I’m changing from the poetic books to certain passages pertaining to this holy week.
I love the drama that happens as Jesus comes into Jerusalem. You know the disciples are nervous. I’m sure they are face daily surprises by Jesus as they enter the final phase.
12Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13"It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,'[e] but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'[f]"
14The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant.
16"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him.
"Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read,
" 'From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise'[g]?"
17And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.
What a great day he had in Jerusalem, can you imagine his Twitter.
Went to Jerusalem, drove out the thieves from the temple, healed the sick, loved the children singing to me, got the leaders of Jerusalem po’d and went back to our hotel at Mary and Martha’s in Bethany.
That is how we read the bible sometimes and we miss the amazing color, smells, emotions and the “moment”.
The “moment” when he first launched forward toward the money changers and turned tables over, coins going everywhere. Do I ever get that “moment”, that righteous indignation?
The “moment” when the first sick guy came over and he was healed, his face, his voice, his smile, the tears. When was the last time you cried for what Jesus did for you? Do you miss that “moment”?
The “moment” the children began singing, “Hosanna”. Pure praise from little children to the God of the Universe in the flesh, right in front of you . . . its Jesus the Messiah. Their praise was precious, genuine, from the heart and totally deserved.What stops me from this kind of “moment” with God?
Lord, I want more “moments” like these.Create in my life a movement that always gravitates to you, to thank you, to praise you sincerely, to smile at you and to cry with you. One more “moment” Lord, one more “moment”.
Tonight, Miles Hildebrandt was born to Colleen and Ryan. I salute you Miles and I praise you Lord for this miracle.
By your birth Miles, you are praising Jesus saying, "Hosanna, Hosanna to the Highest!".
Day 37 I’m close to the end of my 40 day journey. What did I learn? What difference has this made? More on that later. Reading for the day: Ecclesiastes 4 Qoheleth is not a happy guy, he says that a dead man is happier than a person that is alive but even better not to be born. Why? The evil of this world is horrible. I am not sure what evil he saw but it included the oppressing of people. 1 Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed— and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors— and they have no comforter. I have seen a lot but maybe not as much as Q. I saw the people of Cuba, oppressed for decades without. They had lost a lot of dignity, pride and desire to improve. The communist had stripped them of their privacy, freedom of speech and religion. I was so angry that my friends could not even talk in privacy, had to always watch their back and didn’t have enough food to eat, it was blatant oppression. I have seen the oppression of poverty, ignorance and disease in countries like Botswana, Kenya and central America. The dump in Guatemala was horrible, children eating out of it. Some villages in Africa that have over 50% HIV, children orphaned by diseases and having to care for the younger ones, prisons in these same places - you won't believe it. And yet we complain in America that we that 30 million will now get healthcare, that an oppressed family who is here illegally is getting educated and given a chance to life. We get so worked up about these political issues without regard to the care for the oppressed. We rather the rich get richer than the poor get a hand. We get self-righteous in our political stance and follow the media leaders’ views because “We are American”. Jesus is not American and Capitalism is not the biblical way. I have to seek hard to find a few Evangelicals that care more about the undocumented workers than they care about the “law”. The Kingdom of God is much more powerful, its one where compassion, justice and righteousness rule. Stop pushing a political party or view . . . push God’s Kingdom, His Kingdom will rid of all oppression, injustice and evil. Lord, may your Kingdom come quickly!
Another picture of futility is the ambitious person that is constantly trying to work hard at bettering him circumstance from his neighbor. Competition is meaningless. Its much better to have a friend and help each other out. Our culture's value of independence is extreme, we lose community and yet we get more stuff. We live our lives full of stuff and empty in meaning.
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken”
Lord, may I learn what it means to collaborate. May I stop all competition and seek to better my neighbor.
