ken castor

Psalm 139: How precious are we?

Have you ever felt unnoticed?

Not to bum you out, but think for a moment about a time when you thought nobody was aware of you.  Maybe you felt like nobody could possibly understand what was on your heart.  Maybe you felt like nobody took time to think about you, talk to you, or stop what they were doing long enough to smile at you.

This verse encourages me again today: Psalm 139:1 = Oh Lord, you have searched me, and you know me.

God notices you.  Even if you feel like nobody understands what’s going on inside of you… God does.  He knows.   Actually, God knows you very very well.  He knows what you are going through.  He knows every desire, every need, every hurt, every crazy emotion, every thought, every mess, everything about you.  God cares for you so much that he is willing to get into the middle of your life, crud and all, to search you out... all so he can comprehend you. 

Have you ever felt alone?

I have felt the way.  I've felt absolutely certain of it at times.  But it's just not true.  I am not alone. 

Psalm 139:2-12 encourages me again today: 

2 You know when I sit and when I rise; 
       you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; 
       you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue 
       you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before; 
       you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, 
       too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? 
       Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; 
       if I make my bed in the depths,  you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, 
       if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, 
       your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me 
       and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; 
       the night will shine like the day, 
       for darkness is as light to you.

God is there with us.  He is aware of our every move.  There is nowhere you can go that God doesn’t see each of us.  If we’re standing or sitting, he sees it.  And not only does he see, but he sets it up.  He maps things out for us.  He plots a course for us to follow.  He tells us when to stop and rest.  He knows where we are at every point along the way.  He even knows what we are going to say before we say it.  

The wild thing is that God doesn’t just set everything up and then let it go either.  He goes ahead of us and behind us.  He also is beside us.  He places his hand of blessing on us… gently on our head.  So wonderful is God’s presence that we cannot even fathom it.

We can never be fully alone on this earth.  We can’t escape from God’s Spirit.  We can’t get away from where he is.  If we’re in a plane at 35,000 feet, God is there with us.  If we dig the deepest hole, God is there.  If we go to Mexico or Ireland, Afghanistan or Malaysia, even there God’s hand will guide you and his strength will support us.  It's like St. Patrick's Prayer: "Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise..."

Even in the midst of darkness, we cannot escape God’s presence.  In the darkest moments of our life, God can see us.  He is there beside us.  To him, darkness is as clear as light.  It doesn’t matter what the condition of our soul might be, God is there.  Each of us is never alone. 

Have you ever felt worthless?

Psalm 139:13-18 encourages me again today:

13 For you created my inmost being; 
       you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
      your works are wonderful,  
      I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you 
       when I was made in the secret place. 
      When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body. 
       All the days ordained for me 
       were written in your book 
       before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to  me are your thoughts, O God! 
       How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, 
      they would outnumber the grains of sand. 
      When I awake, 
      I am still with you.

God values you.  He thinks the world of you.  He is so convinced that you are an amazing person.  Do you think God is wrong?  He made you!  Every delicate little fiber of your body was put together by him.  You are a miraculous quilt of blood and skin and muscle and tendons and tissues and hair.  He knit you together in your mother’s womb.  Even there you couldn’t escape his presence.  He could see you so clearly in that secret, quiet place.  God has made you wonderfully complex!  That’s why nobody else can figure you out! 

Only God knows your intimate soul.  Only God can completely understand your deepest passions.  Only God.  He has known you since the day you were conceived.  He mapped out and then recorded every day of your life.  His heart gushes for you.  He loves you so much.  His thoughts about you are so precious!  They are so wonderful.  And he never stops thinking about you.  He never forgets you.  He is always constantly thinking about you.  Innumerable thoughts!  You couldn’t count all the thoughts God has about you.  More than the grains of the sand of this earth is how many times God thinks about you.  And every single day is like that.  From day to day, every time you wake up, God loves you and is already thinking about you. 

May you be so encouraged today.  May you understand that you are understood.  May you never feel alone again.  May you always feel so important, so special, so loved.  God sees your heart.  God has mapped out a plan for you.  God is with you.  God created you- you!  God is thinking about you right now.  May you live encouraged and refreshed and re-powered in the knowledge that God knows and loves you.

