Psalm 10 - Bottom of the 9th, Bases Loaded

As a boy, it was always my dream to find myself in the batter's box at the World Series in the bottom of the ninth - bases loaded ... ready to do nothing other than hit a massive Home-run. You see, my dad was born in New York - he grew up in love with baseball - more specifically, in love with the the Yankees. I was raised to love them myself. Not because they win all the time, but because of the way they play the game. One of the things that many people don't realize about this power house team is that they win most of their games in the last few innings. They might spend 90% of the game down in the dumps, but it's the "bottom of the ninth" that determines who wins the game at the end of the day.

Here's the link for this weeks Psalm - Psalm 10

Verses 1-11 In my life, there have been times where I wondered what God was up to. I knew the story of Elijah in Kings by heart, and I wondered why God didn't answer my prayers like He did with Elijah. If God sent fire from heaven for Elijah, he could at least do a little something for me right? I had problems at school, I had frustrations and worries - where was God when I needed Him most? This is what the chapter speaks of. David is upset, he is saddened, he is worn out, and he is curious why evil always seems to get its way on this earth. He asks God, "Why are you so far away?" ... or as Michelle would say "hey ... What gives?" Anyway, David looks around, he sees pride, he sees pain, he sees greed, cursing, deceit, he sees the persecution of the innocent, but he does not see justice - he does not see evil being punished. He sees evil growing like weeds, and righteousness being choked out. Think about the community we live in - it's pretty much the same. The divorce rate is sky-rocketing, innocent children get aborted by selfish mom's on daily basis, and I don't think that's going to change any time soon. I mean, when I was in High School, I lost a good deal of friends to drugs and drinking - and I thought to myself quite often ... "why do they get away with it? Where is the justice? I'm a good kid - why am I the one that has to have such a hard time?" To be honest it does not seem fair - but it does not mean God wasn't there. There will never be time in your life, no matter how low, that God is going to "lose the game" in your life . God always has a plan - and his plan always works ... whether you like it or not. If we think in terms of baseball, it's about mid-game. The Yankees are down 5 to nothing and things do not look good. The team is asking , "God, when are you gonna strike back?" The devil seems to be winning, and he thinks that he's not going to lose (Verse 11) ... well ... it's not over yet.

Verses 12-18 David calls out to God, and says "arise, life up your mighty hand." I like to think for the sake of the example that he's saying, "God, pick up a bat, you're on deck ..." David stops questioning God and starts questioning the enemy. How can anyone in their right mind stand up to their creator and say "I'm gonna beat you." It's foolishness. It's pride. Needless to say, God doesn't put up with that nonsense. If you read the first verses of this section, it's almost as if David is giving God a laundry list of things to do - maybe even a game plan. Seek out the wicked. You see the grief and trouble, repay it! (This last one is my favorite) "Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man." God will not only strike back, but he will annihilate all evil in his presence. I like that so much - our God will not tolerate evil - in fact, he's going to break evil's arm in half. Pretty awesome if you ask me. We get to the end and David says that there will come a day that the men of the earth will oppress no more. What does that mean? Evil will never triumph over God. Period.

The Bottom of the Ninth It almost sounds silly, but when I read this, I kind of compared God to the Yankees. You see, like I said before, the Yankees are a come from behind team - they're known for it. In the same way, it may seem in your life like God is getting rocked by evil - that there's no way He could come back. You might question like David did - "where are you God?" But this Psalm tells us one thing that always hold true - it's the bottom of the ninth that really matters. It's almost like my dream come true. God steps to the plate - bottom of the ninth, world series, down by three, bases loaded, two strikes, two outs. That day will come when evil throws its last pitch, and when it seems like all hope is lost, God hits a Grand Slam - game over.

- Chris

hidden treasure....

guess what I found, thanks to ms. alissa's help?
more THEE WEEKEND photos!!!
click here!
enjoy!

-michelle

Psalm 9 - Hide and Go Seek

When I was young, I was a big fan of games - whether I was playing my gameboy, N64, baseball, or just a good old fashion card game, I made sure that, one, I would win, and two, that I would have a blast beating anyone who dared to challenge me. I have always been the competitive type of person - which means that I don't like to lose. Reading this weeks Psalm, I thought, "If I had to challenge God to one game, what would it be?" After thinking for a while, I decided Hide and Go Seek. Sure, God would find me even before he started counting (I'm still debating whether that's cheating or not), but when It was my turn to find him, I'd do it just as fast as he did - which means it's a tie, and I didn't lose :) ... let me explain.

