Tag Archives: fruitfulness
Pondering the Psalms (Psalm 1, Part 7)
Today’s Challenge: All who have not yet trusted Christ are in the category of “the wicked.” What steps are you taking to reach “the wicked” that you know? Are they on your prayer list? Let one of them know that you are praying for them today!
Pondering the Psalms (Psalm 1, Part 6)
My friend Frank and I have an agreement, a covenant, which we have followed for several years. We read the same chapter in God’s Word each day for a week and then drop each other a short email about what we have learned. We then move to the next chapter the next week. I describe our modest online Bible study here. You might want to try this with a friend or relative.
We’ve now embarked on a journey of reading through the book of Psalms! So this week we’re reading Psalm 1 each day for a week, then on to Psalm 2, etc. Whew! I’ll post a few comments on our Psalm of the week that I pray will be an encouragement to you.
Let’s think about verse three today.
1. I love good metaphors, don’t you? While both similes and metaphors are used to make comparisons, the difference between similes and metaphors comes down to a word. Similes use the words like or as to compare things—“Life is like a box of chocolates.” In contrast, metaphors directly state a comparison—“Love is a battlefield.” In our verse this morning, the believer who chooses not to side with the wicked but instead delights in and meditates on God’s Word is described as “like a tree.” That’s a simile.
2. My earliest memories of trees are not so positive. I remember slamming into a tree on my bike. And the tree won. On my 10th birthday I wanted to climb a tree in my backyard and my friend Tate was already climbing it. I pulled him down and proceeded (on my birthday) to climb that tree. A wasp nest fell on me and I was stung numerous times.
3. But here being compared to a tree is a very positive thing! Notice (1) this tree is planted by streams of water. Not in the desert or near a dried up creek bed or by a stagnant pond. But “by streams of water.” How refreshing! Notice also (2) that this tree is fruitful! It produces appropriate fruit when it should and even its leaves don’t wither and die. So it’s a fruit tree!
In a world obsessed with prosperity, this kind of fruitfulness is commended by God Himself. And this kind of simile ought to make us smile!
Today’s Challenge: Do you see yourself as a fruitful, well-nourished tree that is prospering in your walk with Christ? Don’t miss this challenging figure of speech about your life. And mine.
Psalms of My Life (Psalm 92)
Psalm 92
A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.
1 It is good to praise the Lord
and make music to your name, O Most High,
2 proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.
4 For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
5 How great are your works, Lord,
how profound your thoughts!
6 Senseless people do not know,
fools do not understand,
7 that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be destroyed forever.
8 But you, Lord, are forever exalted.
9 For surely your enemies, Lord,
surely your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.
10 You have exalted my horn[b] like that of a wild ox;
fine oils have been poured on me.
11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.
12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”