Totally Praiseworthy - Psalm 103

This psalm of David celebrates God’s perfection, compassion, forgiveness, and goodness. The structure of the psalm is an acrostic poem with one verse for each letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Several theological concepts about the nature of God are presented in this psalm:

• He completely forgives us of all our sins (vs. 3, 12)
• He can heal us from any disease (vs. 3)
• He gives us eternal life (vs. 4)
• He treats us with goodness, not evil (vs. 5)
• He gives justice to those who have been mistreated (vs. 6)
• He is compassionate, merciful, and patient towards people (vs. 8)
• He does not remain angry with us for our disobedience (vs. 9)
• He does not punish us in proportion to our sins (vs. 10)
• His love for those who obey Him is immeasurable (vs. 8,11)
• He establishes a fatherly relationship with us (vs. 13)
• His kingdom is everlasting and extends over all His creation (vs. 17,19,22)

Because of the greatness and goodness of God, He is totally praiseworthy. Therefore, we should be completely committed to Him and continually glorify Him with our lives: "Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me" (vs. 1-2).

Accomplishing God's Will - Acts 25:24-25

"Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are here, this is the man whose death is demanded by all the Jews, both here and in Jerusalem. But in my opinion he has done nothing deserving death. However, since he appealed his case to the emperor, I have decided to send him to Rome." When the Apostle Paul was arrested in Jerusalem, he had a hearing before the Jewish High Council. During his testimony before the Council, they began to argue among themselves and Paul was remanded back to prison in Jerusalem. While in prison, God spoke to Paul in a vision and told him he must preach the good news of Jesus in Rome: "That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well" (vs. 23:11). From that point forward, Paul did all he could to get to Rome. When Paul had the opportunity, he claimed his right as a Roman citizen to have his case heard before Caesar (vs. 23:24-29). God didn't tell Paul when and how he would go to Rome, only that He needed Paul to go to Rome and preach the gospel. Even after Paul appealed to Caesar, he didn't immediately go to Rome. He was first taken to Caesarea where he spent two years in prison and had the opportunity to testify before two Roman governors and King Agrippa II. Later, he was shipwrecked at sea on the way to Rome and stranded on the island of Malta for several months (vs. 28:11). God gives us the big picture of what He wants us to do, and leaves it up to us to find ways to follow His plans. So find out what God wants you to do and spend your life trying to accomplish it. It may not happen immediately and you may not get there the way you think, but God will make ways for you to accomplish His will when that is your main priority.

The Glory That Filled the Tabernacle Fills You - Exodus 40:34-37

"Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. Moses could no longer enter the Tabernacle because the cloud had settled down over it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it. But if the cloud did not rise, they remained where they were until it lifted." The climax of the Exodus occurred when the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. God’s intention from the start was not merely to deliver his people from their bondage, but to bring them into a relationship with Himself. The real need for the Israelites was to know God personally in their lives. What made the Promised Land the land of promise was the presence of God among His people. The glory that had been on Mount Sinai was now in Israel’s midst. God's presence would lead them whenever they traveled and dwell with them when they camped. In the same way, God wants to dwell with you and lead you. God doesn't just forgive your sins by the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, but He sends His Spirit to dwell with you and daily lead and guide you. The glory of God that filled the Tabernacle now personally dwells in you.

Finding God's Will - Exodus 28:30

"Insert the Urim and Thummim into the sacred chestpiece so they will be carried over Aaron’s heart when he goes into the Lord’s presence. In this way, Aaron will always carry over his heart the objects used to determine the Lord’s will for his people whenever he goes in before the Lord." One of the primary priestly functions was to determine God's will for His people. The priest's chestpiece provided a container for the Urim and Thummim. The Hebrew words descibing the chestpiece literally meant "chestpiece for decision." The Urim and Thummim were apparently a pair of stones that were thrown down to get a yes or no answer from God. No physical description of these objects exists but their use is further explained in several other scriptures including Numbers 27:21, Deuteronomy 33:8, 1 Samuel 28:6, Ezra 2:63, and Nehemiah 7:65. Today, we don't have to use games of chance to find God's will. We can find God's will first hand--directly from Him--because God has given us His Spirit as a counselor and guide: "He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth...you know him because he lives with you now and later will be in you" (John 14:17). While the Spirit of God has always been with God's people, now (after the resurrection of Jesus) He resides in God's people and leads us, individually and collectively, in the way of the Truth, which is God's will.

No Membership Requirements - Acts 15:28-29

"For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well..." At the Council of Jerusalem the apostles and other church leaders determined that Gentile converts did not need to be circumcised or keep other ceremonial elements of the Mosaic law. They recommended that Gentile believers refrain from eating food that a person knew was offered as a sacrifice to an idol. (Just as we don't know from where meat or other fresh foods in the grocery store may originate, food could be purchased in ancient marketplaces that was used in pagan religious rituals and the buyer was not aware of its origin.). Additionally, the Gentile believers should not eat meat that has blood in it or eat or drink blood. This prohibition was first given to Noah, the ancestor of Gentiles as well as Jews (Gen 9:4). Furthermore, sexual immorality, which was common in the Greek world, was always sinful whether Jew or Gentile. These prohibitions were not requirements for salvation, but rather necessary behaviors for reducing cultural tensions and sustaining fellowship between Jewish and Gentile believers. The decision of the Jerusalem Council was that salvation for both Jew and Gentile was a gift of God’s grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus. Thus, there are no membership requirements for us to be admitted into the Kingdom of God because Jesus has fulfilled all the requirements for us!

The Sign of Salvation - Acts 15:8-9

"God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith." The first-century Church was at first mainly comprised of Jews and Christianity was, in many respects, a sect of Judaism. So it was not surprising that when Gentiles began to believe the gospel, the Jewish leaders in the Church wanted the Gentile converts to be circumcised. For Jews circumcision had religious significance as the sign of the covenant that God had established with the people of Israel. And so these Jewish leaders thought that circumcision should be a sign of being a Christian, a follower of Jesus. When Paul and Barnabas returned from their first missionary journey to their home church at Antioch of Syria, some Christians from Judea came to Antioch and began to teach the believers that they must be circumcised according to the law of Moses or they cannot be saved. Paul and Barnabas disagreed and argued with them. Finally, the Antioch church decided to send a delegation that included Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to appeal to the apostles and church leaders there. The apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue. During the ensuing discussion, Peter addressed the church council reminding them that God had chosen him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and that the sign of being saved was not being circumcised but receiving the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians, which was written in response to this controversy: "It doesn't matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation." (Galatians 6:5). Receiving the Holy Spirit is the true sign of salvation. And then the indwelling Holy Spirit will transform you to a new creation in Christ.

The Power in the Blood - Exodus 24:8

"Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring, Look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these instructions." After God had given the terms of the covenant to Moses, Israel agreed to its terms (vs. 3), which was then ratified in several ceremonial activities. These activities included the formal writing and reading of the covenant (vs. 4, 7), the splattering of blood (vs. 6), a covenant meal (vs. 11), and the appearing of the glory of the Lord on the mountain (vs. 15). The Hebrews writer explained the efficacy of blood to atone for sin: "For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool. Then he said, This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you. And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship. In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness" (Hebrews 9:19-22). The Hebrews writer compared the confirmation of the covenant with the execution of a will. Just as a will goes into effect at the death of the person who made it, the covenant required the death of an animal to go into effect (Hebrews 9:16-18). Jesus became the mediator of a new and better covenant because He has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by His own blood, which was shed at His death. Christ died once and for all time as an atoning sacrifice to take away the sins of all the world. At the Last Supper Jesus predicted His atoning sacrifice before it happened by repeating this verse from Exodus almost verbatim when He said, "This is my blood, which confirms the covenant" (Matthew 26:28). There is power in the blood of Jesus: power to atone for the sins of the whole world once and for all time. The covenant has been confirmed and all you have to do now is agree to its terms: believe in Him and you will have eternal life!

Doing What God Does - Exodus 20:1-3

"Then God gave the people all these instructions: I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. You must not have any other god but me." This verse is the preamble and the first of the Ten Commandents in 20:1-17. The Ten Commandments are a brief statement or executive summary of the expanded terms of God's covenant with the Israelites in 21:1-23:33. The terms of the covenant specified the behavior the Israelites were expected to manifest if they were to be in a covenant with God. Only the first four commandments (vs. 2-11) related directly to God, while the remaining six commandments (vs. 12-17) described appropriate human-to-human relationships. Because God is profoundly ethical, He expects His people to manifest his character in their relationship with Him and in relationships with other human beings. Thus, to be in covenant with God is to do what God does. "So Jesus explained, I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son does also" (John 5:10). As people who are in covenant with God, we can know what God is doing and do what He does by studying His Word, the Bible, and by obeying the guidance and direction of His Holy Spirit Who is with us and dwells in us.