don’t forget

Posted on March 20, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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don’t forget

Psalm 50:22-23 (JDV)

Psalm 50:22 “Understand this, you who forget God, or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to rescue you.
Psalm 50:23 Whoever sacrifices a thank offering appreciates me, and whoever orders his conduct, I will show him the deliverance of God.”

don’t forget

Usually my mind is sharp, and I can remember most of the things I have learned, but I don’t remember things I have experienced. But I always remember people and their names usually come to mind when I see them.

When the psalmist talks about people who forget God, he’s referring to those who choose to forget him. There are lots of people today who know something about the God of the Bible, but who choose to live their lives as if he weren’t there.

There are two ways the psalmist gives in which a person can acknowledge God’s existence in his or her life. First, it is by worship. The thank offering was a means of worship for the Israelites. When was the last time you worshiped God?

The second way is what the psalmist calls ordering one’s conduct. This is a real tell. A person who has chosen to forget God lives a seesaw life — good and bad constantly fighting for dominance. Such a person is not all bad, but does not seem to have enough control of his or her life to be constant. Conduct is unpredictable.

Lord, we know you are there. Help us to remind ourselves by faithfully worshiping you, and to conduct our lives by means of your truth consistently.

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are we hypocrites?

Posted on March 19, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

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are we hypocrites?

Psalm 50:16-21 (JDV)

Psalm 50:16 But God says to the wicked: “What right do you have to recite my prescriptions and to take my covenant on your lips?
Psalm 50:17 You hate instruction and toss my words behind you.
Psalm 50:18 When you see a thief, you make friends with him, and you partner with adulterers.
Psalm 50:19 You send your mouth to speak evil and harness your tongue for lying.
Psalm 50:20 You sit, maligning your brother, slandering your mother’s son.
Psalm 50:21 You have done these things, and I kept quiet; you thought I was just like you. But I will rebuke you and lay out the case before you.

are we hypocrites?

The Lord who is coming will rescue those who sincerely trust and obey him. But he will expose those who pretend to follow him while living in wickedness. This time in which we live he mostly keeps quiet, but that often makes the wicked grow bolder.

We should examine ourselves against these words describing an unbeliever who pretends.

  • We should check our attitude towards God’s word. Are we seeking his correction, or do we just wear it like an ornamental necklace?
  • Who do we choose to partner with? Are they living the godly life we profess? [And please don’t tell me that you are just their friend so you can witness to them. Is that the case, or does their lifestyle actually draw you.]
  • We should check what we say. Our words reflect our character. How we choose to communicate declares our loyalty.

Lord, we need your changing grace. Deliver us from the hypocrisy that is making us unprepared for your return.

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what God will not do

Posted on March 18, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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what God will not do

Psalm 50:7-15 (JDV)

Psalm 50:7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak; I will testify against you, Israel. I am God, your God.
Psalm 50:8 I do not rebuke you because of your sacrifices or because of your burnt offerings, which are continually before me.
Psalm 50:9 I will not take a bull from your household or male goats from your pens,
Psalm 50:10 because every animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.
Psalm 50:11 I know every bird of the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.
Psalm 50:12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, because the world and everything in it is mine.
Psalm 50:13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
Psalm 50:14 Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and pay your vows to the Most High.
Psalm 50:15 Call on me in a day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will appreciate me.”

what God will not do

The psalmist sounds like a prophet here, echoing the voice of God and reacting to something going on in the lives of his people. He is not discouraging the sacrificial system here as much as he is answering an excuse that seems to be prevalent at his time. The excuse probably went like this: “We have starved God by not giving him enough sacrifices, so now he ignores us. We might as well seek religion elsewhere.”

But the voice of God thunders from the psalm: “That is not the case!” He challenges his people to test him by staying true to their covenant vows, and then they will see his rescue. They will experience his presence.

But God will not force himself on a people who reject his counsel. If they refuse to cooperate with his purpose, he’s not going to raid their barns for bulls and goats. If they want to rest on their excuses instead of trusting in him, he will let them do just that.

