Sleep Is a Blessing, Not a Sin.

As avid supporters of the Protestant work ethic, we know that God calls His people to work, and that all good, honest work honors God—regardless of the vocation. The lazy slacker is repeatedly condemned in both the Old and New Testaments as being foolish and irresponsible. However, we must not forget that God also calls His people to rest. God designed us to sleep one-third of each day. The Ten Commandments include remembering to rest one day each week and not do any work nor compel others to work. The Lord’s wisdom, understanding, creative power, and grace allow us to walk in safety and enjoy a sweet sleep (Proverbs 3). God calls His beloved to lie down and sleep because He watches over us, He guarantees our safety, and He secures our future (Psalms 4 & 127). So, how important is consistent, good, and restful sleep?

In his book, Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker makes the case that sleep is one of the most important and currently neglected aspects of our health. Surveys show that up to half of all adults don’t get enough sleep. Walker cites many studies that indicate insufficient sleep contributes to chronic health problems including depression, cancer, obesity, diabetes, digestive disorders, dementia, and poor immune health. Neglecting sleep undercuts our creativity, problem solving, decision-making, learning, memory, heart health, brain health, mental health, emotional well-being, immune system, and even our life span. Even one or two nights of poor sleep can have tragic consequences. The number of road-traffic accidents attributed to tiredness is greater than the number attributed to alcohol and drugs combined. Today, insufficient rest and overwork are often driven by the desire for affluence, power, and prestige not merely for the necessities of life. Entertainment, social media, and other amusements can also compete with quality sleep time.

Just like the rest of us, Jesus experienced hunger, thirst, and tiredness. And when He was tired from a long journey or a day of ministry, Jesus rested and slept. Sleep is a nightly reminder of our frailty. David Mathis of Desiring God ministries asks the provocative question, “Do You Sleep Less Than Jesus?” Neglecting sleep, avoiding the Sabbath rest, and failing to relax are signs of spiritual immaturity and a drift toward practical atheism; living as if there is no God or as if God need not factor into our decisions. There will be times when we sacrifice sleep to meet the needs of others or for an extended time of prayer. But when we repeatedly short-change our sleep needs, we are living in rebellion to God’s design for us and we will pay the price with poorer health. Jesus’ invitation, “Come to me, and I will give you rest” includes both physical and spiritual rest as we trust Him more and more (Matthew 11). So tonight, take the time to enjoy the sweet sleep God promises and thank Him for His care and protection that allows us time to rest and be restored each night.

Are Emotions Good or Bad?

There are still some in our culture who say that emotions are bad. “They get in the way of true, intellectual rationality. They cloud our judgment.” Think of Spock from Star Trek, who always sought to be the logical one rather than the emotional one. He sees logic as the opposite of emotion. But in our culture today, I think the dominant voice says that emotions are ultimate. “If it feels good, do it.” “Trust your subjective feelings because they are the measure of truth!” Think Obi-wan Kenobi from Star Wars: “Luke, trust your feelings!” That’s the message we hear over and over again in modern America.

But what does the Bible say about emotions? On the one hand, it affirms that God created emotions; they are part of his good design. But on the other hand, emotions can be distorted and broken in a sinful world. We can’t always trust our feelings.

So, where do we look for a model of true, God-honoring emotion? Jesus came into the world and took on himself a true human nature. According to the New Testament, Jesus had a vibrant emotional life. He wasn’t Spock who was free of all emotion. He wasn’t Obi-Wan Kenobi who thought that feelings are everything. Instead, as truly human, he felt deeply and loved deeply without being ruled or controlled by his emotions.

So, this Christmas season, let’s take time to read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And as we do, we’ll discover the full-orbed picture of Christ’s emotional life. He felt compassion; he felt anger; he felt sorrow; he felt joy; he felt the full range of human emotion, yet without sin. And his emotional life teaches us important lessons about what it means to feel, love, and serve today as well. By God’s grace, may the Spirit of God shape our emotions to reflect the pattern of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us.

“Fellowship” Is More Important for Christians Than You Think

Many of these ideas came from Tim Mackie’s Exploring My Strange Bible podcast, particularly “Sharing Grace” under “Why Church Matters.” The entire podcast is great and highly recommended!

If you start spending time around Christians, you’ll hear a few buzz words—what many call “Christianese”—words that Christians will regularly use. For many outside, these phrases can feel more like code words without a clear meaning. To be honest, many Christians may use them without any idea why. For instance, why do we make such a big deal about “fellowship”?

