Psalm 115 Heavenly Shield

The general theme of this Psalm is that God is supreme, and people who honor and trust him, will prosper.               

                The Psalmist reminds us in the first verse that God’s “steadfast love” and “faithfulness” (NASB) are reasons to give all glory to God. The best efforts of mankind fail in comparison to God’s ways. “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases,” is how God’s holiness is described in verse 3. God is love, and his love is a thread woven through everything he creates including each individual person on the earth. This certainly gives him the right to do as he pleases, but he also gives man (including male and female) limited “rights” to choose his own way.

                Psalm 115 verses 4-8 then describe how man misuses his creativity to form “idols” in an attempt to diminish God’s power and authority.

“Their idols are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
 They have mouths, but do not speak;
    eyes, but do not see.
 They have ears, but do not hear;
    noses, but do not smell.
 They have hands, but do not feel;
    feet, but do not walk;
    and they do not make a sound in their throat.
 Those who make them become like them;
    so do all who trust in them.”  (NASB)

An idol is a fake “image” of God, often thought of as a physical object (made of “silver and gold” as it states here). But idols can be non-physical (intangible) things like the words we allow our mouths to speak, images we allow our eyes to see, sounds we allow our ears to hear, scents we allow our noses to smell, sensations from what we allow our hands to touch, and places we allow our feet to take us. In short, whatever we put out trust in to provide our emotional security and comfort, without intentionally making it secondary to God’s will and pleasure, becomes an idol of our heart. For example, do we speak lies or flattery to get our way? Do we use our senses (seeing, hearing, feeling) to engage media, entertainment, or technology for purposes that do not honor God? Do we use our hands to act, or use our feet to go, in directions away from the light of Truth, and instead into dark areas of falsehood?  The Psalmist makes it clear that idols are dead. They lead to dead ends. Focusing on dead (dark) idols, makes a person dead (dark) on the inside.

                The next 3 verses (9-11) repeat, “He is their help and shield.”  All those who “fear the Lord, trust in the Lord.”  When we show respect for God and honor him (which is what it means to “fear” him), we will trust him with our whole heart. We will allow the parts of our heart not yet surrendered to his ways (those ways still trapped in idol worship) to be transformed by the Light of Jesus. Jesus is our help and our shield.

                The next four veses (12-15) reiterate how the Lord blesses those who respect and honor him. He is not biased, nor does he show partiality. He protects and provides for us as his children. The final three verses (16-18) encourage the reader to exuberantly praise him for his wonderful favor towards mankind. He reminds us that dead people cannot utter praise. This includes those physically dead and dead from idols in their heart. But those who are living can praise him, and are under obligation to worship him with all their heart.

                Today, may we commit to uncovering and casting down, any idol that still holds a grip on our heart.  I pray we have the fortitude to reach for our heavenly shield instead. In all we do and say, may we give God the glory due his name!

by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry

Knowing Is Not Enough

Some things we know we should stop doing, we do.  And some things we know we should start doing, we do not do.  Having knowledge, for example, that eating processed foods and consuming sugar is bad for our health, doesn’t automatically translate into nutritious cooking and refraining from too many desserts.   Knowing the value of physical exercise doesn’t make it an intentional regular practice.  Knowing it’s wrong to slander another person doesn’t guarantee an offended person will not speak unkind words to others about their offender.   Knowing that bitterness and resentment cause destruction of body and soul, doesn’t mean we will choose to surrender condemning  judgment  and extend forgiveness for the path to freedom.  Having knowledge of right, doesn’t keep us out of wrong. 

Without going into a deep discussion of the brain science behind this truth, let’s look at a brief explanation.  Psychiatrist Timothy Jennings has some great explanations in his books,  “The God-Shaped Brain,” and “The God-Shaped Heart.”  Dr. Jennings uses computer function to  illustrate how the mind, heart, and brain operate in the human being.   As a former IT professional myself, and now as a counselor, I see the value of making these terms clear in our understanding.  Let me say too that no illustration is a perfect match to reality.  God created people.  Man created computers.  In no way am I suggesting that computer engineering comes anywhere close to God’s ways and workings.  

