Just this morning, I got a call from a pastor friend of mine who is caught in the midst of church politics. There is a rift between his local church and the denomination. One of the trustees of the church threatened to quit. And he is caught in the middle of having faithfully served this congregation for several years and their unwillingness/inability to provide for him. Though giving is 25% ahead of budget for the year, he is struggling to pay his bills. And this was his question to me: is it ok to question to my call? He is caught in the tension between his call to serve and the harsh reality of church politics.

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We had a nice relaxing weekend here filled with lots of Easter festivities. We all helped at our church’s Easter Egg hunt yesterday and Karilee and I made carrot souffle, peanut butter eggs and Key Lime pie for Easter dinner with our church (a ton of work, but it was definitely worth it!). And I had fun this morning teaching the 3 & 4 year olds in children’s church…trying to go through the Resurrection Eggs with 10 kids who are loaded up with candy…but I think they actually got the point.

In other family news, James, Kelly’s fiance got accepted into Widener Law School just outside of Harrisburg, so they will be able to stay in Pennsylvania…yay!

Also…there are some pics from the Phillies game in the gallery and there are new cake pics on creativecakesbykim.com.

(Updated) The new cake pics are now posted…

What a cool flow to this Psalm. There are several oft quoted verses in this psalm, but in reading it today, it was particularly cool to see how they all come together to move the psalm from delighting in God’s general revelation (vs 1-6) to delighting in God’s special revelation (vs 7-10) to responding in obedience (vs 11-14). Watch how this unfolds…

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (vs 1). The psalmist looks around him and sees the majesty of the Creator reflected in creation. Commonly referred to as “general revelation” because everyone in the world can has access to it, God reveals his greatness in both the skies above and in all the earth.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple… They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb” (vs 7, 10). The psalmist moves from his reflection on creation to rejoicing in the law of the Lord. Most of us look at the laws, statues and precepts as constricting and binding. Not the psalmist. He sees the glory of God reflected here even more pointedly than just in creation. This is called special revelation because not everyone has equal access to God’s law and God’s written word must be specifically revealed to people.

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (vs 14). Upon reflecting on God’s glory as revealed in creation and in God’s law, the psalmist is moved to obedience. The message of creation and the message of the Scriptures are consonant with one another in their call to obedience. And the psalmist joyfully responds.

With Karilee in town visiting, Karilee, Kim and I drove down to Miami yesterday to see the Phillies play the Marlins in their home opener for the season. Here are some thoughts from the Phillies 8-2 win…

1. The Phillies bullpen stinks. I was so glad the Phillies added three extra runs on the home run by Pat Burrell in the top of the seventh, allowing Papa Charlie to run out Jamie Moyer probably an extra inning longer that he would have in a close game. Something has got to be done about this if the Phillies hope to be real contenders.
2. Joe Robbie Stadium, err, Pro Player Park, err, what is it these days, oh yeah, Dolphin Stadium is a joke for baseball. Having now attended a Marlins home game, I get their fight for a new stadium. Now, personally, I think that stadium financing should be a private endeavor (under most circumstances) as I don’t think that average taxpayers should be building stadiums for billionaires. But, with that said, they do need a new park. Concessions were a disgrace (Karilee and Kim stood in line for 3.1 innings, over an hour, for chicken strips and fries!), but matched the poor quality of the park.
3. We attended the most crowded game of the year for the Marlins. An announced attendance of 40,397 will be cut in half for tonight’s game, as well as every other game this year. There will be (many) 3 game series this year where they don’t get 40,000 in attendance.
4. Let’s return again to Pat Burrell’s home run. It was the top of the 7th with a runner on base and Ryan Howard comes to the plate. Intentional Walk. That will happen all year, unless… unless this home run from Pat Burrell is the sign of things to come. If he can hit a couple of home runs immediately following intentional walks, teams will rethink the idea of walking Howard. And a successful, home run hitting Howard is vital to this team’s success.
5. And finally, for all the smack talking from Jimmy Rollins and others on this team did during the offseason, getting swept at home was not the way to start. While it was great to get a win, this team needs to remember the message of past Aprils. You can’t win a pennant in April, but you can lose one. The 10-14 record during April each of the past two years has come back to bite them in September. If this is going to be the year the Phillies return to October, then they need the fast start they always talk about and never actually deliver.
6. (Updated) Fly-By’s Rock!  As we were walking up the ramp toward our seats, 3 jets flew by.  The whole building shook!  Kim was so scared, she literally jumped.  It was awesome!

Before he was the king, David was a refugee on the run. His success in leading the military against Israel’s enemies made him the enemy of Israel’s king. Saul was jealous at his success, at his reception from the people, and at his status as blessed of God. So David ran for his life.

The same one who delivered Israel from the giant, Goliath, needed a deliverer of his own. So he called upon the name of the Lord, “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears” (vs 6).

Yet here is the lesson for so many of us. When, in our despair, we “cry to my God for help,” and he is faithful to respond (as he always is), how will we respond? Most of us, if we even remember, say “thanks” and move on. Not David. He stops and meditates on God’s provision and on his deliverance. He remembers the goodness of YHWH, and he is drawn into worship.

Consider these verses…

• “I love you, O Lord, my strength” (vs 1)
• “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer” (vs 2)
• “I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise” (vs 3)
• “You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light” (vs 28)
• “For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?” (vs31)
• “The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!” (vs 46)

David recognizes that his deliverance is from the Lord as he declares, “You have delivered me…” (vs 43). And he responds in worship. When your enemies crowd in around you and despair threatens to overtake you, how will you respond?