Author: John Tillman

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Recentering on Christ

Scripture Focus: Psalm 104.1
1 Praise the Lord, my soul.
Lord my God, you are very great;
    you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

Reflection: Recentering on Christ
By John Tillman

The psalms are more than instructions and more than inspiration. They are not dry diaries or droning histories, but the living, breathing faith of those interacting with the Holy Spirit. 

Their artistry allows us to enter the prayer room and experience both sides of a holy conversation between human artists and the creator of all. Their art is most practical for those who are seeking God in a world connected by technology. Work, news, and ephemera, now know no boundaries and pop into our hand-held devices unbidden.  

Jonathan Edwards, when in difficulty at work, made use of the scripture, of intercession, and of community to recenter himself on Christ. He describes the experience in the following journal entry:

“In the morning my desires seemed to rise, and ascend up freely to God. Was busy most of the day in translating prayers into the language of the Delaware Indians; met with great difficulty… But though I was much discouraged with the extreme difficulty of that work, God supported me; and especially in the evening gave me sweet refreshment.

In prayer my soul was enlarged, and my faith drawn into sensible exercise; was enabled to cry to God for [them]; and though the work of their conversion appeared impossible with man, yet with God I saw all things were possible.

My faith was much strengthened, by observing the wonderful assistance God afforded his servants Nehemiah and Ezra, in reforming his people, and re-establishing his ancient church.

I was much assisted in prayer for dear Christian friends, and for others that I apprehended to be Christ-less… [I] was enabled to be instant in prayer for them; and hoped that God would bow the heavens and come down for their salvation. It seemed to me there could be no impediment sufficient to obstruct that glorious work, seeing the living God, as I strongly hoped, was engaged for it.

I continued in a solemn frame, lifting up my heart to God for assistance and grace, that I might be more mortified to this present world, that my whole soul might be taken up continually in concern for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom. Continued in this frame until I dropped asleep.”


Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; knit my heart to you that I may fear your Name. — Psalm 86.11

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 28  (Listen 4:45)
Psalms 104 (Listen 3:37)

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Baring Your Soul

Scripture Focus: Psalm 102.16-21
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion 
and appear in his glory. 
17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; 
he will not despise their plea. 
18 Let this be written for a future generation, 
that a people not yet created may praise the Lord: 
19 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, 
from heaven he viewed the earth, 
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners 
and release those condemned to death.” 
21 So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion 
and his praise in Jerusalem 

Reflection: Baring Your Soul
By John Tillman

Who do you bare your soul to when complaints bubble up from your heart? A stranger? A work colleague? 

It can be a horrible day, yet when strangers ask, “How are you?” we’ll mumble, “Fine. How are you?” and move along.

What is really lacking in these interactions is trust. How can we share deep hurt with those we do not trust deeply? In his commentary on Psalm 102, Federico Villanueva says, “We normally do not express our negative emotions to people we don’t know well, because it is like baring our soul.”

The first problem is one of understanding. A complex work-related problem will get blank stares from those uninformed about our industry. Our financial fears will seem either fanciful or frivolous to those outside our socio-economic level. Someone who doesn’t experience the same prejudices we face can’t truly know how it feels to be discriminated against.

Another hesitation comes when we fear judgment. If we complain, won’t they find us selfish? If we are angry, won’t they be afraid of us? If we are fearful, won’t they be ashamed of us?

Those with whom we have a loving, trusting relationship, however, can be trusted. We trust them to give us the comfort we need and to correct our shortcomings without despising us for our weaknesses.

Lament must be reserved for those who love us. This is why God is the perfect person to whom we can take all our laments.

Villanueva points out that Psalm 102 has sections of lament layered between hymns declaring trust in God. As you take your harshest, most raw emotions to God, sandwich them with statements of trust. Jesus modeled this in his darkest moments in Gethsemane. “Take this cup away” is balanced with a trust in God’s will. “Not my will, but yours.”

This is not to “stay positive” or spare God’s feelings. It is a reminder to us that the very reason we can pour out our deepest hurts to him is that God is worthy of our deepest trust. It is because he is holy that he is good.

The psalmist wrote this for us. We are those people, “not yet created,” who are mentioned by the psalmist. Jesus also mentioned us in prayer and has a special attentiveness to those hurting, struggling, and doubting.

Open up to Jesus today. Bare your soul to the most trustworthy listener.


Divine Hours Prayer: The Morning Psalm
The righteous cry, and the Lord hears them and delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the broken hearted and will save those whose spirits are crushed. — Psalm 34.17-18

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 24-25  (Listen 7:01)
Psalms 102 (Listen 2:45)

Read more about Lamenting With Job
Lament can swallow up complaining in our lives. Lament is frequent and important in the Bible and should be in our lives as well.

