The End is Just the Beginning Psalm 130-135

SBS has come to an end. Whoa.

Reading through these psalms this week, I felt like each one captured maybe a different perspective for the individuals of SBS. Each one has a different flavor, a different starting and ending point and a different cry. Some are hopeful, some are desperate and some are rejoicing. Personally, I'm a mix of all of these as I'm sure most of us tired SBSers are. :)

I'm so ecstatic about the things God has done in my life during my time here. I'm also really going to miss the deep friendships I've built. It's not easy knowing that I may not see many of them again, at least not in the near future. I'm also so happy to be going home to see family and friends and "familiar". Most of all, I'm fighting apprehensiveness towards the future. But if there's one thing I've learned in SBS, it's that God is sovereign and that my sole responsibility as His child is to look to Him for direction and obey.

For these reasons, I think I'll choose Psalm 130 for my closing piece. I feel that it's all inclusive, recognizing man's faults, recognizing God's sovereignty, and the call to walk in the truth of God's sovereignty despite man's faults. This is my mission in the coming months as I prepare to return to Taiwan long term. I expect that while this will be a restful time, it will also be a time of intense preparation, growth and deepening.

Thank you all who have read these projects! It's been a joy to hear/see/read your responses and I'm happy this blog can just stay up so that if you, or I, ever want to look at these again, they're available! Thank God for technology, eh!?

Amen and Amen and Amen. May the grace of God be with you everywhere you go!

Much love,
Tommy

Carol Of the Bells "Psalm Style"

Blessed is the one who fears the Lord

Walk in His ways always endures

The Lord He reveres, praises His name

Walks in His ways, the word he obeys

God of my salvation
His steadfast love endures forever

Weeeeee cry out

Emmanuel

God is with us

Psalm 121 "Casting Crowns"

I used to think some lyrics to songs were really corny. Like the Casting Crown song (don't know which one) that has "I lift my eyes up to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth." I thought they were cheesy because they were just copying lyrics from the Psalms. Having gone through God's Word in the last 9 months, I realize now how much power the words of the Bible have and no longer think of these lines as cheesy but really bolstering up the truth of the song. All that said, having been given the opportunity many times in this school to write songs based on the Psalms, I'm really blessed that we have such amazing poetry that us current songwriters can pull from to bring new praise to the LORD!

Psalm 137 - "By the Waters of Babylon"

I think this picture pretty much sums up the scene of this Psalm. The Judeans, being carried off to exile, are being made by their captors to sing a song of Zion, of God, while sitting next to the river of Babylon after having lost everything they've ever known. Now, if this was just a story passed on, that would be one thing. However, this is a psalm written to encourage his fellow Israelites to not forget about God and His power. He calls them to recognize their sin and see that they are completely deserving of the situation they're in. The author cries out to God for salvation in the midst of this incredibly horrible time. The author is at a loss for how to sing the LORD's song in a foreign land, much like how we struggle to sing songs of praise in our darkest moments. The author makes the right move, though. He might not be able to sing a song of praise but he will sing a song of mourning, unafraid to completely bear out his hurt and anger toward God during this time.

This should encourage us. God is not afraid to hear all of our pain and our anger against Him. He's not scared of it. It's wrong to think that we must perfect ourselves before coming to God and the worse thing that we could do is be like a small child and refuse to speak to God in our anger. The first step to us being able to find healing is allowing ourselves to feel all of the things we naturally do when something horrible happens to us.We can be angry when bad things happen... What a revelation. You mean we don't have to be perfect in God's presence? We're allowed to feel pain as Christians!? Yes!!!!! And the best part is is that we can take that pain to God, who's not afraid of it and has experienced more of it than we could ever imagine, and He welcomes us. BOOM. I don't know about you but the box I've kept God in just got blown open a little wider.

Psalm 141 - Prayer Like Incense

God, change and mold our hearts to where we love what You love and hate what You hate. Let our prayers not be stained with our selfish desires or petty manipulations. Let us by wholly Your's, completely devoted to Your cause, utterly abandoned to Your praise. 

