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.”

  • Psalm 46: True Security

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    David Bahn-Reflections Podcast

    Psalm 46

    God is our refuge and strength,
        a very present help in trouble.
    2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
        though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
    3 though its waters roar and foam,
        though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

    4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
        the holy habitation of the Most High.
    5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
        God will help her when morning dawns.
    6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
        he utters his voice, the earth melts.
    7 The LORD of hosts is with us;
        the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

    8 Come, behold the works of the LORD,
        how he has brought desolations on the earth.
    9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
        he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
        he burns the chariots with fire.
    10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
        I will be exalted among the nations,
        I will be exalted in the earth!”
    11 The LORD of hosts is with us;
        the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

    Bee on a Yellow Flower-2 | Mercer Botanical Garden | March 2023

    There are beautiful stained glass windows that honor Cpl George N. Holmes Jr., a young United States Marine who was killed in the failed rescue attempt of the Iran hostages in 1980. You can see those windows only when you are leaving the sanctuary. There are also windows high above the altar of the church. These windows allow light to come into the space. But they are not visible except from right under the large cross hanging above the altar. Some have called the sanctuary a tomb. Others have called it a fortress. When viewed from the outside it appears to be a large and formidable entity – almost as though it could bowl over anyone in its way. In so many ways that building was a mighty fortress.

    I served Trinity Lutheran Church in Pine Bluff, Arkansas from 1983-1993. It was my desire that the church would be a refuge for hurting people and a place of celebration of God’s faithfulness, goodness, grace, and love. That’s my wish for any church. My idea of the church is less that of a fortress, and more of a place of light, joy, celebration, and grace.

    Sometimes, though, we need a place of refuge. Wars rage. Kingdoms are shaken. Troubles loom. Enemies threaten. This psalm is for those times. And God is our place of refuge, safety, comfort, and help.

    Too often we look to other helpers. FDIC bails out banks. Fire insurance covers catastrophic losses. Well-diversified stock portfolios keep our retirement accounts safe. Masks keep out pollen. Airbags keep us from crashing through the windshield. We alarm our homes. Many have firearms at the ready for personal security. We have so many safety valves, contingency plans, fall-back positions, and security blankets. I have them all. But I wonder whether we’ve so complicated our lives that we lose God in all the clutter and protections we have gathered around us.

    I’m not saying we should throw away all these things, but I wonder whether we should lean on God more fully, and not just as a last resort. Shouldn’t God be our first line of defence? He is our true refuge and strength. He is ever present. We can depend on his help in tough situations.

    I’m trying to understand what that means for me today. When I hear of a friend’s severe and life-threatening illness, I turn to God in prayer in his behalf. When I struggle with guilt and shame over past sins and current temptations, I turn to God, rather than running away from him. When I see that I have no power to overcome obstacles to good things God wants me to do, I seek his help. When I sputter in my prayers, I take refuge in his promise that he will not snuff out a smoldering wick (cf. Isaiah 42:3).

    The world sees God as an interloper, an intrusion, and a killjoy. All they see is the outward formidable expression of God’s refuge and strength. Those of us who are inside that refuge, know it to be a place of beauty, joy, life, comfort, and true security.

    May be an image of outdoors
    Trinity Lutheran Church | Pine Bluff, Arkansas

  • Today’s Psalms for March 19, 2023

    Please pray these psalms with me on this Lord’s Day.

    Psalm 19:1-11

    The heavens declare the glory of God,
        and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
    2 Day to day pours out speech,
        and night to night reveals knowledge.
    3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
        whose voice is not heard.
    4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
        and their words to the end of the world.
    In them he has set a tent for the sun,
    5     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
        and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
    6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
        and its circuit to the end of them,
        and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

    7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
        reviving the soul;
    the testimony of the Lord is sure,
        making wise the simple;
    8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
        rejoicing the heart;
    the commandment of the Lord is pure,
        enlightening the eyes;
    9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
        enduring forever;
    the rules of the Lord are true,
        and righteous altogether.
    10 More to be desired are they than gold,
        even much fine gold;
    sweeter also than honey
        and drippings of the honeycomb.
    11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
        in keeping them there is great reward.

