Psalm Saturday, 8d

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!  who hast set thy glory above the heavens.  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?  and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Psalm 8:1-5

In this passage, the Psalmist asks an interesting question – “What is man, that thou art mindful of him?”  Why does the God of Heaven, the Creator of the universe, take any notice of us?  That is a good question, but the statement that follows just might be a little more interesting!

“For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.”  Why did God choose to crown man with glory and honour?  He did make man in His own image.  He gave man dominion over the Earth.  He allows us to communicate with Him.  He loves us enough to send His Son to die for us.  Why did He do all of these things?  I don’t know.  I don’t understand it.  But I am very happy for it!

 

A Few Examples

Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.  Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.  Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.  Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.  Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmered, and were destroyed of the destroyer.  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

I Corinthians 10:6-11

God gives us many examples of how to live and how not to live in the Old Testament.  We need to pay attention to those examples if we are going to live for the Lord.  In this passage, Paul lists a few of the examples that we have:

“…we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.”  The Israelites wanted things that God did not want them to have.  They were not submitted to God’s will.  And it cost them dearly.

“Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them.”  Some of the Israelites worshipped things other than the Lord.  We might not think of it as “worshipping” other things, but the things that get our time and our devotion are the things that we worship.

“Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed…”  God wants us to remain pure.

“Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.”  Are we trying to be boss in our lives?  Are we “tempting Christ” with an attitude of defiance?

“Neither murmur ye…”  The Israelites were famous for murmering – a kind of “under the breath complaining.”  They were not content with what God had done for them and given them.  The other things on this list might seem a little easier, but this one is usually a little trickier!

When we read the Old Testament, we need to pay attention.  All of those things were written for a reason!

 

 

Our Examples

 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.  But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.  Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

I Corinthians 10:1-6

There is a huge section of the Bible that is devoted to the nation of Israel and their possession of the Promised Land.  It detail their successes and their failures.  It details their victories and their defeats.  And we read all of it for one reason: “Now these things were our examples…”  They are given to us for examples.

In this passage, the example is the many who were “overthrown” in the wilderness.  They were all brought out of Egypt, but God was not pleased with them.  We can compare them to Christians.  They had applied the blood, and the death angel had passed over them.  They were “saved.”  They were out of Egypt.  But then they started murmering and complaining.  And with that, God was not pleased.

It is often the same with us.  We come to Jesus and are saved.  But then we start getting a bad attitude.  We get annoyed with this thing or that thing.  We start wanting things that we shouldn’t have or don’t need.  And, pretty soon, all of that leads to murmering and complaining.  God is not pleased with that.  We have great examples in the Bible of both what God wants us to do and what God doesn’t want us to do.  Are we using them?

 

 

 

 

Running With Certainty

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?  So run, that ye may obtain.  And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.  Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.  I therefore run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

I Corinthians 9:24-26

I will admit, that I am not an avid runner.  One of the reasons that I am not an avid runner is that I have a hard time convincing myself that running has a purpose (I know that it has health benefits, but this is not the blog for those).  I feel like I am literally running in circles.  When I try to run on a treadmill, I feel like a hamster, just running for no reason.  I can understand running for a purpose.  I can understand running for a reason.  Just running in circles does not appeal to me.  But running with a prize in mind is a different matter.  Paul here says that he is running for a purpose.  He said “I therefore run, not as uncertainly…”

Paul was running the race that Jesus Christ had given him to run.  He knew what he needed to do – he needed to spread the gospel of Jesus.  He needed to help people.  He had been given a specific mission and he did his best to fulfill it.  Jesus Christ also gives us a work to do.  Each of us has a different work to do and a different race to run.  Whatever it is that we have been given to do, we need to focus on it, so that we do not “run uncertainly.”

When running a race, it is important to keep the finish line in mind.  It can be difficult in the middle of the race, but when we remember why we are running, it will help.  We need to run with a purpose and keep the goal in mind!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Running the Christian Race

And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.  Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?  So run, that ye may obtain.  And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.  Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

I Corinthians 9:23-26

Paul says here that he is living the Christian life like he is running a race.  That is a great comparison.  But, too often, when we think about racing, we think about sprints.  Today, sprinting is the race that gets all of the glory.  But I think the idea behind this analogue is more along the lines of a long distance race.  Life is not a sprint.  Life is more like a marathon.

In a marathon, sometimes the running is easier and sometimes the running is a little more difficult.  In a marathon, you are going to stumble from time to time.  You are going to start to lose focus here and there.  You are going to want to just quit.  You might even fall down.  If we do fall down, lose focus, or stumble, we need to get back up and keep running.

To often, as Christians, we stumble or fall and we just never get back up.  We just stay where we have fallen.  But, if we stay laying there where we have fallen, we are never going to finish the race.  In our Christian lives, stumbling and falling might cause us to not get as far as we otherwise would have gotten.  But we can still get up and we can still keep going.