            Think about it: you don’t use that word with your friends outside the church; you’re not going to your co-workers, saying, “Hey everyone, we really need to find some time and fellowship together.” If you’re working in ministry, they know what you mean; if you’re working at Wawa, they probably think you want to start a cult.

            Why do Christians talk about “fellowshipping with each other”? If you look at the early church, they devoted themselves to four priorities: teaching, eating together, praying, and fellowship (Acts 2:42). Looking at 2:43-47, the author Luke gives a picture of what this looks like: they had all things in “common,” which is a different form of the same Greek word for “fellowship.” They met together in the temple; they came into each other’s houses, eating together; they were doing nothing less than invading the lives of one another. As an interconnected group, these Christians will soon be described as “of one heart and mind” (Acts 4:32, CSB). In fact, Luke goes so far as to say “there was not a needy person among them” (4:34). There are at least 3,000 people in this church, yet Luke can still say they’re all united and taken care of.

            “Fellowship” means more than “Christians hanging out together.” Fellowship means that we are united by a common life, goal, purpose, mission, or whatever you want to call it. Christians have experienced God’s undeserved favor found in the Savior Jesus Christ, but they are not just growing in this relationship with God; they’re growing in relationship with other Christians. We are dedicating our time, energy, and resources to this “fellowship” with other believers. Or maybe it’s better to think about this through the words of John: “What we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3, CSB).

            When Hope Church started doing a “Potluck and Prayer,” the theme was Acts 2:42. And taking a peak behind the curtain, the “Potluck” time is not this obligation to get people there, and what we really care about is prayer time; the Potluck time is following the example of this early church, growing both in our relationship with God and one another.

            For your Christian walk, don’t suck the life out of “fellowship.” The church is a community of believers who should care deeply for God and those near them. Don’t treat this church in Acts as a romantic idea: “Boy, that sounds nice back then, but today I can’t get three Christians in a room without disagreeing.” This church in Acts isn’t an ideal but an assumption for all Christian communities. If we find ourselves united to Jesus Christ—giving our life to Him—it’s a given we’re striving to also do the same for other believers God has placed in our life.

Charles Dickens Rejected Strong Political Beliefs. (Maybe We Should, Too.)

Our time has been increasingly polarized in American politics. It seems that everyone is expected to take a side on every issue, whether tweeting on recent news or injecting our views into conversations when an appropriate topic comes up. This is how people usually debate ideas now: always within the framework of their own political views while tearing down the views they don’t agree with. No longer are we allowed to view the world through our religious conviction. Even this area can be co opted and subsequently shaped by politics! No longer can we deal with difficult things we read about in the news (or the people we meet in our own daily lives) through a lens of compassion for the suffering of others and a remediation of that suffering as best we can. Now we must also have a political explanation as to why the wrong occurred and a political solution as to what might be done about it.

Charles Dickens, too, was writing in a time of extreme political division, in which each person viewed the troubles of society—the suffering of the poor in particular—through a political lens. G.K. Chesterton, in his preface to Dickens’ Oliver Twist, paints the picture of a society where individuals obsessed over how society was to be changed according to their own ideals—a lot like our own moment in time, which also is deeply divided over politics. Dickens was continually taking aim at injustices, but injustices on all sides of the political divisions that existed in his day. In Oliver Twist, he took aim at workhouses, but to call that a political stance (even though it was a stand against a recent political measure) would be reductive: 

This is where Dickens’s social revolt is of more value than mere politics. His revolt is not a revolt of...the Liberal against the Tory. If he were among us now his revolt would not be the revolt of the...Anarchist against the Socialist. His revolt was simply and solely the eternal revolt; it was the revolt of the weak against the strong. He did not dislike this or that argument for oppression; he disliked oppression. He disliked a certain look on the face of a man when he looked down on another man. And that look on the face is, indeed, the only thing in the world that we have really to fight between here and the fires of Hell. That which pedants of that time and this time would have called the sentimentalism of Dickens was really simply the detached sanity of Dickens (G.K. Chesterton).

Instead of dismantling the system, he was taking aim at those whose roles within the system made them feel invulnerable, superior, and therefore unsympathetic or even cruel to those they served. The mechanism that Dickens sees for the way out is individual compassion. As Chesterton observes, Dickens gives Oliver—not a hopeless demeanor—but a hopeful one, a hope that the world will be kind. When the overseer treats him cruelly, we all feel Oliver’s disappointment, and we long to be able to alleviate it. Dickens hoped that each of his readers would be spurred to enter the world in compassion to those with less privilege than him. That is both simple and biblical!

