DAVID'S EMAIL BIBLE STUDY:
God 101
A. BACKGROUND
...
God-ology (theology, the study of God) is a paradox. At its most intellectual God is everything, everywhere, forever. Beyond being pinned down. BUT humans want, even need, to pin God down. Some clarity, some specificity, some definition. The Psalms help us to do both. They guide us to worship God as beyond our imagination, great, grander than all else. AND the Psalms give us some pretty detailed, specific images of God to guide our thinking. That’s today: God 101.
B. TODAY
... Bouncing around the Psalms, God is variously described as our “shield/defense” (Ps. 7:10), “King forever” (Ps. 10:16), “Rock, Fortress, Deliverer, Shield, Horn of Salvations” (Ps. 18:2), “Keeps my lamp burning, turns darkness into light” (Ps. 18:28), “(Helps me) to advance against any army, scale any wall” (Ps. 18:29), “broadens my path.... so I don’t turn an ankle” (Ps. 18:31-36), “refuge and tower, ever present help” (46:1).
C. SUMMARY.
A.
Lots of images, concepts, descriptions all boiled down to: God is there for me/you/us.
D. KEY POINTS
1.
MY FAVORITES. As an old, has-been cross country runner, the idea of God “broadening the path so that I (or we) don’t turn an ankle” is attractive. At our live, in person Bible Studies in which our email Bible Studies are based, many said that “seriously, life is an obstacle course!” Stumps, branches, stones, holes. Or sickness, disappointment, failure, loss, betrayal. War, poverty, prejudice. Jealousy, injustice, fear. All obstacles to a full life. Jesus, remember, declared he wanted us to have an “abundant life”, not one that makes us stumble, fall, get left behind, get hurt. The Psalm promises that God is at work, clearing the path.
2.
God as our Go-To-Place. The Psalms call God our rock, fortress, refuge, and tower. All places where people can go to escape physical; or sometimes internal, mental, spiritual. With either one, make it intentional – you really have to “go there”. Ancient Israel had a concept of “cities of refuge”, a place to get to for safety if being pursued, persecuted, hunted. The idea of “sanctuary” (even today’s “sanctuary cities”) is the same Biblical idea, a place you can count on to take you in and protect you. Churches often program “retreats”, the same idea. A military officer in our church reminded me that “retreat” is not “surrender”. It is a strategy for regrouping, re-energizing, so you go back into battle stronger. Here’s a tip. Come into our sanctuary anytime during the week. Sit. Pray. Read. Light a candle. Feel God in that “go-to-place”.
3.
Oh, Oh!! In Exodus 20:4 God says we are to have “no other gods” plus we are not to make an idol out of anything; nor worship them for fear of dire punishment. Yet, God is described in God’s own Bible by lots of created things: nature, animals, flowers, places, buildings, titles. If God is a rock, or a tower, or a shield, or a king, why can’t we paint/build/sculpt such and have them handy as reminders? My guess is that something created to be a reminder becomes a stand in; the stand in becomes the thing itself. My bottom line when it comes to saints, relics, statues, Mary, crosses, rituals etc. is this: if it points you toward God it is fine. If it blocks your forward progress, if it stops you at that point, if it becomes the object of your worship instead of a tool, it is not fine. If we think of today’s images as “attributes”, we’ll be fine.
