1 Corinthians 16:13-24

Psalm 7

의로운 재판장이신 하나님 God, the Righteous Judge 쥬빌리 코치  ·  Jubilee Coach  ·  말씀 묵상 시리즈 다윗은 쫓기고 있습니다. 사람들이 그를 사자처럼 찢으려 합니다. 그러나 그는 무기를 들지 않습니다. 그는 하나님께로 피합니다. 이 시편은 두려움 속에서 드리는 기도입니다. 동시에 의로우신 재판장을 향한 믿음의 고백입니다. David is being hunted. People want to tear him apart like a lion. Yet he does not reach for a weapon. He runs to God. This psalm is a prayer offered in fear. It is also a confession of faith in the righteous Judge. 여호와 내 하나님이여 내가 주께 피하오니 나를 쫓아오는 모든 자들에게서 나를 구원하여 내소서 건져낼 자가 없으면 그들이 사자 같이 나를 찢고 뜯을까 하나이다 시편 7:1–2 — 개역개정 LORD my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me apart like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me. Psalm 7:1–2 — NIV 피한다는 말이 먼저 나옵니다. 다윗은 자기 힘을 자랑하지 않습니다. 그는 먼저 하나님의 날개 아래로 들어갑니다. 팀 켈러는 시편이 우리의 감정을 숨기지 않고 하나님께 정직하게 아뢰도록 우리를 훈련한다고 가르쳤습니다. 이 노래에도 다윗의 두려움과 믿음이 함께 담겨 있습니다. 우리도 무너질 것 같은 날에 먼저 주님께로 피할 수 있습니다. The word refuge comes first. David does not boast in his own strength. He goes under the wings of God before anything else. Timothy Keller taught that the Psalms train us to bring our emotions honestly to God rather than bury them. This song holds David’s fear and his faith together. On the days when we feel we will collapse, we too can run to the Lord first. 여호와께서 만민에게 심판을 행하시오니 여호와여 나의 의와 나의 성실함을 따라 나를 심판하소서 악인의 악을 끊고 의인을 세우소서 의로우신 하나님이 사람의 마음과 양심을 감찰하시나이다 시편 7:8–9 — 개역개정 Let the LORD judge the peoples. Vindicate me, LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure— you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts. Psalm 7:8–9 — NIV 다윗은 자기 의를 내세우는 듯 보입니다. 그러나 그는 완전한 사람이 아닙니다. 그는 이 다툼 안에서 자신이 무죄하다고 말하는 것입니다. 그는 최종 판단을 하나님께 맡깁니다. 마음과 양심을 감찰하시는 분은 오직 하나님이십니다. 사람은 겉을 보지만 하나님은 속을 보십니다. David seems to put his own righteousness forward. Yet he is not a perfect man. He is saying that in this particular conflict he is innocent. He hands the final verdict to God. Only God searches the mind and the conscience. People look at the outside, but God looks within. REFORMED NOTE  ·  개혁주의 노트 하나님은 “의로우신 재판장”이십니다. 그분의 심판은 변덕스럽지 않습니다. 그분의 진노는 그분의 거룩하심에서 나옵니다. 거룩하신 하나님은 죄를 가볍게 여기지 않으십니다. 그런데 바로 그 거룩하신 하나님이 우리의 피난처가 되어 주십니다. 심판하실 수 있는 분이 우리를 지켜 주십니다. God is the righteous Judge. His judgment is never moody. His wrath flows from His holiness. A holy God does not treat sin lightly. And yet this same holy God becomes our refuge. The One who could judge us is the One who shields us. 나의 방패는 마음이 정직한 자를 구원하시는 하나님께 있도다 하나님은 의로우신 재판장이심이여 매일 분노하시는 하나님이시로다 시편 7:10–11 — 개역개정 My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day. Psalm 7:10–11 — NIV 방패는 우리가 만드는 것이 아닙니다. 방패는 하나님이십니다. 그분은 마음이 정직한 자를 구원하십니다. 여기서 정직함은 완벽함이 아닙니다. 그것은 하나님을 향해 열린 진실한 마음입니다. 우리는 스스로를 지킬 수 없습니다. 그러나 우리의 방패이신 하나님은 넉넉하십니다. The shield is not something we build. The shield is God Himself. He saves the upright in heart. Here uprightness is not perfection. It is a true heart that is open toward God. We cannot protect ourselves. But God our shield is more than enough. 심판하실 수 있는 그 손이 오늘 나를 붙드는 손입니다. The very hand that could judge me is the hand that holds me today. 악인이 죄악을 낳음이여 재앙을 배어 거짓을 낳았도다 그가 웅덩이를 파 만듦이여 제가 만든 함정에 빠졌도다 그의 재앙은 자기 머리로 돌아가고 그의 포악은 자기 정수리에 내리리로다 시편 7:14–16 — 개역개정 Whoever is pregnant with evil conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment. Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit they have made. The trouble they cause recoils on them; their violence comes down on their own heads. Psalm 7:14–16 — NIV 악은 스스로를 무너뜨립니다. 악인은 함정을 팝니다. 그러나 그 함정에 자기가 빠집니다. 하나님은 때때로 악인을 그대로 내버려두심으로 심판하십니다. 바울은 로마서에서 이것을 “내버려 두심”이라고 불렀습니다. 하나님이 관여하지 않으시는 삶은 이미 형벌 아래 있는 삶입니다. Evil destroys itself. The wicked dig a pit. Then they fall into it themselves. Sometimes God judges the wicked by simply letting them go on. In Romans, Paul calls this being given over. A life where God no longer intervenes is already a life under judgment. 내가 여호와께 그의 의를 따라 감사함이여 지존하신 여호와의 이름을 찬양하리로다 시편 7:17 — 개역개정 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High. Psalm 7:17 — NIV 은혜가 먼저입니다. 다윗의 순종보다 하나님의 보호가 앞섭니다. 우리의 방패는 우리의 행위가 아니라 그리스도이십니다. 참으로 의로운 한 분이 우리를 위해 심판을 받으셨습니다. 그래서 우리는 이제 정죄가 아니라 감사로 나아갑니다. Grace comes first. God’s protection goes ahead of David’s obedience. Our shield is not our performance but Christ. The one truly righteous One was judged in our place. So now we come not with condemnation but with thanks. 