Lamentation

This week we worked through the book of Jeremiah and did an alternate assignment on the book of Lamentations. Our alternate assignment was to write a lamentation ourselves. I felt God wanted me to share this with you all, beyond my normal and weekly Psalm project, which I'll be posting later today. I hope this blesses you all!

Who Can?

Tommy Leinonen

Sorrow, sorrow! at the thought of time lost. A desolate heart too wounded to even grieve, surrounded by the reality of what is and what was supposed to be.

                                Who can save this heart?

                                                Who can restore it?

Too much has been taken to ever be brought back. What was supposed to be cannot be. There was hope all along the way; a hope rejected by those who needed to hear it the most.

                                Who can redeem those who refused to listen?

                                                Who can take the broken and make something new?

All paths have been chosen except the one which promised life. All roads have been travelled despite the numerous warning signs.

                                Who can bring the lost back?

                                                Who can go to the end of each path simultaneously?

Desperation is what those who have chosen their own path feel. Nothing else consumes their thoughts; nothing else remains but the need for redemption despite their constant rejection and refusal.

                                Who can do it?

                                                Who wants to do it?

The rejected One stands at the end of each path, arms open wide, blood streaming from His hands. The rejected One still remains, broken in order to make new again.

                               

                                Who can bear it?

                                                Who can withstand it?

The rejected One bleeds for the sorrow that was not meant to be. The rejected One endures the humiliation of the billions that have rejected His pain.

                                Who can refuse to listen?

                                                Who cannot bow?

The rejected One cries for the loss which has been chosen; the loss which could have been avoided. The rejected One pleads to be remembered; pleads for their surrender; pleads for their attention.

                                Who can look away?

                                                Who can forget?

The rejected One lays Himself down for the weakest to pass over. He bridges the gap that no man could cross.

                                Who can neglect it?

                                                Who can get around it?

                                                

Psalm 84 - I Want To Be With You

Written and Composed by Tommy Leinonen and Rebecca Boudreau based on the lyrics of Psalm 84 - King David

Psalm 37 - Be Still

Ps 26 - Vindicate Me, O Lord

This week's Psalm project is based on Psalm 26. This week has been challenging in a few ways... I've been feeling some distance from God and in a time where I feel that guidance is crucial. I thought it was depression for the first few days and just hoped for the best. It's been a few weeks now that I've felt this lack of God's presence. 

Over the last two days God has been giving some clarity about the season I'm in. He's used me to lead two Taiwanese to Christ! I also got to lead worship yesterday for a giving time in DTS and saw God bring in over $10,000 USD in 2 hours. I've been searching my heart asking God if this was a sin issue... But God has shown how He is still using me even though I might not 'feel' His presence. 

Now, I'm a pretty emotional person. Some would say I'm a "feeler". Because of this, this lack feeling God's presence is really disconcerting. Thankfully, I had an encounter with an amazing friend last night. He began to share with me exactly what my heart needed to hear. He began to speak of the Dark Night of the Soul. Many in the Christian walk have experienced times in their lives when they experience a lack of God's presence. It is NEVER that He's actually left Him. God promises His presence always. Through these times, they were challenged to live out the truth they know in faith that all they'd experienced before was true and that just because they didn't "feel" God's presence, didn't mean He wasn't there.

I believe this is where I'm at right now. I learned so much last quarter of SBS and feel that this is a challenge for me to act on the truth I've come to know and believe. These first couple of verses in Ps 26 really challenged me to do this. David was able to ask God to vindicate him because he had done what he knew to be right. Man, how I'd love to be able to ask that from God. Here's the catch: David didn't live with God's Holy Spirit in his heart. He didn't know what it felt like to live in God's presence outside of being in God's tent. But he still lived out the truth he knew every day... 

This is an incredible challenge to me and I hope it's encouraging for you, too! You may not feel the presence of God today and, you know what, it might be a sin issue. Search your heart, ask God if there's something between you and Him. If there's not, press into Him all the more and know that His promises are true. He is still with you. Maybe He's testing you, giving you a chance to live out what you know in faith. Like Job, God may be bringing you into a much more intimate place with Him and He's testing your faith. Don't miss out on this opportunity He's giving you to go deeper! :)

Psalm 108 - With God, We Are Valiant!

