In Sync with Psalms

I have been musing this morning... as I often do after reading in the various divisions of Psalms. I love all of God's Word, but whenever I worship in the Psalms, somehow I feel transported... as though I am there along with the Psalmist, experiencing what he has, or is. It is like God is walking and talking right there with the Psalmist... and with me... more like a friend, or a personal tutor, or like a parent explaining something to his child. Here are some precious conversations that are so much like my own with the Lord that I have had them heavily marked in my Bible for years.Psalm 119:114, 116 and 117a. "Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in Thy Word. "Uphold me according to Thy Word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope. "Hold Thou me up...".

Psaml 119:149: "Hear my voice according to Thy lovingkindness:..."

Psalm 119:174: "...Thy law is my delight".

Psalm 123:2c and 3a: "...our eyes wait upon the Lord our God until that He have mercy upon us. "Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us...".
Psalm 130:5 and 6: "I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His Word do I hope. "My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they who watch for the morning: I say, more than they who wait for the morning".

As a father, and a grandfather, with precious, precious children and their children, I know how much I yearn and ache over them! I also know that my perspective is so much greater than theirs, and that God, our heavenly Father, constantly watches over His children with far greater interest and concern than I could ever have for my own.

As the hopes and wellbeing and happiness of a child is the property of a parent, and as an employee's labor, productivity and remuneration is the responsibility of the employer, and as the dedication, faithfulness and loyalty of a servant is the proper due to a master, and as the wellfare and safety of the sheep is the special oversight of the Shepherd, so heaven's God takes care of His children... in everything!

On a River Bank

He stood there alone - a desolate portrait of solitude and sorrow. The mocking wind smote his swarthy features with demonic vengeance. Doubts abetted by merciless sun rays probed and lacerated the core of his being like phantom lancets, while the grimy, black mud in his sandals punctuated the gloom and grief of his soul.

A speck of foam elegantly mounted upon the breast of the racing current testified to the vanity and brevity of life while becoming a sacrifice to an unyielding stone.

The combination of death's sullen separation, coupled with the sudden responsibility of the heavy load of leadership, was cause for the noticeable sagging shoulders. The giant of faith who could open and close the heavens - the warrior of Carmel who could call fire from above - was gone.

On a promontory some rods away grouped the skeptics, pessimists and crepe-hangers. "What shall we do now? The days of miracles, powerful praying and holy living are gone! And what great days they were!"

But they did not watch alone. Demons cringed while mighty angels posititioned themselves for immediate departure as the deathless Deity of the ages interestedly observed that lonely, tested soul.

Moving perceptively toward the waters, Elisha placed his right foot on the immovable bastion of God's eternal existence, and his left foot on the continual faithfulness of God, and smote Jordon's waters with His powerful promises. "Where is the God of Elijah?" he cried. The hiss and rip of parting waters answered, "Right here by your side."

Today as in Elisha's day, the mantles of mature and seasoned saints are falling all around us, and we, their successors, are tempted to wonder what will happen to God's work without them? What we have to remember is that it is not the person at all, but the faithfulness of the Lord. The same God of Elijah...and of Elisha...is your God and mine!

Different Stars

The Bible declares that there are no two stars alike, and since nobody has ever physically and personally made an "on site" inspection to either disprove or corroborate this, Bible believing Christians accept it as fact. Here is how the Amplified Bible writes 1 Corinthians 15:41:

"...the stars are glorious in their own distinctive way; for one star differs from and surpasses another in its beauty and brilliance".

Roughly a thousand years before this inspired comment by the Apostle Paul, the psalmist wrote in Psalms147:4 that, "(God) counts the number of the stars, and calls them each one by name".

Without arguing with the scientific community that has long insisted that our sun is merely "another star", the Bible seems in both this scripture and in Genesis 1:16 to state that our sun differs from the stars: "God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also".

