1 Peter 2:4-12

We, as Christ-followers, are a holy priesthood and are servants of Him.  He is changing us and molding us all the time, which is awesome.  He also is letting us work for Him in this world that is so out-of-whack.  With this in mind - we are to be waging war against ourselves and letting Him lead us in what should change.

1 Peter 2:1-3

I don't want to sound like a broken record - but I am not sure who is reading this so I need to be sure to communicate this well.  We need to change!  We, because of the grace that covers all sin and every evil thing, need to walk with Him and let Him lead us.  This does not give us more grace or more salvation, but is just the right response to a gift in this way.  One must never miss this in all these books.  So, when Peter tells us to rid ourselves of all evil, malice, etc he is not doing so to help us "be better before God" or to act a certain way for the sake of our reputations.  He wants us to be free because we are.  He wants us to stop doing these things because they rob others of joy and do not show grace to others.

Let me tell it a different way.  Perhaps you have read Matthew 18:21-35, but if not, please read it really quickly. Now do you see what I am talking about?  God gave us grace, so our lives should be in such a way that we show grace to others - that would eliminate most malice in our lives.  Because God forgave us and gave us grace, we must not rob others of the joy He can give them too.  And now, we bear the mark; we are ambassadors; we are servants of Him and must live like it.

1 Peter 1:13-25

Here's the crazy thing about grace: it changes everything.  This is what Peter is saying.  Once we know about it, we can't live the same way.  We are ignorant and foolish in our sinful lives.  We do what we want, are prideful, mistaken and, well, broken.  We know we need more, but we just search for it more and more.  We look for happiness in all the wrong places and we grow in our foolishness.  Then we find the answer, are filled and fixed - given a chance to live hopeful and peaceful lives.  With this we cannot stay the same.  Therefore grace is free but costs us our whole lives.  Now we need to live differently, holy - as He is.  We give up our hopes, dreams and lives and He gives us them back, renewed and different.  Our hopes and dreams may be the same, but with a new focus and purpose.  Surrender to Him all that you have and see what God is going to do.

1 Peter 1:3-12

There is no excuse - a Christian cannot be without joy.  Even trials cannot take away the joy and experience that our savior, Jesus Christ, came, lived, died and rose again for us all - and this is personal to you and I (if you believe)!  This is something that surprises me.  There are so many who act as if this life is all there is.  They act as if everything is crushing them and making them collapse.  We have a hope that is bigger than this.  We have a promise that sustains it all.  Live out this promise today!

1 Peter 1:1-2

This is a typical beginning to a letter where the recipients have been scattered and are now living far from where they originate.  Peter is using this method, which shows he is speaking of Jews in other lands, specifically Asia Minor, and helping them along in their faith.  This is similar to Paul’s mission – only Paul was more mindful of the Gentile (not of Jewish descent) believers, while Peter was more mindful of those that were Jewish in blood (circumcised, living by the law, etc) and possibly were Jewish in faith as well.

One thing that can be hard to understand, but something that will help with understanding the Bible is that there are two ways in which one can be “Jewish.”  Most of the time, in the New Testament, when one is called “Jewish” it means that they have Abraham to claim as their “father.”  This means that they can trace their lineage to him and therefore are a member of God’s chosen nation – Israel – by blood and birthright.  

This means that they harbor a long history of rebellion and disbelief with God, followed by periods of following Him and getting things together and growing in their deep faith of Him.  This is partly due to the name, Israel, which means, literally, “wrestles with God.”  Moses was Jewish, as was virtually everyone in the Old Testament worth writing about (btw – who are some non-Jewish heroes?).  As a people, they also believe, as they were told, that the Messiah would be from their people.  We as Christians believe He has already come, Jesus, and has freed this world from its normal pattern.  Amen.  Also, this means one can be “Jewish” (bloodline) and not believe in God at all – as the nation of Israel today is secular.  Claiming to be Jewish (or Israeli) is no different from us saying, “I am American” (or German, Irish, Tutu, Chinese, etc).  When I say, “American” I do not consider that to be a religious statement – so we have to figure out which one is being given to us.  Is the person talking about a people group…

Or a religious group, which is the second meaning.  You could say you are Jewish and this means that you actually believe the Jewish faith.  You read the Tanakh (Jewish Scripture – basically our Old Testament), follow the law, practice the feasts and celebrations and mourn that the Messiah hasn’t come along with the destruction of the temple.  A person who is Jewish does not believe that Jesus is the Messiah and a whole host of other things.  If you hear someone say, “I am a Messianic Jew” that means they believe that Jesus is Messiah and are 1)following Him while being of Jewish descent and/or 2)are still practicing many Jewish customs within the freedom Christ has afforded through His blood.