Every week we have these projects I fall more and more in love with the Psalms. Mostly, as you've read previously, I love the simple statements that stand in stark contrast to the poetry surrounding them. Like this: Ps. 108:13 - With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes. 

As a songwriter, I like to spend time making lyrics "artsy"... I don't want my song to sound like everyone else's, nigh impossible I tell you. However, every time a song has been strictly from the Lord, which usually means it was written in about 5 mins, the lyrics are simple, to the point and deeply impactful. I love this. Only God can strip away all the needless things we think are necessary, in every part of life, and the result is something more beautiful and touching than 100 songs with "cool" or "unique" lyrics and rhythms. -- That was all introduction. *Deep Breath* :)

David really got it, ya know? He knew there was nothing in and of himself that could win this victory. His "mighty men" were truly mighty. David attributes their strength to Jesus. There's no other passage in scripture which talks about small numbers of men doing such incredible things. David's life is the very picture of God taking those who are little, especially in the eyes of men, and using them to do the things no one thought they could. David wasn't regarded by his father or family, yet he became the standard by which every future of Israel and even those of the world would be measured by. 
WITH GOD, WE ARE VALIANT! I wish there was a way to type out the feelings my heart has when thinking about this. Sometimes it simply is overwhelming. Yet, it's true... We've seen it over and over and we'll continue to see it as long as we're willing to lay everything down on the line and let Him guide us.

Only with God will you ever experience the adventure your heart longs for, the intimacy you were made for and the completion of the work you're destined for. Be encouraged!

Proverbs 3:11-12

The LORD disciplines those whom he loves.

Challenging? Yes! 

I've spent countless minutes pondering how I would discipline my children. My mother did a wonderful job in raising me (If I do say so myself); I only hope I can do half as well. But still I struggle with correction. My mom never yelled at me and I never saw her get truly angry with me, at least I don't remember it. When people today are angry or just upset with me, my instant reaction is usually to shut down emotionally and then I get a migraine and then I need to go sleep until I forget the trauma I just experienced. If not this, I usually end up bawling my eyes out in front of the person, leaving them confused as to why a 22 year old is crying because of something (correction) that is perfectly normal and necessary. 

Recently I had a really good friend talk to me about starting to change our working style which had to do with us spending less time together. My instant, fleshly reaction was to think he WANTED to spend less time with me, the rejection feelings took over and what happened? I shut up, looked down and didn't talk for a while. Then the Lord started to speak to me. He asked me why I was feeling this way when this friend had over and over again proved he liked hanging out with me and genuinely loved me as a friend. What came out of my mouth after that was this horrifically self-pityish remark. I said that I felt like God was punishing me for doing something wrong and that's why we had to hang out less. My friend then said some very wise-words: "God is moving us forward BECAUSE we've been doing a good job. He thinks we're ready for the next step." 

This event has replayed over and over in my head as I realized, especially in the area of being alone, that I believed it was a punishment every time the Lord asked me to do something I wasn't exactly excited about. Working through Proverbs this week, this verse really stuck out to me because here was man from 1,000BC who had found out the same wisdom as I was learning in real life. I realize now that if God didn't love me, He'd leave me where I'm at, in all of my brokenness. But no, He DOES love me and is willing to say or do things in my life that may cause me pain because He desires my growth. 

There's another passage: Proverbs 29:1 - "He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing." - I think this has got to be one of the saddest occurrences to God. He loves us so when we are going the wrong way, He tries to steer us back in the right direction. But how many times do we, in our pride, harden our hearts and refuse to receive the blessing God wishes to impart to us. The enemy wins and God is left without the one thing He desired: a relationship with His creation. 

It's so important that we are humble before God and others so that we can receive the blessings of correction and reproof. It's crucial that we recognize God's punishment is out of His love and His sovereign knowledge that a relationship with Him and righteousness are the things that will bring us true happiness. 

I encourage you, and myself, to spend some time in prayer and ask if there's anything God's been trying to tell you recently that you're simply too proud to hear. Don't miss out on what he has for you in this season. He wants so badly to have a more intimate relationship with you, that's why He corrects you. 

The White Tower

Proverbs 25:28 ESV "A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls." 

