8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
David’s desire in this excerpt of the psalm is to teach us the fear of the Lord. Fear from a worldly standpoint is often unpleasant and uncomfortable, so when reading this command superficially, I am often confused. However, in these verses I am reminded that we fear the Lord in an act of awe, respect, and submission to His will.
Based on these few verses, David breaks down fear of the Lord even further as acknowledging that the Lord is good, trusting in Him, and obeying His commands.
In the first 3 verses, we see genuine praise that the Lord is good; those who fear him and seek him will lack nothing. We have the freedom to experience His goodness daily. The word that stands out to me the most in these verses is refuge. Refuge means a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble. We are able to take refuge in the Lord when we trust in Him. And this trust leads us to act in obedience of His commands. Keep your tongue from evil. Keep your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil. Seek peace. Love the Lord your God. Love your neighbor as yourself.
What a wonderful time of year it is to be reminded of fearing the Lord. He is so good to us! Therefore, let us trust and obey Him.
Snapshot of the item below:
Lent Devotional: Psalm 34:1-7
1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
* There is a cool note in my bible about Psalm 34...it is an acrostic poem. Meaning that the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. So I decided to make my own poem as a response to this one. I am definitely not a poet, but it was really powerful to sit and write my own scripture. I challenge you to do the same.
1 A loud and joyous noise, everytime I speak your name.
Blessed am I that YOU have given me the ability to do so.
2 Compelled by YOUR love, I will make it known.
Desire for others will drive me to continue.
3 Extol the LORD with me;
Friends! Join me.
4 Go, seek and find the LORD, HE will answer.
Hardships may come, but I have never been without YOU.
5 I have turned to him in my darkest hour, and have been blessed.
Joy overshadows all sorrow. Shame has no place.
6 Kindness and mercy of the LORD knows no bounds.
Love will always prevail.
7 Move into my heart, holy spirit.
Never leave me be.
As I wrote my own version of this Psalm, it struck me how much David loved God. He had no idea what kind of gift he would receive in Jesus, he just had blind faith of how God had provided for him and his people. As I wrote this poem, I was copying someone else’s passion. The words are still true, but they didn’t start as my own. It amazes me, followers of God in the Old Testament, how hard core they were...and radical to have such faith.
In verse 5, David shifts to more of an outside person’s perspective, and I imagine him saying it sarcastically, as if it were not for himself when it was. I decided to keep the context applying to me. Pleading with others that I know how good he is, that I am just as broken as the next person, and he still accepts me. It was an interesting and cool experience to feel that joy that David had for God.
Pray with me: Lord, may our passion to follow you be as fierce as David’s faith. Thank you for allowing us to know the gift you have sent in your son. May we never forget and pray that during this season, we can all be reminded of your glory and power. Amen.
Matthew 3:13-17
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Lent is a season of repentance. Acknowledging that the way I live my life doesn't reflect what God would have me do. And, to live in a way that 'fulfills all righteousness' I will need a turnaround. (The Hebrew word for repent, שׁוּב, means most literally "to return".)
We are certainly hoping the residents at the Dale House find the ability to make a turnaround. While they are with us, we hope and pray earnestly that they turn from destructive behaviors and influences, and take up new habits, mindsets, and relationships. Often, that hope goes unfulfilled - in this moment - but it's that yearning for this kind of prayer:
"Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you, you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you." (Isaiah 44:21)
Today's scripture, however, reminds us that there is more to this journey than simply changing behaviors. To truly turn things around takes more than making a few new habits and stopping a few older ones. There are limits to how deep this turnaround can go. Jesus' words and actions show us that to 'fulfill all righteousness', we must be baptized into a new reality.
When are are baptized, have a brief experience of death. As the person being baptized is lowered into the water, they experience death - death to the old self, death to the habits that have led us into the darkness. And, as we are brought out of the water, we are brought up into new life in Christ. And, we live in new ways. Baptism places the drama of death and resurrection at the center of our lives.