Lamenting With Job :: Guided Prayer

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Tremble in Hope

Scripture Focus: Psalm 99.1-9
1 The Lord reigns, 
let the nations tremble; 
he sits enthroned between the cherubim, 
let the earth shake. 
2 Great is the Lord in Zion; 
he is exalted over all the nations. 
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name— 
he is holy. 
4 The King is mighty, he loves justice— 
you have established equity; 
in Jacob you have done 
what is just and right. 
5 Exalt the Lord our God 
and worship at his footstool; 
he is holy. 
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests, 
Samuel was among those who called on his name; 
they called on the Lord 
and he answered them. 
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; 
they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them. 
8 Lord our God, 
you answered them; 
you were to Israel a forgiving God, 
though you punished their misdeeds. 
9 Exalt the Lord our God 
and worship at his holy mountain, 
for the Lord our God is holy. 

Reflection: Tremble in Hope
By John Tillman

God loves justice, the psalmist says. Nations should tremble before him when their rulers, courts, or laws do not establish justice.

Justice fails when victims are ignored, not believed, or when evidence is covered up. Justice fails when prominence, power, or personality prevent prosecutions from proceeding. Justice fails when it falls heavily only on the poor and powerless, while the wealthy and well-connected find leniency.

Are we establishing justice or undermining it? 

God establishes equity, the psalmist says. He loves even, level, and straight paths with fair access. God has no favorites. He poured his Holy Spirit onto men and women, Jews, Greeks, and every other race. His rule, justice, and gospel allow all people and places to live in unity and brotherhood.

Equity dies as tribalism and racism take hold. Jealousy, suspicion, and fear produce hatred. Fearing others’ success exposes our greed and selfishness. Refusing to lift others up gives tacit approval to those who pushed them down.

Are we insisting on equity or resisting it?

What nations do (and what individuals support) does not go unnoticed or unpunished. Sometimes, God punishes from without, sending one nation to crush another for their sins. Sometimes, God punishes from within, allowing nations to fall on their own swords or poison themselves…

Whether committed by dictators or appointed representatives, wicked deeds blossom, and the poisonous fruit stains the fingers and mouths of those who profit from it. Their dead bodies lie exposed beneath the trees as a warning, yet those hungry for power take the fruit and plant it in their gardens. This has happened, will happen, and is happening.

Are we eating the fruit of wickedness? 

If we tremble in conviction, we do not tremble without hope.

The psalmist also says God is forgiving. He punishes but also restores. He exiles but also calls us home. Wicked nations and individuals who repent will find him willing to bless.

Never lose hope. Christians are most gullible and vulnerable to manipulation when we lose hope and fail to trust in God. Grasping for hope in this world, we are liable to take the hand of the devil. 

When all seems lost, it isn’t. Our faith is founded on a moment when all hope seemed lost. Jesus went to the grave praying in hope to God. We can tremble in hope that our God will forgive and redeem us as we worship him.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in your; I have said to the Lord, “ You are my Lord, my good above all other.” — Psalm 16.1

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 23  (Listen 4:20)
Psalms 99-101 (Listen 2:48)

Read more about No Such Thing as God Forsaken
Maturity is shown when we agree with God not about others’ sins but about our own.

No Such Thing as God Forsaken

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Returning to Holy Space

Scripture Focus: 1 Chronicles 9.26-33
26 But the four principal gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the responsibility for the rooms and treasuries in the house of God. 27 They would spend the night stationed around the house of God, because they had to guard it; and they had charge of the key for opening it each morning. 
28 Some of them were in charge of the articles used in the temple service; they counted them when they were brought in and when they were taken out. 29 Others were assigned to take care of the furnishings and all the other articles of the sanctuary, as well as the special flour and wine, and the olive oil, incense and spices. 30 But some of the priests took care of mixing the spices. 31 A Levite named Mattithiah, the firstborn son of Shallum the Korahite, was entrusted with the responsibility for baking the offering bread. 32 Some of the Kohathites, their fellow Levites, were in charge of preparing for every Sabbath the bread set out on the table. 
33 Those who were musicians, heads of Levite families, stayed in the rooms of the temple and were exempt from other duties because they were responsible for the work day and night. 

Reflection: Returning to Holy Space
By John Tillman

Chronicles includes genealogies of those who went into exile and those who came out. The chronicler lists those who returned with Ezra and Nehemiah and makes special note of those set apart for tasks related to temple worship.

The chronicler looked back to earlier times, when David and Samuel designated and redesigned the tasks of the Levites who took care of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle and the temples that followed were complex systems. There were gatekeepers, inventory keepers, bakers, perfumers, and architects tending to the practical needs of the space. There were also artists, musicians, teachers of the law, prophets, poets, and students, tending to the intellectual and spiritual needs of the space.

We don’t sacrifice animals in our modern worship spaces but have other complex logistics and tasks. We rely on professional and volunteer leaders to meet practical, intellectual, and spiritual needs.

