Psalm 98: Raising the Sea Level of Grace Together

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. The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

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

Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; 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. - Psalm 98

"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."

I'm a big, white guy, from a middle-class background, decently intelligent and educated. Sure, I was picked on a little bit growing up and my family background was a bit messed up, but it was stable and I grew up healthy and relatively well adjusted. I appreciate it more as I go along.

But not everyone grew up that way, either in circumstance or environment. There are those who are pushed around, displaced, stolen from, in want or fearful. The hopeless that I've felt in small portions in my time, they have lived in full measure.

What is my job, before the Lord, for people in these circumstances? One is to rejoice with them. The "Let them sing" at the end of Psalm 98 is not referring to the people of Israel specifically or even the oppressed in general. No, it is the "sea", "everything in it", the "world", "all who live in it", the "rivers" and the "mountains". It is the onlookers who are expected to take as much joy in God's justice as those who are vindicated. For me, it is especially those who have been "okay" to celebrate with others because "equity" that God gives shows his goodness and it raises the sea level of grace for all of us and the redeemed spur each other on towards God.

1 John 5:1-6: Swimming With The Current of God's Commands

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth - 1 John 5:1-6

Why does John insist that "And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world."? It seems to me that following his commands are burdensome. My flesh wants to do one thing, but God demands the opposite. I am taught to be suspect of my own desires because they are leading me to focus on myself rather than on what God says I should focus on: him and other people. So how does John think that the commands are not burdensome?

I'm not sure. But maybe I am looking at this statement the wrong way around. The key seems to lie in faith. "This is the victory that has overcome the world [exactly my problem] even our faith." John then goes on to say: "Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." Hmm... What does that mean? Why does faith that "Jesus is the son of God" make his commands less burdensome? 

Maybe because faith puts me in alignment with God and God, not my desires or even my sin, is the most powerful force in the universe. That is: obeying God's commands is less burdensome because I don't want to be swimming in one direction when God is moving in the other direction. It may feel temporarily like it is less burdensome to do my own thing but ultimately the current of God's will and desire will turn the tide and I will be at cross-purposes with God--not a good place to be.

These verses are forcing me to rethink my life in terms of the macro-climate, God-centered picture rather than the micro-climate picture me-centered picture.

Acts 10:44-49: We Can't Believe That God Believes That They Believe

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. - Acts 10:44-49

Peter preached an evangelistic sermon to a group of unbelievers and they repented and believed. But the people travelling with Peter couldn't believe that his evangelistic sermon actually worked. They were the ones who were surprised wen God actually confirmed their faith by sending the Spirit of God. As if they didn't really expect God to work or Peter's sermon to be effective. They were surprised that the Gentiles were getting the blessing. 

Peter did not leave it at that. He said they should be baptized. By doing so, he made it clear that they had the same status as him and all of the circumcised believers who were with them. Holy Spirit? Check. Baptized in the name of Jesus? Check. 

We believe we know the steps, but it is God who decides and it is God who knows people's heart.  I hope that I will know how to encourage people who are coming closer to God and not keep them far away. I hope that I am not the one who doesn't believe.

1 John 3:1-7: What I Will Be When I Grow Up

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.. - 1 John 3:1-17

When I was a kid, people would always ask me what I wanted to be when I grow up. As a kid, I really didn't know. So I looked around at other people that I knew or saw on TV or read about in books and imagined myself like them and assumed that was what it meant to be grown up. I could go cool stuff. No one could tell me what to do. I could watch whatever I wanted on TV, eat as much as I wanted and go to bed when I wanted.  Of course, I'd have to do the boring stuff also, like work and taking out the trash, but secretly I assumed that this was all a masquerade that hid the true coolness of being an adult.

What would I do if I couldn't see other adults to help my imagination along? I guess I would have been pretty clueless in some areas and, because my imagination wasn't yet crippled by reality, in some ways I was pretty wise. This past week I looked back over a lot of my early creative work: poems, plays, short stories, made up languages and maps. But I also didn't understand, as Liza Bennet once said, "Handsome young men must have something to live on as well as the plain." Parents can create an environment for this to happen without the worry and details.

That is what John says: "The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." The world can't imagine what it means to grown up because they don't know Jesus. Even we, who are children of God, do not fully know ("what we will be has not yet been made known") but we get a glimpse the closer we get to Jesus, because he is the the adult. For even the best of us, there will be a shock because we can't really imagine all of the ramifications of living with the same mindset as Jesus. But we know that can be as much like him as we can imagine: pure and righteous.