Psalm_135

Scripture

Psalm 135:6

⁶ The Lord does whatever pleases him,

In the heaves and on the earth…

Observation

Psalm 135 is a call to praise.

“I. It begins with a call to praise God, particularly a call to the “servants of the Lord” to praise him… (v 1-3)

II. It goes on to furnish us with matter for praise.  God is to be praised,

1.     As the God of Jacob (v4).

2.     As the God of gods (v5).

3.     As the God of the whole world (v 6,7).

4.     As a terrible God to the enemies of Israel (v 8-11).

5.     As a gracious God to Israel, both in what he had done for them and what he would do (v 12-14).

6.     As the only living God, all other gods being vanity and a lie (v 15-18).

III. It concludes with another exhortation to all persons concerned to praise God. (v 19-21).

(https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Psa/Psa_135.cfm)

Understanding

God does WHATEVER pleases HIM. 

-        WHATEVER – it may not make sense to us, it may not be what we want, but God does what pleases Him and what works into His greater plan.

-        HIM – God does not do whatever pleases us, He does what pleases Him and, again, what completes His purposes and plans, HIS will.

Life Application

I love that the entire chapter is a call to praise – in good and bad, recognizing God for who He is (whether terrible or gracious).…in ALL things, PRAISE!

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Luke 3:21-22

SCRIPTURE

Luke 3:21-22   When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

 

OBSERVATION 

Jesus became one of us—“fully human in every way”—yet without sin.  He did this so he could be our High Priest and make atonement for our sins.  Jesus was baptized as one of us, not for His sins, but for ours.  

 

UNDERSTANDING

John is preaching a baptism of repentance and all the people are coming to him in the wilderness to be baptized.  And Jesus comes too and is baptized.  Why?  This is a question that has puzzled Christian thinkers going all the way back to the early church.  Why would Jesus, who had no sin, need to be baptized for repentance?  There are many suggested answers, but maybe the best is simply that Jesus was identifying with us. Luke begins Jesus’ baptism by saying, “all the people” were being baptized, and Jesus was baptized too, thus identifying Jesus with all the people.  That’s us.  By allowing John to baptize him, Jesus identified with us.  He had no sin of his own to die for, but he died for ours.  He had no sin of his own to be baptized for, but he was baptized for ours.

• Hebrews 2:17 For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

LIFE APPLICATION 

Thank you Jesus that you loved us so much that you would become like one of us.  Thank you for being my merciful and high priest and for choosing to take on my sins so that I can be made whole again.  Just as you have identified yourself with us I choose to identify myself with you – to live for you and to continue to fulfill what you started when you came to earth.

2 Corinthians 6

Scripture 2 Corinthians 6:16  What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Observation-What does it say?  One of the constant threads seen through the letters to the Corinthians is to separate from the paganism which is so common among the residents of the city.  Earlier in the letter, Paul encourages the Corinthian church to live in the freedom that we have in Christ.  But this freedom does not come without a cost, or without difficulties.  In chapter four verses seven through ten, Paul takes time to reiterate that we will have strength to overcome this affliction in the power provided to us through Christ.  Here in chapter six, we see a cry similar to what Paul charged in Romans 12, to be separate from the world and its troubles.  This is not to say we are to act as elitists, but in humility knowing that what we have is intended to save the world.

Understanding-What does it mean?  I was in Idyllwild on a seven week summer ministry trip one summer.  I was fortunate enough to have a visit from my mom during one of the weekends.  I was excited to show her all the new places I had been, and particularly the bakery that was in town there.  Much to my surprise, she shared with me a special place to her.  I had never known that she had visited Idyllwild as a kid, and been to a Christian summer camp.  As we meandered in the mountains, she pointed out a little white chapel at the camp she had been at and told me that was where she had been baptized.  For a while, I got really wrapped up in these kind of “sacred places”.  Even still, I can get a little wrapped up in sentimentality to a building where something happened in my spiritual life.

However, I still struggle with the way I treat people.  I find myself frustrated with the behaviors of others and want to just tear them apart or just plain leave them behind.  But God’s word tells us that our bodies are the temple (1 Corinthians 6:13), we are all separately part of God’s body (Romans 12:4-8), and that we don’t live for ourselves but for Christ’s purpose (Romans 14:7-8).  So behind every “sacred place,” like a chapel or a church building, lies the thing that is truly important, the people that Jesus died to save from death.

In separating our actions from the actions of the rest of the world, we are putting God’s body on display.  In treating my brothers and sisters with the respect that a temple deserves, it should draw curiosity of the world around me, wondering why I care so deeply for others instead of tearing them down.  So my actions need to display a deeper care for the true temple of God, His children.

Life Application  Jesus, help me to look for ways in which to honor your temple.  Remind me to treat others with the care and respect they deserve.   And when my temper runs short, help me to humble myself and seek forgiveness from my brothers and sisters.  

-Tyler Galloway