Psalm 49 The Message
49 1-2 Listen, everyone, listen—
earth-dwellers, don’t miss this.
All you haves
and have-nots,
All together now: listen.
3-4 I set plainspoken wisdom before you,
my heart-seasoned understandings of life.
I fine-tuned my ear to the sayings of the wise,
I solve life’s riddle with the help of a harp.
5-6 So why should I fear in bad times,
hemmed in by enemy malice,
Shoved around by bullies,
demeaned by the arrogant rich?
7-9 Really! There’s no such thing as self-rescue,
pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
The cost of rescue is beyond our means,
and even then it doesn’t guarantee
Life forever, or insurance
against the Black Hole.
10-11 Anyone can see that the brightest and best die,
wiped out right along with fools and idiots.
They leave all their prowess behind,
move into their new home, The Coffin,
The cemetery their permanent address.
And to think they named counties after themselves!
12 We aren’t immortal. We don’t last long.
Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.
13-15 This is what happens to those who live for the moment,
who only look out for themselves:
Death herds them like sheep straight to hell;
they disappear down the gullet of the grave;
They waste away to nothing—
nothing left but a marker in a cemetery.
But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death,
he reaches down and grabs me.
16-19 So don’t be impressed with those who get rich
and pile up fame and fortune.
They can’t take it with them;
fame and fortune all get left behind.
Just when they think they’ve arrived
and folks praise them because they’ve made good,
They enter the family burial plot
where they’ll never see sunshine again.
20 We aren’t immortal. We don’t last long.
Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.
With or Without God in the World?
For centuries, Western society has benefited from the widespread influence of the Christian faith.
While the history of our World is filled with too many soul chilling examples of human depravity, where there has been a consistent Christian presence it has, in many ways and at many times, with great struggles, stayed the hand of evil.
Most, but not all of us, have not had to experience the full weight of what a society looks like, when it completely and utterly rejects and forgets God.
The Scriptures, however, do give us a decidedly grim picture of what happens when people have convinced themselves and many others that there is no God.
It is a picture of a rejection of humility, where “the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul” and rejects God in pride (Psalm 10:3-4).
Humility is the first place where the knowledge and the wisdom of God begins; therefore, those who reject God in their life reject humility’s place in their life.
Psalm 10:3-4 The Message
3-4 The wicked are windbags,
the swindlers have foul breath.
The wicked snub God,
their noses stuck high in the air.
Their graffiti are scrawled on the walls:
“Catch us if you can!” “God is dead.”
Not only do people reject God; they also revile Him, cursing, renouncing Him declaring God to be dead, buried in an unknown paupers grave (Psalm 10:3-4).
It is often prosperity that leads people to curse God and bury God in the woods.
Their lives are going so well, so perfectly, so perfectly hidden, that they believe nothing can, ever will touch them and they will give no account to their Maker.
Their prosperity gives them a false sense of security.
Psalm 10:10-11 The Message
10-11 The hapless fool is kicked to the ground,
the unlucky victim is brutally axed.
He thinks God has dumped him,
he’s sure that God is indifferent to his plight.
They think they can live as they like, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, He will never see it” (v 11), that there will be no repercussions for their behavior.
Psalm 10:7-9 The Message
7-8 They carry a mouthful of spells,
their tongues spit venom like adders.
They hide behind ordinary people,
then pounce on their victims.
9 They mark the luckless,
then wait like a hunter in a blind;
When the poor wretch wanders too close,
they stab him in the back.
With no accountability for how people live, there is no need for the powerful to serve or the strong to be gentle: we can treat others however we please, so the godless person can behave as if there’s no restraints placed upon their actions.
“tongues that spit venom like adders,” “hide behind ordinary people” “sits in ambush, he murders the innocent, he lurks that he may seize the poor” (v 7-9).
It is with good reason, then, that the psalmist says, “Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.” Psalm 49:20
When we act and behave, reject and revile God, we foolishly think we are secure, which convinces us that it’s acceptable for us to freely mistreat, reject others.
It is tempting to think that passages like this one only describes other people.
But we should not be too quick to look away from ourselves.
Are there ways we have rejected humility, believing ourselves to be sufficient without God?
Have we let our alleged prosperity numb us to our neediness and accountability before God?
Has our “humble” treatment of those around us been marked by self-interest and arrogance instead of love and service?
We may confess to have faith in God, but perhaps there are areas of our lives that require an intensely rigorous and vigorous Psalm 51 brand of repentance.
The picture of man “in the fullness of his pomp yet without understanding” is indeed a grievously and tragically bleak one—both in this life and at its end.
So perhaps it is the perfect time to praise God that this is not the whole picture.
Psalm 49:13-15 The Message
13-15 This is what happens to those who live for the moment,
who only look out for themselves:
Death herds them like sheep straight to hell;
they disappear down the gullet of the grave;
They waste away to nothing—
nothing left but a marker in a cemetery.
But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death,
he reaches down and grabs me.
If you and I can reach a place of understanding that we have a Creator to whom we are valuable and accountable, and that that Creator has ransomed your soul and will receive you into eternal life (Psalm 49:15), then the pomp of this world will assume its proper place, and in Jesus Christ you and I will arrive at a place where we can enjoy a purpose, hope, forgiveness, and pleasures forevermore.
Depending on our own personal relationship with God, today’s Psalm 49 will either be the aroma of life, or the stench of death to you (2 Corinthians 2:14-16).
