Daily Reading: 5-24-16
Psalm 1 New Living Translation (NLT)
Yesterday, we read Psalm 1 and considered our life-paths and who will influence us. Our take away or understanding for commitment should be to follow or obey God’s Word and His Way of Love. The Word is the foundation for a meaningful and prosperous life. God knows what is best for us; others may think they do. We may find ourselves at a crossroad where we need to choose who we will follow.
Today, we are going to read the same passage we read yesterday, but in another translation, The Voice. I find it is a great exercise to read in different translations. Sometimes a passage will be opened up to us in a new way. You may have your favorite translation and there is nothing wrong with that preference; but allow yourself to be stretched sometimes. The Word is alive and it speaks spiritual life. Period.
Psalm 1
1
God’s blessings follow you and await you at every turn:
when you don’t follow the advice of those who delight in wicked schemes,
When you avoid sin’s highway,
when judgment and sarcasm beckon you, but you refuse.
2
For you, the Eternal’s Word is your happiness.
It is your focus—from dusk to dawn.
3
You are like a tree,
planted by flowing, cool streams of water that never run dry.
Your fruit ripens in its time;
your leaves never fade or curl in the summer sun.
No matter what you do, you prosper.
4
For those who focus on sin, the story is different.
They are like the fallen husk of wheat, tossed by an open wind, left deserted and alone.
5
In the end, the wicked will fall in judgment;
the guilty will be separated from the innocent.
6
Their road suddenly will end in death,
yet the journey of the righteous has been charted by the Eternal.
Personal relationship and responsibility stands out big time in this translation for me. I will use personal pronouns in applying the life lesson from this passage, because this passage is as true for you as it is for me. Verse 1 reminds me:
God exists in a different realm but knows me; He seeks and initiates a personal and ongoing relationship with me. His blessings follow me and yet even more blessings still await me every time I turn to Him and honor His authority (wow, there is the responsibility piece to the relationship). It is my responsibility to choose wisely so I can become vibrant spiritually and prosperous in every area of my life. I cannot just follow my heart/will or the will of others and always make the right turn into blessing because I am learning to be a new creation of divine Love. This is a place I have never gone before and perhaps a place those around me do not want to go. I am given the opportunity to progress in becoming like Jesus; I’m on the path to righteous Love. I am an eternal spirit on a human journey. It is my responsibility to follow God’s Word because blessing (more of Jesus) awaits ME there. Sin is rejecting God’s authority and I realize others may choose that path. I will seek to allow my life and love for God to be a source of influence, but if the people around me do not want what I want with God I will find myself separated. I need to love them, but accept their choice because God accepts mine.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for the freedom of choice You extend every heart. Please help me to follow Christ’s righteous choices for my life, today. Today is the day You have made for me to experience life on earth, so I will rejoice and live it for You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.