The Rabbi

Thank God that He is who He is. It is so
easy for us to get caught up in our own
ways--what we want from our lives, what
we want to do, material things we wish to
have, etc. Praise Him that we can trust
in Him and delight in Him. If I delight
myself in the Lord, the desires of my
heart will reflect His desires for me.
In order to communicate with God I need
to be in tune with Him and be concerned
with what His desires are for my life
and not my own.

As I was reading your blog I thought about Jesus at the cross. Though Jesus went through the disorientation state, he did commit (submit) himself to God. Psalm 37:5 says to commit the way to the Lord, and trust in him. Jesus committed himself to God. "When they hurled their insults at him he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly" (1 Pet. 2:23). I am really amazed at my wonderful savior who did not get angry at God, rather overcame the state that he was in, and got out of the disoriented state whereby he was lifted to the highest point of reorientation. Yes! of course, God did keep his word, and made Psalm 37:6 comes true. In addition, In many places the promise was given that "....." will inherit the land. Jesus did inherit the land (His kingdom at hand) because of his obedience.
It says that those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land (37:9); the meek will inherit the land (37: 11); those the Lord blesses will inherit the land (37:22); the righteous will inherit the land (37:29). Yes! I got the message God, If I obey, and do your will then I will inherit the kingdom of God.
The past Israelite left the footprints of example for me to learn from their failutes and success. Ummm, we do have more revelation that them, don't we! So my point is this, I know the consequences of disobeying. I would like to enter into the rest of God. I definitely do not want to fail the sitaution, and go on forty years blind folded safari. Therefore, when I am in disoriented pit, I will articulate with God in faith. I have been in this state many times, but everytime that I am there I learn new lessons. Further, those lessons helps me to make better decisions when I face/make the same problems, also I was able to help people who goes through the same situation.

Rabbi, its interesting how much the described current circumstances so drastically differ from those looked forward too in eschatology when the wicked are destroyed and the righteous really will prosper. But somehow, I think the eschatological spirituality should not be viewed as dependent upon those final circumstances for an individual (maybe for a community) but can be taken hold of now. Of course present circumstances always employ the capability of arresting my heart out of a heavenly relationship with Jesus, affecting my attempts to cultivate heavenly relationships amongst those Jesus loves. I am going to engage this blog with the idea that how I live now with others will affect how I live in eternity… by the time Jesus deems me a bride fit to present Himself along with the rest of the Church, He will have recreated within me the beloved I should be for Him.

I like to think of this as the driving motivation that leads the psalmist of Psalm 37 to share about the orientation, disorientation, and reorientation experiences of life with another as encouragement that there is a purpose in the discomfort, not just that the present conditions will someday be reversed. Is orientation really the state of existence described by those verbs, trust, commit, etc.? I think I have begun to equate orientation with an undesirable state, not the rest of God. I like the transference of these principles into our lives today… the description of our proximity with Jesus in the motion of life, being deemed righteous by the general direction and feel of following His presence. If those behaviors define righteousness, then I understand why the verbs do not change between orientation and disorientation.

Maybe circumstances should not affect my behavior, but they affect my feelings of God, at least initially. In the midst of disorientation, remaining righteous in behavior resonates in my thinking at the perseverance of the saints, remaining in right relationship with God, but being forced closer by my situations. I feel stuck in this disorientation, as if I cannot step outside of my obedience while seeking to feel Jesus more. Disorientation confuses me… I am not sure whether I move or God moves… if my behavior remains obedient, how does that affect how I may approach Him in the disorientation? Naturally, I always think that He moves, and cannot imagine where I was a contributing factor to the disorientation.

And so God surprises me, straightening out my perspective to help me realize that somehow life began to dictate my relational proximity to God. If all this world is full of shadows, why do I allow my eyes, once fixed on Jesus, to slip from focus? The psalmist engages reality in a way I find fascinating: God’s reality is always different than mine, but mine is a perceived reality, changing with each situation I confront. Imagination allows me to step outside of my perceptions, into God’s spiritual reality, helping me remember that this world is just full of shifting shadows which test my perceptions of God, expanding my belief back into seeing Jesus in my heart. On the idea of unnecessary waiting to reach that eschatological spiritual connection with Jesus, where does seeing come in?