First off ... here's this weeks Psalm - PSALM 9

Verses 1-9 We hear a lot about David. If you look into the last couple of posts, it looks like I'm bragging about a stranger - which in itself is fantastic. Here's the deal though - I have never met David (although I plan to someday), but he is a stranger worth bragging about. Look around today, how many David's are there in the world? I'm not bold enough to make a statement like that about myself ... but I can tell you that I love to learn from what David said. I love to look into his relationship with the Father and see how I can change to help my own grow stronger. In these verses, David praises God like always, but what does it mean? Let me tell you! God has done "marvelous works" for our sakes, he has "turned our enemies back" so that they cannot harm us, he has judged in righteousness, he has been a safe place for his people, he has sheltered us in times of trouble, he has promised us a life of no worries (Luke), and he has sent us his only begotten son to die on a rugged cross just so he could spend eternity with us. This not only speaks of love, this proclaims power and majesty. In terms of competition, I tell you this - that no one can compete with the Father ... no one can do the things he does. God has no formidable foes, he has no enemies that are worthy of his time. If you challenge God, you will lose. If you try to fight him, you will not win. So what does David do about this? He thanks God for being more than we can handle and he (verse 1) praises our mighty God with the entirety of his heart. I love competition, but if there is one person I want to spend my life surrendered to - it would have to be the person that I know is going to beat me at everything anyways. David surrenders to God - why? Cause He is a mighty God ... but He is a loving God as well.

Verse 10 WAIT!!!! What does the verse say? The Father never forsakes those who seek Him! That means that if you look for God you will find him (Luke 11:9) - which means the only game that God would not be good at is in fact Hide and go Seek (at least when he was doing to hiding). God cannot hide from his people. We've talked about this in Amped a few times, but our God is omnipresent - he's everywhere. Even so, our God is not one that hides - he's not one that runs from his people. In 1st Kings, Elijah makes fun of the false gods because they never answer (well they're not even real), but our God answers back with a fire that consumes Elijah's entire sacrifice. Our God will never hide from you ... if you seek him, you will find him. It's cool to have a God that's willing to make the sacrifice of losing a game of Hide and go Seek just so you can get to know him. Sure, the false gods are better at hiding, but they're not even real ... so that's what I like to call "mega-lame."

Verses 11-20 Here's the end of the Psalm. David thinks "Hey, God is going to destroy all the evil in the world. Why would he spare me?" He cries out and asks God for mercy - because he knows that God is powerful and is swift to justice. This is true, but what is also true is the fact that our God is merciful - that he spares us if we surrender to him. Anyway, I like how the Psalm ends. If God were to even share a fraction of his power to this world, it would shake the universe as we know it to its core."To God, we are just men" ... we're nothing compared to who he is. So What? ... I have always been competitive ... but i have learned there is one fight that i will never win. I will never beat God in anything. I have a plan for my life, but God has one that's much better than I could ever imagine. If we could learn one thing from David in this Psalm, it would be that we need to surrender - in everything but that wonderful old game Hide and go Seek.

Have a good week!

- Chris

Psalm 8 - True Science, True Love

WEEKEND PICTURES BELOW THIS POST!!!!!! ... OOGA CHACKA!!!

So guys, I've got to say that I am pretty excited about this weeks Psalm. If you look above, there's a picture of a famous man named Albert Einstein. This one man spent the entirety of his life searching for explanations of phenomena in our universe and is basically responsible for all of modern Physics. Since most of you don't care about that mumbo jumbo, let's get down to business.

You all know that I study physics at UCI, what you might not know is why. There is so much stuff for people to study in our universe - from the largest things in nature, to the smallest (almost invisible) things in our world. Also, there are so many people, like Albert, who think that they have a grip on life - that they understand everything there is to know about what we are made of, what is in our universe, and why things act the way they do. The problem is that they don't know why it's even here. They can't give purpose to the incredibly detailed world we live in, and they most certainly cannot explain how it got here. The psalm we look at today talks a little bit about why i love physics. The universe we see does not even hint at an argument for us being an accident, but it does tell us that there is a reason for everything that we can see - that there is a God, that he is mighty, and that he loves us.

Verse 1-3 David starts out and just says how great is the name of our God - so great that we have tons of words that simply describe how amazing he is. My personal favorite comes from when God told Moses, "I AM." Anyway, he continues to say that the universe is God's handiwork - everything we see in space, everything that we see through a microscope, what you smell, taste, hear ... that is all a work of God's mighty hand. Let me tell you something that public school will never tell you - God is responsible for all that you see. Whether it's the stars at night, or the ants on the ground , God not only put it there, but knows everything there is to know about it. Even with you, God knows who you are, what your name is, how tall you are, and everything you have done or will do. In fact, God is basically the best Father (and scientist) that anyone could ever ask for - David knew that far before we even knew how complex this world really is.

