Selah

Psalm 4: 2-4 How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false Gods? Selah Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord will hear when I call to him. In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Selah

Luke 11: 13 "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Luke 11: 35 "See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness."

In the passage from Psalms, the psalmist is urging his audience to thoughtfully search their hearts and give up the pursuit of vain and worthless things. He is prompting them to let themselves be struck by the reality of God. Christ begins the eleventh chapter of Luke instructing his disciples about prayer. He goes on to teach them to ask boldly and to reveals that the good gift that God wants to give his children is his Holy Spirit. Jesus later talks about the lamp of the body and charges us to "see to it" that our inmost condition is light instead of darkness.

I've often wondered when reading the psalms what was up with that word selah that gets thrown in every once in a while. I have recently learned that most scholars agree that it was an instruction for the reader or musicians to pause and allow the listeners to reflect on what had just been said. It becomes very meaningful in that context. Selah is very powerful in the presence of the God of all truth and love. The psalmist in the above scripture plants the seed in his listeners minds that we are given to deluding ourselves and chasing things that are not God's truth and then invites us to think about it. He then says that instead of acting rashly in anger that we should instead search our hearts in times of silence and once again invites us to consider what he has said. Christ taught the value of boldly asking our heavenly Father for what we need in prayer and added that certainly God could give good gifts much better than can we. He later said that we are to see to it that the light inside of us is not darkness. That brings up the possibility that things just might not be as they should within our inmost self. It's the same thing the psalmist wanted us to take a look at. Jesus often sought times of quiet and solitude in which to expose his inmost self to the light of his Fathers presence (Luke 4: 42, 5: 16) just as the psalmist had suggested. The most valuable thing we will ever get from prayer is the time we spend in His presence, being transformed by His truth and love. Christ knew this and told us so when he said that the good gift his Father wanted to give us was His Holy Spirit. Selah.

Graciously Heavenly Father, Please lead me to seek more of You than simply the things I think I need. Christ told us that You would certainly give us those things that we require. Instead, may our time together be about me being in Your holy presence and being changed by what You show me. Burn off my dross and shine Your light into the darkness within me. Even when it hurts, Thy will be done! Amen.

"I Am Willing. Be Clean!"

Luke 5: 12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

Jesus responded to the lepers request by telling him, "I am willing. Be clean!"

How very often have I called on the Lord to fix me and discovered in the end that I was the one who wasn't willing to be clean. I have always had a desire for God to strike me righteous. To be made pure and clean by the hand of God with no effort on my part. I want it fast, cheap and now! In my experience however, He doesn't deal with me that way. God seems to want me to come to Him with my problems and to return to Him often for direction. He leads me to places where I have to choose between His higher way and a lesser route. Unfortunately the lesser route often seems quicker, easier and more attractive. I wish I could say I always chose what I knew to be His way but that simply wouldn't be true. Wanting to be well isn't enough. Our Lord offered the leper grace and healing and He offers us this same gift each day. We must be willing to follow Him in the way of freedom however. He promised us that it would cost us much. The reward, I find more and more, is His unspeakable joy.

Father God, Please give me the courage and will to follow where you lead me. Amen.

Always Waiting

Luke 4:13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

Satan tempted Jesus three times after he had fasted forty days and nights in the wilderness. When he was unable to convince Jesus to worship him, the devil withdrew, not in defeat but to look for an opportune time to renew his efforts.

That Satan, knowing exactly who Jesus was, was looking for vulnerable moments during which to tempt him speaks volumes about his tenacity and subtlety. I can remember early in my sobriety feeling as though I was locked in a struggle with a demon myself. I held it by the collar (it was wearing a shirt I suppose) in the middle of a circle of light surrounded by complete darkness. It was struggling to get free, not to attack me but to slip away into the darkness. I knew if it got free I would loose it in the blackness and it would come at me again from out of nowhere when I wasn't expecting him and the ism would once again have the upper hand. For me, keeping hold of this demon is attending AA meetings, remaining grateful for God's gift of sobriety and trying to be of help to other alcoholics. There are lots of other demons out there trying to get the upper hand on each of us. They use fear and ego to gain footholds in our being. Without our knowing they use our reasonable desires to lead us to places where we are weak. It is a very subtle game that is played out all around us every day. Each decision we make is a step toward freedom or into peril. Talk of demons makes many people very uncomfortable. Although they are mentioned many times in scripture they are an awkward topic in this enlightened, modern day. Regardless of our thoughts on this subject we all know people who have made decisions that have had adverse effects on their lives. The fact that so many continue in destructive patterns even after they would like to change indicates that we can lose our freedom of choice. Sometimes our decisions trap us. How do you view temptation, demons and sin? Is this a hypothetical struggle? A theological one? One that we will recognize when it's really important but don't have to worry about on a daily basis? Do we get lots of do overs? Can we count on these? Will things all work out in the end? Won't God's love and grace conquer all? My thoughts on the matter aren't nearly as important as yours so please, for your own sake give it some thought. In this world where things certainly aren't always what they seem, to proceed with some caution seems wise. Even committed Christians have more than one voice calling to their spirit. We must take the time to learn to recognize our shepherds voice. (John 10: 1-5) Satan never gave up on getting a foothold in Jesus' spirit. He is certainly also lurking in our dreams, waiting to give us the deal of a lifetime. Give it some thought.

Gracious Heavenly Father, Please lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil. It is in your love and freedom that I trust. Train me to recognize your voice and lead me where you will. Amen.