We are told we will never see Jesus until we die, and sure, these eyes of mine might get a bit scorched if the Son of God were to show up in His glory. But we have seen His glory, have we not? I have evidence of it within my life—and that evidence of God allows my heart to see Him and know Him now. I think that knowing is actually tangible, based on how I translate my heart-sight of Jesus into life… how I allow myself to engage His presence, where I am willing to see Him in this world. Perhaps situations are not conducive to my spirit’s desire for rest in God, but I think Psalm 37 shows us that our spirits can enter into rest with God while the world is in turmoil… but how will we try and live out that restful state with others? Heaven encompasses both dimensions in which I find myself existing… with God and with people… so how much can I, trying to live in heavenly intimacy with Jesus, imagine that same sort of closeness amongst the dimension of people here on earth?

Maybe its something like that love of Jesus that would harm self before others who belong to Him.

I find a conviction that is written between the lines of this psalm. I wonder why large mega churches who preach false doctrine prosper, whereas small community churches struggle just to pay their heating bill. I am blessed to pastor a small community church that is financially secure (at this time) but I get pleas for help from other churches in my convention that has a genuine need. From the outside it would appear that God is blessing the false teachers and religion of the wicked. This could prompt a “religious” seeker to be drawn away from Jesus to follow the prosperous religions, after all God is blessing them right?

In addition, the disorientation phase; i.e. the phase where I am struggling and the wicked have abundance can be very disheartening. That is the point where I have to ask God why. Is it perhaps my behavior, is God trying to get my attention. Is there a separation between God and myself, and if so I know that God has not abandoned me, rather he has smacked me to get my attention and to get me back on track. However, after I have gone down that long road of self reflection and proven that it is not a sin issue, or ask forgiveness if it is a sin. That is the point where I really struggle. If I am doing what God wants me to be doing, why is He not providing and blessing it? And why are my “enemies” (for lack of a better word) appear to be being blessed.

In the end, I know that God will right all the wrongs, and the great Judge will be perfectly righteous. But during the struggle, before God does make everything right, it can really hurt. However, I know that I have learned much more from getting hurt than I have from being orientated. I know my failures have taught me much more than my success, now if only I could get my heart to know what my head knows

committing my way to the Lord. I see it as walking with him. No offense to anyone, but I hate the poem "footprints". I don't believe that Jesus carries us through anything, but instead that he leads as he walks beside. Can you imagine Jesus carrying a grown man down the beach? I'm one of those (very few) Christians who does not believe in eternal security (to an extent, anyway); that is, I believe you can abandon your salvation. I think humans have far more choice (which naturally follows that they have far more responsiblity) in following God than we like to admit. Yet, at the same time I completly believe in the Sovreignty of God. But anyway, my point is walking with God; something the Psalmist did more than we do. Everyone wants to go to Heaven, but I'm no too sure everyone wants to take up their cross and follow the road there. The road is the Way that Jesus talked about; who without, we would be lost. He walks that road, in fact, it's the road he can be found on. But that way is narrow, frightening, full of bogs, slimepits, and snares of the devil. But if we keep up the lines of communication; that is we follow him, commit our ways to him, we will make it.

Conclusion: Jesus did everything that was needed to be done to be saved so that I could do everything I needed to do to be saved

As the end of my experience comes to an end here at Davis College I have realized two things 1) I have been living too comfortably, and 2) because of my living too comfortably I have lost some of my trust and assurance in God. While I know in the back of my mind God will provide, I also am very scared about where I will be going after here and how the world will deal with me. In other words I am putting way too much emphasis on gaining material things and making money than I am about listening and letting God direct me. I fret a time of dis-orientation after college, but yet at the same time I know that it will be beneficial. While I don't want dis-orientation I do want a thriving relationship with God. I have learned a lot of things while at this school, but the most important thing I have learned by witnessing myself and others here at school is that when God is not our desire our lives are wreckage (maybe not right away but eventually), and only when we make God the desire of our hearts can the wreckage be re erected to that of a mighty fortress based solely on what God wnats and not what we want.

