Posts by Bertram Church of Christ (Page 2)

Something incredible is happening in Psalm 85. First, the poet speaks with a bluntness that makes our expectations of God perfectly clear. In response to God’s anger the poet says to God, without hesitation or embarrassment, that it’s time for God’s anger to subside and for joy and forgiveness to take its place. Second, Psalm 85 paints for us a portrait of a God who is not only willing to forgive, but eager to forgive! This God is so far…

Psalm 82 brings us into a courtroom. We get to witness a trial. The judge is none other than God himself. Something about a courtroom drama resonates with us on a deep level; it’s why so many movies and television shows are made about it. It’s deeply meaningful to us to see justice fought for and enacted. We want to see the innocent vindicated and the guilty appropriately punished. Psalm 82 knows this about us. So it begins, “God has…

Psalm 30 takes us on a roller coaster of joy, praise, hubris, panic, prayer and gratitude all in the span of just twelve verses. It begins at the end, letting us know that everything has turned out for the better. God has come through for the Psalmist, providing healing and restoration. “O LORD my God, I cried to you for help and you have healed me.” (30:2) And this personal testimony overflows into a public call to worship. “Sing praises…

The apostle Paul tells us to pray without ceasing, which could mean reaching a spiritual maturity in which prayer comes as natural to us as breathing. Or maybe sometimes it means we can’t stop praying until God has proven that he’s heard us and bothered to do something about the hurt we find ourselves in. That is how Psalm 77 prays. “I cry aloud to God, aloud to God that he may hear me. In the day of my trouble…

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!” Like many praise hymns in the book of Psalms, Psalm 103 begins with a call to worship, both for the community being called into worship and for the speaker himself doing the calling. May every single piece of our existence reach out to you, God, with praise and adoration and joy! But no hymn in the Psalms ends here. Now must come the litany…

“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.” Thus Psalm 8 both begins and ends, with a sudden burst of praise. Our job here in Psalm 8 is simply to praise. Not to analyze or debate, but to marvel and adore. God’s majesty, God’s beauty, everything that makes God wonderful – our whole world is saturated in it. We couldn’t escape if we wanted to. And we don’t want to. God is to be enjoyed,…

Throughout 2 Corinthians, Paul has repeatedly challenged us to say yes to the weakness and foolishness of the cross, to embrace everything that makes us an unremarkable clay jar. But as Paul begins to wrap up his letter, he ups the ante. Now our challenge is not only to embrace our weaknesses and limitations, but to actively brag about them! Can you imagine bragging about your flaws and limitations in a job interview or first date? Paul can. Three times…