The Lord Reigns for All Generations

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
God Sends Jesus
Mary's Song of Praise

Psalm 146

The Message

146 ^1-2 Hallelujah!
    O my soul, praise God!
All my life long I’ll praise God,
    singing songs to my God as long as I live.

^3-9 Don’t put your life in the hands of experts
    who know nothing of life, of salvation life.
Mere humans don’t have what it takes;
    when they die, their projects die with them.
Instead, get help from the God of Jacob,
    put your hope in God and know real blessing!
God made sky and soil,
    sea and all the fish in it.
He always does what he says—
    he defends the wronged,
    he feeds the hungry.
God frees prisoners—
    he gives sight to the blind,
    he lifts up the fallen.
God loves good people, protects strangers,
    takes the side of orphans and widows,
    but makes short work of the wicked.

¹⁰ God’s in charge—always.
    Zion’s God is God for good!
    Hallelujah!

For Reflection

I have begun to believe that the most important questions in life are theological.  There is no end to the numbers of experts, self-proclaimed or otherwise, that propose to eliminate social, economic or political burdens.  Few of them, however, seem to reflect in any consistency the compassion and sense of justice disclosed to us by God in the form of Christ.  More often than not, the proposals justified by expedience, efficiency, or self-interest, structure systems that create only more problems.  By applying standards of God-centered compassion and justice, how would you resolve problems differently from those whose only standard is conventional cultural wisdom? 

Pray

that you will give up on modern cultural expectations and give in to the culture of God's Kingdom.  Pray that you will place your life in God's hands.  Pray for the trust and courage to risk a God-centered life.