    Psalm 49:5-9

    Why should I fear in times of trouble,
        when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
    6 those who trust in their wealth
        and boast of the abundance of their riches?
    7 Truly no man can ransom another,
        or give to God the price of his life,
    8 for the ransom of their life is costly
        and can never suffice,
    9 that he should live on forever
        and never see the pit.

    Psalm 79:8-9

    Do not remember against us our former iniquities;
        let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
        for we are brought very low.
    9 Help us, O God of our salvation,
        for the glory of your name;
    deliver us, and atone for our sins,
        for your name’s sake!

    Psalm 109:26-31

    Help me, O Lord my God!
        Save me according to your steadfast love!
    27 Let them know that this is your hand;
        you, O Lord, have done it!
    28 Let them curse, but you will bless!
        They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
    29 May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
        may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

    30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;
        I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
    31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
        to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

    Psalm 139

    O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
    2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
        you discern my thoughts from afar.
    3 You search out my path and my lying down
        and are acquainted with all my ways.
    4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
        behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
    5 You hem me in, behind and before,
        and lay your hand upon me.
    6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
        it is high; I cannot attain it.

    7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
        Or where shall I flee from your presence?
    8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
        If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
    9 If I take the wings of the morning
        and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
    10 even there your hand shall lead me,
        and your right hand shall hold me.
    11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
        and the light about me be night,”
    12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
        the night is bright as the day,
        for darkness is as light with you.

    13 For you formed my inward parts;
        you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
    14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
    Wonderful are your works;
        my soul knows it very well.
    15 My frame was not hidden from you,
    when I was being made in secret,
        intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
    16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
    in your book were written, every one of them,
        the days that were formed for me,
        when as yet there was none of them.

    17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
        How vast is the sum of them!
    18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
        I awake, and I am still with you.

    19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
        O men of blood, depart from me!
    20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
        your enemies take your name in vain.
    21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
        And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
    22 I hate them with complete hatred;
        I count them my enemies.

    23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
        Try me and know my thoughts!
    24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
        and lead me in the way everlasting!

    The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016.
    Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

  • Psalm 90: Legacy

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    David Bahn-Reflections Podcast

    Psalm 90

    Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    in all generations.
    2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

    3 You return man to dust
    and say, “Return, O children of man!”
    4 For a thousand years in your sight
    are but as yesterday when it is past,
    or as a watch in the night.

    5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
    like grass that is renewed in the morning:
    6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
    in the evening it fades and withers.

    7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
    by your wrath we are dismayed.
    8 You have set our iniquities before you,
    our secret sins in the light of your presence.

    9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
    we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
    10 The years of our life are seventy,
    or even by reason of strength eighty;
    yet their span is but toil and trouble;
    they are soon gone, and we fly away.
    11 Who considers the power of your anger,
    and your wrath according to the fear of you?

    12 So teach us to number our days
    that we may get a heart of wisdom.
    13 Return, O Lord! How long?
    Have pity on your servants!
    14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
    15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    and for as many years as we have seen evil.
    16 Let your work be shown to your servants,
    and your glorious power to their children.
    17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
    and establish the work of our hands upon us;
    yes, establish the work of our hands!

    Bee on a Yellow Flower | Mercer Botanical Garden | March 2023

    The Apostle John writes, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (3 John 1:4). This is the last time that word comes up in his three letters. But he has used the word 16 times previously in these letters. The term is obviously important to him. He considers fellow Christians his children because he was their spiritual father and took responsibility for the safety of their faith. That meant he would challenge and correct as needed, but never do so without great love and encouragement. John is the kind of spiritual father many of us would wish to have. Both his gospel account and these letters are favorites of mine. He touches my heart with God’s love, and instills in me a desire that others would be touched by that same love. Such is John’s legacy: an enviable one at that.

    Moses prays that God would

    Let your work be shown to your servants,
    and your glorious power to their children.
    17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
    and establish the work of our hands upon us;
    yes, establish the work of our hands!

    Moses is praying for a legacy of faithfulness to be his. He wants to see the truth and grace of God take root in the lives of his children – all of them and us. Note how he prays that God’s work would be shown to his servants and their children. He is not concerned only for his own children, but for all people to know of God’s great love.

