Mon.3.2.15...Super Psalms- Psalm 1- Wisdom

For the next two weeks, up until our protégés join us on the blog, March 16^th, we will be feasting on Super Psalms. Out of the 150, we will take ones that represent different styles of psalms. By the way, the Jews called it “the book of praises” though many were not, as we shall see. The word “psalm” is from a Greek word indicating songs to be sung to the accompaniment of stringed instruments. So first let’s start with the first one, Psalm 1. (Note: The title is Psalm 1, not Psalms 1. It’s one specific psalm from the book of Psalms. It’s Psalm 1, not Psalm chapter 1. These are songs, not chapters. Having said this, you’ll hear plenty of educated people mis-name them. Just thought you’d like to know the proper pronunciation. We like it when people properly pronounce our names too:)  

Though David wrote nearly half of the psalms, Psalm 1 is an anonymous song. It’s categorized as a wisdom psalm. Rightly so, it’s not a psalm of lament, teaching, thanksgiving, praise, repentance, curses upon one’s enemies, or a psalm anticipating the Messiah. We’ll look at each one of these types in  the coming days. So let's now, read Psalm 1. In this wisdom psalm you’ll meet the wise man vs. the wicked. Remember how we learned to REAP- Read, Explore, Apply, Pray over the passage? Let’s do that today.

Read- (Observation- What does it say?) I often will Read a short passage like this a few times through. Bible scholars will usually read a passage 20-50 times over several weeks before they write their comments or commentaries on it. We don’t have that luxury of time. But we also don’t want to be ignorant of what the word is truly teaching. Ignorant men twist the truth to their own destruction. Coming up with a short title of what you read can be very helpful. (When I was in Bible college, my dorm mate and I put a poster board on our door and came up with a title for each of the psalms.) Let’s title this one- “The righteous and the wicked contrasted.” That seems to summarize it well.

Explore- (Interpretation- What does it mean?) This is what mediation helps us to do. Meditation helps us to ask questions as we read. Ask questions such as- Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? As we have read and observed what the passage says, it should start to generate questions. I’ve corresponded with Bible scholar, Dr. Charlie Dyer who kindly commended me for asking questions. He wrote me back the following- "The late Professor Howard Hendricks was one of the greatest professors I ever had. “Prof,” as we called him, taught Bible Study Methods at Dallas Seminary for over 50 years. And the first lesson on the very first day of class was to ask questions." So Ask Questions! This is our first (B.I.G) Bible Interpreting Guideline.

1.-So what’s a few questions that come to your mind as you read through Psalm 1?

As we Explore a passage, we will at some point want to check out what other Bible passages might shed light on our passage. (This is known as Correlation- where we correlate or compare other Bible verses. These “cross references” to the passage we are studying can be quite helpful. A good cross reference to Psalm 1:2 is Joshua 1:8, which we meditated on several weeks ago- “Do not let this Book  of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Thus, we see mediation being blessed in both Joshua 1 and Psalm 1. These verses also reveal Bible Interpreting Guideline (B.I.G) #2- Give careful consideration to what you read. This is where meditation also aids us greatly. We are to chew on God’s word after we take it in (this is what we’re doing with our MP3 cards), just as a cow chews the cud it takes in from earlier in the day. This is so important to do because we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Meditating or reviewing also helps us to conquer the giant eraser machine.

This leads us to B.I.G. #3 - The purpose of rightly interpreting the Bible is to rightly obey it. “Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.” Josh.1:8. Jesus said the man who hears but doesn’t put God’s word into practice is like a fool building his house upon the sand (Mt.7:26-27). But He also said that the man who practices and teaches others God’s word will be called great in God’s kingdom (Mt.5:19). I’m so glad you’re sharing (teaching) God’s word that you've written down on your MP3 cards with others. That’s GREAT!

Why should we take the time to look at cross references? Because the Bible is the best interpreter of itself. So compare Scripture with Scripture. This is Bible Interpreting Guideline #4. For example, a NT cross reference to meditating in Ps.1:2 is found in Col.3:16- “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom.” Thus, the NT also commends and commands meditating on God’s word. It wasn’t just an OT thing. Aren’t you glad we’re practicing this via our MP3 cards?!

