TURN MY EYES FROM ....

TURN my eyes from looking at worthless things;
and GIVE me life in your ways. Psalm 119:37

From First John 2:16, worthless things are not the things of the world, but the sinful eyes that perverts these blessings into being the means of selfish and self-serving gain.
As in all the Psalms, David here asks the Lord to do for him what he cannot do himself. He doesn’t pray, “I will turn from looking at worthless things.” His request is a confession that he cannot sufficiently in and of himself, keep himself from looking at things with a perverted and self-serving eye. He knows that God must turn his eyes to Himself.
David has faced and by God’s grace overcame many temptations in his life prior to ascending to the throne. During this time of adversity, he knew that his life was solely in the hands of God. Yet, having come to the throne, to the seat of power and wealth, he faced different kinds of temptations. I find that I can stand well and resist various kinds of temptations that others succumb to. And likewise, I am daily confronted with other temptations to which I must confess, like Paul, “the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” Romans 7:19. For David, he was able to fix his eyes on the Lord as his greatest good and bear the temptations of adversity. Yet when it came to living in prosperity, he was not able to keep his eyes so fixed and therefore prays, “turn my eyes – turn what I cannot turn from, the worthless and unto You."
As windows are often the access of the thief and the murder, so also the eyes are such windows by which theft, murder, and death enter the heart. A person would be wise to consider that it was to the eye that the first sin was pleasing, and through that eye, death entered into the world.
This petition echoes the request in the Lord’s Prayer by which we ask our Father to “lead us not into temptation."
Albert Barnes wrote, “an ugly object loses much of its deformity when we look often upon it.” The Lord tells us in Numbers 15:39 that our hearts are inclined to whore after the basest of our desires. How often has some lust, some longing of our sinful nature altered how we see those things which God’s Word declares to be ugly because it is unholy and death. With our eyes fixed upon such unholy ugliness, our eyes will then begin to look for one other more worthless thing – the justification of taking this ugliness to ourselves and our pleasure.
In the Hebrew, the word for “eye” is also used for a “fountain”. It gives pause to consider how the eye is like a fountain. A fountain pours forth out of itself to others, while the eye pours into a person. As a fountain can only pour forth that which is supplied to it, so also the eye can only pour into the soul that which it supplies. So therefore, David, and I ought to plead with the Lord to turn my eyes to the holy supply, to Him so that I may have life.
Without the Lord giving life and understanding, I am bound to my sinful pride's definition and delusions of what life is. Apart from the Lord’s giving me life and understanding according to His word, according to reality – I am trapped to see things perversely and never in their right way. Only by the Lord giving me LIFE in Himself, shall I then know what is real life and what are the illusions of life.
“Give me life in your ways!” What are the Lord’s ways – His ways are the way of His Law and His Gospel and these ways meet me on the Cross. What a blessed and joyous thing it is that I have never, and shall never hear the Lord Jesus say, “turn my eyes from looking at worthless things.” I who have made myself worthless by my fixation of eyes and heart on those things which are worthless, have a Savior who never asked God to save Him from looking upon me. As surely as the Lord Jesus set, or fixed, His face toward Jerusalem, toward the Cross, so surely has He set and fixed His eyes upon me and all mankind that we might be saved from our own worthlessness.
“Give me life in your ways!” Having fixed His eyes upon me, so now He would have me fix my eyes on his Cross and His resurrection so that I might see and behold His forgiveness and newness of life for me and all who would believe.
“Give me life in your ways!” Now does he call me to fix my eyes upon His ways of giving life in the midst of my own worthlessness. Now does He call me to fix my eyes and my heart upon His Word and Sacraments as His chosen ways of giving, sustaining and increasing His life in me.
“Give me life in your ways!” Give me faith in Jesus Christ who is Your Way of life, living, and seeing all things.