Now that you are thoroughly bored or confused – which “Jewish” people is Peter writing to?  For one, they are “The Chosen” which shows that they, in Peter’s writings, believe that Jesus is Messiah.  They are Messianic Jews of some kind.  We also see this by Peter’s statement – “grace and peace to you” as they are now free from the law and are saved by grace, not works.  What gives you your salvation?  Do you trust that being good will get you in?  Sorry, this is not how it works.  We must fall into the arms of Him who died on our behalf.  Grace and peace to you – and more to come in the days ahead as we dive into Peter’s letter to the scattered.

1 John 5:13-21

This is basically the conclusion of the letter John has written.  Much of the same material we have read before comes out again.  We have eternal life - God hears us when we pray.  One of the things I have been struggling with recently is the "according to His will" part.  This is an ongoing struggle in my life and mind for years now.  How do you read it?  What do that mean to you?

Some of us run to "what is the will of God?" and others of us use it as an easy answer when things don't go our way.  Have you ever had something you really wanted not happen?  Did you pray about it?  Did it comfort you to know it "wasn't in His will?"  I don't know that it helps that much.  However, I do know that those who have a close relationship with God (see earlier posts) have a better sense of understanding these things.  We should be chasing after this - and let the rest just happen.  How great would it be to pray and know what God wants to do?  (btw - come to Districts this year cause we are talking about this stuff)?  I want that - so I am chasing after God in this amazing relationship with Him.

Oh, and keep yourselves from idols.  This seems an odd ending, don't you think?

1 John 5:1-12

What if I told you that following God brings life?  Many of us think that God is going to destroy our lives and make things different.  Somehow we believe that change is the worst thing - or that our lives are just fine as they are.

At least one implication I see in this passage is that we are meant to change - and to have real life!  Verses 11-12 here show us that Jesus alone gives life - eternal life.  The earlier verses show us what aspects of life Jesus affects - all of them!  Jesus came, lived and showed us how so that we might really live and have it to the full.  It is not change for the sake of changing or different so that we can be weird.  It is these things because we are broken, ruined vessels that bear His image and need to be redeemed into what He wants.  It is our redemption that leads us to change - that leads us to love.  How are you living your redemption on a daily basis?

1 John 4:7-21

As I read this passage, I see two things that help define a true believer in Christ: 1)the love that a believer has for God and others and 2)a dependence upon the Holy Spirit.  God loved us – He gave His son as a sacrifice and gives the Holy Spirit to those that believe in His Son.  Now because of His love, we love Him and therefore love one another.  This should be the thing that separates Christians from the world: our love.  Let me ask: How loving are you?  How dependent on the Holy Spirit are you?

1 John 4:1-6

Test every spirit (and I might add test everything!) seems like a fair request both then and now.  We want to follow the truth – we need to follow the truth.  One surefire way to know that a spirit is trustworthy is that they confirm that Jesus Christ came in the flesh.  Wow, this might eliminate a whole slew of pastors and perhaps entire churches today.  John, pulling from what he was saying earlier in this book, says that since he was there and knew Jesus and saw Him, that we must trust those coming with the same message.  Interesting and important for us to note.  Follow those who believe Jesus was real.  As I have said before, this would be assumed by many hopefully (as the word, “Christian” does have “Christ” in it) but this is not the case.  Be careful, test things and trust those who stand by Jesus the Christ and not some other counterfeit deity.  He will always overcome!

