Join in the Psalms! Psalm 1-2; Ephesians 2

May the mumbling commence!

Now, we start our journey through the Psalm book of the Bible.  And what better way to start than with Psalm One!  Read it below:

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,

or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers. 

But they delight in doing everything the Lord wants;

day and night they think about his law. 

They are like trees planted along the riverbank,

bearing fruit each season without fail.

Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper. 

But this is not true of the wicked.

They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. 

They will be condemned at the time of judgment.

Sinners will have no place among the godly. 

For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,

but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

Here there are two paths juxtaposed.  One is wide and leads to destruction.  One is narrow and leads to life and prosperity.  The latter is like the edge of a keenly sharpened knife – stray but a little and it will fail.  These words echo the words we find in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series.  These words came from the mouth of Galadriel and were spoken to Frodo.

Thinking about these two paths can be worrisome.  Thank God for grace and mercy!  Thank God for the work of Christ Jesus!  Read from Ephesians chapter two:

God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.  For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Verses 8-10)

God’s special favor rests upon us – the Lord’s masterpiece.  We are created anew in Christ so that we can be what God originally planned for us to be.  How freeing is that?!?

Rejoice in these freedoms and use them wisely.  Rejoice especially this week – Holy Week.  Trek with Jesus to Jerusalem.  Today is Maundy Thursday.  Find yourself at the table with Jesus and his disciples the night Jesus was betrayed.

Live with the sadness of Good Friday.

With these steps of Jesus, we can fully appreciate the resurrection.  Celebrate Jesus!  He is risen!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out