Seeking the Life in Christ: October 2022

Monday, October 31, 2022

Our Hope Is in The Lord

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

October 31, 2022

Our Hope Is in The Lord

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,

for he will speak peace to his people,

to his faithful,

to those who turn to him in their hearts.

Psalm 85:8 (NRSV)

In Psalm 85, the psalmist is interceding for the people of Israel. The nation is facing a crisis, probably brought on by a military defeat. The psalmist is looking forward to Israel once again resting within God’s favor:

Unfailing love and truth have met together.

Righteousness and peace have kissed!

Truth springs up from the earth,

and righteousness smiles down from heaven.

Psalm 85:10-11

This intercessory prayer of the psalmist evidences a great hope that God will restore Israel. The foundation of this hope is Israel’s experience with God. This is not the first time Israel has strayed away from her covenant relationship with God. In her past, God’s unfailing love and His mercy restored Israel to a right relationship with God. Based on these experiences with God’s grace, the psalmist has a confident hope that God will, once again, act on Israel’s behalf.

When Christians gather in small groups for study and nurture, the most important question before each person is, “How have you experienced God in your life since we last met?” How we answer this question is vitally important because without a past and present experience of God, we will have little hope to experience God in our future. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and this assurance is based on how we have experienced God working in our lives. (Hebrews 11:1)

The Bible says, “Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10). Without this hope to experience God, our life withers: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs13:12).

In our life today, we are, once again, in transition as we wait for the next step in our future to unfold. At the end of last year, Cheryl and I sensed God’s leading to begin worshipping in a new church and denomination. While I do not have certainty for what the future may hold for us in this new setting, I know very well who holds our future. God has been faithful in our lives. Repeatedly, he has manifested his presence in our life, and shown himself strong.

My Takeaway: While we are most assuredly curious about how we will be serving the Lord; we are not anxious. Our hope is in the Lord.

“We put our hope in the Lord.

He is our help and our shield.

In him our hearts rejoice,

for we trust in his holy name.

Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,

for our hope is in you alone.”

Psalm 33:20-22

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.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the 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.

Friday, October 28, 2022

Nothing Less, Nothing More, Nothing Else

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

October 28, 2022

Nothing Less, Nothing More, Nothing Else

Happy are those who live in your house,

ever singing your praise. Selah

Psalm 84:4 (NRSV)

At the time of the psalmist, idolatry was prevalent. The people in the surrounding nations worshipped many different gods, including Baal and Artemis. The people believed their gods resided in the hills or in the temples erected in their honor. Within the temples, or on hill tops, statues were set up. This form of worship stood in sharp contrast to the Jew’s worship of God. When Solomon dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem he said, “But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27). While God had made the Temple His dwelling place on earth, the Jews knew the Temple could not contain his glory. While the worshippers of Baal may have longed to go to a place where they believed their god lived, the Jews longed for their God. Psalm 84 is the cry of one’s heart to know God, to be in the presence of God.

For me, Psalm 84 is a great reality check. It seems at times as though my heart, my desires, my wants are scattered here, there, and everywhere. Sometimes, I allow the silliest things to steal my joy in the Lord; I allow insignificant things to steal my peace in God. When I read Psalm 84, I am reminded what the heart of a fully devoted follower of Jesus truly desires:

How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

I long, yes, I faint with longing

to enter the courts of the Lord.

With my whole being, body and soul,

I will shout joyfully to the living God.

A single day in your courts

is better than a thousand anywhere else!

I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God

than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.

Psalm 84: 1-2, 10

My Takeaway: I compare these longings with those within my heart and then, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I identify where I got off track. I confess my errors that caused me to miss the mark, and then reaffirm my desire to know only God’s will for my life. Nothing less, nothing more, nothing else.

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.)

Thursday, October 27, 2022

Scatter Them Like Tumbleweed

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

October 27, 2022

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)

My Takeaway: 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.)

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

A Charge to Keep I Have

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

October 26, 2022

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 by building 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.

My Takeaway: 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.)

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Your Servant Is Listening; Speak O Lord To My Soul

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

October 25, 2022

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.”

