Psalm 19:7-10 KJV
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
LAW, TESTIMONY, STATUTES, COMMANDMENT, FEAR, and JUDGMENTS.
Be honest, when you read those six words, how do you feel? At first glance, these do not bring comfort to me - in fact a little bit of angst is stirred up inside of me. In our modern society, I would say all of these things have been perverted to the point that we just get a little worked up when we see these.
Interestingly enough these are things to be desired. Desired more than fine gold. And they are sweeter than honey. We can look at the bible passage and know that if they are from the Lord they all produce benefits. But, as I would like to point out, we still get a little angst over these areas. How can that be?
It may just be a matter of surrender. When we hear words like LAW, TESTIMONY, STATUTES, COMMANDMENT, FEAR, and JUDGMENTS, we don't always see the Lord blessing us, but rather someone telling us how to live our lives. Someone dictating to us how we are to do things. These attitudes probably pour over to our relationship with the Lord as well. Like Adam and Eve, we may just doubt that the Lord has our best interests at heart. Let me assure you, He does.
I would like you to read the passage above again, but let's do a learning experiment. When you see LAW, TESTIMONY, STATUTES, COMMANDMENT, FEAR, and JUDGMENTS this time, put "surrender to the..." in front of it. After "of the Lord" insert "because it is..." I'm not trying to change His word, but rather helping you to see the benefits of surrendering your life fully to the Lord.
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Obeying the Land's Law
Romans 13:1-2
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
I find this portion of the Word particularly convicting. The reason why I find this convicting is that I don't follow every law of the land to the letter. This should not be too surprising as the Old Testament shows us that we can't even follow God's law.
I'm going to bring up the most common example for most of us and that is obeying the speed limit - there may be others, but in my opinion this is one that gets many Christians. I believe that being subject to government authorities includes obeying the laws made by those authorities. The only exception would be when the government's law interferes with God's law (Acts 5:29). BUT, if I say I believe it and don't act it, I'm a hypocrite. If I'm following Christ, I need to be without hypocrisy (James 3:17). So, when I drive 5 miles an hour over the speed limit, I am basically going against scripture.
Now, I know we try to justify our actions on the road. "I need to keep up with the flow of traffic." If you break this law because everyone else does do you do the same with God's law? "The speed limit is not enforced here." Do you have the same attitude towards sin? ("I got away with it so I guess it's okay"). "Nobody uses this road so I'm not putting anyone in danger." Once again do you use this with God? ("I'm not hurting anybody, so it's okay").
See devotional Monday, June 9, 2008 - Driving Out the World - Judges 1 If we let the world influence our behavior towards the government can't it be said that we let the world influence our behavior towards God? God instituted government, so we need to be consistent with our obedience to the laws and our obedience to God. We are to be different: a peculiar people (1 Peter 2:9).
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
I find this portion of the Word particularly convicting. The reason why I find this convicting is that I don't follow every law of the land to the letter. This should not be too surprising as the Old Testament shows us that we can't even follow God's law.
I'm going to bring up the most common example for most of us and that is obeying the speed limit - there may be others, but in my opinion this is one that gets many Christians. I believe that being subject to government authorities includes obeying the laws made by those authorities. The only exception would be when the government's law interferes with God's law (Acts 5:29). BUT, if I say I believe it and don't act it, I'm a hypocrite. If I'm following Christ, I need to be without hypocrisy (James 3:17). So, when I drive 5 miles an hour over the speed limit, I am basically going against scripture.
Now, I know we try to justify our actions on the road. "I need to keep up with the flow of traffic." If you break this law because everyone else does do you do the same with God's law? "The speed limit is not enforced here." Do you have the same attitude towards sin? ("I got away with it so I guess it's okay"). "Nobody uses this road so I'm not putting anyone in danger." Once again do you use this with God? ("I'm not hurting anybody, so it's okay").
See devotional Monday, June 9, 2008 - Driving Out the World - Judges 1 If we let the world influence our behavior towards the government can't it be said that we let the world influence our behavior towards God? God instituted government, so we need to be consistent with our obedience to the laws and our obedience to God. We are to be different: a peculiar people (1 Peter 2:9).
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