Enemies and Psalms

As I read Psalm 3 a few days ago I was struck by two things: the dangers familiar to the writer of the psalm and the dangers of my life. The psalmist lived in a time of constant war in which any one of his many enemies might be lying in wait or planning his demise. He had physical enemies that carried swords, knives, spears, and other weapons of destruction. The writer laments that he has so many enemies and that many are saying, “God will never rescue him!” Then he is reminded that the Lord is “a shield around [him]; [his] glory, the one who holds [his] head high” and he is comforted. He knows that if he cries out to the Lord, he will answer. He will provide him with safety. Suddenly, he is not afraid of even ten thousand enemies. He knows that his Lord will slap his enemies in the face and “shatter the teeth of the wicked.” He knows that ultimate victory comes from the Lord. He trusts that the Lord will bless those who trust in him.

The enemies in my life are different. I fear cancer. I fear financial ruin. I fear a catastrophe in my career. I fear loss of my marriage partner. I fear that I might mess up relationships with my kids. These are the enemies of my world. How will God respond to my enemies? I can trust him to take care of my enemies just as King David did. The Lord is a shield around me as well. He is my glory and the lifter of my head. As I cry out to him, he will rescue. I need not fear even ten thousand of these enemies. I may not understand what it means for the Lord to “slap cancer in the face” or “shatter the teeth of financial ruin,” but I can trust that the Lord has it under control. I need not fear. The Lord is in control.

Psalm 3 (New Living Translation)

O Lord, I have so many enemies;
    so many are against me.
So many are saying,
    “God will never rescue him!” Interlude

But you, O Lord, are a shield around me;
    you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
I cried out to the Lord,
    and he answered me from his holy mountain. Interlude

I lay down and slept,
    yet I woke up in safety,
    for the Lord was watching over me.
I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies
    who surround me on every side.

Arise, O Lord!
    Rescue me, my God!
Slap all my enemies in the face!
    Shatter the teeth of the wicked!
Victory comes from you, O Lord.
    May you bless your people. Interlude

Hope in Troubled Times

The following is a short excerpt from a sermon preached at Bow Valley Christian Church on October 30, 2016. The entire sermon can be heard here.

In a world of fear and pessimism, Jesus provides hope. Can we proclaim that to the world? When we hear people lamenting about this weird presidential election in the US, can we say Jesus is our hope? When we hear people talking about real estate bubbles and the downturn in Calgary’s economy, can we say that Jesus is our hope? When we hear of people moving into the American Redoubt to live “off the grid” and away from trouble, can we say that Jesus is our hope? When we hear of wars in far off places causing a flood of refugees into Europe and the rest of the world, can we say that Jesus, the Messiah, is our hope?

Links to the news of our world:

Unusual, strange, weird election in the USA 

Real estate bubbles

Downturn in the Alberta Economy

Calgary economic downturn and small businesses

American Redoubt

Off the grid

Craving

There is evidence to suggest that we are living in a world that is craving more, fearing much, and feeling greater and greater helplessness. The news blogs and publications; the political polls and debates; and our entertainment and social commentaries would indicate anxious tendencies. Blaise Pascal was a mathematician, physicist, and philosopher of the 17^th century. Even in his era, the seeds of dissatisfaction had already been sown.

“What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.”
- Blaise Pascal, Pensées VII(425)

Where does one find true happiness? How do we return to sanity and health? Is the answer found in abandoning God or in including God in the solution? Each reader must seek an answer but they need not do it alone. We are all fellow-travelers who need one another. Our mental health and well-being depend upon this.

Bernard Ramm on Science and Fear

Out of the many people with whom I would like to spend some time, I think I would have enjoyed sitting down for an afternoon of conversation with Bernard Ramm. Ramm, the Baptist theologian who wrote much on such topics as hermeneutics, and apologetics, would have been an interesting person with whom to have a visit, for he was well versed in the discussion of religion and science. His first love was science and he studied chemistry at the University of Washington before turning to the Philosophy of Science. The following two quotes from his prolific writings give us an insight into his mind and how he saw faith, theology, science, and philosophy.