** I first published a version of this post back in 2009... But thought the reminder would be refreshing this weekend. Be blessed!!

God's Anti-Aging Potion

Oh, if only there were a miracle elixir that would take off the years. Or a magical potion to re-grow my head hair. Or P90x without the P the 90 or the X.  

I realized today that I'm getting older. My colleague/friend, Dean Ericksen, and I were recounting an event in my life that I was thinking had occurred ten years ago.

"When did that happen?" he asked.

"Ten years ago in 1992," I said. 

"Uh, that was 20 years ago," Dean corrected.

"Thanks a lot Dean for helping me with my math," I muttered quietly when his stinkin' aging ears were out of hearing distance. :) 

Suddenly, a wave of realization hit me. The big FOUR OH is this year! I suppose I'm cool with that fact... but it is also occuring to me that in 2013 I turn 41... and after that comes 42 and then 43 and onward until I die. Fun, eh? (Not "fun-ny"!) This is just the way it goes. Numbers increase in age. See, I can do math.

So I guess, rationally, I'm not really after becoming younger... because that's actually agically (new word) impossible. So what is it that I really want in relation to my inevitable collision with elderliness (new word)?

Well, here it is. This year I suspect that I'll begin to better embrace an age-tested (as in eons of time) idea: The true test of  life is internal vitality... even during external advancement of age.

Some of the most inspiring people are those who have lived many years and yet remain young at heart. There is something miraculously encouraging about an older soul who is flourishing. You can see the spark in their eyes... the excitement of their passions... the resilency of their experiences... and the catalytic impact of their actions.

This is the anti-aging potion of God. Godly maturity: when the heart, soul, strength and mind integrate with God's heart, soul strength and mind.

I'm not suggesting that people who follow after God won't grow wrinkly or weathered or beaten down physically. No, I am suggesting that godly people, at whatever age they happen to find themselves in, draw up strength and vitality and vigorousness from an inexhaustive well. And I am beginning to believe more and more that after a lifetime of developing a pattern of drawing up God's nourishment... a youthful fruitfulness flourishes in the most mature of people.

I said that phrase very deliberately.

Biblically, maturity equals a youthfulness of faith. It does not equal "fully developed"... which is never possible on this earth (even though many of our church mission statements implore us to become "fully developed followers"-- thankfully we have eternity to learn that!).  Maturity, in reality on this earth, equals a continual pursuit of God in all things.  A "long obedience in the same direction" as Eugene Peterson has written. Maturity is a privileged undertaking reserved for any-aged believer... most contagiously and innocently by young children... but perhaps most profoundly and practitionally by those who have lived through many seasons of life. Maturity, biblically, equals a zeal, a passion, a hope, an abundance, a kenitic energy, an unbridled spring of faith... a childlike wonder and enthusiasm held in a quiet, but mighty, resolve which naturally seeds itself to others.

Rootedness producing fruitfulness. That's what I've decided I want to learn to better live out this fortieth year of my life.

"The godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted into the Lord's own house. They flourish in the courts of God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. They will declare, 'The LORD is just! He is my rock! There is nothing but goodness in him!'" ~ Psalm 92:12-15

 *Image taken from here.

Nursing infants silence enemies

I was startled recently by an obscure verse in a famous psalm. Usually, verse 1 and verses 3-9 of Psalm 8 get all the attention. They are marvelous verses describing the majesty of the Lord and the humble wonder of humanity. God is rightfully praised and humans are rightfully placed.  "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your Name in all the earth... What are mortals that you should think of us... For you made us only a little lower than Elohim (God)..." Etc. These are orienting verses that help us discover God and ourselves more clearly.

But verse 2 shocked my system a bit.  For some reason through the years I have skimmed over this verse.  This time, however, I became ashamed that I had so passively dismissed these words in the past. It reads like this:

"You have taught children and nursing infants to give you praise.  

They silence your enemies who were seeking revenge."