Day 36 There is a Time for Everything Reading: Ecclesiastes 3 In the end of Chapter 2 Qoheleth says this, 24 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 26 To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. Life is about pleasing God. And though the Beatles seem to have stolen chapter 3, man does have purpose in fulfilling God’s plan. 1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, Life has cycles and without God, it would seem meaningless. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him. Here is the message from what seems to be a pessimistic book, God put eternity in our hearts but we live in temporal place. That creates tension. That gives us a sense that both should be at work. We try to make temporal things have eternal meaning . . . and they don’t . Our work, accomplilshment, stuff are all going to burn. The only things that lasts are humans. Humans have eternity in them, everything else doesn’t. Therefore, be happy with your work here but focus on God and people. Lord, help remove the discontent from my heart. Whatever you bring to me, will enjoy. Whatever you place I find myself, I will praise you. You are God – I am not! My ambition and attempts to make life work without you always fail and are meaningless. I am your servant, teach me and speak to me now.
Qoheleth, the writer continues his cynical view of life, he tried everything. Since he was a king, he could do whatever he wanted.
I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?" His first attempt was most basic human pursuit – pleasure. Can you imagine the power to do whatever you want? He then tried “laughter”, I guess he had all kinds of Jesters come and make him laugh, bet he wished he had Comedy Central.
3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
He then tried the party life to find out what was there . . .and I found out the same – nothing.
Okay, this guy had the dream life, read this . . .
4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem [a] as well—the delights of the heart of man. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
If Solomon wrote this, he was the wealthiest man alive and in history, we read in other texts that he had a harem of over 3,000 women.
I love what he wrote, “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor. 11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
So we should learn from Solomon, he had it all. What more can we get that he didn’t have?
Why are we trying to get more pleasure? More stuff? More position? Its all meaningless. Stop trying, you are on a treadmill that won’t end.
Life is about people, God and eternity. Life is about meaningful relationships.
Why not stop, play with your kids, spend time with a family member, take time to “smell the roses”. Enjoy the gifts of God and your place in life, that is the key.
God, move me to be content, move me to know that meaning is about you and others . . .NOT about me!
Ecclesiastes was written by Qoheleth Hebrew, (Ecclesiastic), or “preacher” to an assembly of wise men of Israel. Most believe it was Solomon who wrote it though Luther led the view that it was someone else.
The message of the book can seem depressing until you get to the end, so hold on. This is man’s view without a hold on eternity.
1:2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."
That is the first theme of the book. When you look at life like this it has such aimless cycles.
3 What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
Does your job really matter? Does your life? What is the purpose of all that you do anyways? Are you really making a difference?
8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
I love this last line, “nothing new under the sun.” Spoken like a true cynic, Solomon (or whoever) is at the end of his life, has seen it all.
Wait, he never saw an IPHONE? Does it really matter. Does an I phone really improve our lives that much? No. Its really cool though. My Android can scan any bar code and tell me where to get that item, for how much and I can actually order online right there. So amazing. But who cares? Does that speed, knowledge and efficiency really give me so much more time? Meaning? Remember that futurists in the 1950s were predicting that the new technologies would save us so much time that we would have tons of time in our lives. The washer, dishwasher, vacuum, microwave, etc . . .hmmm – nope.
One of the greatest and repeated errors of our modern culture is the belief that technology brings meaning to life. Like a new toy, it loses its excitement after a while, everything does.
This chapter is humbling to man.
11 There is no remembrance of men of old,and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered by those who follow.
Dang it! After all the work I have done? Yea, our life is but a vapor. We can try all we want to make a name for ourselves, to leave a mark in history, but its all meaningless.
What about wisdom? Look at what he says:
16 I thought to myself, "Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge." 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.
Meaning in life is not about getting things. No car, relationship, job, vacation, trip etc . . .can bring you meaning alone. Meaning in life doesn’t come from man, the world or ourselves. Meaning in life only comes from eternity, what lasts. That is what brings true meaning, true satisfaction. We will discuss this in chapter 12 but I can’t leave you depressed, meaning comes from serving God and doing good.
Lord, bring me to a place of understanding of life. I don't want to chase after the wind, I wand your Spirit (wind) in me. Show me how I can have meaning and bring a smile to your face.
I am the most blessed man to be married to a wonderful noble woman with great character but someone God seemed to add great beauty and charm too. I won the lottery in life with Jen. I can’t explain the blessing it is in my everyday life to have a great wife.
