It's What You Do

Psalms 16:1-3 ESV

 

“Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord;

    I have no good apart from you.’

 

“As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

    in whom is all my delight.”

 

Keep me safe. Rescue me from evil attacks. Preserve my life, for the enemy of my soul desires to take me out, to silence me, to hinder me from spreading the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For in you alone, Lord, is my trust, my hope, and my salvation.

 

Thank you, Jesus, for the godly who love you, and who are your servants and witnesses, who are sharing the truth of your gospel, and who are not compromising with the world. Thank you for their fellowship in the Spirit and for how they encourage one another in Christ.

 

Psalms 16:4 ESV

 

“The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;

    their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

    or take their names on my lips.”

 

Not everyone who claims to believe in Jesus has genuine faith in Jesus Christ. Many of them are still operating in the flesh, trying in their own power and strength to be Christians, while they ignore the Lord’s commands, and they determine their own steps.

 

They won’t let go of control over their own lives, and they won’t yield to the Lord and give him the controls. So, although they may have the appearance of being Christians and of living Christian lives, it is all a performance, in reality, for it is them doing it, not God.

 

They won’t yield control of their lives to the Lord Jesus because they don’t want to forsake their sins and their idols. They don’t want to give them up. So, they remain under the control of the flesh and of sin and of Satan while trying in their flesh to appear good.

 

But they can never be good enough in their own flesh. And their flesh will fail them every time because it has not been put to death. It is still lingering, and thus it serves as a roadblock to true righteousness and godliness, and thus it sends the “believer” right back into living in sin and according to the flesh, and this is because the “believer” will not listen to the counsel of God.

 

So, in order for them to hold on to their sins and their idols, many professers of faith in Jesus Christ have adopted a cheapened (false) rendition of the grace of God which replaces the true gospel in their hearts and lives. For it requires no death to sin, no living to righteousness, and no submission to Christ as Lord. And it gives carte blanche to keep living in sin without guilt.

 

Basically, this is a false god and a false gospel they are following which excludes the Jesus of the Bible and a marriage relationship with him. They don’t want a marriage relationship with Jesus. They just want the pretense of a marriage relationship with him.

 

So, it is Jesus, in fact, who will not take their names upon his lips. He will spew them out of his mouth. He will not acknowledge them as being his, and they will not be saved from their sins or have eternal life with God (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8).

 

Psalms 16:5-11 ESV

 

“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

    you hold my lot.

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

    indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

 

“I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;

    in the night also my heart instructs me.

I have set the Lord always before me;

    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

 

“Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

    my flesh also dwells secure.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

    or let your holy one see corruption.

 

“You make known to me the path of life;

    in your presence there is fullness of joy;

    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

 

The life of the true follower of Jesus Christ, though, is totally different from those who cling to their idols and to their sins and to maintaining control over their own lives. The true believer in Jesus dies with Christ to sin and lives to Christ and to his righteousness, in the power of God’s Spirit living within him/her.

 

Instead of the idols of this world and of the flesh being their god, the Lord Jesus is their chosen portion. They choose to have a marriage relationship with Jesus Christ in sincerity, and so they walk in the ways of the Lord and not in the ways of the flesh. For their desire is for Jesus.

 

For their relationship with Jesus Christ is not based in their flesh or in their feelings, but it is based on the Word of God and on obedient faith in Jesus Christ which submits to him as Lord and which follows his teachings and which does what he asks.

 

They listen to the counsel of the Lord, rather than to ignore it, and they want to do what he says and to not try to find ways around it so that they can continue living in sin. They want to be faithful to their Lord, and they do not live in adultery against their Lord.

 

They (we) are not perfect people for they (we) still live in flesh bodies, but by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh and we are walking according to the Spirit, and our desire is for our Lord to do his will.

 

Therefore, our Lord makes known to us the way in which he wants us to go. He speaks to us, and he counsels and guides us in the ways of righteousness, and he corrects us, too, if we are beginning to go the wrong way. And we find great joy and pleasure in our marriage relationship to him.

 

Thus, we are also confident that one day we will get to be with him forever and that we will not be abandoned to the grave. For our Lord’s promises to us, his true disciples, are solid, and we can count on them. He will never leave us or forsake us, and one day our marriage to him will be completed.

 

Anniversary Song

 

By Ann Aschauer

 

Well, some folks think that "love" means emotion,

So, it comes and goes their whole life through.

Some folks never know that when the magic goes,

If you keep on lovin', it'll come back to you.

I was so afraid we'd lose the special feeling,

And someday we'd find our love wasn't true,

But then God opened up my eyes and made me realize,

Love is not what you feel, it's what you do.

 

    And so we stood side by side at the altar,

    As our wills and God's power combined.

    With His help I could say, "I do love you today,

    And I will for a long, long time."

 

c 1987 Ann Aschauer

Used by permission

 

https://cfservant.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/02-track-2.mp3