First, I am reminded that God places tremendous attention on young people. In a world that dismisses and neglects children, God intentionally teaches them.  God focuses time and energy to equip them to be proactive proclaimers. Most of us would naturally agree that babies and young children exude a sort of passive praise of God. Their innocence and fragility and sweetness emotes with the wonder of our Creator. But to think that God enables them to personally engage in the act of praise is a remarkable thought. God believes that children, even nursing infants, are able to praise Him. Again, as Scripture reveals repeatedly, we read that we should never hinder a little one from following God.

Secondly, I am startled that nursing infants and children have the power to silence God's enemies. No missles, no hidden nuclear program nor secret drones.  No government authority, no military advantage nor organized movement. These babies still rely upon their mothers for life and nourishment. They are weak and fragile.  Babies cannot yet completely control their fine motor movements. Babies poop in diapers... as long as someone has diapered them. Nursing infants and children are at the mercy of others who care for them. And yet, somehow, according to Psalm 8, they are able to pacify God's enemies.

It's quite a picture: God's enemies silenced by diapered, nursing infants.  Like Daniel in the den of lions, babies shut the mouths of devouring beasts.

How? Simple really. Astonishingly simple. God cares for young people and teaches young people to proclaim praise in the midst of the terrors roaming this earth. And in their fragile innocence and wide-eyed wonder, these children quell the rage of sin and shine hope to the nations.

Thank you, Jesus, for the unbridled wonder of the next generation!

Here's the entirety of Psalm 8 in the New Living Translation (taken from Bible Gateway):

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.^[a]

 ¹ O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.

 ² You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength,^[b]
   silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.

 ³ When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
      the moon and the stars you set in place—
 ⁴ what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
      human beings that you should care for them?^[c]
 5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God^[d]
      and crowned them^[e] with glory and honor.
 ⁶ You gave them charge of everything you made,
      putting all things under their authority—
 ⁷ the flocks and the herds
      and all the wild animals,
 ⁸ the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
      and everything that swims the ocean currents.

 ⁹ O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 8:1 Hebrew according to the gittith.
2. Psalm 8:2 Greek version reads to give you praise. Compare Matt 21:16.
3. Psalm 8:4 Hebrew what is man that you should think of him, / the son of man that you should care for him?
4. Psalm 8:5 Or Yet you made them only a little lower than the angels;Hebrew reads Yet you made him [i.e., man] a little lower than Elohim.
5. Psalm 8:5 Hebrew him [i.e., man]; similarly in 8:6.

 

full vision

Myopia is the condition of being shortsighted... Hyperopia is the condition of being farsighted. Both conditions require corrective lenses or corrective surgery in order to enable a person to see clearly both near and far. 

Full vision is neither myopic nore hyperopic. Full vision has to do with being able to see clearly those things that are far away and those things that are close.

Many of us engaged in ministry struggle to have full vision. We can tend to either be myopic in our approach, focused soley only what is right in front of us because we are overrun by the tyranny of the urgent or because we are too self-absorbed to see past our own circumstances.  Alternatively, we can tend to be hyperopic, focused predominantly on what is a long ways down the road and failing to do the work required today to make a long-lasting impact.  (I suppose that some of us who do the work of ministry can tend to be just plain blind... but that's another post...)

The Bible calls us, however, to a full vision. 

We are to impress upon this generation, now, the pattern of the Lord. We are to proclaim and share the Good News of Jesus today to our children and to our neighbor. We are to equip right now the generation in our midst.

We are to engage in ministry now in such a way that, down the road, generations upon generations for the length of future history will follow the ways of the Lord. Our ministry now is purposed for the long-term future, far into the distance, beyond what is in front of us even now.

This full vision is inherited from the past.  Someone had a hand in developing this strategic/action sight in us.

Psalm 78 is an example of that. Those engaged in ministry (which should be every follower of God) need to listen now... to grab onto what those in the past invisioned and passed down through the generations to us... to reveal these truths about God to our children now today... to embrace the command that God gave his followers to impress his story on the next generation... to raise them up in such a way that they would be able to do the same thing... that they would be able to share God's story with the generation following them... and so on... so that each generation would hear and embrace and be freed and enabled to pass on the hope and the pattern of the Lord to every successive generation...

... A vision that is active now with what is at hand... and invisions even the children not yet born.

