Psalm 1:1-3 Happy New Year!

As the year 2009 was ending and the new year 2010 was beginning, I received the good will wishes of many who told me: Happy New Year! In return, I also bestowed the well intended wishes upon them. If the truth be told, neither of us have the power to bestow happiness upon anyone. It is only a desire. Even if strong, it is not enough to guarantee happiness. Where is the true source of happiness? How can we get it?

The true source of happiness is not a place, but a person. It is God! Blessing is the biblical language for happiness. It is to enjoy the favor of God Almighty with all the benefits: peace, joy, love, etc. God is the only source of blessing in the universe because blessing is directly tied to having a relationship with him. No one else can offer it! The question is how can I get it? It must be understood that blessings are bestowed by God upon his people by grace - unmerited favor. But far from thinking that there is nothing I must do to enjoy the blessings of God, there are conditions to enjoy them.

Psalm 1 gives two pictures to indicate the kind of person God blesses. On the one hand, it describes the person by way of what it ought not to do. In other words, it paints the picture of what a person lacking blessing does and says: "don't do that." He avoids walking in the counsel of the wicked, or standing in the way of sinners, or sitting in the seat of scoffers. Notice the progression from walking to standing to sitting. This is the picture of someone progressively being sucked in by evil as he seeks counsel for his life. By contrast, the second picture is of a person whose delight is in the law of the Lord and meditates upon it day and night - a tree planted by streams of water yielding fruit.

When I am confused and in need of counsel, I should run to my Great Counselor and listen to his Word. I am to avoid seeking counsel from the culture, the world, the tarot cards, the horoscope, even my own imaginations and feelings. God is the one who designed me and understands what I need. I must run to him. Seeking counsel from the wicked will only put me on a path of estrangement from God and miss out on his blessings.

If I want to have a true Happy New Year, I must make my relationship with God a priority. I must make his Word my source of counsel and delight in it day and night.

Father, fill me with your Spirit to desire your presence and your Word more than anything on this earth so that I may enjoy your blessings.

Joshua 23 Joshua's Charge to Israel's Leaders

Joshua was able to see with his own eyes the fulfillment of God's promise to Israel concerning the land. Israel marched in and conquered the territory marked out for them and gave all their attention to its allotment and occupation. They saw the hand of God at work on their behalf against the nations in the land. Lord God Almighty fought for Israel to make all of this possible. But now that Joshua is of age, he calls the leaders to remind them of the covenant.

One of the most important things that Joshua wants the leaders to understand is that the covenant is conditional. God will continue to fight for Israel before the nations as long as they are faithful to him. Some of the things that Joshua highlights are: the keeping of the Law of Moses and avoiding the adoption of the religions of the surrounding nations. The prohibition against mixing with the nations and intermarrying with them was religious and not racial. Israel was to remain faithful to the covenant to continue to receive its benefits. To achieve this, Israel had to remain ready for battle at any moment.

On the other hand, if Israel disobeyed and was unfaithful to the covenant, it had to face its consequences. The main consequence of their disobedience is that God would no longer drive the nations before Israel. The nations would become a "snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides, and thorns in your eyes until you perish." Basically, the surrounding nations would fight and dominate Israel and even take possession of the land promised. Their unfaithfulness would kindle the anger of the Lord against them until he has destroyed them from off the land.

In the new covenant with Christ, he requires me to do the same. I must be willing to wage battle with the world in which I live. Of course, it is not physical battle, but spiritual. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of darkness. I am called to remain faithful to my Lord. I am called to avoid even the appearance of evil. I am called to abstain from the sinful desires that wage battle within my soul.

I am called to separate from the world and never adopt its sinful lifestyle. I am called to be in the world, but not of the world. I am called to never conform to its ways and standards. Am I waging the battle of faith day by day? Or have I given in to the ways of the world? Has materialism, power, greed, and religious syncretism gripped my heart? Is it choking the life of Christ out of me?

Lord, help me be faithful to you every day. Fill me with your Spirit that I may discern your ways and walk in them. Don't let me settle with the ways of the world. Deliver me from evil. Amen.

Matthew 5:1-12 The Beatitudes

It is written in the Declaration of Independence that we have the right to pursue our happiness. I believe everyone is out seeking it with all their might. I'm not so sure that we are pursuing it in the right places. Natural man tends to think that happiness is all that brings temporary satisfaction no matter the source. 

But true happiness comes only from God and must be judged in light of eternity. Happiness is to be blessed by God. It is to enjoy his favor upon us. Unfortunately, I think that God will favor me all the time no matter what I am or what I do. The Scriptures teach me that if I want to enjoy the favor of God in my life, I must live by certain principles that will bring that blessing upon me. God's love is unconditional, but God's blessing is conditional - still by grace, but conditional.

God's blessings follow the principle of the harvest. What I sow, I will reap. There are many blessings that are the exception to this principle because God's grace is extended by his sovereign hand as he pleases. But as a general principle, God's blessings come upon those who are and act according to kingdom principles.

God blesses the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemaker, and the persecuted. It must be understood that each and every one of these "virtues" are tied to the kingdom of God and for its sake. I need to grow so much in each and every one of these! 

Lord, help me understand that your blessings are poured on the righteous. May my life follow you in every way to enjoy the many benefits that you offer. May I be willing to suffer in the here and now to enjoy the blessings that last forever.