Freedom is Good News Part 66

“Yet I am always with you…” says Asaph in Psalm 73:23.  I really appreciate the way this is stated.  Asaph does not say that God is always with him; but that he is always with God and that makes all the difference.  The one thing we must always keep in mind is that it is not about us, it is always about God!  What do I mean by this?  In the scheme of things universal, we humans are of little import when compared to the greatness, the splendor, the majesty and the awesomeness of the Almighty God we serve.  Our God is supreme, He is sovereign, He has created and rules over a universe that is beyond man’s comprehension.  And yet He allows us to “always be with Him”.

Near the end of our last article, I stated that Asaph “opens up his heart to us in a very humble way” and his statement here continues the humility as he bows before God through the written word of a poem.  Both James and Peter, in their respective letters, tell us that “God gives grace to the humble but resists the proud”.  Asaph is in need of God’s grace and he knows it.  He has allowed his heart to wander into dangerous territory, “But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold, for I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” (73:2&3)  The Psalmist reveals his thoughts and struggles in the first half of the Psalm and then confesses that he did not understand these things “till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.” (Verse 17)  What a beautiful turning point!  True prayer takes us into the very throne room of God.

 “Yet I am always with you…”  Are you always with God?  Is He your first thought in times of trouble and in times of sorrow?  Is He your first thought in times of blessing and in time of joy?  We humans walk through this life as though we were in charge.  Have you ever had the thought “I’ll call upon God when I need Him”, rather than humbly telling your Heavenly Father that you are always with Him?  This short statement by Asaph tells us that he knew God was a God of mercy and compassion. 

The next statement in this Psalm emphasizes that Asaph really knew how beautiful a relationship with God could be, “you hold me by my right hand”.  What is it like for an infant, just learning to walk, to know that Mom or Dad has its hand firmly in theirs?  Sometimes it is just enough to know that someone will hold our hand.  And when we would compare ourselves to the God we serve, we must admit that we are indeed, just learning to walk.  Praise be to God that He is abounding in lovingkindness.

 And yes there still is a lot more to come concerning this 73rd Psalm.  Stay tuned!!

Freedom is Good News Part 43

I live in Elk Horn Iowa and am surrounded by agriculture.  Corn and soybeans are the main crops to be planted.  The cattle are grazing in the fields.  And those with back yard gardens, from year to year, desire to see the “fruit of their labor”!  If you are even a little bit familiar with the Word of God, you know that there are a multitude of references to the planting and growing of food.  People from the time of Adam to the days of Jesus Christ, lived in an agrarian society.  So it should be of no surprise that when Jesus wanted to use a metaphor in His teaching, He drew upon the concept of farming. 

In the 13th chapter of the book of Matthew we find seven parables; one about fishing, one about baking, two about treasures and three about farming.  Let’s take a look at the first of these parables which happens to be about farming.  Starting in verse 3 we read; “Then He told them many things in parables, saying:  ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed….’”  As the farmer scattered his seed we find that there were four specific areas upon which the seed fell and four differing results for harvest.  The seed fell upon the walking path, upon the rocky soil, upon soil with thorny weeds and finally upon good soil.  The results of this scattering were; the birds ate up the seed on the path (no harvest here), the rocky soil produced plants but only for a short time because they could not develop a root system (no harvest here), the thorny soil produced plants but they could not compete with the weeds and they were choked out (no harvest here either), and finally the good soil produced a crop in abundance – some a hundred, some sixty and some thirty times what was sown.

The lesson here in agricultural terms is easy; make sure you plant in the good soil.  But Jesus wasn’t really trying to teach a farming lesson.  He had a larger picture in mind.  This was the first of the “kingdom parables” (“The kingdom of heaven is like …”) and the lesson is about producing fruit for the kingdom of God.

But as I see it, there are two lessons here: first, if you are striving to help others come to see the good news of Jesus Christ; you must take some time to prepare the soil.  Are you being a good example to those around you?  Are you gentle and kind when presenting a biblical thought?  Are you a humble servant of your Savior?  These attitudes, and others, are important when considering a good harvest.

But secondly, there is another aspect to this parable.  When you hear a message about Jesus Christ or when you open your bible to do your own reading or studying, how do you accept what you hear or read?  It really doesn’t matters how long you have been involved with the word of God, because seeds may be planted every day within your heart.  And these every day seeds planted within you may find your heart as hard as a walking path or as shallow as rocky soil.  Today’s lesson might be entangled in the thorns and briars of a busy life.  But if you have prepared your own heart to receive the word of God, perhaps a harvest of joy, peace, righteousness or holiness will reap one hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  Good news indeed!!