back to the drawing board

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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back to the drawing board

Psalm 78:1-11 (JDV)

Psalm 78:1 My people, listen to my instruction; bend your ear to the words from my mouth.
Psalm 78:2 I will open for wise sayings my mouth; I will speak mysteries from the past —
Psalm 78:3 things we have heard and known and that our fathers have passed down to us.
Psalm 78:4 We will not conceal them from their children, but will tell a future generation the praiseworthy acts of Yahveh, his strength, and the wondrous works he has performed.
Psalm 78:5 He established a testimony in Jacob and set up an instruction in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children
Psalm 78:6 so that a future generation – children yet to be born – might know. They were to rise and tell their children
Psalm 78:7 so that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God’s works, but keep his commands.
Psalm 78:8 Then they would not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not loyal and whose breath was not faithful to God.
Psalm 78:9 The Ephraimite archers turned back on the day of battle.
Psalm 78:10 They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to walk by his instruction.
Psalm 78:11 They forgot what he had done, the miraculous works he had shown them.

back to the drawing board

Asaph had learned to not glorify the history of his people, because it contained a very important testimony for a future generation. That testimony includes the fact that his ancestors forgot about God’s miracles and refused to walk by his instruction.

It is very important for any people of any nation to own up to their failures. The country of my birth — The United States — is all the better for having begun to address how we have tolerated oppression and cruelty toward native Americans and African Americans. We are not finished correcting for those failures. We claim to be all about making our union more perfect, and we cannot do that without cleaning up our own messes.

What is the testimony that you will leave for your descendants? Will it be a stubborn insistence that you have always done what was right? Or, will you own up to your failures, and keep striving for his will — no matter how many trips back to the drawing board that entails?

LORD, here we go again. Thank you for your loving patience as we keep going back to you to correct our mistakes.

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light and sound show

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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light and sound show

Psalm 77:10-20 (JDV)

Psalm 77:10 So I say, “I am sick (to think) that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
Psalm 77:11 I will remember Yah’s works; yes, I will remember your ancient wonders.
Psalm 77:12 I will reflect on all you have done and meditate on your actions.
Psalm 77:13 God, your way is sacred. What god is great like God?
Psalm 77:14 You are the God who works wonders; you revealed your strength among the peoples.
Psalm 77:15 With power you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
Psalm 77:16 The water saw you, God. The water saw you; it shook. Even the depths quaked.
Psalm 77:17 The clouds poured down water. The storm clouds thundered; your arrows flashed back and forth.
Psalm 77:18 The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind; lightning lit up the world. The land quaked and shook.
Psalm 77:19 Your way went through the sea and your path through the vast water, but your footprints were unseen.
Psalm 77:20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

light and sound show

The psalmist reminds himself that God was present working wonders in the past. He describes God’s miraculous presence as a light and sound show where God made himself known as he worked deliverance.

We need to remind ourselves of such things, because there will be many days of trouble where we see no sign. That does not mean God is away. These times test our faith in the God who is always there, but not always recognized.

LORD, thank you for always being there. Give me faith to know this, even in the times of trouble.

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I sought the Lord in my day of trouble

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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I sought the Lord in my day of trouble

Psalm 77:1-9 (JDV)

Psalm 77:1 I sound off to God, crying out to God, and he will listen to me.
Psalm 77:2 I sought the Lord in my day of trouble. My hands were continually lifted up all night long; My throat refused to be comforted.
Psalm 77:3 I think of God; I groan; I meditate; my breath becomes weak. Selah
Psalm 77:4 You have kept me from closing my eyes; I am troubled and cannot speak.
Psalm 77:5 I consider days of old, years long past.
Psalm 77:6 At night I remember my music; I meditate in my heart, and my breath ponders.
Psalm 77:7 “Will the Lord discard forever and never again show favor?
Psalm 77:8 Has his covenant faithfulness ceased perpetually? Is his promise at an end for all generations?
Psalm 77:9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” Selah

I sought the Lord in my day of trouble

The worst part of times of crisis and depression is the terrible feeling of being abandoned by God. Only those who have known the favor of the LORD can know the depth of this feeling. Would it be better not to have faith at all, than to experience times like this? No, it is better to have a LORD to seek in my day of trouble.

