Tag: Story

Daily Psalms – Psalm 105

by Matthew Stidham, posted in Psalms, Scripture

Daily Psalm Reading – Psalm 101-105

Today we focus in on Psalm 105, a poetic history of the people of Israel. If you want a summary of the Hebrew Scriptures in a concise package, you’ve come to the right place. The psalmist begins by reminding us of our part in the story of God:

Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
    tell of all his wonderful acts.

Psalm 105:1-2 NIV

How often are you stopping to “tell of all his wonderful acts?” Or better yet, how often are you stopping to recognize all his wonderful acts in your life? The psalmist recounts Israel’s history, which is also your history and my history because we are children of Abraham (Gal. 3:7). We need to know this story! It’s your story!

Your personal story is also important. Every generation of believers learns the historical story of Yahweh’s people. We are also called to be witnesses of what he has done in our lives. We need to tell others the story of Jesus and how he has changed our lives! Lost souls need to hear that God remembers the promises he has made forever, and those promises extend to us as well! (v. 8-10)

Telling our story also keeps us focused on what matters. History is selective. We tend to tell about the winning goal we scored rather than what we ate for lunch in the 4th grade. We tend to leave out the unimportant details in favor of the ones we view as more important.

So how important is God to you?

How important is the saving power of Jesus in your life?

If it is important to you, are you telling that story?

If not, why not?

These questions get us thinking about what is really important in our past, and those realizations should influence us to focus on what is important in the present and the future.

Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Look to the LORD and his strength;
    seek his face always.

Psalm 105:3-4 NIV

Our history is his story. Let us all focus on what truly matters, and tell that story in our lives. Blessings.

You’re Probably Reading the Bible the Wrong Way (Part 2)

by Matthew Stidham, posted in How to Read the Bible, Scripture

In my last article I mentioned that followers of Christ need the entirety of Scripture (both Old and New Testaments) in order to really understand God’s Word revealed to humans. Many will try to say we only need the New Testament, but this is not what the writers of the New Testament believed. They knew the entire Word of God was important (see my last article for further explanation.)

70% of the Bible is story. It’s narrative description of what has happened to humans seeking to honor God (or not) with their lives, and God’s interactions with those people. The other 30% of the Bible is messages back and forth between members of the story…letters written between the characters of the story. We need all of this to see the story of the Bible, as well as to properly understand Scripture in its own context.

Scot McKnight puts it this way in his book, The Blue Parakeet:

“There is not just one and only one story in the Bible. But there are two nonnegotiables (sic) in the Bible’s Story. First, there is a general plot from the creation of the heavens and the earth in Genesis 1-2 to the establishment of the new heaven and the new earth in Revelation 20-22. Second, there are redemptive benefits for those who participate in that ‘general plot’ by declaring allegiance to the God of that plot.”

The Garden was perfect. God’s creation was good and not marred by sin. The Garden represents the ideal relationship between God and his people. Here they are physically present with one another (Gen. 3:8). When will this type of relationship happen again?

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Revelation 22:1-5 NIV

Notice that we are once again in a garden setting in the physical presence of God himself and his radiance is all the light we will need.

God is about the work of restoring all things. He is working to make all things new again. Perhaps this is what Paul means when he tells us we are a “new creation” in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17, Gal. 6:15).

Next week we’ll look at the three main sections of the overarching story of the Bible, but for today I would encourage you to seek the answer to this question:

Does who I used to be still haunt me, or am I truly living like a new creation in Christ?