1 John 3:11-24

There is a tremendous truth in Scripture that you have to see to believe – and you have to live it to really understand it.  This truth is the “inflow-overflow” principle.  Bill Allison from Cadre Ministries recently taught it to a group of us youth pastors and it was very helpful.  The idea is that as we spend time in relationship with God and soak in who He is (inflow) that we can’t help but give out of Him from the tremendous love He has (overflow).  We act like Christians, honestly, not because of obligation or rules but because we were first loved.  Do you see this principle being acted and lived out in this passage by John?  I think we all miss this – and it is a shame!  We must not merely do things for the sake of doing them, but we must spend time with our loving Heavenly Father and as we get to know Him, we just are what we are to be.  Many of us don’t like prayer for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it feels like an obligation – but it is meant to be from the overflow of what God is already doing in us.  We are not strong people – we are not meant to be strong emotionally, physically, mentally or spiritually – at least not how our society sees it!  So many shows, books, counselors, etc. today will talk about personal strength and empowerment.  This is simply not true.  We are not meant to be strong in ourselves.  The Bible is full of people who mess up because they are strong in themselves.  The ones who succeed in the Bible – the ones who are the “heroes of the faith” die to themselves and let God have control.  It is in this surrender that strength is found.  It is in this surrender that we are filled (inflow) and have the strength to overcome all this life has to throw at us (overflow).

1 John 3:1-10

What does knowing Christ compel you to do?  The disciples started a journey with Jesus by His calling them, “Come, follow me,” He said and they did.  They began as a bickering petty group of men who thought He was going to bring a new kingdom – many of them thought He would make them His officials in this new kingdom.  They marveled at His words and miracles.  They wanted Him to do more.  Yet the whole time, as they got to know Him, they were changing and didn’t even realize it.  They declared He was the Christ.  They began to carry out miracles in His name.  They shared the message of Jesus, baptized others and began to change inside.  After His death and resurrection, they hid and waited (He sort of told them to do this).  The Counselor (Holy Spirit) came and they were never the same – preaching, healing, changing cities and people around them.  Where did all of this come from?  Well, here we see a little of where this came from – they knew Him and that changed them.

Does knowing Jesus change you?  Does following Him impact those around you in a positive way?  Does it compel you to stop sinning?  Does His glory make you pause and live differently?  Perhaps if not, you need to really get to know Him.  I would start by going back and reading Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  Get to know Him, the living Word and good news.  Then let’s see if we change.  After all, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Oh, and no one comes to the Father but by Him.  Perhaps we should know how to get there and be changed in the process.

1 John 2:28-29

Yes, many of us moan and groan about how hard it is to live the Christian life, don’t we?  We often feel like failures and sometimes even avoid church so that we don’t feel judged (even if no one in church is judging us!).  Yet, the only conviction we are meant to feel is that from the Holy Spirit – and all He wants is for us to obey what He lays on our hearts.  We are to have a relationship with God – and then live in the overflow of that relationship.  God fills us up with life and holiness so that we may spread that truth and pass the message on!  Why must we do this?  This passage tells us – because He is coming again.  We would hate to be running away from Him as He comes in power, wouldn’t we?  He is returning, one day, and our goal for living correctly and for following Him is to be near Him when He returns.  I could spend some time here riffing about how “the sheep will know” his voice and that we need to live rightly because then that will help us know the real Him when He returns.  Secondly, John tells us again that he who lives correctly (righteously) is of Him because He is righteousness.  I think this is very cool – hopefully you do too!

1 John 2:18-27

Just a quick thought on the holiday weekend, “How is your faith shown to be true and not counterfeit?

1 John 2:15-17

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving!  What are you thankful for?  Spend some time just focusing on your reasons for thankfulness before you begin to study this morning.

“This world has nothing for me… I will follow you.”  I was listening to a worship CD for the first time and a new song came on that I had never heard.  It was by Desperation Band and the song is called “Rescue.”  The tag was moving and was causing me to tear up a bit as I learned it, then I found myself singing it loudly with the band (even though they were on a CD).  I was in my car, so it was okay that I was doing this – and I was alone!  However, the words were moving and caused me to sing them to God in an act of worship.  Has this ever happened to you?  I think this happens a lot and many of us sing something that we hear.  Unfortunately, I have sung lyrics too many times and not meant what I said at all.  Have you ever done this?  “I Surrender All” has been uttered by these lips while my heart certainly was not about to surrender some of the bad thoughts I was having.  “Hungry” was harmonized by me and made to be beautiful while I desperately wanted to leave the room I was in – and avoid God, all while saying I couldn’t get enough of Him.  I think this happens to us all.

