Psalm of the Week

Psalm 1:1: Friends or influences in your life in general are important. Who influences your life? Chances are they will influence your decisions in life- meaning they could affect how you respond to the leading of God's will in your life. "indifference to God's will is the same as a scoffer who does not know Christ- this is sin." (Life Application Study Bible) Don't be a scoffer or indifferent to the leading of the Spirit.  Think not just about friends but influences- those you look up to, those with a strong opinion, etc. 

Psalm 1:2 : Meditation: continual thinking and thinking and still thinking about the scripture. Hide the words in your heart. Knowledge of The Lord is an essential starting point to becoming Christ-like. " The more we know of the whole scope of God's Word, the more resources we will have for our daily decisions." (Life Application Study Bible) 

Psalm 1:3: " The more we delight in God's presence, the more fruitful we are. On the other hand, the more we allow the dark influences of those who ridicule God to overshadow us, the more we separate ourselves from our source of nourishment." (Life Application Study Bible) We are like a tree whose source of nourishment, or roots is The Lord. This nourishment of The Lord allows us to be fruitful and to not die or wither away. What is our fruit? "Being full of the nourishment of The Lord, we produce action and attitudes that honor God. " (Life Application Study Bible) Our fruit is to be a testimony of the Father in us, and its goal is to glorify God.  The tree also brings forth fruit in "his season"- patience and waiting on The Lord will bring bountiful fruit in the appropriate season- which is according to God's will, not ours. 

What is the opposite side of living a life devoid of any of the Lord's strength? We are chaff- easily removed and tossed about with no meaning or purpose. The chaff was the worthless part of the husk that is carried away with no purpose or future hope. This is the mark not only of the sinner, but of what our sin does to us when we isolate ourselves from relationship or nourishment of the father. 

Now to put attention to the phrase "whatever he doeth shall prosper." What does this really mean? Prosperity points back to how we are to live for the glory of God, not ourselves. "When we apply God's wisdom to our lives, the fruit we bear will be good and will receive God's approval." (Life Application Study Bible)  That is our goal- the glory of Christ. Our fruit is to point to Christ so that others may see, and the fruit is a sign of our prospering which should be focused on the glory of God.