February 29

Proverbs 29; Psalm 29

Since there is no February 29th entry in the Daily Bible, I tried to figure out what to do to stay in the habit of reading.  And I settled on two things.  I had a teacher once who instructed us in our daily reading to try and read a chapter of Proverbs each day since there are 31 chapters in Proverbs and 31 days in many months.  I've done that several times throughout my life.  The words of Solomon , Proverbs gives us little mental jabs and punches of wisdom that kick start, for me anyway, my thoughts and inspire contemplation.  So that is one thing I did.  I was struck by two passages about the poor.  Lately, the problem of the poor have been on my mind.  Why do I find myself in an incredibly blessed (I hope it is God and not the devil luring me to self-indulgence) and others find themselves born into poverty?  I know my gain is a financial responsibility I have to be a God servant of what the Lord has entrusted to me.  

Our treatment of the poor is connected to our relationship with God.  Our grace to the  most unworthy is acting out the nature of God.  And so I lock on to verses like this in Proverbs 29:

7 The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.

14 If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will always be secure.

There is a lot more in this chapter.  What words seek  you out and draw  your heart?

Then I turned to the 29th Psalm and read it and it seemed the perfect passage for this journey through the Bible in a year and our efforts to hear God speak.

Psalm 29

A Psalm of David

1Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

2Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

3The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders,

the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.

4The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.

5The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

6He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Siron like a young wild ox.

7the voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.

8The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.

9The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare.

And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"

10The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever.

11The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.

I know it is an audacious wish and dream but this year in this reading and in my life -- I want to come face to face with God and hear what He says to me.  I know by seeking that I'm in danger of the world around me being blasted and broken, stripped bare, flashing with lightning and roaring with thunder.  But in the midst of this, I hope that I have the presence of mind to hear what that small, clear voice has to say to me.