Psalm 119:160 Tethered to Truth

All your words are true;
 all your righteous laws are eternal.
Psalm 119:160

How often can you count on words to be true? In the 21st century, less often than ever.

During the past few months the facts and stories we've been told about the coronavirus pandemic have been shifting around faster than most of us can keep up. From one day to the next we watch as scientists contradict other scientists, politicians interpret the science according to whatever fits their political agenda, and the internet and social media are full of intentionally misleading and alarming pseudo-news aimed at sowing seeds of chaos and panic.

It's not new with this current crisis, though.

Increasingly over the past few years it's become common to see tweets and hear official statements from political leaders that are contradictory to verifiable fact or are the opposite of what the record shows they said previously. It's become a regular feature on Twitter and other platforms for some enterprising person to dig up a previous tweet or video clip of a politician making the exact opposite statement of "fact" or declaration of "principle" as whatever they're now saying.

But it's soon to become even more difficult to count on words being true.

arstechinca.com: Adobe demos “photoshop for audio,” lets you edit speech as easily as text

Adobe has demonstrated tech that lets you edit recorded speech so that you can alter what that person said or create an entirely new sentence from their voice. It seems inevitable that it will eventually be referred to as "photoshop but for audio."

The tech, dubbed VoCo (voice conversion), presents the user with a text box. Initially the text box shows the spoken content of the audio clip. You can then move the words around, delete fragments, or type in entirely new words. When you type in a new word, there's a small pause while the word is constructed—then you can press play and listen to the new clip.

Here's a video of the demonstration.

Thank God - literally - that we can trust in His words. All of His words are true.  And they will remain true for all eternity, no matter how much our culture is cut loose of any tether to truth.

Psalm 119:159 I Love the Book

See how I love your precepts;
 preserve my life, Lord, in accordance with your love.
Psalm 119:159

Like David, I love God's precepts.

I love the Word the way I love other books that are my favorites. My favorite books are the ones that draw me into the world of the story told in the book.

I love the westerns of Louis L'Amour, in part because they pull me into the world of the Old West. I once took a vacation with  my family to central Kansas because my wife has relatives who live there. More than once during that week I drove off into the middle of the rolling plains and sat in the middle of a field surrounded by the native tall grasses. I read one of L'Amours novels set in that part of Kansas. Reading his description of riding across the plains on a horse, part of a cattle drive, I could easily picture myself right in the middle of the action.

When I read the Bible I like to use my imagination. When I read about David tending his sheep and playing songs to God on his stringed instrument, I can picture myself doing that very thing, only with my Alvarez guitar. I can even picture tending sheep because I've chased a few of my father-in-law's sheep over the years.

But even more than imagining myself into the action, I can live out the actions recommended by the Word. When I read Psalm 119, I can imagine David is writing directly to me. I can stop in the middle of reading and let my mind organize David's thoughts into a plan of action of my own. David's life becomes my life.

Which leads into another way that I love God's precepts. I love how it provides a window for me to see God's heart. It also provides a window into how David became a man after's God's own heart. And it provides practical guidelines for how I can live a life of joy and adventure.

When I read the Word I absorb God's love for me as expressed in His precepts. His Word lights a flame deep in my heart, to empower me to live a life filled with God's glory.

Psalm 119:158 Loathing

I look on the faithless with loathing,
 for they do not obey your word.
Psalm 119:158

Loathing seems like a pretty strong word.

Are we supposed to look on the faithless with loathing?

Other translations use other terms, but they don't really soften it any.

Seeing these traitors makes me sick at heart (NLT)

I look at the faithless with disgust (ESV)

I beheld the transgressors and was grieved (KJV)

Eugene Peterson uses an even sharper tone in The Message:

I took one look at the quitters and was filled with loathing; they walked away from your promises so casually!

Earlier, in Psalm 119:136, David describes the depth of his emotional response to seeing so many people choosing their own way instead of God's way.

Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed.