I was reading the entire book of Proverbs aloud today as preparation for our first week of 3rd Quarter. This verse, 25:28, stuck out to me the most. I know, it's not a Psalm. :) 

After finishing the book, I began journaling on the subject. I was burdened by this verse, reflecting on my own lack of self-control. Whether in eating, exercise or abstinence from sin, I felt as though this word-picture described me perfectly. I felt as though I was a city, robbed, left without walls. Left without defense, my city (my heart) was decimated by the enemy. 

Praying about this, I asked God what He thought. Immediately, I got a picture in my mind similar to the one I've shown here. Although, the city around the tower was broken down and smoke rose all around. The impression I got was that the tower was God, and He was at the center of my heart. Impenetrable and tall, it stood unaffected by the war that had taken place around it. I realized that all of the precious things from the city had also been gathered into the tower and were kept safe. 

While the city looked torn down, ruined and worthless, God had graciously protected all that I held dear. Even though the city had been broken down due to my own negligence,  the tower stood strong and unaffected. God showed me that, while He is in my heart, He is still separate. His strength is not affected by my sin and He, in all of His mercy and grace, provides safety for me in the times of my worst trouble caused by my own sin. How good and mighty is our God who provides a safe haven for us despite our rejection of Him. 

Truly understanding this grace will lead to a transformed life, a heart willing to be purified and brought through the fire so that the dross can be lifted out. We MUST realize the incredible significance of God's grace in our lives and allow this to impact us more deeply than it has before.

I really hope this blesses you today. Remember that no matter how decimated your life feels, whether due to your own sin or that of someone else, God IS a strong tower in the center of your heart. There is a high cost of entry into this tower but His Son has paid the cost for you to enter at anytime. There is a seal of this payment on your heart, the Holy Spirit, who bids you to come and find safety, rest and guidance in His shelter.

If you haven't accepted the payment Christ paid for your life, I encourage you to message me or find someone you know who knows Christ. Don't waste another minute searching for your own strength which has failed you time and time again and accept Christ... Allow this strong tower to be built in the center of your life. You will find love, strength, security and guidance that does not include your own strength. Then, you will glorify God, your very life will, because He has done something in you that neither you or anyone else could have ever done. 

Psalm 57 - The Shadow of Your Wings

This is going to be short... :)

Going into our 2nd Quarter break I'm excited but also nervous. God is calling me into deep intimacy with Him and I have this voice in my head that keeps saying, "Go off by yourself, get alone, go hide in a closet." Those of you who know me well know why I'm nervous. I don't particularly like time by myself... It's not a strength of mine. But, like I said, I'm also excited! I know that, while it may be tough, it's necessary if I wish to go to the levels of intimacy with my LORD and Savior that I so desire.

Psalm 57:1 ESV "Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuges; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by." 

In Hebrew, "the shadow of your wings" refers to the flaps of a cloak or some type of covering garment. The picture we see here is a little child being sheltered from a storm inside their parent's big jacket, while the parent stands strong in the midst of the storm. All the child has to do is stay close to his/her parent and he won't feel the effects of the storm. For David, he was running from Saul when he wrote this. He had this great promise from God but now it seemed like the world was after him because of it. Don't we feel like this sometimes? We have the promise of eternal life from our Father, but from the moment we accept it, it seems as if the entire world is out to get us.

David calls us to cling close to our Father and stay within the shelter of His protection. Only He can stand strong in the midst of every storm, every trial and every heartache. What an incredible blessing it is for us, born sinners, to find grace and mercy in the eyes of our Savior. He doesn't then put us on a short leash and set us in a locked room so that we can never make a mistake again. He freely loves and His arms are open wide for us to have full and unhindered relationship with Him and He promises that when we seek Him and get close, He'll protect us from the storms. He may not take away the storms, for such is life in a world so set on rebelling against the God of the universe. Find rest, though, in His love. Go and find a quiet place, lock the door and let Him speak to you. Ask Him to quiet your thoughts and your heart. He so desires this intimacy with you! Don't wait another second to dive headfirst into the relationship He desires to have with you!

