I felt like I was in a bit of a devotional slump a couple weeks ago (sorry "When You Pray") and decided on a whim to see if I could read 150 psalms in 150 days. Because, as you may know, there are 150 psalms. As soon as I made that decision, it was like a weight had been lifted. My prayer time seemed (and is) simpler and it has freed me to be more silent and centered. So that's all good, but, and this may sound really odd coming from a pastor, it's amazing what happens you actually read sections of the Bible straight through.
I'm through Psalm 11 and while I've enjoyed this immensely and have reveled in some wonderful passages (Psalm 8 is always a favorite--it tells that we're made a little lower than God/the angels and that we're crowned with glory and honor), so far, the main message is: (a) God likes good and righteous people/things and (b) God really, really doesn't like (choose your negative adjective) evil/wicked/bloodthirsty/deceitful people and things. And the call from the psalmist is for God to either smite these evil/wicked/bloodthirsty/deceitful people or make it so they trap themselves in their own deceit. I knew this was a theme throughout the Scriptures, but I didn't realize it was so rampant right off the bat in the psalms.
The themes will change as I go along and I don't necessarily oppose reading these. It's caused me to think about my own enemies (I tend to think of things like needless anxiety or harmful fear though, if I'm honest, there are days when my enemies have flesh and blood) and it's caused me to pay closer attention to the oppressed (the psalmist speaks on behalf of the oppressed a fair amount) and reflecting on what I'm doing or not doing on their behalf. I'll see if I can blog more regularly along the way on these.
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