No matter where we find ourselves today, we just need to keep running.  If we have fallen, we need to get back up and keep running.  If we are sitting on the sideline, we need to get back in the race and keep running. How are we doing?

Running A Race

And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.  Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?  So run, that ye may obtain.  And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.  Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly, so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

I Corinthians 9:23-26

Paul here likens the Christian life to running a race.  And there are many great analogues there.

The first and most important is found in this passage – self control.  Paul says that anyone who runs in races is going to be “temperate in all things.”  Olympic runners are famous for their abstinence from certain things.  They keep their diets very strict.  They are careful to avoid certain foods and drinks.  They are meticulous about their exercise regimens.  They try to get plenty of sleep.  They plan every part of their lives to help them be or become better runners.  They are completely dedicated to running at the highest level.  There are things that they must avoid and things that they simply can not do.  They might not be able to go out for pizza with their friends on Friday night.  They might not get to sleep in a little on the weekends.  There are things they do and things they don’t do – all because they want to win a race.

It is the same with us in our Christian lives.  There are things that we probably shouldn’t waste our time with.  There are things that we need to dedicate ourselves to.  If we want to be winners in this Christian race of life, we are going to have to “go all out.”  Are we willing to do that?

 

 

Shall We Gather At The River (Hymn)

Shall We Gather at the River
Robert Lowry (1864)

Shall we gather at the river,
Where bright angel feet have trod,
With its crystal tide forever
Flowing by the throne of God?

Refrain

Yes, we’ll gather at the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river
That flows by the throne of God.

On the margin of the river,
Washing up its silver spray,
We will talk and worship ever,
All the happy golden day.

Refrain

Ere we reach the shining river,
Lay we every burden down;
Grace our spirits will deliver,
And provide a robe and crown.

Refrain

At the smiling of the river,
Mirror of the Savior’s face,
Saints, whom death will never sever,
Lift their songs of saving grace.

Refrain

Soon we’ll reach the silver river,
Soon our pilgrimage will cease;
Soon our happy hearts will quiver
With the melody of peace.

Refrain

This is a wonderful hymn about the time when we all get to Heaven and what a glorious event that will be.  It will be a time of reunions with loved ones and friends who have gone on before us.  But, the question for today is this: are we ready?  What are we doing to make sure that our loved ones are with us?  Are we ready today?

Psalm Saturday 8c

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!  who hast set thy glory above the heavens.  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?  and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Psalm 8:1-5

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the starts, which thou hast ordained; What is man that thou art mindful of him?”

That is a good question.  When we look at all of creation, we can see the glory and power of the Lord.  We can look at the beauty of an sunset or look at the millions of stars in the night sky and wonder why the God Who created all of that cares anything about us.

The simple answer to those questions is: I don’t know.  But He is mindful of us.  In fact, He loves us.  Why?  We will never know nor understand.  But He does, and, for that we can be eternally grateful!

Saving Some

And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without the law, as without the law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.  To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

I Corinthians 9:20-22

Paul understood that every person who heard the gospel was not going to accept it.  He was not going to be able to lead every person to the Lord.  But he also knew that he needed to try to lead every person to the Lord.  He understood that he needed to do whatever he possibly could to “save some.”

Paul was not overly concerned with his own safety or well being.  He was concerned with telling other people about the Lord Jesus.  He said that “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”  He made an effort to fit in wherever he was.  He made an effort to respect the culture of the people with whom he was dealing.  He made an effort to get to know the people and to meet them where they were.  He did anything he could to get people to Jesus.

Sometimes we get a little too full of ourselves.  Sometimes, we get a “my way or the highway” kind of attitude.  But we need to remember Paul’s words in this passage.  We need to do our best to be made “all things to all men.”  Because, in doing that, we might “save some.”

 

 

 

Woe Unto Me

For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!  For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.

I Corinthians 9:16-17

Paul says in this passage, “Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel.”  Paul was obviously a preacher of the gospel.  He preached the gospel everywhere he went.  But he understood that preaching the gospel was not simply a “vocation” or a “job.”  It was his life.

He understood that preaching the gospel was what God had given him to do.  And, as such, he needed to do it.  It was not a matter of what he wanted or what was convenient to him.  It was put in him and there was nothing he could do to stop it.  His conscience would not have let him sleep if he neglected to do what God wanted him to do.

Jeremiah echoed his sentiments in the Old Testament: “Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name.  But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forebearing, and I could not stay.”  Jeremiah even tried to not proclaim the words of the Lord.  But he just couldn’t do it.  There was something inside of him that would not allow him to stop.

We need to get to that point in our lives.  Not all of us are going to be pastors or “official” teachers of the Bible.  But all of us have been given a job to do.  All of us have been given people in our lives to be a witness to.  Are we carrying out that mission or are we ignoring it?