My Takeaway: 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.)

Monday, October 24, 2022

Only Then Will We Be Saved

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

October 24, 2022

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, and our country, 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.)

Friday, October 21, 2022

God Suffers the Consequences Of Our Sins

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

October 21, 2022

God Suffers the Consequences Of Our Sins

Help us, O God of our salvation!

Help us for the glory of your name.

Save us and forgive our sins

for the honor of your name.

Psalm 79:9

The setting for Psalm 79 is in Jerusalem after its destruction in 586 B.C. The psalmist is part of the remnant of Israel who was not taken away to exile in Babylon. The psalm reflects the beginning of a major change in God’s relationship with His people. In verse eight, the psalmist pleads for God to not hold the remnant accountable for the sins of their ancestors. At that time, God looked at Israel as a whole. If one member of a family sinned, the whole family was accountable. If one family sinned, all of Israel was held accountable. However, after the exile, the prophet Ezekiel announced he had received a message from the Lord:

“And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die”

(Ezekiel 18:4).

God no longer held Israel accountable for the sins of their ancestors. Each person was accountable for their own life.

This was great news for the people of Israel. However, there is a difference between accountability for sin and the consequences of sin. Even though God is relating to each person as an individual, many people suffer the consequences of the sins of others. This was true for Israel after the exile, and it is true for us today. (In the midst of such suffering, we remember God doesn’t waste anything. He uses everything in our lives for the good purpose of building His Kingdom. See Romans 8:28-29.)

This psalm makes clear that God also suffers the consequences of our sins. Bishop Stephen Neil said of Jesus, “Invulnerable in his person, but vulnerable because of his friends.” (Stephen Charles Neill (1900–1984) was an Anglican missionary, bishop, and scholar from Scotland)

My Takeaway: As followers of Jesus, we are responsible for the way we live our lives. We can either attract people to Christ or repel them away from Christ by our behavior.

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.)

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Learning Transparency

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

October 20, 2022

Learning Transparency

I will teach you hidden lessons from our past — stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us.

Psalm 78:2b-3

As I read Psalm 78, I was remembering one of my mission trips to Cuba. We drove to the beach for our Sunday worship service which included baptizing twenty-nine persons in the Caribbean Sea. At the close of the day, we traveled back to Camaguey. Two of the pastors in our group rode in a big truck with approximately forty members of the congregation. The truck had benches down the sides. To pass their time, they played a Bible game with the children. If the person did not answer correctly, they had to duck-walk down the center aisle. My friends had to make the duck-walk more than all the kids. Our church in Cuba is taking seriously their responsibility to pass their faith on to the next generation.

The psalmist in Psalm 78 remembered much of the history of Israel in their exodus from Egypt. His history included more than just listing events. He also revealed the moral history of Israel as they experienced God’s judgment for their failures, as well as God’s redemptive mercy and forgiveness.

The lessons of Psalm 78 stress the importance of personal accountability groups. These groups provide a safe setting where we can learn to share our failures and weaknesses with brothers and sisters in Christ who love us.

My Takeaway: By learning transparency, we can then truly pass on to the next generation our experiences in needing and receiving God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness.

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.)

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Believing God’s Word about Who We Are

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

October 19, 2022

Believing God’s Word about Who We Are

O God, your ways are holy.

Is there any god as mighty as you?

You are the God of great wonders!

Psalm 77:13-14a

Many of our hymns, old and new, have been written when the author was in despair. (Examples: Abide with Me, Henry F. Lyle; It is Well with My Soul, Horatio G. Spafford; Blessed Be Your Name, Matt Redman). The author of the letter to the Hebrews defines faith as, “the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1). The prose of the author of Hebrews, the hymn writers, and the psalmist expresses faith that is securely resting on the Word of God, not on emotions and feelings.

In the first ten verses, the psalmist is focused only on his feelings and his circumstances. I counted nineteen personal pronouns in those ten verses. It is perfectly alright to express your anxiety and feelings of depression to God. We learned in Psalm 56 that God keeps our tears in a bottle; He is for us. But it is not a good thing to stay focused on our feelings. There comes a time when we need to say, “Rain on my feelings!” (Bill Gillham, Lifetime Guarantee). What matters most is what God has said in His Word, not my feelings.