Although Dickens did not paint the world in the colors of the Gospel explicitly, his imagination was greatly influenced by the Christian picture of the world: a world deeply broken by sin but still with the beauty of goodness in it. Although he did not reckon explicitly with the story of Jesus in his works, it still seems that Dickens had a clear sense of the right and wrong that God embedded in Creation—”being understood from what has been made.” And God has always been a supporter of the weak over the strong: 

As 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 says: 

But God chose those whom the world considers foolish to shame those who think they are wise, and God chose the puny and powerless to shame the high and mighty. He chose the lowly, the laughable in the world’s eyes—nobodies—so that he would shame the somebodies. For he chose what is regarded as insignificant in order to supersede what is regarded as prominent, so that there would be no place for prideful boasting in God’s presence. For it is not from man that we draw our life but from God as we are being joined to Jesus, the Anointed One (The Passion Translation).

Jesus’ first followers were nobodies, but rather than treat them as peons, He welcomed them as friends. Some of them were morally corrupt when He first called them, and He gave up His life for the love of them. Dickens’ blunt sense of the wrongness of the oppression of some men over others was clearly and lovingly modeled after Jesus. Although He could have placed Himself at the head of all men and started His earthly reign in wise power over other humans, instead He even let Himself take on the stain of association with the lowly, weak, and sinful in order to draw them to His heart and save them. 

That beautiful, pure love in the face of sin, the love that led someone to give up His life in place of all humankind, is at the heart of the Gospel; and for us today, it has power to free us from self-centeredness, self-importance, and give us compassion and humility in our dealings with others, whether they are movie stars too obsessed with their wealth and fourteen swimming pools, or they have lost their way in different ways, while only having a backpack and a sandwich. Now, because of the compassion God puts in our heart, we can set about changing the lives of those around us by sharing that message but also entering into places of sorrow and injustice and speaking words of love and hope in a spirit of brotherhood with all men. We can take on the role of serving those with no hope, and do so as Christ Himself did. We can embrace and not look away. 

So, the next time we feel the urge to interpret the world’s brokenness through our default political position, let’s pray that God’s Spirit will open the door of our mouths and the hearts of whomever we’re in conversation with! Let’s display God’s glory by praising Him as we talk, but most of all, let’s tell others how glad we are that we know God, and how much God loves them and offers them the specific hope of a heart restored. Maybe that will shift the conversation from political anger to Christian hope. 

What Will It Take for Us to Fully Feel and Experience God’s Love for Us?

Perhaps the most important difference between a Christian and an unbeliever is the extent to which they personally and intimately know that God loves them. Everyone has heard verses on God’s love so many times that these words have lost much of their impact: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” “God is love.” “Give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast love endures forever.” So why do we fail to fully feel and experience God’s love for us? Maybe we’re looking for the wrong evidence of God’s love for us.

Alison Armstrong is an author, seminar speaker, and relationship expert, especially in understanding the differences between men and women. Alison has studied the distinction between being loved by someone and the feeling or the experience of being loved by someone. The keys for knowing in your heart and soul that someone loves you is that you know (i) they see you, (ii) they understand you, (iii) they accept you, (iv) they value you, and (v) they appreciate you. Alison found that receiving gifts, hearing kind words, and being physically intimate are nice and they have their place, but they do not replace these five keys to knowing that you are loved. This feeling of being loved is important in a marriage, between parents and their children, among friends, and in all our significant relationships. But most important is knowing, experiencing, and feeling that God loves us. God’s love gives us an unshakeable foundation of hope, joy, and peace. So…

(i) Does God see me? We know that God knows everything (omniscience), but is all His knowledge just stored in some old books in a dusty corner of a big library? No. Jesus comforted His disciples to not worry about the fear of persecution because their heavenly Father is in charge of everything. He has even numbered the hairs on our head. He knows us better than we know ourselves and He is constantly alert to any change in our condition or circumstances.

(ii) Does God understand me? We might wonder if God is only “book smart” or does He also have “street smarts.” Jesus lived a difficult life in a difficult time. He knows first-hand about the human condition. He was tempted in every way to sin as we are, and He resisted until even Satan gave up tempting Him; way past the point where we usually give in to sin. No one understands us and knows what we’re going through better than Jesus.