Ps 51 - Broken Bones Rejoice

Meditating on Ps. 51 this week, having finished 1st and 2nd Samuel last week, I'm very moved by the fact that this Psalm was even published. How many of us would write out our confessions to God, our cries for forgiveness for our greatest sins, and allow them to become public writings to be read aloud in congregations? One of my favorite lines is"let the bones that you have broken rejoice." David spoke to himself and told him to rejoice over the conviction the Lord had given to him and also the judgment Nathan had pronounced to him.

In the past few weeks, going through the Old Testament, I've really seen how God's judgment on his people is as much His grace and love as anything else. If He didn't allow them to see the consequences of their sin, didn't show them that they were doing something wrong, the people would have had no opportunity to repent. If God had done what we think would be loving, which is just to keep letting them sin and forgiving them without consequences, they would have walked further and further from God and their exile would have come much sooner.

I think David felt this way too. He realized that God's judgment on him opened his eyes to his sin and his reduced intimacy with God which he loved so much. David considered it God's grace when God was faithful to the words of warning He spoke if one should reject His law.

For us today, I think it's so easy for us to miss the consequences of our sin as they get lost in the mix of things we call 'normal'. God has forgiven us for our past, present and future sins, but we also bear the physical and spiritual consequences of these. I've prayed that God would open my eyes to how my sin affects me and those around me. He's shown me how my interaction with people changes drastically as I walk away from Him in sin and how this leads other people down mental paths they wouldn't have gone had my course of action been different. Today, we need a revelation of the impact of sin in our lives, even more so that our sin is covered by Christ's blood on the cross. As believers, we should see even more how sin impacts our lives, those around us and how it's affected the world in general.

Most of all, we need a revelation of the fear of God. We get lazy when times get good and, like David, we let our most foundational values slip leading to the most outrageous of sins we could have never imagined ourselves committing. It is God's grace that there are consequences to our sin because God knows that in relationship with Him we can live the best lives possible. If He was less loving, He'd let us do our own thing and never say a word about it.

Rejoicing in punishment sounds kind of insane... But, David had somethin' right. :)

Psalm 18 - Simplicity

While reading in the Psalms this week, I was struck by yet another verse that was so simple, so unfitting in the Psalms, that it caught my eye.

Ps. 18:1 "I love you, O LORD, my strength."

David goes on for quite a while about all the things God has done in his life, from judgment to blessing. I really appreciate how David's conclusion after all of these events is actually in the first verse. Through life we see the many miracles of God every day. If we were to stop and think, I think we'd have a Psalm to write of our own that would go on for many pages. But, how often do we forget these things and let our current circumstances lead us away from being firm in who God is, how we feel towards Him and most of all, how we act towards Him? I'm challenged by this Psalm, as I hope you are, too. I hope we can see that it is possible to go through life allowing our cold hearts to render the miracles ineffective in our own lives. Let's have a conclusion like David! "I love you, O LORD, my strength." That should be our response and it is surely the response He desires most of all!

Psalm 111 "The Fear of God"

This week, I've been reading in Psalm 111. Verse 10 really struck me... "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." The way this really hits me is in the context of God's will and man's will seldom lining up. YWAMers and many others use the phrase "Take God out of the box you've put Him in." Obviously there's the understanding that God isn't really in a box but we've put Him there in our minds. What this really does is  limits the ways we get to see God working in our lives as we fail to recognize God's sovereign hand in the happenings around us. <-- Random tangent. ":)

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. How many times do we take  the 'norm' of the world and try to force that upon God's ways or will? If we feared the LORD and had the correct understanding of how we simply can't understand His ways, I think we'd be a whole lot happier and wiser. Instead of looking to our own logic, we'd realize that the most logical thing would be to follow God's will no matter how odd, stupid or childish the acts He calls us to do seem. I truly believe we'd see so many more crazy Divine occurrences happen throughout our lives because we're willing to step out in faith because we fear the LORD.

Just some ramblings from a bran fried SBSer who is falling more and more in love with Jesus daily...