To respond to Josh Sinclair's comment, I would also think it is a little weird that Jesus would carry us, but I believe that He has picked me up many, many, many times in my life. As to what Dr. Snyder was saying the other day, I want to live as though the kingdom is here and now, because I believe that it is, kinda, but why don't I? Even though I "try" to live my life the I can best for Christ and not for myself, it seems like I can not shake that old man. Obviously, not in everything that I do, but mostly the heart issues that I deal with everyday, through relationships with people and with Christ. These issues that we think that we may not be able to talk about, that is what I suffer with mostly, as do many. Although, I do not know for sure that we can lose our salvation, but yes, I do agree that we can try and abandon our God. God says to us, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." Many times we may try and leave God or "our salvation," but I can not see any evidence that says in scripture or practical applications that say that God will abandon us. Maybe we may think that we have far more ability to choose what we may want for ourselves, but in reality, we can only choose what God would allow us to do. For example; we have maybe heard of the example of someone getting ready to jump off a cliff, when they jump they ask God to save them. Well, we should all know that God is not necessarily going to save us for stupid decisions that we make. He will always be there with us, no matter what, but that does not mean that He will always get us out of the problem.
I think the problem is that we think there is too much that we can do to accomplish things in our salvation. I believe that we can mature in our spiritual growth, but of ourselves, we can not do anything for or to our salvation, either to lose or gain it, of itself. How can we do anything to gain our salvation? If that is the case, what would we be able to do to lose it?

Just a question.

I feel that there are a lot of wicked people in the real world.
Whenever I wathch TV or read newspapers, I found a lot of news for crimes. as time passed, the strength of crimes is getting stronger than past. the real world is getting worse than past. I feel that we have to prepare the end.
As we lives, we meet many kind of people. some people are very wicked. the other are not. Another is very righteous.
I wish I am able to meet human like righteous, and I wna to become a person like righteous. But, sometimes, I meet a person like wicked (by God's intention) and I undergoes hard time...like disorientation...
we talk about this cycl)es (orientation - disorientation- reorientation) by focusing problem #1(distance of God). But we have to think about problem #2 more seriously..
Sometimes, beacuse of problem #2(physical problem), it can be broken problem #1.
I believe that God is always with me.
But because I am human... it happens like this..
for preventing this, we have to pray without ceasing and we try to communicate with God.
God , Please help us.. not lead us into temptationan and don't deliver us from the evil one.

Any Psalm now that I read that discusses the prosperity of the wicked brings another to my mind - Psalm 73, espcially verses 16 and 17: When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me until I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.
Trust in the LORD and do good - so simple. I am always fascinated by all that is involved in this statement. I see His sovereignty implied and His goodness affirmed - thus nothing makes more sense than to trust Him...and then do good because you trust His ways. Its a cycle to be understood I think. If I am choosing to do that which is against His ways - why? Because I don't trust Him. So much goes back to who I truly believe Him to be...
Verse 6 means to me that if my commitment to God is evident in my life, others will see and He will make sense to them. That is the cause I want my life to support.
The psalmist's reference to generosity is challenging. "The righteous give generously...I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed." I want to be generous; to give the excess of what I have to those that need it more. I have felt the pride and greed of having more money than I need and it is not nearly as satisfying as offering what I have to meet the need of another.

Trust,Delight,commit and be still,these are the everlasting
promises and commands of our God.I will not be moved.
Fret not ..........Because of the wicked.
He insisted that the success of the wicked will be temporary.
The Lord laughs at the wicked.The time of recompence for the
wicked is coming but little is much when God is in it.

God directs the steps of the righteous,even if they fall
they will get up again.They may be knocked down, but they
are not knocked out.Those who trust in the Lord find that
He helps them,delivers them and saves them.God takes care of His own.Waiting for the Lord constitutes an act of faith
and patience.Like Job we too need to learn that it is more important to trust God than to have answers to all our questions.Are we willing to do just that?
This Psalm is a wisdom Package,wow LORD!!!

The question of why the wicked prosper is one that has been on my mind for a while. I have been wondering since one of the first classes of the semester exactly who the wicked are. Dr. Snyder mentioned in class that they are not clearly defined as nonbelievers, but that even Christians can be wicked at different times in their lives. If you apply this to the psalms, imprecatory psalms in particular, if we have been hurt by a fellow believer are we really asking God to curse them? And couldn't we sometimes be the ones on the receiving end of that curse? If so, how does this fit into the cycle of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation if at all? Personally, the wounds that have been inflicted by other members of the body of Christ have hurt far worse than any I have ever received from those who do not share my faith. I am just struggling to understand how this fits into what we have been talking about. Any thoughts anyone has are greatly encouraged.