Proverbs 31 is a great way to close my study in proverbs. Stand up for the needy and find a good wife 31:33 do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings. 4 "It is not for kings, O Lemuel— not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, 5 lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. 8 "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. 9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." God is very concerned for justice, therefore the young King is exhorted to lay off the alcohol, party and wild lifestyle. Why? So that he won’t forget the forgotten . . the poor. It was critical for the theocracy (God government) to be alert and watch out for the poor. Oh that our government, churches and institutions had that kind of interest in the poor. Is it okay me to give money to the homeless guy? What if he buys alcohol with it? 6 Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; 7 let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. These verses don’t answer the question directly but it is interesting that medicinal alcohol has been used forever. The Bachelorette Have you watched the show? So much to comment but its always interesting and dramatic. The guy chooses one of many beautiful woman to marry in a TV show after weeks of spending time with them one on one. These guys need to read proverbs 31, they make so many mistakes. Its not hard to find a cute girl, to be enthralled by charm, beauty and sex. But a good wife, someone that can bless you for the rest of your life? Much harder. ALL THE SINGLE LADIES LISTEN UP! Well, maybe all the young men should be the ones listening too. 10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. 11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. A good wife has great character and is very difficult to find. The problem is that character is tested in time, can’t happen in a few dates. It takes great skill in studying and discerning whether a person has great character, in addition most get charmed and can’t are therefore blinded to the true inside. How do you discern then? You must look for and find these characteristics: Noble Character and Trust-worthy, Faithful That will bring a lot of blessings because: She is a skillful entrepreneur She is a hard-worker, (rises early to provide you tortillas and eggs, its in the Hebrew language) She is a caretaker, cares for all not just herself She cares about the poor and feeds them too She prepares ahead and plans for the future She is resourceful and can make a lot of a little She can laugh at life and doesn’t take herself too seriously! 25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. 26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." 30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Don’t be deceived young man by looks, bodies and sweet talk. If you want to be happy the rest of your life, you must find a woman with noble character. “But shouldn’t I also be attracted to her”, a guy always asks. Of course you want attraction but attraction can be gained later if not as strong at the beginning. Romance is a choice. . . cupid is stupid if that is all there is. I would not put attraction as optional category but I wouldn’t put it in the top three things I need in a person. I have met so many single cute ladies with great character waiting for a guy to ask them out while good guys keep going after charm and beauty alone. . . they seem scared of really good girls. Stop looking with your eyes young men, look at the heart first! Thank you Lord that you answered my prayers, protected my future and set me on a wonderful life through a great wife! All the noble ladies stand up!
Day 32 of My Spiritual Journey through Lent Proverbs 30 Its been a great walk through Psalms and now to finish proverbs. I pray Lord that you will give me this morning the wisdom I need and want. Lord help me find you in your Word, walk with me and draw me to yourself. Grow a hunger and thirst for you and your word in me. 7 "Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: 8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. 9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD ?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
These are hard economic times, so many are struggling to make it. The days of luxury are over for most of us. This is the tightest financially that we have been in a very long time Lord. Thank you for providing what we need and even many wants. To buy without a second thought of budget is unwise. Lord thank you for giving us neither poverty nor riches. May our times of plenty never lure me into thinking that I don’t need you daily. May our times of poverty never trick me to steal or cheat. I don’t need the lottery, I don’t need the government, I need you Jesus. You are Jehovah Jireh, we will trust in you. What does Paul mean in the NT when he speaks of “Being content”? Philippians 4:12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. Discontentment is a way of life when we seek security, pleasure and comfort. There are four things, yea five that are never satisfied in America: The lust for more things (or better things), the lust for love and sex, the planning of people for security, search for a fit and beautiful body, and the never-ending search for entertainment and adventure.
May America’s hunger for righteousness, justice, love of others, care for the poor and thirst for Jesus explode. May the economic problems brings us back to repentance, humility and to simple lifestyles.
Change us oh Lord, change me! I thank you for providing so much, for being so gracious and merciful.
