The Theme of Psalm 22, 23 & 24 United in Christ Jesus

January 31, 2025 — jwwealand

The Cross of sacrifice, Psa. 22 has parallels with every gospel account of the crucifixion of Jesus. For Christians this is in the past tense. “God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.(Rom. 5:8) The Lamb of God had to be perfect, as well as the first-born. So he was good in two aspects: 1, Good intrinsically without sin. 2, Good in humble service as sacrificially demonstrating love on the cross. This kind of goodness, only God can share. We see this point taught by Jesus in Matthew 19:17, Mark 10:18 & Luke 18:19.

 “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only ______ who is good.”

Can you ‘see’ someone being crucified in Psa. 22:14-18 ? 

The Crook of the Shepherd’s Staff, Psa. 23:4 & John 10:1-17 has an obvious parallel for Jesus as the Good Shepherd, which for us today is present tense. The Staff was used in two ways: to help hold the sheep in a position for inspection & treatment when sick or injured or suffering from parasites. Also, to help rescue a lost sheep if it was trapped or stuck, else it would become a predator’s meal.

The Spirit of Christ is active, seen in the New Testament;

Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from 

the dead the __________ shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, Heb. 13:20.

How much bigger and more capable does a Shepherd seem to mere sheep, when sheep are in trouble or suffering?

The Crown of the Savior, Psa. 24:1-4 & Revelation 21:27 Share a sentiment about the utopian earth with the sovereign security of a King who rules to protect his domain and citizens. The reason “earth” is used is because the Rule Jesus demonstrated before he became a glorious King after the resurrection gives him control over all forces on earth. 

That is why Peter calls him the __________ Shepherd in 1st Peter 5:4. A shepherd who became a King, writing in the Lamb’s book of Life, everyone’s name who is secure in the Kingdom of Heaven. This has a futuristic glory in fulfilling the promise of our home in heaven. 

In Psa. 24:7-9, Four times the words “gates and/or doors” are used to describe the King’s entry into a holy place of security & glory.  Do you see the importance of being “in Christ” as the Chief Shepherd or Door of the Sheep (Jn. 10:1-9)?

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Psalm 12 from a Christian Perspective

January 24, 2025 — jwwealand

12:1, Have we ever felt we were the only righteous people around? Elijah felt this way after Queen Jezebel sent him a death-threat letter, 1st Kg. 19:10. God directly gave Elijah the truth of many other followers that were currently alive & well. Now David feels this way & needs rescued, because David feels like all who are godly, are finished & obliterated. Jesus once asked

 “When the Son of Man comes, will he find ___________ on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)

v2-3 Knowing what the wicked speak is a great way to discern what words we should not speak. Twice used is the word “flattering” – chelqah (hebrew) smooth & slippery. 

This is the opposite of the word used in v6, from Jehovah, which is “reliable” – imrah (hebrew) uttering a command.

Jesus says, “for every _________ word men may speak, they will give account of it on the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified & by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36)

Consistently the only word used for God in this Psalm is YHWH, Jehovah. Requesting that God cut off the lips and cut out the tongue of wicked people is not incongruous with his Holy nature because holiness ultimately demands elimination of everything unholy. The reason the speech of the wicked persists is because Jesus says “you will be sons of the Most High, for he

 is ________ to the ungrateful and the evil, be merciful even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36) With God, mercy always triumphs over justice.

v4 shows the rhetorical question expressing the arrogant attitude of wicked people. As far as they are concerned, they are answerable to no one for how they speak. What does Jude v16 say about people who talk like this? What is it about our God that makes Christians feel differently?

v5, We should be careful how we treat people in the world who are poor and afflicted. It is because of how these poor and afflicted people cry and hurt, that Jehovah “springs into action” (hebrew) attah meaning ‘to rise up’ which is the same verb in God’s reaction in the running Father who sees the prodigal son returning repentant. (Luke 15:20) We do not want to be the people who Jesus says would be better off with a millstone tied around our neck drowning in the sea. Read & understand Luke 17:1-2.v6-8, Jehovah will protect and shelter his children who are poor and afflicted. The verbs protect & shelter are both words that make God act like a sentinel watchman weaponized to strike out on threatening enemies. God’s promise of protection, once proven, is as precious as silver refined by fire. Do not forget how priceless our own faith in God is; 1st Peter 1:5-7 uses “Gold” not silver to describe our faith tested & proven in the promises of God.

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Virtues of Christ ~ a summary

January 19, 2025 — jwwealand

Humility, Compassion, Kindness, Patience, Forgiveness, Joy, Peace, Faithfulness, Holiness or Self-Control, these 9 subjects covered during the past few months only touch on the fruit of the Holy Spirit growing in the new creation Christ creates in every Christian. Let us continue to grow in the grace & knowledge of Christ by looking into some of the synonyms the New Testament uses to fully describe the fruit of the Holy Spirit. There are 12 words in His description.

  1. Love, Gal. 5:22
  2. Joy, Gal. 5:22
  3. Peace, Gal. 5:22
  4. Patience, Gal. 5:22
  5. Goodness, Gal. 5:22, Eph. 5:9.
  6. Faithfulness, Gal. 5:22
  7. Kindness, Gal. 5:22
  8. Gentleness, Gal. 5:23
  9. Self-control, Gal. 5:23
  10. Holiness, Romans 6:22
  11. Righteousness, Ephesians 5:9, Hebrews 12:11, James 3:18
  12. Truthfulness, Ephesians 5:9

In the field of Botanical Reproduction, scientists have learnt that fruit is distinguished from vegetables as any flowering growth from the plant that has it’s seeds inside (except for the strawberry) Botanists have given fruit 12 different general characteristics. Every fruit has at least 12 parts.

