All throughout the Psalms, David talks about his personal worship and Israel’s corporate worship. In times of prosperity and in times of life-threatening attacks, there is a constant stream of worship to the Lord. It’s a given. An assumed response to the best and the worst of situations.

Another constant throughout the Psalms is an assurance that God will advocate and protect His people. There are moments of despair – no doubt about it. Moments where the Psalmist cries out to God to not forsake him, to not hide His face any longer. Each of these cries is followed by some sort of reassurance that God isn’t going to leave or forsake him. This faith in God’s promises explodes out of the heart of these songs.  I believe that our genuine worship will correspond to the strength of our faith in these promises of God, which in turn compels more worship!

It brings great comfort to remember that David was not deterred by despair and struggles.  His faith in the Lord’s goodness and guidance remains a song of worship, day after day.

• In cries for vengeance, he proclaims “the Lord is my strength and shield; in Him my heart trusts” (Psalm 28)
• While pleading for deliverance, he says “May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, ‘God is great!’” (Psalm 70)
• After weeping in repentance, his faith remains steadfast that God will “do good to Zion in [His] good pleasure.” (Psalm 51)
• He asks for God’s advocacy against the evil ones “that they may know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.” (Psalm 83)

If we are not worshipping, then how do we expect to remember and be strengthened by the Lord’s majesty?  The Lord is always dealing bountifully with us, providing us everything that we need for life and godliness. He is constantly advocating for us and taking delight in our faithfulness to Him. We must respond with praise at all times. No matter how inconsequential our faith may seem, we must offer genuine words of praise to our Father. If not, we could spiral into discouragement and miss out on His glory among us.

The simple utterances of praise bring profound strength and joy. To praise God when we sit and when we rise, when we walk and when we lay down; these words of praise will fuel and encourage us on both good days and bad.  Worship is a lifeline that connects our heart and minds to the One who leads us in the abundant life.

And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” – Numbers 20:12

The Lord’s response must have been a devastating blow after years of leading the people towards Canaan. However, it does not seem to take Moses by surprise. Moses has been known to plea for mercy when the Lord meant to bring down His hand of destruction upon Israel, but he lift his voice at all in this situation. I believe that Moses’s silence on this matter confirms that Moses understood his sin and accepted the consequence.

What was this great sin that kept Moses from entering the Promised Land with his people? Scripture says that he did not believe in the Lord, to uphold Him as holy before the people. His sin was unbelief.  God told him to hold the staff in the air and command the rock to produce water. This follows the same pattern as the other miracles God performs through Moses, like the parting of the Red Sea or the plagues brought on Egypt. This pattern was ingrained in the minds and hearts of the people as a display of God’s provision and power for them. However, the water from the rock follows a slightly different pattern. Moses raises the staff up and strikes the rock with the staff two times. He did not follow the instruction of the Lord and the pattern of the other miracles. It is as if Moses produces the water by his own might!

Moses’s pride consumed him as he took the glory from the Lord and into his own hands.  His conviction that God would bring water from the rock as promised did not waver, but he strayed from God’s instruction as he desired to prove himself before the people. In that moment, his energy was more centered on elevating himself than it was on honoring the Lord. Pride consumed him, and God attributed it to him as unbelief. We’ve been taught that faith without works is dead, and Moses demonstrates that here. His actions do not honor God before the people, even though he surely had faith in God. As we couple strong faith with humble works, we shall find that God is honored as holy before the people. As soon as we seek credit for our works, our belief in God will grow weak and vulnerable.

This moment of rebellion after Moses spends years and years of condemning Israel for its own cycle of rebellion, shows us that even a man who spoke directly with God has corruption in his heart. We should take heed to this inherent warning that nearness to God and maturity in faith does not exempt a Christian from the temptation to take glory from God. We should also be moved by the notion that punishment was still required for Moses. He was not without sin, and he was still in need of a Savior. Only through Jesus Christ can we be fully justified and no longer condemned. Only through Jesus Christ can we enter the abundant life with our sins fully atoned for and righteousness cloaking our shoulders.

In any case, I am determined to expand my vocabulary. My first exercise includes taking note of new words while reading a novel. The back flap of a book is especially useful for this exercise. At this time, it’s Pride and Prejudice. What a treasure of words lost in antiquity!  The two that I’ve taken a liking to the most are felicity and civility. Here’s a small tribute to these beautiful words:

Posted in Books, Movies, & Music Tagged: creativity, lessons, reading, vocabulary ]]> http://katietelschow.wordpress.com/2009/06/27/felicity-civility-etc/feed/ 0 katietelschow felicity_civility http://katietelschow.wordpress.com/2009/06/14/godliness-contentment/ http://katietelschow.wordpress.com/2009/06/14/godliness-contentment/#comments Sun, 14 Jun 2009 19:34:34 +0000 katietelschow http://katietelschow.com/?p=270 ]]> “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” – 1 Timothy 6:6-7

1 Timothy 6 and Luke 12 offer a comprehensive look on the Christians responsibility as it relates to possessions and money. After studying both of these passages, I rest on the single phrase “there is great gain in godliness with contentment.” Godliness with contentment, not just one or the other. Here are my thoughts:

OUR CONTENTMENT IS SENSIBLE AND REASONABLE.