Day 31 of my Spiritual Journey through LENT Readings Psalm 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 The last day of Psalms gives me a smile in my face for I know that they have led me to Him, every day they lifted up my soul. Psalm 30 reminds me of a trial that I went through in college, it was the worst trial to date. It was Tim Hansel’s book, “Mourning into Dancing” which seem to have been reprinted with this title, “You Gotta Keep Dancing”, one of the best books on grief and pain that I have ever read. It gave me so much wisdom as a young man, along with my daily readings of Psalms and proverbs. 30:5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. 11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever. I rest in the fact that no trial can keep you down forever, God has the last word. There are so many benefits to pain and most of us just want to get relief during it, we want to escape the pain. But pain has its purpose, its work and its fruit. One of the things about pain is that it can become a friend, a reminder and a leader to grace. But why so long, I’m ready to move on . . . Tim Hansel’s quote is “Crucifixion is a slow death”. But that was Friday, Sunday is coming. Sunday is a day of resurrection, a day of new life. Easter is only two weeks away. Hold on, Sunday is coming. It was the Spring of 1989 when I suffered this trial, a broken engagement three months before the wedding. I was devastated! And I had gone through a lot of pain leading up to Easter but that morning, everything changed. Until then I was holding on to the Lord for dear life, emotionally broken but HE turned my mourning into dancing. He can do the same for you. Hold on for now, you will see a new thing He is doing!
Ironic. Look at Psalm 60, its introduction is this, For the director of music. To the tune of "The Lily of the Covenant." A miktam of David. For teaching. When he fought Aram Naharaim and Aram Zobah, and when Joab returned and struck down twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. David instructs the director of music to sing this to the tune of “Lily of the Covenant” after striking down 12,000 Edomites. Somehow I don’t think David saw the irony. I wish I knew the tune.
Psalm 90 is a prayer of Moses, it is the oldest of psalms dating back to about 4,000 BC. (That is right, this song is a true “Oldie”). 12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 13 Relent, O LORD! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants. 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. 16 May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. 17 May the favor [b] of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.
Moses is probably an old man by this point, he sounds like Solomon in Ecclesiastes. He brings us back to the thought that life is short and painful, enjoy your days by obeying God and enjoying each day. Learn to count your days because they are fleeting.
Lord, I am trying to take it all in, but I need your perspective. I need you to help me major on the majors. May I not forget to “smell the roses” today! Thank you for my life, my wife and my kids. You have truly poured blessings on me!
Day 30 Who cares about the poor? Proverbs 29 – I chose to separate this proverb from the psalm readings due to the length and great importance to psalm 119.
We want the righteous to prosper! Why? Lets read this great Proverb 29. 2 When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan. 7 The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern. 13 The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives sight to the eyes of both. 14 If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will always be secure.
Tim Keller from Redeemer Presbyterian in New York has a great teaching on this passage, I believe it is prophetic for the church today. The righteous person brings joy to all the people because they care about justice for the poor. It is great when you have someone ruling fairly for the poor because the Lord will bless the land since He cares so much for the poor. That is why a nation that has justice for the poor, will be strong. When we look at a passage we must define terms first in the biblical context. The terms we must define include the word “righteous”, “poor” and “justice”. The reason we must define them is that I believe that many in the contemporary church have defined them according to their own context not the biblical one. In the Old Testament “Righteous” describes the ones that care and act for God, the poor and forgotten. They are not “self-righteous” religious people. They are people that live in humility, generosity and justice. They will fight for the ones that can’t fight, they will protect the weak and they will tend to the hurts and needs of the poor. For Jesus, the good Samaritan would be considered righteous verses the religious leaders who passed on helping the beaten man would not. When the rich man came to Jesus and asked how can I be truly righteous, He answered “Sell all you have, give it to the poor and follow me.” So a “righteous” person was not one that has theological congruence to Hebrew religion alone but one that had life congruence to Hebrew religion also. It wasn’t an accent to a belief but a living of that belief in practical love to your neighbor. In contemporary theology, we describe “righteous” in terms of salvation and eternity. “by faith we obtain righteousness through Christ”. So we become “righteous” according to Romans and Ephesians “By grace and through faith”. Since its nothing we do to earn this righteousness, we just believe. There is a problem when we go and interpret OT passages by Pauline theology, we miss the point of the texts. Yes, salvation is by grace through faith alone in Christ alone. No argument there. There is a big BUT though. The big BUT is that today, we reinterpret those OT passages with a meaning of Roman “righteous”, therefore some would say, “When Christians rule, the people rejoice” or we say, “We are already righteous in Christ, I don’t need to earn in by helping the poor.” Some will say, “faith credited for righteousness is an Abraham concept”. I agree. But a righteous person in the OT acted out his faith by fighting for and giving to the poor. In addition, we wrongly reinterpret “poor” to mean, “poor in spirit”. So if we believe that if we only help the humble then we are acting in righteousness. We also reinterpret “justice” to mean it in a legal terms only without any daily practicality. The conclusion is that we end up spiritualizing these passages of the OT without putting them in the forefront of our Christian action. Our Christianity becomes limited to bible study, Sunday church and evangelism. Helping and acting for the poor is left to more “liberal” groups and government agencies. Unfortunately, many in Christianity believe that if they give to an agency that feeds the poor, that is all they have to do – their duty is complete. Most of our churches keep starting new programs for the church members and nothing for the poor. What about closing down most of our church programs except Sunday morning worship and give the rest of our week to help the poor? Will never happen.