I had two chief mentors in learning to counsel people who have sinned in "disgusting" ways. They gave what seemed at first to be conflicting advice, but I've learned there's a need for both ends of the spectrum.

Wayne Kessler, my counseling professor at Central Christian College of the Bible, said the counselor should never react to the big reveal of a counselee. Never show loathing or disgust in your physical or verbal reactions. The focus should instead be on examining the details and exploring a practical and effective plan for change.

Roy Weece, who taught me a great deal about counseling during my years at the Mizzou Christian Campus House, said it’s always appropriate to show shock and disgust at sin that is shocking and disgusting.

I once saw a mixture of the two played out in the office of a lawyer. I was there with a young man who had committed a crime, a misdemeanor. In the grand scheme of things, his offense wouldn't be ranked among the worst by nearly anyone. He had found himself tangled in a mess where the things others had done were far greater in their impact.

The attorney, after hearing the details of what happened, responded with a five minute tongue lashing, expressing his disgust and loathing at how his client had betrayed the trust of the community. He didn't hold anything back because knew this young man needed to know he couldn't just shrug this off as a minor decision with little long term impact.

But then the lawyer abruptly switched his focus to addressing the details of what to do next. The past is past and that can't be denied or changed. But the present is the key to the future, and there were things to be done, step by step, to return to a productive and purposeful life.

The same two-step approach is true when dealing with people who have faithlessly turned their backs on God's Word and God's ways. Their sin is indeed disgusting, and they need to own that fact. They also need to embrace the Word as their key to making each day a new day of turning back toward God's direction.

Psalm 119:157 Don't Turn Away

Many are the foes who persecute me,
 but I have not turned from your statutes.
Psalm 119:157

In both the Hebrew of the Old Testament and Greek of the New Testament, the words for persecution have at their root the idea of pursuit, of chasing someone down with hostile purpose. That pursuit, when the word is used in the context of persecution, is for the purpose of either punishing the person being pursued or dragging them away and turning them in a different direction.

In many parts of the world today, Christians are pursued and persecuted in ways quite similar to the persecution faced by David and by Paul. But American Christians seldom have to deal with that sort of actual physical pursuit and physical consequences of their faith.

Instead, 21st century American believers are pursued by the relentless onslaught of a culture that is at best seductively subversive to faith and at worst actively hostile toward Christianity.

That onslaught comes from the same source as always: people of influence who want to distract believers from their focus on God's ways and attack those who cling to faith. But in the new millennium, technology has empowered persecution to become more invasive and ubiquitous than at any time since Eve debated with the serpent.

The people with the most fervent devotion to the most extreme ideologies have found a megaphone in the mass media, targeted media, and social media. Ideas that used to exist on the edges of society now have a consistent and loud voice at the center of society.

While the majority of Americans still believe in a god, such belief is routinely ridiculed and undermined on public platforms. As a result, an increasing number of those who say they believe in a god have developed a diluted version of that belief (especially among young people). It's become more a generic belief in a generic idea of a higher power rather than faith in the God of the Bible and commitment to His Church.

Under such relentless pursuit, believers are turning from the Word as the anchor for their belief system.

This plays out in the lives of these misdirected believers in diverse ways. Some are opting for an emotional spirituality that latches onto personalized expressions, turning from scripture-based spiritual practice to a potpourri of lifestyles.

The humanistic spirituality of self-help and pop-psychology turns some away from Jesus' example of a mission-driven life to a self-expression lifestyle. It doesn't take long before their disdain of the legalistic religion of their youth becomes a complete discarding of the holy lifestyle described in the Word.

Other believers are distracted from Jesus' mission to the political mission of their preference. Some believers focus their priorities on liberal/progressive politics. Others direct their their religious activity through conservative politics. Both have allowed themselves to be pursued by the false power of politics and distracted from the one true power of the gospel.

Who - or what - is pursuing you? Have you already turned your focus away from the Word?