John, here in this passage, calls us to hate the world and love the Father.  As Desperation Band calls us to believe that this world is empty compared to following God, this passage seems to be their inspiration.  God is everything, or at least should be – yet we dabble with this religion thing and enjoy all the pleasures of this planet all the while.  What are your biggest struggles that you deal with?  We all have them, but  often our struggles are because we put this world first.  Sometimes its money, sometimes its fame or popularity that we struggle with.  Other times it might be a need for a relationship.  Still other times it is just that we don’t want to follow God because that seems lame.  I know you have been there, or might even be there right now.  I have many times – and it has left me empty.  Even with all the good things in my life (Heidi, the girls, our house, the stuff we have – Finn) I know now that God is the best thing for me.  Even if everything in this life faded away (like Job’s situation), I know that I will carry on and that God will still and still should be praised by me.  This world truly has nothing for me – I am but a sojourner and a tenant on this earth in what He has provided.  Join me there.

1 John 2:1-14

There is a tremendous truth found in verse 6.  In case you missed it, here is the verse again, “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”  Wow – as I mentioned yesterday, salvation leads to life-change.  How could it not?  Jesus died and rose again that we might have life eternal and he LIVED that we might learn to live rightly.

We are meant to walk with God (like Enoch – Gen. 5:24) and therefore we must follow Jesus’ example.  How can someone call themselves a Christian and not actually act like Jesus?  John’s point is that they can’t (btw – the name “Christian” means “little Christ”).  He thinks that because we are forgiven, we are now free to NOT sin!  What a thought and a refreshing way to look at this life!  What do you think?  What can we pray for you about?

1 John 1:5-10

I so often hear things from you guys about “I thought grace was free,” etc, etc, etc.  Grace is free, no questions ask – but it costs us everything!  Let’s think really quickly through what salvation is – it is an acceptance of wrong-doing (sin), a need for hope (salvation), an acceptance of a gift (sacrifice) and an acknowledgment that you will not be the same (due to freedom).  You were once prone to do bad, but now you are eager to do good – our freedom should free us from darkness and make us yearn for the light.  It is this yearning for the light that many of us miss out on.  We think it is a gift that will not affect us going forward, but how can you – in saying that you are sinful – not desire to change?  Change is the next logical step in the process, so salvation is free but costs us everything.  Or look at it this way – I woke up this morning and looked in the mirror.  I was disturbed by the matter of my hair, face, etc. in the morning.  I am a wreck.  Upon accepting this fact, I would like to take a shower and start the day off freshly.  Therefore my acknowledgment of my condition will lead me to further action.  You do this all the time (friends are mad – you make amends, parents need help – you get up and help) without even thinking often.  However, when it comes to our faith world (the most important part of our lives and world) we want a free ride now.  We have cheapened salvation.

John is point this out by saying that we must walk in the light.  If you claim to have fellowship with God, you must walk out of the dark and into the light – you can’t be the same!  If you don’t do this, you are deceiving yourself.  Sad, but true.  This changes our fellowship with Him and with each other (what was the greatest commandment again?) and the harmony we are all looking for is found.  So, what will it be?

John does not stop there, though.  He also points out that we must actually be in the light, but this does not mean trying to convince everyone we are without sin.  We are still messed up – as we will likely always be on this planet considering our condition.  However, we must confess and repent this sin and continue to walk in the light.  This is a practice I would love to see us adopt more so.  Imagine if we all confessed and moved forward openly to change and to have Him lead us to the truth!  Man, our lives would be different and our group would be amazing.  Let us yearn for this and then make it happen!

1 John 1:1-4

I know a lot of us have looked at Scripture and doubted it.  In some cases this may be the most logical choice – I mean who can believe at first glance some of the things that are written?  We have crazy visions and thoughts from some people who today would seem really crazy (John the Baptist and Ezekiel).  So obviously this sets us back a bit and makes it hard to totally understand what is happening and ultimately, it makes portions of Scripture unbelievable.  I could go into the whole “this wisdom is foolishness to everyone else” deal, but I won’t, not this morning.

