Psalms 119:137-138 ESV
“Righteous are you, O Lord,
and right are your rules.
You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness
and in all faithfulness.”
Amen! God is upright, just, blameless, morally right,
honest, and honorable, and so are his rules (laws, commandments) and his
judgments. And he has given us his word (his testimonies) in righteousness
(truth, honor, purity) and in all faithfulness (trustworthiness and
truthfulness). Amen!
And his rules for us are written in his word, both in the
Old and in the New Testament, but they are confirmed for us in the New
Testament (under the New Covenant). We are not under the law like the Jews were
under the Old Covenant, but Jesus fulfilled the law, and we are under his authority.
So, as followers of Jesus, we are not to be lawless, but we
are still commanded to follow the commands of our Lord under the New Covenant,
which are moral laws, which he summed up in two: Love the Lord your God with
all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
And this “love” prefers (chooses) God’s choices (1 Jn 2:3-6).
Psalms 119:139-141 ESV
“My zeal consumes me,
because my foes forget your words.
Your promise is well tried,
and your servant loves it.
I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget your precepts.”
Amen! So, who are these foes today who forget God’s words?
Many of them are among those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, some of whom
are pastors and elders of churches. And they are the people of the world. And some
of them are their governing authorities.
But the fiercest opponents to the Lord and to his gospel today
are within the gatherings of what is called “church.” And it is because they
are propagating a gospel of salvation that is of the flesh of man, and which
coddles people in their sin, and which does not submit to Christ as Lord or
obey him.
And they are putting to death the true gospel of our
salvation because it offends people, and because it does not compromise with
the world, and because it still calls for repentance, obedience, and submission
to Christ. They are doing this because they are not serving the Lord, but Satan.
Thus, those who are following the Lord Jesus wholeheartedly
are consumed with zeal for the Lord and for his gospel because they not only
must get the truth of the gospel out to the people, but they must also
continually be refuting the lies of the false gospel, for many are deceived.
But the gospel as Jesus and as his New Testament apostles taught
it is true and tried, and therefore we who love God love his gospel, too. For,
it honors our Lord, and it teaches us that we must submit to his will, obey
him, forsake our sinful lifestyles, and follow our Lord in his ways.
And we love it because the truth is what sets us free. Jesus
died on that cross to deliver us from our slavery to sin and to free us to walk
in his holiness and righteousness. Faith in Jesus Christ, thus, involves us
dying with Christ to sin and following him in obedience to his ways. Amen!
There is no better life than a life committed to the Lord
Jesus in full surrender to his will and to his ways, that is free from
addiction to sin, and is now free to live for the Lord, and to do his will, and
to walk in his ways, and to enjoy sweet fellowship with him day in and day out.
But it is also a life of suffering for the sake of
righteousness, and of being despised and rejected by other humans, including by
many who call themselves Christians. But that is for the glory of God and for
the salvation of human lives, and so it is worth it all.
Psalms 119:142-144 ESV
“Your righteousness is righteous forever,
and your law is true.
Trouble and anguish have found me out,
but your commandments are my delight.
Your testimonies are righteous forever;
give me understanding that I may live.”
Jesus said that if we follow him that we are going to be hated
and persecuted as he was hated and persecuted. And who were his fiercest
opponents? They were those who claimed faith in the one true God, and who were
rulers in the temple of God. They are the ones who had Jesus put to death on
that cross because they hated him.
So, it should not surprise us if some of our fiercest
opposition comes from those who also profess faith in Jesus Christ, but who are
those who have rejected the true gospel of grace, and who are following after a
cheapened version of the grace of God and of his gospel.
But we can’t let their attacks or their opposing remarks
take us out. We can’t let the opposition unsettle us. We must remain strong in
the Lord and in his word and keep standing up for truth and for righteousness
no matter how bad the opposition becomes.
We have to keep speaking the truth in opposition to the lies
because far too many people have been deceived by the fake gospel and they are
going to hell on the promise of heaven. We have to keep exposing the lies for
what they are and proclaiming the true testimonies of God which are righteous.
For, we are all slaves of who we obey. If we obey sin, it
leads to death. If we obey obedience, it leads to righteousness, which ends in
eternal life with God. And if we walk (conduct our lives) according to (in
agreement with) the flesh, and not according to the Spirit, we will die in our
sins (Rom 6:16; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Lu 9:23-26; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8).
So, we need to be those who walk according to the Spirit and
who, by the Spirit, are putting to death the deeds of the flesh. We need to be
those who no longer live for ourselves but who live for Christ who gave his
life up for us. We are to honor God with our lives (Rom 8:1-17; 2 Co 5:15).
An
Original Work / September 26, 2011
When
in the stillness of this moment,
Speak
to me, Lord, I humbly pray.
Be
my desire, set me on fire,
Teach
me to love always.
Help
me to walk in fellowship with You,
Listening
to You; sit at Your feet.
Whisper
Your words to me,
Oh,
how gently, guiding me in Your truth.
While
we are waiting for Your blessing,
Lord,
in our hearts be King today.
Help
us to live for you ev’ry moment,
List’ning
to what You say.
May
we not stray from your word within us,
Help
us obey You, Lord, in all things,
Walking
each moment, Lord, in Your presence,
Our
offerings to You bring.
Help
us to love You, Lord, our master;
Be
an example of Your love,
Helping
the hurting, lift up the fallen,
Showing
them Your great love.
Teach
them to love You, follow You always,
Bearing
their cross and turning from sin;
Walking
in daily fellowship with You,
Making
You Lord and King.
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