Contemporary philosophy, contemporary theology, and contemporary science may be very unfriendly to evangelical theology. They seem to be opening all sorts of doors and windows to let in soul-chilling drafts of air. But … the Word of God in our hearts should drive out fear—fear of an unexpected discovery in science or archeology or psychology or sociology. Not that in each instance evangelicals should rise up and refute the distressing charge. Christians are in this for the long haul, and vexing problems of today may well be resolved by tomorrow.[1]

Might we sometimes feel a cold chill in the air of contemporary science? Certainly there are some who would believe that they can destroy the Word of God in our hearts with words of solid or dubious science. But Bernard Ramm is quick to point out that such disturbing questions may only be problems for which we have not yet found a solution.

In theological studies one should not prematurely judge that a disturbing question or problem has no solution. Granted, there is a fine line between dodging an issue and patiently waiting for a solution. Aware of this, nevertheless I have maintained that a problem that at the present seems impossible to resolve may yet be resolved in the future. And in many instances this has been my own experience.[2]

Despite the fact that these words were written in 1954, I find them amazingly resilient and fresh. They stand well against the test of time and give me further confidence in the words of the Bible. For it is in 1 John 4:17-18a that we read, “And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.” (NLT)

Works Cited

Ramm, Bernard. The Christian View of Science and Scripture. 1954.

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[1] Ramm, The Christian View of Science and Scripture (1954), 64.

[2] Ramm, The Christian View of Science and Scripture (1954), 2.

Aedes aegypti mosquito

Photo credit: Alex Wild[1]
(Click on the photo to get a larger image.)

This terrifying picture shows an Aedes aegypti mosquito rising out of the water immediately after it has metamorphosed from its larval stage. Without a sense of scale this creature looks like some dragon from a Peter Jackson film. Despite the fact that it is just a mosquito, the insect is none-the-less horrifying. This is the mosquito that carries the Zika virus that has been plaguing much of the tropical zones of the world. This is not a new virus; it has been documented as early as 1947. For some people the Zika virus causes nothing more than a rash and flu-like symptoms. What is new is the link between Zika and two conditions in humans. There is growing evidence that the Zika virus can induce microcephaly in the fetuses of pregnant women and that Zika may trigger Guillain-Barré syndrome (a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system[2]).

Scientists and the World Health Organization are extremely concerned about the effects of this virus and are working hard to develop vaccines and ways to combat the mosquito. It is now known that the Zika virus can infect and kill neural progenitor cells in vitro and this may be the mechanism by which it causes microcephaly.[3] The world waits as more research and vaccine trials occur. Let us hope and pray that effective solutions may be found.

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[1] Science News; March 18, 2016; “Special Report: Here's what we know about Zika”; https://www.sciencenews.org/article/special-report-heres-what-we-know-about-zika; accessed 2016-03-23.

[2] NIH; National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; Guillain-Barré Syndrome Fact Sheet; http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/gbs/detail_gbs.htm; accessed 2016-03-23.

[3] Science News; March 18, 2016; “How Zika became the prime suspect in microcephaly mystery;” https://www.sciencenews.org/article/how-zika-became-prime-suspect-microcephaly-mystery; accessed 2016-03-23.

The Storms of Life

Andrew Stanton, one of the directors at Pixar, is quoted in Ed Catmull’s book, Creativity Inc. Stanton has written and directed Finding Nemo and Wall-E (among many others) and knows the incredible amount of work that goes into assembling a team and then creating an animated movie. He has this to say about life’s difficulties.

“If you’re sailing across the ocean and your goal is to avoid weather and waves, then why the hell are you sailing?” he says. “You have to embrace that sailing means that you can’t control the elements and that there will be good days and bad days and that, whatever comes, you will deal with it because your goal is to eventually get to the other side. You will not be able to control exactly how you get across. That’s the game you’ve decided to be in. If your goal is to make it easier and simpler, then don’t get in the boat.[1]

Why is it that I seem to seek an easy life rather than a significant life? Why do I find myself in a sailboat wondering why I am experiencing all of this weather? I should be grabbing the rigging and setting the sails to take advantage of the wind. I should be delighted that the wind and the waves are driving me on. Yet, most of the time, that is not my first reaction. I want smooth seas and gentle breezes. I want to meander down the river rather than brave the ocean waves.

There are many elements in life I cannot control: the world price of crude oil; the value of the stock-market in New York, Toronto, or Beijing; the risk of cancer in the general population; or political corruption in Alberta, Ottawa, Washington, or Greece. These are the rough seas and winds of life. They happen with or without my consent. My confidence cannot be in the investments I own, or in the people who guide the country in which I live. I will put my confidence in the Maker of the wind and the sea. I will trust the One who knows the beginning, middle, and end of the story. I will trust that the One who made the wind and the waves will deliver me safely to the other shore. I will set my sails to catch the wind He sends upon my boat.