    Kari Jobe & Cody Carnes wrote the song, The Blessing. It comes straight from Scripture, Numbers 6:23-26. It is beautiful and richly refreshing to me. They then add several “amens” to the song, and ultimately a wish for this blessing to be upon “your children…” Beautiful words adorn the ancient blessing:

    May His favor be upon you

    And a thousand generations

    And your family and your children

    And their children, and their children

    May His presence go before you

    And behind you, and beside you

    All around you, and within you

    He is with you, He is with you

    In the morning, in the evening

    In your coming, and your going

    In your weeping, and rejoicing

    He is for you, He is for you…

    Oh how I long for this to be true: May His favor be upon you | And a thousand generations | And your family and your children | And their children, and their children.

    This would be my legacy’s hope, more than money, fame, power, or even health. For God’s favor makes all the difference in all of life. Without it we are lost. With it we can weather all storms and most fully enjoy the blessings when the boundary lines of life fall for us in pleasant places (cf. Psalm 16:6-8).

    Even if you don’t have children of your own, I pray that you are able to leave such a legacy to those who have known you and loved you.

  • Psalm 90: God’s Timing and our Time

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    David Bahn-Reflections Podcast

    Psalm 90

    Lord, you have been our dwelling place
        in all generations.
    2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
        or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
        from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

    3 You return man to dust
        and say, “Return, O children of man!”
    4 For a thousand years in your sight
        are but as yesterday when it is past,
        or as a watch in the night.

    5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
        like grass that is renewed in the morning:
    6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
        in the evening it fades and withers.

    7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
        by your wrath we are dismayed.
    8 You have set our iniquities before you,
        our secret sins in the light of your presence.

    9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
        we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
    10 The years of our life are seventy,
        or even by reason of strength eighty;
    yet their span is but toil and trouble;
        they are soon gone, and we fly away.
    11 Who considers the power of your anger,
        and your wrath according to the fear of you?

    12 So teach us to number our days
        that we may get a heart of wisdom.
    13 Return, O Lord! How long?
        Have pity on your servants!
    14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
        that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
    15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
        and for as many years as we have seen evil.
    16 Let your work be shown to your servants,
        and your glorious power to their children.
    17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
        and establish the work of our hands upon us;
        yes, establish the work of our hands!

    Bluebonnet | Mercer Botanical Garden | March 2023

    Do you remember waiting for your 13th birthday to come around? You’d be a teenager! How about your 16th or your 21st? Compare that with waiting for your 40th, 50th, or 70th? When you’re a kid you’re sure there are 1000 days between birthdays. As an older adult, you’re not sure there are even 100. Time is relative. How long does it take to get a dentist appointment for a tooth ache? Much longer than it does to receive the bill afterwards!

    Moses, the author of this psalm, speaks of time in this manner:

    For a thousand years in your sight
        are but as yesterday when it is past,
        or as a watch in the night.

    He is convinced that God’s timing is so very well beyond ours that watching man live and die is like watching grass spring up in the morning only to see it wither away in the afternoon sun. He sounds almost rueful. It’s as though he thinks God has little care for us mere mortals whose lives span 70 or 80 years. He is certainly aware of our need to view life from mortality’s perspective. We need to number our days. We need to consider our urgent need for God’s mercy and grace. We need to reckon with our mortality and God’s ultimate judgment.

    The title of this psalm is A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. That is not the commentary or attribution of modern translators, but the inscription of the psalm in the text itself. Some consider these to be inspired along with the text of the psalm. It makes sense that Moses wrote this prayer/psalm. Events in his life such as the death of his sister Miriam, and his brother Aaron, along with his being barred from entering the Promised Land would certainly form a strong background for such sentiment as is expressed in this psalm. These events are written in the book of Numbers, chapter 20. And the reference to God bringing forth the mountains and forming the earth and the world certainly echo Moses’ account of creation in Genesis. 

    In any case, however, these words apply to us all. For we all suffer disappointment. We all lose loved ones. We all fail to make it to the Promised Land this side of eternity. And we all wait. And God works on his own time schedule and perspective.

    A roadmap to the future would be a hindrance, not a help to faith. And God desires that we wait in faith. In fact the idea behind waiting in the biblical sense is tied up in two other facets of the word. We hope while we wait. And we trust while we hope. Hoping, trusting, and waiting go hand in hand. So when it’s not clear how soon or not God is going to act, we must simply wait. And hope. And trust.

