Psalm 119 story…chapter 10

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Robert Franklin

501 bluesI am worn out waiting for your rescue, but I have put my hope in your word. Psalm 119.81

I have a favorite pair of jeans. Levi’s button fly 501 blues. They are quite old, worn out, yet I can’t bring myself to part with them. My new pair isn’t as comfortable as of yet and I don’t believe them to be as well made. I keep telling myself I will patch the holes up in my favorite pair and just keep them a bit longer, but I don’t patch. I do find occasions where wearing the “old familiars” will be appropriate. Those opportunities diminish with each wearing and normally involve me staying at home.

What happens when we as people get “worn out”? Is is possible for our hems to become frayed and holes to appear in the otherwise intact fabric of our lives? Does it ever happen that our pockets become distributors rather than containers and that the buttons and rivets restraining seams from coming undone fail to keep us together?

I believe it not only possible, but promised. This section of the Psalm proclaims it. Followers of God should expect to have times, perhaps even extended times, where life’s circumstances simply wear them out. So where is the “hope” in that?

Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16.33) The confession of the psalmist is echoed back by the Savior, our hope comes by a God who is actively involved in loving us all the way to the fullness of His presence. If God’s love is finite, or if His one and only son, Jesus’ power over sin and death is incomplete, then hope is a wicked trick to allay troubled minds.  But if God’s word is true and He is indeed actively working out the redemption of those who love Him, then what hope we possess!

So I can be worn out. Maybe even so worn out that I am no longer suitable for public display. There is no shame in that, only the assurance that I need to get the needle and thread, some patch of the Word, and get to stitching.

Rescue will come.

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Psalm 119 story…chapter 9

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Robert Franklin

May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy, for I have put my hope in your word. (Psalm 119.74, NLT)stairs (2)

My middle child always was our source for adventure. Curious, willful, intelligent and physically strong, she kept Michelle and I running until we watched her cross the line into adulthood. When she was a toddler, we lived in an “Old Portland” home. Built in the early 1920’s, the house had several extraordinary architectural features that distinguished it from other buildings of the same age. One of my daughter’s favorites was the crazy steep stairs to the second floor bedrooms.

Quite often I would get home from work and rather running to greet me, she would squeal, “Daddy’s home…come catch me!” Up four or five steps she would climb and hold out her arms waiting for me to take up my required spot. When I reached somewhere near where I would need to be to catch her, into the air she would launch. There was more than once when I was just in time. She never seemed to worry; she would loudly laugh as she flew from her perch. After the catch came, “Again!” and back up the stairs she would go until my arms were too tired to play anymore and I called for a break.

Even back then when I was in my twenties, I understood that God was introducing me to a deep spiritual truth as I stood catching my daughter over and over. She knew she should not jump off those stairs without someone to catch her. However, the fear of the eight foot height from which she jumped found its perspective when she believed she could not fall to the floor. She loved to “show off” to guests when they came. Even the squeamish mothers who gave Michelle that, “Are you really going to let him catch her?” look, couldn’t keep themselves from sharing in my little jumper’s abandoned delight.

Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” (Luke 18.17, NASB) So does this mean I need to climb up the steep stairs in my life hold out my arms, call out to my Daddy, and jump? Does this mean I have to trust the truth passed from generation to generation to be the arms connected to the Father who is always there to catch? Does this mean that those who watch me celebrate abandoned delight can at least vicariously join in the fun? I think that is exactly what this means.

Some may say the whole idea is silliness: the privilege of maturity cures us from all such nonsense. After all, how many of us have “leaped” somewhere along the way only to hit the ground and be injured?

Those who read this psalm quickly discover that the writer is quite familiar with life’s troubles and yet proclaims those who “place hope” in God’s word live in such a way as to be a wellspring of joy for others.

What a magnificent calling! One I aspire to fulfill, even though it means I have to be a kid again and unreservedly put hope again where it belonged all along.

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Psalm 119 story…chapter 8

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Robert Franklin

Your instructions are more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver. Psalm 119.72, NLT

Lately I feel like the petroleum industry survives on my contribution alone. Last night I stood (AGAIN) at the gas pump, filling up (AGAIN) and I noticed a handwritten sign covering each of the station’s credit card readers. It stated in faded marker-print,

PowerballKentucky Powerball is now at $341 million. Play today!

I had not thought about the lottery in a long while. I have never played before. However, standing there watching the “cheap” $3.33/gallon fuel become quickly “expensive,” I let my mind wander. What would I do with $341 million? Since I employ a hyperactive imagination, I had no troubles with the mental gymnastics required to determine how to dispense of the entire amount. For the record, I would be one of those who patiently wait. I would want all $341 million, not the just ” quick cash” payout.

Though tempted, I did not “play” yesterday. I went inside the convenience store and paid just for the fuel, got back in my car and started the drive to the next required “fill-up.” I am amazed at myself as I grappled with how alluring the prospect of receiving a lot of money at one time is to me. I am old enough and experienced enough to know that even such a hearty sum as $341 million is only a temporary resource. I am absolutely convinced I could make it disappear without too much effort. What kind of wealth is that?

Yet, I already possess a treasure. This treasure bears the unique distinction of having been burned, banned, buried, persecuted, scoffed at and completely ignored. Any other treasure would have long ago suffered a complete meltdown into oblivion, just like so many other treasures humans have declared of worth over the millennia. This treasure has not tarnished, it bears no chips or cracks, it remains powerful enough to change entire cultures and to even impart value into the seemingly valueless life.

The question I should have asked myself while standing at the gas station watching my wealth disappear gallon by gallon is, “What should I do with the instructions God so richly blessed me, since I will never be able to ‘spend’ them all?”