Like it says in 1 Tim 6: 7 – we brought nothing into this world and will take nothing out of it. We will leave this world without care, so why spend our time in this world with anxiety? God promises not only to provide our daily bread but He blesses us with “everything to enjoy” and “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.”

SO WHAT IS GODLINESS WITHOUT CONTENTMENT?

Void? Perhaps. Certainly it may be hypocrisy, idolatry, and folly. It is to be like a Pharisee following the letter of the Law but not the heart of it. It is like the rich young man that comes to Jesus as a follower of all of the commandments but is unable to give away his possessions to obtain eternal life. It is to be like those who have no faith in Christ and concern themselves daily about tomorrow. (Luke 12:29-31) In Christ, we are not to be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewal of our minds. We should think differently and treat earthly possessions differently because of the wisdom of God in us. (Romans 12:1-2)

AND WHAT IS CONTENTMENT WITHOUT GODLINESS?

Complacency.  It is not enough to abstain from setting our hopes on the uncertainty of riches. As Christians, we are to redirect our strivings, our time, and our earthly possessions towards a certain hope – namely the promises found in God through Christ. As Paul says to Timothy,  we are “to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that [we] may take hold of that which is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:18-19)

OUR CONTENTMENT IS A VESSEL OF GOD’S LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

I believe that today God uses our contentment coupled with godliness as a distinctive light among the darkness of anxiety, riches, self-propelled “security,” and materialism. I believe that a Christian displaying God in word and deed (godliness) and satisfied in his lot whether abundant or sparse (contentment) could compel unbelievers to faith in God.

As we strive towards godliness with deeper faith in God and understanding of the Gospel, contentment should rule in our hearts. And, as our lives are governed by the King of kings, the Gospel will be displayed marvelously both as an encouragement to believers and a compelling story of our redemption among unbelievers.

• 22 words – posts in 22 words or less from Abraham Piper
• Absolutely Beautiful Things – a dose of beauty in decor, design, art, and more
• Lifehacker – useful tips and tricks for everyday effectiveness and efficiency
• Mashable - a constant stream of social media news and tips that I used to follow on Twitter until it became too pervasive in my twitter stream – (Will it become too much in the reader as well??)
• Seth Godin – a blog that I should have been reading ages ago! Seth’s posts are concise, entertaining, and have a mark of ingenuity.
• Simply Stated by Realsimple.com – I love the magazine so I may fancy the blog as well!
• The Network for Strategic Missions – Great articles and insights on Christian missions and the state of religion globally.
• Tutorial 9 – a great resource for free tutorials and tips in photography, photoshop, and web design

I’d like to think that most of these new additions hold promise for standing the test of time. Then there are those oldies but goodies like Marklog, The*Rebeccamendations, Saltimbocca, and Writer in a Red Chair that are definitely long-lasting keepers. What do you think? Any suggestions for me to start reading?

“I was privileged with godly parents, watched with jealous eyes, scarcely ever permitted to mingle with questionable associates, warned not to listen to anything profane or licentious, and taught the way of God from my youth up.”

“Then came a mother’s prayer, and some of the words of that prayer we shall never forget, even when our hair is grey. I remember, on one occasion, her praying thus: “Now, Lord, if my children go on in their sins, it will not be from ignorance that they perish, and my soul must bear a swift witness against them at the day of judgment if they lay not hold of Christ.” That thought of a mother’s bearing swift witness against me, pierced my conscience, and stirred my heart.“

“Fathers and mothers are the most natural agents for God to use in the salvation of their children. I am sure that, in my early youth, no teaching ever made such an impression upon my mind as the instruction of my mother; neither can I conceive that, to any child, there can be one who will have such influence over the heart as the mother who has so tenderly cared for her offspring.”

“A man with a soul so dead as not to be moved by the sacred name of “mother” is creation’s blot. Never could it be possible for any man to estimate what he owes to a godly mother. Certainly I have not the powers of speech with which to set forth my valuation of the choice blessing which the Lord bestowed on me in making me the son of one who prayed for me, and prayed with me.”

“How can I ever forget her tearful eye when she warned me to escape from the wrath to come? I thought her lips right eloquent; others might not think so, but they certainly were eloquent to me. How can I ever forget when she bowed her knee, and with her arms about my neck, prayed, “Oh, that my son might live before Thee!” Nor can her frown be effaced from my memory,—that solemn, loving frown, when she rebuked my budding iniquities; and her smiles have never faded from my recollection,—the beaming of her countenance when she rejoiced to see some good thing in me towards the Lord God of Israel.”