AS MY SOUL CLINGS TO THE DUST

My soul clings to the dust;
Give me life according to your word. Psalm 119:25

The Hebrew word for "cling", could also be translated “cleaves”.
The meaning of this term could be said, “My soul – ‘is joined,’ ‘has adhered,’ ‘has overtaken,’ ‘has taken hold,’ ‘has joined itself’ – to the dust.”
Under the bondage of sin, our soul has become like a polypus, that which is always adhering to the rocks, to things earthly.
So tightly does our sin bound soul cling to the dust that nothing of ourselves or this earth can set us free from the dust.
Because of my sin, I am joined to that which is apart from the Lord. Apart from the Lord, all that I have is that from which I came – the dust. And all that which I am will return, by God’s curse upon my sin – my apartness, to the dust.
Because of my sin, I lack the ability to cling to anything other than those things, which are dust.
So I, with the Psalmist, must cry out for that which none of us can secure for ourselves – GIVE ME LIFE ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD!
Grant me Lord, blessed Lord that which I cannot do or obtain for myself.
SET ME FREE WITH A NEW LIFE THAT COMES FROM YOUR WORD ALONE – JESUS CHRIST – THE WORD MADE FLESH.
This freedom through His Word is the promise of Christ our Lord: “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32 (ESV)
Though we have been born again in baptism, and our soul is set free in the holiness of Christ – no one can be careless in earthly things, for if you turn to these things in your heart, that is to touch them, you will be adhered to these so strongly that only Christ can set you free.
And so, daily, hourly, aye, from moment to moment and situation to situation, we live by the blessed path of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
Aye, faith in Jesus, who out of love – clung ‘joined,’ ‘adhered,’ ‘overtook,’ ‘took hold,’ and ‘has joined Himself’ – to the dust, to us – so that we might have life and have it to the full.
To Him alone be the glory. Amen

DO YOU HAVE SOMEONE TO TELL YOU WHAT YOU NEED TO FEAR ABOUT YOURSELF?

In much of my ministry as a pastor and my life as believer, nothing gets more in my way than – myself. I read a short article this weekend by Dr. R. Larry Moyer that spoke to me about being my biggest obstacle in the faith.
The titled of the article was “Six Things You May Have Missed in Seminary”. Much of the article was shallow, but there were two points of wisdom that struck me as insightful and profound. While these points don’t follow upon each other in the article, they do go hand in hand.
The first point was simply that my greatest strengths uncontrolled, would become my greatest weaknesses. At the heart of this observation is the proverbial truth that I can and well, if unchecked, become my biggest obstacle to faith and living of the faith. This is often hard to see in ourselves because in our constant cascade of failings and faults, we long and love to live in our strengths and successes.
The second point of wisdom in this article echoes the truth of Proverbs 27:6a: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend …” According to Moyer, each of us needs dedicated friends who are willing to wound us in a particular way. Such friends are willing to tell me the things about me - I need to fear. We all have a hunger to hear good things about ourselves, and we may even want to hear the not so good things about ourselves. The question is - has a friend ever been so faithful to you, that they told you what you need to fear about yourself? Whether they're aware of it or not, such a friend is grounding you. Such groundings serve to make your steps secure in the truth and in He is the way, the truth, and the life.
This grounding is at the heart of the confession our sins in the Divine Service, if only we’ll listen to it. In hearing and confessing those words, “I a poor miserable sinner,” I ought be very afraid of the wretched man (Rom 7), and in such fear, turn in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, for He alone can rescue me from me (Rom 7). Lord, grant me such a righteous fear. In His blessed forgiveness, the Lord Christ brings me beyond myself and into a daily newness of life.
May the Lord grant me and you such friends, and such fear of ourselves, that we may live and believe in our only Rescuer, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This may be obvious to you, but it wasn’t to me!

A PRAYER FOR LIVING THE FAITH AT HOME

A Prayer For Living the Faith At Home
Based on Psalm 101:1-8.

By You, O Lord, and for all those in my home,
Grant that I will speak of Your steadfast love and justice.
By You, O Lord, and for all those in my home,
Grant that I will ponder with them, the way that is blameless.
By You, O Lord, and for all those in my home,
Grant that I will walk with integrity of heart within my house.
By You, O Lord, and for all those in my home,
Grant that I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.
By You, O Lord, and for all those in my home,
Grant that I may hate the work of those who fall away so that it shall not cling to me or them.
By You, O Lord, and for all those in my home,
Grant that a perverse heart shall be far from me that I will know nothing of evil.
By You, O Lord, and for all those in my home,
Grant that I may reject whoever slanders his neighbor secretly.
By You, O Lord, and for all those in my home,
Grant that I will not endure whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart.
By You, O Lord, and for all those in my home,
Grant that I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me.
By You, O Lord, and for all those in my home,
Grant that the one who walks in the way that is blameless shall minister with me.
By You, O Lord, and for all those in my home,
Grant that no one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes.
By You, O Lord, and for all those in my home,
Grant that Morning by morning I will reject all that is wicked, cutting off all the evildoers from the dwelling place of the Lord, be it in me, my home, or my church.
By You, O Lord, and for all those in my home,
I pray, when will You come to us?
By You, O Lord, and for all those in my home,
I pray in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.

