Keep On Walking

Don’t lose momentum! Serious walkers and runners stay focused. Standing or sitting around does nothing to enhance their consistent daily discipline to achieve their goal.

Psalm One talks about the gradual decline of momentum from walking to standing to sitting, but let’s look at the context.

Things worth pursuing require some kind of effort. Paul not only encouraged us to fight the good fight of faith, but at the end of his life, declared that he had also done it (1 Timothy 6:13; 2 Timothy 4:7).  

Psalm One, in only six verses, contrasts the godly and godless. Consider some of the differences:

The Godly are Blessed as They: (Verses 1, 2, 3, and 6)

• ·         Do not walk in the counsel, plans, or purposes of the ungodly.
• ·         Do not stand submissively or inactively in paths where the ungodly walk
• ·         Do not sit down to rest and relax with the ungodly who mock and scorn morality and spirituality
• ·         Desire God’s word, studying and meditating on it, keeping it in mind day and night
• ·         Prosper spiritually and are blessed as a healthy, maturing, fruit-bearing tree
• ·         Are fully known by God in all their ways, judged righteous before God

 The Godless, Wicked, or Morally Evil Are: (Verses 1, 4, 5, and 6)

• ·         Capable of doing great damage morally and spiritually
• ·         Disobedient, living without any consideration of God
• ·         Like chaff, worthless, no substance, easily blown about
• ·         Will not be able to stand before God’s righteous judgment
• ·         They and their ways will perish

Do you desire to be blessed by God?

Remember: Spiritual momentum is never lost all at once. It’s a gradual decline.

We let our choices get lax in things like Bible reading, prayer, church attendance, Christian fellowship, or moral purity.

To be blessed:

• ·         Choose wisely and keep on walking in God’s ways.
• ·         Choose to stand after you’ve fought a good fight of faith, wearing the armor God has provided (Ephesians 6:10-18).
• ·         When you choose to sit, remember to be careful about your choices of relaxation---where you go, what you see, hear, or do.

Pixabay: Walkway, Sidewalk; Openicons.

 

The Choice Lives On

To me, archeology is fascinating. When I see photos of ancient finds, I know what Solomon said was true: “What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).  

We have another thing in common with the ancients: The question of truth. Jesus answered Pilate’s questions, but when He said He was born to testify to the truth, and “everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice,” Pilate cut Him off with a satirical response. “What is truth?” (John 18:33-39).

The truth is not necessarily complicated. Even a simple plumb line of string with a weight at the bottom will help someone build a straight wall.

We live in a day when people seem bent on living by personal truth, meaning “your truth and my truth” are both right, different though they may be.

Like Solomon said, “There’s nothing new under the sun.” Isaiah 59:14-15 reads like today’s news: So, justice is turned away, and righteousness stands at a distance. For truth has stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter. Truth is missing, and whoever turns from evil becomes prey.

We have a moral and spiritual plumbline: Jesus and God’s Word (John 14:6, 17:17). But from Genesis to Revelation, God has always given us freedom of choice. We are free to believe or not. We are free to:

·         Exchange God’s truth for a lie (Rom. 1:25)

·         Wander away from the truth (2 Timothy 2:15-18)

·         Oppose the truth (2 Timothy 3:8)

·         Deceive ourselves with no truth in us (1 John 1:8)

 

But God’s truth has eternal consequences. John 3:16-18 says God loved the world so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, as the one-and-only acceptable sacrifice for sin. We can choose to accept Jesus as our Savior and have eternal life, or choose not to believe and be condemned eternally. 

It’s just a matter of time. Whose truth do you choose to live by? Your truth, my truth, or God’s truth?

 

Choose carefully, because one day we will all appear before Christ. Why? To be judged for our choices here on earth (2 Corinthians 5:10).

 

Pixabay: Pharoah, Archeology; fotshot.

 

Get a Grip

Have you ever felt life was so overwhelming that you were losing control? A well-meaning friend may have said, “Get a grip!” 

It’s a way of saying, “Come back to your senses, don’t give up, make a decision, and move on!” Remember, life is a marathon, not a sprint, a race of spiritual endurance over the long haul.                             

This Endurance Race has guidelines. Hebrews 12:1-3 lists three things we need to do:

1.    Throw off anything that would hinder us

2.    Fix our eyes on Jesus

3.    Don’t grow weary and give up 

Jesus, in verse 2, is our example. It says He endured the cross while:

1.    Keeping in mind the joy awaiting Him,

2.    Despising the shame, and

3.    Disregarding hostility from sinful people 

When Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me,” it was an invitation to deny ourselves and do His will moment by moment (Mark 8:34-38). It’s another way we can say, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”. 

Let’s consider ice skaters and football players. Do you think they enjoy hours and hours of physical hardship and repeated practice to build up their endurance? Hebrews 12:11 says no discipline is enjoyable while it’s happening. It’s painful! 

But consistent discipline will pay off. They will be tested, and winners will be rewarded with a title, a trophy, a medal, or an honorary ring. 

It’s hard to imagine that winners in Roman games were rewarded with a laurel crown. You’ve probably seen pictures of that. At the time of presentation, it was a nice ring of beautiful green leaves. While it was green, their honor was visible, but it would not stay green forever. 

Our reward, however, is eternal. It’s worth enduring hardships and discipline because it will last forever. Paul believed that. Here’s his testimony in his latter days (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

·         I have fought the good fight

·         I have finished the race

·         I have kept the faith

·         I’ll receive a crown of righteousness

·         From the Lord, the Righteous Judge 

So, get a grip! Do not become weary in well doing; keep pressing on (Galatians 6:9). Look to Jesus for help. He’s the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Pixabay: Excess, Weary, Enough; geralt.  

What Love Is (Part 2 of 2)

As promised, this week we’re looking at what love is NOT! We’re still comparing 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 in the **New Living Translation (NLT) and ***The Message(MSG).

 WHAT LOVE IS NOT!

1. Jealous: doesn't want what it doesn't have
2. Boastful or proud: doesn't strut; doesn't have a swollen head
3. Rude: doesn't force itself on others
4. Does not demand its own way: isn't always "me first"
5. Irritable: doesn't fly off the handle (in anger)
6. Keeps no record of being wronged: doesn't keep score on sins of others
7. Doesn't rejoice about injustice: doesn't revel when others grovel

Did anything pop out for your special consideration? It’s good to take a personal inventory from time to time.

The Bible says LOVE will last forever. 

That’s why it’s worthy of your serious consideration and application in all your relationships.

TWO CLOSING THOUGHTS:

(1)  Remember, you can do an easy comparison of various translations if you have a Bible App. I recommend reading I Corinthians 13:4-8 in the Amplified Version of the Bible. (There are several Bible apps; I use YouVersion.)

(2)  Each week, I share a Featured Post, something I’ve previously written on the same topic. Look to the right of the website email version. Cell phone readers can go to the bottom and click on “See Web Version.”

**Scriptures marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible New Living Translation; copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

***Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE; Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by Permission of NavPress Publishers Group.

 Pixabay: Love, Heart, Paper; stux.