Psalm 119:156 Feel With

My life has been a continual switchback journey between desiring God and His righteousness and desiring my favorite forms of unrighteousness.

The experience of my six-plus decades tells me my greatest happiness comes when I align my heart with the heart of God, and yet I'm fairly confident not one of those 23,000+ days has passed without me chasing after the unrighteousness whims of my own godless heart.

Maturity has trained me to seek my greatest fulfillment through actively serving God's mission, and yet I've squandered hours and days - even months and years - of my life in active pursuit of trivia and folly.

Looking back on the path behind me as I get nearer to the end of my time on earth, regret pours from my eyes. I cry thinking about the opportunities I missed because I was preoccupied, the adventures I've avoided because I preferred leisure.

Your compassion, Lord, is great;
 preserve my life according to your laws.

Psalm 119:156

The word compassion literally means to "feel with". The Lord feels all these things, the joys and the regrets, with me. And yet He still offers me the best resource for aligning my passions with His and making my life shine with His glory.

Time spent diving deep into His laws, swimming in the wisdom of His Word, is the key to His heart and to my heart.

Psalm 119:155 What Are You Seeking?

Salvation is far from the wicked,
 for they do not seek out your decrees.
Psalm 119:155

If I was the driver of the white car in that picture of a switchback mountainous road, I'd be seeking a quick and safe way to get off that road.

But maybe that driver has a good reason to be on that road. Maybe the driver is seeking something that can only be gained by continuing to travel on that treacherous road.

What might it be?

What are you seeking on the road of life?

Many psychologists say most of us are forever seeking something we feel like we lost or never quite found as young children. It might be something quite different for each of us, although there are many common things people are looking for.

Maybe you're seeking the safety of people you feel you can trust, because you were lied to and betrayed when you were young.

Perhaps you're seeking the kind of close relationships you envy in other people's lives, the kind that have so often eluded you.

It could be you were born with a physical disability of some kind and have been hoping to find a way to be the person your heart hungers to be, but your body or brain have held you back.

God has been seeking you since you were a child. He wants to share His heart with you, and he provided His Word so you could search through its pages to discover His heart.

The best way to find what you seek is by seeking the heart of God. That's what we've all been searching for.

I have climbed the highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you
I have run, I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
These city walls
Only to be with you

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for

I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her finger tips
It burned like fire
This burning desire
I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for

I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colours will bleed into one
Bleed into one
But yes, I'm still running
You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross of my shame
Oh my shame, you know I believe it

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, by U2

Psalm 119:154 What is Your Cause?

In the world of 21st century influencers, everyone has to have a brand - a well defined message, a specific cause at the center of all the content you produce for public consumption. If want to expand your impact beyond your base, you have to craft a platform to promote your brand.

What is your brand? What is your cause?

On Twitter, as @trripleplay, my brand is Mizzou Baseball fan. No one shares more links to Mizzou Baseball content. No one retweets more Mizou Baseball tweets. No one follows more Mizzou Baseball people - coaches, players, sportswriters, fans, and former coaches, players, sportswriters and fans.

Obviously I think it's OK to have a brand as a hobby, or even as a career. If I had been more energetic and more savvy about building my brand platform as a writer, I might have a more successful writing career.

Among my friends on Facebook, some have a brand or a cause that's quite clear. Some friends have branded themselves as not just pro-Conservative but virulently anti-Democrat, evidenced by the many funny memes they share -- at least they think they're funny.

Another Facebook friend maintains a carefully constructed - and yet quite genuine - platform for his brand as a business owner who practices servant-leadership toward his customers and employees. His posts seamlessly present his brand as a business servant, but also his related brand as a servant who goes out of his way to spend time and effort and money to help people in need.

I have another friend who posts stories about teaching children at church, being a good grandmother to her daughter's boys, and generally being a kind and helpful example of spiritual motherhood to everyone she meets.

Defend my cause and redeem me;
 preserve my life according to your promise.