(iii) Does God accept me? Time and time again Jesus welcomed the worst sinners and outcasts that everyone else rejected. He was never surprised or overwhelmed by anyone’s sin. To everyone, Jesus offers an invitation: “Come to me and I will give you rest.” Come just as you are, warts and all, then He’ll begin your complete restoration. For some, Christianity seems narrow and exclusive. But considering Jesus’ universal invitation, nothing could be more inclusive or welcoming. No one is ever beyond the reach of God’s grace. All He asks is that we follow Him and “go and sin no more.”

(iv) Does God value me? We are the only thing in all creation made in the image of God. We are precious and honored in His sight. While creation cost God nothing, our ransom from sin cost Jesus His life at the cross. Jesus willingly shed His blood and died so we could be redeemed and adopted as His beloved children. What higher price could He have paid to show us our value to Him?

(v) Does God appreciate me? God has given us the important responsibility to be ambassadors for Christ and to go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel. Jesus told several parables about our stewardship responsibilities and how rewards await His faithful sons and daughters on judgment day. The Lord promises to reward everyone for their righteousness and his faithfulness. None of God’s faithful children are ever forgotten or abandoned.

If we want to fully feel and experience the love of God, we should spend more time meditating on what the Bible says about God’s love for us. We should also fellowship with others who are striving to comprehend what is the width and length and depth and height of the love of Christ which passes knowledge so we may be filled with all the fullness of God. Then we will truly know, feel, and experience what it is to be loved.

Grace Begets Gratitude

Grace is the unmerited favor granted to us by our loving God.  Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:4-6 as “In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”  This, of course refers to the ultimate example of unearned favor and grace that comes to us through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to cover our sins.

As Christians, we are also called to show grace in our daily lives as we walk in a way that follows the example of Christ.  We are commanded to perform acts of grace to our fellow believers.  As John wrote to the early church in 1 John 3:16-18, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

These need not be onerous or costly acts of love and kindness.  My recent experience of kind acts that showed the love of Christ was much simpler:  soup, casseroles, pastas, and desserts.  I read encouraging cards, texts, and emails.  Phone calls reminded me of the prayers and affection that brought my situation to their minds.  These were practical, thoughtful, and comforting during a stressful time.  My fellow Christians were sharing their faith by using God-given gifts.  Paul reminded early Christians in Romans 12:6-8: “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”

A Christian is also called and challenged to show grace to all people to show forth the Christ’s love in this world. Jesus showed us how to do this throughout his earthly ministry.  Examples such as speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4, healing the crippled woman in Luke 13, as well as many others in Matthew 14: “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”  In 1 Timothy 1:16 we read: “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.”  We are to model acts of grace for the world around us in order to point them to Christ.

Drawing on my recent experience again, my neighbors and friends were witness to the acts of grace performed by my fellow believers.  This led to conversations about the Lord and how his church is a vital part of my life.  The ministry of members of Hope Presbyterian Church was on display.

Christians are also called to show grace when on the receiving end of the mercy ministries of their fellow believers.  Gratitude is a normal response to gifts. But a recipient of ongoing ministry must accept these ministrations with humility and to admit personal limitations that created this need for support.  My natural inclination is to be prideful about being self-sufficient. I had to learn that it is an act of grace to allow fellow Christians to administer their gifts on my behalf. 

I am grateful for these lessons about grace.

The Gospel in Netflix’s Motel Makeover

Sometimes when I look at my life, a lot of times I can see the ugliness of my heart more clearly than the hope that God gives me through Christ. Sometimes it takes the right sermon, sometimes the right passage of Scripture, the right song, but this week it was the right Netflix show that gave me a vision for God’s work in my life.

Motel Makeover is a gentle, charming escape from reality, or it seems at first, a show about an energizing makeover punctuated with frequent glasses of rosé. But over the course of the show, the two “moteliers” (who are amazing for how much they’ve accomplished at such a young age) actually do wrestle with—not just survival through a hellish remodel—but actual joy in being a team, gratitude, and friendship for the people they are working with, and deep love and delight in the spaces they are producing. And this love can be a refreshing example of what God’s love can look like in our lives. 

