March 4th
And give you peace.
What or whom is a Christian? How do you describe christian conversion? I would submit to you a christian is one who has repentance towards God. A christian is one who believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. A Christian is one has been born again, born from above, born of God, born of the Spirit. A Christian is one who confesses Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of God the Father. A Christian is one who has been baptized. Repentance, faith, confession, baptism and regeneration are the christian life; all of these elements together make a christian.
Today I read Psalms 66-69 and I found all of these elements in these psalms. What I found interesting for the believer, for the repentant, for the confessor, for the baptized, for the regenerate in the psalms is the hope that his salvation will lead to others worshiping the Lord.
Psalm 67 in particular is a calling for God to bless Israel but not for Israel’s sake alone but so that the rest of the world may come to know the true God who created heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them. Israel’s blessing was not for them alone but also for the gentile also. Psalm 67 mimics the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24-26.
As a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, what is your desire for others? Do you desire for others to be blessed and kept by God? Do you desire that the Lord make his face shine on others and God be gracious to them? Do you desire that the Lord lift up his countenance on others and give them peace?