“Yet I cannot tell how much I owe to the solemn words of my good mother.”

The full account of Spurgeon’s father and mother can be read at http://www.spurgeon.org/earlyimp.htm. And to my mother – thank you for infinite prayers, endless sacrifices, indelible memories, and a godly example that I hope to one day emulate.  Happy Mother’s Day!

C.S. Lewis has an incredible gift of profoundly impacting his readers through fictional stories. Through reading the first two books in his space triology, I can honestly say that God has shifted some of my perspectives and deepened my comprehension of a few spiritual lessons. Here is an example of a profound lesson learned from the second book, Perelandra. The book is set on Perelandra, a planet teeming with majestic landscapes and wildlife.

On the planet of Perelandra, the islands float on waves like gigantic lily pads in an enormous wave pool. The two inhabitants of this land, the Lady and the King, simply live day by day on whichever island the waves bring their way. In many aspects, the King and the Lady resemble Adam and Eve before the fall. With purity and simplicity, they live by faith in Maledil – the God figure in these books. Even in a world that is literally shifting under their feet, they have no concern about where they will sleep or what they will eat because Maledil provides for them without fail.

There was only one place on Perelandra that did not shift with the waves. This Fixed Land was the one forbidden dwelling place for the King and the Lady. The bulk of this story is about the epic struggle to keep the Evil One from convincing the Lady to defy Maledil and sleep on the forbidden Fixed Land. When all is said and done, the Evil One is defeated and the Lady is protected from defying the command of Maledil. As she reflects on her new-found maturity and understanding she says:

“The reason for not yet living on the Fixed Land is now so plain. How could I wish to live there except because it was Fixed? And why should I desire the Fixed except to make sure — to be able on one day to command where I should be the next and what should happen to me? It was to reject the wave – to draw my hands out of Maledil’s…to put in our own power what times should roll towards us…as if you gathered fruits together to-day for to-morrow’s eating instead of taking what came. That would have been cold love and feeble trust. And out of it how could we ever have climbed back into love and trust again?”

Her last statement hits so close to home.  In a society where we seek to control our own futures, we are definitely in danger of cold love and feeble trust towards our God. Times are definitely less stable during the recession, but even so, we still have the power to plan for tomorrow in many ways. So, how do we practice genuine love for God and total trust in Him? How do we really let go of control and embrace the waves rolling in as He wills? I don’t have the answers, but I do believe that asking Him to deepen our trust must coincide with willingness to have comfort and control stripped from your hands. I believe that this is an important and bold prayer that leads to deep Christian sanctification.

Yes, full cycle wash. I pulled out the laundry to transfer it to the dryer, and ‘CLUNK,’ there it was. Here are a few reasons I wish I had known it was jumbled with all of the clothes:

1. The day before my accidental iPhone cleaning, Mark told me about a new Boggle-like game available for free.

2. There was a love note courier service at Art City Austin today (an art installation where you can write notes on a typewriter and have them delivered on a bike). I wanted to send notes to my friends, but addresses just aren’t as readily accessible without my iPhone…

3. The 30 songs on my iPod shuffle just get repetitive after a while.

4. My ability to be a good roadtrip navigator for Mark just dramatically decreased.

5. Re-learning to text on a number pad is just not as easy as you might think. My patience with predictive text’s wrong predictions is pretty low.

There’s still a chance, though. Maybe after a week-long rice bath, my iPhone will decide to awaken to a newer and cleaner life! We will see. You might be surprised to know how many “washed my phone in the laundry” survival stories are out there… Anyone want to predict it’s future?

Understanding peace as a powerful and active force gives fresh meaning to many familiar scriptures about God’s promises of peace to those who believe.  Try these out and see what I mean:

• “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” – Romans 16:20

• “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. ” – Colossians 3:15

• “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:7

• “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” — John 14:27

See what I mean? Peace is powerful – like a mighty king ruling our hearts and a soldier crushing our enemy.  That’s the God of peace that I abide in during these uncertain times.

But I’m not afraid. I have peace about what tomorrow may bring. Why? Because over 2,000 years ago a man paid an immeasurable price so that I would have an inheritance that supplies me with more than I could ever ask for or imagine. That’s why today is a holiday for me. It’s a somber holiday because the price of my undeserved inheritance was the blood of Jesus Christ who was in very nature God yet became man and became obedient to death – even death on a cross. In honor of Him who died that I might have an abundant inheritance, here are two photographs alongside Isaiah 53 in remembrance of the meaning behind Good Friday.

In remembrance of My Savior…

³ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to  suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

- Isaiah 53:3-10

Photographs by Katie Telschow & Photoshop texture by NinianLif.