I want you to see how huge this passage is for our theology of Jesus (Christology) and for our overall understanding of the Bible itself.  While some of it seems unbelievable (it isn’t, but you understand), this passage and much of the book of 1 John is hardly unbelievable.  In fact, there is little to nothing that will be hard to follow and understand in this book.  Why?  These first four verses are a big reason why – they were here for it.  They saw these events, they touched Jesus, they heard Him talk and listened.  They were there.  While some characters might be hard to follow or understand, John is not.  In fact, John is one of the more “historical” figures in the Bible.  We have things that prove his existence; we have people who were disciple by him directly writing things within 25 years of his death about him.  Some have proven that Jesus is a more historical figure than Julius Caesar (I can get into that somewhere else), then John is just as historical or more so.  Further, John’s historicity further proves Jesus and ultimately, the New Testament.  John is saying here that they were there and have seen it, heard it, touched it, experienced it and therefore it can be seen as reliable.  This book has survived the test of time (over 1900 years) so clearly this message resonated and helped others understand Jesus. 

Therefore, we can trust it and should.  Praise God for His word – now let’s see what else it says in the days ahead…

Psalm 33

33 ¹ רַנְּנוּ צַדִּיקִים בַּיהוה לַיְשָׁרִים נָאוָה תְהִלָּה׃

2     הוֹדוּ לַיהוה בְּכִנּוֹר בְּנֵבֶל עָשׂוֹר זַמְּרוּ־לֹו׃

3     שִׁירוּ־לֹו שִׁיר חָדָשׁ הֵיטִיבוּ נַגֵּן בִּתְרוּעָה׃

4     כִּי־יָשָׁר דְּבַר־יהוה וְכָל־מַעֲשֵׂהוּ בֶּאֱמוּנָה׃

5     אֹהֵב צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט חֶסֶד יהוה מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ׃

6     בִּדְבַר יהוה שָׁמַיִם נַעֲשׂוּ וּבְרוּחַ פִּיו כָּל־צְבָאָם׃

7     כֹּנֵס כַּנֵּד מֵי הַיָּם נֹתֵן בְּאֹצָרוֹת תְּהוֹמֹות׃

8     יִירְאוּ מֵיהוה כָּל־הָאָרֶץ מִמֶּנּוּ יָגוּרוּ כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל׃

9     כִּי הוּא אָמַר וַיֶּהִי הוּא־צִוָּה וַיַּעֲמֹד׃

10     יהוה הֵפִיר עֲצַת־גּוֹיִם הֵנִיא מַחְשְׁבוֹת עַמִּים׃

11     עֲצַת יהוה לְעוֹלָם תַּעֲמֹד מַחְשְׁבוֹת לִבֹּו לְדֹר וָדֹר׃

12     אַשְׁרֵי הַגּוֹי אֲשֶׁר־יהוה אֱלֹהָיו הָעָם בָּחַר לְנַחֲלָה לֹו׃

13     מִשָּׁמַיִם הִבִּיט יהוה רָאָה אֶת־כָּל־בְּנֵי הָאָדָם׃

14     מִמְּכוֹן־שִׁבְתֹּו הִשְׁגִּיחַ אֶל כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ׃

15     הַיֹּצֵר יַחַד לִבָּם הַמֵּבִין אֶל־כָּל־מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם׃

16     אֵין־הַמֶּלֶךְ נוֹשָׁע בְּרָב־חָיִל גִּבּוֹר לֹא־יִנָּצֵל בְּרָב־כֹּחַ׃

17     שֶׁקֶר הַסּוּס לִתְשׁוּעָה וּבְרֹב חֵילֹו לֹא יְמַלֵּט׃

18     הִנֵּה עֵין יהוה אֶל־יְרֵאָיו לַמְיַחֲלִים לְחַסְדֹּו׃

19     לְהַצִּיל מִמָּוֶת נַפְשָׁם וּלְחַיּוֹתָם בָּרָעָב׃

20     נַפְשֵׁנוּ חִכְּתָה לַיהוה עֶזְרֵנוּ וּמָגִנֵּנוּ הוּא׃

21     כִּי־בֹו יִשְׂמַח לִבֵּנוּ כִּי בְשֵׁם קָדְשֹׁו בָטָחְנוּ׃

22     יְהִי־חַסְדְּךָ יהוה עָלֵינוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר יִחַלְנוּ לָךְ׃

^[1]

I praise God for a number of reasons.  He has given me more than I deserve or need.  He has allowed me to experience life fuller than I could have ever imagined.  He has given me peace, hope and freedom.  I do not have to live in fear, shame or guilt any longer.  I do not have to be hindered by anything this world could throw at me.  I praise Him because He is.  I praise Him because He deserves it – even if I had none of these things.

