Saturday, May 28-guest post by Pamela

Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is-- Psalm 24-26 - John 10:22-42

Today's readings begin with this profound verse:

¹ The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;

Wow. The Lord is the Master of the entire earth- of everything and everyone. My bible's notes say that: "The prelude proclaims the Lord as the Creator, Sustainer, and Possessor of the whole world and therefore worthy of worship and reverent loyalty as the King of Glory." It is hard to wrap my head around this. Everything is His. Mountains and valleys, tornadoes and earthquakes, oceans and deserts-it all belongs to Him. Billy Graham and Osama Bin Laden, aborted babies and euthanized seniors, children bringing guns to school and children fighting for the homeless-they all belong to God. It is hard to fathom the depth and magnitude of what is His.

I found this commentary that provided additional notes on this verse:

The earth is the Lord's - The whole world belongs to God. He is the Creator of the earth, and therefore, its Proprietor; or, in other words, "the property vests in him." It belongs to Him in a sense somewhat similar to our right of property in anything that is the production of our hands, or of our labor or skill. We claim that as our own. We feel that we have a right to use it, or to dispose of it, as we choose. No other person has a right to take it from us, or to dictate to us how we shall employ it. Thus, God, in the highest possible sense, has a right to the earth, and to all which it produces, as being all of it the creation of His hands, and the fruit of His culture and skill. He has a right to dispose of it as He pleases; by fire, or flood, and He has an equal right to direct man in what way He shall employ that portion of the productions of the earth which may be entrusted to Him. All the right which any person has to any portion of the earth's surface, or to what is treasured up in the earth, or to what it is made to produce, is subordinate to the claims of God, and all should be yielded up at His bidding, whether He comes and claims it to be employed in His service, or whether He comes and sweeps it away by fire or flood.

And the fulness thereof - All which it contains; everything which goes to "fill up" the world: animals, minerals, vegetables, people. All belong to God, and He has a right to claim them for His service, and to dispose of them as He pleases....God has a claim on people - upon their services, upon their talents, upon all that they can acquire by labor and skill; He has a right to all that fly in the air, or that walk the earth, or that swim in the sea. On the occasion on which it is supposed that this psalm was written, in bringing up the ark of God, and placing it in the tabernacle provided for it in the capital of the nation, no sentiment could be more appropriate than that which would recognize the universal supremacy of God."

The next Psalm again begins with a powerful verse:

¹ In you, LORD my God,
I put my trust.

This is a logical response to the previous verse. It is impossible to understand how we could not put our full trust in God, the maker and master of everything.

⁴ Show me your ways, LORD,
teach me your paths.
⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,

Who better to guide us on our life's journey than the author of the map?! He knows the route-He MADE the route- and He knows the best path to take. God may not reveal the entire journey to us at one time but He will show us where we need to go to get to where He is leading. He guides our steps if we will only listen to Him.

This fits perfectly with this New Testament passage:

²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all^[b]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

We are God's creation. He has the right to us. We can put our trust in Him because He is our Creator. He will guide us and teach us. When we listen to Him, no one will take us away. What an amazing promise!

Tomorrow's passage: Psalm 27-29 - John 11:1-29