And here in 1 Corinthians 15:41 the Bible says: "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars...". The strong inference in both the Old and New Testaments is that the sun was specifically and uniquely created by God to provide light and warmth to the earth, and that it and the moon are the only heavenly bodies like them.

The idea here is how unique and individual each star is - and accordingly, how individualistic and unprecedented each human soul is.

Though there are probably milti-billions of stars, each one is specifically and individually Divinely created and named, so that when our human eyes see a falling star burn out, an observing angel might say, "There goes Spica", or "Look at Alcor go!", or "How beautiful is Procyon as he blazes!".

He is a God abundant in grace Who comes to each human soul and offers an eternal relationship to him or her...a union and a friendship shared with no other human being.

He gives us a lifespan to make up our minds, for every person who loves, follows and serves Him is a volunteer. Every friend of God chooses to be.

We Can "Control" God

Not in the sense that we tell Him what to do... or change His mind... but there are things we can do that guarantee a response from Him.

Moses did. Jonathan did. David did. Daniel did. Elijah did. Hezekiah did. In fact, many, if not all, biblical personages did.

The woman with the issue of blood did when she touched the hem of Jesus' garment. His healing virtue was "on demand" to her trusting request. As best as we can tell from the reading in Matthew 9:20, there was no deciding, Divine permission that occurred in the transfer of healing virtue from Jesus to this woman's need.

I realize that this is poor grammar, but God does not do nothing in a great many, personal ventures into His grace and power. We "control" God when we surrender to Him. We "control" God when we line up our wills with His will. He does not do nothing when we do.

God does something when we yield to Him, and when we obey Him, and when we get on His side of any issue or matter, and when we yearn to see things His way, and when we search and pry into His nature and heart and thoughts and attitudes.

God does something when we love Him, and when we set ourselves to sit at His feet and hear His words.

This is an irrefutable fact as (SEE Luke 10:4) Mary discovered when she chose to sit at Jesus' feet and hear what He had to say. The weeping woman (SEE Mark 14:9) "controlled" Jesus with her contrite brokenness as she lovingly poured her expensive perfume upon His feet. Her love drew a concentrated, personal, immediate, Divine response as others who watched missed it!

For most of my ministry this verse from Isaiah 57:15 has had a prominent place on my study walls: I dwell...with the person who has a contrite and humble spirit...", and another from Isaiah 66:2: "...to this person will I look, even to him who is of a poor (one who claims nothing) and contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word".

There are "automatic" responses from God anytime we enter His presence via His throne of grace. He is there! He is never not there! He is never unreachable, or untouchable, or unavailable. There are no office hours at the throne of grace. Admittance and advocacy are assured through the death of our Savior on His cross of Calvary. If and when we go there, He is there!

Does God Get Jealous?

I was particularly drawn to the "jealous" aspect of God's nature, and some years past was so taken with it that my mind was impressed to dig into it a bit. It just did not fit with my overall understanding of a selfless Being Who would "stoop" to jealousy in the sense that we humans generally see it. The fact is that He does not. The root meaning is more in the sense of His expecting an exclusive right to one's devotion, fidelity, affection and love. It is not so much that He requires it as that we owe it.

God is never so arbitrary about anything as we understand it. He makes no demands or requirements "because He says so", but only because it is appropriate and right. It is like any and all biblical requirements to worship and honor and praise Him. He requires it because He is praiseworthy... and because He is glorious... and because He is honorable. He exists in all of these states because they exhibit the kind of Person He is, and He would be praiseworthy and glorious if no other beings ever praised and honored Him. The Cherubim do not praise and honor Him because He created them to, but they ceaselessly praise and honor and glorify Him because He is worthy of it. My mind is held in wordless wonder as I contemplate that He did not create them to declare His holiness and justice and righteousness, but that their very beings were created by Him to declare such universal integrity... period! And if God, Himself, were to ever become unholy or unrighteous, they would instantly condemn Him. It is God's way of providing for all universal creatures that He is truly worthy of honor and praise. What A God! Blessed, Blessed be His name!

