Bourland Family Blog

"The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic." 
Psalms 28:3-4 

Guatemala update: Now that we know what Bella’s fever is, we have joined her as much as we can while she rests. We have talked, laughed, and enjoyed each others company. Marianne and I ventured out for some shopping and a stroll around the town which was nice and relaxing. Bella got word from Adventures In Missions that she has been accepted into their CGA program this coming fall. This was an amswer from the LORD to her for her to continue on the Missions focused work He has her on. Below are some pics from our walk yesterday.

His Voice:

• This whole Psalm talks about the power of the VOICE of God. The the Audio Picture of the power of God’s voice rolling or peeling across the water is so awesome.
• Water is such a chaotic force and the ocean can be so power­ful to bring even the largest ships under its control and thumb… but Gods voice rises above and rides the chaotic sea. It is important for us to take this picture and understand that God is above any problem life can throw at us.
• When the LORD speaks, things come into existence that were not there before. The raging seas become calm and the glory of the LORD’s voice brings-every one and everything prostrate before Himself.
• So… that’s all it would take for God to call in the end of times and bring about the Revelation version of Gods Kingdom.

Application:

• God’s voice is majestic and powerful. His right hand brings wrath but His voice brings His presence reverberabing through creation. God’s voice is available to us today (thorugh His Spirit and His Word) but it is only when I have clothed myself in the righteous­ness of Christ (when I confess and repent of my sin) that I can hear it. When I have created the “Whisper Booth” (those sound proof boxes they make for vocal recordings) of sin that keeps me from hearing the sweet soothing voice of content, peace, correction, and truth -> I only have one voice to focus on, the voice in my Jeremiah 17: 9 heart.

"Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts." 
Psalms 28:3 

Guatemala update: with Bella’s fever continuing, we took her to the Urgent care here in Antigua and did not get back to our hotels until close to 1:00AM this morning. We have a diagnosis- it is “Mono” or Mononucleosis. She just needs rest and water. The sweet gift has been a beautiful time getting to serve her and spending lots of special time sharing and connecting on her adventures so far.

Heart searching:

• When I read today’s passage this verse caused me to sit and reflect on whether I could admit to being the person described in this verse.
  • MALICE: The intention or desire to do evil; ill will.
• I cringe to think I could call my admittance to this as evil but ‘ill will’ resonates.
• There have been times in my life where I have kept up appearances but have, in my heart, felt differently than I was portraying myself.
• David identifies this person as ‘wicked’ and I am convicted that I can sometimes manage my behavior and outward appearance well, but the inside is seething with animosity.
• This is a really hard thing to confess here, but I have to call it what it is and God’s Word, right here, is pretty clear.

Application:

Moving forward, it will not be enough to manage my behavior or outward perception. I must carefully examine my heart and not have a shred of evidence that would cause me to be convicted of being ‘Wicked’.

"I am still confident in this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the iving. wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." 
Psalms 27: 13&14

Today is day 3 with Bella in Guatemala. She has been sick ever since she arrived from South Africa. We got her some anti­biotics the first day we were here and we think it is helping. However, in true Bella fashion she is wanting to keep going and even went out with us to the Ministry service we did yesterday. Today she is staying in bed so the rest of the week she can be in better form. Just a side note- the full run of antibiotics we got for her was $6.00 and over the counter.

I am still confident.

• David’s humanity shines right here. I can totally hear him coaching himself in an internal dialog with this Psalm.
• I need to learn from what David is saying. “I WILL see the goodness of the LORD”. but the verse doesn’t stop there → it goes on to say “In the land of the living.” The land of the living is the place our heart and mind are when our hope and faith are connected with who God is and where He is going.

Wait!

• “wait for the LORD” ->The LORD’s timing is perfect, our timing is suspect. When I am seeking the LORD’s direction in my life I must wait on His answer and guidance.
• While I am waiting I must “be strong and take heart”. I must be strong in my patience and self-control and take heart by listening to the hope and faith the LORD has given me in my sanctification. Taking heart means to grow in confidence that the LORD will come through.
• .. And finally I am encouraged by David to wait… again. Waiting is obviously the virtue that David needs to remind himself the most to do.

"One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all of my life; that I might gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple. In my day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling, He will hide me me in the shelter of His sacred tent and set me high upon a rock." 
Psalms 27:4&5

Wouldn’t it be fitting that the time and place that I run into these verses would be when we are visiting Bella on the MIssion Field in Guatemala. These are her life verses and we have prayed them over her for all the years of her life. The time here has been so awesome!! I have included some pictures below of our time here so far.

One thing I ask for and seek.

• That I would dwell in His house all the days of my life; to see His face, and seek Him there,

In days of trouble

• I am kept safe when I am in an intimate relationship with Him.
• He will hide me in the shelter of His sacred tent. I think this is Jesus. His sacred tent is the justification in His son that I don’t deserve but that I have access to because of my acceptance of this free gift.

After all of this He sets me high upon a rock.

• Verse 6 says: “Them my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me.”
• One way to apply this is to see that when I am in the right relationship with Jesus and the Father, the Holy Spirit reveals all the enemy positions around me.
• I can walk forward in life with all the situational awareness that Heaven has to offer. I then only need to listen to what the Spirit is telling me and act appropriately on that information,

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.
Psalms 24:3-4 [ESV]

Verse 3: Who SHALL ascend and stand in His holy place? -> I love the explicit declaration that whoever meets the following criteria SHALL ascend and stand.

The Attributes:

He who has clean hands and pure heart -> This person must be innocent inside and out. Innocent in actions and their minds…including their motives.

