Transformation (Scripture Notes: Psalm 30)

“Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” 

-Psalm 30:4-5 (NLT)

I find it refreshing to know that, while God has a time for everything, He gives little of it to anger and weeping. Rather, He dwells on the good: favor and joy. Favor for a lifetime and joy in the morning.

Notice that He doesn't promise to shelter us from His anger or from the weeping that this world brings, but He does bring favor and joy that far outlast the time spent in anger or weeping. And not only that, but He transforms us by the bad into something good. His anger becomes the action that leads to Him disciplining us because He loves us. Our weeping and mourning become joyful dancing.

Why does He do this?

So that, out of our great thankfulness, we will finally see a bigger piece of His great love for us.

vs. 11-12
“You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!”

Scripture Notes: Psalm 34 (Benefit of the Broken Heart)

“The Lord hears His people when they call to Him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” -Psalm 34:17-18 (NLT)

There have been times of deep brokenness in my life that have led me to seek Scripture for a taste of hope. Psalm 34 gives lots of hope for a hurting person. I ran across this chapter in my Bible and saw a note from a few years ago I had written in the margin…

I have been rescued and restored so many times. I am a testimony to the Lord’s constant presence. So is the heartache a bad thing, really? Would I have known the Lord with this depth without a broken heart?

The broken heart is worth it for that depth.

That old phrase “whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger” rings true here in the context of God’s response to the calamity. If He has called us to a challenge, He either has already equipped us or will equip us soon to get through that challenge. From my own experience, every time we face these broken places in our lives by clinging to God and finding shelter in His presence, we know Him deeper.

Consider this: how well do you know a person’s clothing?  You see them from far off and they have on a blue shirt, but the closer you get, you see the blue shirt is actually a white shirt with blue pinstripes. Upon closer inspection, you see that the pinstripes aren't even solid lines, but rather, broken stitches in a line.

This is how it is with God.

We see Him better when we get closer to Him. And sometimes, getting closer only happens when we are clinging desperately to Him for help, guidance, or strength in our broken state.

The broken heart is worth it for that.

From my friends at Second Chance Upscale Resale

Scripture Notes: Mark 12 (Equal Sacrifice)

“Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

Looking south on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
These gates are the gates which people would have come and left through
when they visited the iconic city of Jerusalem to bring their
offering to the Temple.
Photo taken May 2012

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.’” -Mark 12:41-44 (NLT)


Many people get frustrated with the topic of “giving” in the church.  Understandably, to a degree, as it has been manipulated at times.  Even so, something that has been manipulated is not necessarily a wrong thing.

As human beings, we delight in a sense of security — having something to do, something to hold, something to call our own.  But is this Biblical?  I know of no Scripture telling us that it is wrong to have security.  However, if our security lies in anything but the sacrifice of Jesus, we have no real security at all!  Think about it — land and homes can be destroyed, friends and family have a free will that allows them to disrespect and disown us, currency burns and melts, and retirement funds can vaporize with a computer crashing or data erasing.  In a breath, everything we “own,” everything we “have,” can disappear.

Except for the gift of salvation.

• Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross provided the home for us that will never be destroyed.
• Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross provided a family for us that will never fall apart, that stretches throughout the earth and intertwines with generations past and to come.
• Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross provided us with access to the hand of God, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and so much more.
• Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross provided an investment for us that out-spans retirement funds, trust funds, inheritance, estate, and income taxes.

Jesus provided it all for us.  Does it not make sense that we would take what little we have and invest in this plan?  The plan of salvation?  The way of the cross?

Yet, even with this justification, there is so much more to giving than just discussing material wealth.  As the widow understood, true wealth is seeded in the heart of sacrifice.  She gave what she had, though she had very little.  Jesus’ words about material wealth have so much less to do with letting go of material wealth than they have to do with having a heart of contented sacrifice.

