Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither whatever he does prospers. Psalm one one three the word blessed and the word righteous are interchangeable. The word blessed describes the person in view in verse one of this psalm, and the word righteous describes the same person in verse six. Some have defined the word blessed as happy and thats okay too. But we need to understand that the reason the person described in psalm one is happy is simply due to the fact that he has a peace of mind that comes with doing what is right. And who doesnt need a little peace of mind in a world filled with all kinds of things that tend to make us anxious? What must be noted in these few verses is the place of prominence that the word of God is given in the life of the person who is called blessed and righteous. The word of God is his delight and he is so taken by the word of God that he meditates on it day and night. Thats the Bibles way of saying that it is always on his mind to meditate means more than simply reading a few verses every day. The word implies an intense consideration of what is read, so intense that it is memorized and called upon to evaluate every situation in a persons life. The person who truly meditates on Gods word is a person who looks at every experience in life and every question about things that happen in life and asks, what does the Bible say about this? Notice too that success comes to the righteous man because of his commitment to the word of God. The word nourishes him and enables him to produce fruit. His prosperity and success are directly related to the delight he has in God's word and in his willingness to respect the word of God is the authority for what he believes and does in life. I'd like you to ask yourself if you could be the blessed or righteous person being described in this psalm. Think about it. Do we respect God's word so much that we not only read it each day, but actually learn it and know it well enough that things we believe and the choices and decisions we make are made with God's word in mind rather than our own thoughts and opinions about things? Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord on which he meditates day and night.

This has been your thought for the day with Steve Burkham, pastor of Community Christian Church in Stockton, California. If you have questions or comments for Pastor Steve, please send them to dailythoughtspodcastmail.com. Have a great day and we hope youll join us tomorrow as Pastor Steve opens gods word to bring us another thought for the day.