This is some of what helping the poor could be for the church: 1. We must not just feed them but empower them to feed themselves. This requires relationship, commitment and a strategic plan. We should be about helping the poor by training them how to get a job, keep a job and succeed at a job. Job training and finding programs are necessary. 2. Financial literacy and debt consultation. Many of the poor go to “Payday Loan” type of places and pay from 20-40% interest on loans. ITS ROBBERY! We need training of the poor in investing, saving and setting up emergency funds. In addition, we should fight to close down every “Pay day Loan” that takes advantage of the poor. Write letters to our local and state government officials, protest these loan sharks from preying on the poor. How about starting "Financial Peace University" in West Dalals, East Dallas, South Dallas, South Carrollton, East Plano, South Ft. Worth, Irving, Grand Prarie, Farmer's Branch? 3. The poor can’t get loans from regular banks to start businesses. They are not supposed to “redline” the poor but they do. Though they have a desire to start their own businesses they can’t. Go to West Dallas, you can’t find banks there, you have to drive miles upon miles to find a bank. We must launch fair and sensible “micro-loan” non-profit organizations in our churches for the poor. We have so many bankers in our churches, get them together and brainstorm a strategy for the poor. 4. The poor can’t fight against abuses and neglect by their landlords, utility companies and government agencies. We need advocates to go for them. Can we get our social and legal experts in our churche to target one or two apartment complexes?
5. The education system is failing poor students and keeps the fat cats rich. We must fight for the school districts to get it right. DISD has a drop-out rate of 68% among Hispanic freshman. This is wrong! We must inspire parents and the teens to stay in school and be rewarded for it. (See what LINC NT is doing with schools in Carrollton and moving to DISD soon) Can our churches try to tutor and get involved in public schools?
6. Poor families are being destroyed by society vices and financial pressure. It’s a cycle that keeps hurting kids and families. We must fight for the family, train parents and reconcile relationships. We need our church families to teach these families how to live. 7. The undocumented workers that don’t break laws need a way to become legal that is fair and not impossible to reach. The current system costs thousands and requires expensive legal help. Many of them are abused by employers. We need lawyers in our churches to volunteer some of their time to help them.
There are many things Christians can do, this is just a start. Its time for us to take the Bible in its entirety. When we rule righteously, the people of our land will rejoice.
Lord, help me fight for the poor, help me care for those you care about.
Day 29 Psalms 29, 59, 89, 119, 149 Here is the secret of life! Because Psalm 119 is so long and has so much, I will save Proverbs 29 for tomorrow as it too has so much to discuss. God is not like humans, He keeps us accountable but does not kick us out of the house. We have a God that keeps loving and is faithful to us even when we are faithless. 89:30 "If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, 31 if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, 32 I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging; 33 but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness. 34 I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered. Psalm 119 is another favorite, its an amazing alphabetic acrostic psalm. Each stanza has eight verses beginning with the same Hebrew letter. One of my favorite themes of this Psalm is “the Word of God.” It has everything that man needs. It helps guide him, keep his way pure. The Psalmist “LOVES” following the word of God, he treasures it above everything else. Oh so few who really understand this, “I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.”. This is the best psalm and encouraging word I have had in a while. 33 Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. 34 Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. 35 Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. 36 Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. 37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. 38 Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. 39 Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good. 40 How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness. I actually want to just quote the whole thing here but I won’t. Read it slowly again and again. Memorize it! Meditate on it. Make it your daily bread. The Psalmist has two main emphasis here, Love God’s word and obey every detail of it. May I e the same Lord, I am not in love with your word and definitely don’t obey it as I should. Give me a thirst and hunger for your word and for obedience. The latter is much more elusive then the former. Help me obey you because of my love for you. Grow my love for you and dim my passion for the world’s riches, lusts and power. Light a fire in my spirit to obey every detail, every day, consistently growing in that love. 54 Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge. 55 In the night I remember your name, O LORD, and I will keep your law. 56 This has been my practice: I obey your precepts. That is it! I want to have a habit of obeying your Word. To rise to it and sleep in it, to eat it, to day dream about you. May the secret desires of my heart all be turned to you. May the quiet hopes be all on you. May my greatest joys be walking with you. Nothing I desire compares to you! 97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. 98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. 100 I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. “You are wiser beyond your years” . 112 My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end. Jesus, teach me, mold me to love you, your word and your commands.
