Scatter Them Like Tumbleweed

May 31, 2017

Scatter Them Like Tumbleweed

Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord,

that you alone are the Most High,

supreme over all the earth.

Psalm 83:18

The more things change, the more they stay the same. This psalm of Asaph was probably written around 700 B.C. when all the nations identified in the psalm were preparing to invade the Northern Kingdom of Israel. During the next one hundred fifty years, Israel was continually being invaded until the nation was totally destroyed by Babylon in 586 B.C. In 1948, after the declaration of independence of the State of Israel, armies of five Arab countries, Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq, invaded Israel. Over the next twenty-five years Israel was attacked four times: 1948 War of Independence; 1956 Sinai War; 1967 Six Day War; 1973 Yom Kippur War.

The formula of the psalmist is quite simple. He first recognized Israel was facing a crisis. He identified the enemy. Remembering Israel’s identity as the people of God and that an attack on Israel was an attack against God, the psalmist calls on God to fight for Israel. The psalmist remembers past victories of God to bolster his faith, and then looks forward to the time when all nations “will learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth” (Psalm 83:18).

In our time, the forces of evil, the enemies of God have aligned against God’s people, the Church. Consider all of the ways our society is threatened with extinction: drug trafficking; pornography, human trafficking, greed, lust and gluttony, just to name a few. However, we do not need to cower in the corner in fear. We can follow the example of the psalmist and recognize our crisis, name our enemies and pray for God to “scatter them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind!” (v. 13)

We can also pray verse 18, using the words of Jesus:

“Our Father in heaven,

   hallowed be your name.

   Your kingdom come.

   Your will be done,

     on earth as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 6:9-10

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Charge to Keep I Have

May 30, 2017

A Charge to Keep I Have

“Give justice to the poor and the orphan;

uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.

Rescue the poor and helpless;

deliver them from the grasp of evil people.”

Psalm 82:3-4

Humankind is created in the image of God. When we fully cooperate with the Holy Spirit, who is at work within us, giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases God (Philippians 2:13), we reflect the image of our Creator to the world. In 1 Peter 1:16, the Apostle Peter affirms God’s desire for His creation: “For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” (See Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7) God is very serious about this transformative work within us, and the fire of His holiness will consume all the ungodly dross within us. (See Hebrews 12:28-29)

Psalm 82 teaches us that our societies are called to be God-like in administering justice and in caring for the poor and the orphan. Jesus affirms this in John 10 when some people were picking up stones to kill him, accusing him of “. . . blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God” (John 10:33). Jesus quoted Psalm 82 in his reply, “It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’ And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’ why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’?” (John 10:34-36)

The mission of every Christian is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. One of the most important ways we transform the world is building for societies that reflect the heart of God. What is the heart of God? Psalm 82 reveals God’s heart is for the poor and the orphan, the oppressed and the destitute, and the poor and helpless.

Psalm 82 also affirms that God is the righteous Judge. On our final exam, God will review with each of us how well we cared for the poor and the orphan, the oppressed and the destitute, and the poor and helpless.

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Your Servant Is Listening; Speak O Lord To My Soul

May 29, 2017

Your Servant Is Listening; Speak O Lord To My Soul

Sing praises to God, our strength.

Sing to the God of Jacob.

Sing! Beat the tambourine.

Play the sweet lyre and the harp.

Psalm 81:1-2

In Psalm 80, the psalmist was pleading to the Lord for salvation. In Psalm 81, the psalmist shows us the two sides of salvation. We are saved from sin and death, and we are saved for a life within God’s favor and blessings as His beloved children.

Psalm 81 also provides a pattern for church worship services that is still followed. In the first five verses, there is a call to worship which is followed by God speaking to His people. Many worship services begin with a call to worship, prayers, hymn singing and presentation of tithes and offerings. Then the Word of God is proclaimed, and the congregation listens for God speaking to their souls.

This order, of first worship, then God speaking is incorporated by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12: 1-2,

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

When we gather for Sunday services, may Psalm 81 inspire us to worship God in truth and Spirit. When the pastor proclaims God’s Word, may we pray with expectant hearts, “Your servant is listening; speak O Lord to my soul.”

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Only Then Will We Be Saved

May 26, 2017

Only Then Will We Be Saved

Turn us again to yourself, O God.

Make your face shine down upon us.

Only then will we be saved.

Psalm 80:3

The psalmist is again expressing the cry of the remnant left behind when Israel was vanquished and her people taken away into slavery.

Perhaps the greatest temptation of humankind is to sing along with Frank Sinatra, “I did it my way.” We so very much want to chart our own course, to be the master of our own fate. Our challenge as Christians is in learning to distinguish our will from God’s will. As I noted in my meditation on Psalm 36 (March 27, 2017), seeking to know God’s will is not a denial of our ability to reason and work. It is an affirmation that human intellect and potential are fully realized within God’s divine grace and will.

In Psalm 80, the psalmist is living through the consequences of decisions made by the King to chart the course of Israel. He led the nation out from the shelter of God’s wings and into destruction. The remnant is desperate to find their way back to God. The refrain of this psalm, repeated three times (verses 3, 7, & 19), makes clear their only hope is for God to take the initiative to save them.

Today, churches and denominations are spending thousands of dollars trying to incorporate business strategies into the life of the church, in desperate attempts to revive dying churches. Campaigns and programs are not going to save our churches. If we want the fires of Godly revival burning brightly in our churches, we would do well to join our voices and sing with the psalmist,

  “Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.

    Make your face shine down upon us.

    Only then will we be saved.”

Psalm 80:19

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.