I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for almost a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I started writing this blog because the only way I can get myself to read the Bible everyday is to pretend that I am teaching someone about what it says to me. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
Today’s passage includes the song David sang when God rescued him from his enemies (it is not clear to me if this was a song David sang from time to time or one he composed and sang on one particular occasion). It reminds me of the song “I Will Call Upon the Lord” by Petra. The opening stanza gives us a basic statement of faith.
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.
He is my refuge, my savior,
the one who saves me from violence.
I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me from my enemies.
It is God who provides us with protection and shelter from the storms of this life. If we call on Him, He will save us from our enemies. We read here what happens when we trust in God to be our savior:
yes, I cried to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
my cry reached his ears.
Then the earth quaked and trembled.
The song goes on to tell more of how all that exists is shaken to its core when God responds to the cries of His people, those who serve Him. We learn who gets this response from God:
I have not turned from my God to follow evil.
As long as we follow God’s path and turn to Him rather than follow evil, He will come to our rescue when we are in distress. Even if in the past we have turned away from God, if we turn to Him today, He will hear our cry and deliver us. All too often I face trouble in this life because I have taken my eyes off of God and been seduced by something else. There is so much in this passage for us. God shows Himself faithful to those who are faithful and demonstrates His integrity to those who act with integrity. God will rescue the humble, but He will humiliate the proud. Towards the end of the song, David sang these words which lift my spirit and echo in my mind:
May God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted!
The passage goes from this song to a description of David’s last words and then lists the mighty men whom God placed around David to help bring him to victory. David did not stand alone, God gave him some mighty warriors to stand by his side. These men became recognized because they did not turn from danger, but stood firm in the Lord. In this life we do not go it alone, God has sent us to be part of a team. If we are faithful and serve God, He will send mighty warriors to fight at our side (or perhaps we will be the mighty warriors He sends to fight at someone else’s side). Let us stand firm and not flee the battle because we are outnumbered. Let us look at those who were called the Three. One stood fast and defeated 800 men in one battle. Another stood firm when the rest of the army had fled and fought until his arm was too tired to lift his sword. The third did something similar, he held his ground when the rest of the army had fled and by doing so God brought about a great victory. Let us continue to fight God’s fight until we are too tired to continue. God promises that if we are truly fighting His battle that He will bring about a great victory.
During the Jewish Festival of Weeks after Jesus death and resurrection, the disciples were gathered together in one place. Suddenly there was the sound of a windstorm and what appeared to be fire distributed itself onto each one present. The people present began speaking in
different languages. The passage tells us that they spoke according to what the Holy Spirit moved them to say. The noise of what happened was so loud that people from all around came running to see what was happening (perhaps not running, but they gathered to see what was going on). At the time there were Jews from all over the world in Jerusalem. Those who gathered were amazed at what they heard when they got there. They heard these hicks from Galilee speaking in their native tongue. No matter what their native tongue was, one or more of the disciples was speaking it. Most of the crowd was amazed to hear the disciples, who were all from Galilee, speaking in their own tongues, telling of the wonderful things God had done. However, some of the crowd dismissed it, saying that the disciples were merely drunk.
At this, Peter stood forward as the spokesman for the group (the Greek implies that he was put forward as the spokesman). Peter told the crowd that rather than the disciples being drunk, it was after all only nine in the morning, the crowd was witnessing the fulfillment of the prophecy from Joel. The prophet Joel said that God would pour out His Spirit on all people so that they will prophesy, see visions and dream dreams. God’s Spirit will perform wonders through all who will receive Him. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Peter told the crowd that God had endorsed Jesus by doing great wonders through Him, as the crowd was well aware. Jesus was betrayed and turned over to Gentile authorities to be killed, according to God’s foreknowledge and planning. Peter doesn’t pull any punches in this sermon. First he told the crowd that they were well aware of the miracles which Jesus had performed through the power of God. Then Peter told the crowd that THEY had nailed Him to the cross and killed Him. But, Peter told them, God was not finished yet. He did not abandon Jesus to the grave, nor allow His body to rot, just as David had written in Psalm 16. Rather God had raised Jesus from the dead and the disciples were witnesses to that resurrection. Peter concluded his sermon by telling the crowd that Jesus, whom they had crucified, was made Lord and Messiah by God.
Peter’s words convicted many in the crowd so that they asked him, and the rest of the disciples, what they should do. Peter gave a series of steps to follow:
- Repent of your sinsTurn to God
- Be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins
Once you have done these three things, you will receive the Holy Spirit. These three steps are steps for us to follow today, both for ourselves and when preaching salvation to others. The first step to salvation is that we must acknowledge that we have been sinful and done things which harm ourselves, our fellow man and our relationship with God. Then we must turn to God in the desire to have a relationship with Him. Finally, we must be baptized in the name of Jesus in order to receive the forgiveness of sins. Once we have completed these three steps, God will give us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Peter continued to preach calling on those listening to separate themselves from a crooked generation. A message that we should be preaching today. The passage tells us that 3,000 new believers were baptized that day.
This psalm starts off with a great line for worship: I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” We no longer have to go to a specific location to join with others to worship God, but are we filled with joy when someone says to us, “Let us get together to worship the Lord.” Or are we “too busy?” Are we willing to put aside our other concerns in order to spend time with our brothers and sisters worshiping the Lord?
It is better to be humble and live in poverty than it is to be among the proud who divide plunder taken from others. If you are willing to take instruction, you will do well in this life and those who trust God will find true happiness.