The Silent Dove in Far off Places

 

Ps 56:1 (For the choir director; according to Jonath elem rehokim. A Mikhtam of David,) (when the Philistines seized him in Gath.) Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; Fighting all day long he oppresses me.

Today I want to draw your attention to the superscription of Psalm 56 where we read these words: Jonath elem rehokim. The translation of that phrase is, "the silent dove in far off places." There are places in life where even the strongest of believers, the most ardent of followers hang their heads and freely admit they don't feel like God is speaking to them, or that God is nowhere to be found.

In the book of Joel 3:16, and in the book of Amos 1:2 it says, "...the Lord will roar from Zion..." Unfortunately that is not always the case, sometimes as Psalm 56 says, the dove is silent, and to add insult to injury that is said to happen: "in far off places."

Now its time for, as Paul Harvey would say, "the rest of the story..." David was fleeing for his life from King Saul, and as the proverb says he jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. He wound up fleeing to the home town of Goliath, and even had Goliaths sword strapped to his side when he came into town. This Psalm was written when he had been arrested and before any sentence was handed out. I could easily hear him saying to God, "where are you?" "I've done my best to serve you and all I am getting for it is trouble, and now when I need you the most I feel like the heavens are brass and you are silent to me."

David feigned insanity, and the King of Gath, whom some commentators say had insane relatives, basically said, we don't need any more crazy people around here, get rid of him. So they released David, and David found out that just because you can't hear God speaking doesn't mean He isn't working on your behalf.

An interesting side note is that Jonah, (the guy that got ate) his name means dove. He also learned that even though you can be in a place that seems as far from God as the bottom of the ocean, He still hears you when you pray.

The name of my blog is fire on your altar, I chose that title with goal of always trying to say something that would stir the coals of your life. This blog today is dedicated to those whose fire is more a spark than a blazing inferno, and I remind you of two things, sometimes the best of saints have had a season where the "Dove," seemed silent, and a little fire on your altar is still awesome. Mt 6:22 "Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. Mt 6:23 If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!

-Keep your fire burning, better is a little with God, than a lot in the tents of wickedness.

The Snare of the South Wind

Ac 27:9 And when considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over, Paul [began] to admonish them,
Ac 27:10 and said to them, "Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be [attended] with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives."Ac 27:11 But the centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship, than by what was being said by Paul.

Ac 27:13 And when a moderate south wind came up, supposing that they had gained their purpose, they weighed anchor and [began] sailing along Crete...

Sometimes our conscience, or friends, or the bible tells us to avoid a certain action, situation, or  person, and then some interesting things will coalesce and attempt to convince us to do something we have been told not to do. In this case a favorable wind, a moderate south wind convinced the sailors to go against the advice of the Apostle Paul. I call this the snare of the south wind. When it comes to right and wrong, sometimes right whispers and wrong shouts at us. Favorable condition don't necessarily mean a thing is right, they could be evidence of a snare or trap.

All traps have something in them that an animal wants, and they use that allure to wreck destruction. What happened to these sailors? Shipwreck, loss of cargo, a harrowing time in a stormy sea, and almost death. Don't let circumstances overrule your conscience or you may wind up like the guys below. Keep your fire burning.

Are You a Plankton or a Nekton?

     While we don't want to dismiss the importance of plankton in the worlds food chain, or in the process of removing carbon dioxide from sea water and the world in general, there is a different reason I want to look at them today. You see plankton, don't swim, or if they do, they are very poor swimmers. Usually that are carried about by the oceans currents and unable to choose the direction in which they would like to go.
     Nektons, on the other hand are free swimmers, and the current may be a bother at times, but in general it is irrelevant to the direction in which they want to move. In life we are either planktons or nektons, we either let the current carry us or find our own way. This is true in the emotional realm, some people just run with their emotions, usually to their ruin. The same could be said of our animal drives, hunger, sex, rest etc. Either they are in charge of you, or they are under your control. Here is a thought from the wisest man who ever lived: (King Solomon)

Pr 16:32 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

The world will never be changed by people who only follow the crowd, or their emotions. Fight the current, find a fresh direction for your life. Above is a picture of a plankton, below is a picture of a nekton, which do you want to more resemble? Keep your fire burning, do something new and different.

Death in the Pot

All of us are familiar with the story of Snow White: A poisoned apple results in a supernatural sleep, from which only the kiss of a prince can cure. That is good theology. Sin is the poison, and Jesus is the only Prince that can wake us, from that sleep. (Eph. 5:14).

There is another life lesson we can learn about poisoned food and that is found in 2 Kings chapter 4, in that passage there was something of a famine and so a group of prophets put together a hodge podge of a stew, when they started eating it they realized something was terribly wrong and the bible says that they cried out to the chief prophet Elisha and said: 2Ki 4:40 " ... O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof." It must have been something very nasty that was served up for them to say it was going to kill them. So what was it and how did it get in their pot?

The answer is found in this verse: 2Ki 4:39 One of the men went out into the field to get some herbs; he came across a wild vine and picked gourds from it, filling his gunnysack. He brought them back, sliced them up, and put them in the stew, even though no one knew what kind of plant it was. (MSG) In other words someone threw something in the community pot that poisoned the whole batch. I want to give you something to think about that is very important. What is cooking in your community pot? What strange things have been thrown into the mix of who you are?  The book of James tells us: James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, the [very] world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of [our] life, and is set on fire by hell.