    However long the days may seem to us now, we look forward to the eternal day of God’s presence and salvation fully experienced. And looking for God’s steadfast love to shine forth, we can pray,

    Return, O Lord! How long?
        Have pity on your servants!
    14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
        that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

  • Psalm 90: Considering, Numbering, and Gaining

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    David Bahn-Reflections Podcast

    Psalm 90

    Lord, you have been our dwelling place
        in all generations.
    2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
        or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
        from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

    3 You return man to dust
        and say, “Return, O children of man!”
    4 For a thousand years in your sight
        are but as yesterday when it is past,
        or as a watch in the night.

    5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
        like grass that is renewed in the morning:
    6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
        in the evening it fades and withers.

    7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
        by your wrath we are dismayed.
    8 You have set our iniquities before you,
        our secret sins in the light of your presence.

    9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
        we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
    10 The years of our life are seventy,
        or even by reason of strength eighty;
    yet their span is but toil and trouble;
        they are soon gone, and we fly away.
    11 Who considers the power of your anger,
        and your wrath according to the fear of you?

    12 So teach us to number our days
        that we may get a heart of wisdom.
    13 Return, O Lord! How long?
        Have pity on your servants!
    14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
        that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
    15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
        and for as many years as we have seen evil.
    16 Let your work be shown to your servants,
        and your glorious power to their children.
    17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
        and establish the work of our hands upon us;
        yes, establish the work of our hands!

    Flame of the Woods | Phoenix, AZ | February 2023

    Diane and I recently went on an impromptu photo outing. I had my camera ready. Batteries were charged. Lenses and tripod at the ready. So we went. She mostly walked around Mercer Botanical Gardens, taking a few photos with her iPhone. I took a bunch of photos. Then late last night I got around to going through them for the first batch of culling the less-than-excellent photos. This morning I finished that up, including some editing and a whole lot of post processing. I discovered I had neglected to reset my camera and everything was overexposed by 2 stops. That’s not good in bright sunlight. Thank God for Lightroom®! You’ll see some of those photos over the next weeks in this blog.

    I should have considered a few things before I began to click the shutter. I should have looked more closely at the numbers. I would have gained some time and some better photos had I done so.

    Who considers the power of your anger,
        and your wrath according to the fear of you?

    12 So teach us to number our days
        that we may get a heart of wisdom.

    Too often we live as though God is a doting grandfather. Benignly he watches with chuckling amusement at the silly antics of his grandchildren. That’s not a biblical picture whatsoever. Who considers, indeed, the power of his anger? I don’t often. But when I do, it hauls me back from the edge of faith’s shipwreck. The Law of God properly serves to curb gross outbreaks of sin in our lives. A healthy fear of God is at its root. It’s not the highest motivation. But it is a valid one. And for what it’s worth, I consider the fear of God something quite more than healthy respect. It’s quake in your boots, fall down in despair, woe is me fear. Look at Isaiah’s vision (Isaiah 6:1-5) for a reminder of that.

    If we are in autopilot our whole lives we will certainly also discover some overexposure to the glitz and distractions of this world. That will require some redevelopment of our hearts – a renewing of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise we will forfeit wisdom and lose much.

    Moses prays that God would teach us to number our days. He is aware that it’s all too easy to slog through our days unaware of God’s proper place, oblivious to his higher calling, and sidetracked from his ways. By numbering our days means we are intentionally aware of the human limits of our lives. We will not live on this side of eternity forever. Heaven is our true home. Numbering our days is, therefore, more than a humble reckoning of the limits of our life, it is also meant to point us to our true heavenly hope and home.

    By considering and numbering we may gain a heart of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom’s fulfillment is Jesus himself. Perfect love. Perfect faith. Perfect obedience. Hope realized. A wise heart has considered the proper fear of God, counted its days, and looks for the steadfast love of God to fill its cracks and crevasses. Those with wise hearts will see the work of God and look with anticipation for the blessing of God on their children.

  • Psalm 90: The Big Ugh!

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    David Bahn-Reflections Podcast

    Psalm 90

    Lord, you have been our dwelling place
        in all generations.
    2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
        or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
        from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

    3 You return man to dust
        and say, “Return, O children of man!”
    4 For a thousand years in your sight
        are but as yesterday when it is past,
        or as a watch in the night.