Day 28 Readings in Psalms 28, 58, 88, 118, 148 Proverbs 28 After two days of Cuba talk, its time to get deeper into the psalms and proverbs. 3 Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts. Wow. So many struggle with cordial outward and hate inward. Lord help me be more and more honest, give me more integrity of heart. Psalm 58 is so dark, so sad. This has to be the saddest of all psalms, with no sense of hope. The worst part of the psalmist life at this point was that he was totally alone, “darkness is my closest friend.” Lets move on to more hope please. NOW we are in the hope of Psalm 118 . . .great! THANK YOU LORD! His love endures forever! 5 In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free. 6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? 7 The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies. 8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. 9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. Its interesting that he says, “The Lord has chastened me severely but has not given me over to death”. Amazing that he is so honest, my translation - “the Lord kicked my butt but didn’t kill me.” Ha, ha. Wow. I love the psalms, they break the Christian molds of communication with God. Who in our churches ever talks like this? No one. “well pastor, the Lord really didn’t kick your butt . . . bla, bla, bla. . .Oh well the Lord doesn’t kick butts, he disciplines you. . . . He is not angry with you, he is just a meek, sweet God ”. Whatever! The scripture talk about God as a terrifying God too, the word “awesome” does not mean what we mean, we mean “really cool”. But in the OT scriptures “awesome” God meant, He is scary, you better bow down and obey Him. Thank you Lord, you have saved me and you are a great, awesome God. I bow before you and I ask for mercy. Thank you. Psalm 118:23 the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. 27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. Proverbs 28 has so much treasure: 5 Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it fully. 6 Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse. So true. There is no life in a man whose ways are messed up. His riches are sickening. 18 He whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but he whose ways are perverse will suddenly fall. 19 He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty. 20 A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished. 21 To show partiality is not good— yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread. 22 A stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits him. 27 He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.
Cuba has nothing to do with Lent but that is me – random.
Psalm 27 is an amazing one, Love David’s analogies:
The Lord is my 1. light, 2. salvation, 3. Stronghold
When you have Him, you can look around and say, “Whom shall I fear?”
The Communists in Cuba! Sometimes when we go through major trials, our faith might seem weak, but its actually being tested and proves itself strong. While I was worried, had a lot of anxiety, I was still “calm” (according to Mattie). I was not hopeless, I was not distraught. Faith is not the absence of concern, fear or worry . . . it’s courage to move forward with hope.
27:4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.
So true:“in the day of trouble he will keep me safe”.
The last verse is what we need to do, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
So back to Cuba,
I was sitting in the chair as nervous as I could be when the Jefe walks in and says to me in Spanish, “are you Oscar Benavides”. “Yes I am”. “Let me see your passport.” He takes it from me. There was no greeting, introduction or courtesy. The powerful don’t have to be nice, they do whatever they want. This is a huge contrast between the suffering people of Cuba and the communist, the people are the nicest, warmest people. The commies are __________ (you fill in the blank).
“Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge.I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.“ Psalm 57:1
The Jefe started writing down every detail from my passport, every single detail. Its amazing how slow everything is in Cuba, they always take such time to investigate passports, as if they have never seen one. . . funny now that I think about it.