This is the question I am asking myself today and that I pray I am asking myself tomorrow.  How about you?

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Psalm 119 story…chapter 7

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Robert Franklin

bikersEvil people try to drag me into sin, but I am firmly anchored to your instructions. Psalm 119.61, NLT

When I was six years old I had a friend who lived next door. As I recall he was about two years older than I, but we got along well and enjoyed doing a lot of the same things. Riding bicycles, climbing trees, camping out in the backyard kept us adequately occupied.

One day, my friend told me about a spectacular event that was happening at Gresham Park. It was too wonderful for my imagination and so when he invited me to join him, I agreed without a second thought. We hopped on our bikes and pedaled through the city, across two major intersections, the 9/10ths of a mile down to the park. The city fair was everything I hoped for, except it cost money. We had none.

We made the best of our adventure for a few hours and then decided it may be good to go back home. Actually, I think I was hungry and the stomach rules!  To our bikes we went like a couple of superheros called out on a rescue mission. We were making lightning speed until I jumped the curb on 11th street. My father was waiting in his car at the stop sign and I could tell by the look on his face as I glanced through the windshield that my life would soon be over. I jumped into hyper-drive from that point on and beat him the three remaining blocks to the house.

Why the rush? Because I neglected to ask or even inform my parents of my excursion to the city center.

I will spare the details on how close I came to meeting Jesus that day.  I lacked an anchor. My friend, who lived in a household unrestrained by simple things like his parents knowing his whereabouts, easily led me where I did not belong. I wish I could say I resisted, but there was not any “dragging” me into that day’s sin. I went willingly.

We live in world that pulls hard on the hearts of those who belong to Jesus and who are supposed to be following him. If we lack a mind full of his instructions and a heart firmly connected to the direction of the Holy Spirit we will succumb as easily as a thoughtless six-year-old to the suggestions of the Evil One whispering wickedness into our ears.

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Psalm 119 story…chapter 6

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Robert Franklin

no carts allowedYour decrees have been the theme of my songs wherever I have lived. Psalm 119.54

I count it a privilege to say that during my life so far I found residence in Iowa, Illinois, Washington, Oregon, California, Virginia, Kentucky, and Texas (for just a month). I can say without any doubt that the culture in each place is different from any other place. There are many similarities, no doubt, but the divergences can be disconcerting to the unprepared.

For instance, when Michelle and I moved from Portland, Oregon to Springfield, Virginia we discovered that the grocery business was as opposite as east is from west. In Oregon, it was not unusual for the checkout attendant to know us by name and for someone to ask if we could use help loading the groceries into our car. I’ll never forget the first visit to the supermarket in Virginia. The checkout person acted like we weren’t even standing there, as if the assortment of groceries appeared magically on his conveyor. Then, with all three of our little ones in tow, we exited the store only to realize that carts were not allowed beyond 12 feet of the store front. Access to the parking lot was blocked by strategically spaced yellow concrete poles. Michelle had to wait with the children in the miserable November drizzle while I ran out into the parking lot and brought the car to the shopping cart so we could load our purchases.

I could give example after example, but that is not the point. The constancy of God’s decrees wherever certainly is the what worthy of my songs. What a joy to know that loving my neighbor is just as crucial to my spiritual health in Arlington, TX as Vancouver, WA. How magnificent to understand that God’s mercies are new every morning in Iowa City, IA and Princeton, IL. I can’t keep silent about the daily provision provided by God’s grace in Riverside, CA and Louisville, KY.

When with the ransomed in glory His face I at last shall see,

‘Twill be my joy thro’ the ages to sing of His love for me.

How marvelous, how wonderful and my song shall ever be;

How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior’s love for me! 

—Charles Gabriel, I Stand Amazed in the Presence

Have a song you would like to share? Let me know.

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Psalm 119 story…chapter 5

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Robert Franklin

I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments. Psalm 119.45, NLT

Is there a difference between liberty and license? Is freedom more valuable than anarchy? Is it possible to do as one pleases without “hurting” someone else? Is it fathomable to consider restraint as necessary for sustained happiness?

A friend asked me several years ago if I would jump out of an airplane with him. It was an appealing adventure, so I agreed to it so long as my wife would consent. My friend quickly acquired my wife’s permission and before I knew it we were sitting in hours of classes instructing us how to jump out of an airplane from 13,000 feet without being strapped to another human as a “safety feature.”

We were told clearly and repeatedly that there were rules that could not be ignored. The consequences for disobedience were illustrated in gory detail. My friend is a free spirit and not one to pay particular attention to instruction, but for this activity he was rapt. After the class, he insisted we practice our exit procedure over and again, so that we would do it exactly as we were told.

An hour or so later, up we went; out we went; down we went; it was exhilarating! My friend stood for his first landing and I did the same…until I tipped over. Through the whole process I did not think for even a moment, “Who do these kids think they are, telling me what to do? They are only half my age, why should I follow their command? I am in the plane, I have my chute, I am going to do whatever I please, ha!”. No, not even for a moment.

Consider the paradox of freedom necessitating instruction. It is a reality we all deal with on a momentary basis. For instance, we rely on the dynamic of opposing forces to accomplish the mundane, like standing erect. For most humans, the command is issued silently from the center of our brain to the many parts of body to work together to keep gravity from exercising its force to cause to collapse into a puddle of tissue and bone. We could not exist without our many diverse parts following, in coordination, the command to keep us upright.

When it comes to the God who created us, however, we seem to think these type of rules do not apply. So we fool ourselves to think we are “free” by rejecting God’s commands instead of realizing we are just foolish and will eventually fall victim to the consequences of our own ignorant acts.

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