Psalm 119:154

If you want to be able to ask God to defend your cause, you'd better make sure your cause is his cause.

You can have your own brand - God creates and molds the life of each person in a unique way. But you'd best make sure your brand is your personal expression of your Lord's cause.

If you do, then your life will be preserved, quickened, made to vibrate with energy.

Psalm 119:153 Not Distracted by Suffering

Look on my suffering and deliver me,
 for I have not forgotten your law.
Psalm 119:153

A quote from an article I wrote for Christian Standard back in February, 2016:

A once great nation is in the throes of transition from a democratic republic to a de facto dictatorship.

A neophyte has been given the reigns of power, to which some critics maintain he has no birthright. The gap between the super rich and the middle class is widening. People from other countries covet the benefits of citizenship, yet the nation’s reputation among the rest of the world is declining.

Christians find themselves increasingly at odds with the policies and morals of the nation. They’re seen as dangerous dissenters by those in charge and are increasingly marginalized and persecuted for their beliefs.

No, the neophyte leader’s name is not Obama and the nation is not America.

It's the Roman Empire during the reign of Nero. This was the world in which Christians were living when Peter wrote his first epistle to the saints in Rome. Many will see parallels between their situation and ours.

In one important regard, the situations are far from similar.

Peter, advising his readers how to respond, does not lay out a plan for political action. He doesn’t even mention Nero by name and drops only a few veiled hints to let them know he’s even aware of the current political situation in Rome. He doesn’t speak disparagingly about the government, doesn’t insult the leaders, and doesn’t pass along the latest rumors and jokes about the emperor.

Peter, faced with a political situation similar to what quite a few Christians see as our current circumstances, is somehow able to respond in such a different manner from so much of what is heard in many churches and posted by believers on social media today.

Who would have guessed that Peter, best known for blurting out the first awkwardly blunt thing that pops into his head, would be the one to let theology be his guide for how to be a Christian in the public square?

How did Peter change from the hot head to this highly focused wise elder? The same way David changed from young shepherd to wise King and spiritual leader.

Even while the political situations of their day were polarized and often dangerous for people of faith, they knew where to go to keep their minds focused and their motivations centered. Their driving influence was not their worries about suffering or their opinions about politics or their personal ambitions.

They trusted on God to deliver them to where He wanted them to be, because they never forgot His Law, the Word they had written on their hearts.

Psalm 119:153-160 Resh

Look on my suffering and deliver me,
 for I have not forgotten your law.
Defend my cause and redeem me;
 preserve my life according to your promise.
Salvation is far from the wicked,
 for they do not seek out your decrees.
Your compassion, LORD, is great;
 preserve my life according to your laws.
Many are the foes who persecute me,
 but I have not turned from your statutes.
I look on the faithless with loathing,
 for they do not obey your word.
See how I love your precepts;
 preserve my life, LORD, in accordance with your love.
All your words are true;
 all your righteous laws are eternal

This refrain of Psalm 119 whips back and forth like a mountain trail. David frames these eight verses within the context of contrast - his relationship with God vs. that of those who persecute him.

Three times (verses 154, 156, and 158) David asks God to "preserve my life." It's a phrase he uses 11 times in Psalm 119, always carrying the meaning of revitalizing or quickening life. David's asking for a jump start, a spark of God's energy and glory to infuse his daily life.

Four times in this stanza David uses the word "not." In verses 153 and 157 he describes unrighteous things he does not do. In verses 155 and 158 he describes a righteous act other people do not do. It's an obvious intentional contrast between himself and others.

Throughout the eight verses David speaks of compassion and love, intermixed with loathing and wickedness. His attitude toward unrighteous people bounces back and forth.

What is it that keeps David trusting in God's deliverance from suffering and persecution?

What is it that keeps salvation near to him?

What makes makes him steadfastly different from those he loathes?

What quickens and energizes his life each and every day?

What keeps him pointed in the proper direction during the his journey down the 1 road of life?

All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal