Psalm 1:1-2 ESV
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way
of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in
the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
We have the richness of God’s blessings, his benefits, his
provisions in our lives when we, who are his by faith, do not participate in
the ways of the ungodly, but we, instead, walk in the ways of the Lord. We have
peace beyond measure, and joy even through tears. And, we have healing for our
sorrows, and steadfastness of spirit, and guidance of the Holy Spirit, etc.
We, thus, who believe in Jesus, are not to conduct our lives,
and make our decisions, and formulate our thinking based off the counsel (the
advice) of the wicked, the immoral, and the depraved of this world. But, we are
instead to receive and to follow the counsel of God, from his word, with regard
to how we are to live, to love, to behave and to think.
We are also not to adopt the attitudes of those who make sin
their practice. We are not to let their opinions influence what we think or
believe. Our viewpoints about life and God and how we are to live our lives
should also not be influenced by those whose ways reflect the ways of the
flesh. Nor should we persist in, and be determined in, and be steadfast in the
ways of those whose lifestyles reflect the darkness rather than the light.
We, as well, should not be unified or be in close fellowship
with those who mock the ways of God, and who make light of His Word, or who
take sin lightly and who think it is no big deal. We should not be in close
fellowship, too, with others who profess Christ as Savior but who think they
can still conduct their lives in the ways of the flesh, for bad company can
corrupt good character.
But, we should be unified with those who are walking in the
ways of the Lord, and who show they love God by obeying his teachings.
Psalm 1:3-4 ESV
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit
in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does,
he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives
away.
We are blessed of God, because we do not follow in the ways
of those who are living in opposition to God and to his Word. We are also
blessed of God because we are firmly rooted (grounded) in him and in his truths.
Our delight is in the teachings of God, of Christ, and on them we do meditate
day and night.
We have the Living Water, the Spirit of God, dwelling within
us giving us life in Christ, and eternal life in him. And, because we abide in
him and him in us, we bear much fruit (spiritual results and outgrowth) in
keeping with repentance.
Some of this fruit should be evident through how we live our
lives, day in and day out, and through our conduct, our attitudes and our
actions, which we make our practice. But, some of this fruit is born in other
people’s lives, and we may not see all of that until we get to heaven one day.
When we remain in Christ and him in us, and we bear much
fruit, we are successful, not in the eyes of humans, necessarily, but in the
eyes of God, for we have done the will of God, which is for his glory and
praise. Yet, humans do not measure such success in the same ways in which God
does, so they may not have much regard at all for what brings glory to His
name.
The wicked, nonetheless, may be very successful in the eyes
of humans, and by the standards of this world, but they would not be prosperous
spiritually in the eyes of God, for they not only did not do what God says, but
they did the opposite, and they opposed him and his word and his messages and
his messengers, too, and they treated God and his servants with contempt.
Psalm 1:5-6 ESV
Therefore the wicked
will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the
righteous;
for the Lord knows the
way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
One day we are all going to have to stand before God. And,
he is going to judge us on the basis of what we did with His Son.
He will not be looking to see if we prayed the sinner’s
prayer or if we made a public confession of Jesus Christ as Savior of our
lives. He will not be looking, too, to see if we attended church services at
some building called “church” every week. He won’t be looking at how much money
we put in the offering plate or what committees we served on or what ministries
we were involved in, either.
What he will be looking for, which he obviously already
knows, is did we trust Jesus Christ truly to be Lord (owner-master) and Savior
of our lives? Did we turn away from our lives of sin and did we follow (obey)
Jesus Christ with our lives? Did we walk according to the Spirit, or according
to the flesh? Did we follow God’s counsel, or did we, instead heed the counsel
of the wicked? And, did we remain in him, or did we desert at the first sign of
trouble? And, did we take his word seriously, or did we mock it?
For, Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness. This is the essence of the gospel message. If we want to have
eternal life with God and forgiveness of sins, we must die daily to sin and
follow our Lord in obedience. We don’t have to be perfect, otherwise Jesus
would not have had to die. But, we should no longer be under the control of sin
so that we are still walking in the ways of our sinful flesh instead of in the
ways of God.
Know that we will all reap what we sow. If we sow to please
the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction (decay, death). But, if we
sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life with God
(Gal. 6:7-8).
For
Our Nation
An
Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
Monday, November 19, 2018
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