Illuminate Community Church

10/18/2020 - Getting Right With God - Psalm 130

Psalm 130 is a hidden little gem. I have several commentaries on the Psalms and none of them devote more than a couple of pages to it, but then I was introduced to John Owen's work. The Puritan and vice-chancellor of Oxford wrote a 400 page commentary on these 8 verses! 400 pages and still more can be said. It takes you from the depths to the heights. It is in many ways the gospel found in the Old Testament.  It asks the question: How can I get right with God? And it gives the answer: Forgiveness comes through grace and not human merit. It is simple in that it contains only 8 verses, but its depth is profound. It begins with an intense cry for help from a dark place...

"Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!"

The fiery British Preacher Charles Spurgeon said this: “It matters little where we are if we can pray; but prayer is never more real and acceptable than when it rises out of the worst places. Deep places beget deep devotion. Everyone prays; but very few ‘cry.’ But of those who do ‘cry to God,’ the majority would say, ‘I owe it to the depths. I learned it there.’” It’s true. God uses dark moments to help us see the brightness of his light. The Psalmist has sinned, found himself lost and in need of God's mercy.

How do you see yourself?

The entire condition of the world is represented in Jesus' story about a Pharisee and a tax collector. (Luke 18:9-18) One man says, “I know who I am. I’m not evil. I’m a good person. I only need to compare myself to others and see that God is more pleased with me.” The other simply says, “God, I need your mercy.”  "Which man had a right relationship with God?" asks Jesus.

C. S. Lewis: “When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less.” Low thoughts of God accompany low thoughts of sin. Because God cares about people he cares about sin. He cared so much that he sent his son to die for them. The cross was God’s judgment of your sins placed on Jesus so that mercy would be made available. The Psalmist simply says, “What other plea can I make? I’m guilty.” God meets this confession with mercy.

10/11/2020 - Thy Word - Psalm 119

Throughout history philosophers have asked many questions. You've asked them too. What is the meaning of life? Where did I come from? What happens when I die? Is there life after death? How do I get to heaven? Why does evil exist? Why do I struggle to do good? In addition to these "big" questions, the Bible gives much practical advice in areas such as: What do I look for in a mate? How can I have a healthy marriage? How can I be a good friend? How can I be a good parent? What is success and how do I achieve it? How can I change? What really matters in life? How can I live so that I do not look back with regret? What do I do with my guilt? How can I overcome the unfair circumstances and bad events of life? To each of these questions there is in answer found in the Bible. Why? Because it is God's word to mankind; helping us know how to live life. However, it's not just understanding that God's word brings. Consider this...

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! 
Psalm 119:1

There it is again...that word blessed. Literally, it means, happy. The Word of God brings happiness into your life because it brings freedom. You can be free from the culture as it pressures you into its shape like plastic molding. How about spending at least 15 minutes a day in the Word? You can do it. It's a matter of priority really. Spend the time in God's book and experience understanding, happiness, and freedom. You will not be disappointed!

10/4/2020 - A Prayer For The King - Psalm 72

Like many Psalms, number 72 is a prayer. It has a specific person in view - the king. It describes the kind of king that rules well by bringing the kingdom of God to earth.

Nothing is quicker to divide than politics. Christians do not fit perfectly into a two-party system. Every four years many long-term relationships are tested. Sometimes to the breaking point. These relationships are not at a distance. Oftentimes they are under our own roof. What is the Christian's obligation? (A noun describing an act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or commitment.) 

Does the Bible speak to such things? Yes, to say otherwise is to infer that the Bible does not apply to ALL of life. So what does it say? It says Jesus is our example. He was full of grace and truth. Contrary to what many believe, truth by nature is divisive. It's far more important to rally around truth than be divided by error. So Christians must speak truth and at the same time demonstrate love. Grace is what makes truth acceptable. Grace gives our gospel-centered voices an audience.

9/27/2020 - Shelter Me - Psalm 91

The words of Psalm 91 are some of the most beautiful words in the Bible. 

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:1-2

They have been the source of comfort for God's people for more than 2000 years. They describe God's protection in detail. We see some of the verses quoted in the New Testament...by Satan. What?? Yes, at the temptation of Jesus, Satan reads from the Bible. Observe for yourself my friend.