Christian, you and I made vows to the Lord when he saved us from sin by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. His word to us today is the same. He wants us to pay our vows and we will see his rescue.

Lord, we will do as Christ commands. We trust you to do what we cannot.

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he judges us

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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he judges us

Psalm 50:4-6 (JDV)

Psalm 50:4 On high, he summons the sky and the land in order to judge his people:
Psalm 50:5 “Gather my faithful ones to me, those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
Psalm 50:6 The skies proclaim his righteousness, because God is the Judge. Selah

he judges us

God’s judgment over his people includes more than just punishing them for rebellion. Sometimes God judges like the judges in the Old Testament period before the kings. He judges by delivering. Sometimes a judge finds for the defendant. Sometimes he or she rules against the defendant.

It is that case with God’s righteous rule over us as well. If we have chosen to follow Christ, we have agreed to be faithfully obedient to his new covenant. Our Lord will hold us responsible for obeying his covenant commands. Our obedience cannot earn us a place in his kingdom, but it can help usher others into it, because it is our witness to his gospel.

Lord, thank you for judging us in your righteousness.

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radiance, fire and storm

Posted on March 16, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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radiance, fire and storm

Psalm 50:1-3 (JDV)

Psalm 50:1[1] The God of gods, Yahveh, speaks; he summons the land from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Psalm 50:2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God appears in radiance.
Psalm 50:3 Our God is coming; he will not be silent! Devouring fire precedes him, and a storm rages around him.

radiance, fire and storm

Do you really want to see God? My guess is, probably not. If you have ever seen such beauty that your breath stops, that’s is what he looks like. But there’s more. Have you ever been afraid of a raging fire, wondering if it was going to turn into your path, knowing that you would not be able to escape its destruction. Have you ever been in a storm so ferocious you wondered if it was going to sweep you away, with no place of refuge from its power? All of those images describe the presence of the God of the Bible.

For years, God’s people had been praying for him to show up. But the psalmist gently reminded them here that they might not be ready for what happens to them when he does.

Lord, build in us an appreciation for who you are. We long for your presence, but we want to be ready for you when you appear.

[1] Superscription: A psalm of Asaph.

 

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honor is not enough

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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honor is not enough

Psalm 49:16-20 (JDV)

Psalm 49:16 Do not be afraid when a person gets rich, when the wealth of his house increases
Psalm 49:17 because when he dies, he will take nothing at all; his wealth will not follow him down.
Psalm 49:18 Though he empowers himself during his lifetime – and you are praised when you do well for yourself –
Psalm 49:19 he will go to the generation of his fathers; they will never see the light.
Psalm 49:20 Adam, with his honor but without understanding, is like the animals that perish.

honor is not enough

This psalm concludes with a warning to believers to not fear when those unbelievers around them start to gain praise and honor. The tendency is to ask yourself what you are doing wrong if the same honor and praise is not coming to you. The first two sections of the psalm declared that riches and wisdom are not enough, since everyone dies in the end. Now, the psalmist says the same thing about honor. It is fleeting, because we are mortal.

Just keep in mind that everyone in this life is temporary, and you will be able to rejoice when anyone achieves anything. But remember that the best wealth, wisdom, praise and honor is yet to come. Our status in this life does not count, because it will not last.

Lord, thank you for a significance in Christ that will outlast our present status, whatever it is.

 

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death will shepherd them

Posted on March 14, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

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death will shepherd them

Psalm 49:13-15 (JDV)

Psalm 49:13 This is the way of those who are arrogant, and of their followers, who approve of their words. Selah

Psalm 49:14 Like sheep they are headed for Sheol; Death will shepherd them. Those still standing will rule over them in the morning, and their image will rot in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.

Psalm 49:15 But God will redeem me from the power of Sheol, because he will accept me. Selah

death will shepherd them

We have been looking at this psalm over the past few days. Like Psalm 23, it uses shepherd and sheep imagery. But the Lord is not the shepherd, and the psalmist is not the sheep.

