1-2 Don't bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
In no time they'll shrivel like grass clippings
and wilt like cut flowers in the sun.
3-4 Get insurance with God and do a good deed,
settle down and stick to your last.
Keep company with God,
get in on the best.
5-6 Open up before God, keep nothing back;
he'll do whatever needs to be done:
He'll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon.
7 Quiet down before God,
be prayerful before him.
Don't bother with those who climb the ladder,
who elbow their way to the top.
8-9 Bridle your anger, trash your wrath,
cool your pipes�it only makes things worse.
Before long the crooks will be bankrupt;
God-investors will soon own the store.
10-11 Before you know it, the wicked will have had it;
you'll stare at his once famous place and�nothing!
Down-to-earth people will move in and take over,
relishing a huge bonanza.
12-13 Bad guys have it in for the good guys,
obsessed with doing them in.
But God isn't losing any sleep; to him
they're a joke with no punch line.
14-15 Bullies brandish their swords,
pull back on their bows with a flourish.
They're out to beat up on the harmless,
or mug that nice man out walking his dog.
A banana peel lands them flat on their faces�
slapstick figures in a moral circus. (The Message)
"If we are satisfied in the enjoyment of God alone, he will liberally bestow upon us all that we shall desire: He will give you the desires of your heart. This does not imply that the godly immediately obtain whatever their fancy may suggest to them; nor would it be for their profit that God should grant them all their vain desires. The meaning simply is, that if we stay our minds wholly upon God, instead of allowing our imaginations like others to roam after idle and frivolous fancies, all other things will be bestowed upon us in due season."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
"The Peril of Self-Deception"
Galatians 6:7-8
7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
These two verses actually go hand-in-hand with vers 6, which we read yesterday, concerning taking care of those who teach us. Everything that we do has a logical end. "Our deed will be repaid." Some people call this "karma," but it's really more than that, especially seeing that we serve a living and active God who is involved in our lives. God rewards those works which his grace has enabled us to perform.
Week 1/Wednesday
"Bankrupt" Romans 3:12
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.
The word bankrupt has no positive connotations to it. The monetary implications are obvious. To say someone is "morally bankrupt" is to say that they are completely lacking of any decent moral qualities.
We are all spiritually bankrupt. Paul declares this, essentially, in Romans 3:12. "No one does good, not even one." Jesus Christ is the only person who does not fit that description. But we declared this "bankruptcy" when we acted on our knowledge that only Jesus could provide us with salvation.
However, many Christians have only declared a sort of "temporary" bankruptcy. Kind of a "chapter 11," if you will. "Having trusted in Christ alone for our salvation, we have subtly and unconsciously reverted to a works relationship with God in our Christian lives."
We need to get back to the idea of declaring "permanent" bankruptcy. Any works that I can do (as referenced in the Tabletalk reading) come only because God's grace has enabled me to do them. I cannot work to pay for my salvation. I cannot pay God back for saving me. In fact, I believe it is an insult to God to even try. If we are doing works because we think we can "make it up" to God, we are in serious error.
I also thank you for the warnings that you give us in Romans, that we will reap what we sow. Help me take these seriously. Let us all be aware that there are consequences for our actions, whether good or bad, especially in the way we handle our money. In that, though, I can be thankful, because you have given me a generous heart, so that I am not stingy with the resources that you have provided.
And finally, I also thank you for giving me the spirit to declare spiritual bankruptcy so that I can be wholly dependent on you for my salvation and my life. There is nothing or no one that I can depend on other than you. Everything else, everyone else, will eventually let me down. But not you. You will never forsake me, never disappoint me, never let me down. Keep me in your hand always.
For President Obama and members of his administration to steadfastly avoid ungodly counsel, keeping their hearts stayed on God�s wisdom and Word.
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.
�Psalm 1:1-2
Almighty God, in Your wisdom, You blessed us with free will � the independence to choose right from wrong. Because of this, Lord, we have a great responsibility to position ourselves to make correct choices by seeking You in prayer, studying and applying Your Word, and spending time with You in worship. Thank you for placing us in a situation, every day, where we need to pursue and find You in order to live a godly life.
God, we now ask You to work in the lives of our President and every member of his administration causing them to earnestly pursue You. Enable them, Lord, to shun advice and dictates that would lead them astray, and inspire them instead to desire Your Word and Your ways, and may that impact how they govern and serve our nation. Make Yourself personally real and relevant to President Obama and his team, in the name of Jesus, amen.
Grace and peace, friends.