The human brain and the physical aspects of the nervous system are like the hardware components of the computer.  The human mind (cognitive functioning) can be likened to the software programs that run the various applications that process the data. The human heart is likened to the core operating system (OS) of the computer.   The OS is a form of software also, but it must interface with both the hardware and the application software running on top of it.  The heart (operating system) of a person is essential to the integrity of function of the whole person.  Without the operating system between the hardware and the applications, each could not function. 

To illustrate a bit further,  the mind can be thought of as our willpower, intellect, consciousness, senses, and sensory feelings.   The heart can be thought of as the personal spirit, deeper feelings and emotions,  creativity, curiosity, imagination, intuition, masculinity or femininity, spontaneity, gifts, and talents.   Our heart is our core identity.  Our heart defines who we are as a person.  Our heart performs the operations connecting the physical bodily systems with the mind’s cognitive interpretations of the external world. The external world environment is the data. The data spring from environmental conditions, flow through the mind into the heart, and on to memory storage in the brain.  The data stored in memory also flow the other direction out of the brain, through the heart and mind and become forms of interactions with the external environment.  These exchanges create the reality of our world.  Our speech and actions are a direct result of our thinking and memory processing. 

One of the reasons the teachings of Jesus focused on the heart is to help people understand that their internal condition determines their speech and behavior.  In fact, he pointed out on many occasions. how mere knowledge of the law (rules), without a compassionate heart, actually keeps people in physical and spiritual poverty.  An example of this is when he healed people on the Sabbath (see Luke 13:10-17).  

Mark’s gospel records the words of Jesus, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him,  because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and []is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean)  And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, []fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,  deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, [envy, slander, []pride and foolishness.  All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man” (Mark 7:18-23).   Luke’s gospel also makes the point good things also originate in the heart.  “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart”  (Luke 6:45).

The writer of Proverbs says, “As in water face reflects face, so a man’s heart reveals the man’ (Proverbs 27:19).  The data coming out of a computer merely reveals what was put in and how it was processed.  So to the speech and actions of a person reveals their background, core beliefs, and world view.  A person’s life experiences from day one are the data going in.   How the person responds to his world in the present is determined by the sum total of past experiences (ie. previous processing by the mind and heart).  Hence, the processing we do in our heart, both determines who we are, and who we are becoming.    That’s why the Proverb says, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23).  For more on guarding the heart see my article http://authoredhersh.blogspot.com/2020/08/guard-your-heart.html .  

A person may be super intelligent, or be trained in the best schools and practices, and still engage in behaviors that destroy his life.  I see this pattern in my counseling many times.  A person cannot kick a bad habit or addiction with mere  knowledge of its destructive power. 

God created man with a heart that reflected his Creator to perfection.  The Creator’s image has a unique stamp in every individual’s heart since the beginning of time.  That is the good part of a person’s heart.  But with the first man, Adam and Eve, the virus of sin introduced a bad part into the heart.  The virus implanted a stamp that also broke the heart of every individual since the beginning of time.  Our fractured hearts must reckon not only with the good, but also the bad parts as well.  All sorts of data processing failures make us vulnerable to bad data going in (believing lies), and bad data coming out (false assumptions, corrupted opinions, bad decisions, and condemning judgments).  This brokenness is automatic and only has one reliable solution.  

The solution is Jesus Christ.   Jesus is the only way to fix the inherently broken parts of  our hearts.    He came to earth about 2,000 years ago to reveal God in the form of a human.   Believing in Jesus begins a re-programming of our operating system. Our hearts are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17).  As we surrender and assimilate to the re-coding in our heart, our mind is renewed (see Romans 12:1-2) to respond to life more in keeping with our original design.  In our original whole condition, we live in the Truth (God’s reality).   The more we can operate in truth (in sync with original design), the more free we are to become the person we were created to be.  

However, merely knowing about the virus, and knowing that Jesus removes it, remains as data in a memory bank unless further action is taken.  Question--Why is knowing the truth not enough?  Answer--Because knowing doesn’t automatically translate into obedience.  Faith in Christ is demonstrated by practicing Christ’s teaching (truth), not merely understanding the concepts. 

