A Man In Full

Psalm 15

Lord, who abides in Your tabernacle?

Who dwells in Your holy mountain?

He who walks uprightly... —Psalm 15:1

David's question has to do with dwelling with God rather than gaining access to his mountain, for who of us can say that we “walk uprightly.” No, these are the traits God has promised to develop in those who dwell with him. 

Put another way, this is not what we bring to the table (or the mountain), but what He is bringing to us, so that we, by His grace, may become "fit for the Kingdom of God."

And what is God bringing to us? Authenticity, in a word. He's turning us into children that reflect the character of their Father—truthful, trustworthy, loving, honest, honorable, friendly, faithful, generous, gentle, stable and strong. Men and women that ring true (15:2-5).

That's one reason I follow Jesus. Not because I'm religious, because I am not, but because He is determined to make me into the kind of man I've always wanted to be—“a man fully alive.” 

David Roper

The Fool

Psalm 14

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;

there is none who does good.—Psalm 14:1

The “fool," in biblical parlance, is not an ignoramus, but a rebel. Radical unbelief is rarely a sincere, misguided choice; it is a gesture of defiance. (I think of poor, sad, aging, mostly forgotten Madonna and the cross she wears. It is, by her own admission, a symbol of her contempt for the Church.)

The result of this rebellion is moral and intellectual suicide: Those who fend off God become corrupted and can produce nothing beautiful" (The Hebrew word "good" suggests aesthetic as well as ethical good, which explains why the entertainment industry and other contemporary media are not only corrupt, but banal and lacking in imagination. (As someone has pointed out, “‘medium’ is exactly the right designation, for the television and movie industry for they neither rare nor well-done.) "Claiming to be wise, they become fools" (Romans 1:22).

Radical unbelief is a fool's choice. It has little to do with the intellect, which is why apologetics and argumentation have almost no effect on those who have chosen to turn their faces away from God. 

What then will turn them around? When they see that "God is with the generation of the righteous" (14:5). Put another way, when they see the beauty of Jesus in you and in me.

David Roper

11.8.19

How Long? 

Psalm 13

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul

and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? (13:1,2). 

Saul and his army had been hounding David for nine years. Would his troubles never end? 

David looked around and saw an enemy intent on killing him. He looked up and wondered if God even cared. He looked into his own heart and found no counsel or comfort there. 

In extremis, he shot up a prayer: "Lord, my God, listen to me and enlighten me" (13:3)—at which point God reminded him of a forgotten factor: His steadfast love (13:5). Then, though nothing changed circumstantially, David burst into song! (13:6).

"Jesus loves me this I know..." Sometimes that's all I need to know.

David Roper

9.23.19

From Carolyn This morning I am especially thankful for my window that faces the rising sun. As I sit in my prayer chair and look out on the day growing brighter, the sky and trees coming into focus with morning light, the neighbors’ homes, the fall colors of leaves and the glass pane that keeps out the cold, I am filled with gratitude to God who has provided this place and this day. My window is a good reminder that each and every day God brings the morning. While I may not always have this window and the view I have today, I am filled with a greater gratitude that “The LORD’s covenant love never ceases, for His compassions never fail, they are new every morning: great Thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22,23) Lord, I am filled with gratitude for Your faithfulness that brings with each new morning Your strong, self-giving, compassionate covenant love, where ever I am, what ever the day holds. Thank You for Your Word, living and written, that both shows and tells us of Your everlasting love. This love of Yours motivates me to love You in return today and to, by Your grace, love those You bring across my mind and my path today. Because Jesus first loved us I come in His Name. Amen Do you remember this wonderful hymn written by George Robinson and James Mountain in the 1800s?   Loved with everlasting love, Led by grace that love to know; Spirit, breathing from above, Thou hast taught me it is so. Oh, this full and perfect peace! Oh, this transport all divine! In a love which cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine.   Heaven above is softer blue, Earth around is sweeter green; Something lives in every hue Christless eyes have never seen: Birds with gladder songs o’erflow, Flow’rs with deeper beauties shine, Since I know, as now I know, I am His, and He is mine.     Things that once were wild alarms Cannot now disturb my rest; Closed in everlasting arms, Pillowed on the loving breast. Oh, to lie forever here, Doubt and care and self resign, While He whispers in my ear, I am His, and He is mine.     His forever, only His: Who the Lord and me shall part? Ah, with what a rest of bliss Christ can fill the loving heart. Heaven and earth may fade and flee, Firstborn light in gloom decline; But, while God and I shall be, I am His, and He is mine.    Love to you and may His daily compassions fill each of us today with great gratitude, Carolyn

Getting Our Minds Right

Psalm 12

The wicked prowl on every side,

And vileness is exalted among the sons of men. —Psalm 12:8

“Vileness (debased character) is exalted"—a fair description of the current scene. I think of the cultural and social icons we exalt and emulate.

