The beginning of a journey through the Psalms

Day one: Psalm 1

I have been fascinated with this Psalm for some time but of course, it took on new meaning when we did a Camp last summer with the theme "Between the Trees." I want to be "like a tree planted by streams of water." I want my roots to go down deep. I want the Giver of Life to sustain me, to watch over me, to produce fruit in me.

But today I am especially drawn to verse 2 perhaps because it epitomizes this journey that I and some of my good friends have begun together. I want to "delight" in the "law of the Lord." I want to soak it up. I want for it to shape me, transform me.

One Sunday morning last year I preached a sermon out of this very psalm. I said then and I still believe that the idea of the "law" here is about more than just a list of rules written on some stone tablets and handed to Moses. It goes beyond the 693 laws that scholars have counted within the fabric of the Old Testament. Try as I may I have a hard time imagining someone truly delighting in rules alone. I can make a case for it intellectually. I could do some wordplay that might make it sound like it is a very noble and mature thing to delight in rules. But at the end of the day that simply is not my experience, nor is it the experience of anyone that I know. Perhaps everyone that I know is just immature. Or perhaps they are normal. Rules just don't fire us up. I wonder if God delights in rules?

Maybe the word "law" in this Psalm encompasses more than just the rules (though it probably includes the rules as well). In the ancient world, the Jews often referred to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) as the "law." If you have ever spent much time in the Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy you know that there is A LOT more in there than just a list of laws. There are all kinds of stories and promises and poems that capture our imagination and that wrestle with the how and why's of our very existence. You learn a lot about who God is when you read the first five books of the Bible. You learn a lot about what God cares about as well as what he doesn't care for. You learn a lot about who we are and what we are doing here. And in promises made to Noah and Abraham and Moses and others you catch a glimpse of God's dream for this planet and for the course of human history played out upon it.

I wonder if that is a better way of thinking about the "law" in Psalm 1. The dream of God. What would this world be like if everyone lived by the "law" of the Lord? What if no one put any other gods above Yahweh? What if there was no murder? What if no one ever stole from someone else? What if no one coveted? What if no one lied? I'm not sure that there is anyone on this planet that dreams of a world with more murderers or thieves or liars. And what if the dreams that God expressed through Abraham were realized. What if the people of God truly became a blessing to all the nations? Imagine it. No more war. No more fear of some one taking what you have. No more pawning over what some one else has. No more greed, or envy, or abuse, or neglect. No more idols. No more violence. No more loneliness. Sounds a bit like heaven actually.

Now that is a "law" that I can delight in! That is something worth meditating on day and night. What if things on this tiny speck in the universe truly played out as God dreamed they would...what if His kingdom truly came if His will were done on earth "as it is in heaven?" It's worth imagining. It's worth striving for. No wonder the Psalmist calls someone who meditates on that day and night a person who is "blessed."

So may we be among the blessed. As we work our way through Psalms may we make the "law of the Lord" and God's dream for our world our delight. And may we meditate on it day and night.

The journey is underway!

This is what it is all about!

"Oh Thank You Jesus!"

"I know there is a Santa Claus now!"

These were some of the phrases that about 25 of the HHYG heard last night in a little old apartment in west Nashville. For weeks we have been collecting money from you guys for our "Christmas family." Last night after a Wal-Mart run we were able to fill the Easley's apartment with gifts including a couple of bikes. God used us to make sure that the 11 children that live there will be able to open some presents this year. This was just one of several service projects that the HHYG participated in this month. In fact with Lakeshore worship and Christmas parties, YES Holiday Store, and shopping for our Christmas family last night, by my estimate we had close to 100 from the HHYG involved in reaching out to our city in December. Wow! You guys showed up big. More than once I pulled the church van around thinking we would have around 15 only to have to go back up to my office to get the keys to the bus because so many showed. It reminded me once again of what a privilege it is to serve as a youth minister at Harpeth Hills. you guys are amazing!! And you never cease to impress me.

As we were leaving the Easley's apartment last night I caught myself saying to a couple of those that were the last to make it out of the door, "this is what it is all about!"

And it really is! It has me thinking, we need to do more of this!!! We need to continue to think of ways that we can make an impact on our community and reach out especially to those who are in need and hurting.

How do you think we should do that? We have asked the question before, actually several times. But here once again while it is still on all of our minds let's think outside the box and ask for the leading of God's Spirit as we think about what else God may have in store for us to do. What are you ideas about how we can reach out beyond the walls of the HHYG youth room. Post a comment. Evey idea is worth something. Let's brainstorm together. I love you guys more than you know.

because of Jesus,
jason

Just rediscovered this blog. More to come soon. Amazing what you can find when you are trying to avoid writing a paper.

Was Jesus really tempted?

I had the amazing blessing of spending some time with some of our senior guys this early this morning before school started. We were reading together in Hebrews 2 and when we got to verse 18 an interesting discussion began. "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." What an interesting thought. Did Jesus really suffer when he was tempted? Take those days in the wilderness for example. When Jesus was tempted by Satan to turn rocks into bread or to throw himself off the highest point of the temple to see if the angels really would catch him, do you think he was really tempted to do those things? I mean did he want to? Did he want to make those rocks into bread? Think about the situation for a second. Was a man who had not eaten for forty days really tempted to make some hot fresh bread from a stone cold rock even though he was Jesus? Didn't Jesus get hungry? Adn when standing face to face with the one who had caused tremendous destruction to the human race that Jesus loved enough to die for, did he feel a longing to throw himself off that temple to watch the glorious display if only just to remind satan who he was talking to. I wonder who would have caught satan if he had jumped. So what do you think did Jesus want to do these things are not? Did he really suffer when he was tempted? For that matter do you believe that this was the only time that Jesus was tempted?

Simplicity

Why does it feel like life is out of control sometimes? I wake up feeling behind and when I go to bed at night I wonder if I really got anything done. Is it supposed to be like this? I just wish that things could be simple. I long for simplicity. And a nagging feeling comes over me...what if the things that I fill my day with, the things that I think are so important, what if they are not really that important at all? I guess what I am asking then is, what really is important? What is my purpose? What is my mission? And can I boil it all down to that and live in that simplicity?

I love Honduras for so many reasons but one of them is that while I am there I wake up in the morning and my purpose is clear. I know what I am being called to do that day. It is pretty simple. And at the end of the day when my head hits the pillow with full exhaustion it does so with a sense of fulfillment. Why can't it be like that everyday? Is it possible that we could live our lives with that kind of simplicity? I want to live like a man on a mission but what does that look like in the everyday? Does anyone esle expereince this?

What's so different about being a Christian?

I call myself a Christian. And I know that means I am supposed to be different, called out, set apart you know? But the truth is sometimes I don't feel so different. I walk like everyone else, talk like them, even dress like them. I go to the same places and do the same things. And I wonder, is that wrong? Should I be different just for the sake of being different? But I am supposed to be different right? So what does that look like?

How is your day going? What's up with the HHYG?

Since we are spread out all over different schools and different grades, here is a place that we can all share each others joys and sorrows. Carry one another's burdens. Cry with one another. Laugh with one another. Rejoice with one another. Isn't that what family is supposed to be about?