    5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
        like grass that is renewed in the morning:
    6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
        in the evening it fades and withers.

    7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
        by your wrath we are dismayed.
    8 You have set our iniquities before you,
        our secret sins in the light of your presence.

    9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
        we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
    10 The years of our life are seventy,
        or even by reason of strength eighty;
    yet their span is but toil and trouble;
        they are soon gone, and we fly away.
    11 Who considers the power of your anger,
        and your wrath according to the fear of you?

    12 So teach us to number our days
        that we may get a heart of wisdom.
    13 Return, O Lord! How long?
        Have pity on your servants!
    14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
        that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
    15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
        and for as many years as we have seen evil.
    16 Let your work be shown to your servants,
        and your glorious power to their children.
    17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
        and establish the work of our hands upon us;
        yes, establish the work of our hands!

    Peruvian Lily | January 2022 | Scottsdale, AZ
    I haven’t always used it, but Eugene Lowry wrote a book for preachers titled, The Homiletical Plot. Homiletics is a fancy word for the study and theories of preaching. Lowry’s idea tapped into the way typical television episodes unfold. There is an Oops! Ugh! Aha! Wee! and finally a Yay! The problem is revealed (think a body is found in an NCIS episode), but as the case unfolds the mystery gets more complex and perplexing. Finally there is a clue, then quickly comes the resolution. At the end, everyone is back at headquarters. Abby is happy. Gibbs is … well, Gibbs is Gibbs. DiNozzo is silly. And the rest of the crew is relieved.

    Lowry’s idea is that a good sermon brings people through that progression. His suggestion is to “get Jesus into as much trouble as possible” before revealing how he outwits them all and is the answer we really needed all along. And if you don’t really get to a legitimate and genuine UGH!, you’ll never really fill the hearts of the hearers with Jesus. And that is the task of the preacher.

    This psalm celebrates the reality of everyone’s true, genuine, legitimate, and inescapable UGH: Death. We may live to 70 or 80 years of age. These days 100 is not totally unheard of. But our days are numbered. None of us can escape that. And we have reminders of that reality constantly before us. A child dies of a rare and incurable disease. A friend is killed in a car accident. A coworker falls to his death. A young husband enters the hospital through the ER, and never comes home – though he does go to his True Home with Jesus.

    It wasn’t always so. In the beginning life reigned. There was no death. No sickness. No thorny weeds invading our landscapes. No pain in childbirth. No strife between husband and wife. No floods. No storms. No sickness. No suffering. Pure joy. Perfect communion with God.

    But when Adam and Eve chose to eat of the forbidden fruit all that changed. All of it. Sin brought sickness, shame, separation, suffering, sadness, and death. We live in a fallen world.

    For we are brought to an end by your anger;
        by your wrath we are dismayed.
    8 You have set our iniquities before you,
        our secret sins in the light of your presence.

    We’re part of that fallen world as shown not only by the troubles we bear, but also by the ways we add to our own suffering through sins and iniquity of our own – some hidden, some all too well on display.

    This psalm requires us to look that square in the face. We have sinned. We are fallen. We will die. Not a happy note. But certainly a true one. Neither, however, is it the only note. For in the end of this psalm a note of hope and anticipation rings out.

    Return, O Lord! How long?
        Have pity on your servants!
    14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
        that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

    There is a grand WEE! God’s goodness prevails, together with his grace and his steadfast love. We must face death. But we do not face it without hope. Through Jesus we have redemption, salvation, life and eternal joy. Yay God!

  • Psalm 90: The Everlasting God

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    David Bahn-Reflections Podcast

    Psalm 90

    Lord, you have been our dwelling place
        in all generations.
    2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
        or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
        from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

    3 You return man to dust
        and say, “Return, O children of man!”
    4 For a thousand years in your sight
        are but as yesterday when it is past,
        or as a watch in the night.

    5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
        like grass that is renewed in the morning:
    6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
        in the evening it fades and withers.

    7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
        by your wrath we are dismayed.
    8 You have set our iniquities before you,
        our secret sins in the light of your presence.

