Month: January 2024

Psalm 146 – Praise the Lord!

Let all that I am praise the Lord.
² I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.

³ Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
⁴ When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
⁵ But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
⁶ He made heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He keeps every promise forever.
⁷ He gives justice to the oppressed
and food to the hungry.
The Lord frees the prisoners.
⁸ The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
The Lord loves the godly.
⁹ The Lord protects the foreigners among us.
He cares for the orphans and widows,
but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.

¹⁰ The Lord will reign forever.
He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations.

Praise the Lord! (NLT)

Psalm 146 begins and ends the same way as all of the last five of the psalms: Praise the Lord!  In Hebrew this word is familiar to us: Hallelujah!  With all that he was, the psalmist would praise God (verse 1).  Verses seven through ten tell us why: God’s justice; God’s sustenance; God’s freedom; God’s healing; God’s gift of power in our lives; God’s protection; and God’s reign.  While these gifts are available to all people, not all people receive these gifts.  Why not?

The answer is there verse three: “Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.”  Throughout the centuries, many have put their confidence in people, or in the things of this world that people offer.  I don’t believe the psalmist outright rejected counsel or help from people, but if we seek a certain quality of life from the people and things of this world, at some point we will be left disappointed.  How can we gain the quality of life that comes only from God?

The answer to this question is in verse five: “joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God.”  We all need help in life.  If a joyful life is what we desire, then we must seek our help first from God.  God does provide people to help us, but we will not recognize who those people are unless our help first comes from God.  So, ultimately our hope must be placed in God. 

We will all need help or counsel for some situation of life.  Let us be quick to go first to our helper, the God of Israel, the God of us all.  Praise the Lord! 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Galatians 3:6 – In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” ⁷ The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.

⁸ What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” ⁹ So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.

¹⁰ But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” ¹¹ So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” ¹² This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”

¹³ But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” ¹⁴ Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith. (NLT)

Just yesterday a family member was telling me about a friend of hers.  She said he was a religious man, and that he goes to church, but he believes that we earn points with God by doing good things.  She told me that this man believed that when our life is over, God will count our points and see if we have made the cut! Two things amaze me about such thinking.  First, I am amazed at just how many Christians believe something to this effect.  Secondly, how can anyone who has actually read the Bible believe that we must earn something from God?! 

For centuries the Jewish people lived under the system of the law.  They believed that if they kept the law, then they could make things right with God.  The problem was, no one could keep the law!  Everyone stumbled, everyone slipped up.  Many of the pagan people of that time also had elaborate rituals and sacrifices that they performed in an effort to make their gods happy. When Christianity began to spread, the people called it “Good News” because it was so radically different from anything that anyone had ever heard.  How sad that many Christians still insist on taking the “Good” out of the “Good News”. 

Paul’s letter to the Churches in Galatia was written in response to Christians who were trying to earn points with God by keeping the law.  In verse eleven from the passage above, Paul writes: “So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law.” Consider what Paul says later in this letter: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).  When we try to earn God’s favor, we have put on the yoke of slavery.  There is not much good about that news!

Today, let us celebrate our freedom from the yoke of slavery.  Let us give thanks to God that God loves us so much that we do not have to earn anything.  Thanks be to Jesus Christ that he has made us right with God.  That’s Good News!  That’s Good Stuff! 

Posted by Ramón Torres 

Psalm 131 – Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I don’t concern myself with matters too great
or too awesome for me to grasp.
² Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,
like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.
Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

³ O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—
now and always. (NLT)

Psalm 131 is one of the shortest psalms but contains a great lesson.  Some scholars believe that this psalm was written by David in defense of himself when he was accused by Saul’s generals of trying to take Saul’s crown.  Others believe this psalm was written during Jewish captivity, and that it speaks to the manner in which the Jews should behave under their oppressors.  Regardless of who wrote it, or when it was written, it speaks to us today. 

Verse one speaks of humility.  ‘My eyes are not haughty’ was a Jewish way of saying that one was not arrogant.  Christians need to be concerned with those who do not have a relationship with God through Jesus, but we win no converts with self righteousness.  We win no one to Jesus by telling them how sinful they are, but instead by showing them the nature of Jesus.  We do this by imitating Jesus.  Jesus lowered himself to be a servant, and so our nature should be that of a servant. 

