The man who is happy (blessed) for the reasons stated is a dead man, destined to hear God’s words and not believe.  All the talk about walking righteously is just talk, a set of talking points that make one feel better about the real history.

The destiny declared and confirmed

• The man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
• The man who does stand in the path of sinners
• The man who does not sit in the seat of scoffers!
• The man who delights in God’s law
• The man who meditates on God’s law night and day
• The man who is like a tree fruitful
• The man whose leaves do not wither

It is a song that denies man’s need  for a Saviour .  This happy man does not sin, does not get expelled from the promised land, has no gratitude for God’s faithfulness to Abrahan.   What happiness can he have without his sins forgiven?

This is not a description of any of Yeshua’s contemporaries nor does it define the Levitival kingdom that existed in New Testament times (or any period).  They were sauteeing in unbelief and murderous jealousy. Psalm 1 is entirely human: pride in what might have  been.  The New Testament narratives of passionate opposition to Christ represents a zeal without knowledge.  They just did not know who they were or what they were doing.

• To listen but not perceive;
• Keep on looking but not understand
• To have insensitive hearts of this people insensitive,
• To have full ears
• To have dim  eyes,
• To not understand
• To get no healing

“Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.”

Isaiah 6:10

A genuine prophetic view

Sugarcoating the real story is not God’s way, neither are the prophets themselves, nor the temple services and the priesthood.  Ancient prophets were not tasked with reversing the things Moses demanded and predicted.  Their main concern was to publish Israel’s sins despite their

1) “Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2) “Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God.

Isaiah 58:1-2

The praise in Psalm is for a non-existent person: a loyal and successful follower of Moses.  The writer submits no request to God and only succeeds in profiling the ungodly (the wicked).  That is not a song I want to teach my children.

Thus says the Lord, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the Lord.

Jeremiah 17:5

We know what a prayer looks like and we are adept at recognizing praise. What is Psalm 1?

Psalms 1

1. How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. 4. The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.

God’s name and eternal majesty does not appear in Psalm 1

Psalm 21 shows mountains of prayers and rich valleys of affirmation of God himself

Psalms 21

For the choir director. A Psalm of David. 1. O Lord, in Your strength the king will be glad, And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice! 2. You have given him his heart’s desire, And You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah. 3. For You meet him with the blessings of good things; You set a crown of fine gold on his head. 4. He asked life of You, You gave it to him, Length of days forever and ever. 5. His glory is great through Your salvation, Splendor and majesty You place upon him. 6. For You make him most blessed forever; You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence. 7. For the king trusts in the Lord, And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken. 8. Your hand will find out all your enemies; Your right hand will find out those who hate you. 9. You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger; The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath, And fire will devour them. 10. Their offspring You will destroy from the earth, And their descendants from among the sons of men. 11. Though they intended evil against You And devised a plot, They will not succeed. 12. For You will make them turn their back; You will aim with Your bowstrings at their faces. 13. Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength; We will sing and praise Your power.

The bigot in the White House will kill you, Black and White, to get the desired Wall Street numbers.  There is not a shred of love for anything human in the heart of that drug pushing desperado. The dragon hates the church and has murderous intentions. The meaning of the interactions between people of faith is beyond 45’s intelligence

It is not essential for anyone to go to church. Our assembly for Christian fellowship begins at home and transcends the usual dens of ignorance, merchandising and pretence.

How much biblical assembly is really happening in your “church”?

What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for ed

1 Corinthians 14:26

There is no innocent collection of user information. Those privacy policy statements are not about the compassion and love of a corporation. Viral videos and trojan horse apps and images are not the tools of a caring company. Our connection to our friends and family do not revolve around comparing reactions and forming consensus for religious or political or subversive reasons. The church and internet are not great places for interactions.  Who leads the interactions decides whether the technology serves as a highly effective tool to bring progress to the noble aspirations of humanity or serves ad a snare to trap people in sinister rooms of artificial intelligence.

There is not a single viral essay or blurb. Society is bored and needs bloodshed, either literal or verbal. Here is what dominates the internet.

