RUSSELL SANDERS

4-11-2023

REJOICE IN THE LORD

Psalm 33:1 says, “Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous. For praise is comely for the upright.”

To better understand this verse, let us look at the original Hebrew meaning of these five underlined words as seen in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.

Rejoice: (7442) ranan (raw-nan’); shout aloud or sing aloud for joy. Shout in triumph.

Righteous: (6662) tsaddiyq (tsad-deek’); just, lawful, righteous. One who abides by God’s righteous laws.

Praise: (8416) thillah (the-hil-law’); laudation, (specifically) a hymn (song) of praise.

Comely: (5000) na’veh (naw-veh’); beautiful, comely, suitable

Upright: (3477) yashur (haw-shawr’); straight, most uprightness, equity.

This should be the response of those who walk the “straight and narrow” road of righteousness by God’s standard. These are the “straight” ones. We are not to remain silent or in the shadows. We are to shout and sing aloud the praises of our Lord. Such praise is beautiful to God.

This is the opposite of sitting in complete silence in a liturgical church service. This should be our daily manner of praise whether in church, at home, or at the grocery store or the mall. It is a sweet and beautiful sound heard by the Lord.

Let us rejoice in Him daily.

HELEN SANDERS

4-11-2023

OUR TRUE IDENTITY

There isn’t an American citizen that does not have a personal identity through a birth certificate, baptismal certificate, or other records that prove that they were born. Someone coming into our country that becomes a naturalized citizen will have to show that information from their country to become a citizen.

Identity theft is on the rise. On social media there are numerous times that someone has tried to impersonate me, and it happens to most other people also. It can be frustrating to have to deal with this. Yet, there is only one me.

Then there is identity theft where someone steals your personal information and takes over who you are. I have seen this happen to several people personally, and it is quite a mess to get straightened out.

The most important identity that we have is with Jesus Christ. This is the identity that lasts for eternity. Whether we are in Christ by salvation and identify with him or not determines where we will spend eternity. In the Old Testament a Jew was identified by circumcision of the flesh. In the New Testament we are circumcised in the heart (spirit) where God, the Holy Spirit, makes His residence. We are transformed from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. We now identify with Jesus Christ.

When we meet another Christian, there is that witness or identification of the Spirit between us and them. It is like it was with Mary, pregnant with Jesus, and Elizabeth, pregnant with John. The baby leaped in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary came near. That was the Holy Spirit identifying the life in Mary’s womb as being the Christ. 

Who do you identify with? Is it a famous political figure? Is it a famous sports hero? Is it a teacher, a Pastor, or someone else?  Paul spoke to the Church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”  The word “follower” means to imitate, or you could say “identify with." In this case, be an imitator of Christ.

Who you follow will determine your destination. Those that identify with and follow Christ are guaranteed a future. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” When you are an imitator of Christ, and identify with Him, you have a bright future.