After the long silence, he said to me, “You are from Mexico?” , “Yes”. “How long have you been here?”, ”I answered him, “four days”. ”“When did you arrive?”I answered. “What hotel are you staying at?”.He asked me several more questions. At this point I figured he was not asking for new information, but was checking my facts to see if he could catch me in a lie. This went on for a while.
At about this point my confidence began to rise. I knew that I had to do two things 1. Stay alive and get out of here 2. Don’t get my team or future teams in trouble. Therefore say as little as possible, be evasive if necessary without lying. Don’t lie. If he asks me a difficult question, rephrase the question in a way that I can answer. . . don’t get caught in a trap. Lord you are with me, I sense your strength.
He then said, “I know what you have been up to. . . I know where you have been and what you have been doing. You arrived at the airport at this time, went to this hotel, then you went to eat here, you have been to these homes, and you have done this, then you did this” . . . on and on he detailed everything our team had done, even the homes we visited in Velasco, a small town. I was shocked . . .tried to keep my composure. But felt something I had never felt before, like cameras watching your every move these people had been spying on us since we arrived. It was scary, who was it? Who was the spy? Was it the bus driver? Was it a translator? I wish it was like a bond movie but it wasn’t, it was dark, evil and angering. My worldview changed in that moment. I had seen so many movies of the communists, read books, etc . . . but to actually be in it, be spied upon, it changes you. You become somewhat paranoid, cynical and very careful. You lose any sense of freedom you felt all your life. I have never had my freedom of privacy taken away from me like this.
My nervousness started to turn to anger. “He sends from heaven and save me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me.” Psalm 57:3
Next he said, “I know what you are trying to do. You are doing illegal activities. You are guilty of spreading religious propaganda.”
BOOM! Those words hit me, am I going to be arrested now? Will I have to go to a joke of a court and defend myself?
Was I guilty? Well, yes and no. The American team never preached in church or in public. Our strategy was genius and hard to say its illegal according to their laws (at least by all my law school studies in Havana sic.)
We would go to Christian homes. They would invite their neighbors and we would share about America and our story. The Cuban translator would pass out tracks, bibles, etc.but our American team never would do that as that was illegal for us to do. Our story of life included our saving relationship with Jesus and through those stories, hundreds came to faith.
I now had a confidence in me, I said, “No I did not do that. We went to homes and spoke to friends but we didn’t spread religious propaganda.”
“Yes you did” he said emphatically. I shook my head no as he spoke. “No we did not, we only visited friends.” Though he knew where we were, he didn’t know exactly what we were doing in the homes.
His intimidation continued and I stood my ground and would not budge on the accusation.
He finally said, “You must either stop doing your activities or you will be kicked out of the country.”
He took out a piece of paper and wrote on it. It said that I and my team would stop evangelism or we would be kicked out. He told me to sign it.
I said, “no, I am not doing anything wrong.”. He said, “you must sign it or you will be kicked out.”.
This is where the tide began to change. I said, “Are you forcing me to sign this?” I knew what I was doing, in typical difficult Oscar fashion.I wanted to make him sweat too. I had been subjected to too many hours of intimidation by now, I was steaming and my dad’s temper was starting to seep out of me. I can’t blame this on God, this could have been all my flesh.
His eyes flared up and he was so startled by that statement. He got up quickly and brought his secretary in the office. She was a tall and expressionless Cuban. She stood next to his desk and he continued, “Here we have a witness, now, I am NOT forcing you to sign this, you are watching this, I am NOT forcing him to sign anything.. . .”
I got what I wanted, I will not make it easy for him.I had no choice now. I had to sign this paper and get out of there as soon as possible. I sign it in the worst signature possible, (another dad tactic that was used when he was stopped by cops speeding). After signing it he said to me, “You can go now.”
I asked if I could use the phone to call a taxi and they said, “NO.” I protested, “I have no way to get to the hotel.” But they persisted in being as rude as possible. I said, “How can you treat a guest in your country like this, that is rude.” I was livid that they would not even let me use the phone.
I walked out fuming. This system of government is keeping people from hearing the gospel. I walked a few blocks before I found a bicycle taxi, this country makes me feel like I'm back in the 60s. He took me to a nearer town post where I could get a regular taxi to the hotel.
