A Thought For The Week Of August 8, 2016

"You are my hiding place and my shield. My hope is based on your word." One of the things that this verse makes clear is that there's danger out there in the world. Actually, as a whole the Psalms are pretty consistent on that point. So many of them seem to point to the presence of danger. This one does so: "You are my hiding place and my shield." Both imply danger. Interestingly, both are also passive and defensive. We're not supposed to go on the attack apparently. We're supposed to recognize how to care for ourselves. And, ultimately, we're to recognize that it's God who takes care of us. So, God is first a refuge. A refuge is a place we go to find safety and security when we're in danger. So when faced with danger we go to God as our place of refuge. Interestingly, that makes us, in a sense, refugees. In a time when there's a lot of debate about refugees and whether we should support and accept them, this verse tells us that we are refugees ourselves as we seek refuge and safety from God. The verse tells us secondly that God is our shield. A shield is a defensive weapon. It's not something we use to attack our opponents; it's only useful for defending ourselves. God is our shield. Therefore, God takes the blows delivered by our enemies. There's a certain resonance with the various ideas around Christ and the cross in that image. Finally, we're told that our hope is in God's Word. Perhaps the point here is that the only way we can possibly stand against those who oppose us in by being grounded in God's Word. It is our hope because it promises that all that is in opposition to God and God's people will be defeated. Indeed, we can say that they have been defeated already by Jesus - who is, after all, God's Word made flesh. When you put all this together from a Christian perspective, that's what you come out with. Finally, in spite of the fact that this verse reminds us that there is danger out there, it also reminds us that there's nothing to fear, and so we shouldn't live in fear or allow others to make us afraid. We need only place ourselves in God's care, and trust in God's power. Then - nothing can stand against us!

A Thought For The Week Of August 1, 2016

"With this in mind, we pray for you constantly, that our God may consider you worthy of the calling and fulfil with power every good desire and work of faith ..." (2 Thessalonians 1:11) Encouragement is a wonderful thing. I think it's fair to say that everyone needs at least a little bit of encouragement now and then. It's one of the reasons I write this short blog entry every week - to try to provide some encouragement to those who take the time to read it. Perhaps the need for encouragement is the basic message that we need to take out of this verse. Paul reminds the Thessalonians that they are constantly in the prayers of he, Silvanus and Timothy. I've noted in recent months that there's a growing reaction against people of faith responding to tragic events with the words "you're in my prayers," or similar statements. In one way I understand the reaction. Prayers alone, after all, can be pretty empty. Perhaps prayer can even be used as a way of avoiding having to do anything concrete in response to circumstances. Prayer should never be used as an avoidance mechanism. Prayer, hopefully, spurs us to do something.  But then I take a look at this verse (and at similar statements Paul makes in his other letters.) Paul certainly isn't hesitant here about telling the Thessalonians that he's praying for them. We don't know what their circumstances were. Maybe they were experiencing difficulties; maybe they were just experiencing life. But Paul seems to have expected that the simple fact that they knew he was praying for them would have an impact on them; that somehow, by and through his prayers, God would work within the Thessalonians to bring about good. Perhaps just the encouragement of knowing that they were being prayed for would itself lead the Thessalonians to increased goodness and increased faith. After all, to know that someone is praying for me is encouraging to me, and reminds me that my prayers encourage others. That isn't to say that we should stop with prayer. If there's something more we can do to make a positive difference, we should do it. But there are situations that are distant from us or that we have no control over, in which we still want to reach out to those afflicted. Don't stop praying for others, and don't stop telling others that you're praying for them. Telling people that they are being prayed for is a source of encouragement. It reminds them that they're not alone and that there are people who care. Prayer is, by its very nature, a powerful thing. Definitely we should do more for other when we can - but at the very least we should pray for others.