Our Hope Is in You - Psalms 33: 13-22

Welcome to the Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast. My Bible Reading Plan for this week included Psalms 13-33 and Acts 18-21. As is my custom, I first asked God to direct me to the passage of Scripture from these readings that He wanted me to share about Jesus as we assemble to break bread. I was drawn to Psalms 33: 13-22 because the psalmist in these verses addresses a question as old as humanity itself, "Will a person or a nation choose to honor God?" Despite the passage of time, the question remains the same, "Will you choose to honor Me?" All Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation (NLT) and are used with permission.

As you listen to the episode today, my hope is that you will be encouraged from the time spent meditating on what Jesus has done for you. You are a special person; the one Jesus died to save!

Transcript

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "Our Hope Is in You." I read from Psalms 33: 13-22. All quotations are from the New Living Translation (NLT) and are used with permission.

13 The LORD looks down from heaven

        and sees the whole human race.

14 From his throne he observes

        all who live on the earth.

15 He made their hearts,

        so he understands everything they do.

16 The best-equipped army cannot save a king,

        nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.

17 Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory—

        for all its strength, it cannot save you.

18 But the LORD watches over those who fear him,

        those who rely on his unfailing love.

19 He rescues them from death

        and keeps them alive in times of famine.

20 We put our hope in the LORD.

        He is our help and our shield.

21 In him our hearts rejoice,

        for we trust in his holy name.

22 Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD,

        for our hope is in you alone.

My Bible Reading Plan for this week included Psalms 13-33 and Acts 18-21. As is my custom, I first asked God to direct me to the passage of Scripture from these readings that He wanted me to share about Jesus as we assemble to break bread. I was drawn to Psalms 33: 13-22 because the psalmist in these verses addresses a question as old as humanity itself, "Will a person or a nation choose to honor God?"

In Psalms 33, the psalmist encourages the faithful to give God the praise He so rightly deserves. Despite all of the reasons the psalmist gives for choosing God, a nation or an individual can choose to oppose or ignore God. A nation may choose to trust in a well-equipped army to win the day. A warrior may trust in their own personal strength or that of their warhorse. The psalmist writes that these choices are futile as they cannot save you or give you victory. Instead, the psalmist tells us that "the LORD watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine." The LORD is our hope, our help and our shield. He is our joy and guarantor of our trust. He surrounds us with unfailing love.

God still permits humankind to exercise free will today; however, He has been even more explicit about the choice. He sent His Son to proclaim the good news and offer His life for ours on a cross. Humankind must choose to have faith in Jesus or reject Him. To partake of the bread and drink from the cup offers an opportunity for Christians to reflect on Jesus' sacrifice for our sins; however, it is also a public declaration that there is salvation in no other name than Jesus, and humankind has a choice to make. Let us pray.

Abba, Father. Today we bless and set aside this bread and the fruit of the vine in this cup to remember Your Son, Jesus. We know that the bread represents His body that was nailed to the cross, and the fruit of the vine represents His blood that He shed for us. As we pour out the wine from the cup, we are reminded of how Jesus poured out His own blood that our sins might be forgiven. Abba, Father, we certainly agree with the psalmist! You are our hope. In Jesus, we are blessed in this life and saved from death in the next. Please continue to surround us with Your unfailing love for our hope is in You alone. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26: 26-28 (NLT).

26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.

27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.

And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"

Until next time, from Numbers 6: 24-26, "May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace."

Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories, and I invite you to add my podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!