---

^[1]The Hebrew Bible : Andersen-Forbes Analyzed Text; Bible. O.T. Hebrew. Andersen-Forbes. 2006; 2006 (Ps 33:1-22). Logos Bible Software.

Psalm 33

33 ¹ רַנְּנוּ צַדִּיקִים בַּיהוה לַיְשָׁרִים נָאוָה תְהִלָּה׃

2     הוֹדוּ לַיהוה בְּכִנּוֹר בְּנֵבֶל עָשׂוֹר זַמְּרוּ־לֹו׃

3     שִׁירוּ־לֹו שִׁיר חָדָשׁ הֵיטִיבוּ נַגֵּן בִּתְרוּעָה׃

4     כִּי־יָשָׁר דְּבַר־יהוה וְכָל־מַעֲשֵׂהוּ בֶּאֱמוּנָה׃

5     אֹהֵב צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט חֶסֶד יהוה מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ׃

6     בִּדְבַר יהוה שָׁמַיִם נַעֲשׂוּ וּבְרוּחַ פִּיו כָּל־צְבָאָם׃

7     כֹּנֵס כַּנֵּד מֵי הַיָּם נֹתֵן בְּאֹצָרוֹת תְּהוֹמֹות׃

8     יִירְאוּ מֵיהוה כָּל־הָאָרֶץ מִמֶּנּוּ יָגוּרוּ כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל׃

9     כִּי הוּא אָמַר וַיֶּהִי הוּא־צִוָּה וַיַּעֲמֹד׃

10     יהוה הֵפִיר עֲצַת־גּוֹיִם הֵנִיא מַחְשְׁבוֹת עַמִּים׃

11     עֲצַת יהוה לְעוֹלָם תַּעֲמֹד מַחְשְׁבוֹת לִבֹּו לְדֹר וָדֹר׃

12     אַשְׁרֵי הַגּוֹי אֲשֶׁר־יהוה אֱלֹהָיו הָעָם בָּחַר לְנַחֲלָה לֹו׃

13     מִשָּׁמַיִם הִבִּיט יהוה רָאָה אֶת־כָּל־בְּנֵי הָאָדָם׃

14     מִמְּכוֹן־שִׁבְתֹּו הִשְׁגִּיחַ אֶל כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ׃

15     הַיֹּצֵר יַחַד לִבָּם הַמֵּבִין אֶל־כָּל־מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם׃

16     אֵין־הַמֶּלֶךְ נוֹשָׁע בְּרָב־חָיִל גִּבּוֹר לֹא־יִנָּצֵל בְּרָב־כֹּחַ׃

17     שֶׁקֶר הַסּוּס לִתְשׁוּעָה וּבְרֹב חֵילֹו לֹא יְמַלֵּט׃

18     הִנֵּה עֵין יהוה אֶל־יְרֵאָיו לַמְיַחֲלִים לְחַסְדֹּו׃

19     לְהַצִּיל מִמָּוֶת נַפְשָׁם וּלְחַיּוֹתָם בָּרָעָב׃

20     נַפְשֵׁנוּ חִכְּתָה לַיהוה עֶזְרֵנוּ וּמָגִנֵּנוּ הוּא׃

21     כִּי־בֹו יִשְׂמַח לִבֵּנוּ כִּי בְשֵׁם קָדְשֹׁו בָטָחְנוּ׃

22     יְהִי־חַסְדְּךָ יהוה עָלֵינוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר יִחַלְנוּ לָךְ׃

^[1]

I praise God for a number of reasons.  He has given me more than I deserve or need.  He has allowed me to experience life fuller than I could have ever imagined.  He has given me peace, hope and freedom.  I do not have to live in fear, shame or guilt any longer.  I do not have to be hindered by anything this world could throw at me.  I praise Him because He is.  I praise Him because He deserves it – even if I had none of these things.