I would just like to comment breifly on Mike Brown's comment about the mega churches and the small churches. I don't know his church at all but probably the small churches are not doing the right things at all. The mega churches a lot of times do do good things. Not all of course. I think that the small churches that are doing right are financially secure as Dr. Snyder would say, not too rich not too poor while the mega churches proabably have a lot of money. The righteous will be ok 100% of the time at least they have potential to be ok if they chose to be. The wicked don't have that much of a choice because they will eventually fall everytime. Nice.

Beth raised a scary issue. We have far too many christians crucifying other christians. But yet the wicked sometimes are within the community, ie, David and Abshalom, enemies who spread gossip, etc. So let's hold this thought until we run with the impreccatory psalms, but based on discussion so far, we need to work with those strange texts until we understand their purpose.

The wicked, what do we do with them? We can't say they're totally ungly and we can't say they're totally beautiful either. I just make an attempt to ignore them. They are on thin ice. Life in orientation is where one rests in God. When God wants to get our attention or if we become complacent He puts us in disorientation, perhaps I'm experiencing both. Disorientation should not affect our behavior but how many times do Christians lose it when things are up in shambles? Too often. I don't think its that hard, just love God. Reorientation is like taking in a breath of fresh air, waking up to see the black clouds are gone and its a beautiful gorgeous day. It is a gift from God. It is something we appreciate after a storm. It is relieving.

I want to address the comment that was just made by Dr. Snyder. (Sorry Dr. Snyder I know that this is on the Psalms but I am going to use examples from other parts of the Bible, and I will be talking about Jesus.) Why is it that Christians act this way towards one another?Didn't Jesus tell the disciples that people would know that they were his disciples because they loved each other? I believe this is found in John 13:34-35. Why should we live our lives any differently then Jesus commanded the disciples? In the old testament we have the ten commandments which too teach that we ought to love one another. So why do we continually act apart from what we have been commanded to do? It is not hard to understand why Christianity is in the decline among other religions when one considers this topic. When we say we are christians and do not love each other the way we are supposed to, and hurt one another (usually through the use of the tongue) why are we surprised when people do not want to be christians? Many simply see Christians in general as hypocrites. For that is truly what I have become if I say one thing and then act in another fashion. If I say I am a Christian but do not love my brother or sister in Christ then I am a hypocrite. I do not want this to be the case in my life!

Leanne,
I think that you should give serious thought to becoming an evangelist! "Love your (christian) neighbor" now where does it say that we should do that? We have a message that demands embodiment: ie, live like Jesus. How do we expect them to believe, if we do not do the most basic commandment of them all? God is kind, love, mercy, but I separate from my christian brothers? No wonder no one wants my Jesus, if they are getting their christianity from my (unloving) behavior.

I have currently been thinking about what Tim said in class a week or so ago. I too feel that I have never truly been in the stage of disorientation. I have battled small struggles in my life, but I haven't had a circumstance in which I am driven to my wit's end and all I have is God. I feel very disconnected with God and I long for that gift that is beyond belief, which is found in reorientation. I somehow relate to the lament psalms though. I feel like because of my orientated lifestyle, I have come to a wit's end and all I can really do is tell God how I feel. I feel weak and need him to rescue me from this feeling of distance from him. So, is this real? Can my orientation become what disorientates me?

So guys, with everything we have been talking about this entering into God's rest... the physical problems and the spiritual... how much do we really want to enter into God's rest? If God's rest is a spiritual state, that can be maintained in some sort of spiritual stillness and silence, why do we continue to be disrupted with God? Why do we wish to remain oriented when all we really want is niceness with God?

Do nice circumstances echo with the hollow praise of phony relationship? In my Gender Issues class discussion on marriage yesterday (God's favorite analogy for His love with us), we discussed what commitment really is: constant maintenance of our relationships, not just the existence of relationship status. I wonder how often I just "am" with God, stagnant in what He calls love for me... instead of seeking to engage Him. Am I really committed if I decide to neglect my faith with Jesus until the end? Is it really faith?

