Can you feel it?  That shiver running down your spine and that tingle in your fingertips?  That is because of the Phillies are tied for first place, a position they haven’t been in since the first time they heard an umpire cry out “Play ball” this year.  Now, with just 3 games to go, the Phillies are tied with those helpless, self-destructing Mets.  It’s awesome!

Kim and I are going to the game tomorrow.  Since we met, she has grown to enjoy baseball.  But she’s never experienced anything like this.  The noise will be deafening.  The energy will be buzzing.  Citizen’s Bank Park is going to be rocking!  I can’t wait!

The last several years, the Phillies has been the ultimate teases.  They get so close, everyone gets excited and then, Poof.  They vanish and disappear, so close yet so very, very far away.  Fans’ stomachs drop and their heart stop.  But this is different.  There is a confidence, a belief that they are going to come through.  I can’t remember the last time I watched the Phillies expecting them to win instead awaiting the inevitable freefall.  Here it is.  3 games.  Could the Phillies be playing October baseball for the first time since I was a sophomore in high school and only the 5th time in my lifetime, of which the first 3 were before my 5th birthday?  I can’t believe I’m writing this, but, I think so.  I think so.

This is cool.  I’m writing this WHILE watching the Phillies game on TV.  And all this at our house!  Yes, we are out of the dark ages as our TV and internet access were finally installed today.  Hopefully this will result in more frequent posting… that’s the plan anyway.

My PhD class this morning opened with a reflection on Psalm 131, so I thought I would skip ahead with some thoughts on that psalm…

Especially noteworthy in this psalm is that it is a psalm of ascent – that is, it was a song for the journey.  The psalms of ascent are the songs the Israelites would sing on their way to the temple as a means of preparing themselves to enter in the Lord’s presence.  With that perspective, consider the words of this psalm…

My heart is not proud, O Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.

But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, put your hope in the Lord
both now and forevermore.

So often, we (myself especially) become proud because we know great things and have mastered understanding of “great matters.”  As I begin a PhD, I am beginning a journey that should result in me studying and understanding something unique, something that has never been investigated quite the way that I will.  The temptation is to become proud, thinking highly of myself because of the “great matters” I have mastered.

Yet humility and quietness before God is the start both of knowledge and worship.  As Psalm 46:10 commends, “Be still and know that I am God.”  As we put our hope in the Lord, we will find knowledge and wisdom.  We will find strength and courage.  We will find humility and brokenness.  We will find mercy and grace.  We will find YHWH.

The journey toward a doctorate should be a journey that leads to insight and understanding.  But beware to think that insight and understanding are of myself, and not gifts from God, to whom belongs all the glory and honor.

Kim and I changed our cell phone numbers last night.  Here are the new ones…

Kim – 302.824.6495
Steve – 302.824.6496

We can’t wait to hear from all of you!

“Is this true of me?”  That’s the question that ran through my head continually as I read Psalm 26.  “Is this true of me?”  Consider the statements that David makes.  Are they true of you?

 For I have led a blameless life (vs 1).
      Is this true of me?

I have trusted in the Lord without waivering (vs 1).
      Is this true of me?

For your love is ever before me (vs 3).
      Is this true of me?

And I walk continually in your truth (vs 3).
      Is this true of me?

I do not sit with deceitful men (vs 4).
      Is this true of me?

I wash my hands in innocence (vs 6).
      Is this true of me?

Proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds (vs 7).
      Is this true of me?

I love the house where you live, O Lord (vs 8).
      Is this true of me?

Is this true of me?  Can I honestly claim each of the things that David claims?  Am I blameless and pure?  Do I cherish the love of God and walk always in His truth?  Do I avoid evil and instead spend my days declaring the great things He has done?  Do I love and long to be in the house of the Lord?

Well, the answer is, at least, “Not always.”  But I want it to be true of me.  I want to be found at the end of my life, as David is at the end of this psalm, able to stand and say,

But I lead a blameless life;
redeem me and be merciful to me.

My feet stand on level ground;
in the great assembly I will praise the Lord (vs 11-12).