Thank you LORD — for a relationship so wonderful that we miss you deeply when we cannot sense your presence.

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to be feared

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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to be feared

Psalm 76:7-12 (JDV)

Psalm 76:7 And you – you are to be feared. When you are angry, who could stand before you?
Psalm 76:8 From the sky you pronounced judgment. The land feared and grew quiet
Psalm 76:9 when God rose up to judge and to save all the lowly of the land. Selah
Psalm 76:10 Even your wrath against Adam will praise you; you will clothe yourself with the wrath that remains.
Psalm 76:11 Make and keep your vows to Yahveh your God; let all who are around him bring tribute to the awe-inspiring one.
Psalm 76:12 He humbles the breath of leaders; he is feared by the kings of the land.

to be feared

Our God is a God to be loved because he is loving. But he is also to be feared because he is powerful and just. He humbles leaders and they know it, so they fear him. It is possible to love God and fear him as well. Knowing what we know about him, it is our only option.

LORD, we love you, and fear you.

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still chariots

Posted on March 29, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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still chariots

Psalm 76:1-6 (JDV)

Psalm 76:1 God is known in Judah; his name is great in Israel.
Psalm 76:2 His lair is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.
Psalm 76:3 There he shatters the bow’s flaming arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
Psalm 76:4 You are resplendent and majestic coming down from the mountains filled with prey.
Psalm 76:5 The brave-hearted have been plundered; they have slipped into their final sleep. None of the warriors was able to lift a hand.
Psalm 76:6 When you rebuked them, God of Jacob, both chariot and horse lay still.

still chariots

The thought of a thundering chariot, driven by a warrior — intent on destruction and domination — would strike terror in the hearts of the people when this psalm was written. But the psalmist knows a power greater than that of a warrior. He speaks of a God who shatters the weapons of war, and stills the horse and chariot.

This is our God. He does the same for us today. Tank or chariot, it makes no difference. Our God is greater than our greatest fear.

LORD, thank you for the assurance that we have no fear too great that you cannot silence it.

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draining the cup

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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draining the cup

Psalm 75:6-10 (JDV)

Psalm 75:6 Lifting high does not come from the east, the west, or the open country,
Psalm 75:7 because God is the Judge: He brings down one and lifts another high.
Psalm 75:8 You see, there is a cup in Yahveh’s hand, full of wine blended with spices, and he pours from it. All the wicked of the land will drink, draining it to the dregs.
Psalm 75:9 As for me, I will tell about him permanently; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
Psalm 75:10 “I will cut off all the horns of the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted high.”

draining the cup

The wicked become victims of their own arrogance, draining the cup thinking that it is a result of their own reward, when it is punishment instead.

The righteous focus on the greatness of God, and sing his praises instead. They stay away from the cup.

LORD, you are great. We seek your kingdom, not our own.

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monitoring all channels

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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monitoring all channels

Psalm 75:1-5 (JDV)

Psalm 75:1 We give thanks to you, God; we give thanks to you, because your name is near. People tell about your miraculous wonders.
Psalm 75:2 “When I choose a time, I will judge fairly.
Psalm 75:3 When the land and all its inhabitants shake, I am the one who steadies its pillars. Selah
Psalm 75:4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift your horn high.
Psalm 75:5 Do not lift up your horn high or speak arrogantly.'”

monitoring all channels

I hear an encouragement to trust in God’s sovereignty here. There will be many who exalt themselves and will need to be humbled. God is monitoring all channels and will act at a time of his own choosing.

Thank You LORD, for bringing balance to us.