• Race-baiting videos
• Kneejerk and reactionary videos
• Tweets full of repetitive religious junk
• Political propaganda
• Ads to use Facebook
• Talkshow satire
• Comedic relief of politics and religion
• Religious slogans
• Offers for virtual or tele communications

You cannot be on the internet for 2 minutes and not see a Facebook ad urging the user to “react”.   The ads feature a rack of emojis.  None say “Let’s think”.  Look at where reacting has brought the public discourse.

Thinking is a rabbit hole

Did someone just figure out that people can be connected even though thousands of kilometers separate the parties? It is far more likely that there are nefarious exploitations coming on stream. If you are seeing the proliferation of Facebook ads do not pinch yourself.

Down we go. The holes cannot appear quickly enough.  People watch videos and they become experts.

Something just does not seem right. People are being urged to react and in many cases people react and “like” objects.  There is no need to have even a little knowledge of the subjects.  The vast majority of people who say they are Christians are not spokespeople for Christ and the gospel. Most can tell us about their experience but cannot contend for the faith.  Most people read the Bible but even those of us involved in leadership who are equipped are not stating accurately what the faith is.  These days communication thrives on opinion, speculation and angry talking points.  Just pick a TV preacher and, if you are from another planet, take a peek at the US president and the republican party leadership.  We have not seen this low level of trashy interactions.

People just want to react?

The destination, redirection and function of our clicks and likes should surprise us.   Even the photos we use as greetings are being used to contribute to polls and summaries of “opinion”. Be careful what you click.

Go ahead and click without watching to see where your click goes.  Go ahead and react without thinking.  Go ahead and contribute to the new conspiracy theories and the bank accounts of viral bigots and the empires of pirates.

Duh! Duh! Duh! Someone with open ears, eyes, and an understanding heart has returned to his God. No question about that. Why parables are popular is mysterious because they are not for believers or converted people. It is mysterious until we realize that they lend themselves to abuse and pride. If you love parables that says something about you that you may not want to admit.

For the heart of this people has become dull , With their ears they scarcely hear , And they have closed their eyes , Otherwise they would see with their eyes , Hear with their ears , And understand with their heart and return , And I would heal them .’

Matthew 13:15

The gospel ain’t some parable

… it is God’s power resulting in salvation for the one believes…

Romans 1:16b

People like to parade their knowledge instead of living out their identity, making their authority and generosity meaningful to others. So if parables are for people who are doomed by their resistance to the Christ Event and in the consequent unbelief who do you think is impressed by our knowledge of the parables of our Lord God God Yeshua?

I read parables and move right along

Duh! Duh! Duh! How very sad that we – adherents of the Way – find ourselves drinking up someone’s treatment of a parable when the reality is that they are not for us in the first place. If you are one of us, parables are a passing interest. There is a morbidity involved in digging into parables since they were intended to operate in an environment of unconverted people. Straight talk is where we live and the only inner sanctum I can think of where the truth is under wraps as in the old order with its most holy place, ark and tables of stone, is the competent interpretation of the intent of the writers of the Bible. Christ used parables for a specific reason. The Speaker and the situation are no longer with us.

Revivals have been local, sporadic and suspect. A nice feeling, a number of baptism or rebaptisms are not the stuff of returning to first love.

2 Kings 23:26

However, the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him.

Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.

2 Kings 23:25

Let us be careful that our revival is not an emotional high or a returning to a festival or some practice. Revivals have lasting effect when they come from a wholehearted return to the God of the Covenant himself, in our case, the Son of Man.

Then the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. 2. The king went up to the house of the Lord and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.

2 Kings 23:1-2 1.

What are the chances of a movement like this in modern Christianity or Judaism?

American marketing practices have turned the faith into a partisan venture: pick your party, Jesus allows variations of what he left for our safety.  There is one interpretation of any given text.  You cannot make up doctrine.   Doctrine is either in the text or it is not.  Today’s leaders are incapable of calling their own faith communities to unity.  They cannot even rally all the sects and denominations to a fellowship meal.

He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.

2 Kings 18:5

He trusted ( betach בטח ) is not merely a thing the king did. His trust is a life condition, a career status.