Unite My Heart to Fear Your Name

“Teach me your way, O Lord,

    that I may walk in your truth;

    unite my heart to fear your name.

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,

    and I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your steadfast love toward me;

    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

“O God, insolent men have risen up against me;

    a band of ruthless men seeks my life,

    and they do not set you before them.

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,

    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Turn to me and be gracious to me;

    give your strength to your servant,

    and save the son of your maidservant.

Show me a sign of your favor,

    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame

    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.” 

(Psalms 86:11-17 ESV)

We who claim to believe in Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior are also to be those who desire the Lord and the truth of his word, and who want to obey the word of the Lord and to live holy lives, pleasing to God. We are to be those who want to be taught the ways of the Lord so that we can walk in his ways and no longer in sin. And we should be those who desire to walk in the fear of the Lord, honoring him for who he is, obeying him, believing him and his word, and putting his word into daily practice in our lives.

And then we must be students of the Scriptures who study them in context, and who are listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit to direct us in the ways that our Lord would have us to go. And context is critical, for far too many people these days are teaching the Scriptures out of context and are, thus, twisting them to say what they do not say in context. And so people by the masses are following after those who are teaching the Scriptures out of context, because they are altering the Word to make it appealing to flesh.

Now the reason that we even have the Scriptures, and that we even have the opportunity for salvation from sin and for changed lives and hearts and minds committed to following after Jesus Christ is because of God’s love for us. God is the one who initiated this relationship with us, not us. And it is only because Jesus Christ (God the Son) gave his life up for us on that cross that any of us can die with him to sin and be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God.

And that is what it means to have our souls delivered from the depths of Sheol (hell, hades). And this is only able to happen in our lives by faith in Jesus Christ, which is biblical faith which dies with Christ to sin and lives to him and to his righteousness in obedience to his commands, and which ceases in making sin our practice. For the grace of God teaches us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions (lusts) and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await Jesus’ return (Titus 2:11-14).

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]   

But when we follow Jesus Christ with our lives, in obedience to him and to his commands, we are going to have enemies, and they may even be pastors and elders of church congregations, and they may even be others who profess faith in Jesus Christ who are in the same church fellowships with us. For not everyone who professes Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is truly a born again believer in Christ. And even if some are of true faith, they are not all walking in holiness and in righteousness, but many are worldly.

And so they may object to our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord, especially if we are those who take God and his word seriously and who are spreading the truth of the gospel of our salvation to people out in the public where others can hear us or read what we write. For they may find us offensive because we talk about sin and repentance and obedience to our Lord, for we call for others to turn from their sins and to follow Jesus in obedience or risk not having eternal life with God because of disobedience.

And so if we are following our Lord in obedience and in holy living, and if we are speaking the truth of the gospel that Jesus and his NT apostles taught, and if we are refuting the lies of the enemy which are being spread by wolves in sheep’s clothing, and by those who follow after their lies, we are going to have opposition. And this is especially true because we live in a day and time when so many are believing that they can keep living in sin and still go to heaven if they give lip service to Jesus Christ.

Thus, we will need our Lord’s comfort, strength, encouragement, and wisdom in order to keep going, and to help us to keep speaking the truth, and to keep refuting the lies, and to keep teaching that we must deny self, die to sin daily, and follow Jesus in obedience, in practice, or we do not have eternal life with God. And this is not speaking of absolute perfection, but this has to do with what we practice – sin or obedience to our Lord. And it is perfectly okay to ask God for some kind of encouragement, too. 

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

 So my soul longeth after You

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

 To You alone may my spirit yield

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70

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