Psalm 78 (NLT)

 ¹ O my people, listen to my instructions.
      Open your ears to what I am saying,
    ² for I will speak to you in a parable.
   I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
    ³ stories we have heard and known,
      stories our ancestors handed down to us.
 ⁴ We will not hide these truths from our children;
      we will tell the next generation
   about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
      about his power and his mighty wonders.
 ⁵ For he issued his laws to Jacob;
      he gave his instructions to Israel.
   He commanded our ancestors
      to teach them to their children,
 ⁶ so the next generation might know them—
      even the children not yet born—
      and they in turn will teach their own children.
 ⁷ So each generation should set its hope anew on God,
      not forgetting his glorious miracles
      and obeying his commands.

 

 

Romans 3:9-18 ~ triple bogey

Compared to par, I am at least 3-over for the hole.

It wasn't until I started making some strong friendships with people outside of my narrow contexts that I began to learn how off par I was.  This is not a pessimistic conclusion... just a relative perception developed as I noticed non-Christians being nicer than me, non-Americans being better citizens of the planet than me, and non-KenCastor-people being just plain more amazing than me in almost everything.   Compared to the beautiful approach shots offered by others, my divoted hacks at life are put into a proper perspective.  Oh, yes, those long putts and mulligans will humble a person.

Just don't look when I discreetly kick the ball out of the rough and back into play...

I am not better.  Even if I am a "good" person... I am not better.  Even if I am relatively talented (huh), relatively wise (compared to some I suppose), or relatively clean (I usually take showers), or relatively handsome (my words), or relatively innocent (question)... I must also recognize that I am relatively mean, relatively inappropriate, relatively wrong (no I'm not), relatively short-sighted, relatively forgetful, relatively inconsistent in character, relatively short-tempered, relatively arrogant, relatively short, and relatively guilty. 

So even when I compare myself with humans in the world, I am relatively over for the front nine. 

So please let's not even start comparing me to God's par.  God's total for 18 holes is 18.  Such a comparison reveals me to be not just relatively bad... but absolutely awfully incomprehensibly completely messed up.

This is Paul's point in this section of Romans: Every single person ever is not better than others.  (Yep, read that sentence again.  I had to read it several times myself.)  Compared to others I am a triple bogey at least.  But especially when compared to God's pattern, every single person ever is not even good at all.  A withdrawal from the tournament is the only recourse.

In these verses Paul shows this two-fold reality: 1) Relatively people are messed up; 2) Truthfully people are messed up.  And Paul backs it up with Scripture.  Here we go:

Romans 3:9-18 (NLT) "Well then, are we Jews better than others?  No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin.  As the Scriptures say,

    "No one is good-- not even one.

    "No one has real understanding; no one is seeking God.

    "All have turned away from God; all have gone wrong.

    "No one does good, not even one.

    "Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.  Their speech is filled with lies.

    "The poison of a deadly snake drips from their lips.

    "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.

    "They are quick to commit murder.

    "Wherever they go, destruction and misery follow them.

    "They do not know what true peace is.

    "They have no fear of God to restrain them."

Note: The way Paul uses Scripture here is interesting.  He's not quoting a direct portion of the Old Testament... he's mashing a whole bunch of quotes together.  It's as if Paul was so steeped in Scripture that it just flowed out in an organized conversation.  I'm sure Paul would have an impressive answer if you were to ask him, "Where does Scripture say that?"  He might say "Well, verses 10-12 are from Psalms 14 and 53, verse 13 is from Psalm 5 and 140, verse 14 is from Psalm 10, verses 15-17 are from Isaiah 59 and verse 18 is from Psalm 36.  I can explain each of these further if you'd like."

Uh, I think I just sliced my scripture memorization into the woods.

Each of the contexts of these Old Testament references is worth a look if you have the time.  Psalm 14 puts people in their place.  Psalm 53 echoes this refrain.  Psalm 5 and 140 are simple observations in the midst of pleas for help.  Psalm 10 is a chilling question of faith.  Isaiah 59 is sobering and yet ends undeservingly.  Psalm 36 is a Third Day song. 

