sacred journeys

I read this today in Eugene Peterson’s ‘Praying with the Psalms’ and it really spoke to me.
The Lord answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
Give victory to the king, O Lord; answer us when we call.   –Psalm 20:1, 9
The psalm begins and ends with the […]

Psalm 136:26 O give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.
The phrase ‘his steadfast love endures forever’ has been repeated 26 times in this psalm. Will the repetitions dull our minds into a pious stupor? Or will they condition the reflexes of our spirits to respond with quick praise […]

Psalm 135
15 The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold,
shaped by human hands.
16 They have mouths but cannot speak,
and eyes but cannot see.
17 They have ears but cannot hear,
and noses but cannot smell.
18 And those who make idols are just like them,
as are all who trust in them.
There are some kinds […]

Sent this out to the Kairos community yesterday…
This morning, I was reminded of the passage that JR shared on Sunday at our Kairos gathering:
Psalm 130:1-2 “From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help. Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer.”
Then I read the following quote by Eugene Peterson […]

Psalm 88:4-5 (RSV)
4 I am reckoned among those who go down to the Pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one forsaken among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom thou dost remember no more,
for they are cut off from thy hand.
Eugene Peterson: “Two images describe […]

Psalm 68:5 (the Message) Father of orphans, champion of widows, is God in his holy house.
Eugene Peterson says this….
The wicked demonstrate their power by oppressing the unfortunate and weak; our righteous God shows his power by dealing with the victim, the outcast, and the defenseless in compassion and love.
Prayer: O god, search out the weak […]

Psalm 65:5
The experience of salvation leads to a widened conception of God’s power and strength: instead of (as some suppose) narrowing us to a neurotic concern for our own soul, it expands our relation with all that God does everywhere “to the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.”
Prayer: Almighty God, I […]

Psalm 25:4-5 Show me the path where I should walk, O LORD; point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.
Eugene Peterson says this…
“Trial and error is a poor […]

Reading Psalm 18 this morning & came across this verse…
7 Then the earth quaked and trembled;
the foundations of the mountains shook;
they quaked because of his anger.
I like Eugene Peterson’s thoughts on it:
Earthquake, thunder, lightning, volcanic eruptions — sudden, violent dislocations of nature’s routine — are images of the God who is tremendously […]

Psalm 11:1 I trust in the LORD for protection. So why do you say to me, “Fly to the mountains for safety!
I read Psalm 11 this morning, then I read Eugene Peterson’s thoughts on it…
Escape, for Christians, is faithless. It means that they have succumbed to the ‘nothing-can-be-done’ disease and think […]