Week 2 - Psalm 2

The Psalm for this week is obviously Psalm 2. Here's the NIV translation on-line if you don't have a bible handy - Psalm 2!

One of the miraculous truths about our God is that he stands by his people no matter the situation they might be in. Obviously, at times in each and every one of our lives God might not endorse the particular life style that we live, but His love for us NEVER fails. We've been talking about this a lot in Luke. No matter who you are, whether a perfect person or the nastiest sinner in the world, God demonstrated his love to you through Christ. Whether you choose to accept that or not is another question. God loves his people, he loves us unconditionally. Historically though, this Psalm talks about God's chosen people, the Israelites. Throughout the course of history, Israel has been surrounded by a group of nations and people that absolutely hate them. If you look at the map, Israel is pretty much the smallest nation present, so it is a miracle in itself that the nation is still standing today. Some people might argue that this is merely a coincidence, but this psalm tells a different story. This psalm describes an active God who chooses to protect his people. I don't know about you, but I am so happy that our God doesn't just sit back and watch. I love that my God is involved. Its clear that this is the case with Israel. Even though the nations constantly fight against God's people, they will never prevail. If you read the story of Obadiah, we see another story that proves God does not tolerate anyone that stand against his people.

One of my favorite passages in the Word is Romans 8:31. It's a passage that tells us nobody can stand up to God. There are so many times in my life when I get stressed out, where I worry about so many things that are going on in my life. We all have problems in our life; for me it is often the stress from school, BUT this Psalm tells us that nothing in the whole entire world is greater than God. If we choose to be his people, he will never leave us or forsake us, rather he will fight for us. Our God is a God of many promises - one of which is that he will keep us from harms way. That's why the Psalm closes saying "Blessed are all who take refuge in him." Our God is here to help, our God is here to protect his people!

This chapter has so many cool ideas that we can talk about for hours and hours. I encourage you to read it more than once. If you have any questions at all, let me know. You can give me a call, shoot me an e-mail ... whatever you think's best.

God Bless!
-Chris

A Psalm a Week - Psalm 1

As you probably heard in announcements, this is our first week of "A Psalm a Week." If you have the chance to this week, or if your just looking for something to read in the Bible, check out Psalm 1!

So, here's a link to Psalm Chapter 1 on-line (PSALM 1 - NIV).

It's a really short passage with a really powerful message. As we've been studying in Luke, we are asked repeatedly to analyze our fruit as Christians. Are we reading our Bibles? Are we praying? And most importantly, Are we living a life that brings honor and glory to our Heavenly Father? These are very much so questions that can be associated with the text we're looking at this week.

The psalm talks about our walks as Christians. Where are you found? Is it in the counsel of the ungodly; is it with a group of people who live their lives contrary to the way you are supposed to? The answer should be no. Although I believe that we can have non-Christian friends (as most of us do), the text makes it clear that we are to DELIGHT OURSELVES IN THE LORD and not in those friendships. We should not find comfort and happiness in the world, but in our mighty God. Looking at the picture above you probably notice it's not the best illustration ... even so, the Psalm then says we're to be like a tree planted near the rivers of water. We are supposed to be in out Bibles and in communication with God (prayer). We are to find our roots in God, our comfort in God, our happiness in God. Our leaves and our branches (the desire we have to follow God and pursue a lifestyle in Him) will not fade away. If we live our lives as the tree in this psalm, planting ourselves in God's word, we can be successful as young Christians!

The end of the chapter is clear. The way of the ungodly will perish, but God knows his people. He knows what fruit we bear in our lives. He knows where we find happiness, and no matter how small and insignificant we truly are, he still gives us a promise. This is the promise of happiness, peace, love, joy, and ultimately the gift of the salvation and eternal life that we have in Christ.

Have a great Week!

God Bless!

-Chris