"I Would Satisfy You" Psalm 81

The past few weeks have certainly been heavy. All of my time has been spent in the world of the first couple generations of the Israelites. It’s been bittersweet as God’s glory, grace and love are shown over and over again, but only to be met with the unfaithfulness and idolatry of His people. They remind me so much of myself, over and over again declaring my love and faithfulness to God and yet, rejecting Him in a million ways the next day. However, His grace is still abundant. PRAISE GOD!

This week, I was reading in Psalm 81. The nation of Israel is called to sing out and rejoice over God’s faithfulness to the people in the face of their rejection. God says, “If you would but listen to me!” God desired for them a life of peace, relationship with Him. He desired to bless them and show His love to them every moment of every day. Instead, they constantly chose their own path, seeking to make their own way through the world; making themselves god. They refused to faithfully worship the real God and chose to worship the gods they created; a human way of controlling their life.

The nation of Israel, in PS 81 is called to rejoice over the fact that God had turned them over to destruction. They are to see it as a blessing that God chose to curse His people with their enemies having rule over them. The nation of Israel is to see that their relationship with God is worth more than anything and so, because this cursing caused them to turn back to God, they consider it a blessing and praise God for it.

This really challenges me. There have been many consequences in my life for the sin of myself and for that of those around me. There is no way I could honestly say I have lived as if these were also blessings. But, they are! My relationship with God, today, is stronger than it’s ever been. I’m in Taiwan studying His Word and having the amazing opportunity of deepened relationship with Him. I know that the pain I’ve suffered in life would never have been God’s intention. But what thankfulness I’m beginning to have that He didn’t just let me live my life in peace, never feeling the weight of my sin. Because of His actions towards me, I’ve turned away from a dead and sinful life. I’ve come into relationship with the Creator God whose desire is for me to live in peaceful relationship with Him, carrying out His will on earth and being led by Him every step of the way.

PRAISE GOD!

Psalm 114

You brought me out of the desert place
And set my feet upon the rock
So I could dwell in Your sweet embrace
Just so You and I could talk

In the presence of the Lord is my dwelling place
In the presence of the Lord is Your sweet embrace
In the presence of the Lord all else will fade
All else will fade
All else will fade
All else will fade

My past You put all behind me
A dry straight road lies ahead
The walls of the sea on either side of me
Draw me away from all I dread

In the presence of the Lord is my dwelling place
In the presence of the Lord is Your sweet embrace
In the presence of the Lord all else will fade
All else will fade
All else will fade
All else will fade

Tremble, O Earth, at the presence of the Lord

In the presence of the Lord is my dwelling place
In the presence of the Lord is Your sweet embrace
In the presence of the Lord all else will fade
All else will fade
All else will fade
All else will fade

Psalm 119 - "Save Me, I'm Your's"

Your word, oh Lord
     Brings life to my heart
And Your faithfulness
    It sets You apart
And I would have died
    Had I forgotten You

The world is Yours
     And by You it stands
But perfection is lost
    Outside of Your commands
And how could I
    Ever forget You

Save me, I'm Yours
    Oh God my Father
Save me, I'm Yours
    Help me want(love was a mistake) no other
Save me, I'm Yours
    Oh God my Father
Save me, I'm Yours

(Repeated chorus for your listening pleasure)

Save me, I'm Yours
    Oh God my Father
Save me, I'm Yours
    Help me want (corrected :)  ) no other
Save me, I'm Yours
    Oh God my Father
Save me, I'm Yours

Psalm 24 - The Earth is the Lord's

Psalm 24 is all about the sovereignty of God. As we read through Genesis this week, the theme of God’s sovereignty has definitely been prevalent in all my thoughts. Psalm 24 is a wonderful condensing of what I've learned over the past week.

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

-            The LORD created everything, therefore, everything is His.

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.

-          Those who seek God are saved by His righteousness… His righteousness. He is the measure of righteousness. People read the Bible and see the way the LORD has judged the world for His sin; they've read about the war and the carnage against the unrighteous, while He blesses the nation He chose. They say He’s unjust, unrighteous, unworthy of worship. The problem? They’re not the judge of righteousness, He is. I’m not the judge of righteousness, He is.

-          When Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they became “like God”. They set themselves as judges over their own actions. In so doing, they created the need to justify themselves before their Creator. In His righteousness and love, He sacrificed His Son so that those who believe in Him would be judged righteous.

Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!

-     Who is this God? He is the King of glory. Lift up your heads, Israel! Open up your heart! Let the King of glory come in! Let the One who is mighty in battle, the One who is strong and mighty, the One who has a great army; let Him come in!

This week has been full the gut wrenching realization that I fail to see Him for who He really is. I fail to see Him in the fullness of His glory. And yet, I’m loved by Him. In the words of A.W. Towzer in ‘The Pursuit of God’, “All the time we are pursuing Him we are already in His hand.”

What a wonderful relief it is to know that, while I’m on this quest (this battle against my own flesh and the powers of darkness) to see who He really is, He already knows who I am, is holding me in His hand and it is HE that is doing this work in me. PRAISE GOD!

Psalm 73 - "The Sanctuary of the Lord"

As I was reading through Psalm 73 today, there were two sections that caught my eye. There's 16-17 and 23-26. The first speaks about how the author couldn't understand why the wicked were allowed to prosper, while those who are righteous seemed to suffer. The author then describes how he was confused about this until he entered into the Sanctuary of the Lord and there he found the answer. 

In the second section the author repeats this theme by speaking of God's guidance and counsel. 

The reason I was so struck by this was remembering all of the times I've been confused and thinking about something for a long period of time, allowing it to consume my thoughts. I then realized that every time I've been in that situation, God always finds a way to remind me to return to Him. As soon as I come to Him, He speaks truth to my heart. Usually it's frustrating because it seems to have nothing to do with my problem. But through this truth, God reveals the bigger problem -- my inner problem. 

I think think this says a lot about God's character. For me personally, God corrects me internally which then allows me to look at things from His perspective. His desire is that I'm bettered. His desire is for me to know Him more intimately and, because of that, see the world from His eyes. 

So in the end: God desires true relationship. Out of this relationship, we can learn how to properly relate to the world. Out of our proper relation to the world, we point others back to God. He's just cool like that. 

Psalm 146-150 "Praise the Lord"

This weeks Psalm project is a culminative work of the last 5 Psalms, 146-150. These Psalms are very themed and centered around praising God. Knowing that, my project will make sense to you...

It's been almost 4 months I've been here in Taiwan. I've studied all but one book of the New Testament (Matthew). Until now, I can honestly say that I'd never read a book of the Bible all the way through before, at least I don't remember it. God, in all His goodness has given me so much during this time. He's shown that He is provider in so many different ways than financially. Through this time, I'm learning to lean on Him for everything. When I don't feel like I have any strength left, He's showing me an area I'm not relying on Him. I've learned that in order to keep moving forward, I must keep moving deeper. God has shown over and over again that He loves me too much to let my heart stay in the state it's in. I used to think that as I got closer and closer to Him, I'd feel higher and higher, more on top of the world, happy all of the time and never having any problems. I realize, now, how wrong that is. Of course, with a deeper relationship with Him comes so much security, joy and peace. But getting closer to God is becoming more like Christ. Christ suffered for the sake of the world's salvation. We can expect that as we grow closer to God, and become more like Christ, we'll suffer like He did. History is filled with those who have had such relationships with God. They're the ones we talk about, the ones we want to be like. As I push forward in this life, I'm resigned and joyful to suffer for the cause of Christ.

This is how I will praise Him. I will praise Him with my life.

Psalm 22 - I Will Persevere

Written by Jeremiah Ishikawa and Tommy Leinonen for the Weekly SBS Psalms Project

I will run this race
No matter how much it takes
I will persevere, I will persevere

Though temptation calls
Though dark shadows fall
I will persevere, I will persevere

Though it's hard, I will trust You
Though it's hard, I believe in You
You are all You say You are
And for all You say You are
I will persevere

When I cannot see
Your light is all that's guiding me
I will persevere, I will persevere

When all hope is lost
No matter how great the cost
I will persevere, I will persevere

Though it's hard, I will trust You
Though it's hard, I believe in You, I believe in You
Though it's hard, I will trust You ( I will trust You)
Though it's hard, I believe in You, I believe in You
And when all my strength is gone
And I cannot carry on
In You I'll persevere
In You I'll persevere

Psalms 90 - Everlasting God

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Psalm 1 - Written by Tommy Leinonen

This is not part of the weekly SBS Psalm Project.

