The past couple of days, I have been spending a lot of time reading and thinking about Psalm 63. It is a great chapter. Tonight, I decided to post some of my thoughts on Psalm 63:1 for your reading pleasure/consideration. Depending on my schedule, I may post my comments on the rest of the chapter later in the week. Whether I finish the project or not, here is the start:
David wrote this Psalm when he was in the wilderness--in a dry and weary land where there is no water. It is a Psalm of desire for communion with God. David starts by expressing his "thirst" for God, then says, "my flesh faints for you." The ESV translates the next part, "as in a dry and weary land where there is no water." This draws up strong pictures of David's desire for God, similar to Psalm 42 (As the deer pants for the water...). The only problem with this is the ESV is the only translation I've seen so far that translates it this way. I don't know which translation is correct, but the NASB, NIV, KJV, and Geneva Bible all translate it as, "in" a dry and weary land (rather than "as in"). I think this gives an even stronger portrayal of David's desire for God in this passage. Instead of saying metaphorically, "I desire you like I would want water if I were stuck in the desert," he is saying concretely, "I am in the desert. My throat is dry, my lips are cracked, and I am probably dehydrated. Most men at this point could focus on nothing but their desire for water. Not me. My desire in this time is for You. I don't thirst for water, I thirst for You, God. I do not faint because of my lack of water, I faint because I desire a closer walk with You. All my human instincts tell me to forget about You for a little while so I can find water, but I cannot forget You." This is not a figurative message of one man's romanticized dreams of a closer walk with God. It is a desperate plea for communion with God, his creator and sustainer. It is the cry of a desperate man for the only thing that will truly satisfy him.
I hope these thoughts encourage you and challenge you to seek God with a greater voracity as they have encouraged and challenged me.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Times of Change
Sorry it’s been a couple weeks since my last post. They have been a crazy 2 weeks. Last Tuesday, August 31, my church’s new pastor, Dr. Dan Williams, and his family arrived from Oklahoma (who could blame them for wanting to get away from there…). This is a very exciting event for the church, as it (hopefully) marks the end of a long period of the church being without a long-term leader. Tomorrow, he preaches in IBC for the first time, and I’m excited to hear him speak. Along with Dr. Dan (our new pastor) came his wife Anita and his son Nathan. They are a very friendly family and it has been exciting getting to know them the past couple of weeks.
Two days after the Williams family arrived, Josh Chee arrived in Hong Kong. Josh is a 20 year old university student from Toronto. He is also now my roommate for the semester. It is very different actually having someone to talk to in my apartment, and it took a couple days to get used to having another person living here. He is doing great adjusting to Hong Kong, and I am excited to get to live with him for the next semester.
Other than the transitions from the past couple weeks, work itself has been keeping me busy. This week, I ended up working close to 50 hours, including speaking at a local Christian school, starting the 2 discipleship groups I’m leading for the semester, teaching at Shillage (our youth group), and planning and running a youth event today.
Another thing I did in the past 2 weeks is sign up for a competitive ultimate Frisbee league. Luckily, I got drafted to the league although none of the people drafting the teams have ever seen me play before. Apparently someone at the draft who knew me mentioned to the captain of the team that drafted me that I’m really tall, and that was enough for them to take a chance on me. The youth pastor from ECC, another church in Hong Kong, is also on my team, and he said he hopes I turn out to be a late round steal. I’ll keep you updated on how that goes.
That should catch you up to most of what’s happened in my life the past 2 weeks. I’ll try to send updates more consistently in the future.
Two days after the Williams family arrived, Josh Chee arrived in Hong Kong. Josh is a 20 year old university student from Toronto. He is also now my roommate for the semester. It is very different actually having someone to talk to in my apartment, and it took a couple days to get used to having another person living here. He is doing great adjusting to Hong Kong, and I am excited to get to live with him for the next semester.
Other than the transitions from the past couple weeks, work itself has been keeping me busy. This week, I ended up working close to 50 hours, including speaking at a local Christian school, starting the 2 discipleship groups I’m leading for the semester, teaching at Shillage (our youth group), and planning and running a youth event today.
Another thing I did in the past 2 weeks is sign up for a competitive ultimate Frisbee league. Luckily, I got drafted to the league although none of the people drafting the teams have ever seen me play before. Apparently someone at the draft who knew me mentioned to the captain of the team that drafted me that I’m really tall, and that was enough for them to take a chance on me. The youth pastor from ECC, another church in Hong Kong, is also on my team, and he said he hopes I turn out to be a late round steal. I’ll keep you updated on how that goes.
That should catch you up to most of what’s happened in my life the past 2 weeks. I’ll try to send updates more consistently in the future.
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