Building on the Foundation

What an incredible book Psalms is! I have always loved the Psalms; they share a special place in my heart. It’s easy to identify with them, seek comfort from them, and simply enjoy their beauty, yet there is always a deeper layer to them. They contain doctrine and prophecy in abundance and even the deeper message God has for each one of us. Most of the Psalms were written by David, a man after God’s own heart, and each one was a song written to the creator He loved. Growing up, as part of our schooling, we read a psalm every day, and it has been something I’ve gotten away from. I think it’s about time to revisit the Psalms and explore the beauty, wildness, and the voice of God in each one. Join me for thoughts on the Psalms as we read through some of the most beautiful poetry ever written and see through the eyes of men deep in a romance with their creator.  I thought about starting with my favorite Psalm, 119, but as I read through Psalm one, a couple of key things jumped out to ...

  We all have people in this life that we find hard to be around, people that we strongly dislike and would enjoy seeing trip over a rake or two. Most of us probably have great reasons for thinking what we think about these people, too. They may have hurt us, or said something nasty about us, or they were downright awful to us, but our reasons for holding it against them are pretty good solid reasons, at least, they are in our minds. As humans, we are great at holding grudges, and we are awful at letting things go. What's the harm in holding things against someone? Our thoughts don't hurt anyone, do they?  It's true that our thoughts don't really affect the other person, at least right away. Eventually, it might lead to us being nasty towards them or hurting them, but they probably deserved that pie in the face anyways. We are Christians, though, and as Christians, we have an obligation to be Christ-like (that's what Christian means). Being Christlike means we walk ...

  When is it okay to judge someone else’s actions as right or wrong? No one likes a judgemental person, but what if we are supposed to be making judgments? How else do we determine who is of God and who isn’t? These are all excellent questions, mostly because I only ask excellent questions, but is there an answer for them? That is another excellent question. At various times in my life, these questions have rattled around, with first, one answer coming out on top, then another. Today I would like to attempt a satisfactory answer to these questions using the best source for answers to all good questions, the Bible.  John 8:15-16 NKJV "You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  16 "And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I [am] with the Father who sent Me.   It would appear Christ Himself did not judge in His time on earth. His time was not yet; He was here to offer a life preserver to a doomed humanity. He did pass judgment, though,...