Scripture just pours out of Paul's thoughts... this is an inspirational challenge for me.  Each quotation drips with profound depth in the context of a living Word... a masterful approach shot.

Romans 3:3-4 ~ Let

I went with a good friend to a Sting concert way back in the early 90s...  amazing music, amazing musician... it was a great night.  But something Sting said that night has troubled me for the last 19 years.  At one point in the concert, Sting was giving commentary to his life and to his song, Mad About You, a song from the perspective of King David.  He said, with very colorful language, that if King David was a "man after God's own heart" then he couldn't believe in God.  David had committed adultery and then murder to cover up the adultery.  If David reflected God's heart, then Sting declared he could not accept God.   I remember many in the crowd cheering his statement.  It may have been the first time I truly related how a believer's sin so easily leads others away from God.  It is a natural conclusion for many to make: If God's followers are phony, then perhaps God is phony too. 

I can understand Sting's frustration... but won't accept his logic.  Just because humans mess it all up... that doesn't mean God does.  Paul writes:

³ What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? ⁴ Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written:

   “So that you may be proved right when you speak
   and prevail when you judge.  (TNIV)

God had made a mutual promise with Israel.  And although many people in Israel had broken their end of the promise, Paul assures that God would never break His end.  Even if everyone lied, God would still be true.

Paul is quoting from Psalm 51, a dramatic cry from the devestated heart of King David.  He had been a boy and a man with a heart after God.  But he allowed corruption to take root... and was caught in sin.  What Sting failed to consider almost 20 years ago, was David's remorse... and the kind of response God gave a man who broke his promise.  David realized his fault and so pleaded with God for mercy.  “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love!”  Psalm 51 is one of the most raw, honest, and vulnerable moments in world literature.  Amazing passage.  No arrogance whatsoever.  Just humility.  So David prays to God, without any hint of conceit or indignancy, “Against you have a I sinned… so you are proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge.”  David realized his blame, felt his shame, and accepted his deserved sentence.

But what kind of heart does God have?  Does God have a heart reflected in David's unfaithfulness as Sting assumed?  Or is this faulty human thought?  Perhaps God has a heart reflected in David's contriteness, in David's humility, in David's desire for purity and truthfulness and mercy and joy and gladness and deliverance... and brokenness. 

God will keep His promise.  Paul wants us to remember that.  Even when humans don't, God will.  Yes, it is true.  God will judge the world... and He will be right to pronounce it.  But God will judge the world by carrying their sins and offering forgiveness to the contrite (those who are after God's heart)... and this is the promise He made, and has kept, with Israel.

Look, just because humans mess up, doesn’t mean God does.  Let God be God!  And this is such Good News!  In our society, when people have turned their backs on God because of how messed up Christians have been, we must remember—and we must help share--- that God is God.  Don’t assume that God is like us… unfaithful.  God keeps His Word.  And His Word is love.

Note: Psalm 51 is a rather famous one... David has been caught in adultery (unfaithfulness)... and he asks God, with amazing sincerity, to be made new.  "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."  David is asking God to make him faithful once more... to blot out his unfaithfulness and restore the joy of knowing God in a committed, unbroken relationship.  But this time, David is realizing, that he must have God's sustaining promise to keep him on target.  Give Psalm 51 a read today.

Generational Transference in the Bible: Implications for Today's North American Church (Part 2)

From this overview of the Biblical Foundations of generational transference evident in Scripture a few theological principles can be derived:

           First, a local church should always keep its mission as its central focus.^[1] Churches that lose the priority of mission become concerned about self-preservation rather than propagation of the Gospel. But long-lasting and successful organizations will not forget who they are and why they exist.  Of course, keeping focus on mission involves first and foremost keeping an interactive relationship with God as the core aspect to a church community. The commands to love others and to make disciples stem first from an active love for the Lord and from his active empowerment of people.[2]  Ecclesial mission must be intertwined with God’s work of spiritual formation in the lives of people.  As people focus on God and are marked by a response of obedience to his call, subgroups such as generations cannot help but to partner in mission.  And, as noted, if a primary aspect to God’s mission involves one generation proclaiming to the next, generational transference of ministry leadership is naturally grounded in the theological foundation of worship and mission.  The primary task of leadership, then, is to cultivate an environment in which people are encouraged primarily to live for God and, consequently, to live for others.