Years ago, I was hunting on some land owned by a couple in my church.  I joined them that evening for dinner.  Since the day was rainy, and my boots were muddy, I removed them before I entered their house.  When the meal was over, the husband excused himself from the table and was gone for ten minutes.  He returned but made no mention of where he had been.  When I left their home that evening, I discovered that he had cleaned my boots!  Without saying a word, he showed me Jesus!  Some claim it to be St. Francis, others maintain it was someone else, but whoever it may have been, this psalm reflects the saying:  “Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.”  We all can be powerful preachers by our actions.

Verse two speaks of a peaceful attitude.  When confronted with issues that can divide or cause others to become excited, we must maintain a peaceful position.  When we speak to one who questions the authority of Jesus, we must remember Proverbs 15:1 – “A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.” Our goal must never to be to win an argument, but instead show others the character of Jesus.

Today, let us strive to be humble and peaceful servants, so that we may show others the need to put our hope in the Lord, now and always! 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Psalm 17:1 – O Lord, hear my plea for justice. Listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer, for it comes from honest lips. (NLT)

Matthew 7:7 – “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹ “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? ¹⁰ Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! ¹¹ So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” (NLT)

Many Christians struggle with prayer.  It’s not so much that they don’t pray, but they wonder about prayer’s effectiveness.  I have been asked, “If God knows everything, and God knows the future, then why pray?”  A great question! 

I believe that prayer is often more about changing our own hearts than it is about persuading God to do something.  Regular and persistent prayer can keep us focused.  If we pray as Jesus taught us, we will remain focused on what we need, and not on what we want.  In the passage above from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus speaks of a child asking for bread and fish.  Bread and dried fish were the basic daily food for the people of that time and place.  We should note that the example given by Jesus was of one asking for basic needs.  Do we often get extravagant in what we are asking of God?  The passage from Psalm 17 speaks of honest lips.  I believe that honesty is asking God for what we need.  Honest prayer can keep us focused on our needs.

We have all found ourselves in situations of life where we honestly don’t know what we really need.  There are times when we are confused as to what would be best for ourselves, or for others.  The Apostle Paul wrote about this in his letter to the church in Rome. Romans 8:26 – And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.  When we find ourselves in those confusing situations, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to pray for us, trusting and expecting God to reveal to us what is best.

Today, let us pray honest prayers to God, asking God for what we need for this day.  If we are confused, let us ask the Spirit to intercede. 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Psalm 98 – Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
² The LORD has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
³ He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.

⁴ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
⁵ make music to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
⁶ with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
shout for joy before the LORD, the King.

⁷ Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
⁹ let them sing before the LORD,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity. (NIV)

Today’s reading is a familiar passage to many Christians.  Some scholars tell us that it was written to celebrate deliverance from captivity, while others tell us that it was prophetic in that it looked to Jesus.  I believe it is both.  Because of Jesus we have been delivered from captivity!  Let’s take a look at some of the verses from this great Psalm.

Verse 2: “The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.” Biblically speaking, righteousness refers to the things of God.  This verse tells us that the things of God have been revealed to the nations. They have revealed through the Good News of Jesus Christ! The word we often translate as nations might be better translates as ‘people’.  However, the thought behind the word is to describe all the different types of people.  In the Greek the word is ‘ethnos’, from which we get the word ethnic.  God’s offer of salvation through Jesus (the Good News) is offered to all the people of the earth.  We are told in Titus 2:11 – “For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.”  God’s grace is for all people, and we must do what we can to get the word out to all people!

Verse 3: “He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel.”  Remembering that we who call on Jesus are part of the new Israel, this verse speaks of God’s promise to all people that was made throughout the centuries. The prophets said: people from many lands will come and honor you (Micah 7:12); and, my name is honored by people of other nations from morning till night (Malachi 1:11).  The Apostle Paul said: God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures (Romans 1:2).  We should rejoice, for God is faithful to God’s promises! 

The remainder of the psalm speaks of all creation worshiping and celebrating what God has done.  Verse one, however, speaks to me in a powerful way: “Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things.”  When I was a child, if I found myself talking to my mother in a way that was somewhat disrespectful (surely a rare occasion!), my mother would say, ‘you better change your tune, young man!’  This verse reminds me that I have good reason to change my tune – today and everyday!  The song in our hearts should be a song of praise.  The victory has been won, salvation is here, and we are made right with God!  That’s Good Stuff! 

Here is a great New Year’s Resolution – let the Good News of Jesus Christ change your tune.  Today, let’s sing a new song!

Posted by Ramón Torres