PSALM 1 - HE SHALL BE LIKE A TREE

Psalm 1 stands like a golden gateway to a book of delights and rich instruction!  Some of you - like me - memorized it when we were young.  I can still quote it today [in the King James Version :-)].  

THINGS NOT TO DO:

1. Refuse to walk in the counsel of the ungodly;  do not take their advice or follow the pattern of their lives.
2. Refuse to stand in the way of sinners.  Standing is even a lower step.  When you stand in sin, it shows you have been brought under the spell of evil.
3. Refuse to sit - to take the scorner's seat is to take the despicable place possible.  The scorner sits idly by watching the struggles of others but not caring.

THINGS TO DO:

1. Read the Bible.
2. Delight in it.
3. Meditate on it.

THINGS THAT RESULT:

Planted - the settled and steadfast life in luxuriant soil.

Purpose - the productive life.

Prosperous - the abiding, happy life.

Cheri Fuller writes:  [Praying Through the Bible, July 3]

Awful advice, crushing consequences, and a raunchy reputation - that's what you get when you follow worldly counsel and people.  What do you get when you follow God?  JOY!  There is delight in doing what God wants because it is only then that we are doing what we were created to do.  We are accomplishing our purpose.  We are following the counsel of an all-wise, all-knowing God and experiencing the countless benefits that come with that.

"God, more than anything, I want to make You happy.  I want to do and be all that You planned when You created me.  It's Your counsel I want to follow, Your side I want to be on, and Your behavior I most want to imitate.  Help me to continually think of You and the words You wrote so that I might experience Your joy.  May You smile when You think of me."

 "Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God."  [Leon Henri Marie Bloy 1846-1917]

ABRAM IS ENCOURAGED

Genesis 15 is indeed an exceptional chapter!

It begins with Abram bringing somewhat of a complaint to God.  Essentially, he says (paraphrased):

God, You said I would be a great nation, but I'm getting old and still have no child.  If I were to die right now, my servant, Eliezer of Damascus, would be my heir!  

God - in His great patience - speaks to Abram:

“This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.”  He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”  [vs.4-5]

The next words are important! 

Abram believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.   [v.6]

Notice three things:

1. This is the first time the word "righteousness" occurs in our Bible!
2. No law had been given yet!   Abram's righteousness had nothing to do with the Law!
3. Abram hadn't been circumcised yet, which makes him the faith father of us all!

What happens next is both precious and VERY MYSTERIOUS!

God reassures Abram that He is going to give him (and his descendants) the land of Canaan.  When Abram questions this promise, God instructs him to bring a heifer, a goat, a ram (each three years old) along with a dove and a young pigeon.  Understanding an ancient covenant ritual, Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other... [v.10].

Then, Abram fell into a deep sleep as a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.  In this sleep, God whispered to him secrets about the distant future when Abram's descendants would become slaves in Egypt for four hundred years, but would then escape and return to Canaan!

Then it gets REALLY spooky!  Suddenly, a smoking firepot and a blazing torch appear and pass between the sacrificed animals!!!!!! 

God literally showed up!

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,

In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,

Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,

Almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

[Hymn:  Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise, 

by Walter C. Smith, 1824-1908]*

Here's the point of this captivating chapter:

God will come to us in our times of doubting with His reassurance and encouragement!  He will show up and remind us that His promises are TRUE!  We must trust His Word!  If we do - it will be counted to us as righteousness!  

*  This is a majestic hymn with a Welsh melody arranged by Van Denman Thompson in 1933.  There are three more verses.  The hymn builds to a crescendo in verse four where the angels veil their eyes from the presence of the Lord of Light!  Look it up and sing it;  I can't get through it without tears filling my eyes!

GOD HONORED A KILLER!

The children of Israel were waiting for the disobedient generation to die off - before they could enter the Promised Land.

While waiting, some of the young men began going to wild parties with the local Moabite girls...Before long all Israel was joining freely in the worship of Baal (Numbers 25:1,3  LB).

God was NOT HAPPY about this disobedience.

Then, one of the Israeli men insolently brought a Midianite girl into the camp, right before the eyes of Moses and all the people...(v.6). 

In His righteous anger, God ignited a plague that started sweeping through the people of Israel.  Phinehas (grandson of Aaron the priest)...jumped up, grabbed a spear, and rushed after the man into his tent...He thrust the spear all the way through the man's body and into her stomach  (vs.7-8).

The plague was stopped - 24,000 people had already died!

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Phinehas has turned away My anger, for he was as angry as I, concerning My honor;  so I have stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended.  Now because of what he has done...I promise that he and his descendents shall be priests forever"  (vs.10-11,13).

APPLICATION
God will still honor men and women who will stand up for Him and what is right!  God will reward quick, decisive, action that defends His honor! 

However, we are to submit to the laws of the land according to Titus 3:1 and I Peter 2:13-17.  Any aggressive actions we take should be in harmony with the governing authorities - or we should be prepared to suffer the consequences of our actions! 

O God!
Courage is in short supply in the American church.  Raise up young men and women who will be angry about the things You are angry about!  Ignite a passion for You that will cause them to stand against all forms of evil - regardless of the cost.  Reward them with increased access to You and an enlarged influence in this culture! 
Amen!