With or Without the Christ in the World?
Psalm 49:5-9 English Standard Version
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7 Truly no man can ransom another,
or give to God the price of his life,
8 for the ransom of their life is costly
and can never suffice,
9 that he should live on forever
and never see the pit.
We will either read Psalm 49 and have our soul refreshed, comforted, and filled with joy and hope; or we will read this Psalm 49 and it will fully expose our pride our delusions and our illusions of self-sufficiency, which will cause our soul to become embittered, angry, and insulted – in which case we wont read Psalm 49.
For those of us who respond to God’s summons to repent of our sins and fully trust in Jesus for this life and the next, this Psalm 49 is another beautiful and comforting reminder of God’s love and faithfulness to us because of His Son.
Mark 10:35-45 English Standard Version
The Request of James and John
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,[a] 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave[b] of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Philippians 2:5-11 English Standard Version
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Because I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God who willingly disrobed Himself of His glory in Heaven where He was perfectly worshiped, honored, and obeyed;
That because Jesus came to earth in sackcloth and ashes (skin and bones);
to pay the high cost of the ransom for my soul drenched in sin, which I could not pay, nor hope to pray, by suffering the punishment I justly deserve from God Almighty, and dying the second death (spiritual) that my sins earned me,
yet because He alone is God, had the power to raise Himself from the dead,
so I would only die the first death (bodily), and in Him, would never die the second death, but have been freed, raised to live the resurrected life now and forevermore,
the entirety of this Psalm 49 becomes nothing but the truest and purest salve for my Christ upon the Cross, fully ransomed soul and a joy to my innermost being!
I pray it is the same for all who read this.
With or Without The Leading of the Holy Spirit
Romans 8:12-14 The Message
12-14 So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!
Where do you and I need leadership in our lives?
What challenge, decision, or circumstance is weighing on you and me?
Where do you and I need a timely word from God today?
We have available to us the most perfect guide to lead us throughout the twists, turns, and challenges of this adventurous life.
The Apostle Paul writes these words of wisdom to the followers in Romans 8:14, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
As beloved children of the Most High God, we are each granted full access to the leadership of the Holy Spirit who richly makes His home in us, dwells within us.
No child of God is exempt from the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
We do not earn access by our own merit.
We do not gain more favor to receive more leadership.
God gave us all the gift of the Holy Spirit because God loves us (John 3:16-17).
God has filled us with His Holy Spirit because God longs to lead us into the abundant life He alone has planned for us from the beginning of time.
So, let’s start learning today how we might better explore, discover and follow this gift of leadership we’ve all been granted through Christ in the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:16-18 The Message
16-18 My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are contrary to each other, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?
First, it’s crucial to acknowledge that the Holy Spirit and the word work perfectly together.
One does not contradict the other.
Both the Holy Spirit, the word He inspired are vital in living the Christian life.
And God’s Word says in Galatians 5:16-18,
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
The leadership of the Spirit is in direct opposition to the lifestyle of the world.
His desire is always to lead us away from the weight of sin that entangles us in the perspectives and pressures of the world toward a lifestyle of peace, joy, and intimate relationship with our heavenly Father.
All of His leadership is directed, purposed, toward one and singular the goal of abundant life in God, of the fullness of satisfaction in God rather than the weak, fleeting, prideful, ultimately self defeating pleasures in the things of the world.
With or Without God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit
John 16:12-15 The Message
12-15 “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘He takes from me and delivers to you.’
John 16:13 says, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
The Holy Spirit is indescribably excited to speak to you and me what He hears from the heavenly Father.
He longs to declare to you and me God’s plans to love you and me, provide for you and me, heal you and me, transform you and me, and deliver you and me.
He longs to lead you and me to the fullness of life available to you and me here.
Spend time getting to know the Holy Spirit in the secret place today.
As you and I pray today, let us ask God to reveal himself to you and me.
Spend time in prayer resting in the maximum presence of the God who dwells within you and me, who is nearer to us than the very ground beneath our feet.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Guided Prayer:
1. Meditate on God’s desire to lead you into abundant life.
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” > Romans 8:14
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” > John 10:10
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal himself to you.
Spend time learning about who Holy Spirit is.
Ask Him to speak to you and to reveal the way His leadership feels.
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” Romans 8:16
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” > John 16:13
“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’” Acts 13:2
“For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements.” Acts 15:28
3. Open up your life to the Holy Spirit.
Ask Him to reveal to you things He wants to lead you away from.
Ask Him to show you the life He wants to lead you to.
And commit to following His leadership today.
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” > Galatians 5:16-18
When you and I have opportunities to indulge in the flesh, choose life in the Spirit instead.
When you and I feel a desire to avenge ourselves, promote ourselves, slander ourselves or someone else, or engage in an obviously sinful activity, please do choose life in God, the Father, in God the Son and in God the Holy Spirit instead.
Choose to love God and others.
Live in step with the Spirit!
Explore and discover the amazing life He longs to guide us all into today.
Dear ABBA, my true Father, I come to you today asking for guidance. I feel lost and overwhelmed, and I need your help in finding my way. Please open my eyes and heart to the direction you want me to take. Help me to make wise decisions that will lead me closer to your path for my life. Give me the strength and courage to persevere when times are difficult. Lead me with your truth and love, so that I may live a life that brings glory to your name. Thank you for your guidance and protection. Amen.
Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 