It took me several hours to start talking again, other than explaining to my team the details of the morning. Our team decided to just go visit with churches, no evangelism the next couple of days. It felt like a waste at times but we could not risk future trips.
I learned so much from this valley of shadow of death. But the theme throughout my experience is, “God is in control, He is your God, He is in charge, He will take care of you, stop looking at man for help. Look up to the heavens for your light, your salvation and your stronghold.The Lord saved me from the Communists in Cuba! WOO HOO! Thank you, thank you and thank you Jesus!
Proverbs 27:21
“The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives.”
Day 26 The Lord saved my from the Communists in 2000. Readings 26, 56, 86, 116, 146 Proverbs 26 The faith explained in today’s reading was tested in my time in Cuba. All four Psalms 26, 56, 86 and 116 are so similar, Lord save me from my enemies. The Psalmist feels the pressure of those attacking him, he takes refuge in God and sets his hope on God’s salvation. He contrasts the attacks of men with the love of God. Are you being attacked today? 10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. 11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. 12 I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave. [a] Sometimes we see God saving us and we just move on. I love that the psalmist remembers God after the great trials are over. We should do the same: Psalm 116 1 I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. 2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. 3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave [a] came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the name of the LORD : "O LORD, save me!" 5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. 6 The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. 7 Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. 8 For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, I have been delivered from some very dangerous and difficult circumstances. Thank you Lord for saving me. I remember my glorious time in Cuba, for three years I went to Cuba leading groups from Park Cities and Bent Tree Bible Church. I have so many memories that delight my soul, both ministry successes as well as gut-splitting laughs. It was my second trip where I was leading a group of Bent Tree where I was not laughing much. We were in Eastern Cuba in a town called, Holguin.
At 1 AM, we got a call. The other leader of the team, Darrin was my roommate. He answered the phone and said, “Oscar, they are asking for you”. I was half asleep but said, “Bueno” (hello in Spanish). The voice on the other side was gruff, serious and straight forward, “Are you Oscar Benavides?” . . “Yes I am”. . . “Are you the leader of the American group?” . . .”Yes I am”. . . “Are you from Mexico?” . . .”Yes I am”. . . “You are to present yourself at the Department of Interior at 9 AM”. . . “ . . . .”What for?” I asked. . . “I can’t tell you”. . . .”Who should I see?” . . .He said, “Ask for El Jefe”. Oh my. “el jefe” means, “the boss”. My heart was already racing, now it stopped. I was fully awake and just so confused. He wouldn’t give me any more information. Why were they wanting to talk to me? How did they know who I was, that I was Mexican? They must be spying on us. Why was he so cryptic? Was were they calling me at 1 AM? They were trying to intimidate me . . . and it worked. All night I tossed and turned and could not sleep. I was thinking of all kinds of possibilities, would they send me back to the US. Would they arrest me? Harm me?
This is a communist country and I was doing illegal evangelism. The worst part was that I couldn’t call home, they monitor phone calls. All I wanted was to call Jen and hear her voice but I had to just sit in my fears, worries and faith. At 7 am I finally got up, met the team, had no appetite for breakfast. My team wanted to go with me but I told them to stay in the hotel until I returned, the less questioned the better. Not only did I have the responsibility of our team but also of future teams coming to Cuba. I arrived at the ministry of interior and sat in the waiting room for a while. Proverbs 26 “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Proverbs 27, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what the day my bring forth.” I had no clue the day before that I would be here, in the lion’s den, at the heart of the communist regime in Eastern Cuba. I was ushered into the “Jefe’s Office”. It wasn’t much. It had a desk with chairs in front and back of the desk. Nothing on the walls except one HUGE PORTRAIT of Fidel Castro. My heart was getting a work out. My soul was in anguish. I was breathing in and out deeply trying to keep me from shaking. I have to be honest and say that this was one of the scariest moments in my life. I longed for America, I long for Dallas, I loved for my home and my wife’s arms. (PIC WITH SOME OF THE CUBA TEAM MEMBERS)
I have always told the Lord that my life was His, that I was willing to be martyred for the gospel but this was real. . . not just words. The Jefe walks into his office, looks at me and says . . . I will share the rest tomorrow! See you then when we read through the Psalms and Proverbs.