"When"

When tragic heartache leaves us numb
In stark, relentless grief...
And senseless loss denies us from
Any meaningful relief?

When no words can ease our pain -
No explanations arise.
When reason fails us once again
And tears forsake our eyes?

When time refuses to advance
And all of life stands still -
When everything seems ruled by chance
And governed by others' will?

When it seems there is no plan
But only a jumbled mess...
And life sells short the person
Who follows righteousness?

When a heavy heart and a tortured mind
Seems my lot to be...
And faith and hope of any kind
Must yield to reality?

When it seems there is no way
I honestly can voice...
My faith and hope can say
Your will is still my choice?

It's in these tragic times I see
The sun beyond the veil,
And know with rising certainty
That God will not...cannot fail.

Though He is touched by human pain
Beyond what words can say...
He always has - and always will - remain
Our Solid Rock today.

When everyone else is gone
And family and friends depart...
God will not ever leave us alone
With a grieving, broken heart.

His promise is a shining one
That heavy hearts may know...
Until our life's short race is run
He's here wherever we go.

By W.L. Boone

President Bush's Beetle

According to an Associated Press article datelined June 10, 2008, a scientist at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philladelphia has named a newly-discovered slime mold beetle after President Bush.

The same article noted that a recent discovery of a separate species of the trapdoor spider accorded its name to musician Neil Young.

The featured "honoree", however, was Frank Gallagher, a 37 year, museum mailroom supervisor selected to have a newly-discovered Orinico thicklip catfish named after him ( Rhinodoras gallagheric). This new species of catfish is one of 1.3 million fish kept and catalogued in the museum's aquarium.

Such huge numbers and variations of our world's creatures are mind-boggling to say the least, but what dominates our attention in wordless wonder is that continuing discoveries of new species are still occurring today here in June of 2008!

Entomologists (think: "ant", distinguishing it from etymologist who is one who studies word meanings) would instantly disagree with those persons who claim that space was man's "last frontier", for new species of spiders alone are still being discovered, catalogued and named. New deep seabed creatures likewise are being discovered.

All humankind should humbly bow before, and acknowledge, our benevolent Creator-God Who has graciously lavished us with such fascinating wonder all around us!

By W.L. Boone

Standing Up to Our Eyeballs in Grace!

No blessing from our gracious God is greater than that of "standing" referred to by the Apostle Paul in Romans 5:2, where he states:

"By Whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand...".

No offer is more generous; no gift is more gracious; no opportunity is more available to humankind than this. Anyone can come into God's presence and instantly be aware that he is being privately received. No possibility known to man on earth is so valuable and rare. WE MAY STAND BEFORE GOD. It is not a dessert or a reward. It is because of the gift of His grace.

The significance of standing before God must not escape us. The more we consider the incongruity of this act, the more amazing it becomes. Angels bow before Him. Seraphim cover their faces and feet when they are in His presence. Cherubim will not look upon Him as they attend His glory. Ceaselessly, day and night, living creatures describe His supremacy, His glory and His ascendancy. Demons and all the minions of Hell cringe before Him, and Satan constantly submits to His sovereignty and authority. The universe and all creatures who fill it bow in humble abeyance before its Creator and Sustainer.

But when a human soul steps into redemption's room of saving grace, he stands!!! GOD'S GRACE STANDS MEN UP!! It makes winners out of history's sorriest losers. It makes saints out of Hell-bound sinners. It lifts the sin-scourged soul from the pits of hoplessness, and elevates him to the highest heights of honor. GOD'S GRACE STANDS MEN UP!!

This proclaims the supporting bouyancy of God's awesome grace. It emanates from His gracious nature.

It is an effusion of the kind of Person He is, and it is as big and vast and generous as He is. It flows unendingly into our emptiness. We have within us this huge emptiness that requires fresh, new infusions of God's grace. We are in constant need of being filled and then refilled.