How do we come to that place where we trust God’s Word in our lives? How do we find our way to the place where we are content to rest in God’s smile of affection for us? I think Corrie ten Boom answers those questions best when she said, “You’ll never know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.” You will never come to the place where Jesus is all you have until you first exhaust your confidence in your own power and resources. We can only be dependent on God after we have come to the end of our own independence.

My Takeaway: Don’t confuse dependence on God and resting in God’s love for you with passivity. God created each of us with our soul, which is our mind, will and emotions. Becoming dependent on God is a matter of allowing our mind to be grounded on God’s word, training our will to be conformed to God’s will, and choosing to believe God’s Word about who we are.

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.)

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

God Rose Up to Establish Judgment

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

October 18, 2022

God Rose Up to Establish Judgment

From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still when God rose up to establish judgment, to save all the oppressed of the earth. Selah

Psalm 76:8-9 (NRSV)

All of scripture was written in the context of life as it was unfolding, in what we call today “real-time.” The writers were not isolated from the fray. The writers were not looking back and writing from hindsight. The people of God, whose real-life experiences are the basis for scripture, lived in very violent times. Appreciation of the sanctity of life has developed only in recent times and is far from being widespread. In the psalmist’s world, differences between people and nations were settled with violence. Psalm 76 was written to celebrate a victory.

The attacks against Israel were not only fought to gain the land, but they were also fought to destroy Israel’s God. The psalmist presents the anger and wrath of God against God’s enemies. We don’t like to think about God’s wrath and anger. We’d rather focus on God’s love, patience, mercy, and forgiveness. However, we need to realize that the way God’s enemies strike at God is to strike against God’s people. If God did not respond in anger against those who do violence to His people, God would not be moral and just.

Psalm 76 is ultimately fulfilled in the Cross, where Jesus, equipped with God’s anger and wrath, took on the forces of evil:

“For God in all his fullness

was pleased to live in Christ,

and through him God reconciled

everything to himself.

He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth

by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.”

Colossians 1: 19-20

I do not believe we can fully appreciate Jesus’ victory over evil until we accept that the evil within us was included in the victory of Jesus:

“This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.”

Colossians 1: 21-22

My Takeaway: Thanks be to God!

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.)

Monday, October 17, 2022

In God’s Time

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

October 17, 2022

In God’s Time

“God says, “At the time I have planned”

Psalm 75:2a

Several years ago, Cheryl and I, and our Springer Spaniels, Buster Brown and Hershey, spent seven days driving down the Blue Ridge Parkway. Several times, especially as we were driving near Mount Mitchell, which with an elevation of 6,684 feet is the highest point east of the Mississippi River, we exclaimed how blessed we are to live in this beautiful part of the world. When we returned home, after seven days on the road, we both exclaimed how happy we were to return to our Mountain Home, which we dearly love. I recall that trip because as I read Psalm 75, I am reminded of when we were in a period of transition. After thirty-two years of pastoral ministry, I retired. At that time, I felt a little like a part of Abraham’s or Moses’ clan, as we were sojourners residing temporarily in a leased home. I had a sense of both uncertainty and adventure as I tried to patiently wait upon the Lord. At that time, Psalm 75 was helpful to me.

“God says, “At the time I have planned” (Psalm 75:2a). At least twice previously in the Psalms, I had been encouraged to wait on the Lord:

“I wait quietly before God,

for my victory comes from him.”

Psalm 62:1

“Be still, and know that I am God!

Psalm 46:10

The heart of humankind’s rebellion against God is control. We want to be in control. I recall a quote from Lansford W. Hastings in an exhibit at the Museum of Westward Expansion in St. Louis:

“We had proceeded only a few days’ travel, when the American character was fully exhibited. All appeared to be determined to govern, but not to be governed.”

Our desire to control is over both our environment and the others in it, but most especially over our own lives.

