"Blessed is the Man Who...Is in the Law of the Lord"

"Blessed is the man who...in His law...meditates day and night."  (From Psalm 1)

I heard a discussion recently about the evangelical church in the South during slavery.  One of the persons spoke of the Christian theology of grace and works as it was adapted to justify entrepreneurial slavery.
The acculturation of the "Faith of Jesus" has been a deep concern of mine, both in my own life and the life of the modern Church.  It is a daily wrestling match with, "the mighty powers in this dark world."

On this first day of December, I find myself back to one of the Psalms I have committed to memory, and, quite frankly, I think it is, "Psalm One," because it sets a pattern for the life of the Covenant person, the Believer, the Follower of Jesus Christ.  The pattern here is twofold.  (1). The "Blessed...man...meditates day and night" in the "God-Breathed" Word.  (2).  Only the person who "walks.., stands," and "sits" in, "the law of the LORD," can be delivered from acculturated Christianity, e.g., justifying slavery, marital infidelity, homosexuality, voting for the "ungodly.., sinners," and "the scornful," in short, any whose loyalty is to their background, their race, ethnicity, gender, or culture.

It is a great battle in which the Follower of Jesus Christ has always been involved, the battle to have the Covenant of Jesus Christ, the very Life of the Word of God, written "in our minds and on our hearts," to have Jesus Christ ruling and reigning in our total being, total life, as Paul said, "that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him."  Nothing, most importantly, "no me," can rule or reign in me-- not my race, my gender, my culture, my life's preferences.  "Jesus Christ is Lord," means nothing less than, Jesus Christ rules and reigns.  Only as I walk in this life style can anyone say of me, "Blessed" is that "man."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I only want what You define as, "Blessed."  Amen.
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Eighteen year old Norwegian, Peter Torjesen, "when he heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2