“Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!” (Psalm 119:5)
The Psalmist could have prayed for many things but his one desire was that he would be obedient to the Word of God. He knew that it is difficult, yes even impossible, to obey the law of the Lord completely so he prayed for God to help him be obedient.
How many of us today pray that we will be steadfast in obedience? We want to be steadfast in our calling and our work. We want to be steadfast in our relationships but do we desire to be steadfast in obedience of God’s Word?
Paul’s prayer for the Corinthians that they would stand firm; that nothing would move them; that they would always give themselves to the work of the Lord. His prayer was that they would be steadfast.
Paul had been a drift at sea where even the sea anchors could not hold them from drifting with the gale. He knew that if we were to be steadfast then we had to be anchored on something solid. Is our anchor in the Lord and His Word? If we have put our anchor in anything else then we will find that in the storms of life that we will drift. It is the storms of life that will show whether our anchor is securely fastened.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Obedience
“You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.” (Psalm 119:4).
Saul, the first king of Israel, had gone to battle against the Amalakites. When he saw the fat cattle he decided that he would keep some for himself even though the command of the Lord to him had been to destroy everything. When Samuel finally caught up with Saul at Gilgal and confronted him with his sin, Saul immediately rationalized his actions by saying that he had kept back the best for sacrifices to the Lord. Samuel=s words to Saul have been words to all of us since that day, “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” (I Samuel 15:22b).
The Lord expects that His commands are to be fully obeyed. In His eyes the ends never justify the means. We must never do wrong that good may come. Maybe we are tempted to tell a lie so that we could protect someone from hurt; maybe we are tempted to cheat so that we can use our talents, gifts, and possessions in the Lord=s work. The words of this Psalm come back to us, “You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.” Remember, the Lord wants our obedience, not our sacrifices.
Saul, the first king of Israel, had gone to battle against the Amalakites. When he saw the fat cattle he decided that he would keep some for himself even though the command of the Lord to him had been to destroy everything. When Samuel finally caught up with Saul at Gilgal and confronted him with his sin, Saul immediately rationalized his actions by saying that he had kept back the best for sacrifices to the Lord. Samuel=s words to Saul have been words to all of us since that day, “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” (I Samuel 15:22b).
The Lord expects that His commands are to be fully obeyed. In His eyes the ends never justify the means. We must never do wrong that good may come. Maybe we are tempted to tell a lie so that we could protect someone from hurt; maybe we are tempted to cheat so that we can use our talents, gifts, and possessions in the Lord=s work. The words of this Psalm come back to us, “You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.” Remember, the Lord wants our obedience, not our sacrifices.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Walk In His Ways
"They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways." (Psalm 119:3)
It is impossible to do wrong and walk in His ways. The Christian life has often been compared to a walk, a walk with the Lord. When we walk with the Lord we will be in agreement with Him. The prophet Amos said, "Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?" When we walk in His ways we have agreed to do so and therefore, we must be in agreement with Him.
The Bible talks about two men who walked with God; Enoch and Noah. Enoch walked with God because he had this testimony, "He pleased God." One Sunday School student described Enoch this way: "Enoch and God were friends and they would take walks together everyday. One day when God and Enoch were out walking God said to Enoch, 'It is getting late and you are so far from home, why don't you come home to my house?' So Enoch went home with God."
Is your walk with God like Enoch's? Would you have to first go home and make things right before you could go home with your heavenly Father? Our walk should be such that when God invites us home with Him we could go immediately. Our testimony should be, "We pleased God."
It is impossible to do wrong and walk in His ways. The Christian life has often been compared to a walk, a walk with the Lord. When we walk with the Lord we will be in agreement with Him. The prophet Amos said, "Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?" When we walk in His ways we have agreed to do so and therefore, we must be in agreement with Him.
The Bible talks about two men who walked with God; Enoch and Noah. Enoch walked with God because he had this testimony, "He pleased God." One Sunday School student described Enoch this way: "Enoch and God were friends and they would take walks together everyday. One day when God and Enoch were out walking God said to Enoch, 'It is getting late and you are so far from home, why don't you come home to my house?' So Enoch went home with God."
Is your walk with God like Enoch's? Would you have to first go home and make things right before you could go home with your heavenly Father? Our walk should be such that when God invites us home with Him we could go immediately. Our testimony should be, "We pleased God."
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Blessed
"Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart." (Psalm 119:2)
TO be blessed is to be happy, but happy as Jesus defined it, not as the world does. The World says we are happy if we have material things, Jesus said we are happy if we are poor in spirit. The world says we are happy if we feel happy, Jesus said we are happy if we mourn. And so Jesus went through happiness showing that true happiness is really in contrast to the worldly happiness.
