Love the Law

There are many times in my life as I go through things wonder, if I am being to legalistic about certain things.  In my life I want to line all things up according to His will.  I want to follow all things in Him.  God has shown me an amazing thing by reading His word.  Psalm 119 is an amazing chapter in the bible and I believe that is why I am on this chapter now.

...I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness. Psalm 119:40

...I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart. Psalm 119:70

 ...O how I love the law...Psalm 119:97

Therefore I love thy commandments above gold Psalm 119:127

All these verses show how the person loves the law.  That is what I am to do. I am to love the law that God has given me because first He has given it and second because it is good for me.  In all the times that I have gone through God's word has held up in every area.  I must remember that God's laws have reasons behind them and those reasons are for my welfare.  Now when I think am I being to legalistic, I will think, I will delight my self in the LORD and His laws for they are good for me.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  That the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto good works.  2Timothy 3:16;17

 

Striving for Perfection

How can a person be holy?  That is the question the writer of Beth from Psalm 119 asked.  Many would say "by the blood of Christ!"  They are right in some aspects, but to maintain holiness is what God has required and this is not by continuing to sin and ask for forgiveness (Rom 6:1-2).

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.  With my whole heart have I sought thee:  O let me not wander from thy commandments.  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.  Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.  With my lips have I declared all judgments of thy mouth.  I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.  I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.  I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.  Psalm 119:9-16

First the question is made with an immediate answer.  We have to listen to what the Word presents. Taking heed in the original Hebrew is shâmar which is to hedge about or guard.  Our writer says we must make defense against the flesh with the living Word of God. In English the definition to heed is to take careful attention to; observation or regard.  We have to not only read but study and make it important in our affairs.

Next the writer says that we not only have to study and observe the law of the LORD but we have to seek the one who authored it, the LORD God.  And we must not seek him flippantly either but diligently and thoroughly. We must seek to know His will for our lives, and not to run from it.  We must strive to live to the standards in which He has given us to live by, His commandments.  We must follow them at all cost.

But how are we to follow them?  By hiding His word in our hearts.  Knowing the word of the LORD will help to keep our minds on things that are good and of good report.  It will keep our thoughts focused on the Creator above and his will for our lives (Philippians 4:8).  However, when temptation does come scripture will be in our memory to recall as a defense against the evil one (Matthew 4:3-10).

Next is to pray for guidance.  Let us not forget whose statutes they are.  We know we can go to Him who created the statues and he will teach them to us "...O Lord: teach me thy statutes"  It says in James 1:5 that if any man would ask God for wisdom He will give it to them, and not just give them a little but a lot.

When we have prayed and asked God for the knowledge of His will in our lives, he begins to reveal the truths of His word in our lives.  We begin to manifest them in our actions and talk to others about them.  Helping to spread the Gospel of Peace helps others to know the faith we have thereby making us more accountable for the actions we take.  But the reason we tell others is because they have become real in our lives. "I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies..."  We begin to understand the purpose of the laws and begin to experience their spiritual surgery in our lives.  We start to see the manner of man in which God wants us to become in Him.

Finally but one of the most important aspects is to meditate on the things he has taught us. To meditate is to exercise the mind in thought or reflection.  We must review the word in which we read, trying to find a deep understand and a way to apply to our own lives and ways of explaining what we have read to others.

In this psalm the writer is showing the spiritual progress he has gone through.  First he wants to know how to be holy, so he seeks for God and tries to follow His word .  Then he ask for Gods help in understanding and God shows up giving him wisdom.  Then he shares this wisdom with others because he rejoices in the knowledge.  But that knowledge is not enough.  He meditates.  This is to be an example in our lives.  When I was younger God blessed me with some knowledge about his word but I became prideful and thought there was no more to learn.  Quickly I turned back to sin.  Never again however!  To be like this man who after he has gain much knowledge still meditates to know more.  He delights himself in Gods word seeking to know more and more and not turning from it.

Our life must reflect this mans if we seek to be holy.  Gods word is the means by which we gain holiness.  Through His word we learn to have hope, faith, joy, and love.  O the word of the LORD is great and makes men whom follow it holy!
 

Idol Worship

Idols were a major thing in the days of the bible and they still are in other countries.  In some countries there is worship of of 3,000 gods.  It's incredible.  But Americans have the same action in idol worship. Here's a verse that made me laugh when I first read it.

They made a calf in Ho'-reb, and whorshippped the molten image.  Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass..  They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt.  Psalm 106:19-21

These verses say that the people of Israel turned their glory of the LORD into something that eats grass.  The amazing power and wonder of God was reduced to a cow.  I laughed, and then I thought, we do the same thing.  We changed God's awesome wonder in our lives to things that can do nothing in themselves.  Money, which is only paper.  It has no monitary value in itself.  Or we turn God into videogames.  We put a false reality above our Creator.  For some of us it may be a person.  We put them on a pedistool thinking they will never lie cheat or steal when they are only human, NOT God.  No matter what it is if we spend more time in that than the Father it becomes an idol.

In the time that the Israels had built this idol Moses had left to retrieve God's law for the people.  He had been taking a while and either they had gotten bored or they had got tired of waiting on the LORD.  A lot of our relationship with Christ is waiting.  Many times it says wait on the LORD, or suffer (patience) in Christ (Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 27:14, Galations 6:9)  When these times are not the most exciting or they seem to not get the results we want we must stand fast in Him and endure because God's glory is so much greater.  For those that had built the calf they did not get to see the promise land, and for us it will be the same.  We may miss out on His blessings.