Psalm – Psalm 105-107

The passages in Psalm today offer a contrast between God and man.  Many a times we sing about the greatness of God.  But there are times when we need to also sing in reflection of ourselves.

Bible Passage:  Psalm 105-107

Today, we start off with the faithfulness of our mighty God in Psalm 105.  God can be counted on to fulfill His promises.  This is the theme of this Psalm and David used the first fifteen verses of this psalm, along with Psalm 96 and parts of Psalm 106, upon bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 16:7-36).

In contrast with Psalm 105, which reminds us of God’s ability and faithfulness, Psalm 106 describes the chronic nature of human unbelief and disobedience.  These two Psalms form a complementary pair.  All praise belongs to God because, in addition to His power and glory, He shows mercy to wayward sinners.

Psalm 107 starts off the final book of the Psalms (remember there are 5 books in all?). What does one say after having come through great trials and sufferings?  This Psalm suggests one response.  It was probably composed upon the return of the Jews from captivity in Babylon. Overall, this Psalm is a lesson in the Lord’s faithful mercy, or lovingkindness.

You’re The Only Jesus!

Recently I found a Christian album that I thought I would never find again because it had only existed as a cassette tape all those years ago.  And one of the songs that I absolutely love is this one called, “You’re the Only Jesus”.

The song talks about how important we are as Christians because many a times, we are the only contact people have to Jesus.  And if we do not behave Christ like, then how will these people come to know our Lord?

This is the song… take a listen and let me know what you think.

Now why did I suddenly share this song with you?  This is because as I read Psalm 105:1, the song came to mind.

Oh, give thanks to the LORD!
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!

We are called to “Make known His deeds among the peoples!”

A Spiritual Campaign

What sort of reputation does God have among your friends, co-workers, neighbour, relatives and school mates?

What do they think about Christianity? Do they even know about the good things that the Lord has done, and what Christians are doing?

Psalm 105 encourages us to make know the acts of God to all people (Psalm 105:1).

Like all good Singaporeans who embrace readily all our national campaigns, perhaps we can start a Spiritual Campaign today!

In every Good Campaign, the message and how it is to be communicated are carefully considered.

We have a mandate too – to preach Christ and Him alone!  So the purpose of our campaign is to share what God is doing so that others can respond to Him.

What might this campaign to publicise (evangelise) Christ look like?  Psalm 105 gives us some guidelines.

We can make the deeds of God known:

• Through Music:

This is one of my favourite ways and the psalmist encourages singing to the Lord (Psalm 105:2).  Music is a powerful tool of communication and music, if used correctly, reverently and aptly, can have a positive impact on others.

Do we sing aloud?  And if we do, what kind of songs do we sing?  What about the lyrics of the songs?  How about the ringtone on your mobile?

I have nothing against secular music (I admit I hardly listen to them nowadays and simply cannot understand them) and even to today, I still know the songs and lyrics of hundreds of popular songs that date back to the 60s, 70s, 80s and even early 90s.  But I find myself singing or humming more and more Christian songs – even in front of my secular friends.   90% of the songs on my iPod are Christian songs (and if you know my iPod – that is a lot of songs).

And to my surprise, this has opened up opportunities to share with them about my faith!

• Through Stories:

Who does not love a good story?  By telling and retelling the stories of Jesus and what He has done in our lives and the lives of others, we can “talk of all His wondrous works” (Psalm 105:2) in ways that are real because we have experienced it ourselves.

Recently during a hymn sharing session, a sister shared with us excerpts from a book called “Tell Me The Secrets”.  The stories were so good as they shared with us the truths and wonders of different secrets in handling different parts of our life of faith. And through these stories, the teachings and words of Jesus are re-emphasized and brought to life.

I loved the stories so much that I went out of my way to hunt for this very hard to find book.  But it was worth while and my daughter is happily reading them almost every night.  And I do pray that she remembers the lessons as well.

But the point of it all is that all of us have stories of Jesus that we can share.  We have all received varied graces from Jesus.  But if we keep them to ourselves only, then no one else will know and be able to learn from it.

So let’s be willing to share our stories – our testimonies – so that others too may see God’s wondrous work and glorify Him together with us!

• Through Worship:

How many of us come to church with a sense of awe and wonder?  How about reverence and fear as we approach the Holy God?  In our worship of God, do we “glory in His name”? (Psalm 105:3)

Some of us come to church for more than one service.  Some only come for one service.  It is very important, no matter what, that as we come in worship of God, we must be able to show others that we take God seriously – and that He should be taken seriously.

How do others view us when they see us coming to Church for service?  Do our actions, faces, attitude etc. show glory and honour for the King we are worshiping or do they show disdain or disrespect for our Lord?  Something to think about isn’t it?

• Through Personal Integrity:

Ultimately, the credibility of our faith largely depends on the quality of our character.  In everything we do, whether public or private, we need to “seek the Lord and His strength,” and live with integrity before His face (Psalm 105:4).  Others will see it too.

We have a hymn that is quite similar to “You’re the Only Jesus”.  It is Hymn 397 “Let Others See Jesus In You”.  And that is a hymn that questions us whether we are true Christians or not cause our life is an open book before their eyes.

Just like Treasureinearthernvessel who posed the question on whether we are having the “form of godliness but denying its power” in the Bible Blog post on 2 Tim 3-4, we are also asked the question whether we are indeed true and faithful Christians in this hymn.

Others will either see Jesus in us or not.  Who do they see in you now?

• Through History:

Are you aware of what Jesus did since the world slipped into the A.D. period?  Of course you are!

One of the most powerful ways to talk about God’s “marvellous works” (Psalm 105:5) is to help people understand what He has been doing for the last two thousand years.  History, after all, is “His Story”.

The Jews have a great way to passing on their faith.  They will relate as often as possible what God did for the Israelites throughout their history.  So everyone in Israel knows about the almighty God.  But not only the Israelites knew about God – even their enemies heard about God and some chose to turn to Him instead of fighting against Him!

If we love to tell people stories about our lives, what we heard or read, ought not the story of the true KING be told more?

• Through the Bible:

Scriptures tells us about the “wonders”, or miracles of God, and the “judgments,” or moral standards and principles of God (Psalm 105:5).  As we interact with others on the job or in the community, we can remind people of what the Bible says about day to day situations.

Don’t be surprised if someone reply, “I didn’t know the Bibe said that!”  More and more people are unaware of what the Bible actually says.

That is why we need to emabark on this Spiritual Campaign so that they will know!

What do you say?  Are you game on this Campaign?  I hope you will sign on to this.

If not… there is a small campaign right now for the 24th Sep 2009.  Details are found in a big poster in church and you cannot miss it.  Don’t just read it… be part of it!