David Bahn – Reflections

Light from the Word and through the lens

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In 1968 Jerry Snell opened a door in the hallway outside our first hour chemistry class. He invited me into what I discovered was a darkroom. Soon I was on the school newspaper and annual staff as a photographer. Later I learned that Jerry was a Lutheran who was planning to become a pastor. A few years later I was not only a Lutheran, but I was heading off to seminary to become a Lutheran pastor, too. Jerry followed a year later and served as a pastor in Missouri until his untimely heart attack and death. I thank God for Jerry and enjoy photography still today – not to mention rejoicing in having served as a Lutheran pastor in congregations in Utah, Colorado, Arkansas and Texas. I’ve retired now and serve part time as a Congregational Support Specialist for the Texas District of the LCMS. I also provide coaching and leadership training through various PLI cohorts and with individual congregations and organizations. David Bahn is a follower of Jesus Christ, husband to Diane, father and grandfather. He is an avid amateur photographer. His photo website is “Flowers by God Photos by David” He also publishes a devotional blog DavidBahn-Reflections.com. He and Diane live in Cypress Texas and enjoy visiting their grandchildren who live in the United States and Germany. He graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in 1979, and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1991. Diane, his wife, is now retired from PLI (PLIleadership.org). They have offered presentations on Marriage and Ministry Partnership, Leadership, Changing Your Congregation’s Culture, and Missional Living. They look are working with PLI International training pastors and wives of the ELVD Diocese of the Lutheran Church of Tanzania. David’s personal mission statement is “Leading people to realize Jesus’ calling and plans for their lives.”

Confessions of a Psalm Lover

Psalm 150

Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!

3 Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!

30, 60, 90, 120, 150: These are today’s psalms. So it goes each day of the month. Tomorrow it will be 1, 31, 61, 91… you get the picture. In a month’s time, by reading five psalms a day, you will read the entire Psalter. You will also have embraced the highs and lows of life, the hopes, frustrations, depths of dispair and the heights of elation. The Psalms give word to all these emotions and were written/prayed from within the contexts of real life.

David wrote many of the psalms. And David was not only a man after God’s heart and a spiritual giant, he was a man who knew spiritual and moral failure. That he was a man after God’s heart is evident in these psalms. The breadth of his faith is reflected in the psalm he prayed when confronted with his sin of adultery and murder (Psalm 51), the beautiful expression of faith in God (Psalm 23), the powerful and prophetic words of Psalm 22, and others. David looked to God, trusted in God, called upon God, despaired of God’s goodness, demanded God’s justice, and relied on God’s faithfulness.

Then there is praise. Psalm 150 is not attributed to David. But look at Psalm 19 and Psalm 103. Consider how many of the 75 Psalms that are directly attributed to him end with a doxology of praise to God. And that, perhaps, is the greatest cause for my delight in this book of the Bible. No matter how dark and drear the situation may be, and no matter how despondent the Psalmists are, the psalms point us again and again to God, his goodness, mercy, love and faithfulness.

That is why Psalm 150 is such a great exclamation point to the whole collection: Praise the Lord. He is good. He is worthy. It is good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to God. So be it! Amen!

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