the gentle bassline of U2's "40" in my head. Far better, I suppose, to hear that song since it's based on this Psalm than to hear Tom Petty's "The Waiting" in my head. Waiting is hard sometimes (OK, now I'm starting to hear Mr. Petty). Waiting can be a lot of things:

• passive - just sitting around waiting for something to happen
• active - getting the house cleaned while waiting for guests to arrive
• fearful - just wait until your father gets home
• hopeful - waiting for Jesus to return
• patient - as we read here in Psalm 40
• impatient - like my cat when she's waiting to be fed in the morning
• without unknown expectations - waiting for the iPhone to come to Verizon
• with known expectations - waiting until COB on a Friday knowing that the weekend is nigh

David is actively, hopefully, patiently waiting with known expectations for the Lord. David knows the Lord will hear him and will answer his prayer. And He does. God has been paying attention and is actively listening to David's prayer. Forget about everyday and one more yard. This is how I want to wait.

A little abundance

Better is the little that the righteous has
      than the abundance of many wicked.

Psalm 37:16 (ESV)

David sounds like Solomon here. This quote here could have easily been in Proverbs. It's better to righteous than to be rich. I know this to be true - I've got an abundance of stuff to prove it. ;-)

Seriously, God cares more about what's in your heart than how much stuff is in your home. With all of the stuff in my home, maybe I need to be concerned with my heart too. What does all of the stuff say about my heart? Has my stuff become my idol? Do I need to clean house and clean my heart? Are decluttering and repentence interrelated? Get the heart in order and then get the house in order?

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
      but the LORD upholds the righteous.

Psalm 37:17 (ESV)

Together

Glorify the LORD with me;
      let us exalt his name together.

Psalm 34:3 (NIV)

I will glorify the LORD. I will exalt His Name. Nope, that's not what it says here. Not that it's bad to say that. But here David has a few key words to remember: "with me," "let us," and "together." Though having a personal praise and worship time is a great thing, we should not forget to worship God with others. It says in Hebrews 10:25 "Let us not give up meeting together..." If it's Sunday morning and you just don't feel like going to church, don't reach for the TV remote, reach for the car keys. Don't focus on what's going on in your life - focus on who God is. Together with your brothers, sisters, family, and friends glorify the Lord and exalt His name!

Unfailing Love

Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him

Psalm 33:1 (NIV)

As I was reading this morning, Psalm 33 sounded familiar. Of course, I've read it many a time (at least once a year), but this was different. Oh, yeah I thought to myself. I wrote a song based on this years ago. So here it is (at least the lyrics, I don't have it posted online anywhere that I recall). As for how it sounds, I always thought it sounded like Triumph from the early 80s (although I could never sing like Rik Emmett.

Unfailing Love

Your Word is right, Your Word is true
You are faithful in all You do
You love righteousness and justice
The earth is full of Your unfailing love

Chorus:
I will sing to You Lord
It is fitting to give You praise
I will praise You with this instrument
I will sing of Your unfailing love

By Your Word, You made the heavens
The stars by the breath of Your mouth
For You spoke and it came to be
You commanded and it was

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
You look down from Your heaven
And see all those who live on earth
Your eyes are on those who fear You
Whose hope is Your unfailing love

For You, oh Lord, are my hope
In You will my heart rejoice
May Your unfailing love rest on me
As I put my hope in You

Repeat Chorus

What is He due?

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

Psalm 29:2 (ESV)

The Lord is due glory. To what are you giving glory? We should worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness. What is masking His holiness in your life that is keeping you from worshipping Him? Anything that distracts you from worshipping God as He should be is an idol. Are you glorifying idols and not worshipping God? Does your family come before God? Your job? Your possessions? The thing you just added to your Amazon wishlist? Give glory to God alone. He alone is worthy of your worship and praise!

To See His Face

One thing I ask of the LORD,
      this is what I seek:
      that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
      all the days of my life,
      to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
      and to seek him in his temple.

Psalm 27:4 (NIV)

A busy morning today and I never got around to blogging. I was up early to spend some time in the Word (as usual) and to get myself ready to head up to church for rehearsal and to play in the worship band today. Both of my sons wanted to go along with me so I had to keep them on task in getting ready. I had a wonderful time at church today: the Word was preached, the worship singing was good (and the band pretty good), a few families that we're friends with celebrated a family member's baptism today. All in all, a good day with God's people. Oh, to have more days like this!

Still Waters

¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
²He makes me lie down in green pastures.
      He leads me beside still waters.
³He restores my soul.
      He leads me in paths of righteousness
      for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23:1-3 (ESV)

As the crow flies, I live about 30 or so miles South of where a 3.6 magnitude earthquake shook the Washington, DC area yesterday morning. I was already awake and in the kitchen and heard the dishes rattle. Several folks I work with, who live within a mile or two of the epicenter, were awakened by the earthquake. The Lord is my shepherd; It wasn't much of an earthquake really although locals who aren't much used to earthquakes were a little shaken up by it. I shall not want. Some people thought a tree had fallen in their yard. He makes me lie down in green pastures. Some people thought it was thunder from a typical Washington area summer thunderstorm. He leads me beside still waters. It was over pretty quickly. He restores my soul. There were no injuries or property damage directly attributable to the earthquake. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. All-in-all, yesterday was just a typical summer day except the heat and humidity wasn't the primary topic of conversation.

For what it's worth, my wife and kids slept through it ;-)