When we are so very dry and bring to Him our little measuring cups of need, He just lets His grace flow into them, and they run over! All of heaven is programmed for giving. By design and nature the action of grace is benevolent. It flows into every crack and corner of our emptiness with His fullness. What a contrast for contemplation! Our emptiness...His fullness!

Copyright by W.L. Boone.

(Anyone desiring the entire message entitled "The Face of Grace" from which this article is gleaned may receive it by e-mailing me at lesboone@juno.com with your PO mailing address.)

How Big is God's Grace?

God's grace is not specific. It is general and comprehensive. It is not available in certain situations, but withheld from others. There are no restrictions or exceptions to its adequacy.

There are no circumstances in any human eventuality that are not covered by His grace. Every promise of God is inclusive and bears on any realm of our need.

God never says that His grace and power are adequate for everything BUT this one, certain kind of eventuality. There just are no categories that are out of or beyond the reach of His grace.

There is hope in any human situation because of His grace. Grace is what brings possibility into hopeless circumstances. Grace is what brings meaning into misery and abjection. Grace is what injects potential into ruin and loss. Grace is what breathes life into the corpse of horrible failure. Grace is the heartbeat and pulse of resurrection. Grace is the green light to regeneration. Grace is the starting gun to trying again!

Grace is the indefatiguable encourager. God's grace insists that we can make it...that we can do it. It never gives up or in. Grace is the drumbeat of perseverance. Grace sees no mountains or valleys...it sees no barriers or chasms. It knows no impossibilities, considers no limitations, and has no restrictions, for grace is born in the character of God.

God's grace missed nothing and identifies with everything. It does not overlook anything. It permeates. It saturates. It touches the tiniest detail and relates to every situational nuance. It even ministers to what we cannot understand about ourselves and our involvements. How great is God's grace!

Whatever aspect or variation of human reason or logic the human mind can conceive of, grace has already been there and asserted provision. Grace is all over the place, like a billion little cheerleaders, jumping and smiling and encouraging! God's grace cannot be excluded if we wanted to or tried to. Grace is effusive and locomotive and pervasive and thermal. It is like the inexorable rising of the sun as it shatters the night and dispels every vestige of darkness.

Everything that comes to us is because of God's great grace. All emanates from this. The start of everything is His grace.

Copyright by W.L. Boone.

(Anyone desiring the entire message entitled "The Face of Grace" from which this article is gleaned may receive it by e-mailing me at lesboone@juno.com with your PO mailing address.)

Why Are We Here?

Our humanity and our mortality are the results of God's grace. I mean by that that when we realize how extremely different and opposing humankind is from God, we wonder why He has the slightest interest in us?

When we view how we treat God, how we treat one another, how we treat ourselves (especially how we generally abuse our minds and bodies), and how we treat our environment, and how we treat our potential, there just is no other explanation for our having being than the grace of God. No being known to us is so selfish, so arrogant, so wasteful, so insensitive, so hateful and vengeful, so hurtful, so domineering and so repressive as humankind. We enslave the weak, impoverish the unsuspecting, take advantage of the trusting and poor, trash the planet and curse God all the while. Why would God...why did God...give us being? If most of us were God, we would have doomed and destroyed us long ago.

The saintliest and the nicest and the wisest and the best of us are a sorry lot when we take any honest look at our myriad imperfections. I am constantly puzzled at how any person could call himself a god...and then try to sell that idea to any other rational being.

The smartest people I have ever known have done some very stupid things. All of us spend way too much time eating crow, getting feet out of our mouths, and wiping egg from our faces to be gods.

If humankind is God's crowning creation (and we are), we have to look beyond the present product to discover why God did it.

There can only be one answer: it is because of His grace. It is only discovered in His grace. The Lord is gracious! God is a giver. He is a sharer. This is what makes Him gracious. It is grace that He does not need me for anything - though I need Him for everything - yet, He seeks me. He wants to let me know Him.

