Grains of Sand

sharonodeguaard.com (Google Images) I chuckled this morning as I read Psalm 40. David begins by saying, “ I waited patiently for the Lord… ” and ends by saying, “ O my God, do not delay ” (40:1, 17). Doesn’t that sound familiar? Take your time, Lord, but please hurry up! But in-between those two verses is a wealth of good stuff. This week I started to read Jesus, A Theography   by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola. In the book the authors seek to show the connection, in detail, between the Old Testament and the New Testament. “ What we will demonstrate in this book is that everything in the Bible points to Jesus—either His person, His work, or His character ” (page xviii). So as I read Psalm 40 this morning I looked at it with slightly different eyes, searching again for the connection. It wasn’t hard to find. I only had to look at the first three verses. “ I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;...

“ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me! ’” —Isaiah 6:8, NIV. I finally got around to reading some books that have been calling to me from my book basket for months. I’m almost finished this one, but today’s verse is an appropriate kick-off for a recommendation to all my friends out there in cyberspace. The verse is very “missionary” and the book is very missional. After having his up-close-and-personal meeting with God, Isaiah couldn’t do anything else but align himself with God’s mission. Edited by Leonard Sweet, The Church of the Perfect Storm is a compilation of articles that calls the church to come out of hiding and face the winds of cultural change that are tearing through our world. It is a call to mission, to mount the wings of the Spirit of God and venture out to do what most delights the heart of God—be engaged in His redemptive mission. My copy of the book is underlined in all kinds...