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[1] Catmull, Ed. Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Inspiration. Kindle. Toronto: Random House of Canada Limited, 2014; Location 3469.

The Fiddling Wood

I came upon this powerful poem a few days ago. Take the time to read it slowly. It is a master-piece.

The Fiddling Wood by Stephen Vincent Benet

Gods, what a black, fierce day! The clouds were iron,
Wrenched to strange, rugged shapes; the red sun winked
Over the rough crest of the hairy wood
In angry scorn; the grey road twisted, kinked,
Like a sick serpent, seeming to environ
The trees with magic. All the wood was still --

Cracked, crannied pines bent like malicious cripples
Before the gusty wind; they seemed to nose,
Nudge, poke each other, cackling with ill mirth --
Enchantment's days were over -- sh! -- Suppose
That crouching log there, where the white light stipples
Should -- break its quiet! WAS THAT CRIMSON -- EARTH?

It smirched the ground like a lewd whisper, "Danger!" -
I hunched my cloak about me -- then, appalled,
Turned ice and fire by turns -- for -- someone stirred
The brown, dry needles sharply! Terror crawled
Along my spine, as forth there stepped -- a Stranger!
And all the pines crooned like a drowsy bird!

His stock was black. His great shoe-buckles glistened.
His fur cuffs ended in a sheen of rings.
And underneath his coat a case bulged blackly --
He swept his beaver in a rush of wings!
Then took the fiddle out, and, as I listened,
Tightened and tuned the yellowed strings, hung slackly.

Ping! Pang! The clear notes swooped and curved and darted,
Rising like gulls. Then, with a finger skinny,
He rubbed the bow with rosin, said, "Your pardon
Signor! -- Maestro Nicolo Paganini
They used to call me! Tchk! -- The cold grips hard on
A poor musician's fingers!" -- His lips parted.

A tortured soul screamed suddenly and loud,
From the brown, quivering case! Then, faster, faster,
Dancing in flame-like whorls, wild, beating, screaming,
The music wailed unutterable disaster;
Heartbroken murmurs from pale lips once proud,
Dead, choking moans from hearts once nobly dreaming.

Till all resolved in anguish -- died away
Upon one minor chord, and was resumed
In anguish; fell again to a low cry,
Then rose triumphant where the white fires fumed,
Terrible, marching, trampling, reeling, gay,
Hurling mad, broken legions down to die

Through everlasting hells -- The tears were salt
Upon my fingers -- Then, I saw, behind
The fury of the player, all the trees
Crouched like violinists, boughs crooked, jerking, blind,
Sweeping mad bows to music without fault,
Grey cheeks to greyer fiddles, withered knees.

Gasping, I fled! -- but still that devilish tune
Stunned ears and brain alike -- till clouds of dust
Blotted the picture, and the noise grew dim --
Shaking, I reached the town -- and turned -- in trust - Wind-smitten, dread, against the sky-line's rim,
Black, dragon branches whipped below a moon!

Faith Enough

My musical friend Mike Charko reminded me of the amazing words of this song by "Jars of Clay."

"Faith Enough" by Jars of Clay
The ice is thin enough for walkin'
The rope is worn enough to climb
My throat is dry enough for talkin'
The world is crumblin' but I know why
The world is crumblin' but I know why

The storm is wild enough for sailing
The bridge is weak enough to cross
This body frail enough for fighting
I'm home enough to know I'm lost
Home enough to know I'm lost

It's just enough to be strong
In the broken places, in the broken places
It's just enough to be strong
Should the world rely on faith tonight

The land unfit enough for planting
Barren enough to conceive
Poor enough to gain the treasure
Enough a cynic to believe
Enough a cynic to believe

Confused enough to know direction
The sun eclipsed enough to shine
Be still enough to finally tremble
And see enough to know I'm blind
And see enough to know I'm blind

It's just enough to be strong
In the broken places, in the broken places
It's just enough to be strong
Should the world rely on faith tonight

Should the world rely on faith tonight
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight

This is a remarkable song that describes this tenuous life between hope and fear, power and weakness, strength and brokenness. I'm home enough to know I am lost. I'm enough a cynic to believe. Should the world rely on faith tonight?

Listen to the song here.