So we were talking about Heaven today, what keeps you from entering it? Are you willing to place and put in the work to keep that passion going with Jesus? I theorize that if we get close with Jesus, really and honestly, then we will get close with others too... I think that's what I've been learning recently. I used to try and separate my time with Jesus from everything else, but James tells me I cannot be sweet to Jesus and nasty to everyone else. That's changed, but now Heaven needs to expand... it can't remain just me and Jesus, but should gradually be progressing every day. What're some thoughts about Heaven now, how realistically can you be in Heaven with Jesus? What would it be like for you to live as if in Heaven now?

Such joy and hope is found in this Psalm. David's beautiful use of poetic ryhthm and flow greatly dramatizes the exiting truths that those living in righteousness find in what he writes. The truths are simple-the good guys win and the bad guys lose. No doubt, the exortation is to strive for a life of righteousness that ,of course, pleases the Lord. The text could not be a better exmple of action/consequence situation. I don't think that the application has relation to individual actions, but has a more "grand scheme of things" application. It has a more "in whom does one place their trust in" connotation.

I will have to say that my person struggles are just dips compared to some of the things that I have experienced in the past. At the bottom of those, I did wonder why people who did not even claim to love God seemed to prosper as my world tumbled around me. Even this morning I was thinking about Ps 79 and the horror of the destruction of Jerusalem, and remembered how sheltered I have been in that I have not seen up-close and personal massive death and destruction. Even in the 2006 flood that wreaked havoc in the triple cities, I was blessed to be high and dry. Yet I know that in the deepest of my pits, God was there holding my hand, even when I couldn't hang on, he alone got me through. Sometimes,many times his hand was the hand of a friend on my hand, the arms of a friend holding me while I cried, the ears of a friend listening to me, and sometimes I was able to begin to hear my Lord's voice through the voice of a friend. Sometimes God sends people into our lives to be him, and then when someone else is in the pit, it is our turn to be him for them. Does this mean that I trust the people around me and not my Lord, no, but he knows how each of us needs him to show himself at any time, and sometimes it's sitting at someone's kitchen table or at Friendlies eating ice cream and talking about what God is doing in my life that helps me clarify things at least a little.

Trust...Delight...Commit...Rest... I'm still working on the being quiet to listen to God's voice.

I'm looking through the psalm and seeing how God wants me to live, depart from evil and do good...speak wisdom and justice...walk according to God's law FROM THE HEART, not some superficial put-on life. I think that I try to live to please God from the heart, but how much of my behavior before people is habit, since my Lord and I know how little time I spend in continuous prayer, in his word, in listening. Yet the Lord, my Lord Jesus, continues to hold my hand. I thank him for that, that when I am weak, then he is strong.

We talked about peace in class and I noticed that the end of the upright person is peace vs 37. Sometimes I think that I am very cynical because, I do not expect peace in the world until the Lord comes. Yet, I loved the thought, live in peace, why not now? but don't be surprised when the rest of the world is warring all around you.

And in the end, it's all good, it's all God.

Even though I am trying to implement praying a psalm a day in my own words I am not sure if I always get the jest of the whole orginal psalm to begin with. The orientation, dis-orientation, and re-orientation I can use to evaluate or take personal inventory of where I am mentally, spiritually and psychologically. I believe if I try changing the words of one psalm into my own words (but still in God's format)I "will" see changes in my life. The question is will I notice the changes because I am looking for them or will the changes be from praying in the new way?

Psalm 37 has been coming back to me time and time again. I would find an index card with that I wrote Psalm 37:4&5 on it, It would show up in my devotional,I keep hearing in my mind verse 23. Almost 2 weeks ago, my computer broke and that is where I journal and simply escape from the world, and I try my very best not to hold out on God with my joys, and dreams, and disappointments, fears, and just simply bare my soul to the One that made me. I think although it has made doing homework a lot harder, my computer being broken is probably the best thing for me right now. In verse 7 it talks about being still in the presence of the Lord, and waiting patiently for him to act.. and it really has been what I have been lacking. I think I have just been so focused on myself, and my shortcomings that I have been lacking my time to just "be still" with my Father. How pathetic am I. It feels like I have been trying to do things that I thought were for God, but I have failed to just be with God. Does that make sense? I have not quite processed those thoughts yet. My computer broke, because God just wanted me to just listen. A self-centered and "deaf" Christian is the last thing God wants me to be. I think these days I just need to listen and be still in Him, and take my eyes off of me.