My Takeaway: Psalm 75 is an affirmation that God is in control and God moves on God’s timing, not mine. In our case, God’s timing blessed us by planting us in a community where we have made strong friendships with our neighbors. Oh, and did I mention, we love our Mountain Home!

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.)

Friday, October 14, 2022

Our Search for Meaning

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

October 14, 2022

Our Search for Meaning

Both day and night belong to you;

you made the starlight and the sun.

You set the boundaries of the earth,

and you made both summer and winter.

Psalm 74:16-17

As I read Psalms 73 and 74, I keep thinking of Viktor Frankl, an Austrian who survived concentrations camps in the Holocaust to become a highly-acclaimed neurologist and psychiatrist. His experiences in the concentration camps taught him, “The one thing you can’t take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one’s freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given circumstance” and, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves” (Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning 1946).

The psalmist was trying to make sense out of the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of Israel. He was in deep thought about the meaning of life. He concluded that he, and Israel, had to accept responsibility for their actions. This is a continuing theme in Frankl’s writings. (Viktor Frankl once recommended that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be complemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.) Long before President Kennedy urged Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you . . .” Frankl wrote “It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.” (Man's Search for Meaning)

My Takeaway: The psalmist’s style of speaking directly to God was his way of demonstrating his recognition that it was God who was suffering for the sins of Israel. God’s creation of beauty and order is wounded deeply by the willful disobedience of humans.

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.)

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Whom Have I In Heaven But You?

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

October 13, 2022

Whom Have I In Heaven But You?

Whom have I in heaven but you?

I desire you more than anything on earth.

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,

but God remains the strength of my heart;

he is mine forever.

Psalm 73:25-26

Scripture can be understood as three great movements, giving us a complete understanding of God’s relationship with humankind. I call the first movement Order because it is an understanding of the cause-and-effect relationship. When God entered a covenant relationship with humans, there was a system of reward and punishment. If a person kept the law, if a person did good, then blessings, good things would flow into their life. If a person broke the law, did bad, then they would be punished.

As the relationship between humans and God began to mature, humans encountered the forces of evil. The Book of Job is an excellent example of a man who was in a right relationship with God, yet many bad things flowed into his life. This reality brings forth the second movement, which I call Faith. In times of trial, especially when the suffering is not the result of our misdeeds, we can have faith “that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28).

However, there are times when it seems as though evil has the upper hand. In the face of all the human suffering in the world, many people do not see how God can, or should, be praised. It appears that the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. Those who clearly violate God’s law seem to prosper, while the followers of God suffer, and many people ask, “What’s the point in believing in God?” This reality brings forth the third movement, which I call Trust. The Book of Revelation is a call to trust in God in those times when evil seems to have the upper hand. In Psalm 73, the psalmist pondered the times of order and the times of faith, but it was trust that enabled him to resolve the conflict he was experiencing.

The very heart of our Judeo-Christian heritage is the belief in the final judgment of God. It may appear that some people are skating through life, prospering on the backs of others, without being held accountable; but there is more to come. There will be a time when all people, through all of history, will be held accountable to God for their lives.

My Takeaway: The psalmist learned that his focus should be on his life, and he could trust God to vindicate the righteous.

But as for me, how good it is to be near God!

I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,

and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

Psalm 73:28

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.)

Monday, October 31, 2022

Our Hope Is in The Lord

Friday, October 28, 2022

Nothing Less, Nothing More, Nothing Else

Thursday, October 27, 2022

Scatter Them Like Tumbleweed

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

A Charge to Keep I Have

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Your Servant Is Listening; Speak O Lord To My Soul

Monday, October 24, 2022

Only Then Will We Be Saved

Friday, October 21, 2022

God Suffers the Consequences Of Our Sins

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Learning Transparency

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Believing God’s Word about Who We Are

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

God Rose Up to Establish Judgment

Monday, October 17, 2022

In God’s Time

Friday, October 14, 2022

Our Search for Meaning

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Whom Have I In Heaven But You?

Seeking the Life in Christ

About Me

Blog Archive

Followers

First Think - Then Pray

Books I Am Reading

Recent Books I Have Enjoyed