For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have been convicted over the last few weeks to seek to develop a disciplined prayer life. It is still a work in progress. Please pray for me, that the Holy Spirit may show me how to pray in a disciplined manner.
Those who attempt to set things up so that others come to harm without anyone knowing they were involved end up getting caught in the trouble they aimed at someone else.
This psalm reminds me of why I feel close to God when I look out over the ocean, or from a look out point high on a mountain. From that perspective you can see the many wonderful things which God has made. Then there is verse 33, which I echo every day:
I will praise my God to my last breath!
May all my thoughts be pleasing to him
I had not intended to include the beginning of verse 34, but it is appropriate that I did. That is my prayer, and I know that I fail to fulfill it. But I pray that God have His Holy Spirit transform me so that such may be the case going forward.
God has established a place of rest for us. A place where we will be able to enter and be free of all of the temptations and troubles of sin. However, in order to enter into that rest, we must remain His faithful servants. Let us not follow the example of disobedience set by the people of Israel in the Sinai after they left Egypt. Let us not think that our disobedience can be hidden from God, for nothing can be hidden from Him.
The word of God is both alive and active. It is not a dead letter which will no longer apply because times have changed. If we study His word it will expose our inmost thoughts and desires. More importantly, if we allow it, God’s word will separate us from those thoughts and desires which keep us from faithfully obeying Him. No matter how closely those thoughts and desires are to who we understand ourselves to be, God’s word is sharp enough to cut them loose without damaging our true selves. Everything we think, do, and are will be exposed before God. Yet we have an intercessor, Jesus Christ, who fully understands our weaknesses, so we can approach God boldly knowing that He is merciful. Let us cast ourselves before Him and beg His mercy, for if we do so, He will grant us that mercy and forgive our sins.
We are God’s watchmen. When God gives us a message to warn people about the dangers coming, it is our job to warn them. This is an important job. However, we are not responsible if they do not heed our message. We are only responsible for delivering God’s warning. Just as a sentry is not responsible for mustering the troops to prepare for an attack, so are we not responsible for what people do once we have delivered the warning. It is up to those who hear God’s warning to decide if they will respond to the message.
If we fail to deliver God’s warning to people, He will hold us responsible for their death. If we deliver His warning and they do not listen, they will still die, but He will not hold us accountable. We have a responsibility to warn those who are pursuing sin to destruction about what is coming. It is worth noting that we are only responsible for warning those for whom God has given us a message. I struggle with knowing when God has given me a message for people. Does this cover everyone I see where I know their actions are sinful and will lead to their ultimate death? Does this cover all of those who are in that situation that I count as friend? I think the answer to both of those questions is: Not necessarily. It is an ongoing prayer of mine that the Holy Spirit guide me to know to whom God is sending me with a warning. There are some that I know and have delivered that warning, but I know that there are others where I failed to deliver God’s warning…and just as bad, there are some where I have given warning for whom God had not given me a message. That last is important because when we give warning where God has not given us a message, we take the risk of causing the person not to listen when God does send them a message.