다윗은 두려움으로 시작했지만 찬양으로 끝맺습니다. 우리의 하루도 그렇게 흘러갈 수 있습니다. 먼저 주님께 피하십시오. 그다음 순종은 감사의 열매로 따라옵니다. David began in fear but ended in praise. Our day can move the same way. Take refuge in the Lord first. Then obedience follows as the fruit of thanks. 기도  ·  Prayer 의로우신 재판장이신 하나님, 오늘 주께 피합니다. 저를 지키는 방패가 되어 주십시오. 저의 마음과 양심을 살펴 주십시오. 그리스도 안에서 저를 받아 주시니 감사합니다. 두려움을 찬양으로 바꾸어 주십시오. 예수님의 이름으로 기도합니다. 아멘. God our righteous Judge, today we take refuge in You. Be the shield that guards us. Search our hearts and our consciences. Thank You for receiving us in Christ. Turn our fear into praise. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen. 코칭 질문  ·  Coaching Questions 코치 브라이언의 질문 Coach Brian’s Questions 피난처  ·  Refuge 지금 나를 쫓는 두려움은 무엇입니까? 내 안에 스스로를 지키려 애쓰는 한 부분이 있습니까? 그 부분을 오늘 주님의 날개 아래로 데려갈 수 있겠습니까? What fear is pursuing me right now? Is there a part of me that keeps trying to protect itself? Can I bring that part under the wings of the Lord today? 정직한 마음  ·  An Upright Heart 하나님은 마음과 양심을 감찰하십니다. 내가 하나님께 감추고 싶은 것이 있습니까? 그것을 정직하게 그분 앞에 열어 놓으면 어떻겠습니까? God searches the mind and the conscience. Is there something I want to hide from God? What would it be like to open it honestly before Him? 두려움에서 찬양으로  ·  From Fear to Praise 다윗은 찬양으로 시편을 끝맺습니다. 오늘 내가 하나님께 감사할 한 가지는 무엇입니까? 그 감사가 내 두려워하는 부분을 어떻게 위로할 수 있겠습니까? David ends the psalm with praise. What is one thing I can thank God for today? How might that thanks comfort the part of me that is afraid? Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2601934/support]

Psalm 6

주님, 저는 너무 연약합니다 Lord, I Am So Weak 쥬빌리 코치  ·  Jubilee Coach  ·  말씀 묵상 시리즈 오늘 시편 6편은 다윗의 기도입니다. 그는 몸도 마음도 무너진 자리에서 하나님께 부르짖습니다. 이것은 강한 사람의 기도가 아닙니다. 약한 사람의 기도입니다. 그런데 하나님은 바로 그 약한 기도를 들으십니다. Today Psalm 6 is David’s prayer. He cries out to God from a place where his body and his heart have both collapsed. This is not the prayer of a strong man. It is the prayer of a weak one. And God hears exactly that weak prayer. 여호와여 주의 분노로 나를 책망하지 마시오며 주의 진노로 나를 징계하지 마옵소서 여호와여 내가 수척하였사오니 내게 은혜를 베푸소서 여호와여 나의 뼈가 떨리오니 나를 고치소서 나의 영혼도 매우 떨리나이다 여호와여 어느 때까지니이까 여호와여 돌아와 나의 영혼을 건지시며 주의 사랑으로 나를 구원하소서 시편 6:1–4 — 개역개정 LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am faint; heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, LORD, how long? Turn, LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. Psalm 6:1–4 — NIV 다윗은 자신의 상태를 숨기지 않습니다. 뼈가 떨리고, 영혼이 흔들립니다. 그는 “어느 때까지니이까”라고 묻습니다. 이 물음에는 답답함이 있습니다. 그러나 그 답답함마저 하나님을 향합니다. 그는 하나님에게서 돌아서지 않습니다. 오히려 하나님께로 더 가까이 나아갑니다. David does not hide his condition. His bones tremble, and his soul is shaken. He asks, “How long?” There is frustration in that question. Yet even that frustration turns toward God. He does not turn away from God. Instead he draws nearer to God. 4절을 보십시오. 다윗은 자기 의로움을 내세우지 않습니다. 그는 “주의 사랑으로 나를 구원하소서”라고 기도합니다. 그의 소망은 자기 힘이 아니라 하나님의 변함없는 사랑에 있습니다. 이것이 은혜입니다. 구원은 우리의 자격에서 나오지 않습니다. 하나님의 사랑에서 나옵니다. Look at verse 4. David does not appeal to his own righteousness. He prays, “Save me because of your unfailing love.” His hope rests not in his own strength but in God’s unfailing love. This is grace. Salvation does not flow from our worthiness. It flows from the love of God. REFORMED NOTE  ·  개혁주의 노트 존 칼빈은 시편을 가리켜 “영혼의 모든 부분을 해부한 책”이라고 불렀습니다. 시편에는 사람의 두려움과 슬픔과 의심과 소망이 그대로 담겨 있기 때문입니다. 시편 6편도 그렇습니다. 다윗은 자신의 약함을 꾸미지 않고 하나님 앞에 그대로 펼쳐 놓습니다. 우리도 그렇게 기도할 수 있습니다. 하나님은 잘 정리된 말보다 정직한 마음을 받으십니다. John Calvin called the Psalms an anatomy of all the parts of the soul. The Psalms hold our fear, our sorrow, our doubt, and our hope just as they are. Psalm 6 is like this. David does not dress up his weakness. He spreads it open before God. We may pray this way too. God receives an honest heart more than polished words. 사망 중에서는 주를 기억하는 일이 없사오니 스올에서 주께 감사할 자 누구리이까 내가 탄식함으로 피곤하여 밤마다 눈물로 내 침상을 띄우며 내 요를 적시나이다 내 눈이 근심으로 말미암아 쇠하며 내 모든 대적으로 말미암아 어두워졌나이다 시편 6:5–7 — 개역개정 Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave? I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes. Psalm 6:5–7 — NIV 5절부터 7절은 밤의 언어입니다. 다윗은 눈물로 침상을 적십니다. 근심으로 눈이 쇠하여 갑니다. 이것은 과장이 아니라 실제입니다. 믿음의 사람도 이런 밤을 지날 수 있습니다. 슬픔은 믿음이 없다는 증거가 아닙니다. 