Monday, October 17, 2016

BOLD Christian Outreach Reflections from Psalm 40

Subtitle: There is hope! God has not left us on our own!


Psalm 40:1-17 (GW)

1  I waited patiently for the LORD. He turned to me and heard my cry for help.
2  He pulled me out of a horrible pit, out of the mud and clay. He set my feet on a rock and made my steps secure.
3  He placed a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see this and worship. They will trust the LORD.
4  Blessed is the person who places his confidence in the LORD and does not rely on arrogant people or those who follow lies.
5  You have done many miraculous things, O LORD my God. You have made many wonderful plans for us. No one compares to you! I will tell others about your miracles, which are more than I can count.
6  You were not pleased with sacrifices and offerings. You have dug out two ears for me. You did not ask for burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin.
7  Then I said, “I have come! (It is written about me in the scroll of the book.)
8  I am happy to do your will, O my God.” Your teachings are deep within me.
9  I will announce the good news of righteousness among those assembled for worship. I will not close my lips. You know that, O LORD.
10  I have not buried your righteousness deep in my heart. I have been outspoken about your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not hidden your mercy and your truth from those assembled for worship.
11  Do not withhold your compassion from me, O LORD. May your mercy and your truth always protect me.
12  Countless evils have surrounded me. My sins have caught up with me so that I can no longer see. They outnumber the hairs on my head. I have lost heart.
13  O LORD, please rescue me! Come quickly to help me, O LORD!
14  Let all those who seek to end my life be confused and put to shame. Let those who want my downfall be turned back and disgraced.
15  Let those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” be stunned by their own shame.
16  Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad because of you. Let those who love your salvation continually say, “The LORD is great!”
17  But I am oppressed and needy. May the Lord think of me. You are my help and my savior. O my God, do not delay!



When I started this series of reflections I wanted to create a tool that would encourage others to share their faith with confidence knowing that God’s Word does not return empty. I had set a goal of posting once a week, as life’s challenges and other activities got in the way, I changed my goal to posting once per month, even that goal became difficult to maintain. I originally thought that it would take me three years to get through the 150 Psalms (averaging one per week). When I recalculated my goals, I thought I would get to Psalm 40 in about three years (posting 13 times per year). It was doable but not obtained. Here I am, 6 years later, finally posting a reflection on Psalm 40.

Many things have happened over the past 6 years, in my ministry, in the world in which we live, and in the life of the church. Six years ago, I would never have thought that marriage in our country would be redefined to include two women or two men in union with each other, (from a biblical perspective, it is impossible to join two men or two women together in a marital relationship), but now according to our government it is legal. As shocking as that is, just this month, so called sane elected officials, are mandating that boys who want to identify as girls should be allowed to change and shower in the same facilities as girls and girls who want to identify as boys should be allowed to change and shower in the same facilities as boys. Any school, official, parent, child (either boy or girl) that objects is subject to punishment under anti-discrimination rules, loss of federal support, or some other form of punishment. All of this makes me want to shout out in anger some, not so very kind words. It appears that morality in America has fallen into a “horrible pit”.

David wrote, “I waited patiently for the LORD. He turned to me and heard my cry for help. He pulled me out of a horrible pit, out of the mud and clay. He set my feet on a rock and made my steps secure. He placed a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see this and worship. They will trust the LORD. Blessed is the person who places his confidence in the LORD and does not rely on arrogant people or those who follow lies. You have done many miraculous things, O LORD my God. You have made many wonderful plans for us. No one compares to you! I will tell others about your miracles, which are more than I can count.” Psalm 40:1-5 (God’s Word, Copyright 1995 by God’s Word to the Nations Bible Societywww.godsword.org)

There is hope! God has not left us on our own! God has already sent His son Jesus Christ into the world to destroy the power of Satan and pay the price for our sin. Those who are influenced by Satan would have us believe in lies. Satan would have us believe that each individual has the right to do whatever feels right for them, that individuals don’t need God, or need to follow the natural laws that God created that establish order in the world. When Satan convinced the elite of the world that they evolved from lower beings and that we are continually evolving, he opened the door for the perversion of our entire society. And our society, like many that have gone before, will be reduced to nothing, because it is of the world.

Where does our hope come from? It comes from the LORD. David’s empire was built by the help of the LORD. David also experienced multiple trials; personal family rebellion, personal attacks, corruption within the ranks, and moral failures. However, David also recognized the authority of God in his life and leaned on God to rescue him from his enemies. Even in the midst of persecution, David professed and proclaimed his faith in God, the only one who had the ability to control the outcome of his life. David laid it on the LORD to redeem him. We must do the same! Only God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit – the Triune God) can provide and deliver us from the evil in this world. Only God, through the work of Jesus Christ, can redeem and forgive the sins of those who hate Him. Only God, the true God, the God of the Bible, through the power of the Holy Spirit can lead someone to faith in Jesus Christ. Our role is to proclaim the good news trusting that God, through the power of His Word, will produce the results.

I have decided that this is a fitting place to end this journey. I have a dream to create these reflections into a forty-day meditation series for lent or some other occasion. They would be edited and would include four parts. First, the reading of a Psalm for the day; second, the reflection on BOLD outreach promises; third, a place for discussion questions and answers; forth, a place to journal highlighted by a photo from God’s creation.



The BOLD Outreach blog will continue with a broader focus in the future as I will share highlights from outreach based resources and personal stories of encounters with people along the way. Until next time, blessings as you BOLDly proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ with the people  God places in your path.


DCO Peter