The Blessed Usefulness of Prayer

If someone wants to describe adequately the usefulness of pious, earnest prayer, he will, in my opinion, surely find a beginning more easily than a conclusion.
Pious prayer offered in faith is familiar conversation with God.
It is a salutary remedy to all the difficulties of life.
It is the key to heaven and the door to paradise.
It shows us how much we depend on God, and it is a ladder of ascension to God.
It is a shield for our defense and a faithful messenger of the ambassador.
It is refreshment in the heat of misfortune; it is medicine during illness.
It is a winch, drawing us to heaven,
and a vessel that draws water from the font of divine kindness.
It is a sword against the devil and a defense against misfortune.
It is a wind that blows away evil and brings earthly benefits.
It is a nurse that nurtures virtues and conquers faults.
It is a great fortification for the soul and gives free access to God.
It is a spiritual feast and a heavenly delicacy.
It is a consolation for the dejected and a delight for the holy.
It grants knowledge of the secret things of God and acquires His gifts.
It upholds the world and rescues people.
It is a joy for the heart and a jubilation for the mind.
It follows God's gift of grace, and it leads ahead into glory.
It is a garden of happiness and a tree full of delights.
It calms the conscience and increases our thankfulness.
It sends demons running and draws angels close.
It is a soothing remedy for the misfortunes of this life
and the sweet smell of the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
It is a foretaste of the life to come and sweetens the bitterness of death.
Whoever is truly a child of God through faith will, with childlike trust,
address his or her heavenly Father every day in prayer.
The one in whose heart the Holy Spirit has made His home will,
as a spiritual priest, daily offer to God this incense of prayer.
There are four immovable truths on which our confidence to pray rests.
Because of these, we may be certain that our heavenly Father mercifully hears our prayers.
The truths on which our certainty rests are:
(1) God's omnipotent kindness;
(2) God's unfailing truthfulness;
(3) Christ's intercession as our mediator; and
(4) the Holy Spirit's testimony.

-Johann Gerhard Excerpted from Treasury of Daily Prayer CPH

Adolescent Subculture

Adolescent SubculturePosted At: 5:10pm by Rev. William M. Cwirla
http://blog.higherthings.org/wcwirla/article/4283.html

I have long maintained, most recently in an interview with Michael "internet Monk" Spencer, that adolescence as a state of being should not be coddled or encouraged. Rather, we adults need to run the race side by side with these young emerging adults and invite them to run in the adult world. John Stonestreet over at Breakpoint agrees. He notes that prior to 1941 or so, there really was no such thing as a "teenager." The whole concept of adolescence as a subculture appears to be the product of the post-world war nucleated family, the alienated father, and mass marketing that target teenagers.
Even worse, adolescence has become the pinnacle of human existence, rather than an apprenticeship that must be endured on the way to something greater. How many adults do you know who are stuck at senior prom? "Forever Eighteen."
Stonestreet cites six characteristic of a culture gone adolescent. These make me think:
1. Demand of instant gratification leading to lack of commitment (marriage, church, whatever)
2. Absence of long-term thinking (What do you want to do when you grow up, if ever?)
3. Motivated by feeling rather than truth. (It feels right to me.)
4. Wanting grown up things without being grown up. (Sex, shacking up, BMWs)
5. Expecting bailouts rather than accepting consequences. (Hmmm. Sound familiar?)
6. Focusing on appearance rather than depth. (Can you say boob job?)
Stonestreet's antidote? Challenge young adults. Educate them in worldview and apologetics. Teach them as Christians what we are for, not just what we are against. Confront them with the major cultural issues rather than isolate them. I couldn't agree more. Judging by the packed sessions at the HT Sola conferences that dealt with atheism, abortion, and hot button cultural issues, our youth are agreeing. Raise the bar high and they will rise to the challenge. Lower the bar, and they will sink.
The last thing we need is another generation of Forever Eighteens.
Read it all for yourself: Our Adolescent Culture
Major HT: Sandra Ostapowich.

Forgiving Little in the Midst of Being Forgiven Much

"Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger ... " Eph 4:26 (ESV)
Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger. Ephesians 4:6
When dealing with the faults and failings of others. Go into your closest and say your “Our Father”, and when you get to the petition wherein you ask, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,” you must remember that God has forgiven you much more, and daily forgives you much more, than your neighbor could ever possibly sin against you.”
Martin Luther
Sermon on Trinity 20, Ephesians 5

YOUR WORSHIP: IS IT OF GOD OR OF SELF?