The sheep are the enemies of the psalmist. They are being led to Sheol by Death itself.

Sheol is the Old Testament Hebrew word for the state of being dead. The Bible describes Sheol as a dark, silent place where the dead sleep until the resurrection.

Everyone goes to Sheol, and the psalmist does not deny that. But he believes that he will be redeemed from its power. The only way to be redeemed from Sheol is resurrection.

Here again, we see hints of the gospel of a resurrection at the last day, in which the redeemed will be finally set free from death.

But that is not true of the wicked. They follow death as sheep following a shepherd all their lives. They too will be raised from Sheol by Christ, but they will not be redeemed from its power. Their fate is the second death, from which there is no resurrection.

Brother, make sure you follow the right shepherd. Sister, don’t follow the crowd. Broad is the path that leads to destruction, and many follow that path in this life. This life can be deceiving, because the first death is inevitable for everyone. But the power of Sheol has been conquered by our shepherd.

Lord, we choose to put our trust in you, and follow you to permanent life. Keep our feet from following the wrong shepherd.

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not wise enough

Posted on March 13, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

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not wise enough

Psalm 49:10-12 (JDV)

Psalm 49:10 You see, one can realize that the wise die; the foolish and stupid also pass away. Then they leave their wealth to others.
Psalm 49:11 Their graves are their permanent homes, their dwellings from generation to generation, though they have named estates after themselves.
Psalm 49:12 But despite his assets, Adam will not last; he is like the animals that perish.

not wise enough

In yesterday’s section, we found that mortality touches everyone. Even the rich among us cannot buy their way out of the grave. Today, we see that wisdom fares no better as a means of escaping death.

Wisdom can increase our chance of staying alive a little longer. It is not wise to test God by doing things that are unsafe. But even if you were to be wise in all your ways, there is still a tombstone with your name on it.

We die in this age because of the rebellion of our ancestors in Eden. The fall in the garden has already happened, so we cannot prevent it. No one is wise enough to erase the judgment of Eden.

Since Adam will not last, the wise and stupid of this age have only one chance of permanent life. We can trust in the second Adam— the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord, we choose to believe in you, and not to trust in our own wisdom.

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not rich enough

Posted on March 12, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

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not rich enough

Psalm 49:5-9 (JDV)

Psalm 49:5 Why should I fear in times of trouble? The violation of my foes surrounds me.
Psalm 49:6 They trust in their wealth and boast of their abundant riches.
Psalm 49:7 Yet these cannot redeem a person or pay his ransom to God –
Psalm 49:8 since the price of redeeming him is too costly, one should stop trying permanently –
Psalm 49:9 so that he may live perpetually and not see the Pit.

not rich enough

The warning to the rich here is that they are not rich enough to do something that really matters. Think about it. Even the super rich have a date with the pit. They are headed to the grave and all the money in the world cannot stop that destiny.

Jesus offers a new life— a permanent life beginning at the resurrection. But he will not be bribed. Everyone coming to him has the same need— a need only he can supply.

Thank you Jesus for offering eternal life for all of us.

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financial peace begins here

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

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financial peace begins here

Psalm 49:1-4 (JDV)

Psalm 49:1 Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who inhabit this lifetime,
Psalm 49:2 both low and high, rich and poor together.
Psalm 49:3 My mouth speaks wisdom; my heart’s meditation brings understanding.
Psalm 49:4 I turn my ear to a proverb; I explain my riddle accompanied by a lyre.

financial peace begins here

The psalm as a whole warns people that wealth is not enough. When it comes down to the important things in life: happiness, wisdom, health, and life itself, riches will not secure any of those things.

The rich need to know that wisdom, because they are in danger of trusting in their wealth, which is misplaced trust.

The poor need to know that wisdom, because they are in danger of wasting their lives in pursuit of wealth, and missing out on real blessing in life.

Lord, thank you for what you are providing us. May we always have the wisdom to trust you more than your provision.

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