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^[1]The Hebrew Bible : Andersen-Forbes Analyzed Text; Bible. O.T. Hebrew. Andersen-Forbes. 2006; 2006 (Ps 33:1-22). Logos Bible Software.

Psalm 33

33 ¹ רַנְּנוּ צַדִּיקִים בַּיהוה לַיְשָׁרִים נָאוָה תְהִלָּה׃

2     הוֹדוּ לַיהוה בְּכִנּוֹר בְּנֵבֶל עָשׂוֹר זַמְּרוּ־לֹו׃

3     שִׁירוּ־לֹו שִׁיר חָדָשׁ הֵיטִיבוּ נַגֵּן בִּתְרוּעָה׃

4     כִּי־יָשָׁר דְּבַר־יהוה וְכָל־מַעֲשֵׂהוּ בֶּאֱמוּנָה׃

5     אֹהֵב צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט חֶסֶד יהוה מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ׃

6     בִּדְבַר יהוה שָׁמַיִם נַעֲשׂוּ וּבְרוּחַ פִּיו כָּל־צְבָאָם׃

7     כֹּנֵס כַּנֵּד מֵי הַיָּם נֹתֵן בְּאֹצָרוֹת תְּהוֹמֹות׃

8     יִירְאוּ מֵיהוה כָּל־הָאָרֶץ מִמֶּנּוּ יָגוּרוּ כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל׃

9     כִּי הוּא אָמַר וַיֶּהִי הוּא־צִוָּה וַיַּעֲמֹד׃

10     יהוה הֵפִיר עֲצַת־גּוֹיִם הֵנִיא מַחְשְׁבוֹת עַמִּים׃

11     עֲצַת יהוה לְעוֹלָם תַּעֲמֹד מַחְשְׁבוֹת לִבֹּו לְדֹר וָדֹר׃

12     אַשְׁרֵי הַגּוֹי אֲשֶׁר־יהוה אֱלֹהָיו הָעָם בָּחַר לְנַחֲלָה לֹו׃

13     מִשָּׁמַיִם הִבִּיט יהוה רָאָה אֶת־כָּל־בְּנֵי הָאָדָם׃

14     מִמְּכוֹן־שִׁבְתֹּו הִשְׁגִּיחַ אֶל כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ׃

15     הַיֹּצֵר יַחַד לִבָּם הַמֵּבִין אֶל־כָּל־מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם׃

16     אֵין־הַמֶּלֶךְ נוֹשָׁע בְּרָב־חָיִל גִּבּוֹר לֹא־יִנָּצֵל בְּרָב־כֹּחַ׃

17     שֶׁקֶר הַסּוּס לִתְשׁוּעָה וּבְרֹב חֵילֹו לֹא יְמַלֵּט׃

18     הִנֵּה עֵין יהוה אֶל־יְרֵאָיו לַמְיַחֲלִים לְחַסְדֹּו׃

19     לְהַצִּיל מִמָּוֶת נַפְשָׁם וּלְחַיּוֹתָם בָּרָעָב׃

20     נַפְשֵׁנוּ חִכְּתָה לַיהוה עֶזְרֵנוּ וּמָגִנֵּנוּ הוּא׃

21     כִּי־בֹו יִשְׂמַח לִבֵּנוּ כִּי בְשֵׁם קָדְשֹׁו בָטָחְנוּ׃

22     יְהִי־חַסְדְּךָ יהוה עָלֵינוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר יִחַלְנוּ לָךְ׃

^[1]

I praise God for a number of reasons.  He has given me more than I deserve or need.  He has allowed me to experience life fuller than I could have ever imagined.  He has given me peace, hope and freedom.  I do not have to live in fear, shame or guilt any longer.  I do not have to be hindered by anything this world could throw at me.  I praise Him because He is.  I praise Him because He deserves it – even if I had none of these things.

---

^[1]The Hebrew Bible : Andersen-Forbes Analyzed Text; Bible. O.T. Hebrew. Andersen-Forbes. 2006; 2006 (Ps 33:1-22). Logos Bible Software.