Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study of Psalm 53 (April 30, 2026)

April 30, 2026:  Thursday Bible Study on Psalm 53

Good morning on this beautiful day. Some of you may have had rain last night, but we live near Kolb and Golf Links, and we only had drops of mud on our cars. I was really encouraged by the clouds and the wind, especially around about 7PM. Please pray for Bubbles who is recovering from teeth removal and jaw surgery in Mexico yesterday. She recovered from distemper, but it created many bone structure issues in her face. Please also remember to pray for discernment as we all continue to listen to Christ's Spirit for how our congregation should move forward. I am confident that you will have another opportunity to gather, ask questions, and offer input about the process.

As all this proceeds please don't look and act like the people in the 53rd Psalm, that is our passage for today. According to this Psalm they could barely lift their heads or hardly grow in their relationship with God. Their countenance was downcast and sad, to say the least. They acted as if God was ignoring them, like He was dead. David witnessed this in his own people. What is it that brings us to such an apparent level of despair? The situation for David and his people, who were not a massive community who discovered that they had many enemies and battles to fight to protect the promised land which God had given them, were disheartened by the difficult things of their lives. So, they acted out how they were feeling mentally. Yesterday downtown, I saw a homeless man bent over a wheelchair, and there by his side was a lovely bulky boy pit bull. Usually, pitties are lively and happy animals, but not this poor little guy, instead he duplicated his owner's entire attitude, head down, sad face, shoulders low and hunched. This is an example of what happens when we are faced with thinking that God no longer cares about us, when our hopes disappear into sadness. David and his people did not have the amazing, good news that Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, had been resurrected! Instead, they were constantly surrounded by foes at every turn. In the economy in which we are living today, just looking at the people around you, are they downcast, living in a shadow most of the time, when in reality they should acknowledge the LORD, finding their hope and joy in His promise in the Resurrection of His Son?  We all need to allow the Spirit to move us much more closely to the One True God and discover that His Light and Love are never away from us. I know that there are people in our church family who find the conversations which are happening all too sad. But God is not absent in them, He is always with us, saving us from our despair, and shining the Light of Christ that the world needs so badly. Yes, I do get discouraged sometimes, but is not the promised new life which is ours in Christ enough to lift us into a spirit of joy?

Yes, I too have grief, but it is always surrounded by the new life which is mine in our Savior. We need to pray for the man and his sad pittie, we need to pray for our nation in all its polarization, knowing that Christ's truth will always survive and defeat the sin and brokenness which brings us to our knees. There is only one truth, and it comes from our Savior Himself. "You shall love the Lord your God with all of your mind, heart, strength, and soul" (And your neighbor as you love yourself.) This is the truth, which is always ours, and always our strongest advocate in all things is Jesus Christ!

NOTE: I will be stopping the Psalm study during the summer months because comments made have sounded like three studies each week is too much. So, I will take a three-month break, starting in June. There will be no Psalm study next week. I will be helping a member's adult child get home from college for summer break. We will be packing the van full to the brim. And drive will take about 6 to 8 hours including getting the van packed and unpacked.

Thank you for your time today. With Love in Christ, Pastor Kim