Lord, I bless Your Name.

                 

                I Pray that You would continue to bless mine. 

May you be worshiped forever and ever.

               May the multitudes sing Your praises, Oh God.

You alone are worthy of our awe and worship.

               May You be glorified in the highest of highs. 

Psalm 40 - The Great Deliverance - Rebecca Boudreau and Tommy Leinonen

What do I do on Monday?
  Chart.
What do I do on Tuesday?
  Chart.
What do I do on Wednesday?
  Chart.
What do I do on Thursday?
  Chart.
What do I do on Friday?
  Chart.
What do I do on Saturday?
  Chart.
What do I do on Sunday?
  Think about Monday.


What do I say on Monday?
  "He drew me from the miry bog.
What do I say on Tuesday?
  "Those who love Your salvation say, "Great is the Lord".
What do I say on Wednseday?
  "In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
  but you have given me an open ear."
What do I say on Thursday?
  "Evils have encompassed me
  beyond number, preserve me!"
What do I say on Friday?
"Be please, O Lord, to deliver me!"
What do I say on Saturday?
"I have told the glad news of Your
  deliverance in the congregation."
What do I say on Sunday?
  "As for me, I am poor and needy,
  but the Lord takes thought of me."

What do I say everyday?
  "You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!"

The Many Charts of Acts

Psalms 32 - Tommy's Story!

Photo Credit: Amanda Crowe

Interviewer: Chauncey Giancola

Psalm 69 - Answer Me, Oh Lord

Psalms 98 - Laughter

One of my favorite sounds is the laughter of my family members. Each one has their own specific ‘style’ J. From the iconic “Mule Mating Call” of Amy to the “Soundless Almost Knee Slap” of Joy, their laughter is most often more humorous than the current event taking place or joke said. Now, this isn’t to make fun of them. I myself sound like Elmo… people tell me that quite often J I find that my laughter changes somewhat depending on who I’m around and what their laughter sounds like. I guess this would be good evidence to the fact that it’s something I really pay attention to.

So, why laughter you ask? It’s the symbol of joy! Even in the most painful of times, laughter truly does work like medicine for the soul. It’s a great gift God gave to us and just like the uniqueness of our personalities; we all have a unique laugh.

I wonder what God’s laughter sounds like… ?

Psalm 6

"I drench my couch with my weeping." 

Psalms 31 - Without You

1st Psalm project of SBS 2013! 

I hope you all enjoy this tremendously, I know I did! 

This is a poem I wrote, read by my friend, Ascala Byfield and filmed/edited by my friend, Kyle Leach.

Without You

In You I have my hope and my being. Without You, I am lost.

In You is the light of my salvation. Without You, I am lost.

In You have my joy. Without You, I am lost.

In You I have my righteousness. Without You, I am lost

In You I have my peace. Without You, I am lost.

In You I have my father. Without You, I am lost.

In You I have my mother. Without You, I am lost.

In You I have my love. Without You, I am lost.

In You I have my music. Without You, I am lost.

In You I have my identity. Without You, I am lost.

In You I have my everything. Without You, I am lost.

Without You, I am lost.

Project Overview

What's Happening?

Over the span of the next 7 1/2 months, the SBS will be studying the book of Psalms interspersed throughout the rest of the books. We will usually be given 6 chapters each week that must be read 5 times and color coding them is optional. By 12pm on Saturday, every week, a creative work is due for one of these 6 chapters. It can be a video with the Psalm acted out, a creative reading upon memorization, art work, a song, a dried flower... You get the point. 

In order to keep you, my lovely and greatly appreciated supporters, updated even more, I'll be posting these works on this blog! Whether it be a picture, song or poem, you'll know about my own creative interpretation of the Psalms. 

If I post the list of Psalms for each week, maybe I'll even get you to give me suggestions! How crazy would that be eh? 

I hope you all have a wonderful day/night :)

Tommy

PS - If you search on YouTube for SBS Psalms... You're sure to find lots of moving, funny, and downright ridiculous videos!! Have fun exploring. You're welcome.