He constantly seeks for my attention so that He may communicate with me. Whatever He gets from our relationship enlarges me and not Him! His relating to us is all of grace.

Copyright by W.L. Boone.

(Anyone desiring the entire message entitled "The Face of Grace" from which this article is gleaned may receive it by e-mailing me at lesboone@juno.com with your PO mailing address.)

Just How "Personal" is God?

Whatever is occurring between you and God is as personal as God with Moses. Whatever it is of God (which is grace) that results in creativity, involves Him with you and me, and that personal involvement is more generative and creative than it is historical. What is meant here is that His relationship with you is original and unprecedented. It is brand new. There is no other like it. I repeat that whatever is occurring between you and God is as unique as it was when He conversed with Moses. God plows ground with you that is eternally virgin, for God is essentially generative in nature...especially in His relationships. His dialogues with you are as creative as a new galaxy or solar system.

It needs to be repeated that "God's involvement with you is more generative and creative than it is historical", and what we see here is that His gracious approach to you and me personally is not a re-run. It is not a repeat. It is not a replica. It is not predicated upon any previous dialogue with any other person...even Moses. His relationship with you and me is not the "cookie cutter" kind where He sort of stamps out another one that He has used from a schematic a few millions times before. It is as personal as personal can be.

The greatest value to be found during one's lifetime must be in the relationships we form and maintain, while the greatest fact of humanity is potential. God graciously extended to each person both possibilities as He reached out to us in Jesus. He is a blank check when it comes to knowing Him, and "the sky is the limit" in our pursuit of Him.

Copyright by W.L. Boone.

(Anyone desiring the entire message entitled "The Face of Grace" from which this article is gleaned may receive it by e-mailing me at lesboone@juno.com with your PO mailing address.)

Just a Rock

It is just a small rock. In fact it would be more like a pebble, about the size of a dime. In appearance it looks like ten thousand other pieces of gravel in the parsonage driveway.

I had noticed it before, sitting amid dozens of other kinds of knick knacks on Deloris' kitchen decorative shelving. This is a very prominent setting where she has carefully and selectively placed many of her "valuables" where she - as well as visitors - can admire them from either the living room or the kitchen. Here are her "treasures" - an amber candy dish; a miniature anniversary clock; an onyx burro probably from a mission field; a toy (but real) "sad iron"; a bent, pewter toothpick holder from the ranch. You get the idea... and the list is endless. You probably have some similar place in your home.

But, what on earth is this common, little piece of gravel doing here among Grandma's treasures? So, I asked her, "Honey, why do you have this old-looking, common piece of gravel sitting here?"

"Oh", she rather dreamily responded in the soft tone I have come to know so well. "One of the twins (that would be David or Jonathan) brought this in and gave it to me when they were small. They said that it was pretty and wanted me to have it."

Over all of these years, Grandma not only keeps it, but treasures it and displays it in a prominent place. We all understand that "the pretty piece of gravel" has no monetary or artistic value at all. No one would even pay her a penny for it. But it is precious because it is a loving gift from two little boys with gleaming eyes, spreading smiles and heavenly hearts.

I am thinking now that our dear, heavenly Father has somewhere in His trophy room "pieces of gravel" that you and I have lovingly given to Him throughout our lives - those times and thoughts and acts that came from our hearts just because we loved Him and thought that He would like it, and that they were pretty.

There is no way to enrich a God Who has everything, but He does receive and keep"valuables" from us.

He holds in delight the treasures His children give to Him just because of the love they have in their hearts.

I am guessing that Dave and Jon long ago forgot their gravel gift to their Grandma... but she has not and keeps it as a treasure. I am also thinking - throughout a long eternity - that our gracious, heavenly Father will be bringing out and sharing with us those "little pieces of gravel" that - though we never remembered - we lovingly gave to Him just because we thought He would like them...and He thinks they are pretty!

Copyright by W.L. Boone.