Year 5, Day 283: Psalm 146

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Evangelist

• Evangelist: One who looks for opportunities to proclaim the truth and is excited by it. The evangelist specializes in interacting with the world and reminding Christians that there are non-Christians in the world.  An evangelist is not timid about the faith and is often found have discussions with other people about the faith.

This psalm is in a classic juxtaposition to psalm 145.  In psalm 145 we saw a great psalm of worship directed up to God.  However, in this psalm we see that God is not the intended audience.  God is the subject of the psalm, but the people around the psalmist are his intended audience.

However, the content of the psalm is largely the same. The psalm is about the greatness of the Creator.  He is forever.  He executes justice.  He sets prisoners free.  He makes the blind see.  He gives food to the needy.  He watches over foreigners and people who are not in their homeland.

But what really makes this psalm memorable is the admonition in Psalm 146:3-4.  We are to put our trust in God, not the people around us.  That is so easily said but so incredibly hard in practice.  After all, doesn’t it make sense to put our faith in someone who will never get tired or old?  Doesn’t it make sense for us to put our trust in someone who will always be there?  But we don’t always do that.  Sometimes it is easier for us to put our faith and our trust in the flesh and blood people that are around us.  When we do that, we are wrong.  We need to be evangelized to and told not to do that.

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Year 5, Day 249: John 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Evangelist

• Evangelist: One who looks for opportunities to proclaim the truth and is excited by it. The evangelist specializes in interacting with the world and reminding Christians that there are non-Christians in the world.  An evangelist is not timid about the faith and is often found have discussions with other people about the faith.

I think one of the neatest elements of the first chapter of John is found in the second half of the chapter.  As Jesus begins his ministry, John the Baptizer becomes an evangelist telling people about Him.  As Jesus begins to call individual people around Him, we see Peter respond to the call and go and invite Andrew.  As Jesus calls Phillip, we see Phillip go and tell Nathaniel.

One of the inspirational moments of this opening chapter is to see that when a person really meets Jesus, he goes out and talks to other people about it.  When a person’s life is challenged by Jesus, that person goes out and influences and challenges others.  When a person is changed by Christ, that person goes out and seeks to do the same in other people.

The result of Jesus is evangelism.  That doesn’t mean other people always listen, mind you.  But meeting Jesus does result in spreading the message to the people who are in our influence.

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Year 5, Day 219: Colossians 4

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Evangelist

• Evangelist: One who looks for opportunities to proclaim the truth and is excited by it. The evangelist specializes in interacting with the world and reminding Christians that there are non-Christians in the world.  An evangelist is not timid about the faith and is often found have discussions with other people about the faith.

Yesterday I had a colleague talk to me about Ephesians 4:15.  In that verse, Paul talks about “speaking the truth in love.”  He went on to say that many people interpret that “truth in love” to mean relating to other Christians and exhorting them out of sinful behavior.  And while there is nothing wrong with that, the truth in that passage to which Paul is referring is the truth of Christ and what Christ has done for us regarding salvation.  If we look at the context of that verse and the verses that come before it, that whole passage is about the preeminence of Christ and what He did for us.

It was in that frame of mind that I read Colossians 4.  When I hit Colossians 4:3.  Here is a man who is in prison.  It’s not his first time in prison.  He’s likely been beaten and mishandled along the way.  He’s certain been looked down upon by the community around him.  In that context, for what does he pray?  For what would you pray?

I know for me I’d pray for patience, wisdom, freedom, justice, and a whole host of other things that revolve around me and my circumstance.  It may not be right, but if I’m going to be honest and confess that’s the areas for which I’d pray.

Paul says, “Pray that a door might be opened for the proclamation of the word, so the mystery of Christ would be known.”  Incredible.  Unbelievable, actually!  He’s in prison.  But that’s okay, he might have an opportunity to tell people about Christ!  He’s been beaten.  But that’s okay, he might have an opportunity to tell people about Christ!  The community has looked down upon him.  But that’s okay, he might have an opportunity to tell people about Christ!

I am astounded today by the spirit of evangelism that dwelled within Paul.  Praise be to God for what He has done in Paul’s life and the example that he can be of the godly life.

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Year 5, Day 211: Psalms 71-72

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Evangelist

• Evangelist: One who looks for opportunities to proclaim the truth and is excited by it. The evangelist specializes in interacting with the world and reminding Christians that there are non-Christians in the world.  An evangelist is not timid about the faith and is often found have discussions with other people about the faith.

So why did I choose to focus on evangelism today?  For me as I read through this psalm, it was evangelism that leapt off of the page.  We will always need God and it is easy to turn to Him in our need.  We know that He will always provide.  But what I need to be reminded of quite frequently is that ever act coming out of the hand of God is an opportunity to tell others about Him.  God is so gracious and He is always there.  I shouldn’t need to be reminded to tell others about Him and His presence, but it is so easily forgotten.

When I really love about these psalms is that they come at evangelism from an angle of need.  The psalmist has known the pit, the God who saved Him from the pit, and he wants to tell other people about Him.  The psalmist has seen the poor and oppressed rescued by God and it is worth telling other people about it!  The psalmist even knows that God has seen him get himself into many calamities of his own making and yet the Lord is still there with him!  That is certainly worth telling other people about.  After all, who doesn’t make mistakes continuously and who isn’t comforted by the reminder that God doesn’t abandon us in our foolishness!

But the psalmist doesn’t just focus on what God has done for him.  That would be a bit egocentric.  The psalmist reminds us that it is God who brings the rain.  It is God who set the stars and the sun in the sky.  It is God who even gives us the fruit of the field.  It is not just what God has done for me – it is even more importantly what God has done for us in His general provision for life. 

How great is our God!  Why wouldn’t we want to tell others about Him?

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Year 5, Day 196: Psalm 51

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Evangelism, Forgiveness

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
• Evangelist: One who looks for opportunities to proclaim the truth and is excited by it. The evangelist specializes in interacting with the world and reminding Christians that there are non-Christians in the world.  An evangelist is not timid about the faith and is often found have discussions with other people about the faith.

Psalm 51 is one of my favorite psalms.  It has a very famous worship song that has its words taken directly out of the middle of this psalm.  Psalm 51:16-17 is incredibly inspirational for my own personal faith walk.  When you add to this that the psalm is written by David as he is in the midst of the turmoil following the Bathsheba incident the psalm takes on a whole new meaning.

This is why this psalm has such an overtone of forgiveness.  David has just had a man killed.  He took his wife – and added her to his growing harem.  And then Nathan catches him and brings God’s judgment upon him.

We know that David is a man after God’s own heart.  we know this because of what David says here in this psalm.  He is humble.  He confesses his mistake.  He comes before God and asks for forgiveness.  His heart is contrite.  God forgives.  As egregious as David’s sin was, God forgives!  That is the nature of God.  He knows we will fail Him and we will choose horribly in some seasons of our life.  But He is a forgiving God!  As David says in this psalm, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

But what I really love about this psalm is that it inherently connects the concepts of forgiveness and evangelism.  David tells God that when he has been forgiven that he will tell the nations about what God has done.  What an incredible revelation!  Our sinfulness can speak volumes into the lives of others with respect to God’s love.  After all, if God can forgive me in my sin, then certainly He can forgive you in your sin!  When we are forgiven, we should inherently desire to sing the praise of the one who forgave us – especially God!  Forgiveness should lead into evangelism!

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Year 5, Day 182: Psalm 40

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Evangelist

• Evangelist: One who looks for opportunities to proclaim the truth and is excited by it. The evangelist specializes in interacting with the world and reminding Christians that there are non-Christians in the world.  An evangelist is not timid about the faith and is often found have discussions with other people about the faith.

As I read through Psalm 40, I was hit by an old and familiar and favorite concept.  However, I was not aware that this concept was in Psalm 40!  I knew of its existence in passages like Hosea 6:6, Psalm 51:16-17, and Joel 2:13.  But I was not familiar with its presence in Psalm 40.  I’m talking about Psalm 40:6-8.  Burnt offering and sacrifice are not truly what God is after.  What God desires is a heart that is inclined towards Him.

In other words, God is not just looking to make us behave a certain way.  God is not just looking for certain outcomes in our life.  He’s not expecting us to do certain things and that’s okay.  God wants our hearts rent.  He wants our hearts, not just our outward action.

So, how exactly does this tie into the topic of the evangelist?  Look at one of the natural themes that David gives to us as a conclusion to what God desires.  If our heart is rent and our ear is inclined towards God, we will tell other people about what He has done in our life!  See Psalm 40:6, Psalm 40:9-10, and Psalm 40:16.  The natural fruit of a heart that is inclined to God are moments of evangelism towards His people!

God is at work in all of our lives.  If we are God’s people, then we should recognize His hand at work.  If we are God’s people, we should want to declare what God is doing within us and through us.  If we are God’s people, then evangelism should be a part of what we do in our life.  We should be attributing God’s glory and presence in our lives so that the people around us can see His hand at work.

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