PSALM 119

Psalm 119 is a favorite of many believers & is in some ways unique. First, with 176 verses, it’s the longest chapter in the Bible (interestingly, Psalm 117 is the shortest). Second, almost every verse in some way mentions God’s Word. The various terms in this Psalm such as law, testimonies, precepts, way, statues, etc. are all nouns that reveal various ways of regarding God’s Word.

It’s divided into 22 sections, each containing 8 verses. In the original language, each 8-verse section begins with the letter that we see at the top of the section. For example, the first section begins with Aleph (A) & the next begins with Beth (B).

This Psalm gives us counsel about how to face challenges as we seek to live out the truth of God’s Word. One particular area is how we respond to the unbelief that seems to surround us wherever we turn. 

For example:

"Take away reproach and contempt from me, for I observe Your testimonies. Even though princes sit and talk against me, Your servant meditates on Your statutes" (verses 22-23).

"Incline my heart to Your testimonies and not to dishonest gain. Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, and revive me in Your ways. Establish Your word to Your servant, as that which produces reverence for You" (verses 36-38).

"The cords of the wicked have encircled me, but I have not forgotten Your law" (verse 61).

Generations of believers have been encouraged & challenged thru reading, meditating on, & memorizing Psalm 119. I encourage you to spend some time this week in this gold mine. See what the Lord might have to say to you.

BEYOND YOUR WILDEST DREAMS

We’ve started reading thru the Gospel of Matthew in our devotions & I noticed again that Matthew mentions 6 instances of people having God-given dreams. With only one exception, there are all recorded in chapters 1-2. They are experienced by devout Jews & by those outside Judaism. 

Here’s a list:

• Joseph 1:20 (not to cut off his engagement to Mary); 2:13, 19, 22 (to move his family to safety & for reassurance about their safety).
• The Magi from the East 2:12 (warning not to return & report to Herod about finding the child Jesus).
• Pilate’s wife 27:19 (a warning she passed on to Pilate about Jesus).

If all these dreams had been experienced by Jews, or at least by those who were clearly seeking God, it would be a lot easier to make sense of them. But Pilate’s wife makes it puzzling. Although she refers to Jesus as a righteous man, there doesn’t seem to be any indication that she was a follower of Jesus or had any desire to follow Him at that point.

What are we to make of these wild dreams? That’s a topic to be studied. But there is definitely one thing that is clear to me right now. It’s that every dream was directly related to God’s redemptive plan in Christ. Also, they were not limited to people who are already personally committed to Him or to their part in His plan.

If you are someone who prays for those who don’t yet follow Christ, take encouragement from this. God can give you dreams to encourage you to persevere. Even more important, I believe we can pray that God will give dreams to those we’re praying will come into the Kingdom.

I don’t want to lengthen this any more than necessary, but what’s so special about God speaking to people in dreams? He can speak to their innermost part at a totally unguarded time. Are you praying for someone whose heart seems hard & impenetrable? Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to them thru a dream that will shake their world. The content, timing, & way He speaks is His business. But I believe He may be waiting on you & me to ask.

IVY LEAGUE BOYS

A major difference between President Trump & his recent predecessors & competitors is that he isn't an "Ivy League boy" (for lack of a better term) as many of them were. Ivy Leaguers (regardless of where they might have gone to college) value things like nuance, sophistication, generalization, etc. in communication. They also don't seem to understand or appreciate how things work in the real world, international, playing-for-keeps geopolitical arena. Powerful autocratic leaders such as Kim Jong-un have no respect for people who try to negotiate with them from a position of what they see as weakness, indecision, or ambiguity.

In interviews following the meeting with Kim, President Trump brought something to light that really didn’t surprise me, nor should it have surprised anyone who has made a serious effort to understand him. He mentioned the need to use rhetoric to make his point with Kim. Interestingly, he said that he felt kind of foolish using some of the rhetoric in his remarks about the North Korean leader. But he also knew from decades of negotiating for many things with many kinds of persons with various kinds of personalities & motivations, that this kind of preliminary communication was necessary for the upcoming negotiation to be effective.

Think what you will about the President (which I’m sure you do; it’s pretty hard to be neutral). But if you will be honest with yourself, you have to admit that he is not an “Ivy League boy.” He knows how to compete & win (at least conditionally in the case of North Korea)  with the “Big League boys” in dealing with real world, immeasurably serious problems that need to be faced & overcome.

WHEN DID YOU STOP BEATING YOUR WIFE?

This is probably one of the original “gotcha” questions. That’s because the questioner assumes that other person is or was a wife beater. There’s no way to come out well without removing the assumption that is in the question.

The same kind of technique is being used in political “debate” today. An example this week was a “reporter” asking the President when he is going to stop breaking up immigrant families. I want to remove the assumption behind the question by making 2 observations.

First, in the milieu that has historically made up the secular Left, it’s hard to find anyone who is a vocal or practical advocate for the traditional family. So, the idea that maintaining the cohesion of traditionally-structured families (father/mother/children all fitting into their roles as a nuclear family) should be used as an argument. It seems a bit disingenuous.

Second, it may be possible that nuclear families are being broken up by something much more insidious that a nation seeking to maintain its borders & enforce its immigration laws. I don’t know the statistics, but it seems that most of those who cross illegally into the US, or who remain illegally, are already physically separated from their family members. 

We have seen the pictures of groups of children accompanied by a few adults. Where are these children’s parents? Either in their homeland, or already living illegally in the US.

My point is that their families are already separated. If we enforce our laws & make it less likely for people to enter or stay illegally, these families are actually more likely to remain together.