He has Risen indeed

 

Psalm 37:16-31

 

April 17, 2022

 

He has Risen indeed

 

Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.   For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.  The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine, they have abundance.   But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke, they vanish away. The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives; for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off. The steps of a man are established by the Lord when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.

 

I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.   He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.  Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever.  For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints.
They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.  The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever. The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.

 

When Jan and I got married we were both Baptist, both had joined the Baptist church but had not entered into Christ.  We believed that he was born of a virgin, a young girl of 13 years, that He was God, and the Father sent His only Son to redeem and forgive sinful people, all people, no matter how evil they were if they did what Roman 10:9-10 required of them.

 

I remember this verse in Proverbs 22:7, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.”  Jan and I decided we would not be slaves to the lender and that required both of us to not allow our desires to rule us.  So often we had little compared to our friends, but we were free and God honored us because we were keeping His word.  Verse One tells us in so many words to wait on the Lord, He knows your desires, and He also knows about those rental places where you store all the stuff too good to give to someone who would put it to use.

 

Jan and I were not righteous, that came later for both of us and we are in an agreement that being a Baptist did not give us peace, joy, or hope, but when we ask Jesus to forgive us for trying to take His place and to enter into His peace, we experience the fruits of the Spirit.

 

My hope is, when it looks like all is lost I will recall this verse; “But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke, they vanish away.”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice