July 14, 2019
Sunshine for the Soul – The Treasure Hunt
“Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.”
Psalm 103: 1-4 (NLT)
Recently, while having an intellectual, bed-time conversation with our five-year-old grand-son, Samuel, he began asking me questions about Jesus. Some, I could answer, but when he advanced the question, “What does Jesus look like?” I paused just long enough for him to interject his own answer. He began to explain how if he closed his eyes, he could see Jesus…he could see exactly what he looked like. And, who was I to argue with a five-year-old. The truth we all know…Jesus looks exactly like His Father!
As you and I have journeyed these past six weeks and studied thirty Psalms written by David, I’m sure you have discovered countless treasures and have secured them in the Treasure Chest of your heart; I know I have. And, while we may not be any closer to knowing what Jesus and His Father look like with our physical eyes, I am certain that you and I have learned more about our Heavenly Father, who He is, what he does, how He loves…about His essence and His character as we have dug in to His word, and looked at Him through the eyes of our hearts…our spirits.
The Treasure Hunt
The Psalms written over a thousand year period, contain some of the greatest pearls of wisdom and truth concerning Almighty God. And as we learned a few weeks ago, the Psalms were written as “Songs of Praise”, utilizing the universal language of the human spirit…with “utterances of the soul”. This language of the spirit encompasses every tribe and tongue, every language and peoples, and its music is universal across cultural and linguistic boundaries. The language of Praise unites those who participate, and destroys barriers which separate, because of the One who is worthy of worship. The Psalms exemplify the pattern for devotion, praise and worship of our Mighty God. Try to imagine for just a moment, the 4,000 Levite musicians and their instruments as they played the Songs of Praise to the Glorious and Sovereign God… (1 Chronicles 23:5) It must have been divine…The truth, Songs of Praise are always divine as they are lifted up from the human spirit, to the Living God…no matter how many instruments…no matter how many voices…even one.
Your Treasure Hunt…
As you embarked on your journey, and studied the Psalms, I hope that you kept a list of all of the characteristics you discovered about the LORD. If you did, carefully, look back over your list and examine the Treasure you discovered…my LORD, your LORD is:
Our Shield, our Protector, our King-King of Glory, our God, our Honest Judge, our Creator, our Majestic God, our Shelter, our Refuge, our Most High God, our Master, our Inheritance, our Guide, our Helper, our Savior, our Compassionate God, our Patient God, our Just God, our Shepherd, our Peace-Giver, our Mercy-Giver, our Rescuer, our Deliverer, Our Faithful God, our Rock, our Fortress, our God who listens, our God who answers…our God who Loves perfectly and our God who Loves forever…Our God is the One who Forgives, the One who Redeems…the One who Restores…the One who Delivers…you and me.
The Greatest Treasure…
As I think back to the question our grand-son asked me about Jesus, and what He looks like, I cannot help but think about how much Jesus looks like His Father…The Son of God was and has been present with His Father-God, and the Holy Spirit…always…and His presence on earth as God’s flesh and blood was foretold through-out the Old Testament. Every book in the Old Testament in some way directly or indirectly points toward the Son of God, the Messiah. He brings Hope and Life through forgiveness, redemption, and salvation, the blessing God intended for the whole world…
Over three-hundred prophecies in the OT scriptures were written hundreds of years before Jesus was born and, these prophecies were all fulfilled through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in defiance of mathematical odds. Only Jesus could do this…His fingerprints are found through-out the OT, and fulfilled in the New Testament.
SONGS OF PRAISE
Written through God’s inspiration, the Psalms also contain the fingerprints of the Messiah. If we wonder, like a curious five-year-old, what the Messiah looks like, we find much of the answer within the Book of Psalms…
My friends, I pray that we continue to study and to discover more about our Almighty God as we dig deeper into the remaining Psalms. These Songs of Praise are written by people whose spiritual eyes were opened to see more clearly….They experienced their LORD personally and God preserved the Holy Scripture as evidence and testimony for each one of us. I pray that we look for the Messiah within the Psalms…I pray that the eyes of our hearts would be opened to see Him more clearly as we discover and experience the character of the Father in His incarnate Son, Jesus Christ. What does Jesus look like? He embodies all and everything about His Father…
“The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command…” Hebrews 1:3 (NLT)
“For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.” Colossians 2:9 (NLT)
The Journey Continues…
I plan on continuing my Journey in Psalms, and I invite you to join me…Read the Psalms aloud each day. I believe there is power in the spoken word, and we know there is power in God’s Word! May we secure our LORD within the Treasure Chest of our hearts, and remember, you are safe and secured in His. And, all who search for The Treasure, will discover that Jesus is their Greatest Treasure. And together we will sing the Songs of Praise with our lives!
Oh, one more thing…when my grand-children ask me about Jesus and what He looks like, I am going to personally take them to the “Songs of Praise”, and I will ask them to make their own lists about the character of God… (As soon as they can write)…There, God will begin to answer their questions, and show them who He is! They will discover the finger-prints of their Messiah, Jesus Christ. And, my friends, I am praying for you and your precious ones…
And as always…
Love you in Jesus,
Suggested Summer Activity-
As you continue your journey in the Book of Psalms, invite your children to participate in the study and to create a Rock Garden.
Have your children gather rocks large enough to write one characteristic they discover about God from each Psalm you and your children study.
Using a permanent marker, print one characteristic of God on each stone…My Shield, My King-King of Glory, My Creator, My Majestic God, My Shelter, My Guide, My Helper, My Savior, My Compassionate God, My Shepherd…etc.
Encourage your child to decorate each stone.
Display them inside or outside where they will be seen daily and will invite conversation about their Amazing God.
Summer Blessings!