And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’

“‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Luke 4:10-11 (Satan quoting Psalm 91:11-12)

Why would Satan quote from Psalm 91? Because he's tempting Jesus with a pain free life and if Jesus pursued a pain free life then he would not have died on the cross for our sins. If we believe that our lives will be made safe by coming to Christ then we will be let down when tragedy enters. We will question the goodness of God. We will say, "I thought it was supposed to be different!" Remember, God uses all things to work together for the good (Romans 8:28). Not all things are good but God uses all things together for the good. There are many stories of deliverance in the Bible and yet in the end, every hero dies. The Psalmist tells us that there will be an ultimate deliverance for the one who takes shelter in God.

What or where is your current hiding place and what would it look like for you to dwell in God’s shelter?

9/20/2020 - Homesick For Heaven - Psalm 90

"Where did the time go?" When I was young I thought a lot about the future, but as I get older I think a lot about the past. Jill and I often say to each other, "Remember when..." Psalm 90 tells us that our lives are ever so brief and it also tells us why. It is the result of God’s just judgment on us. Moses reminds us that we do in fact incur the anger of a just God. But we have the good work of Jesus as our advocate. Additionally we are reminded that life is full of toil and trouble. Should these things not make us long for heaven?

In light of these realities we are instructed, somewhat paradoxically, both to “number our days” and “be glad all our days.” How is this possible? Ultimately Psalm 90 points us to the God who out of his “steadfast love” has done something for his people that reverses the judgment and enables us to live with an abiding, in fact an eternal, joy.

Moses concludes the Psalm with this request: "establish the work of our hands." He's asking God to help us as we partner with him in that which has eternal consequence. There are no meaningless tasks for the Christian. Every act of kindness, every moment of care, every blessing given away is the preparation for what awaits us!

9/13/2020 - Seeing The Eternal - Psalm 73

Psalm 73 contains the heartfelt and raw emotion of a Godly person who has carefully observed life. It comes from a man named Asaph and he's tormented because the world is influencing him. He is jealous of what other people have. What's worse is that these people don't walk with God and yet they seem so blessed. They're healthy and wealthy, and they don't seem to be struggling with the same problems that God's people do. So he's thinking out loud...

"Is it worth it to walk with God?"

He's questioning. Can't we all relate to this? I know I've been there. He continues his observation until it comes full circle. It may look like these other people who despise God have it all, but they don't. They really have nothing, and what they seem to have won't last. By worldly standards Asaph doesn't have a lot but he realizes he's the one with everything because he has God. He can confidently say, "Nothing in this life is as good as that taste of belonging to the Lord."

There was a change in his heart because there was a change in his head as he looked at God. He moved his focus off of them and onto Him. If we get our eyes off ourselves, our problems, our wants and lacks, and off of what everyone else seems to have, we realize how blessed we really are just for having Him.

The Psalm ends with a view toward eternity and that makes all the difference.

"For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works." vs. 27-28

9/6/2020 - The Best Kind of Broken - Psalm 51

When we hear the word "broken" we don't immediately think of something positive. The word implies that something is not right, needs fixed or is not working. When applied to our hearts it refers to the deepest kind of pain - brokenhearted. Our painful emotions are stirred for reasons that at times seem to have no clear meaning. Have you ever thought that God could be the reason for this? What if our brokenness is meant to bring about change? Is it possible that brokenness could actually be a gift?

I believe so.

David was a broken man more than once yet he became a better leader, a stronger man, and more passionate for God. The secret is repentance. Most of us think we know how to repent so we don't need to learn anything. You know how it goes. We say a quick prayer asking for forgiveness and try to do better. 

Repeat. 

But let me ask you - does your repentance lead you to sing songs of joy? It did for David. So maybe there's something we're missing. Join us this Sunday to discover the best kind of broken from David's example in Psalm 51.

8/30/2020 - Out of Depression - Psalm 42

Spiritual dryness is a common problem in the church today. Over the last five months many Christians have experienced a disconnect from God. For many this disconnect has not come as a result of personal sin but instead the circumstances of pandemic, social unrest, and politics have formed the perfect storm. 

