Post by Admin on May 31, 2018 6:00:13 GMT
We opened tonight’s discussion by talking about how we get the attention of others, how we know they are listening to us, and how we demonstrate to others that we are listening to them. We talked about distractions and multi-tasking, which erode our listening, or how negative feelings or anger toward a person may affect our desire to listen. On the reverse, we agreed that the prime way to tell that someone is paying attention is to lock eyes, and likewise, when we share eye contact with a person, we are showing that we are paying attention to him or her. God always pays attention to us – and sometimes we struggle to “stare Him in the eyes,” that is, to push aside distractions and emotions and just be silent with Him. When we do, messages may be clear right away, or be planted by God to germinate later.
We read Psalm 34 and readily noted the many references to speaking, calling, and listening. David was expressing, as we have seen in the other Psalms, his very personal relationship with God. That relationship overflows with confidence that God will always be there for him, even when he is unsure about his own behavior, as in the case of this Psalm, written after he tricked Abilmelek into letting him go by pretending to be crazy, something he was not proud of having done. That led to some thoughts: was David feeling guilty about his low trick; did he second guess himself that he should have left his safety completely in God’s hands? We can’t know the answer, of course.
A few other verses generated much discussion. Verse 3 uses the term “glorify” which can also be translated magnify, so we talked about applying magnification to the incidents in our life in which God is carrying and protecting us, and how that surely leads us to greater praise. Verse 8 invites us to “taste” the Lord, which prompted a real enlightenment over using all our senses to appreciate God – tasting His sweetness, smelling His spicy strength, and so on. We used the term “savor” in place of taste. Several verses (7, 9, 11) express the need to “fear” the Lord. One person suggested that the verses sounded like David was providing us clues or steps to achieve better communicate with the Lord. Others observed that if we use “revere” instead of fear, then our attitude shows our that we know He is God and we are not in any way equal to Him.
Tonight’s song verse to express our praise was another from As the Deer:
You're my friend
And You are my brother
Even though You are a King
I love You more than any other
So much more than anything
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship Thee
We read Psalm 34 and readily noted the many references to speaking, calling, and listening. David was expressing, as we have seen in the other Psalms, his very personal relationship with God. That relationship overflows with confidence that God will always be there for him, even when he is unsure about his own behavior, as in the case of this Psalm, written after he tricked Abilmelek into letting him go by pretending to be crazy, something he was not proud of having done. That led to some thoughts: was David feeling guilty about his low trick; did he second guess himself that he should have left his safety completely in God’s hands? We can’t know the answer, of course.
A few other verses generated much discussion. Verse 3 uses the term “glorify” which can also be translated magnify, so we talked about applying magnification to the incidents in our life in which God is carrying and protecting us, and how that surely leads us to greater praise. Verse 8 invites us to “taste” the Lord, which prompted a real enlightenment over using all our senses to appreciate God – tasting His sweetness, smelling His spicy strength, and so on. We used the term “savor” in place of taste. Several verses (7, 9, 11) express the need to “fear” the Lord. One person suggested that the verses sounded like David was providing us clues or steps to achieve better communicate with the Lord. Others observed that if we use “revere” instead of fear, then our attitude shows our that we know He is God and we are not in any way equal to Him.
Tonight’s song verse to express our praise was another from As the Deer:
You're my friend
And You are my brother
Even though You are a King
I love You more than any other
So much more than anything
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship Thee