Yes! There is Good News! 12.18.17

We have been looking at a section of the 73rd Psalm these past few weeks – verses 23 through 26. Last week we considered Asaph’s statement that God will guide him with His counsel and so now we come to a very uplifting statement. The verse reads like this: “You guide me with your counsel and afterward you will receive me into glory.” It is God who guides us and it is God who will receive us!

I know there are a lot of people who do not believe in God, and there are a lot of people who do not accept the God of these Holy Scriptures, and there are a lot of people who are not interested in reading or studying about God in these Holy Scriptures. But as for me, I’m with Asaph on this! I desire God to guide me and I desire God to lead me, take me, and receive me into glory. I have never been ashamed to tell my heavenly Father that I love Him and that I desire to have Him guide me into His glory! And do you know why?

It’s because I’m with Asaph on this and his next lines in this Psalm are my lines: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” I believe that when I enter into His glory, when I at last see my God face to face, when I bow before Him on His throne, I will be amazed that I ever held anything in this world as having any worth!!! Jobs, cars, houses, clothes, entertainment, whatever it may have been that grabbed my attention when instead I could have been drawing nearer to my God and my Savior.

Oh, I am like Asaph: letting my feet almost slip and envying others – losing my foothold because I took my eyes off the true prize, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And this takes me back to where we started this journey into Asaph’s Psalm. If you have been paying close attention there is a tremendous lesson here. You might remember that several weeks ago I made this bold statement, “In the letter to the Colossians, Paul wrote, “…seek those things which are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” In short, I can unequivocally say that this scripture is the answer to the entire topic of this column. And when I say “this column” I do not mean just this present article. I am talking of our entire search for “good news!!”

The reality of having God in our lives must be second to nothing else. For “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” I will leave it to you to read the remainder of the Psalm. Asaph’s testimony is worthy of your reading.

We have a lot of responsibility with the word of God. We may gain knowledge and we may gain understanding but what will we do with them?