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When Psalm 19 comes up, one of the things that comes to mind (aside from how much we need to echo David’s prayer in Verse 14) is the song Indescribable. It’s a beautiful song about the glory of nature and how in the beauty and vastness of nature and the countless stars in the sky, we are rendered awestruck at God’s great glory. It mostly describes the enormity of creation made to display God’s wonder. But I love how it ends, in the last line of the last chorus, with “You see the depths of my heart, and You love me the same.” Our God simultaneously displays His power in creation, yet His word is deeply personal and intimate, deeper than we know ourselves.

According to Paul’s words to the Church of Rome in Romans 1:18-20, he recognizes that even the unrighteous person recognizes God’s glory through creation, made evident through their suppression and violence against truth. God’s glory is so overwhelming obvious through the scale of His creation, even the ungodly recognize His power. That alone seals the deal for me as evidence of God’s truths – Paul’s reasoning of people serving idols of the creatures of the earth back then still seems pretty applicably self-evident today. But we, as believers, know and must share that logical next step in living not by seeing, but by believing, by faith.(immediately before the above in verse 17-“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”) Creation points to God, but God’s word paints us the entire picture of His plan for salvation within this creation!

In Psalm 19, we see that God’s word in Scripture is:

• Perfect, reviving the soul – Isaiah 57:15 says of the Lord, “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” God, who dwells within the vast heavens, also hears our prayers and pleas for forgiveness. And how else could you explain that soul-crushing, inescapable guilt being lifted rather than the God bigger than guilt?
• Sure, making wise the simple -Through Proverbs 2, I am humbled through knowing the Lord can answer the questions I never could. I’ve seen the Lord make clear and take away the frustrations of so many difficult questions – that is how I know He is my shield.
• Right, rejoicing the heart – God is always right, we never have to guess if He is right or wrong, and you know that makes me rejoice – how thankful I am that there’s something in this crazy world I can always know to be true!
• Pure, enlightening the eyes – God’s word provides light in dark times; this we can all attest to. Psalm 119:105 says God’s word is the light to our path – He opens our eyes to how we should be living and walking in His path.
• Clean, enduring forever – Hebrews 13:8 y’all, what else can be said but how thankful we are that the Lord will be our Lord eternally.
• True, righteous altogether – What better summary could David give for why I, and all of us, follow God. No matter what, God’s truth has always been there: attested to in both the majesty of the world around me, and in the effects of His precepts upon each believer’s heart.

I read through this and can see echoes of these sentiments when I think back to trials in my own life. In times of grappling with questions about life and the world around me, my burdens were immeasurably lifted when I surrendered the need to know all answers over to a God who knows all. When life came to crashing standstills and I was left wondering “where do I go from here,” God provided direction and encouragement to grow. In the darkest times, when I felt defeated by my failures and like I had irredeemably squandered my own potential, who else but God could redeem me and fill my head with hope and my heart with joy. When we listen to God’s rules and follow Him, we reap incredible rewards – I can attest to that for sure! David’s totally right – that’s a reward sweeter than any honey and finer than any gold. And for that, I think we should all pray today for our words & meditations to be pleasing to God, that we may reflect even a portion of how necessary and wonderful God’s words are to us.

2 Samuel 9 and Psalm 41

To understand this chapter of 2 Samuel, we have to go back  about twenty years earlier, when David made a covenant with Jonathan (1 Samuel 20). Jonathan, who was heir to Saul’s throne, was not going to be King because of his father’s disobedience to the Lord. Samuel had told Saul that his kingdom would be taken away and given to a better man. Despite that, David and Jonathan had a very close friendship. Jonathan, instead of siding with his Saul to secure his position to the throne, accepted that David would be king and made a covenant with him. He had David promise him to show him and his family after him the unfailing kindness of the Lord, as long as they lived.

We don’t know what precipitated David’s question –  “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” But all these years later he was prompted to remember his promise to Jonathan. David seeks out what remains of Jonathan’s family and pours love and kindness out to Mephibosheth by giving him all of the property that had been Saul’s, then giving him a place equal to that of David’s own sons.

David didn’t just give money and land and material things – he welcomed the son of Jonathan into his home and gave him a place of honor.

David showed Grace to Mephibosheth. He didn’t question him about his worthiness, didn’t put stipulations on his gifts, and didn’t just give him monetary gifts to satisfy a promise or sense of guilt – he loved him! He treated him like one of his own sons.

Grace is difficult for me. It is difficult for me to accept God’s grace, his promise of forgiveness and his love for me despite the sins that bring me guilt and shame.

Grace is also difficult for me to give. It is sometimes easier to write a check and drop it in the plate at church than to stop and take time to show love to others. David’s behavior is such an amazing example of how grace should be shown. Wholly, unconditionally and without limit.

 Blessed is the one who considers the poor!
    In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
² the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;
    he is called blessed in the land…Psalm 41:1-2

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)

 Today, Matthew 28 documents the life-giving story of Jesus’ resurrection.  He overcame death.  He lives!  Celebrate and worship.  As of this moment, every life has hope.  Our hope comes from the power of the Holy Spirit, now living within us.  Celebrate and worship.  I was just beginning to enjoy the resurrection when Matthew quickly shifts away, confronting me with the next leg of the journey.  Um, wait a minute.  I’m not ready.  Can we go back to the celebration?

Most Christians stop right here, at Jesus resurrection.  We celebrating and worship Jesus for the grace and mercy he gives, claiming eternity as our own.  Other than that, our lives remain unchanged.  We are, however, called to more.  Jesus calls us to become his disciples and make disciples.  What exactly is a disciple?  To describe us as followers is too simple.  Christian discipleship involves becoming like Jesus.  To be one requires our full submission that enables our full transformation to be like him.  Sadly, few Christians move off the celebratory mark set by the resurrection.

Need proof?  In a nationwide poll conducted by the Barna Group, 40% of the people surveyed said, “they were personally committed to Jesus Christ, had confessed their sins, and believed they will go to heaven after they die because of God’s grace provided through Jesus’ death and resurrection.”  That is significant.  However, when directed toward their response to that resurrection, “not one of the adults we interviewed said that their goal in life was to be a committed follower of Jesus Christ or to make disciples.”[i]  Wait, what?  Read that quote again.  It is worth digesting fully.

I am hoping that your engagement with BibleJournal.net implies that you have a goal for spiritual formation.  If that is true, great.  The challenge then becomes one of sharing.  You see, when we truly find Christ and our lives are transformed by his love, we will also be compelled to share him.  Therefore, making disciples is not hard.  It is the natural outpouring of Christ upon the world around us.  We will fully embrace the idea that “the local church is the hope of the world.”  When I think about it this way, Jesus’ command to reach the world, becomes not an impossibility, but a full reality.  A couple of years ago, Bill Hybels presented this vision with such clarity, that I want to share it with you today.  I hope you can find a few spare minutes to hear his message.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pmEjAEe9nU

The morning prayer of every believer should be, “Jesus, this new day, I freshly commit myself to the role you have invited me to play as you are building your church in this world.” ~ Bill Hybels

[i] Barna, George (2013-03-06). Growing True Disciples: New Strategies for Producing Genuine Followers of Christ (Barna Reports) (p. 8). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.