He who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. -> False worship is one interpretation (from NIV). The person allowed entry into the holy place must not worship an idol or offer oaths in the name of a false god. Additionally, it is pointing to someone who does not lie or make promises they have no intention of keeping.

The Takeaway:

At first blush this is depressing because we are inherently sinful and even though I am a born again Christian and devoted to Jesus, I will fall. So, I don’t think the Psalmist is saying these things are a self-righteous declaration as much as it is a solemn admission of dependence on the merciful grace of God. I SHALL ascend and stand in the holy place because I am cleansed by the precious blood of my Savior when I confess and repent of my sin. Because of the redemptive work of God through Jesus, I am able to meet these qualifications.

Psalms 20:7-8 [ESV]
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.

All of chapter 20 is filled with “Mays“.

• May the Lord answer you…
• May He send you help…
• May He protect you…
• May He remember all your sacrifices…
• May He give you the desires of your heart…
• May the Lord grant all your requests…

The entire chapter is a blessing to the anointed king of Israel. The nation of Israel did not put its faith in its military might, but in the name of of the Lord. David personified this when he made this statement before killing Goliath.

You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

1 Samuel 17:45

There are so many things that we substitute for military might in our own lives here on earth. Money, career, reputation, and even good things like family can unseat Who should be the real Lord of our lives, Jesus. Keeping this fact, constantly in my vision is so important. I can easily get caught up in ‘right-fighting’, or even feeling justified in ‘how I feel’ being cannons and ramparts for my life battle. I must daily put my trust in the Name of the Lord my God.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalms 19:14 [ESV]

It’s been a tough couple of weeks at work. Won’t go into it here but I had a meeting today that was plain awful. It was uncomfortable, I felt alone, I felt misunderstood, and I felt overwhelmed. On my way home I was just praying to the Lord to give me peace about how I handled myself. Before entering the room, I had been meditating on Galatians 5:22-26. Although the meeting was hard and ended not far from where it began, I had only one acceptable outcome I was striving for -> Honor the Lord with my words, actions, behaviors, and stay true to who God has called me to be. I did that and although the meeting was as uncomfortable as it was, I left assured that I had represented integrity, gentleness, kindness, patience, peace, goodness, and self-control.

I am very glad this meeting is over and I am anxious to see where the Lord takes this. Knowing that I am laying this at His feet and trust that He is in control; I submit to whatever the path is that the Lord sets in front of me going forward.

He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
  He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
  They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
  He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me. Psalms 18:16-19 [ESV]

A quick read this morning as I get ready to head into the office. Following on from yesterday, I was thinking about David and his physical enemies that God was addressing but I can’t help but think that he was talking about the internal enemy as well – himself. If I read this and apply it to my heart, rather than a physical enemy, the point is so strong.

“He took me and drew me out of many waters” – because David had submitted himself entirely to the Lord in this moment. I wonder if the ‘many waters’ includes his own tendencies and sin.

“They were too mighty for me” – David knew that he could not of his own power rescue himself from his situation. The surrender and acknowledgement of his own weakness was his submission to God to do what only He could.

“They confronted me in the day of my calamity, BUT the Lord was my support” – Again, pointing this internally, I see how not letting my own guilt and shame ruin me because of who I am in Jesus. I have been justified forever; I have been adopted as a son of the Almighty God.

“Because He delighted in me” – This is the icing on the cake. God was not angered by having to rescue David. God did not hold David’s failings in front of his face; no, God delighted in David. Wow!

…I…am…so…far…behind…

These last couple of weeks (15 days to be exact) I have not gotten my quiet times posted. I will have them updated for each day but for those of you who get my email notice of a new post, I will turn that off for past posts that I need to get transcribed here. You are welcome to check back every once in awhile to see what has come in but I will not bother you with the deluge of post notifications that will be coming. 🙂

In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
  Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
  Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
  He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
  He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
  He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water.
  Out of the brightness before him
hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds. Psalms 18:6-12

Marianne and I finished Week 3 of the Canyon Hills Biblical Counseling class this week and the information is so awesome…overwhelming, but awesome! When I read this passage today, I reminded me of the amazing help our Lord and Savior can become for us when we make Him the Lord of our lives. Our raw nature is corrupt because of what we have been born with in sin. When we release our own inward self-sufficient attitude and embrace the power of God Himself available to us through His Word and Holy Spirit, I think it can look a lot like what I read here. Essentially an overwhelming decent of attack on the aspects of ourselves that get in front of our restoration.

One of the things that really spoke to me 2 weeks ago in class, is the fact that we must first ‘Speak truth to ourselves’ before we come to the counseling room with pointers to the answers God has for us. As the counselor, I better have my act together understanding what my own tendencies are before I try to guide someone to the Redeemer. Of course God does not need me to reach those to whom He is going to call to Himself, but I also don’t want to be any type of stumbling block either.

So grateful that our church is offering this training. Only 3 weeks in and I am already seeing the benefit in my own walk.

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 
in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the Lord; Psalms 15:1&4ab [ESV]

At first glance, the first part of verse 4, “in whose eyes a vile person is despised” might seem Pharisaical. In fact, this is more an assertion of loyalty. He’s not trying to compete or judge; he’s just expressing his preference and his position.

I must be careful not to take passages like this as a ‘right’ to despise an enemy of God; rather the rest of the bible and Jesus Himself commands us to love others including our enemies. What this does do is reinforce how I align my loyalty to my brothers and sisters in Christ over those who would oppose my co-heirs and Christ Himself.

As I live my life, I am to be a ‘light’ in the darkness and blatantly/outwardly expressing a despising of enemies of God is detrimental to being the light God has called me to be. Instead, I am to love my enemy, offering them a drink of water or bread to eat, which will heap burning coals on their head.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:18-21 [ESV]