Jesus himself said that – ultimately – there are only two ways to live: there are two paths; there are two gates; there are two destinations and there are two groups of people (see Matthew 7:13–14).
Psalm 50:16-23
Two attitudes to God: hate (forget) or honour
When it comes down to it, there are only two possible attitudes to God. We can honour him or we can hate him. For God says, ‘Those who sacrifice thank-offerings honour me’ (v.23). He contrasts those who ‘hate my instruction’ (v.17a).
Those who ‘hate’ God ignore him and ‘forget God’ (v.22). The twentieth century saw the terrible consequences of the actions of those who forgot him and hated his instruction (Nazism and Communism are two of the worst cases). The description in verses 17–22 aptly fits both those regimes.
The great Russian novelist, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, spent fifty years studying the history of Russia in the twentieth century. As he considered the great disasters ‘that swallowed up some sixty million of our people’, the best explanation that he could come up with was that ‘Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.’
Solzhenitsyn saw this as having universal significance, not just for Russia, but for the rest of the world as well. He saw the principle trait of the twentieth century was that ‘people have forgotten God’.
This does not just apply to other people; it applies to us all. Do you find that sometimes, possibly because everything seems to be going well in your life, you forget to pray, read the Bible or give thanks to God for all his blessings? It is almost as if you have forgotten about God? There are times in all our lives when we forget God and mess things up.
The contrast to forgetting God is a life honouring him – one full of thankfulness and praise. ‘It’s the praising life that honours me. As soon as you set your foot on the Way, I'll show you my salvation’ (v.23, MSG)."
1. "Lord, today I want to honour you by offering a sacrifice of thanks. Thank you so much for all your goodness, mercy and grace. Thank you for all the blessings that you have given to me personally …"
2. It was indeed a good, busy week for information gathering and learning. Thank You for helpful people.
3. Hallelujah to cell or life groups!