I've mentioned before that Lord Acton's axiom, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely," does not refer to those in power, but to those enamored of power. When I stand in awe of the powerful, I give the ideas that debase them the power to debase me (12:2). 

But I have this assurance: 

The words of the LORD are pure words, 

like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, 

purified seven times.

You, O LORD, will keep them;

you will guard us from this generation forever (Psalm 12:6,7).

God will guard his word from corruption and me from the evil in me that makes me so easily corrupted (12:7,8). How? By serving up for my consumption his "pure" words every day.

David Roper

11.4.19

What Can the Righteous Do?

Psalm 11

"When the (moral) foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (11:3). 

Old folks generally decry the sorry state of the world, but, given the steady decline of courtesy and morality these days, it does seem that our culture is circling 'round the drain. (As an old friend of mine asks, “Why am I in this hand basket and where in hell are we going?”) What can I, an old back-bencher do? 

David's friends offered him the counsel of despair: "Flee like a bird to your mountain…” (11:1-3). Carolyn and I don't have a place in the mountains any more, but I can probably get a job in a coastal lighthouse, or backcountry fire-lookout tower and watch the world crash and burn. 

David supplies a deeper insight and a better part to play. He says that the Lord, through disorder, is "testing the righteous" (11:5). His stillness in the face of moral chaos is not a show of indifference, but a "test" of our mettle. When the moral foundations are broken up what will good people do? 

David answers, "(As for me) "I will take refuge in the Lord" (11:1). 

So I ask myself: Will I follow Jesus in faith and obedience and rely on him to bring me safely through (11:7)? Or, more's the loss and pity, will I follow the madding crowd?

David Roper

11.1.19

Welcome: A Heart Like His

One day in the dim and distant past the agenda before me was to welcome someone into my life—into my home and into my heart. This person was someone I didn’t even want to have around, little less actually WELCOME.  In years gone by this man had caused much pain to me and to mine. Nothing had been acknowledged on his part. Yet I had worked on the hard task of forgiving­—but from a distance.

But here’s the thing—I know God has a welcoming heart. I know He has welcomed me! Oft times His welcome has been graciously given after I have been indifferent to Him, grieved Him, ignored Him or squandered His gifts of time, opportunity, money or abilities. I’ve told my stories but not been so quick to tell His stories. Or really listen to another’s story.

At times I have walked around with a two-by-four in my eye while trying to focus on that tiny speck in another’s eye. Sometimes I have entertained complaints in my heart and grumbled about the manna de-jour. I’ve taken the higher seat on my high horse rather than follow His example and directive to take the lower seat. He is One who stooped to serve, and to serve even those who hurt Him.

Still, God’s welcoming heart has been generous in giving forgiveness to me as I’ve turned in humility to Him. And before the turning times, His heart has yearned for His wandering child to come Home. Like Jesus with Judas in the Upper Room, God has continued to offer me the bread and the wine, not exposing me to shame by pointing out my betrayal to others.

As I thought about that person who was coming, I knew I could have the coffee ready, have the welcome mat out and open the door. But I knew I could not change my heart to offer a sincere welcome.

So as I was bringing my desire to have a heart like His, a welcoming heart, I heard these words in my thoughts: The very one who is coming to your door today is My precious child. Please welcome him for My sake. Just as I welcome you. Just as you delight to have another give a royal welcome to your child.

And Carolyn, I will correct him. He belongs to me and that’s My responsibility. Your assignment and opportunity is to welcome with a sincere heart, one I am changing by my Spirit of truth and power and grace. My desire for you is to be My agent of grace today. 

God’s welcome comes because Jesus paid the cost of my sins, my small indifferences or insensitivities as well as huge things like betrayal and abandonment. That day God was not asking me to be in a place that was unsafe or to be this person’s best buddy. (If that is ever the case, I will have to get back to you on my response!) God was asking me to recognize how much I have been forgiven and to continue to do so even in what could have been an uncomfortable situation. He was also taking responsibility to be the agent of change, first for me and then for the other.

How did the time go that day? I felt at peace and welcoming, by God’s grace. I did not see much change in the other person but I saw God changing me. And I could only give Him thanks with a grateful heart.

Carolyn