Week 5 Devotional Blog (Jan. 27-Feb. 2)

Day 1
Psalm 1

I love Psalm 1... it's a practically helpful Psalm in terms of the categories it creates and the simplicity of 2 different ways to live and walk before God. But even more so than being practically helpful, it's spiritually damning. When we step back from it and actually consider the tow ways of life characterized and the results of each one, it's terrifying.

What's described in v. 1-2 is the blessed life of a man or woman who does not do things I do, and who does do things I don't do. If we're honest, we do follow a lot of the counsel of the wicked by the worldliness exhibited in our lives and our thinking. We do share common ground with other guilty sinners. We do roll our eyes and thumb our noses at the things of God. And we definitely don't lie awake at night or spend our evening with friends recounting the goodness and beauty of God's commands, or getting more deeply acquainted with his laws. Blessed is the man who does these things sounds great, until we realize we are firmly outside of the scope of the description.

Instead, we're among those can't stand before a Holy God without judgement. We are among those who outside the assembly of the righteous. All alone and taken seriously Psalm 1 is rather haunting. But it belongs in the context of the whole Bible. And the truly blessed man of v. 1 is Jesus. He's the only one who matches that description. And the beauty of the gospel is the undeserving unrighteous of v. 5-6, people like us, have freely received the status and benefits of the blessed man in v. 1-2 from Jesus.

Identification with Christ roots us firmly in soil that is watered by a never-ending stream of God's grace, which keeps us alive and well and flourishing. And with our souls continually nourished by his grace, we're actually empowered to take on, more and more, the characteristics of the blessed man described in v. 1-2. The law is given to reveal our need for grace. But grace is given to cover our guilt and provoke what the Law requires but is unable to produce on it's own.
Psalm 1 is about Jesus and the life available to us in and through Jesus.

Day 2
Psalm 2

Psalm 2 is another kind of scary picture at first glance... God laughing at his enemies and pouring out his wrath. But let's remember this is poetic language and imagery, not literal descriptions of what's happening.

Day 3
Psalm 3

Day 4
Psalm 4

Day 5
Psalm 5

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