Four am in the morning, been up for an hour and a half, thinking about…well, a lot of things. Made the mistake of reading some political observations I should never do early in the morning. So I stopped and went to my routine of spending early morning with the Lord. I want to start my day with love and His Peace, and not some of the tangled weave of political retoric.

And now, I’m going to Psalm 1. These were the first scriptures memorized as part of a discipleship class I took in the church I attended at that time as a fairly new believer. The class was taught on Saturday mornings by the pastor. It started with several people, and quickly fell to just two of us. It was not what people expected. At least not the level of committment expected, or the indepth look at not only what it meant to be a disciple, but at ourselves, and our personal relationships with our Lord.

Psalm 1 was our beginning, to understand where we stood in our understanding of our faith, our position, and the position of those who did not believe. What it means to be blessed.

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.

It seems simple perhaps, but the explaination of a blessed person is powerful as a recognition what life as a believer is all about. We’re to use wisdom and not accept counsel from wicked people. Also, we don’t stand alongside those who sin. Don’t fellowship with those who mock and cut down. To be able to walk this path, read the Bible. Know the Bible. Embrace the Bible. Think deeply about what you’ve read in the Bible. When we do these things, the next verses explain what we gain.

 He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

Our roots go deep through the truth in the Bible and our relationship with our Lord. We have access to the water of His Spirt which nourishes us, teaches us, comforts us so that when tough times come, and it is promised they will, we won’t wither away, we will stand strong in Him, and everything we do for Him will prosper according to His definition of prosperity, which we learn as we meditate on his word. And then, the comparison is shown, to help clarify what we will become if we are not walking with the Lord.

The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

Simply said, the wicked will be drifting in all directions because they have not determined who to follow. And when judgement comes, they will not stand upright but fall, and won’t be able to sit with those who have submitted to God. God knows who is truly a believer, who is more than just empty words. And those who have not accepted by faith Jesus to be their Lord and Savior, will not be with Him eternally.

***As I said, early morning thoughts on a favorite Psalm.***

God bless you – Vicki