Day 3
Some Scripture:
“Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord.
Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.
They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths.
You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully.
Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!
Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands.
As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should!
I will obey your decrees. Please don't give up on me!”
-Psalm 119:1-8 (NLT)
Some Reflection:
Okay, let's face it... If you are really going to “make your mark” in the world, it's time to “man-up” [Sorry, ladies.]. If you really want to be who you were intended to be in Christ, in His Church, and in the world He has both created and given His life to redeem, it's time to get serious, and the most serious response to God's grace is a life of radical faith and unwavering obedience. That's right: faith and obedience. As the old hymn says, “Trust and obey, for there's no other way...”
The odd thing is that obedience to the Lord is not stifling or suffocating; it does not make us less free or less “our own persons”. No, in fact, when you are obedient to Him, it brings joy, for you are being – far more than you might realize – you, who God has intended you to be. Come on, you know what the whole line from the hymn is: “...For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”
Only a life of joyful obedience is a life that can make an irreplaceably positive mark on the world. Only a life of uncompromising loyalty to God, His will, and His way makes an eternal investment of redeeming importance into the lives of others. Only a life that faithfully follows the Lord, walking in His way, is a life that need not be ashamed, for it alone is an appropriate expression of thankfulness for His goodness and an undeniable reflection of His life and love.
A couple of interesting ideas are presented in the first two verses of this, the lengthiest of all our Old Testament psalms: First, in answer to the question, “Who is the obedient one?” the psalmist boldly answers, “Oh, that's simple... the one who searches for God with all of his heart, with every ounce of the fabric of his being.” Second, in answer to the question, “Well, then, what is the result?” the psalmist shockingly answers, “Oh, a remarkable life of integrity.” You probably know that to have integrity means to be one thing – nothing else, nothing mixed, not an alloy, but a single substance. The barrel of sugar that has a pinch – or for that matter, a single granule – of salt in it does not have integrity, for it is tainted. The result of living in faithful obedience to God, seeking for Him with all of who we are, is that we are whole and put together – not a collection of parts, not a disjointed combination of compartments, but one thing... pure and immovable.
“Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord.
Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.
They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths.
You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully.
Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!
Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands.
As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should!
I will obey your decrees. Please don't give up on me!”
-Psalm 119:1-8 (NLT)
Some Reflection:
Okay, let's face it... If you are really going to “make your mark” in the world, it's time to “man-up” [Sorry, ladies.]. If you really want to be who you were intended to be in Christ, in His Church, and in the world He has both created and given His life to redeem, it's time to get serious, and the most serious response to God's grace is a life of radical faith and unwavering obedience. That's right: faith and obedience. As the old hymn says, “Trust and obey, for there's no other way...”
The odd thing is that obedience to the Lord is not stifling or suffocating; it does not make us less free or less “our own persons”. No, in fact, when you are obedient to Him, it brings joy, for you are being – far more than you might realize – you, who God has intended you to be. Come on, you know what the whole line from the hymn is: “...For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”
Only a life of joyful obedience is a life that can make an irreplaceably positive mark on the world. Only a life of uncompromising loyalty to God, His will, and His way makes an eternal investment of redeeming importance into the lives of others. Only a life that faithfully follows the Lord, walking in His way, is a life that need not be ashamed, for it alone is an appropriate expression of thankfulness for His goodness and an undeniable reflection of His life and love.
A couple of interesting ideas are presented in the first two verses of this, the lengthiest of all our Old Testament psalms: First, in answer to the question, “Who is the obedient one?” the psalmist boldly answers, “Oh, that's simple... the one who searches for God with all of his heart, with every ounce of the fabric of his being.” Second, in answer to the question, “Well, then, what is the result?” the psalmist shockingly answers, “Oh, a remarkable life of integrity.” You probably know that to have integrity means to be one thing – nothing else, nothing mixed, not an alloy, but a single substance. The barrel of sugar that has a pinch – or for that matter, a single granule – of salt in it does not have integrity, for it is tainted. The result of living in faithful obedience to God, seeking for Him with all of who we are, is that we are whole and put together – not a collection of parts, not a disjointed combination of compartments, but one thing... pure and immovable.
posted by Adam Godbold | 11:37 PM
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