“But no, my people wouldn’t listen. Israel did not want me around. So I let them follow their own stubborn desires, living according to their own ideas. Oh, that my people would listen to me! Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths! How quickly I would then subdue their enemies! How soon my hands would be upon their foes! Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him; they would be doomed forever. But I would feed you with the finest wheat. I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.” [Psalm 81.11-16]
I challenge everyone who read this passage from the Psalms today (and pondered how it applies to us today) to consider what their first though was. Was it that we must follow the law of God? Was it the Ten Commandments? Was it that we must be good? Was it that we must do more?
I submit that any of these thoughts indicate an unregenerate heart. On this Easter Sunday morning, of all days, it would seem this passage in the Psalms would be the perfect litmus test for our genuine faith in Christ or the disappointing absence thereof.
The regenerated mind of a true believer would read these words by the Psalmist and reflect immediately upon the work of Christ on our behalf. The unregenerate mind mistakenly considers itself and its adherence to the law without consideration for Jesus.
Yes, these are hard words. But either we are Christ followers or we are not. Either we consider the Cross or we do not. Either we follow the Law of Moses OR we follow Jesus Christ. Yes, we must make this distinction in order to properly comprehend the Messiah.
Father, I am grateful this morning for Jesus. I am grateful that I can read all the OT with all its laws, rules, and regulations, and joyfully rest in the fact that Jesus fulfilled it all on my behalf. I am grateful for the opportunity to celebrate Jesus' accomplishment in this on this Easter Sunday morning 2009.
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