Apply (Application- What does it mean for me?)

2.- So what would be a fair application for your life from Psalm 1? Write this out as a praise or prayer to God and share it with us. Speaking of…

Prayer- REAP ends in Prayer. Through the Bible, God speaks to us, through prayer, we speak back to God. Please close your time in prayer. This would be a good time to also include a word of prayer for fellow team mates, such as your fire team buddy, or the brother above you on the blog to whom you might write an encouraging note, or the protégés you’ve been recruiting. 

Since we’re on the topic of prayer and Bible study, beware of spiritual sounding people that mislead others regarding God’s word. I talked with a man recently who said he prayed all week about a passage concerning the rapture. He said God gave him a new revelation that there was no rapture. Sadly, it became clear that he knew very little about the Bible. I also pointed out that there are men who have prayed even longer than he had yet never came up with that notion. So here’s Bible Interpreting Guideline #5- Being prayerful is commendable, but it is not a dependable replacement for the careful study of Scripture. Regarding God’s word we are told to “Study to show ourselves approved unto God.” (2 Tim.2:15). Ezra was commended because he “devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord and to teaching its decrees and laws to Israel.” May we be like Ezra with the NT law of the Lord- studying it, obeying and sharing it with others (S.O.S- Study, Obey, Share. Keep up the good work!)

3.-Write on your MP3 card your prayer you shared with us from Psalm 1. That might be a great thing to also pray for others and thus encourage them. (Then do the “Did it.”)

G. How many individuals or groups did you get to share and enrich from your MP3 card?

R? (Please only type the letter R if you sought to Right a wrong.)

E? How many teammates on the blog or via a call, text or email did you Encourage since last blog? Or a prospective protégé? (Encouraging others is a key trait of Coaches. You will soon have several to coach.)

A? Attacked in warfare prayer? O Lord help the new pros joining us to become Power HOUSE men who will battle with us to forcefully advance your kingdom.

T? Feel free to also share outreach opportunities you had, or you can just put up numbers.

Here’s a summary of our B.I.G. Bible Interpreting Guidelines (We’ll discover others as we go along in our Super Psalms series.)

BIG #1- Ask questions!

BIG #2- Give careful consideration to what you read. (Think, meditate.) 

BIG #3- The purpose of rightly interpreting the Bible is to rightly obey it.

BIG #4- The Bible is the best interpreter of itself. So compare scripture with scripture.

BIG #5- Being prayerful is commendable but it is not a dependable replacement for the careful study of Scripture.

Announcements
Wow! I can't wait to hear how you liked the GDP video that is posted yesterday.
Again, you have all week to knock this easy one out. Be awed! It's awesome!

High 5's and above to most all of you men! (The open secret to achieving this is sharing your MP3 passage and or Encouraging a few people. That's also great practice for our new proteges joining us here in 2 weeks.)
10+ to Jack and Eddie with 11; Sam with 12; and Robert with 16! 

1 Tim.4:15	G=God's Word	G MP3 sharing	Right Wrongs	Encouragement	A= Attack Prayers	T	Totals
	For Th. 2.26.15
Alpha Force
Fire Team 1
Jack Rogers U.2	1	4		3	1	2	11
Roger Vinlasaca U.2	1	1		1	1		4
Fire Team 2							0
Mike Pagan U.2	1	1			1		3
George Rabiela	1	1		4	1	2	9
Fire Team 3							0
Sam Vargas U.2	1	1		5	1	4	12
Gary Remson U.2	1	1	1	2	1		6
Fire Team 4							0
Robert Roman U.1	1	8		6	1		16
Vince Diaz U.1	1	1		3	1		6
							0
Delta Force							0%
Fire Team 1							0
Alvin James U.2	1	2		1	1		5
Kentrayle Adams U.1	1		1		1		3
Fire Team 2							0
Dave Heidekruger U.2	1	1		2	1		5
Israel Fuentes U.2	1	2		2	1		6
Fire Team 3							0
Daniel Contreras U.1	1	1	1	2	1		6
Antonio Palomar	1	1		1	1		4
Fire Team 4							0
Eddie Morales U.2	1	1	1	6	1	1	11
Ismael Andrade U.2	1			1	1	2	5