The Bible presents an ideal that the place we worship God should be holy and beautiful. The Bible is also honest about the shortcomings of sacred spaces and leaders. Samuel became Israel’s spiritual leader due to corruption in Eli’s family, including financial and sexual abuse.

When Jesus entered the Temple as a babe, it was a place of music and prophecy where Anna and Simeon sang over him. When Jesus entered as a child, it was a place of debate and questions, where he amazed the elders. When Jesus entered as a man, he drove out the grift that had overtaken a space designated for spiritual seekers.

As he set free the doves, perhaps Jesus thought of his impoverished parents offering doves after his birth because they could not afford a lamb. Even in this morally and spiritually compromised space, Jesus’ ministry continued as the blind and lame came to him there for healing, and he taught there regularly.

It is hard and holy work to make space for worship. From sweeping the floor to composing the music, every task in a worship space is glorious in God’s sight. No worship space is perfect in holiness. Like Jesus, we may have a painful history with earthly Temples, the Church. We may be hurt, lamed, or blinded. Even so, Jesus calls to us.

Jesus continues his ministry in his church, healing the lamed and blinded and teaching the doubtful and questioning. Like the chronicler, we can return and rediscover holy space even after disaster and suffering.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Hallelujah! Praise the Name of the Lord, give praise, you servants of the Lord, You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praises to his Name, for it is lovely. — Psalm 136.1-3

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 9-10  (Listen 7:46)
Psalms 85 (Listen 1:25)

This Weekend’s Readings
1 Chronicles 11-12  (Listen 12:59), Psalms 86-87 (Listen 2:17)
1 Chronicles 13-14  (Listen 4:13), Psalms 88 (Listen 1:58)

Read more about Maintaining Sacred Space
Making sacred space where humans and God can interact is a priestly duty. It is also one each believer bears today.

Maintaining Sacred Space

Read more about Where is the Love?
Where is the love in this scene? Who does Jesus love? Who or what is he fighting for?

Where is the Love?
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Sheerah the City Builder

Scripture Focus: 1 Chronicles 7.21-24
Ezer and Elead were killed by the native-born men of Gath, when they went down to seize their livestock. 22 Their father Ephraim mourned for them many days, and his relatives came to comfort him. 23 Then he made love to his wife again, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. He named him Beriah, because there had been misfortune in his family. 24 His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon as well as Uzzen Sheerah. 

Hebrews 11.13-16
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 

Reflection: Sheerah the City Builder
By John Tillman

Most readers probably don’t remember Sheerah because her only mention is in a genealogy. Genealogies typically go father to son, father to son. Mentions of females are notable.

Genealogies seem boring to modern readers. Name after name parades down the page (often names we have difficulty pronouncing) and we just don’t see the point. 

The extreme individualism of our age is one reason for this boredom. We don’t typically feel connected to our ancestors. We see ourselves as solo artists or heroes, not a part of a whole. However, genealogies go beyond record-keeping. They tell stories.

Reading these passages was a way to re-experience the stories of those mentioned. Readers knew the stories from the other scriptures and the prophets. Their memories would light up as they read even just the names. Like a cameo of a Marvel character appearing briefly in a post-credits scene, these lists of names have exciting tidbits for those with the patience to read them.

The miniature stories we find in genealogies are hints of a larger tale. They are like open windows installed in a stairway, and it is worth pondering what the architect, the writer of the genealogy, hoped we would see.

Sheerah was a leader and architect. She built multiple cities, one of which bore her name. The other cities were twin cities on a border between two Israelite tribes: Ephraim and Benjamin. Upper Beth-Horan and Lower Beth-Horan, were not typical farming settlements. They were extremely important militarily and as part of the country’s religious life. 

Beth-Horan guarded an important ascent toward Jerusalem and was a city dedicated to the Levites amidst those tribes. The “upper” part of the city was Ephraim’s and the “lower” part was Benjamin’s. Levites from these cities would serve in Jerusalem’s Temple on a rotating basis.

The writer of Hebrews says all the faithful long for another land, another city. This includes the men and women listed in the genealogy of faith called the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11. 

Our genealogy of faith is full of imperfect, broken, and flawed humans leading to Jesus. God is not ashamed to be called their God and he is not ashamed to be ours either. We are not alone in our walk of faith. Connection to and knowledge of our “cloud of witnesses” can inspire more Sheerahs to build cities leading others to God’s city.


Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading
Then the angel showed me the river of life, rising from the throne of God and of the Lamb and glowing crystal clear. Down the middle of the city street, on either band of the river were the trees of life… — Revelation 22.1-2a

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 7-8  (Listen 9:04)
Psalms 83-84 (Listen 3:10)

Read more about No Such Thing as God Forsaken
May we not lose hope in our God or hope for our cities.

No Such Thing as God Forsaken

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