Scripture of the Week
Psalm 1:1-2
“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.“
As I have turned my Bible reading attention for the year to the Psalms and the Gospels in a focused way this was my memory verse for the last week. It has been a real blessing to have a daily reminder that Blessed (#Happy) is the man who delights in God’s word and meditates on it day and night.
I have been challenged by this passage to think about areas of my life where I may be walking, standing, or sitting in Sin. Is there unconfessed sin or areas of my life that remain unsubmitted to Christ’s Lordship? It has also been a great reminder to spend time in God’s word and pray for that time to increasingly grow as a delight. This passage makes me ask am I delighting? Meditating? And Memorizing God’s word?
The rest of the chapter goes on to tell you how you can know the answer to those questions. And for those who wish to check it out it is a great read.
But for me, the reality I have been reflecting on for this passage can be seen in the first two verses. What type of man will I be? The one rooted in God and His Word with delight and joy? Or the wicked one walking, standing, or sitting in Sin?
I would encourage you to meditate and reflect on the passage as God leads and think about the type of Man God is calling you to be in 2017.
Quote of the Week
From a Sermon titled “A Call to Prayer.” Some of the reasons we don’t pray as we should.
The frank reality is “when you are your own god you will never pray.” And many times if we’re honest, we’ll admit that “we don’t pray because we’re way to confident in our ability to be the god of our own lives.” – Matt Chandler | 10m40s & 13m40s
Sermon of the Week: (47min)
Piper Crushing it!
Dr. John Piper preached a great sermon on the essence of evil last week at Passion in front of more than 50,000 young people. It particularly hit me because the launching text (Jeremiah 2:11-14) is one that I got to share with the college class I teach on November 13th. And I also wrote about it in the #MenOfGod email from November 22nd.
But I wanted to share this with all of you because of the way Piper really speaks to some of the current struggles of my generation. The struggle I see in my life and the lives of the people I love and minister to every day. That while I desire and pray for them every week to fall deeply in love with Jesus and desire to know God and His love for them we continually choose to pursue things that are not God to obtain what only God offers. That is what Piper is preaching on. That the essence of evil is that we have lost our taste for God, and we should hate that. We should hate that we desire things, more than we desire God. And we don’t. “And until we see and hate that, we will gut the Christian life of it’s glory!” – 39m
Reflection Questions
- Do you see God as supremely valuable? as Ultimate?
- Do you desire things more than you desire God? And do you hate that you do that?
- Have you re-defined Good and left God out of the definition entirely?
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