MEAT FOR MATURITY – DISCIPLESHIP

The Lord makes firm the stepsof the one who delights in him;though he may stumble, he will not fall,for the Lord upholds him with his hand. (Psalms 37:23-24 (NIV)) Our Christian life is a journey, and it comes with many twists and turns and stumbles. We may want God to give us instructions for every step, but he does not do this, nor would he want to. He wants us to learn to trust his invisible hand, which we may not even recognize. Instead of waiting for step-by-step instructions, God would like us to delight in him. This keeps our hearts abiding in him, which he honors with guidance. Then he upholds our steps. Our steps will be “firm”; they will solidly contact the ground and give us a foundation for our next step. We may stumble because of the troubles in the world or because of our lack of Continue Reading →

“But the meek shall inherit the landand delight themselves in abundant peace.” Psalms 37:11 (ESV)Earlier in this Psalm, the psalmist was encouraging readers not to fret over wrongdoers because they “will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb” (v. 2). Instead, if we are patient, God will bless the righteous. It is not the violent or selfish who will eventually inherit the earth, but rather the meek, those who “trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness” (v. 3). This reminds us of Jesus’ words “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:4, ESV). He was saying that when God’s kingdom is fulfilled, the peaceful ones who followed God will rule over the earth; this is the promise of the kingdom of God. Thus, the promise of this Psalm will be fulfilled. We do not need Continue Reading →

“He will bring forth your righteousness as the lightAnd your judgment as the noonday.” Psalms 37:6 (NASB)Our faithfulness to God and his way of virtue often goes unrewarded. At work we may swim against the current and choose honesty and integrity. We might go out of our way to do something extra for someone or help them in their work. We hope that the truth will be known, but if our fellow workers are not followers of God, we might be ignored or even pushed out to the margins. In general, our righteous actions may not be recognized because of the selfishness, resentment, or suspiciousness of others. Humans are naturally self-centered, so we need to accept this with grace. Some people will be oppositional just because you are a Christian. But God promises that one day, probably not until the next age (though the Psalmist probably wasn’t thinking about that), Continue Reading →