August 11, 2006 - Psalms 81-83 and Romans 11:19-36
The Lord is saying several different things to us through these psalms and the end of Romans 11. I know that one or more will speak to your heart if you will be sensitive to what He is saying to you. Don't be in too much of a hurry to consider your own life and what is important.
Psalm 81 proclaims that joyful, loud worship of the One and Only Lord is very important. However, Israel decided to follow idols, and many people today follow idols and worship them instead of God. How many people do you know who barely get excited at all about worshiping God, but they are very excited about other things? That is an indication of idolatry. We are worshiping the things that thrill our hearts. Does God thrill you? Can you give Him a joyful shout of worship or does that seem out of place? I urge you to consider your worship of God.
Psalm 82 admonishes us all to consider the poor and needy. We are to defend them and to free them from the hand of the wicked. When is the last time you personally helped a needy person with some money or with your time? Do you realize this is important to the Lord? We must not think we are better than they are, and we must not think we are secure. We could end up in need very quickly. Then, what if others treated us like we have treated the poor? Let us all consider how we can help the poor and needy today.
Psalm 83 proclaims that there are people and nations who desire to destroy Israel once and for all. (v.4) That sounds like the evening news, doesn't it? The psalmist is asking God to defeat these people as He defeated many of their enemies in the past. Is that your prayer, too? Are you concerned with supporting Israel? What have you done to pray for them and to stand up for them? This too is important to God, and we should make it a priority in our lives.
Romans 11 ends with a discussion of grafting wild olive branches into a tree. It is speaking about the Gentiles being saved and about Israel falling away. Why did this happen? It happened because of the unbelief of Israel and the faith of the Gentiles. (v.20) Therefore, if the Jewish people will turn to the Lord in faith, they can be grafted back into the tree. If the Gentiles turn away from God, they can be taken away. That is what happens in history. There will come a day when the last Gentile is saved, because they turn from the Lord. (v.25b) Then, in the Tribulation time the Jewish people will turn back to Jesus. (v.26,27) Therefore, Paul tells us all to consider the goodness and the severity of God. (v.22) We should all do that often, because we tend to forget His goodness and to lessen His severity. Also, we should consider the wisdom and knowledge of God that His ways are past finding out. We must know that we will never be able to comprehend the ways of God fully. Therefore, we should simply believe instead of trying to work out a system of belief that explains everything. Believe the Word of God, even if you can't understand it totally, because it is God's Word.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 84-86 and Romans 12.
Psalm 81 proclaims that joyful, loud worship of the One and Only Lord is very important. However, Israel decided to follow idols, and many people today follow idols and worship them instead of God. How many people do you know who barely get excited at all about worshiping God, but they are very excited about other things? That is an indication of idolatry. We are worshiping the things that thrill our hearts. Does God thrill you? Can you give Him a joyful shout of worship or does that seem out of place? I urge you to consider your worship of God.
Psalm 82 admonishes us all to consider the poor and needy. We are to defend them and to free them from the hand of the wicked. When is the last time you personally helped a needy person with some money or with your time? Do you realize this is important to the Lord? We must not think we are better than they are, and we must not think we are secure. We could end up in need very quickly. Then, what if others treated us like we have treated the poor? Let us all consider how we can help the poor and needy today.
Psalm 83 proclaims that there are people and nations who desire to destroy Israel once and for all. (v.4) That sounds like the evening news, doesn't it? The psalmist is asking God to defeat these people as He defeated many of their enemies in the past. Is that your prayer, too? Are you concerned with supporting Israel? What have you done to pray for them and to stand up for them? This too is important to God, and we should make it a priority in our lives.
Romans 11 ends with a discussion of grafting wild olive branches into a tree. It is speaking about the Gentiles being saved and about Israel falling away. Why did this happen? It happened because of the unbelief of Israel and the faith of the Gentiles. (v.20) Therefore, if the Jewish people will turn to the Lord in faith, they can be grafted back into the tree. If the Gentiles turn away from God, they can be taken away. That is what happens in history. There will come a day when the last Gentile is saved, because they turn from the Lord. (v.25b) Then, in the Tribulation time the Jewish people will turn back to Jesus. (v.26,27) Therefore, Paul tells us all to consider the goodness and the severity of God. (v.22) We should all do that often, because we tend to forget His goodness and to lessen His severity. Also, we should consider the wisdom and knowledge of God that His ways are past finding out. We must know that we will never be able to comprehend the ways of God fully. Therefore, we should simply believe instead of trying to work out a system of belief that explains everything. Believe the Word of God, even if you can't understand it totally, because it is God's Word.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 84-86 and Romans 12.