            Churches are first and foremost to identify themselves as servants of God. With this in mind, churches are understood to exist as countercultural missional communities.^[3]  In other words, churches are sent into the world as agents of transformation rather than conformation.^[4]  As Jesus came to the world not to condemn the world but to save it,^[5] so the church becomes the incarnational witness of God within culture. As a countercultural community, churches will offer restoration and integration to a broken, fragmented world.  This theological principle gives shape to the appropriate strategies needed within local churches in terms of raising-up next generation leaders. 

---

^[1] Snyder suggests the most crucial DNA involves having worship and mission as the central focus of the church. Snyder, 89

[2] 1John 4:10

^[3] Snyder, 92

^[4] Snyder, 92; Romans 12:1-2

^[5] John 3:16; 1 Timothy 1:15, Psalm 104:30

Generational Transference in the Bible: The Psalms

 

            The Psalms overflow with the concept of generational transference of faith and ministry.[1] The Psalms indicate that older generations are to tell younger ones about the Lord.  Psalm 45:17, for instance, shows generational transference as a strategy for spreading God’s message throughout the world.  The psalmist suggests that by perpetuating the name of the Lord through all generations, the nations of the earth will praise the Lord forever. The writer of Psalm 71, for instance, begs God to allow him to proclaim the power of the Lord to the new generation, even though he himself has become old and grey.[2]  Psalm 78 says that God’s people should not hide the stories of God’s actions from the next generation, but share it passionately.[3]  Psalm 102 is written specifically with emerging generations in mind so that they may take over the responsibility of praising the Lord.[4]   Psalm 145:8 says that one generation should commend the works of the Lord to another.  Psalm 22 reflects the attributes of a godly king who proclaims God’s message and suffers terribly in order to honor the Lord.  The reward for such enduring faithfulness includes, significantly, that future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.[5]  Psalm 145:3-4 says:

           "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.  One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.  They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.  They will tell of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds."

 

            The author of Psalm 145 paints a picture of a prior generation as a community sharing the message of God to a subsequent generation.  In other words, a younger group of people is merged for a while with an older group and is impressed with the impact that God has had in the past.  The author is so impressed by this pattern that he postulates that the younger generation will naturally proclaim the same story of God to the generation that follows them.  This pattern is continuous.  It is a pattern that is as active today as it was in the days of Abraham or Moses or David 

            Psalm 145 also reveals a releasing pattern of generational transference.  The author includes himself in the younger generation who receive the commendation of the Lord’s actions and who hear about the Lord’s splendor and majesty from the older generation.  As a response to the reception, the author indicates that he meditated on God's wonderful works.  In other words, the older generation had shared with him the message and mission of God and he responded by learning and applying this proclamation to his life.  Again in the Psalm, the author reflected on how the older generation had told him of God's awesome works and how, in turn, he reciprocated the action by also proclaiming God’s great deeds.  The nuance of transference is subtle but does represent a shift of responsibility between generations.  The author is given the freedom and blessing by the older generation to know the Lord for himself in his day in the way that makes sense to him.  The author, in turn, learns to give freedom and blessing to the older generation to do the same.  And in that chorus they praise God together inter-generationally.

---

[1] Psalm 79:13; 89:1; 145:4

[2] Psalm 71:18

[3] Psalm 78:4,6

[4] Psalm 102:18

[5] Psalm 22:30-31: “Future generations will also serve him.  Our children will hear about the wonders of the Lord.  His righteous acts will be told to those yet unborn.  They will hear about everything he has done.”

Generational Transference in the Bible: Introduction

“I will teach you hidden lessons from our past-

stories we have heard and know,

stories our ancestors handed down to us.

We will not hide these truths form our children

but will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord.

We will tell of his power and the mighty miracles he did.

For he issued his decree to Jacob;

he gave his law to Israel.

He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children,

so the next generation might know them-

even the children not yet born-

that they in turn might teach their children.