The Psalmist knew what it meant to be happy and he knew how to find true happiness. He said that happiness comes from obeying the Word of God. I have met many people who think that God is a tyrant Who does not want His subjects to have any fun. They think that His favourite words are "thou shalt not." But the Word of God is not like that, there has to be the negative commands for our own good, but there is much more in the Word of God about what we should be doing. The writer of Hebrews put it this way, "Let us ..."
But there is more than just blind obedience to His Word if we are to be blessed. We must seek Him with all our heart. I have met many Christians that have desired His gifts more than they desire the Giver. As one writer put it, they desired the ring more than the beloved. We will not be blessed, have happiness, if we desire thee gifts above the Giver. The road to happiness is a desire to know Him, and to know Him we must know and keep His Word.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (Matthew 5:8)
TO be blessed is to be happy, but happy as Jesus defined it, not as the world does. The World says we are happy if we have material things, Jesus said we are happy if we are poor in spirit. The world says we are happy if we feel happy, Jesus said we are happy if we mourn. And so Jesus went through happiness showing that true happiness is really in contrast to the worldly happiness.
The Psalmist knew what it meant to be happy and he knew how to find true happiness. He said that happiness comes from obeying the Word of God. I have met many people who think that God is a tyrant Who does not want His subjects to have any fun. They think that His favourite words are "thou shalt not." But the Word of God is not like that, there has to be the negative commands for our own good, but there is much more in the Word of God about what we should be doing. The writer of Hebrews put it this way, "Let us ..."
But there is more than just blind obedience to His Word if we are to be blessed. We must seek Him with all our heart. I have met many Christians that have desired His gifts more than they desire the Giver. As one writer put it, they desired the ring more than the beloved. We will not be blessed, have happiness, if we desire thee gifts above the Giver. The road to happiness is a desire to know Him, and to know Him we must know and keep His Word.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (Matthew 5:8)
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Blameless
"Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord." (Psalm 119:1)
I have yet to meet anyone who is faultless but I do know many who are blameless. Some people think that faultless and blameless are the same thing, but they are not. When I trusted Jesus Christ as my personal saviour I was declared righteous, that is, God no longer saw my sin but He saw me through the precious blood of His Son Jesus. When Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, he told them that God would make them unblamable in holiness. The writer of Hebrews tells us that without holiness we will not see the Lord. I am so thankful for this truth; that God provides the holiness that He requires of me. When we look at others, we see their faults, and we wonder how God can declare that person to be holy. When God looks at us, He sees us through the faultless life and the precious blood of Jesus and since He was faultless, we are blameless.
The Psalmist says that the blameless walk according to the law of the Lord. In this Psalm the Psalmist has a great deal to say about the Word of God. The Word tells us how we can conform our lives to be like His Son's. Because God has declared me blameless by His Son I will try to be more like Him. To do this I must go to His Word to learn how I should live. The Psalmist says that we are to walk according to the law of God.
I have yet to meet anyone who is faultless but I do know many who are blameless. Some people think that faultless and blameless are the same thing, but they are not. When I trusted Jesus Christ as my personal saviour I was declared righteous, that is, God no longer saw my sin but He saw me through the precious blood of His Son Jesus. When Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, he told them that God would make them unblamable in holiness. The writer of Hebrews tells us that without holiness we will not see the Lord. I am so thankful for this truth; that God provides the holiness that He requires of me. When we look at others, we see their faults, and we wonder how God can declare that person to be holy. When God looks at us, He sees us through the faultless life and the precious blood of Jesus and since He was faultless, we are blameless.
The Psalmist says that the blameless walk according to the law of the Lord. In this Psalm the Psalmist has a great deal to say about the Word of God. The Word tells us how we can conform our lives to be like His Son's. Because God has declared me blameless by His Son I will try to be more like Him. To do this I must go to His Word to learn how I should live. The Psalmist says that we are to walk according to the law of God.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Day of Inspiration
Last Thursday, May 27, the Bible League of Canada sponsored a day of inspiration for its donors. Since the Bibles for Missions stores are a major contributor to TBLC we were invited. We hired a bus and many of our volunteers traveled to Kitchener where they were treated to lunch, a number of reports from the partners and supper. Everyone I talked to said that it was worth it. It helped them to see the big picture. The partners reported from China, Argentina, Africa, North America and more. Thank you Bible League of Canada and a special thank you to Joyce who organized the whole day.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Slowing Down
You may have noticed that I have not posted in awhile. I was away at the Bibles for Missions board meetings and Annual meeting this past week. I will post something from the Bible League of Canada's day of inspiration very soon.
Also our classes have ended for the summer. I am starting to plan for the fall. Mike is thinking of doing an evening series on the prayer life of Samuel and I am thinking of a morning series on the Lord's prayer. Any other ideas?
Also our classes have ended for the summer. I am starting to plan for the fall. Mike is thinking of doing an evening series on the prayer life of Samuel and I am thinking of a morning series on the Lord's prayer. Any other ideas?
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