Thoughts on Psalm 1

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction. Psalm 1 (NLT)

Psalm 1 tells a story of two different people. Who are these people? They are the righteous and the wicked. This passage gives word pictures to show the differences of the righteous and wicked. Psalm 1 helps you understand the depravity of man and the need for salvation. The blessed man is one who follows after God, the ungodly one is one who follows after the world. This passage clearly defines the one walking with God and the one going to destruction.

Let us look at the ways to have God’s blessing:

- Walk with wise men. The walk describes how a person carries out their entire life, what they do, and where they go.  As followers of Christ, we need to surround ourselves with wise friends in order to make an impact on the lost.

The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. Psalm 14:1

- Saturate your mind with God's Word. The Word of God must encompass your goals. Ask these questions to discover if you are making decisions through the lens of scripture:

Who do I aspire to be in my life? Are my thoughts filled with God's Word? Does my attitude reflect the joy of God?

Do you need a Faith Lift?

2 When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. ² Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, ³ four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. ⁴ They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. ⁵ Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven." ⁶ But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, ⁷ “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” ⁸ Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts?⁹ Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? ¹⁰ So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, ¹¹ “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” ¹² And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!” Mark 2:1-12.

I often hear these statements from students, “I cannot wait to grow up!” or “I cannot wait to receive my license and graduate!” We all face milestones in our lives, whether that is your first steps, bike ride or college graduation. What does a growing faith look like? Is growing in our faith just a class, memorizing scripture, or church attendance?  To have faith in God we must STOP having faith in our own power.

What does growing faith look like?

Growing faith is active (v. 3-4) "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." James 2:17

The four men cared about their friend. They cared more about a person than a building. Jesus did not come to establish a building of people who look, smell and act like each other. He came to set the captives free ! Faith is moving from knowing facts to trusting a person.

Growing faith is believing (v. 5) "Without faith it is impossible to please God" Hebrews 11:6.

Jesus “saw their faith.” Too many people live as practical atheists. They recognize God, even call themselves Christians, but their lifestyle screams that God does not exist. Faith is moving from knowing to doing. They are intimately connected. A growing faith grows from impersonal to personal. It is placing all of who you are into all of who God is. It is surrendering our all into the hands of Jesus.

Growing faith is visible (8-12)

The four men refused to give up hope for their friend! We need to reach out to the world and not get so focused upon ourselves. What you and I do with our life REVEALS who or what we put our faith in. Are we known for our undying and unrelenting faith? Does your faith cost you anything?

God wants to build our faith. The greater the faith, the greater the relationship! 

Break the chains of Bitterness

We will all at certain times be hurt deeply by others, even close friends. If you do not learn to answer the bitterness with forgiveness it can take over your life! We live in a world that celebrates bitterness. How are we supposed to understand bitterness? People who are bitter are victims of their own hate. What does God say about living at peace and not bitterness?

Hebrews 12:14-15, “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

Bitterness is a dangerous root. It is something that is hidden that we can’t see. Bitterness is the root problem that leads to anger, resentment, and hate. It establishes control of our actions, attitudes, emotions and decisions. You are held in bondage to the unresolved hurt.

Bitterness contaminates us by:

• Poisoning our relationships and ourselves. Bitter people are critical and become excited when others hurt.
• Moving us away from God. It erodes the joy in a person’s life.
• Keeping us hostage. Bitterness is one of the main goals of Satan to stop growth in a person’s life. “Love keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Corinthians 13:5) but bitterness keeps a detailed list.

What do we do with bitterness? A lot of times we just kick it aside or stuff it away. It is similar to the frustrating  job of removing weeds in the garden. The "quick fix" is to kick over the top of the weed!  It makes it “look” like the weeds are gone, but quickly they come back! Bitterness is a root so we need to dig up!

How to beat bitterness with forgiveness:

-Admit you are bitter Bitter people do not think they are bitter! You might be held down by bitterness against YOURSELF or a failure. Accept God’s forgiveness!

-Release the baggage! (v.15) Ask God to dig deep into the recesses of our soul to remove the bitterness.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" Matthew 6:14,15.

-Replace with the love of Christ - We must make peace with our past if we want freedom.

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you”. Ephesians 4:31-32

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:13

We must see the deep forgiveness and grace of Jesus in our own lives before we can release the bitterness that is keeping us hostage. Who are you bitter against? will you begin to release the bitterness?

We have two choices to make in response to pain in life: 

Go through the door of bitterness that leads to being held hostage

Go through the door of continual forgiveness that leads to freedom