Somewhere or Nowhere? (Psalm 119)

I'm feeling terrible--I couldn't feel worse! Get me on my feet again. You promised, remember?
My sad life's dilapidated, a falling-down barn; build me up again by your Word.
Barricade the road that goes Nowhere; . . .I choose the true road to Somewhere. (Psalm 119:25,28-30, MSG)

My apologies for yesterday's post. I couldn't get back to the post I had started. Lesson learned; I won't close this one until I finish it.

These verses from Psalm 119 (the Psalm is so long that it's divided in the read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year schedule!)sounded exactly like how I've been feeling most of this past week. I felt terrible. My leg was giving me nonstop pain, and it escalated quickly into cramps and piercing, scream-at-the-top-of-my-lungs pain. On top of that, my stomach hurt to the point where I wondered if I was developing another bowel obstruction. And other more personal things, plus a few pimples in strange places (my big toe?!)

A falling-down barn? That describes my health this past week.

And the road that goes nowhere describes how I felt on my birthday three weeks ago. Marooned in a nursing home, limited to what I can on a computer, my road had dead-ended and world felt very limited.

But a friend challenged me to a new ministry. I'll share it here. And I'd be happy to hear your thoughts.

This friend said I should have a blog/website from the point of view of a nursing home resident. Both to encourage other residents, but also to raise awareness, understanding, compassion among outsiders. Perhaps to write a serial novel set in a nursing home.

But anything I've attempted to do in nonfiction struggles along--even this blog. I am uniquely gifted to have a blog like that, but . . . will anyone want to read it?

In any case, I choose the true road that leaves to Somewhere. Somewhere in God's will is better than anywhere else.

Today's favorite verse: You are good, and the source of good; train me in your goodness. (Psalm 119:68, MSG)

PRECIOUS MEMORIES (Psalm 113)

Just to remember God is a blessing--now and tomorrow and always. (Psalm 113:2, MSG)

Mea culpa. I just looked up the definition: An admission of guilt. A formal apology. Both of that, as well as a guilty plea.

My cry for most of the last two weeks, when I have neglected my daily nibbles. Thankful Roberta was faithful with her nibble on Monday. :)

Why? Last week I was writing a week of devotions for a magazine and I found I couldn't do both. Some of them were tough, and I am trusting God that He has shown me His word for the readers, even when I feel inadequate.

This week I have felt poorly every day until today. So . . . I haven't worked on my next book or on my nibbles. I have done little except cry, scream, or exercize my pain-sharded legs while counting the minutes until my next pain pill. It was bad enough that they took me to the hospital to x-ray the legs. No results yet, though.

So forgive me for my absence. Don't feel sorry for me, but when I'm absent, it's often the reason. So your prayers are appreciated.

As other times, I have let the Nibbles go for similar reasons, I have suffered the same result. My mind wanders. I'm not focused. I am not revitalized in my spirit, the way I am when I write these bits each day. In letting the urgent reign over the important, I only harm myself and end up not accomplishing either.

The devotionals I wrote last week: they were work. They had to fit a specific length and have a certain tone. I am glad I did them--but they aren't the joy I get from writing these.

This verse is a wonderful one for me to dive back in. I should print it out and tape it at the top of my computer. Because thinking about God, His Word, talking about Him with people--all of that will bless me more than I can ever give back to God.

It is an eternal truth, good yesterday, today and tomorrow. Remembering God's actions in the past give me strength in the present and hope for the future.

Always? It will always be true. Even in heaven, when we can't help but being aware of God's presence, remembering God will be a blessing.

In some ways, the perfection heaven promises to be almost sounds--dare I say it?--boring. But this verse promises that it will be a blessing. As C.S. Lewis said in The Last Battle, "Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before." I don't know what it will look like, but I believe I will find ultimate fulfillment of whom God created me to be in that future.

Coming back to the present, remembering God also gives me the self-image and confidence I need to move forward. Who'd a think it.

Not for our sake, God, no, not for our sake, but for your name's sake, show your glory.
Do it on account of your merciful love, do it on account of your faithful ways.
Do it so none of the nations can say, "Where now, oh where is their Gd?" (Psalm 115:1-2)

Bless or Praise? (Psalm 103)

On which side of the bless/praise divide do you find yourself? 

If you’ve been in the Bible for decades, you probably first encountered Psalm 103:1 in King James, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” And if you’ve been in the church for decades, you might hear voices in your head singing one of the many musical settings of these words. Maybe you start singing one or more of them yourself. I do.

I was shocked when I first saw the New International Version’s rendering, “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.” It still surprises and/or annoys me each time. I love this Psalm, but I want it to say “bless.” Like I remember it.

So I decided to do some concordance work and track down the Hebrew words behind bless and praise and see how they differ. Armed with a magnifying glass, I attacked Strong’s Exhaustive and Young’s Analytical.

Several different Hebrew words translate into praise in Psalms. There’s halal, from which we get Hallelujah. Halal can mean to praise, cheer, extol, or thank, but depending on its Hebrew case, can also mean to act like a fool or be arrogant. How strange is that?

Then there’s yada, which means to speak of the excellence of someone or something. 

Another word is saba, to glorify, commend, or extol, but also to keep still. I like that.

There are even more Hebrew words for praise, but none appears in Psalm 103. In this psalm, it’s barak all the way. (Yes, our president’s name means bless.)

Barak has the same root as knee and kneel. James Strong (who put his concordance together many years ago with human assistants and no computers) writes, “This can mean to speak words invoking divine favor (bless) or speak of the excellence of someone (praise).”

So is there any difference between bless and praise? Did David the poet detect some Hebrew language nuance I can’t? Was he going for the sound as poets sometimes do?

In English, I sense a slight difference in connotation. (Maybe it’s my imagination.) Praise recognizes the worth of God and states it. Bless feels like actually giving something to God. When I say I’ve received a blessing, I mean something good, whether tangible (dark chocolate) or intangible (understanding from a friend). So I think to bless God carries the idea of giving him something that makes him happy.

My friend Karen has a bumper sticker on her car:  America, bless God. That approaches what I’m thinking. Instead of always asking God to bless me, I need to bless him.

Verse 4 says, “…and forget not all his benefits.” I was so hoping the Hebrew for benefits would be blessings, but it’s not. (It’s gemul, deeds.) The psalm goes on to list many benefits of belonging to God. Whether your favorite Bible says bless or praise, you’re going to want to when you read all he has done and continues to do for you.

Psalm 103 is comfort food for the soul. Enjoy it often.

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