A place for family and friends to chat, add a personal journal entry, ask questions, make appropriate comments, or profound statements about our bible reading challenge.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Anyone?
So does anyone have any verses that we've read over the weekend that stood out to you...made you think...or didn't understand? Maybe we can find some encouragement, some insight, or some answers that we wouldn't have otherwise...
I will be honest and at the risk of sounding like a complete idiot... I am not sure I ever really understand psalms. They lose me, I read them but not sure I really get it.
And maybe I was just lost because I am not sure of the context/history leading up to these or this past one...I need to read my bible at home because, like the things you post, they give you more background. Not all psalms confuse me just sometimes I find my mind wandering and not really making sense of what they are saying.
I feel the SAME way. I actually get dissappointed when we need to read them instead of something in the New Testament. After seeing your posts, I figured there's got to be some kind of explanation.
I want to look more into it tomorrow, but from what I can tell, the Psalms were written as prayers directly to God...and they don't really fit into the teaching patterns that books in the New Testament follow. So, I think, what we see in the Psalms are prayers that we can become familiar with maybe for something we've experienced before...or for future reference - a time when we experience the emotions that the psalmists express (as varied as they are).
My Bible describes the purpose of Psalms is "to provide poetry for the expression of praise, worship, and confession to God".
Another bit of description helped me to see why they're important. No matter who wrote each psalm, the author was completely open and honest with God. Some of the psalms are easier to read (maybe) because they're joyful and full of praise. Others pour out cries of despair, doubts, fears, and confession of sins. Those are things we tend not to be so open about (even though God knows our sorrow)...but people tend to keep sadness, pain, and weakness to themselves and put on a front to the world around that everything is just fine. We can be more interested in covering up our suffering than in dealing with it.
The book of Psalms is a place for comfort during times of struggle and distress...and a way to discover the power of God's love and forgiveness.
I will be honest and at the risk of sounding like a complete idiot... I am not sure I ever really understand psalms. They lose me, I read them but not sure I really get it.
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe I was just lost because I am not sure of the context/history leading up to these or this past one...I need to read my bible at home because, like the things you post, they give you more background. Not all psalms confuse me just sometimes I find my mind wandering and not really making sense of what they are saying.
ReplyDeleteI feel the SAME way. I actually get dissappointed when we need to read them instead of something in the New Testament. After seeing your posts, I figured there's got to be some kind of explanation.
ReplyDeleteI want to look more into it tomorrow, but from what I can tell, the Psalms were written as prayers directly to God...and they don't really fit into the teaching patterns that books in the New Testament follow. So, I think, what we see in the Psalms are prayers that we can become familiar with maybe for something we've experienced before...or for future reference - a time when we experience the emotions that the psalmists express (as varied as they are).
My Bible describes the purpose of Psalms is "to provide poetry for the expression of praise, worship, and confession to God".
ReplyDeleteAnother bit of description helped me to see why they're important. No matter who wrote each psalm, the author was completely open and honest with God. Some of the psalms are easier to read (maybe) because they're joyful and full of praise. Others pour out cries of despair, doubts, fears, and confession of sins. Those are things we tend not to be so open about (even though God knows our sorrow)...but people tend to keep sadness, pain, and weakness to themselves and put on a front to the world around that everything is just fine. We can be more interested in covering up our suffering than in dealing with it.
The book of Psalms is a place for comfort during times of struggle and distress...and a way to discover the power of God's love and forgiveness.
Oh good to know and also good to know I am not the only one : ) Thanks for looking into it and taking the time to post each day! YOU ROCK!
ReplyDelete