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he calms the clamor

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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he calms the clamor

Psalm 74:12-23 (JDV)

Psalm 74:12 God my King is from ancient times, performing acts of deliverance inside the land.
Psalm 74:13 You divided the sea with your strength; you smashed the heads of the sea monsters in the water;
Psalm 74:14 you crushed the heads of Leviathan; you fed him to the creatures of the open country.
Psalm 74:15 You opened up springs and streams; you dried up ever-flowing rivers.
Psalm 74:16 The day is yours, also the night; you established the moon and the sun.
Psalm 74:17 You set all the boundaries of the land; you made summer and winter.
Psalm 74:18 Remember this: the enemy has mocked Yahveh, and a foolish people has insulted your name.
Psalm 74:19 Do not give to beasts the throat of your dove; do not forget the lives of your poor people perpetually.
Psalm 74:20 Consider the covenant, because the dark places of the land are full of violence.
Psalm 74:21 Do not let the oppressed turn away in shame; make sure the poor and needy praise your name.
Psalm 74:22 Rise up, God, champion your cause! Remember the insults that fools bring against you all day long.
Psalm 74:23 Do not forget the clamor of your adversaries, the tumult of your opponents that goes up constantly.

he calms the clamor

Our God calms the clamor. He created by bringing order to chaos. So, it is right for us to pray for him to restore us from the violence and disorder that plagues us. That is what he wants to do.

LORD, come to us this day, and calm the clamor that distracts and disturbs your children.

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protest song

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Jefferson Vann
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protest song

Psalm 74:1-11 (JDV)

Psalm 74:1 Why have you rejected us perpetually, God? Why does your anger burn against the sheep of your pasture?
Psalm 74:2 Remember your congregation, which you purchased long ago and redeemed as the tribe for your own possession. Remember Mount Zion where you dwell.
Psalm 74:3 Lift your feet high to the perpetual ruins, to all that the enemy has destroyed within the sacred place.
Psalm 74:4 Your adversaries roar in the meeting place where you met with us. They set up their emblems as signs.
Psalm 74:5 It was like men in a forest of trees, wielding axes,
Psalm 74:6 then smashing all the carvings with hatchets and picks.
Psalm 74:7 They set your sanctuary on fire; they utterly desecrated the dwelling-place of your name.
Psalm 74:8 They said in their hearts, “Let us oppress them together.” They burned every place throughout the land where God met with us.
Psalm 74:9 There are no signs for us to see. There is no longer a prophet. And none of us knows how long this will go on.
Psalm 74:10 God, how long will the enemy mock? Will the foe insult your name perpetually?
Psalm 74:11 Why do you hold back your hand? Stretch out your right hand and destroy them!

protest song

These are the words of a believer who has seen his faith trampled and his God mocked, and cannot understand why God does not respond. The words resonate with believers today. We know God will bring about justice eventually, but long for justice immediately.

LORD, they have smashed — they have burned.

It sounds like a protest song, doesn’t it? Come to think of it, don’t many of our protest songs come from our religious heritage?

When we cannot make sense of the world’s wrongs, we look to another sphere for answers.

LORD, we know you are watching, and your truth is marching on.

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his presence is my good

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Jefferson Vann

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his presence is my good

Psalm 73:25-28 (JDV)

Psalm 73:25 Who do I have in the sky but you? And I desire nothing on the land but you.
Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion permanently.
Psalm 73:27 Those far from you will certainly be destroyed; you silence all who are unfaithful to you.
Psalm 73:28 But as for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord Yahveh my refuge, so I can tell about all you do.

his presence is my good

Last May, I travelled after morning worship to an ordination service — one which I had been asked to give the welcome and invocation. The Lord led me focus on his presence — a presence we can feel when we encounter people who are committed to him.

Asaph knew this. He said that God’s presence was his good.

Lord overwhelm us with your presence this day, and may we all come to the place where we can see your presence as our good.

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