So each generation can set its hope anew on God,

remembering his glorious miracles

and obeying his commands.”[1]

- Psalm 78:1-7

            The issues of generational transference of leadership will only begin to be resolved as a local church embraces an environment of biblical ministry leadership principles.  It is theorized, after all, that the themes of this dissertation are not foreign to the Bible.  Biblical and Theological foundations exhibit and call for an unceasing transmittance of faith as the central strategy to the communication of the Gospel. Throughout history, Scriptures reveal the pattern that God expects humanity to practice:  One generation passing on to the next the praxis of God’s mission. 

            Throughout the Bible the foundational concept of generational transference is evident in principle as well as in practice.  For instance, Psalm 145 implores God’s people: “Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts.”[2]   Another example, found in Deuteronomy 6, records the Lord’s proclamation upon his people to pass down his commands to their children and grandchildren so that they can then lead the future generations similarly.[3]  Furthermore, the theme of generational transference evidences continuity in the revelation of both the Old and New Testaments.  Paul, for instance, models a lifestyle of transferring leadership on to people like Timothy and Titus.  And he is not alone.  Barnabas, Peter, John, and others actively engaged in the practice of generational transference.  Older men and women are to be sources of mentoring and encouragement to younger men and women as they practice living wisely together in the midst of their challenging culture.[4]             At times, admittedly, generational transference of ministry leadership was haphazard at best.  In the book of Judges, for instance, it seems a miracle that faith and Scripture was able to survive as one generation repeatedly failed to follow after God.  And yet, at other times throughout the history of Scripture, generational transference of ministry leadership was an intentionally prioritized principle, such as in the example of Samuel and David or in the wisdom of Proverbs chapter two.  The example of Jesus and the disciples as well as the epistles to Timothy, just to name a few, provide a treasure house of principles for generational transference of ministry.  One only needs to give a cursory examination of Scripture to understand that no matter the geography, the cultural climate, or the leadership structures, generational transference of ministry is an essential aspect to God’s purposes for the his people. 

            UPCOMING GENERATIONAL TRANSFERENCE POSTS:  In the days to come I intend to post an overview of generational transference evident within Scripture.  These posts in no way are meant to be comprehensive, but merely a simple summary of the idea that God accomplishes his mission through a process of transferring the proclamation responsibility and missional purposes of his love spanning through generations.  These summaries are reflective of what were presented in chapter 4 of my dissertation: "Biblical and Theological Foundations of Generational Transference of Ministry Leadership in the Local Church".

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[1] Psalm 78:1-7 [2] Psalm 145:7 [3] Deuteronomy 6:1-9; 20-25; 32:7

[4] Titus 2:1-6

psalm 37 7+8+9

Is there anything more difficult than waiting?  Probably.

Is there anything more difficult than being still?  Probably.

But by the way many of us act when we are supposed to be calm and let time pass by... you would think we we were having a root canal done on our private parts!  (I don't know what that means but it sounds really uncomfortable!)  The point is, very few of us enjoy waiting.

We want things done our way right now. 

The phrase "good things come to those who wait."  is not in the Bible.  It is a proverb, I suppose, that has been used by Guinness Stout and Heinz ketchup.  You can't rush a good thing... don't count your chickens before they hatch... What did you expect, it's McDonald's.  The early bird gets the worm and then gets eaten by the eagle.

The Bible does say that "it is good to wait."  And in particular, "it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." (Lamentations 3:26)

But I want God's salvation now... my way... Which means that right now any of my worries and frustrations would go away... which means that evil people would be gone... that my kids would be blissful... that my family's health would be perfect... that I would have money fall into my lap every day... that there wouldn't be paperwork and deadlines (... notice they are called "dead" lines...).

I'm upset with those who seem to rule the roost and get their way...

But Psalm 37:7-9 reminds me of what Psalm 37:1-6 has already said:

"Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.  Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.  Stop your anger!  Turn from your rage!  Do not envy others- it only leads to harm.  For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land."

--- I think I need to sit down and chill out a bit... right now... this instant I must wait.  I cannot wait any longer to wait.  But remember, there is no quick route to waiting.  There is no shortcut to being still.  Drugging ourselves into a stupor does not qualify as waiting for the Lord. 

There is a right way to wait...