다윗은 슬픔 가운데서도 여전히 하나님을 부릅니다. Verses 5 through 7 are the language of the night. David drenches his bed with tears. His eyes grow weak with grief. This is not exaggeration. It is real. Even a person of faith can pass through nights like this. Sorrow is not proof that faith is gone. In his sorrow David still calls on God. 약함은 기도를 막는 벽이 아닙니다. 약함은 하나님께로 열린 문입니다. Weakness is not a wall that blocks prayer. Weakness is a door that opens toward God. 악을 행하는 너희는 다 나를 떠나라 여호와께서 내 울음 소리를 들으셨도다 여호와께서 내 간구를 들으셨음이여 여호와께서 내 기도를 받으시리로다 내 모든 원수들이 부끄러움을 당하고 심히 떪이여 갑자기 부끄러워 물러가리로다 시편 6:8–10 — 개역개정 Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping. The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame. Psalm 6:8–10 — NIV 8절에서 기도의 분위기가 바뀝니다. 눈물의 밤이 아직 끝나지 않은 것 같은데, 다윗은 문득 확신을 얻습니다. “여호와께서 내 울음 소리를 들으셨도다.” 상황은 아직 그대로일 수 있습니다. 그러나 그는 하나님이 들으셨음을 압니다. 기도는 상황을 바꾸기 전에 먼저 기도하는 사람을 붙듭니다. In verse 8 the mood of the prayer changes. The night of tears did not seem finished, yet David suddenly receives assurance. “The LORD has heard my weeping.” The situation may still be the same. But he knows that God has heard. Prayer holds the one who prays before it ever changes the circumstances. 은혜가 먼저입니다. 하나님은 우리가 강해졌기 때문에 우리를 구원하지 않으십니다. 하나님은 그분의 변함없는 사랑 때문에 약한 우리를 건지십니다. 순종은 그 사랑에 대한 응답으로 뒤따라옵니다. Grace comes first. God does not save us because we have grown strong. God rescues us in our weakness because of his unfailing love. Obedience follows after, as our response to that love. 그러므로 오늘 약함을 부끄러워하지 마십시오. 다윗처럼 정직하게 부르짖으십시오. 십자가에서 우리를 위해 약해지신 예수님이 우리의 기도를 들으십니다. 그분은 우리의 눈물을 아시고, 우리의 이름을 아십니다. So do not be ashamed of your weakness today. Cry out honestly, as David did. Jesus, who became weak for us on the cross, hears our prayer. He knows our tears, and he knows our name. 기도  ·  Prayer 주님, 저는 너무 연약합니다. 제 힘으로는 이 밤을 건널 수 없습니다. 주의 변함없는 사랑으로 저를 붙들어 주소서. 제 울음 소리를 들으시는 주님을 신뢰합니다. 예수님의 이름으로 기도합니다. 아멘. Lord, I am so weak. I cannot cross this night by my own strength. Hold me by your unfailing love. I trust you, the Lord who hears my weeping. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen. 코칭 질문  ·  Coaching Questions 코치 브라이언의 질문 Coach Brian’s Questions 정직  ·  Honesty 지금 내 안에 약함을 부끄러워하며 숨으려는 부분이 있습니까? 그 부분을 다윗처럼 하나님 앞에 정직하게 펼쳐 놓는다면, 무엇을 먼저 말씀드리고 싶습니까? Is there a part of you that feels ashamed of its weakness and wants to hide? If you spread that part open before God as David did, what would you say to him first? 은혜  ·  Grace 나는 하나님의 사랑을 내 자격이나 성과에 근거해서 기대하고 있지는 않습니까? “주의 사랑으로 나를 구원하소서”라는 기도가 오늘 내게 어떤 자유를 줍니까? Do I expect God’s love based on my worthiness or my performance? What freedom does the prayer “save me because of your unfailing love” give me today? 신뢰  ·  Trust 상황이 아직 바뀌지 않았어도, 하나님이 이미 내 기도를 들으셨다고 믿을 수 있습니까? 그 믿음이 오늘 하루 나의 걸음을 어떻게 바꾸겠습니까? Even if my circumstances have not yet changed, can I believe that God has already heard my prayer? How would that trust change my steps through this day? Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2601934/support]

Primal Leadership

A Christian Life Coach's Take on Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee A Christian Life Coach's Take on Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee Can a secular business book teach a Christian something meaningful about leadership? I believe it can. Primal Leadership is one example I have encountered. As a Christian life coach grounded in Reformed theology, I read books like this through what theologians call the lens of Common Grace. This is the truth that God, in His goodness, allows even those who do not know Him to uncover genuine wisdom about the world He made. When researchers study how human beings are wired to lead and relate, they are tracing the fingerprints of the Creator, whether they realize it or not. Primal Leadership is a landmark work on Emotional Intelligence (EI) in leadership. Its central claim is both simple and profound. The most important job of a leader is not managing strategy or operations. It is managing the emotional climate of the people entrusted to their care. The authors call this "primal" leadership because it is the most fundamental human dimension of the role. Here are three insights from the book that I believe every Christian leader needs to hear. 1. You Cannot Lead Others Well If You Do Not Know Yourself The authors open with a striking premise. Effective leadership begins with Emotional Self-Awareness. A leader who cannot honestly assess his own emotions, blind spots, and motivations is unfit to guide anyone else. Without this foundation, everything else is built on sand. Strategy, vision, and communication will not stand. At the very opening of the Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin writes: "Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves." Calvin was not writing about corporate management, of course. Yet he understood something the researchers at Harvard Business School are still working to quantify. Self-knowledge is foundational to wisdom. And we cannot rightly see ourselves without first looking to God. The book warns leaders about a specific failure mode it calls "CEO Disease." This is the informational vacuum that develops when people around a leader are afraid to tell him the truth. Surrounded by flattery and filtered information, such a leader develops a deeply distorted picture of his own performance and impact. As believers, we should not be surprised. Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us that "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" Our fallen nature is predisposed to self-delusion. This is precisely why the Christian tradition has always emphasized confession, accountability, and submission to the body of Christ. These are not burdens. They are graces that help us see ourselves clearly. Ask yourself honestly. Do you have people in your life who have explicit permission to tell you the unfiltered truth about yourself? A spiritual director, an elder, a fellow pastor, or a coach? If not, "CEO Disease" might already be setting in. 2. Your Emotions Are Contagious, and That Is by Design One of the most fascinating chapters in the book draws on neuroscience to explain what the authors call the "open loop" limbic system. A closed-loop biological system regulates itself internally. The circulatory system is one example. The emotional centers of the human brain are different. They are wired to be regulated externally, through connection with other people. In plain terms, emotions are biologically contagious. Think about a church staff meeting or a board meeting. A leader walks into the room visibly anxious, tight-lipped, and defensive. Within five minutes, the entire room begins walking on eggshells. Creativity shuts down. Guards go up. That is not just a bad mood. It is an open-loop nervous system hijacking the room. The reverse is also true. A calm, regulated leader acts as a thermostat, lowering everyone else's anxiety. Your team is not merely observing your mood from a distance. Their nervous systems are, in a very real sense, synchronizing with yours. When you walk into a room carrying anxiety, reactivity, or cold detachment, you are not just affecting the atmosphere. You are physiologically altering the stress levels and cognitive focus of every person in that room. The reverse is equally true. A leader who enters with calm confidence and genuine warmth creates the neurological conditions for creativity, focus, and trust. The authors describe this as the leader setting the "emotional temperature" of the organization. From a Christian perspective, this is not merely interesting neuroscience. It is a matter of loving your neighbor as yourself. Suppose I am a pastor, a manager, a team leader, or a parent, and I am operating out of unprocessed anxiety or unexamined anger. Then I am not just struggling personally. I am spreading that suffering outward. I am shaping the emotional world of everyone God has placed in my care. Proverbs 29:2 says, "When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan." The emotional contagion principle offers a neurological explanation for what Scripture has always described morally. Leadership has a climate, and that climate flows from the leader's character. 3. Leading from the Spirit Looks Very Different from Leading from the Flesh Perhaps the most convicting framework in the entire book is its distinction between two types of leaders: Resonant and Dissonant. Resonant leaders are attuned to the emotional reality of the people around them. They do not ignore feelings or power through them. They acknowledge, honor, and wisely direct them. The result is a culture of trust, clarity, and motivated engagement. People leave their presence feeling seen, energized, and purposeful. Dissonant leaders are out of touch with their team's emotional reality. They spread anxiety, confusion, fear, or cold apathy, often without realizing it. Their organizations may function in the short term. But they leave a trail of relational damage, burnout, and quiet resignation. In Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul describes two ways of living, by the flesh or by the Spirit. The outcomes are drastically different. The works of the flesh include strife, fits of anger, divisions, and rivalries (Gal. 5:19–20). The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness (Gal. 5:22–23). What Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee describe through the lens of psychology, Paul describes through the lens of the Holy Spirit. The resonant leader, at his best, leads out of the fruit of the Spirit. The dissonant leader, whatever his intentions, is leading out of the flesh. This should be deeply sobering for any Christian in a position of authority. Intellectual brilliance, theological precision, and strategic competence do not, by themselves, make a leader resonant. If those gifts are not governed by the Spirit, they become instruments of dissonance. Arrogance, impatience, and emotional unawareness will corrupt even the finest gifts. The good news the book offers is that none of this is fixed. Scripture confirms even greater news. Emotional intelligence can be developed. Character can be sanctified. Leaders can change. A Final Word Primal Leadership will not tell you about grace, the cross, or the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. For that, we need Scripture, the community of the saints, and a lifetime of prayerful dependence on God. But the book will show you, with remarkable clarity, exactly how the people God has placed in your care are impacted by how you show up. It reveals what flows from your body, your spirit, and the hidden corners of your heart. When we read it through the lens of common grace, it becomes a powerful tool for self-examination. If you want to dive deeper into the data, I highly recommend reading it with your Bible open. The conversation between the two is much richer than you might expect. Let's Connect Which of these three areas do you find the most challenging to navigate in your current season of ministry? Self Awareness, Emotional Contagion, or Resonant Leadership? Let me know in the comments below! If you are looking to build your emotional self-awareness, break out of the leadership vacuum, and lead more from the Spirit than the flesh, let's talk. Together, let's explore how life coaching can support you through the unique burdens of Christian leadership. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2601934/support]

Psalm 1

The Way of the Blessed Jubilee Coach The Psalms are a book of prayer and praise. The very first song that opens the door is Psalm 1. The poet does not begin with hard theology. He paints one simple picture instead. There are two roads. One road leads to life. The other road blows away in the wind. Today we stand at that fork. Scripture Union’s Daily Bible introduces today’s psalm under the title Truly Blessed. The word happy is not strange to us. It is what all of us want. Yet the psalm does not look for happiness where we usually look. 시편 1:1–2 — 개역개정 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. In his commentary on the Psalms, Calvin noticed the order of this first verse. The poet says first what we must not do. Do not follow the counsel of the wicked. Do not stand in the way of sinners. Do not sit with mockers. Calvin understood true godliness as beginning with guarding the heart against the bad advice of the world. The happy person is first someone who knows how to say no. But the psalm does not stop at refusal. It moves at once to delight. The blessed person delights in the law of the LORD. Calvin said this delight is the heart of the matter. It is not a rule kept by force. It is a word the heart loves. To meditate day and night does not mean only a scholar’s desk. It means chewing on that word through the whole of an ordinary day. In Hebrew, this psalm opens with the exclamation ashre. It is less a formal blessing and more a cry of admiration, something close to “O the happiness of.” The whole Psalter opens with this one word. It is a declaration that a life lived inside God’s word is a truly happy life. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever they do prospers. Psalm 1:3 — NIV Now the poet shows us a picture. A tree planted by streams of water. This tree does not make its own water. It is simply planted beside it. Life does not come from inside the tree. It comes from the flowing stream. The person who meditates on the word is like this. He does not squeeze out fruit by his own strength. He sinks his roots by the stream of God’s word, and he bears fruit in season. Life does not come from inside the tree. It comes from the flowing stream. We do not squeeze out fruit by our own strength. We simply sink our roots by the stream of the word. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. Psalm 1:4–6 — NIV Psalm 1 sets two people, two ways, and two endings side by side. One is like a tree rooted beside the water. The other is like chaff blown by the wind. But here we must pause. This psalm is not a prescription that says, live like this and you will be blessed. It is a description of who the truly blessed man actually is. Let us ask honestly. Is there anyone among us who has never walked in the counsel of the wicked, never stood in the way of sinners, never sat in the seat of mockers? Measured by this standard, all of us are like chaff, standing in the place of the wicked. So who is the perfectly blessed man this psalm describes? Only one, Jesus Christ. He alone delighted fully in the Father’s word and walked that way without fault. What comes next is the wonder. The truly blessed One laid down his rights and hung on the tree to bear our curse. Scripture says, cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree (Galatians 3:13; Deuteronomy 21:23). Because the blessed One took the place of the wicked, we who were the wicked are counted blessed in him. Seen through Geerhardus Vos’s frame of the already and the not yet, we are already blessed in Christ, and the full fruit of that blessing is still ahead of us. The blessed One became a curse for us. The blessing of Psalm 1 is not something we climb up to reach. It crosses over to us from the truly blessed One. So this psalm does not lay a heavy load on us. Psalm 1 does not say, become perfect and then be blessed. It shows how a person who is already blessed in Christ now lives. Grace comes first. The life that now delights in the word is not a climb toward blessing. It is the fruit of a blessing already received. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2601934/support]

1 Corinthians 16:13-24

Welcome back. This is Coach Brian, and today we are looking at First Corinthians 16:13 to 24. When was the last time you wrote someone a real goodbye. Not just see you later. I mean a letter where you knew this might be the last thing they hear from you for a while, maybe ever. What would you make sure to say before you ran out of room. That is basically where Paul is standing. He has spent sixteen chapters correcting one problem after another in the Corinthian church. Division. Lawsuits. Confusion over the Lord's Supper. Now he is closing the letter, and in his final lines he tells us exactly what mattered most to him. The first thing he says is this. Be on your guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. Four short commands stacked right on top of each other. The reformer John Calvin read these as one military charge, like a soldier being told to keep watch and hold the line. Pastor John MacArthur, preaching through this same verse, pointed out that the Corinthians had let their guard down in almost every area that mattered. They were not watching for temptation. They were not watching for false teaching. They were not even watching for the Lord's return. Paul is telling them, and telling us, wake up. Stay alert. Stand on what is true. But Paul does not stop there. In the very next breath he adds something that changes the whole tone. Let all that you do be done in love. Think about that. This is the same letter that gave us the great love chapter, chapter thirteen. MacArthur made the point that this entire letter opens with love and closes with love. Almost every conflict Paul dealt with along the way, the favoritism, the lawsuits, the pride over spiritual gifts, came down to one missing ingredient. Not a lack of knowledge. Not a lack of gifting. A lack of love. So that is our first word today. Stand. Stand firm in what is true, and let love be the way you stand. The second thing Paul does before he signs off is point to one quiet name. Stephanas. He was the very first person in the whole region of Achaia to come to faith through Paul's ministry. From that day on he gave his household to one thing. Serving other believers. No title attached to his name. No platform. Calvin observed that wherever God gives someone real gifts for serving others, the right response from the rest of us is honor, not jealousy. Think about the church Paul is writing to. This was a congregation that loved to argue about whose teacher was better, whose spiritual gift was flashier. Right in the middle of that noise, there was a man who had simply chosen to serve. Quietly. Faithfully. Paul holds him up as the example worth following. So our second word is serve. Not for recognition. Just because someone needs it. Then Paul closes with greetings. The churches across the province send their love. Aquila and Priscilla, an old missionary couple who helped Paul plant the very church he is writing to, send their greetings too. And then Paul gives one more command. Greet one another with a holy kiss. In that culture, this was not a small thing. Corinth was a city where the wealthy and the poor, the free and the enslaved, almost never touched each other in public as equals. Calvin described this kiss as a true and sincere sign of mutual love, not a performance, but something real. MacArthur counted this as the last on a list of seven marks of love running through this whole closing section. A church that had spent sixteen chapters arguing about status was told, in the end, embrace each other like family. So our third word is salute. Greet each other. Reach across whatever divides you and treat one another like family, because in Christ, that is exactly what you are. Right after that warm command, Paul's tone turns sharp for one verse. If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed. Calvin was careful to point out that Paul is not talking about people outside the church who never claimed Christ. He is talking about people inside the church wearing the name of Jesus without their heart ever belonging to him. It is a hard sentence. But it comes from a pastor who could not let his people settle for a false peace. Then, almost in the same breath, Paul writes one word in Aramaic, even though the rest of the letter is in Greek. Maranatha. Our Lord, come. It is both a warning and a prayer. A warning to anyone faking their faith, and a prayer of hope for everyone who truly loves him. Here is what I want you to walk away with today. Right after all of that, Paul writes this. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Notice the order. Grace and love come last, but they are not a reward for standing firm, serving well, and greeting each other warmly. They are the reason any of that is even possible. Paul is not telling the Corinthians to earn grace by doing these things. He is telling them, you have already been given grace, now let it show. So today, ask yourself where your footing feels a little shaky, and let that be a place you watch and stand firm. Ask yourself who you could quietly serve today, without needing anyone to notice. And ask yourself who you could greet today, really greet, even someone you have kept at a distance. This is Coach Brian. Thanks for joining us. Don't forget in Christ, we are freed to live. Now let us live to free others. Godspeed. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2601934/support]