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:3–5 NRSV)
Repentance isn't merely changing behaviors. It's not simply adjusting our habits or following "5 Easy Steps to Righteousness." To truly fulfill what righteousness means is to die to ourselves. And, rather than bringing ourselves out of the water, we rely on Jesus to bring us up. Living in our baptism is to claim the promise that Jesus' resurrection becomes our own - and, in faith, new life emerges in a way that we could not control on our own.
The journey of repentance that is centered on baptism is an ongoing practice of dying to self and trusting in the new life that Jesus resurrects in our midst.
Matthew 3:13-17
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Ask for More!
A few weeks ago, one of our residents at DHUG brought up a question for me; “Eli, you are a Christian. Help me understand why people keep saying Jesus is God – Jesus is the son of God, not God himself. Plus, he’s not one of the three persons of God anyway!” I promptly asked, “What three persons of God are you thinking of?” The response: “God the Father, God the Spirit, and God the Holy Trinity.” Let’s just say, this made my day!
Talking about the Trinity can be a challenge – to define God as one and three at the same time is complicated at best. Here lies a dominant hurtle for theologians across the ages; most major heresy in the first millennium of the church was centered on rightly believing in the Trinity. Our passage today, Matthew 3:13-17, has some valuable things to say about the importance of knowing and responding to all three persons of God.
You and I are familiar with the story; Jesus is about to begin his ministry and he seeks out John the Baptist to be baptized by him. This is Jesus’ first step in his work: before anything else, there is this moment. John protests, saying he shouldn’t baptize Jesus but be baptized by him instead. Yet what is Jesus’ response? “It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus is saying he must start here, in full surrender to God, before a step of his next three years of ministry can be made. John lowers Jesus into the water and as he rises up we see all three persons of God fully represented and acting in their unique gifts; the submissive Son, the Holy Spirit resting on Jesus in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Father pronouncing that this is his Son in whom he is well pleased.
Now why is this important? As you and I walk through our journey of faith, it is so easy to isolate God’s power to slices of our life. During this Lenten season, you and I may give up something symbolic to help us focus on the Lord. This story in Matthew 3 shows God responding to humanity’s need for redemption with everything! There is no selection process – no holding back a person to respond later. We see the fulness of God in a moment where the Lord’s redemption plan was about to kick into high gear. All of God was needed to respond to our brokenness.
In this season of lent, how are you viewing God? Do you see how God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are ushering you into redemption, reconciled relationship, and rebirth? Are all three invited to respond to your brokenness? When you and I approach the throne room, do we expect all of God to respond? Invite the fullness of God into your story today. Ask for a fulness of the grace of Christ, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Spirit to meet you (2 Cor 13:14). My invitation for us today is ask for more because there is more to be had. Go for it, ask for more!
2 Corinthians 7:1
Therefore dear friends, since we have such promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, completing our sanctification* in the fear of God. HCSB (*spirit, perfecting holiness)
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves of every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. ESV
Paul in his letters to the church of Corinth, calls them friends and thanks them for accepting his tough challenging letters. He is defending his ministry and his status as an apostle to the doubtful minority in the church. Paul is reminding the church once again to repent and draw closer to God. A fear of the Almighty Alpha and Omega produces purity and a longing for his righteousness. Paul wants us to remember and to continue reading scripture, referring back to previous promises the Lord has made. In the previous 4 verses, Paul talks about separation to God and has the question what does light have in common with darkness? What does a believer have in common with a non believer? He calls us to draw near in sanctification. We fall back on his word (past), to clean ourselves up (present), to perfect holiness into completion (future). Let us separate ourselves from the unbelievers and show that we believe in an omnipotent God!
God, I pray we would restore faith in you and mature spiritually. Help us get rid of all sin by the wayside and believe in your majesty, glory, and power. You are a just God, help us be in awe of your holiness and honor you with our actions. May we look back on your Word and remember your promises. Help us see we can only be complete in you Father. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Check out our Advent Devotional from last year at advent.dalehouse.org.