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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My Psalm 119 story…chapter 4

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Robert Franklin

IMG_20130604_084622Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. Psalm 119.37, NLT

The sunrise is spectacular this morning. The air is clear and cool and the color of the warmth promised to soon come is playing on the rooftops of the buildings near where I live. After I took the dog out for her morning “constitutional,” I trimmed the roses at the entrance to our walkway. The bushes are in full bloom and I can smell the fragrance of red every time I go to, and come from. The dew fell heavy on the grass last night and the clover seems particularly happy. A mourning dove coos restlessly from the corner of the deck seemingly ignorant of  the loud reply of expectant chirps and whistles coming from the trees all around. It would seem that everything was just right in the world…

I watched a PBS show on Lyme disease last night. It was frightening. One of the contributors spoke about Nature and what it provides and how it challenges us.  I thought aloud, “What nonsense!”. If Nature exists as an end to itself, what a cruel, wicked entity it is indeed. All we “discover” serves only to inform us of our own terminal condition and real powerlessness. There is no god created by any religion more vile and cruel than Mother Nature if she is indeed the source for what we experience.

My eyes are surrounded by worthless things. How do I know how to distinguish from the valuable and the vacuous? Is a piece of premium paper marked with the numeric symbol “100” valuable? Is an oak ringed by one hundred years of effort to grow and withstand the elements of its survival valuable? Is an infant human, unable to breathe without mechanical assistance and bearing only the assurance of demands of many resources in the years to come, valuable?

Without God’s word on these matters, how could I know? What life could I have if I were bereft of his unchanging and unalterable word guiding me to understand that life is worthwhile not because it exists, but because it is an expression of His sustaining grace. How could I steward nature rather than ravish it for my own selfish pleasure? How could I know that beauty is real without understanding that it is a reflection of His glory, howbeit dim and tarnished?

Lord, keep turning my eyes.

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Psalm 119 story…chapter 3

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Robert Franklin

hersheys-kisses-chocolatesKeep me from lying to myself. Give me the privilege of knowing your instructions. (Psalm 119.29, NLT)

I am ashamed of how often I lie to myself. In fact, whenever I think about it just how often I practice self-deceit I blush: “I’ll exercise in the morning” (lie); “I’ll pray about it later” (lie); “I’ll only have three Hershey kisses” (lie, lie, lie). I normally don’t do this intentionally, but self-deceit is part of my inherited human condition.

I need an intervention.

Enter God’s instructions. I know for many the word “instruction” is an offense. We don’t pay attention to them anymore unless necessity requires it. Perhaps we may pull up a YouTube “how-to” video in a pinch, but we want our life to be ordered in such a manner as to alleviate the need for instruction of any evident sort. We expect our “user interface” to be intuitive and self-guided. No direction required.

My heart requires instruction. Left to its own desires, my heart would engage all sort of harmful attitudes and behaviors. It is sad, but wholly true. So what does this “privilege of knowing” afford me?

A “gentle reply” is the best remedy for angry conversation.
My mind is best occupied with the things that are virtuous, lovely, and pure.
That my neighbor is not a nuisance but an opportunity to share God’s love.
My stuff will decay and disappear, so I can share my treasure here freely and without fear.
That my wicked-bent heart/mind is rejuvenated and recreated by the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit when I worship.
And so much more.

What part of God’s instruction makes a difference in your life?

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