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.Psalm 1:1-2 ESV
So, the last devotion the Lord gave me to write was “Wise and Innocent.” In that devotion,
right at the very end, the Lord led me to write this:
“So, I would challenge
you to put your TVs and your video games and your social media and YouTube, or
whatever it is you do to entertain yourselves, off to the side. And, the time
you would normally spend on those, spend that time, instead, in prayer, and in
studying the scriptures, and in watching and listening to what is wholesome and
of God, and in sharing the gospel with others. And, then just watch how your
thinking changes, and how your attitudes change, and how your behaviors change,
too.”
Then, after the Lord had me write that, he spoke to my
heart, and he said that I need to do just what I challenged y’all to do. Now, I
don’t have a TV, and I don’t play video games, and I only get on YouTube if the
Lord leads me to a song that is on there, or if someone shares with me a song.
But, I do play a scrabble game online with a few family members,
and my husband and I occasionally play table games, and sometimes we play games
with our children and grandchildren. Oh, and I do post pictures on Instagram,
which I share with a handful of close family friends and family members, for I
enjoy taking pictures. And, I already spend a large amount of my day with the
Lord in doing what he has called me to do.
Yet, the Lord is leading me to set aside, at least for now, games
and Instagram, I believe, in order to focus more on him and to spend more
intimate time with him in listening to what he has for me to do and in doing
what he shows me he wants me to do. And, it isn’t that these are bad things, in
and of themselves, but he wants me more focused on him.
And, that is what this scripture is talking about here. It
is saying that we need to remove worldly influences from our lives, and instead
we need to delight ourselves in the Word of God and in intimate fellowship with
our Lord. And, we need to be meditating on the Word of God, not just a few
minutes of our day, but day in and day out (day and night).
He is like a tree planted by streams of waterthat yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.In all that he does, he prospers.Psalm 1:3 ESV
There are a lot of Christians who are very distracted with
the things of this world, and with being entertained continuously. Yet, I am
not saying I am totally free from the distractions of this world, and I believe
that is why the Lord is having me take more serious steps towards removing some
of those distractions from my life.
But, there are those who are consumed by the things of this
world, and thus they have lost sight of God and his plan for their lives. So,
this is an encouragement to get back on track with God.
We, as followers of Christ, should be so in love with Jesus,
that he is what we want more than we want anything else. We should hunger for
his Word and not for the pleasures this world has to offer us. We should be so
in tune with him that we hear him leading us throughout our days, and that we
follow his lead moment by moment.
We should long for our times of intimate fellowship with
him. We should be taking our sorrows to him, and allowing him to bring comfort
to our hearts. He should be our first love, and not the things of this world. We
should be seeking his direction for our lives, and for him to teach us how to
walk in fellowship with him, and how to live for him each day. And, we should
see him as more precious than anything this world has to offer us.
And, then we will be steadfast in faith and purpose. And,
the Holy Spirit of God will work through us, and God will use us in the lives
of others to share his love and his grace and his salvation from sin with them.
And, we will be sensitized to the Spirit’s voice so that we do follow our Lord
in obedience, and we will do what he asks us to do when he asks us to do it.
And, we will be willing to go anywhere he sends us, and to
say whatever he gives us to say, to whomever he gives us to say it, and we will
be the people of God he created us to be, as holy vessels fit for his service.
And, we will be willing to leave the world all behind to follow our Lord
wherever he leads us, even to situations that are not the most comfortable for
us, or that are very trying, or that are even serious tribulations for us,
because we know that our God is still in charge, and he is leading us, and he
has a purpose for it all.
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.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.Psalm 1:4-6 ESV
There are many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ but
whose lives are not given over to Jesus Christ. They are walking in the counsel
of the wicked, and they are following after the ways of this sinful world, and
they are being led by their fleshly appetites rather than by the Holy Spirit.
The words from their mouths cannot be trusted, for lying is
second nature to them. They are actors, performers, who play act for audiences.
They know the ways of God, but they do not follow them. They pretend to be
walking by the Spirit when they are walking by the flesh and doing their wicked
deeds in the dark, in secret, where no one else can see them.
They have no strength of character or determination to live
a holy life. Their fleshly appetites are what often direct their lives,
instead. Instead of removing ungodly influences from their lives, they invite
them into their lives and they feed on them. Their delight is not in the law of
the Lord, for their lifestyles reveal that they despise the law of the Lord,
instead.
Therefore, they will not be able to stand when judgment
comes. For, they rejected the Lord’s will for their lives in order to follow
their flesh, instead. Instead of walking in the ways of the Lord, they walk by
the flesh. And, scripture teaches us that they, thus, will not inherit eternal
life with God, no matter what they profess with their lips or what they say
they believe in their hearts (Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8; 1 Jn.
1:5-9).
But, those who genuinely have put their faith and trust in
the Lord Jesus, who do delight in the law of the Lord, and who are walking in
obedience to the Lord commands, they will inherit eternal life with God.
Because of their steadfastness of faith in Jesus Christ, they will endure with
Christ to the end, and they will be richly rewarded in His eternal kingdom.
So, don’t be like the wicked who are perishing, but walk in
Christ’s righteousness and holiness, and dedicate your life to him and to his
service. Remove from your life the distractions of this world and ungodly
influences, and focus your attention on Jesus Christ and his Word and on his
will for your life. Then, follow him wherever he leads you, and do whatever it
is he commands you to do, and you will be blessed.
Unshakably
An Original Work /
November 29, 2018
Based off various
scriptures
Cast your cares upon your Lord.
Come to Him
All you who’re weary.
Know that He will
Give you rest.
Take His yoke upon you
And learn from Him
And you’ll find your rest.
For His yoke is easy
And His burden’s light.
It’s His to bear.
Find the peace of Christ in heart.
Let the peace of Christ
Rule in your hearts,
And be then
So thankful.
And, the peace of God
Which is beyond all
We can comprehend
Will guard your hearts
And your minds in Christ,
For He is Lord of all.
Hope in God will not betray.
Let us hold
Unshakably to
The hope that
We now profess.
For the One
Who promised hope
Is faithful to
His ev’ry word.
Therefore, with minds
That are sober,
Set your hope
On Christ’s return.
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
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