Spiritual Blessings

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf des not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” (Psalm 1 vv. 3-4 ESV)

David's writing in Psalm 1 plays right into the hands of false teachers today: " Have faith, and you will prosper.” The “He” David speaks of is the disciple of the Lord. However, David does not speak of worldly blessings, only spiritual ones. These spiritual blessings, the true riches of discipleship, are what we should strive for.

We know that Christ told us that to follow Him means to pick up our own cross. While the burdens of Jesus are light, the world and the prince of this world make lives difficult. Before I met Jesus, I had no idea what it meant to be blessed. David uses the image of a tree planted by a spring as his example, and it is a perfect example.

Like the tree, we who are planted in Christ are fed by Christ. We are fed everything we require so long as we understand the meaning of discipleship. In the first psalm, David writes of a Christ-centered life. When we are devoted to Christ, follow the words of God, and have faith that we have already been plucked from this world, no matter our troubles, we know we are blessed. What an incredible feeling.

Those who are Godless are not so fortunate. There is no gray area, no in-between, no place betwixt righteous and wicked; you either have faith in Christ or you do not. Those who do not are like the sands on the beach in a storm blown haphazardly around, the leaves in the fall in a windstorm blown aimlessly about; there are no blessings. It is not an accident that David begins Psalm 1 with the word blessed and ends with the word perish. You are either one or the other. Do you know which you are, blessed or perished? The contrast is stark, the choice is clear.

It is not easy to be a disciple of the Lord, especially since we are all sinners. It is the shed blood of the Lamb, the precious blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross for you and me, that allows us to become children of God by faith in Christ and His grace. Look around you; it is critical; there is no time for tomorrow; it may never come. The urgency is real. Seek Jesus Christ as your Savior, forget your fears and doubts, and place your faith in Him. It matters not what you say or how you say it; tell the Lord you have faith in Him as the Son of God and ask Him to give you the power to repent your sins.

Give yourself to Christ; it is about giving up on the world and believing in Him. Our God lives; does He live in you?

Grace and Peace!