<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Irresistibly Fish]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://brettfish.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[brettfish]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://brettfish.wordpress.com/author/brettfish/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[psalmthing to chew on: psalm&nbsp;2]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>continuing my journey of reading through the psalms at a leisurely pace, making some observations as i go along, inviting you to jump in to the comments section with a verse or idea or question or wrestle that possibly jumped out at you as you were reading this particular psalm:</p>
<p>for me it was verse 4 which immediately jumped out at me: <strong><em>&#8216;The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.&#8217;</em></strong></p>
<p>i remember reading an article in reader&#8217;s digest by kirk douglas of all people titled &#8216;You know how to make God laugh?&#8217; and the answer was &#8216;Tell Him your plans!&#8217;</p>
<p>and it&#8217;s true. and reminds me as well of the story Jesus tells in Luke 12 of the rich fool who gets a good crop and responds by saying, &#8216;&#8221;What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.&#8221; Then he said, &#8220;This is what I&#8217;ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.&#8221; And I&#8217;ll say to myself, &#8220;You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.&#8221;&#8216;</p>
<p>But God said to him, &#8220;You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?&#8221; This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God.&#8217; [Luke 12.16]</p>
<p>Another passage that comes to mind in terms of trusting own plans vs God&#8217;s is Proverbs 3.5-6 which says, &#8216;Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.&#8217; Which is good to view alongside the whole second half of Matthew 6, but specifically verse 33 which goes, &#8220;Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given you as well.&#8217;</p>
<p>We are invited to live life in relationship with God and hold our plans loosely before Him. This psalm gives a glimpse of those who try otherwise&#8230;</p>
<p>And then the second verse that stood out to me was verse 8 which says, <strong><em>&#8220;Ask of Me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.&#8221;</em> </strong></p>
<p>Which speaks to me of a God crying out for us to use our imagination and consider for a moment the resources available to us. Ephesians 3.20 reminds us that the God we serve is able to do &#8220;immeasurably more than all we hope or imagine&#8221; &#8211; Am i hoping and imagining big enough? God&#8217;s hoping and imagining for my life extends to nations and the ends of the earth. He is calling us to greater things [as defined by His kingdom, which is key]</p>
<p>so much more oozing out of such a short psalm, but those are two things i take from it today&#8230; what did you get?</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://brettfish.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/psalmthing-to-chew-on-psalm-3"><strong>[To continue on to Psalm 3, click here]</strong></a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://brettfish.wordpress.com/bible"><strong>[To return to the start of this series on Psalms or some other Bible things, click here]</strong></a></p>
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