The motel, at the beginning of the show, is basically a wreck. It hadn’t been remodeled since the ‘80s, and only someone with a vivid sense of possibility would ever take on the task of modernizing and beautifying it. Throughout each step in the remodel, and each setback, it takes the imagination and love of these two women to carry them through. What they are in love with isn’t the hotel in its current state; it’s their vision of what it will be. They are deeply delighted with the enjoyment their customers will have, the relationships that will be strengthened, memories made. This love for what can be keeps them going. 

We know that God is working in our hearts throughout our lives with his love, beautifying us to his glory. But a lot of times when I look at my heart, all I see is the wreckage of my sin nature. God has already purchased us. What if he sees, instead of blight, the beauty that has already formed where he touched? What if, instead of giving me pointers about how best to manage my sin, God is singing, and hoping I can hear too: singing the triumph song of a life completed. A life made beautiful by his love. Ornate, calm space in my heart for God to walk in, and the highest beauty of all: love for God and love for the world. Maybe right now that love is just a paint splotch on a wall, or one trendy lamp. But someday my heart will be finished. So God can sing and laugh now, although he doesn’t need the rosé to help him celebrate.

The Chosen: The Best Drama About Jesus You’re (Probably) Not Watching

Christian movies and TV shows have had a mixed history. Many have had poor scripts, limited budgets, forgettable casting, and mediocre directing. Others offended Christian viewers by promoting heresies or contracting the clear teaching of Scripture. “The Chosen” has avoided these pitfalls to tell fictional, but Bible-based stories about Jesus and the people who met Him. “The Chosen” richly brings the Gospels to a global audience, providing a chance to see what life was like in occupied Israel in Jesus’ time. “The Chosen” creates credible stories for His family, the disciples, and others who encountered Jesus while remaining faithful to the Scriptures. Many scholars and consultants strive to make the sets, the clothing, and the atmosphere look, feel, and sound like ancient Israel. Jesus is not on-screen for long in any episode, but His presence and impact are dramatic as people come to realize He is the promised Messiah. Jesus’ miracles are portrayed as clearly supernatural, including when the disciples caught an incredible amount of fish, when water was turned into wine, and at the healing of a leper. People’s reaction to Jesus’ miracles span astonishment, wonder, puzzlement, and fear.

The opening credits of the first episode of “The Chosen” include the following, “The Chosen is based on the true stories of the gospels of Jesus Christ. Some locations and timelines have been combined or condensed. Backstories and some characters or dialogue have been added. However, all biblical and historical context and any artistic imagination are designed to support the truth and intention of the Scriptures. Viewers are encouraged to read the gospels.” In 2019, the first season’s eight episodes include (i) Jesus with Little Children, (ii) the Wedding Gift at Cana, (iii) Jesus healing Mary Magdalene, (iv) Jesus meeting the Samaritan women at the well, and (v) Jesus calling His disciples.

“The Chosen” was crowdfunded through Angel Studios. So far nearly 19,000 people have invested over $11 million to bring "The Chosen" to the screen. Viewership is already nearly 200 million worldwide. The show has been translated into 52 languages and seven seasons are planned. In 2021, the second season focuses on the beginning of Jesus public ministry and what happens as word of His ministry begins to spread. “The Chosen” is available for free through the show’s app or on YouTube, and on NBC’s Peacock network. “The Chosen” is reminiscent of other recent Bible-based, Christian-produced miniseries: “The Bible” in 2013 and “A.D. The Bible Continues” in 2015. While storytelling based on the Bible has its drawbacks and pitfalls, “The Chosen” deserves a spot on your viewing schedule.

Two Biographies on First Great Awakening

I encourage every Christian to read and study church history because it is helpful to see the successes and failures of past generations. This fall in particular, I would encourage you to pick up two biographies about two men during a remarkable period called the First Great Awakening, which was a revival of true gospel Christianity between 1720 and 1750.

·         The first biography I would recommend is George Whitefield: God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century by Arnold A. Dallimore. It’s a masterful treatment of one of the greatest preachers and evangelists of all time, George Whitfield. He preached to massive audiences on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the founders of Methodism. But he was also a committed Calvinist and a humble Christian who served the Lord with heart, soul, mind, and strength. As you read this biography, you will undoubtedly learn about the First Great Awakening. But you will also discover the challenge and encouragement of a life that is on fire for the gospel.

·         The second biography I would recommend is Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George M. Marsden. This book explores the life of one of the greatest theologians and philosophers in American history, Jonathan Edwards. As a personal friend of George Whitfield, he was a revivalist who helped spark the First Great Awakening in New England, serving as a pastor in Northampton, Massachusetts, and as a missionary to Native Americans in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. But he also was a scholarly Calvinist, committed to classic, Reformed Orthodoxy. In this way, he brought together a deep love for truth and a deep love for lost people created in the image of God.

