Prayer
– Lord, I want to please You…to live my life according to Your commands—but in
such a way that I am not being legalistic or hypocritical. As David wrote…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! Show me how to live with
integrity that I would be filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit.
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
Search for the Lord with all your heart!
Meditate.
Consider God’s commands in scripture. Read God’s word and listen to what He is
saying.
We are
entering that “Joyful” time of the year. Are you ready to be filled with JOY?
David, the presumed author of Psalm 119, pleaded with God…Please don’t give up on me! There is so much in these few verses. Yesterday we looked at a couple of joyful scripture passages associated with Jesus, and I challenged us to not compromise our values. Jesus didn’t—why should we? We need to keep His commandments—carefully, as David points out in this passage. Carefully. Of course, we have to learn your (God’s) righteous regulation and live by them as I should. So much information and instruction here!
We are charged to keep your (God’s) commandments carefully. Personally, I want to live according to God’s instruction—which basically are the Ten Commandments. Jesus boiled those commands down to two: Love God and Love Your Neighbor. That is pretty much it—but takes a conscientious effort to live moment by moment even by those two. Evaluate the motives of your heart and thoughts. Additionally, I don’t want to be legalistic about living by these righteous regulations. Jesus called the Pharisee whitewashed tombs as they were legalistic hypocrites.
What sorrow awaits you teachers of
religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful
on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts
of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts
are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. Matthew 23:27-28
Of
course, some of the Old Testament regulations (See Leviticus) had to do with
sacrifices that are no longer applicable to our lives—there is no temple and
above all, Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins—so no lambs, goats,
bulls or birds have to be sacrificed now. Thankfully.
Can you compare your life with God’s
commands? Love God, love others. Tomorrow we’ll look at the book of Romans and see
how Jesus’ sacrifice fulfilled the law and changed our future. Each of us has a
choice on how we live. It is just that…a choice.
Verse
of Salvation ~ But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you
keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God. Psalm 50:23
Be
Thankful with GOODNESS in Your Heart
© 2024 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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