In a traumatic psalm describing the invasion of Jerusalem, Asaph laments the terrible suffering. With the temple defiled, blood poured out like water and bodies in the streets, he asks How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?

Asaph receives no answer. Yet he maintains his faith in the midst of horrible circumstances, and begs the Lord to remember the surviving outcasts. Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!

Remarkably, Asaph neither wallows in despair or rejects God outright. He clings to the Lord, showing gratitude and reminding his nation of their standing before God. But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

The sheep of your pasture. Even as the Lord disciplined Israel for their rejection, Asaph turned to the only place for hope. Apart from the Lord all is lost, but with Him lies a future, even if it takes a generation or two before it’s realized. Remain in the Lord’s pasture, and eventually all things will work out for good. While we may suffer, our children and grandchildren and their children will benefit.

Which makes me ask, in whose pasture am I wandering? It’s easy to stray, and to quote the old phrase, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. But while the grass may be tastier, it turns bitter in the stomach. The Lord puts boundaries in my life to keep me grazing in his meadow, the one sure hope for generation after generation.

Psalm 79

Photo by Michał Robak

By most estimations, life is short. Except for the hours spent in the DMV or getting a root canal. Time tends to speed up as I get older. I look out the window with surprise—the leaves are falling already?

James points out a rather depressing truth in his letter to Jewish believers scattered across the Roman empire: What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

When you think about it, lives are short. Our days begin and end. We all face death (although we try not to think about it). James goes further when he describes life as a mist, water vapor that drifts away. Nothing of consequence and soon forgotten.

Physical life lasts only an instant. But what lasts forever?

God lasts. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God (Psalm 90:2).

The words of God last. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever (Isaiah 40:8).

Our souls also last forever. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Life may exist as smoke, but when it comes to forever the fumes coalesce like a genie from a bottle. With so much is at stake it pays to invest long-term, and in this case, the really, really long-term. I diligently save money in retirement accounts to ensure I have resources to cover my fading years. But I pay attention to God, His word, and the condition of my soul to ensure I move from the mists of today to the solid reality of tomorrow. The eternal world is more grounded than what I experience around me, and when the mist clears I hope to find myself in the presence of the Lord forever.

James 4:14

Photo by Zach Lezniewicz

Colorado possesses a long history of mining. Enduring long winters and brutal conditions, men searched for gold and silver. A handful made a fortune, while the rest moved on after the mines played out. No one cleaned up after themselves, and as you drive around Colorado today you’ll see evidence of old mines, especially the tailings of stone expelled from the shafts. Boring holes into solid rock took strong backs, sturdy picks, and plenty of dynamite.

Bringing the wrong tools to break rock solid hearts, prophets in Jeremiah’s day shared their dreams. These teachers boldly lied and spread deceit in the name of God. They believed in themselves, but failed to believe in God. Instead of teaching from the Scriptures they taught opinions, leading their king and nation astray.

The Lord excoriated these so-called prophets for their failure to produce words of meaning and consequence. A prophet speaks for God, and the words of God arrive with power. God spoke through Jeremiah: Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully…Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 

The divinations of these soothsayers dripped from their mouths like saliva from a madman. In contrast, God’s truth comes on like fire, scorching away lies and deceptions. The Scriptures pound folly like dynamite blasting a tunnel into a mountain.

In the Bible we discover words like a sledgehammer. Run the ideas and philosophies of our day through a good pounding. What emerges, that which lines of with the truth of Scripture, is worthy of our time and attention. Sweep up the broken shards and toss them in the garbage. In a world filled with talk, invest in energetic, dynamic, life-giving words—Words like a hammer.

Jeremiah 23:28-29

Photo by MATHEW RUPP

Wisdom eludes even the most persistent. One certainly finds little sagacity in our online world. Lots of entertainment and laughs, plenty of consternation and angst, but few nuggets of insight. Like explorers once searched for the source of the Nile, seekers of understanding must turn to the originator of wisdom.

In his missive against the tongue, James pointed out how wisdom from the world around us tends toward boastfulness, falsehoods, jealousy and selfish ambition. Where this wisdom holds court, obnoxious practices spread. He uses the idea of disorder to represent the hearts and minds of those struggling to find a way. James calls this brand of wisdom earthly, unspiritual, and even demonic.

James turns to the better way of slowing our mouths and waiting in the ensuing quiet for words from the Lord: But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

Impartial and sincere people remain scarce in this world. They stand out for their peace of mind and winsomeness. Representing the opposite of disorder, folks like this hold societies together and make our towns and cities wonderful places to live. Befriend these, and seek the impartial and sincere wisdom of the Lord for yourself.

James 3:13-18

Photo by Simon Wilkes