Verse 4-9 This is where stuff gets interesting. Why is the universe here? Why do things work the way we do? Let me tell you, cause it's very simple - God loves us. He loves us so much that even though we are so small and insignificant in comparison to his wonderful creation - he knows who we are, individually. Like I said above, the Bible tells us that God intimately knows the details of your life - he knows your ins and outs, your ups and downs, and even though you are horrible sinner, he still loves you (Don't worry, me too ...). David even says that the angels are so much more awesome than we are (like diamonds vs. dirt), but God gives us a crown of righteousness - he gives us glory and honor above any angel in heaven. I don't want to get into this too much because i want you to think about what this really means. Our God does have a mighty name, he did create the universe, but you know what? He loves you anyway.

I know you're not all science brainiacs, but I will tell you that when the true science of this world is revealed, it will only give a picture of true love - that all of this, everything in the universe, is here simply so that God can know you and that you can know him in return.

Do you know how great the name of the Lord is?

He's the master of the universe, but is he master in your life?

He knows your ins and your outs, but how much do you know about him?

- Chris

thee weekend pictures!

Hey everyone,
I posted a bunch of pictures online, just click below to check them out!
Enjoy!

Amped Ministries Blog

-Michelle

A Trust Excercise that won't drop you

Here's our longest Psalm yet ... Psalm 7

So there's a lot in this chapter that echoes the thoughts of what we've read already in Psalms. The word or theme that I want to look at is trust ... so let's get down to business. When I was a baby, I fell down the stairs in my home (I know ... explains a lot). Fortunately, my mom was there to hold me in her arms and take a beating from the ten steps she fell down. As a baby, I didn't really have a choice to trust my mom, but the illustration still stands - if I didn't find myself cradled in my mom's arms, it's quite possible that I would have been permanently damaged. The same goes for our relationship with God - the only difference is that we have a choice of whether or not we make him our protector. Spiritually, there will be times in your life where you are going to "fall down the stairs" and possibly take the beating of a lifetime. The only person in this world that will ever be able to protect you, like my mom did with me, is God. Bethany pointed out last week that David was quite an awesome guy - one of the reasons is shown quite clearly this week - simply, that David had a pure trust in our Heavenly Father.

Verses 1-5 What's the first thing that David says? "In You I put my trust." It reminds me of the time when Joshua challenged the Israelites, saying, "Choose this day whom you will serve" ... followed by the bold statement "as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." I guess the only difference is here is that David is not standing on his own two feet. He's not giving us a picture of a man that can hold is own, but an illustration of a man that puts his trust in God. Someone can have faith that Jesus died on the cross for their sins, but not have the trust to allow God to work in and through them. David is one of the examples in the Bible of a man that puts himself in the arms of God - to be protected and to be watched over. He says "God, I trust you to defend me from enemies," but even more so, "God, I trust you to save me from myself." Never throughout my childhood did I tell my parents when i broke the rules - I waited until they caught me to admit to what I did. David is just the opposite - he realizes that God is the only person that can set him straight. If he has sin, God is the only person that can take it away. If he has anger, only God can strip it from him. I guess he's just smarter than us. Why do we trust in God? Why would David admit to his faults? Because God's the only one who can take the mess of our lives and make something wonderful out of it. He's the only person who can take our nasty spill down the stairs and make it bearable ... that's why we trust.

Verses 6-16 David's life was one that I want to imitate. Every time i read a Psalm, I see how close he was to God and how deep his understanding was of the relationship we have with Him. This section talks about our God as being just. Basically, he is like a judge that never makes a wrong decision - this is why we needed Jesus. If Jesus had not died on the cross, God couldn't have just swept out sins under a rug. They had to be paid for. That's just a side note, but we see something totally different here. Even though David knew that God was a God of forgiveness, he wanted to be punished. Michelle and I were talking today about how we are more likely to remember a mistake that was made in front of people - because we get embarrassed. One thing that I see in David is that he was a man embarrassed of sin. When he made a mistake, he wanted to make sure that he would not make that mistake ever again. Are you embarrassed of sin? Yes, we can have trust in God to do whatever it is that he wants to do, but can God trust you in return? Quite an interesting question ...

Verse 17 I always forget to mention this, but I love how David ends so many of his thoughts just giving praise to God. So many of you guys are such a blessing to me - to see Junior Higher's in love with Jesus is simply unbelievable at times. It took me a long time to realize that my trust needed to be put in the Lord. That my confidence in life wasn't supposed to be found in myself, but in our Father. I'd encourage you to take this to heart. If you can learn to have that "child like faith" at the age you are at right now, I promise that God will use you more than you would have ever have imagined. The video we have this week is quite funny ... those people are losers. If you fall into God's hands, he will never let you hit the ground.

That's a lot to chew on ...

Good Luck

- Chris