God is a personal God, not a concept.  Truth is found through relationship (with God), not religion (about God).   Jesus makes this clear in the following two verses.  “Jesus told the people who had faith in him, “If you keep on obeying what I have said, you truly are my disciples.  You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free“ (John 8:31-32; CSV).   Many people quote the second verse without the conditional first verse, and their interpretation becomes the exact opposite of the truth.  Increasing knowledge of concepts of Christ’s teaching, without fully engaging the practice of the concepts, is a little like trying to run an app designed for an Android device, on an Apple device.   The software may be designed to perfection, but if it isn’t run on the OS it’s designed for, it is practically worthless. 

            I could share many examples from my own life and the lives of those I’ve ministered to, where not following God’s instructions (not applying Christ’s teaching) has caused great loss.  A miracle by definition, is a supernatural intervention.  If we choose to rely on our strength and willpower (natural realm), we can miss the everyday miracles (supernatural realm) God desires for us to participate in. 

In my own life, I have been forced to reckon with this through limited physical eye sight.  Due to an injury at birth, both optic nerves were damaged to the extent of legal blindness.  A major limitation is not seeing well enough to obtain a driver’s license.  This puts me in situations of need for transportation.  Print material, signage, videos, and other visual content are often inaccessible, so alternative formats are necessary to obtain information.  I have learned that God’s provision may come in an unexpected means of travel or in computer software that enlarges the screen for readability.  Sometimes too, by allowing drivers to give me a ride, they share in God’s blessing for helping someone in need.  If I were to demand from God 20/20 (normal) eyesight, I would miss opportunities for God to meet my needs in unconventional, and often miraculous ways.  The loss created by damaged vision is overcome by believing and applying the truth that “my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19; NASB).     

Jesus performed many physical healings when he was on earth, and still does today as well.  The ones recorded in the Bible almost always have a spiritual application associated with them.  One of my personal favorites is in John 9 where Jesus restored a blind man’s sight and then exclaimed, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind”  (John 9:39; NASB).  Again, God’s reality is not born out of what we know and see, but through becoming “blind” to what we know and see, so that we can see into a spiritual reality.  Knowing is not enough.  In fact, knowing may create “blindness” to knowing more. of what we should be seeing.

The miracle of forgiveness is another example of applying Christ’s teaching to know the truth that sets one free.   True forgiveness occurs in the heart as defined by Jesus (see  Matthew 18:35).  Also see the article Big Debt Forgiven at:  http://authoredhersh.blogspot.com/2017/04/big-debt-forgiven.html

As noted above, sin implanted a virus in the heart that can only be removed through the salvation power of Jesus.  Our natural tendency to hold bitterness, resentment, and blame causes sin at the heart level, not just with our actions.  This is evidenced by the verses quoted above from Mark 7:18-23.  Since sin is at the heart level, repentance must be at the heart level.  Repenting of the ill-gotten attitudes, assumptions, decisions, conclusions, and condemning judgments that caused our sinful reactions, releases the miracle to be possible.   Surrendering to God the right to be Judge puts the heart in position to once again operate as originally designed.  Forgiving from the heart is not a decision based on mental faculties (knowledge) alone, but includes decision to cooperate with God’s decisions for justice in the offensive situation. 

Applying Christ’s teaching to everything we experience in life keeps us in the truth.  Seeing God in truth, seeing ourselves in truth, and seeing other people in truth keeps our immune system strong.  A healthy immune system is the best way to stay free of the virus of sin that would aim to keep us sick.  Again, building and guarding our spiritual immune system is vital. Time alone in God’s presence is similar to running a good anti-virus software protection for the computer’s core functions.   Keeping to regular times of rest and soul downtime also serve like an intentional “reboot,” to clear the clogs and unnecessary background processing. 

When things are not going well, instead of trying to figure out what is going wrong, it is far better to focus on applying God’s instructions and ways of operation more closely.  The Bible is the best source.  Also see other articles on this blog site on transformation from the inside out.  

 

by Ed Hersh, Blue Rock BnB Healing Ministry