I thought I’d split my insights into two articles so we would all have more space to digest.
Previously we spoke on how God is who He says He is, and He is good. As we continue on Psalm 34 we shall see how our God is faithful to save, through Christ. Enjoy! -JB
“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
The Lord remembers the righteous, but the memory of the wicked will be erased.” – Psalm 34:15-16
Note that it is not for us to say who is righteous and who is evil, who shall ascend to heaven or descend to the depths. Romans 10:6-7 elaborates on this.
Rather, out of the goodness bestowed upon us, from the realization that God is always mindful (or, lovingly mindful, to be precise) of us, our lives (by our mouth and heart) speak and preach the word of faith.
“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
SIDE NOTE: Why is the emphasis on the Resurrection? Because this ought to be the focus: The confirmation that Christ’s work is, indeed, finished. What was accomplished in Christ’s death was confirmed in His rebirth.
It is also God’s will for all to be saved – for all to know Christ, and by Christ they would know they were lovingly known by God since the beginning, fully known and fully loved by God from the very start.
“The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves each as have a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken.” – Psalm 34:17-20
As of late I’ve been thinking on how perfect love makes us fearless, and how perfect love is proactive; This set of verses reminds me of how God demonstrates how His perfect love is reactive as well. Restorative. Full-on damage control as much as it has utterly vanquished the power of the enemy.
Christ is as close to us as He could ever be, that we are one, in triumph and jubilation, as well as in our brokenness and when our spirits are contrite (Contrite – sorrow and remorse for sin/shortcomings). Whether from the world or our own doing, He is always with us, as close as He could be, faithfully ONE with us! He never leaves nor forsakes us, and NOTHING can ever separate us!
What’s more, is that He delivers us, and He guards us. Guarding – I dare to push further – He guards us by His grace, from sin & the flesh; yet when we stumble, He is faithful and true – even when we lack the faith – to deliver us from trouble, to restore us and to transform us by the renewing of our mind.
What a faithful God we have! Christ, our Guard and our Deliverer, is Faithful and True!
“Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust Him shall be condemned.” – Psalm 34:21
We reap what we sow, and we sow what we reap.
Evil brings the evil to their own end. Condemned, they condemn others, and themselves, into oblivion.
Yet by Christ, the downward spiral is broken, and in its place, an eternal, life-giving cycle. For by the reconciliation brought by the finished work of Christ, there is no more condemnation for us; In its place is light, and light shining even brighter for the righteous, unto the new day.
Violence and words of deceit are both the root and fruit of condemnation, and truly. all who stay long enough in this vicious maelstrom would surely die.
But praise be to God, for by Christ’s finished work, death has been swallowed up in victory! He became sin and effectively took all violence and deceit, so when He died, sin died – Death was defeated and trampled by Christ’s death – that all that remained, all that endured was redeeming life, and God’s joy and favor upon all who believe!
Christ was hated and slain; taking all violence and deceit, He became sin and was condemned to the full, as those who are wicked. For this, those of us who fear the Lord, who recognize and accept and believe Christ is who He says He is… We are reconciled, redeemed, and saved from condemnation!
Let us not fear, nor be concerned of what people may think about our exhortations, which come out of our meditations. For time spent in the eternal is of eternal value, for ourselves, definitely, and for all who see and hear.
It is God’s loving will for all to be saved. To be saved is to be rescued from evil which leads to oblivion, and to be revived and reconciled into eternity.
By God’s love seen through Christ’s finished work, we have been made fully clean and new, we have been saved!
Oh, magnify the LORD with me, let us exalt His name together!
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
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