“Worship is not a function of the mouth but of the whole body.
It is to bow the head, bend the body, fall on the knees, prostrate one's self, and so forth, and to do such things as a sign and acknowledgment of an authority and power greater than self. Just as people bow in one form or another in silence before secular princes and Lords, and just as popes, bishops, abbots, and people generally, have themselves honored and adored by bowing and kneeling, and so forth.
Such outward adoration of the bending of the body is what the Scriptures really mean by worship. We read in the Scriptures that worship or adoration is rendered outwardly both to God and to kings without distinction, just as bowing and kneeling are still rendered outwardly both to God and to men.
From this understanding of outward worship you will also understand what Christ meant by true spiritual worship. “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24 (ESV) It is the adoration or bowing of the heart that Jesus refers to here, so that from the bottom of your heart you are to thereby show and confess yourself to be God’s subordinate creature who owes all to Him.
For from this you see that true worship can only arise from faith; it is faith's sublime activity with respect to God. For no one is able to offer such heartfelt confession, adoration, bending, and bowing of the heart (or whatever you want to call it) before God in his heart, unless he unwaveringly believes and holds God Almighty to be his Lord and Father, from whom he receives and will receive all good things, and through whom, without any merit or worthiness on his part, he is redeemed and preserved from all sins and evil.” Martin Luther (Excerpted from Treasury of Daily Prayer CPH)
In all that the church would establish as corporate worship (worship of the whole body of Christ as one), it must be above all else a matter of bowing both body and soul before the Lord in the rhythm of His speaking and His body responding to Him who alone gives them life. Even as our Lord began this rhythm at the moment of creation where He spoke and creation responded. This rhythm continues through the flow of the Holy Scriptures and even today as we gather for worship and depart out into the world.
In our forms and styles of worship there is freedom. But in no part of what of what we would call worship, can we free ourselves from the belief and confession that we poor miserable sinners and gathered before the most gracious and redeeming God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If worship is to be an expression of a believer’s faith in this reality, then in no part of true worship can anyone expect the content or style of worship to bow to them before they will participate in it.
What then are we to make of those who would put conditions and terms (on the style or content of worship) that must be met before they will participate in worship services, devotions, and prayer? Well, it can be rightly call worship, but in no way it is a worship of the one true God. All such worship is nothing other than a worship of self and the expectation that the Church and God Almighty should bow to their desires and whims before they will grant the favor of their presence and praise.
Again it needs to be said: “... the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24 (ESV)

WHAT MAKES FOR TRUE HOLINESS

“God’s Word is holy and makes holy those it touches. Yes, it is the holiness of god Himself… this holiness is true holiness and the true salve that anoints unto eternal life even if you … must live and die a plain, unadorned human life just as the babies (and all of us) are baptized naked and without adornment.” - Martin Luther

To often in the life of the church, her pastors and lay leaders turn to many different things in hopes that they might help people increase or grow in the faith and holiness of life and living. The critical question every pastor or lay person must ask is a simple one: “Does this teach and enable me to believe, to learn to love God, praise God, and live in holiness?” Only the Word of God can do these things. Jesus (the Word made flesh), states it plainly, “Apart from me you can do nothing.”
Much that is used in the quest of holiness, in the end is nothing more than religiousness. It turns the laity and the pastorate into the friends of Job. The friends of Job were loving, sympathetic, empathetic and dedicated to their friend. They spoke some of the most religious words possible to their friend in hopes of comforting and consoling him in this despair. Yet for all their religious talk, Job was not comforted and the Lord had this to say to his friends:
“After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” Job 42:7 (ESV)

May the Lord ever guide us in the ways of HIS Holiness.

STEP INTO THE DARK

Please pray that the Lord would enable the pure Word of the Gospel to be heard by the Youth of our churches and nation. The following is a poem written by one such youth:

STEP INTO THE DARK
Step into the dark where no one can see
Step into the dark where all you see is me
Step into the dark where there is suffering and pain
Step into the dark where not a single person knows your name
Step into the dark where the only color is black
Step into the dark where love is a mystermystery
Step into the dark where real men don’t come back
Step into the dark where no one leaves tracks
Step into the dark where hell is a block away
Step into the dark where you might brighten my day
by John M.
from "hurt - inside the world of today's teenagers"
by Chap Clark
Baker Academic