In other words, words can contaminate you if you are not very careful. What words are you stewing over? What words are you letting marinate in the center of your being? Is there death in your pot? Have you let others put poisoned apples inside of you? The cure for the prophets that day was very simple, Elisha instructed them to put meal in the pot and that would counteract the poison. The spiritual application is that the meal (bread) of the word of God can counteract all the poison that comes to us and tries to settle in our pot. Be careful what you let in, and take copious amounts of the cure, in that way you will keep the right fire burning in your heart.

There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil.

Esther 4:14 ...and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for [such] a time as this?

 

 

 

One of my favorite scenes in the LOTR trilogy is in the caves of Moria where the following conversation takes place between Gandalf and Frodo Baggins:

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. 

Parents in Minnesota complain to the school district that singing Christmas carols is a form of bullying. Little children and teachers are gunned down by a crazed mad man, the headlines tell the story of our age and our time. We did not choose to be born in this age, it was chosen for us, we make a grave mistake in life if we fuss about those things we have no control over. Each generation has had its own challenges, but one constant remains: will you blend in, or stand out? In what way will you work to shape the world around you? That truth is pressed upon Frodo with the words: "All we have to decide is what do with the time that is given us." 

Many people view their role as nothing more than that of commentators, as if talking about the way things are somehow improves them. We live in an age where too many have become comfortable being armchair critics.  Somehow we must rise above that and become like Esther and realize we have a responsibility to take action, however small or great that may be. One young boy was found on a beach where thousands of starfish had washed up, he was throwing them back in one at a time. A passerby noticing how many there were washed up, and the seeming futility of what the boy was doing, asked him, "do you think you are making a difference? He picked one up and before throwing it back into the sea said, "it makes a difference to this one." 

This is our time, this is our generation, may God so help us to let our light shine that it makes a difference, we may not be personally able to change the world, but we can start a ripple that will resonate across time. We may not be able to save the world, but what we do does make a difference. Keep your fire burning.

Go Back and Get Your Gun

For thirty years I have carried an image in my head of a scene from a movie long ago. The movie was called, "The Longest Day," and was about the D-Day invasion. It starred (among others) Robert Mitchum (center of pic above) as a tough man's man, gung ho type general. It's D-day they are on the beach he is leading the charge and he turns around and sees what appears to be an 18 year old, scared out of his wits, hiding behind one of the German beach defenses. (Below is another pic from the movie where you can see the little thing the soldier was hiding behind.)

The general notices the young man has dropped his gun, and is paralyzed in fear from all the bullets whizzing around. Mitchum steps out in the open, fearless, and simply says, "don't you think you ought to go back and get your gun?" The ocean behind, the enemy in front, the only real option the young man had was to fight his way out of the mess. Encouraged by his general, he retrieves his gun and joins the fight again.

People drop their guns for all kinds of reasons, and there are all kinds of guns people drop. I want to mention just one. There are many people who drop their guns, because they tried and failed, or because others and/or life shot them down when they tried. Moses was that kind of guy. He tried to help his people, his motives were right, but he overreacted and killed a man. Not only did he fail, but his failure was also one of the worse types of sins imaginable. He dropped his gun, ran to the wilderness and there he lay, paralyzed on the beach of life for 40 years. Then one day his general (God) interrupted him on the beach and basically said, "I am sending you back to do what failed to do so miserably at last time." God speaks to failures and says, "c'mon let's do this thing again." That is usually when the excuses start. This blog is just a shout out to all those of you who have dropped your gun because of fear or failure, your General is here today to say to you, "c'mon let's do this thing again." The ocean is behind, the enemy in front, the simple reality is that you can no longer live on the beach of inactivity. The general is not here to condemn but to motivate you forward. - Get your fire burning again.

He Whom You Love is Sick

John 11:3 The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."

This is a very hard passage of scripture wrap your mind around, because of the way that it clashes with everything we expect from a loving God. He whom You love just filed for bankruptcy. She whom you love just got served divorce papers. There are just some things that will never seem right to be in the same sentence with, "he whom You love." Yet there it is, front and center in the Gospel of John. I mean its not like God tried the hide the fact some of His best, get dealt the worst hands in life. So why is it so hard for us to accept, why does it seem so incongruous with what we think we know of God?

I think it is because we can never equate something good coming out of something bad. Jesus Himself said in Luke 6:44 ..."For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush." No men don't, but what applies to us doesn't apply to God, God can gather figs from thorns or grapes from a briar bush if He so chooses. Perhaps that is the reason in Romans 10 it says, "...with the heart man believes," there are some things better left to the heart than to the mind. My heart tells me that the One who saved me from drugs and everything else I was involved in that was destroying my life, He will not turn around and give me a poison apple. So when your mind is vexed with life's circumstances, and you can't answer all the questions the devil is throwing at you, remind yourself all the things you have learned of Him, love believes all things. That will help you keep your fire burning when life is trying to throw water on it.  Blessings