Psalms 119:1-8 ESV
“Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord!
Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with their whole heart,
who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways!
You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
Oh that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous rules.
I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me!”
Blessed of God
We are blessed of God when we walk in the ways of the Lord,
in the ways of holiness and righteousness. We are fulfilled, content, and at
peace. We receive his benefits, his spiritual blessings which he lavishes upon
us. We know his love and his grace, his forgiveness, and his mercy to us.
We receive many spiritual benefits from obeying our Lord and
his commandments (New Covenant). We are at peace, we have his comfort, his joy,
his guidance, and his direction in our lives, and we experience his power and
his strength to live godly and holy lives, pleasing to him.
We don’t have to struggle through life wondering what we are
supposed to do with our lives or how we will survive, for our Lord gives us
purpose and direction, and he helps us to do what is right and to follow his
leading. And he will show us the way we should go so that we can walk in it.
And the Holy Spirit within us will empower us and strengthen
us in our walks of faith, and he will show us the way that is right for us,
which God had planned for our lives even before the creation of the world. And
he will open the doors for us he wants open and close doors he wants closed.
Living Righteously
We are blessed, too, when we are living righteously and when
we are no longer under the control and power of sin over our lives. We are at
peace when we are no longer walking according to the flesh, but we are now
walking according to the Spirit, united with Christ and his purpose.
For, the Christian life is not just a life of one who is
forgiven of his sins so that when he dies he gets to go to heaven. The
Christian life is to fulfill God’s will and purpose for our lives, and it is
his will that we die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness
(1 Pet 2:24).
His will for our lives is that we follow him in obedience to
his ways, and that we keep his commands (New Covenant), which he summarized
into two: Love God with your whole being and love your neighbor as yourself. In
this way, we will not sin against anyone, for love does not deliberately harm
others.
The Christian life is also about our walks, how we live our
lives. It is about our conduct, our attitudes, our thinking, and our words
being in alignment with our Lord, with his will, with his purpose for our
lives, and with his word. And it is day to day living for our Lord and no
longer for ourselves.
Jesus is King
Jesus is now the King of our lives. We serve him. Our eyes
are fixed on him and not on the things of this world. Our desire is for him, to
please him, and it’s not for the trappings of this sinful world. We breathe in
and we breathe out Jesus and his word every day, for our lives are surrendered
to him.
His praise will also be on our lips, but not in form only,
and not in lip service only, but in how we live our lives daily for his glory
and praise. Our desire is now to give honor to our Lord in all that we do, are,
think, and speak. For, we are to give our lives to him as living sacrifices.
For, faith in Jesus Christ, again, is not just forgiveness
of sins so we can go to heaven when we die. It is a change in lifestyle, in
purpose, in commitment, and in direction. We were going one direction, and now
we have done a U-turn, and we are going in the opposite direction.
Not the Case
Nonetheless, if this is not the case. If this does not describe
your life. If you have been convinced that faith in Jesus is a one-time
decision you made in your life that secures you heaven when you die, regardless
of how you live your life on this earth, then you are sadly mistaken.
For, if we walk according to the flesh, in deliberate and
habitual sin against our Lord, and sin is what we practice, and righteousness
is not what we practice, then we will not inherit eternal life with God, but we
will die in our sins because we refused to die with him to our sins.
So, I pray you will surrender your life to Jesus Christ today
while you still have today. I pray you will make him truly your Lord
(owner-master) and Savior (from your slavery to sin), and that you will now
serve the Lord Jesus with your life in humble submission to his will.
A
Believer’s Prayer
An
Original Work / July 31, 2012
With my whole heart, Lord, I pray
To be Yours, and Yours always.
Lead me in Your truth today.
May I love You, and obey.
Lead me in Your righteousness.
When I sin, may I confess;
Bow before You when I pray;
Live for You and You always.
Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.
Life with You will never end.
You are with me through each day,
Giving love and peace always.
You will ne’er abandon me.
From my sin You set me free.
You died on that cruel tree,
So I’d live eternally.
Soon You’re coming back for me;
From this world to set me free;
Live with You eternally.
Oh, what joy that brings to me.
I will walk with You in white;
A pure bride, I’ve been made right
By the blood of Jesus Christ;
Pardoned by His sacrifice.
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