9/10/18
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Our Psalm this week praises God because He is the kind of God who hears and answers when we are in distress. This might not seem to be a big deal for anyone raised in the sorta-Christian culture of Western civilization. After all, that’s what we automatically think a deity would do. But that very concept, the idea that a deity would actually care, is rooted in Chritianity. The religions which surrounded Israel, like most world religions, featured deities who were capricious and demanded appeasement, which would often be to no effect.
The God of the Bible stands in stark contrast. He is the one who is gracious and merciful. He hears the cries of his people and comes to care for them. He rescues them even though, even especially since they are helpless. This is truly a big deal. The Psalmist knows that the true God is different from all others. We praise Him because He is exactly that special kind of God, the one we need.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Our Psalm this week praises God because He is the kind of God who hears and answers when we are in distress. This might not seem to be a big deal for anyone raised in the sorta-Christian culture of Western civilization. After all, that’s what we automatically think a deity would do. But that very concept, the idea that a deity would actually care, is rooted in Chritianity. The religions which surrounded Israel, like most world religions, featured deities who were capricious and demanded appeasement, which would often be to no effect.
The God of the Bible stands in stark contrast. He is the one who is gracious and merciful. He hears the cries of his people and comes to care for them. He rescues them even though, even especially since they are helpless. This is truly a big deal. The Psalmist knows that the true God is different from all others. We praise Him because He is exactly that special kind of God, the one we need.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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