Like Trees Planted by Streams of Water

When I think about why anyone should bother digging into the Scriptures and becoming comfortable with studying the Bible I can come up with many reasons. But ultimately the answer is found within the Bible itself. Psalm 1 is an introduction to the entire collection of 150 Psalms and it makes a good case as to why you should continue to not only encounter the rest of the Psalms, but the whole of Scripture.

Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do no wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1)

In the next few months I'm going on a journey with some of my friends in my church through the Greatest Story, which is the Scriptures. Psalm 1 will remind us why this journey is worth taking and continuing on. There are many paths we can take as we go through life. Most of those paths travel through the same worldly values and priorities and actions we're used to seeing and living every day. In Psalm 1 those paths are very familiar: going with the crowd, doing the same thing every day, cynically seeing only the poison that's out there.

Those grounded in the Bible travel a different path, one of hope. "They are like trees planted by steams of water." The Word of God reveals our Creator's love for us and the hope that we can abide in God's love for an abundant life right now.

Look at Chapter 1 of the Greatest Story: Bible Introduction and think about how the stories of Scripture can have that kind of power for you... to lead you on a path beside life-giving water.

What stories in your life have come to define you?
What stories and books from others do you find yourself referring to over and over again?

Let's go on this journey together.