A pastor I know coordinates hundreds of volunteers for a program that would be much less effective without their time serving.  His leadership plan includes this challenge: it’s not that you give equal time, but that you give equal sacrifice to the program.  One person may be able to give up more time a week than another, but there’s no comparison on our end.  Your sacrifice and your gift is a heart issue that is between you and God.

If you’re feeling pressured by the topic of giving, go to God.  Honestly ask Him for clarity in your own heart and mind regarding your perspective on sacrifice, and be willing to make changes in your attitude if necessary.

He has so much more to offer us, but we have to be continually willing to let go of things we hold onto so tightly so that He can replace them with even greater blessings.

Don’t be afraid of giving; instead, discover what you can give away so that you can keep receiving the abundance of what He has for you, starting with Jesus.

Scripture Notes: Mark 7 (Check Yourself)

“Jesus replied, ‘You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’  For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.’  Then He said, ‘You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition.’”  -Mark 7:6-9

I had a friend tell me once that her husband was cheating on her.

Then another friend.

Then another.

There was little I could do but pray, and pray I did.  My initial response was to be defensive for my friends, because I want to protect.  But my God-sensor told me to beware of being judgmental.  You don’t see what I see, He would whisper to my heart.

But God (I should've known not to start a prayer this way…), he is spouting Your name and Your principles off everywhere He goes!  How can someone who is doing something so blatantly against Your Word (cheating) proclaim Your Word (to be faithful)?

Of course, my defensive prayer was not surprising to God.

And His response?

You don’t see what I see.  You weren't there when I told the donkey to speak to Balaam (Numbers 22), or when I blinded Saul and renamed Him Paul for my glory.  You know that I don’t need a perfect person to work for me.  You know this, because you know you.  Despite your flaws (I've had many conversations with God about these), you make yourself available and I use you. 

If I can insert a hash tag, #epiccomplaintfail

Okay, okay, so I won’t judge.

Judging the person makes me just as guilty as them at that point because of what Jesus said in these very verses: I will find a loophole in God’s law to justify my own perspective for my own benefit or “to hold on to my own tradition”!

My responsibility lies in the same place as it had before my conversation with God: pray for them.  My job is to be Judge, not yours, He says.  Your job is to be in love with Me.  I’ll lead you down the right paths. Besides, this case is too big for you to handle.  Don’t worry, I've got it.

When we finally choose to worship God with our actions and not just our words, we will find tremendous freedom from the need to judge and justify.  And when we choose to check our actions against what the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) should be producing, we will probably find the root issue of our surrounding problems.  As Jesus later said, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you.” (vs. 20)

Let’s fill our hearts and minds with the good fruit and uproot the bad that tries to defile us.  Let’s get back to the basics of Christ’s immense love for us and the sacrifice He made before we jump to the justification of our defenses.

Let’s practice a little more grace today.

Scripture Notes: Matthew 28 (Loyalty)

“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” -Matthew 28:20b

Matthew records one of the last things he remembers Jesus saying as, “I am with you always.” It obviously meant a lot to him.

Matthew was a tax collector-turned-disciple. His whole career up to this point was riddled with trickery and deceit. Manipulation was the game. He would spend his time swindling people out of money to get a commission the government wouldn’t give him.

Up until Jesus called him, Matthew didn’t really know loyalty at all.

Walking with Jesus, following him quite literally, listening to His every word — these things gave Matthew the proof he needed in his spirit of Jesus’ loyalty. So, when Jesus said, “I am with you always,” Matthew knew it was no joke. Jesus wasn’t just saying something to get Matthew to do something. There was no manipulation involved here.

A light went on in Matthew’s mind. His heart finally understood all the prophecies of old: Jesus is the Savior. When He said He would be with him, Jesus had proven that He would. Whether He showed up physically or simply set up residence in his heart, Matthew had the most loyal friend he would ever find.

And he knew it.

When we choose to receive God’s gift of Salvation, the sacrifice of Jesus Himself, we choose loyalty to be on our side. Never again will we be able to say “I am alone” because Jesus promises to be with us. In Jesus, Matthew found genuine loyalty.

We can, too.