Psalm 49; The Rich Die Too

5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble, when the sinful deeds of deceptive men threaten to overwhelm me?
6 They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
7 Certainly a man cannot rescue his brother; he cannot pay God an adequate ransom price
8 (the ransom price for a human life is too high, and people go to their final destiny),
9 so that he might continue to live forever and not experience death.
10 Surely one sees that even wise people die; fools and spiritually insensitive people all pass away and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their grave becomes their permanent residence, their eternal dwelling place. They name their lands after themselves,
12 but, despite their wealth, people do not last, they are like animals that perish.
13 This is the destiny of fools, and of those who approve of their philosophy. (Selah)
14 They will travel to Sheol like sheep, with death as their shepherd. The godly will rule over them when the day of vindication dawns; Sheol will consume their bodies and they will no longer live in impressive houses.
15 But God will rescue my life from the power of Sheol; certainly he will pull me to safety. (Selah)
16 Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich and his wealth multiplies!
17 For he will take nothing with him when he dies; his wealth will not follow him down into the grave.
18 He pronounces this blessing on himself while he is alive: "May men praise you, for you have done well!"
19 But he will join his ancestors; they will never again see the light of day.
20 Wealthy people do not understand; they are like animals that perish.

Short, Simple Prayer

"Lord... Look down here," ~Athol Dickson

Good thing too

"God can pick sense out of a confused prayer." ~Richard Sibbes

Something every teen & preteen needs to learn

"...and patience is better than pride." Ecclesiastes 5:8b

God is my refuge

Psalm 59:16-18 "As for me, I will sing about your strength; I will praise your loyal love in the morning. For you are my refuge and my place of shelter when I face trouble.
You are my source of strength! I will sing praises to you! For God is my refuge, the God who loves me."

From the heart

"Grant that I may not pray alone with the mouth; help me that I may pray from the depths of my heart." ~Martin Luther

Its all about trust

"Don't expect faith to clear things up for you.
It is TRUST, not certainty." ~Flannery O'Connor

Relax, Take your coat off, stay awhile. Make yourself at home.

"Prayer for many is like a foreign land. When we go there, we go as tourists. Like most tourists, we feel uncomfortable and out of place. Like most tourists, we therefore move on before too long and go somewhere else." ~Robert McAffee Brown

What a friend we have in Jesus

"Prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God." ~St.Terrsa of Avila

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

"Lord, let me make a difference for You
that is utterly disproportionate to who I am."

~John Piper

God does not stand afar off

"God does not stand afar off as I struggle to speak. he cares enough to listen with more than casual attention. He translates my scrubby words and hears what is truly inside. He hears my sighs and uncertain groppings as fine prose." ~Timothy Jones

Wealth from Oppression

Psalm 62:10
Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression! Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery! If wealth increases, do not become attached to it!

Buck Up

"If one has never suffered,
one cannot understand
what hope is."
~Martin Luther
(See also Romans 5:3-5 & 2 Corinthians 1:4)

In the secret place

" In the secret- in the quiet place
In the stillness, You are there
In the quiet hour
I wait for you
'Cause I want to know You more...

I want to know You
I want to hear Your voice
I want to know You more
I want to touch You
I want to see Your face
I want to know You more."

~Andy Park

The Great Tragedy in Life

"The great tragedy in life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer." ~F.B.Meyer

Can't sleep?

"Find rest,
O my soul,
in God alone;
my hope
comes from Him."
~Psalm 62:5

Swap the Sloop for a Skiff

Ahoy Mateys- If you're one of the wee few who follow the PP&P, you probably already realized this, but you can now follow this blog on the go. Check us out on your phone, iPod or favorite mobile device. Blogger now makes us compact & convenient! Tell your friends. Maka Pule!

Stark Contrast

²⁹ And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰ For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 

³¹ But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. 

~LUKE 12:29-31

Here's a stark contrast between what God wants us to do and what we naturally want to do left to our own devices. We worry and fear and compete. God wants us to trust Him, depend on Him, and do as He does/has shown us to do. We want to gather, accumulate and defend what we've hoarded. "Mine, Mine, Mine!" And we do it all following Machiavelli's philosophy "The ends justifies the means." Following the world's rules; "all's fair in love and war" and "finder's keepers, losers weepers," "possession is 9/10ths of the law," and "he who dies with the most toys wins."

Whereas, God doesn't want us to use people and love things, He wants us to use things and love people.

Jesus taught us to love our neighbors, to love and pray for our enemies and to sell our possessions and give them to the poor. After all, what is His kingdom? Is it the political revolution that the crowds were clamoring for in John 6:14-15? If it were, instead of being sacrificed on a cross, like a sheep lead to the slaughter, wouldn't his followers, or even the angels, come and overthrown the Romans and established a thousand year reign in Jerusalem (see John 18:36)?

Isn't Jesus' kingdom about reconciling sinners with God? Isn't it about grace, forgiveness, and mercy? Isn't His new commandment to love one another? Therefore isn't expanding God's dominion achieved by spreading love joy peace and patience? Aren't the statutes and regulations of the Kingdom, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control? 

It is counter-intuitive, but lots of things in life are like that. The harder you chase after things, the more you lose. "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?(Mark 8:36 & Luke 9:25)" But if we unclench our greedy fists and open our hands in praise & thanksgiving, God pours out His blessings beyond what we can hold or hope to collect on our own.

This is the difference between our selfish, sinful human nature- like Thomas Hobbes described; all mankind in a constant struggle and war for security, resources, and power- AND- selfless, Christ-like new creations producing the fruit of the Spirit. And what do you do with fruit? Pick it, eat it, and use whats left over to plant more fruit trees! 

"Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness" ~James 3:18

"Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness." ~2 Corinthians 9:10