The following parts are AROUND the seed

1. Exocarp (outer skin)

  1. Mesocarp (flesh of fruit)
  2. Pericarp (flesh around seed, usually higher in fructose)
  3. Endocarp (material around seed) in peaches it is the stone.
  4. Pedical (part of stem which goes inside the fruit)

The following parts are all INSIDE the seed

6. Endosperm,   7. Scutellum,    8. Cotyledon,   9. Plumule,   10. Hypocotyl,   11. Radicle and

12. Coleorhiza.

There are over 300,000 species of flowering plants that bear fruit, the majority have these 12 parts in them. This is the result of a Designer, we believe Our God, who made physical fruit also grows spiritual fruit. Do you notice how the seed is packed with parts? If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, it begins there. This is why Jesus teaches on the work of God being in believing! See John 6:28-29 & Ephesians 2:4-10 to see how Paul put this work in our hearts to mature the new creature in Christ.

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Virtues of Christ ~ Faithfulness

January 4, 2025 — jwwealand

The idea of being faithful, usually falls into three different contexts for our modern vocabulary. Firstly, marriage, secondly, worship and lastly, we sometimes use the word faithful in the context of allegiance in support of an athletic team. Christ is the perfect example of what it means to be faithful from God’s perspective. He always did the will of His Father, see John 8:28-29, this is the very essence of faithfulness as a virtue, it is pleasing!

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” 

This shows us clearly, the command of Christ is to faithfully obey the will of God in Him, without this, we will not be saved in His Kingdom!

Christ was, is and will always be faithful in doing the will of God in our lives. Jesus said, 

(Matthew 23:23-24) “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law – 

justice, mercy, and _________________________. You should have done these things without neglecting the others. 

Jesus often spoke of faithfulness as the exact opposite of honesty, see Luke 16:10-11.

“The one who is _________________ in a very little is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you haven’t been 

_______________________ in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches? 

So to be honest with the gifts God gives us, and also to be obedient to the commands Christ has for us, is the essence of faithfulness as a virtue of Christ in the Christian.

Are we honest with our spouse?

Are we honest with our income?

Do we have integrity in ourselves, when faced with the commands of Christ? Faithfulness is not measured by the number of times we attend worship services in a year, but it is measured by what we do during worship. Loyal love in our hearts towards Christ for all he is, has done and will do is the driving force behind real faithfulness.

The answers to these questions help us evaluate our own faithfulness. A virtue the world does not emphasize. We must rely on Christ’s Spirit to grow His fruit, Gal. 5:22-23, which includes faithfulness.

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Virtues of Christ ~ Peace

January 3, 2025 — jwwealand

Jesus Christ Himself is our peace. This is easily understood when we accept the definition of the Greek word for ‘peace’, eirene. In Gal. 5:22 & Eph. 2:14. Peace is a part of Him, which He wants us to enjoy at all times and in every way we can enjoy it, 2Ths. 3;16. Peace is His ability to make friends, overcoming anxiety and conflict between Him and us individually and personally. If it were not for the loving self-sacrifice of Jesus, we would have no hope at all, of ever becoming friends with our Creator, God, the Father and Lord of Heaven and Earth. Because of our sinfulness, we are often enemies towards Him and maybe more often in frustration against His will, because of our own sinful selfishness. The whole passage of Ephesians 2:11-22 needs to be read for a real good grasp of God’s peace in your mind and/or heart.

Don’t forget the reality of Acts 9:31

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed ____________, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.  

When His fruit grows in our heart, we find a friendship with God as Abraham himself had such a continual and growing relationship with Him. Abraham is called the Friend of God, James 2:23, so lets consider the faith of Abraham and make it our own so we can enjoy the same friendship Abraham had. A faith that obeyed God’s word, against all the odds, Abraham travelled on a journey not knowing exactly where he would be finished. When he got there, he found it was famine stricken, but still gave thanks for it, and offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving. For survival he fled to Egypt and when strengthened he returned to the land God promised and showed to him, that is real faith! Abraham also was patient and waited on the promise of God for a son, for several long years and despite all the odds of old-age, he continued with his barren wife, not forsaking her, but in a normal marriage relationship, she conceived and successfully bore a son in old age, what faith! And then if that wasn’t enough faith, Abraham showed more, when God asked him to sacrifice his son, Abraham tried, but God’s angel stopped him. Can we faithfully obey God, even when it seems dangerous? Abraham did, so can we. Greater is He that is within us, than he that is in the world. 1st John 4:4

Jesus condemned worry, in Matthew 6:25-34. But we all fall into that type of sinfulness all too often. Why? Maybe we should ask, Why should we avoid it? Firstly, it’s no good for us whatsoever! Secondly, it’s a complete waste of time. Thirdly, if we are worrying, we are not trying to find God’s Kingdom and His righteousness. Therefore, we are lost, without His rule and with out His goodness in our lives. His peace can help us rest on Him for answers and solutions coming at the right time after we have fulfilled His righteousness in our lives and done what is good to the best of our ability. There comes a time in every problem we approach, when we must stop and pray, casting our cares upon Him because He cares for us, 1st Peter 5:7. Or do we really believe He cares for us. This may be why we worry too much, because we don’t REALLY believe God does care. If we do believe this, then we are walking in His friendship and are at peace with Him.

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