11/26/18
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.
How many times we’ve heard it. “Christians think they are perfect but they fail all the time. A bunch of hypocrites.” Yes, it happens sometimes - too frequently. Psalm 25, however, offers a strong corrective in the way we think about this.
Verses 7-9 find the Psalmist admitting sin, asking for forgiveness, and looking for God’s guidance in truth and goodness. I would much rather receive God’s correctives and priorities than those of my critics, who, as a rule, set themselves, rather than God’s Word, as the judge of what is good. We don’t think we are perfect but we do think God is!
What of those times when things look bad, when we feel abandoned, when our opponents seem to have the upper hand? First, we want to consider our actions and values in light of Scripture. If we confess that God is right, we need to be informed. I am constantly amazed at the lack of genuine biblical knowledge among people who claim to have been Christians all their lives. Some may have tremendous knowledge, for instance, about the parts of the temple in Jerusalem, yet be completely unaware of the way all the pieces and actions point to Jesus’ work of forgiveness. We need to consider God’s Word as we evaluate all our life and our world.
With that done, even when life seems opposed to us, we can, like the Psalmist in verses 1-3, declare our trust in the Lord. He will never leave his people to destruction.
Are we fatalists, then? Not at all. In verses 4-6 we ask the Lord to show s His paths and guide us. When we are in distress we ask God to remember that He is the compassionate and merciful God.
In the end, the Christian life can be summarized as a life of prayer - prayer that God would remember the character he has revealed in the Bible, and that we would also remember God’s character and live in accord with it. I’d much rather have God lead me into righteousness than have people who are only wise in their own eyes do it.
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.
How many times we’ve heard it. “Christians think they are perfect but they fail all the time. A bunch of hypocrites.” Yes, it happens sometimes - too frequently. Psalm 25, however, offers a strong corrective in the way we think about this.
Verses 7-9 find the Psalmist admitting sin, asking for forgiveness, and looking for God’s guidance in truth and goodness. I would much rather receive God’s correctives and priorities than those of my critics, who, as a rule, set themselves, rather than God’s Word, as the judge of what is good. We don’t think we are perfect but we do think God is!
What of those times when things look bad, when we feel abandoned, when our opponents seem to have the upper hand? First, we want to consider our actions and values in light of Scripture. If we confess that God is right, we need to be informed. I am constantly amazed at the lack of genuine biblical knowledge among people who claim to have been Christians all their lives. Some may have tremendous knowledge, for instance, about the parts of the temple in Jerusalem, yet be completely unaware of the way all the pieces and actions point to Jesus’ work of forgiveness. We need to consider God’s Word as we evaluate all our life and our world.
With that done, even when life seems opposed to us, we can, like the Psalmist in verses 1-3, declare our trust in the Lord. He will never leave his people to destruction.
Are we fatalists, then? Not at all. In verses 4-6 we ask the Lord to show s His paths and guide us. When we are in distress we ask God to remember that He is the compassionate and merciful God.
In the end, the Christian life can be summarized as a life of prayer - prayer that God would remember the character he has revealed in the Bible, and that we would also remember God’s character and live in accord with it. I’d much rather have God lead me into righteousness than have people who are only wise in their own eyes do it.
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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