Wishing you all a Blessed New Year 2018
Blessedness
Psalms
1: 1-3
Vs. 1-3 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the
counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat
of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he
meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever
he does prospers”
2017 has become history. All of us wonder what the new
year will bring. What will happen in 2018? Will it be a good year or a
bad year for us personally? Time marches on and the calendar
changes. But the Word of God remains the same. Every one of us like to be
blessed by God in 2018. All of us feel that way, which is why we wish
each other a “blessed” new year. May our God who has led us thus
far lead us in the New Year and years to come.
Psalm 1 tells us how we can be continually blessed every
day. In just six short verses we learn the secret of the life God
blesses. And it’s not just related to New Year’s resolutions. Every
January most of us make a list of things we want to change. But the
blessing Psalm 1 talks about goes much deeper. “Blessed is the man.”
Happy is the man. This is God’s prescription for happiness.
Blessedness relates to the way we live and the choices we
make. It depends on the kind of people we are. From God’s point of view,
there are two ways and only two ways to live because there are only two
kinds of people in the world. There are the righteous and then there are
the wicked. Everyone in the world falls into those two categories. There
is no “in-between” category. Psalm 1 shows us how the righteous live and
why they are blessed. It also shows us the end result of both ways of
life. We can summarize the message of these verses as follows:
V.1 Blessedness comes by following the way of the Righteous.
In biblical terms to be blessed means to be rightly related
to God so that your life is fulfilled and you experience deep personal
satisfaction. It’s important to know that this sort of happiness is not
related to our circumstances. And it doesn’t come simply by seeking for
it. You find happiness not by seeking it but by doing certain things. The
blessing comes as a result of the choices we make. Blessings come not only from what we do, but also from
what we don’t do. Blessed people avoid certain things. And they avoid certain
people and certain situations. They don’t hang out just anywhere and they
don’t quickly buy into every line of thinking. And they are very careful
not to join themselves to the company of those who do not love the Lord.
Psalm 1 assures us that it is possible to live a blessed and
happy life, but only on God’s terms. The world offers entertainment,
cheap thrills and momentary pleasure, but true happiness, authentic joy
and true peace are found only in the Lord.
V.2 Blessedness comes from building your life on the Word of
God.
We need to focus on knowing
God’s Word. We must replace the negative with something positive. The
psalmist tells us that the godly person “delights” in the law of the
Lord. That means he loves the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, the
Bible. The word “delight” means to take great pleasure in. It has the
idea of a consuming passion that controls your life. Everyone “delights”
in something. Some people delight in food. Others delight in a job or a hobby
or a career. Some delight in a particular friendship. Many people delight
in money or the things money can buy. And many delight in evil pleasures
and wrong desires. But remember one thing. Your “delight” determines your
direction. Those who are blessed by God love his law and they meditate in
it day and night.
V.3 Blessedness is marked by stability and fruitfulness.
The person who builds his
life on the Word of God is like a tree planted by streams of water. His
life is marked by the twin virtues of stability and fruitfulness. Their
“leaf does not wither.” and they prosper in all that they do. No matter
what happens, they find strength for the day and hope in the midst of the
hardest difficulties. They bring forth godly fruit in good times and bad
times. Because they are planted deep in the good soil and their roots
reach out to the water of the Word of God. Finding constant nourishment
therein, they can face whatever life throws at them.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, help us to be people of the Word,
delighting in what you have given us. May we say No to every form of
evil, even the casual friendships that pull us in small ways away from
you. Grant us the strength to say “Yes” to you and to your Word.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
"Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is
my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let
it be."
Rev. Manoj Idiculla, Carmel MTC, Boston
Christian
Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church
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