    9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
        we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
    10 The years of our life are seventy,
        or even by reason of strength eighty;
    yet their span is but toil and trouble;
        they are soon gone, and we fly away.
    11 Who considers the power of your anger,
        and your wrath according to the fear of you?

    12 So teach us to number our days
        that we may get a heart of wisdom.
    13 Return, O Lord! How long?
        Have pity on your servants!
    14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
        that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
    15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
        and for as many years as we have seen evil.
    16 Let your work be shown to your servants,
        and your glorious power to their children.
    17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
        and establish the work of our hands upon us;
        yes, establish the work of our hands!

    Orange Cana Lily | May 2022 | Location Unknown

    I tend to think of the everlasting nature of God in terms of time. He was before the beginning of time. He will be after the end of time. He is outside of time. He is eternal. That is important. Those are important realities. The material universe is not eternal. It had a beginning. God who was before all time and creation created the universe. God was before the universe was. One day this world will pass away. But God will go on. He is everlasting. 

    That is not true of us. We have not always been. Our days on earth are numbered (v. 12!). Our lives in this world will come to an end. That means we are limited in lifespan. But we’re also limited in other ways.

    We were driving west along Interstate-80 in the middle of Iowa. Our 1972 Chevelle was pulling a U-Haul trailer with all our worldly possessions in the back. Diane was 7 months pregnant. I was going to begin my vicarage year in Cheyenne, Wyoming. As I drove I could feel something different about our car’s transmission. It was not a good difference. Finally I pulled to the shoulder knowing that the car would make it no further. Our transmission gave out. So did my peaceful heart. My joy left me. My anxiety took its place. I knew of no way to fix this. It was clear: I was at the end of my resources. 

    But God’s everlasting nature extends beyond time. He’s not just better than the Energizer Bunny. Or Duralast Batteries. Or a Timex watch: Takes a likin’ and keeps on tickin, (you may remember). God’s love is everlasting. It never runs out. God’s grace and mercy never run out. His power is boundless in breadth and duration. His resources are boundless. From everlasting to everlasting God is God. And God is just, holy, true, faithful, trustworthy, patient, kind, merciful, gracious, and good. God is love. 

    God’s nature never changes. Our ability to experience him is certainly limited. Our comprehension of God is finite. Our faith in him and his promises wavers. But God is constant. He is the rock. He is the One who will be there whenever we turn to him. From everlasting to everlasting he is. Known by faith. Redeemed by Jesus. Sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Attested to in Scripture. Proven by an empty and open tomb. For him we wait until the number of our days is completed and our faith becomes sight.

    Until then we pray:

    Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
        and establish the work of our hands upon us;
        yes, establish the work of our hands!

  • Today’s Psalms for March 12, 2023

    Please pray these psalms with me on this Lord’s Day.

    Psalm 12:6

    The words of the Lordare pure words,
        like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
        purified seven times.

    Psalm 42:1-2

    As a deer pants for flowing streams,
        so pants my soul for you, O God.
    2 My soul thirsts for God,
        for the living God.
    When shall I come and appear before God?

    Psalm 72:18-19

    18 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
        who alone does wondrous things.
    19 Blessed be his glorious name forever;
        may the whole earth be filled with his glory!
    Amen and Amen!

    Psalm 102:1-2

    102 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
    let my cry come to you!
    2 Do not hide your face from me
        in the day of my distress!
    Incline your ear to me;
        answer me speedily in the day when I call!

    Psalm 132:8-9

    8 Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place,
        you and the ark of your might.
    9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
        and let your saints shout for joy.

    The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016.
    Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

  • Psalm 95: Reasons to Praise God

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    David Bahn-Reflections Podcast

    Psalm 95

    Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
    2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
    3 For the Lord is a great God,
    and a great King above all gods.
    4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.
    5 The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.

    6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
    7 For he is our God,
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    and the sheep of his hand.
    Today, if you hear his voice,
    8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
    as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
    9 when your fathers put me to the test
    and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
    10 For forty years I loathed that generation
    and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
    and they have not known my ways.”
    11 Therefore I swore in my wrath,
    “They shall not enter my rest.”

