“Don’t tell me the score!” I wanted to watch the soccer game I had recorded without knowing the final result. Unfortunately, my younger sister did what younger sisters do. She immediately blurted out the score. Although initially I was mad with her, I must admit I actually enjoyed the game more because I wasn’t anxious about the result. I didn’t yell at the TV, I didn’t kick the cat, and my blood pressure stayed low. Knowing the final score of the game transformed the whole experience for the better. So does knowing the final score of life through Psalm 18.
Shock and awe is a military doctrine,
To overwhelm a nation with aerial bombardment.
Rapid, massive, relentless attack,
Render futile and vain any thought of fightback.
No slow gradual increase of growing intensity.
Attack every building, and road, and facility.
Engulf and submerge in death and destruction.
Impact the senses with jolting sensation.
No more reasoning, logic, diplomacy, persuasion,
It’s now about feeling, vibes, and emotion.
Terrorizing, paralyzing, terrifying, petrifying,
Hundreds and thousands gladly surrendering.
………..
God shocks and awes with a special strategy,
Drops grace and truth in a human body.
Targets overwhelmed with life and salvation,
God invading via incarnation.
He had reasoned and argued with little return,
Laws, poems, and stories, but very few turn.
Thousands of words in Old Testament verse,
Now grabs our attention with Word made flesh.
……….
No more dreams or visions,
But God in skin and bones,
Shocking us and awing us,
To turn us from our sins.
No more mere human go-betweens.
But God, direct and real,
Shocking us and awing us,
To melt our hearts of steel.
It’s the end of all priests,
God suffers and bleeds,
Shocking and awing,
Changing hate to loving.
No more God in cloud and fire,
But God in body and soul,
Shocking us and awing us,
Drawing to Him as our goal.
Not angels in human form,
But God in human flesh,
Shocking us and awing us,
To save us from our mess.
Fully man and fully God,
Both in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Born for slaughter by the sword,
To pay a price none could afford.
……..
The truth gets so cold and routine,
Lots of facts but little feeling.
Shock and awe distant sounds.
We’re just doing the rounds.
First baby, first kiss, first flight,
Niagara Falls and Grand Canyon might,
We see, we hear, we sense, and we feel,
But God as a baby? It’s no big deal.
……..
O God, come and help us,
Start a fire in our hearts,
We know all the doctrine,
But want feelings not just facts,
Jolt, jar, jog, and jerk us,
Pop our eyes, drop our jaw,
Stop our tracks, light our love,
With renewed shock and awe.
God and man.
Decisive. Incisive.
Dramatic. Climactic.
Emotional. Sensational.
An eyeful. An earful.
A mindful. A heartful.
Powerful. Wonderful
Shock and awe.
God and man.
Thrilling. Startling.
Electrifying. Hair-raising.
Breath-taking. Heart-taking.
Marvelous. Scandalous.
Inscrutable. Incredible.
No precedent. No parallel.
Riddle. Mystery.
Shock and awe.
……
God shocks and then awes,
Our heart to impress,
That sin is so serious,
Word must be made flesh.
Real flesh, Not a phantom,
Not a counterfeit or con.
Weak flesh, not a superman
Tired, hungry, sad, alone.
Whole flesh, not a sample,
Fully human out and in,
From embryo to adult,
And all steps in between.
Holy flesh, though sorely tempted,
More than any ever born.
Spotless, pure, immaculate,
Though suffered every storm.
Dead flesh, still God.
Eternal flesh, still man,
And will forever be.
How great the mystery.
“Total satisfaction guaranteed.” How many times we’ve bought something on that promise and ended up dissatisfied and disappointed. Maybe you became a Christian on the promise or expectation of total satisfaction guaranteed, but it hasn’t worked out that way. You’re suffering and you are far from satisfied. Worse, non-Christians are successful and satisfied. How do we persevere? How do we keep going in the face of disappointed expectations? David struggled with this in Psalm 17 but eventually found a satisfying answer: We overcome present suffering by sampling the total satisfaction guaranteed at the end.
How can I boost my confidence?” Judging by Google search results, lots of people ask that question. It’s understandable, because confidence is a fantastic feeling and a huge help in life. A survey of search results reveal that most people are looking for self-confidence, self-assurance. Various techniques are suggested: visualize yourself as you want to be; affirm yourself; do one thing that scares you every day, and so on. That’s all fairly flaky, isn’t it? Are there better ways to find better confidence? Yes, Psalm 16 assures us that God wants us to have confidence; not self-confidence, though, but God-confidence. It’s message is: Boost your confidence by reducing your self-confidence and increasing your God-confidence.
