August 8 – Clouds

        Psalm 68:32 – "Sing to God, oh kingdoms of the earth, sing praise to Adonai, to him who rides the ancient skies above, who thunders with mighty voice."

        How often do we contemplate the sky, the clouds, and the way they are formed and move over our heads? The grey overcast sky with no rain can be depressing, but the billowing clouds of summer thunderstorms can be awesome. I believe that Psalm 68 was written by David in triumphant fashion as a song that reflected the pageantry of the final journey of the ark of the covenant, to the tabernacle in Jerusalem. It was a picture of God ascending Mount Moriah to take his place as the triumphant king, reigning over Israel's territory.

        It is quite interesting to hear David use the poetic words "to him who rides the ancient skies above." What? God rides and travels, and transports himself on the clouds? I thought that the spirit of God appears wherever he wishes, in the blink of an eye. Why does he have to take the time to float by, in the clouds? It is to give us an impression of God's power and sovereignty. Psalm 18 also gives us a picturesque, hyperbolic view into the awesome view of God. In summer, the clouds start to thicken as the heat of the day rises higher and higher. From a distance, we can see the skies growing darker as the storm forms and approaches. Lightning flashes and peals of thunder follow. Then the downpours come, possibly with wind, and the storm passes by, doing God's bidding. I like to sit on the front porch to watch as the storm approaches, usually from the west or northwest, here in the mid-Atlantic region. It really is a display of the power of God. As David Zaffiro states in his song "Through His Eyes", "like a mirror held to God, the storm reflects his strength".  What an awesome word picture!

        One October I spent an evening by myself at Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia. As dusk approached, I sat upon the rocky slope looking west. God seemed to ride on the clouds and linger for awhile, as he painted the sky with purples and yellows that I had never seen mixed before. I took the best sunset photos that I have ever taken. And then he flew away into the fading grey.

        Praise be to God for the daily change in his clouds, for his daily display of power.

May 13 ─ The Golden Rule, part 1

        Matthew 7:12 – "So in everything, do to others what you want them to do to you,

for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."

         It is 2018, and this verse has been weighing on my mind lately. I can remember growing up in the 70s, and hearing this verse being touted outside of its Biblical context. As if it was a mantra for living, when one did not even care about the other teachings of Jesus. And it was! Notwithstanding the negative connotations of ignoring the rest of Jesus' teachings, society still accepted the wisdom of this verse as stand-alone decent behavior. And why not? The simple keeping of this command has ramifications throughout society and individuals alike.

         How much more peaceful our lives would be if everyone followed this command in detailed ways everyday! Let me give a few examples. Most people like to keep their home electric bills as low as possible. We turn off lights when not needed; we don't leave the TV on all night. The list goes on. So, why would I leave the lights and TV on in my hotel room when my stay has ended? (I see this regularly, as I work at a hotel.) The cumulative effect of this causes the business owner to pay more for electricity, which may cause his room rate to rise, which in turn may cause potential guests to look elsewhere for cheaper lodging, which in turn causes the business owner to not make money, which could effect his bottom line, as well as taxes that he would normally pay to the state and local governments. All of this, because I, and hundreds others, thoughtlessy left the lights on – after all, I don't have to pay the business owner's electric bill. Oh, how short-sighted we are!

        How grouchy do we get when someone tramples our rights? It is because the other person is usually doing something selfish, which affects me directly or indirectly. That selfish act may be something needful, but he doesn't think how it will affect those around him. For example, a couple of years ago, there were a string of burglaries at residences around me. I even had an air compressor in my garage stolen at this time. The neighbor across the street also had some items taken from his outbuildings. As a reaction to this phenomena, he erected a large, bright dusk-to-dawn light on the side of this house, closest to his outbuildings. Never mind that the light now constantly shines in my bedroom window every night. Why could he not have erected a motion-sensor light, which would shine only if there were motion, and then shut itself off shortly thereafter? He wasn't thinking about how it would affect others around him. He was not following the golden rule. And my peace has been disturbed.

        When I play my non-vocal music at work, it is at a level that suits me, but does not bother the other areas of my workplace. The level is audible to guests, but not obnoxious in any way. It is background music, which is where it belongs – in the background, not in anyone's face, disrupting a respectful conversation. How rude and disrespectful when the opposite happens to me in my own workplace! Peace is disrupted because someone else is not thinking of others in relation to their own actions.

        How many more common examples could we think of? Life would be much more peaceful, if we simply thought of how our own commonplace actions would affect others.