    South Padre Island Sunset – III | September 2022

    Sometimes I’ve made a joke about quoting others. First time: “As Billy Graham said,…” Second time: “As I’ve said before…” Third and every time afterwards: “As I’ve always said…” In the case of the reasons and benefits of praising God, I don’t have a famous person to quote, other than this psalmist and others who have made the point throughout the Scriptures urging us to praise God. But I do have reason to say, “As I’ve often said…”

    The Common Preface to the Lutheran communion liturgy says, “It is truly good, right, and salutary, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto You O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God.” To that I would add the word “praise.” It’s always right to praise God. It’s always good. It’s always salutary.

    It’s always good to praise God. Praising God focuses our attention on God’s goodness, power, glory, grace, love, majesty, holiness, mercy, and providence. It lifts our eyes from the doldrums of daily dilemmas. It helps us see beyond our limited horizons and perceptions of what is good, beneficial, holy, and true. Praising God forces us to consider things from a different perspective than earthbound solutions, easy-way answers, and quick-fix options. Rather than drowning ourselves in a puddle of self-pity, we elevate ourselves in glorious joy in the majesty of God who is worthy of all our praise.

    That’s also why it’s right to praise God. He deserves our praise. The Bible is clear, “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory (praise) of God (Romans 3:23). The actual word in that verse is δόξης (doxās), which is often translated, “praise.” Whether praise or glory, no one other than God deserves praise or glory. He is the creator of all things. His are depths of the earth and the highest mountains. We are his.

    But that’s not all. It is also salutary for us to praise him. For when we praise God, we express truths that bind the soul in grace and love. It aligns our souls with the reality of God’s greatness and our unworthiness in the face of his majesty. Praising God is good for the soul, not just the thing we ought to do. Furthermore, when we sing our praises, something Martin Luther commended, we don’t just express joy, we find it.

    As I’ve often said, praising God is good, right and salutary!

  • Psalm 95: He’s got this!

    Psalm 95

    Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
    2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
    3 For the Lord is a great God,
    and a great King above all gods.
    4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.
    5 The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.

    6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
    7 For he is our God,
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    and the sheep of his hand.
    Today, if you hear his voice,
    8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
    as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
    9 when your fathers put me to the test
    and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
    10 For forty years I loathed that generation
    and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
    and they have not known my ways.”
    11 Therefore I swore in my wrath,
    “They shall not enter my rest.”

    Two Trees Leaning In | Tomball, Texas | February 2023
    There ain’t no mountain high enoughAin’t no valley low enough, ain’t no river wide enoughTo keep me from getting to you
    Songwriters: Nickolas Ashford / Valerie Simpson
    Ain’t No Mountain High Enough lyrics © Jobete Music Co Inc.

    There’s no shadow You won’t light upMountain You won’t climb upComing after meThere’s no wall You won’t kick downLie You won’t tear downComing after me 

    Songwriters: Ran Jackson / Cory Asbury / Caleb Culver
    Reckless Love lyrics © Be Essential Songs

    The first is a love song, sung by Marvin Gaye. The second is a Christian contemporary song by Cory Asbury. The first proclaims the relentless pursuit of a man for his woman. The second expresses the relentless pursuit of God, the far-reaching efforts he will go to in order to bring us to himself. The first may be a song I’d sing to my wife. The second is a song I’d sing rejoicing in God’s love. Both are good. The second, however, is far and away more consequential.

    This psalm celebrates the fullness of God’s reach, care, sustaining, and ownership of all of creation. This psalm celebrates God’s ownership of all things. The sea is his, he made us. He formed the dry land. He has it all in hand. He is the great King above all gods. The depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains are his. It’s all under his purview. He’s got this.

    I believe there is such a thing as climate change. And I believe we should be good stewards of God’s creation (cf. Genesis 1:28). I also believe that God has this all in hand. He has set the times and seasons and places of our habitation.

    And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for

    “‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

    as even some of your own poets have said,

    “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ – Acts 17:26-28

    This is no excuse to abuse our planet, nor any basis for a fatalistic view of life and death. These words are meant to acknowledge the dominion of God over all things. It’s a reminder to us that we are not our own. It puts things into proper perspective. God is over all things.

    That includes our troubles, trials, and tribulations. That includes the places of disappointment and discouragement. It also includes the dark places, lies, and walls we have hidden behind. God knows them all. They’re all in his purview. He has them all well in hand. O come, let us sing unto him!