"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?" Psalm 42:5a

The psalmist is right there with you. He's honest with his feelings as he talks to himself. Yes, he's talking to himself. You see there's a big difference between listening to yourself and talking to yourself. If we listen to our hearts in times of discouragement we will always be anxious. So instead we talk to our hearts. To put it another way - we preach to ourselves. There is no better voice to end the pity party than your own. Spiritual dryness is overcome by telling your heart what is true. Notice what immediately follows the question - why?

"Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." Psalm 42:5b

The focus is now on God's grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, acceptance...and the glorious future that awaits. It's as if the Psalmist says, "My soul is cast down therefore I will remember my God." Additionally he recalls a time when his soul was alive.

"These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival." Psalm 42:4

He's remembering a time when he was celebrating and worshiping with God's people. But no more. He's in a distant land far from the Temple. He misses the community because it gave him life. Can you relate? Individual study, individual prayer and individual worship cannot replace the corporate gathering where the church (meaning "assembly") gathers. The family of God is what waters our dry souls.

8/23/2020 - Failure Is Not The End - Psalm 34:1-10

We all experience failure in one way or another. When put in a spiritual context, it can be very debilitating. But the Bible is clear, failure is not the end, it is the thing that reveals our deep need for God's rescue.

Recently I read this from a young person in the church.

"I am a terrible Christian.

I sin on a daily basis in many more ways than I even realize, failing often. I don’t always give to the homeless when they ask and I have money. As a teacher in a poor inner-city environment, I’ll make dark jokes about the school system that I probably shouldn’t. I gossip about the latest person that offended me or angered me, or whose ideas I don’t deem “woke” enough, all the time.

I curse all the time without even thinking about it. I don’t listen enough. I care too much about money and reputation. I’ve been losing it more and more in my impatience with people who I think are wrong about the world and wrong about my family. I don’t pray nearly as much as I should.

And I say I do all these things in acceptance that I am a terrible person, a Christian that is by no means holy, someone who constantly falls short of the standard of Jesus Christ. In so many things I do, I put success, money, approval, and accomplishments over God.

The truth is I’m a hypocrite, and I fall short so often, and the labor that comes with falling short and failing is much more of an emotional toll than being successful.

But it is the story of Peter that gives us a lesson on how to proceed as Christians, even when we fail to be saints. Peter told Jesus at one point “though [everyone else will] fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Peter thought he was the perfect disciple. Peter thought he could never fail as a follower.

And then he did, when he denied Jesus three times in the Garden of Gethsemane when he failed to ever to acknowledge he knew Jesus at all to save his own behind. If the story ended there, Peter would have won the award for least valuable player in the Bible.

But the story didn’t end there."

This young man is correct. Jesus restored Peter and established him as a pillar of the church. It's not just the story of Peter but of many others including Israel's greatest leader - David. Psalm 34 is the confession of David's embarrassing failure. The worst kind. However, it is turned into triumph when it is given to God. In the end we learn that our failures reveal our need for God's help.

8/16/2020 - The Solution To Your Problems - Psalm 32

I have a confession. I like to watch those shows about missing persons, unsolved murders and crime stuff in general. Not sure why this is but I think it has something to do with the satisfaction of having a mystery solved. So I've seen plenty of courtroom appearances by those who are on trial for their lives. I've tried to imagine what's going through the mind of someone who has just been declared guilty and then given a death sentence. And here's where the story takes a plot twist...that person is me...and it's also you. Our sin causes a lot more than physical deterioration and mental anguish. It creates spiritual death as we are separated from God. Psalm 32 outlines this problematic episode in our lives but it also gives a surprise ending.

Our courtroom appearance has us declared guilty and what follows is the final sentence. But then another turn...we are set free. We walk out because Jesus walks in and the judge has declared that our death sentence has been fulfilled by another. How can this be? 1 John 1:9 explains.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Notice that God is faithful and he is JUST and this is the basis for our forgiveness. A just God cannot try us twice when the crime's punishment has already been fulfilled. This is too good to be true. But it is. It is grace. It is mercy. So let's live in this truth and be people of grace and mercy to those around us.