As you read these two biographies, I would invite you to join me in sincere prayer for a third great awakening in our nation for the glory of God. May the Lord do even greater work in our age than he did in ages past!

What Does Success Mean to a Christian? (Psalm 1:1-3)

Would you describe yourself as successful? Cryptos and NFTs have finally (and somehow) brought you financial peace; your career brings fulfillment and joy; you have every title and accolade after your name; all your family members deeply love, admire, and care for you. According to your estimation, is this the measure of a successful person?

In fact, is this even the picture of a spiritually prosperous person? You might be surprised, but the Bible gives us a picture of prosperity, and it’s not complicated—it’s only two verses: “How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked / or stand in the pathway with sinners / or sit in the company of mockers! / Instead, his delight is in the LORD’s instruction, / and he meditates on it day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2, CSB).

Okay, I might have spoken too soon. This picture of prosperity is a little complicated—at least, more complex than simply memorize these verses. For instance, just consider the first two words: it’s debatable whether we should translate the Hebrew here as “happy” or “blessed,” and this isn’t just me debating semantics. Happiness is an emotion I find within myself, while blessedness is a state of being, and someone else must give it to me: you don’t bless yourself; rather, someone blesses you. At risk of simplifying this distinction, let’s work with this definition: Life will go well for someone who does what follows.

Now are we done with these complexities, Jonathan? Sadly, there’s another problem to consider: the outcome of Psalm 1 probably feels idealistic to you. Just look at verse 3—for those who follow this blessed path, everything they do prospers. Really? So, if I don’t sit, crack open a beer, and joke with the wicked, sinners, and mockers, then life is going to be great? Not quite. we’re still missing the point of Psalm 1.

Thinking about the context, one could almost rename this psalm “An Ode to Deuteronomy 28.” In fact, much of the Old Testament is looking back to that chapter. In Deuteronomy 28, God gives Israel a list of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. When the nation cares and obeys God’s commands, the people dwell safely in the land, the earth brings forth an abundance of crops, and all Israel’s enemies are decimated. Every time the Israelites are at a low point of history, the prophets would allude to the language of this chapter’s curses, essentially telling the people, “What did you expect? God promised this exact situation would happen for your disobedience.” When the nation rarely did prosper, it’s because the people cared deeply about God’s Law and listened to it. Looking back at Psalm 1, the author gives us a picture of what a faithful Israelite looks like under these Deuteronomic blessings.

From all that follows, do I need to care about God’s Word? According to Psalm 1, the answer is a resounding yes. Going further, how much more should Christians under the New Covenant take this Psalm to heart. The promised Messiah, Jesus, was the only one who perfectly kept God’s Law; moreover, this same Messiah at the cross took on the Law’s curses for sinners. However, Jesus was also the Savior regularly seen in the temple, mediating day and night on God’s Law. Whenever Jesus debated the religious leadership, his usual rebuttal or quip was simply quoting the Old Testament. Jesus Christ cared deeply about what God said in the Bible.

            Furthermore, Psalm 1 shows us that you cannot have your cake and eat it too. You cannot and will not love God on the path of wickedness. The Psalmist paints two paths, and these paths are going in opposite directions. A follower of Christ cannot be on this path of blessedness, while also taking the top ten insights of the wicked, sinners, and mockers. This is a picture of someone actively fleeing from all personal corrupting influence of wickedness. According to Psalm 1, this is the definitive picture of success and prosperity.

            Ultimately, we’re now getting to the heart of Gospel. Think back to that difficult Hebrew word. Later, the Psalms use it again, only this time for a different reason: “How joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven, / whose sin is covered! / How joyful is a person whom the Lord does not charge with iniquity / and in whose spirit is no deceit” (Psalm 32:1-2, CSB). According to David here, Life will go well for someone who is in a righteous standing before God Himself. The Bible is clear on the only way one finds this standing before God: absolute trust and dependence on Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.

What does it mean to be successful for Christians? When you have come into this authentic relationship with Jesus Christ, you find both happiness and blessedness. You know where you stand with God in life and death. You are not concerned with the path of wickedness and its definition of success. In Jesus Christ alone, and increasing obedience to Him, you find the sum and substance of biblical success and prosperity.