365 Reflections

Psalm 58 is written by David about the corrupt leadership of Saul who nearing the end had used his position for his personal hunt (of David) and gathered "yes-men" around him who simply served him to get what they could before the time was up. Psalm 58 is an attack on Godless leadership of a country. I love the Message translation: Psalm 58:1–2 (The Message)  Is this any way to run a country? Is there an honest politician in the house? 2 Behind the scenes you brew cauldrons of evil, behind closed doors you make deals with demons. Godly leadership begins with seeing the evil that often finds refuge in ungodly leadership. Why do nations rise and fall? People with wicked hearts run them into the ground. No man-made leadership will ever truly last. God alone rules supreme and rightly. The result of Saul's wicked leadership is a case study for nations in history. Government eventually goes the way of the corrupted soul because man is corrupted apart from t...

Psalm 37 presents two realities side by side... the righteous and the wicked. The Psalmist reveals he speaks from a vast reserve of experience: Psalm 37:25–26 (ESV) I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. 26 He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing. He basically says, "trust me in this, I've seen it with my own eyes... the wicked do not last, the righteous are upheld by the Lord." The question for us is, will we take his advice?  Four Proverbs are given in the beginning by which to live: Psalm 37:3   Trust in the Lord , and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.  The first thing we do is do what is good trusting the Lord to be faithful on our behalf. Psalm 37:4   Delight yourself in the  Lord , and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Second we delight in the Lord. It isn't delight in our desires, but first deli...

It is not a popular sermon topic. You won't see many sermon series based on it, but it sure is important to the new life we have in Christ. It's called kindness. And we are to imitate our God with it. I always saw Ephesians 5:1 as the start of a new thought for Paul. But the Greek text (without chapters and verses of course) could go either way. Looking at it like this may help: Ephesians 4:29–5:1 (ESV) Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. The Greek preposition for "therefore" could be ...