Mike's Day 3: "You are a shield around me, Oh LORD"

Psalm 3: David is crying out to YHWH. In the face of all his enemies who are out to get him, he asks for and reaffirms the fact that from the LORD comes deliverance.

Here, I think, we have a common characteristic of the Psalms: an 'I' Psalm. Compared to the 'man' of Psalms 1 and the 'nations' of Psalm 2, this is the Psalm of an individual to his God in the face of what he percieves to be insurmountable opposition.

Yet in the midst of this he is able to declare that God will deliver him. From this comes his sustenance, the ability to lift up his head.

Gosh don't we sometimes feel like we are over our heads, and need to read Psalms like this every second of every day?

No, I am not surrounded by 10,000 drawn up against me on every side, but sometimes facing the tasks of the day, whatever they may be, can feel like a challenge of these proportions; and in reading this Psalm we are reminded of the source of our courage: God - Shield, Sustainer, Deliverer.

We follow a God who delivers: and that goes for whoever you are, whereever you are whatever you have done, as Chrissy read today in Romans 3.

Chrissy's Day 3: I just don't get it

Summary of Romans 3

You can read Romans 2 at BibleGateway.

So, what value is there to being a Jew? One advantage is that they've been given the scriptures.

The fact that some Jews have lost their faith doesn't effect God's righteousness. In fact, their faithlessness makes God's faithfulness even more clear.

But that doesn't mean we should think that its ok to sin cause it will just make God look better - thats stupid.

Everyone is the same. We are all sinners.

But now, we can be put right with God through Jesus. And that's for everyone, Jews and non-Jews. It is a pure gift.

We are made right with God through faith. It's not about what we do but about what God does.

So does that make the law redundant? No, by living a life of faith and focusing on what God has done, we confirm that law.

Reflection

Ooh, this chapter is a bit tougher. I'm not sure really what to say. And to be honest I'm not sure if I understood it really. I struggled to write that summary and still don't think I got it right.

I found reading this, and other writings of Paul, kind of like hearing a lawyer state a case. He sets up an argument then proves or disproves it, talks around the different angles and asks strange questions.

Another picture I get from reading this is of someone having a conversation with himself. I can imagine Paul pacing inside a small room, talking out loud as he nuts through the ideas then racing over to his laptop to quickly get down his thoughts. (I can relate - I'm often caught talking to myself!)

Or perhaps, if Paul had been a 21st Century man, this chapter would have been the FAQ page on his website. If he wrote this as a letter to the Roman church - did they write letters to him? Perhaps he was answering some of their questions.

Yesterday the question I posed at the end of my reflection was How do I obey? What do I need to do? I think that was answered in part by Mike's reflection on Psalm 1. Verse 2 says "...on his law he meditates day and night."

As I confessed in my introduction to this project, I have not been faithful with my bible reading. Mostly because I'm stubborn and lazy. But also because it's hard.

I don't understand the Bible and I find it frustrating. Like this chapter - I just don't get it. It takes a lot of work to understand what Paul is saying and then I have no idea what relevance it has for me. What does all this argument about Jews and non-Jews have to do with me? I don't think I even know any Jewish people!

Mmm. So thats my reflection on Romans 3. Reading back over what I've just written I realise it isn't really a study of the passage. But I think it is valuable nonetheless. I has helped me realise that I need to ask God to help me understand. And so, to my prayer...

Prayer

Dear God,

It's so cool that we have your word. It is this great book full of stories and thoughts and songs.
But I find it so hard to read.
Sometimes it is all so clear and seems so relevant.
And other times it feels like its 2000 years old!

Please help me to understand it.

Help me to hear the voice of God speaking to me through these ancient pages.
And most importantly, help me to respond and obey.

I want to be your servant, your vessel.

Amen.

x
Chrissy