Whoops totally forgot about this O.O Sorry about that uh... anyways...

Enemies of all sorts attack us from every side. Sometimes they are from outside my little bubble, sometimes from within it and… and sometimes even from within myself. I cannot escape my enemies in this life; I will never have peace in that area. Maybe times of lessen influence, but I can’t escape that while I’m in this world and while I have this body to contend with. . . I need to deal with the enemies that come my way, but I cannot let myself get pulled down into their vile traps. I have the future hope that all mine enemies will be squashed like little bugs in some form. But here and now I have them but I still have Yahweh.

Thank the heavens I still have Yahweh. I have to focus myself on him and the enemies and my problems will disappear then. Right? I have to do as Jesus and the proverbs say and do good so that coals will come pouring down their heads. Let me succeed in that and perhaps my problems will them will change. My heart will definitely have a different attitude. Perhaps some of my enemies will then show themselves to be anything but. It is the only hope that I can truly have.

Where ever I’m currently in this whole orientation process I think I need to focus on that. My feelings I need to express to God, my whole, that is WHOLE heart needs to be poured out before him. Then my attitude toward my enemies won’t be as hostile I think. My prayers have to do something in that realm. I have to get these feelings out but not to the enemies where it would hurt my witness, instead I think Yahweh is okay with my ranting off to him. But who knows?

(I am very sorry that I am late to do this comment as i wrote before. )

I have been considering about the contrast between godly life and worldly life. and i just asked myself where i stand now. sometimes my past experiences tries to make the rule/definition to life what the life is. then i feel like really unstable and stagger. i feel like i am standing really middle between world and Him, and that is not faithful. what i should trust is Him, the truth Who He is, not the definition of life which my experience has builded....
verse 31 really hits me. this whole chapter gives me encouragement, but at the same time, it really examine my heart and faith. what i have seen with my eyes and have experienced physically cannot show how i should live, and it make unstable step to life. however God, even if i cannot see with my eyes now, He is the only one can make the way to walk/live the life. verses 23,24. i think i tried to see Him through my experiences. but how i should trust may be always under the truth of Who He is. it is still hard to organize my thought, so.. i am sorry if this is too mess, or if it is hard to understand.

You almost think it would give you a bigger heart to forgive... I mean its true we are bitter and sinful people... but, if we love everyone... it almost makes me want to reach out for those that are going to be punished by God for wickedness, His wrath would be much worse than mine could ever be. And even if I have been hurt, but feel some sort of love for everyone, then it should pain me to see someone headed towards so much pain. Although, thats true about all non- believers... maybe we should pray for God to give us a softer heart for all the unbelievers.

My comment is late, I'm sorry, I thought I was up to date but I was wrong.

I agree and understand the the wisdom of the proverb is difficult to live out. It asserts certain things to be true as if they were promises, but as we learn by example they really are not a do "X" and "Z" will automatically happen. To often you do "X" and "Y" happens, and "Y" in many cases can seem to be the opposite of "Z".

I have learned however that it is true, X will lead to "Z", but it feels sometimes as if "Z" always comes after "Y", and there is no definition for what "Y" is or how long it will last. I take comfort in the words, "I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging bread."

I like how you connected the verbs in orientation to disorientation. God is the same-he's close by but our perspective of him changes. Interestingly, He has the same qualities in the reorientation stage as well, but again our perspective changes. My question is, can we really exaggerate God? I think we lack the vocabulary to truly express his greatness.

Truly interesting when you have to love all. not just the people you enjoy to be around with. i have come to realize as I have got older and that is that we must show love but not be run over by people wanting and longing to take advantage of the loving and forgiving Christian. We must be realistic and realize that just because we do what is right and show people love doesn't mean that we will have it easy. We must have consistent faith and when we fall short we must fall on our knees and ask our lord and savior for forgiveness.