Psalms 15:2
“He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his hear; . . . “
We have all heard the phrase, “Actions speak louder than words.” The sentiment behind that is simple; our behaviors speak more to our belief system, than our words ever could. Psalm 15 addresses the subject of true righteousness, and in a poetic fashion addresses our walk, works, and words. All three of these speak volumes regarding what we truly believe. Like balancing a check book to determine where all the money has gone, we can examine where we go, what we do, and what we say to determine the real driving forces in our lives.
If we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, our feet should be taking us daily to the Word of God, and at least weekly to the congregation, where we meet with the people of God. Infrequent or inconsistent time with the Lord, is an indication that we are neglecting to abide in Christ.
Paul spoke of spending himself for the kingdom of God. When his head hit the pillow, he was exhausted from having spent his days in the service of the Lord. When is the last time your muscles hurt from extending energy for the kingdom?
According to Jesus, words are indicators of the heart. If I am constantly complaining, criticizing, or backbiting, this indicates that something is wrong with my relationship with God. Two hints become necessary: first, I must ask God to change my heart, and second, I must change my actions. The best way to deal with a critical or complaining mouth is to close it. Every time you are tempted to say something negative about another person, try thinking something good about them, and share that instead.
Pastor Jim
Old Testament:
Psalm 16- Life Is Good
1 Samuel 14- It Happened One Day
1 Samuel 15- Good Or Bad
As this psalm begins to unfold, we find David facing some pretty difficult times. He describes himself as feeling forgotten and being overcome by sorrow. Without giving details, he describes his enemy as threatening to prevail against him. Yet, in all this, he wrote of singing to the Lord. It is the song of triumph that will often lead to release from despondency. Instead of waiting for circumstances to change, David determined to worship in the midst of trial. As he took his eyes off his suffering and fixed them on the grace of God, he soon found himself rejoicing rather than complaining.
Life hurls a vast array of difficulties at the child of God. We are struck with the common problems of every man, as well as those that are peculiar to attempting to follow Jesus, in the midst of ever increasing ungodliness. The question we are faced with is, where will we flee for safety, guidance and solace when struck by the trials of life? David thought it utterly preposterous to think of fleeing to the mountains for aid. To him, it was the Lord, and the Lord alone, who would be his defense.
A few years back I was teaching in a Bible school in Ghana on the subject of trust. I invited one of the students to come forward and asked him to put his arms at his side, close his eyes, and face the class. He had no difficulty doing what I asked until I added, “now remain stiff as a board and fall backwards.” He immediately opened his eyes, turned around, and looked at me as if to say, “No way!” I assured him that I would catch him, and asked him to face the class again. I counted to three and told him to fall back. To his credit, he tried, but once he began to lean, he stepped back to catch himself. The remaining students erupted in laughter as their friend was afraid to fall back.
If we were writing a comedic screenplay, we might want to include a character who designs an elaborate trap, only to unwittingly catch himself. While it might be quite humorous on the big screen, it is tragic in the real world. The psalmist reminds us, one of the consequences of wicked living is, in the long run, we are actually setting a trap for ourselves. The day is coming when the cage will swing shut, and we will find ourselves enslaved by the very thing we were toying with. This happened to Samson who fooled around with Delilah, telling her to braid his hair or tie him up with new ropes. As time went on, he found himself enslaved to the Philistines. It happened to David, who fooled around with Bathsheba, first watching her bath then flirting with her. He soon found himself enslaved by his lust and caught in an ungodly relationship that had devastating effects upon his family. And it will happen to us, if we toy around with sin. Each time we dabble in unrighteous behavior, it is like putting the shovel in the ground. Day after day, the hole gets bigger until one day we find ourselves caught in a trap we dug for ourselves.
On a regular basis, how would you describe your mornings? Do you wake up grumpy, dreading another day? Or late, rushing to get your responsibilities done? Or perhaps you arise and rush to get the morning paper, check the news, or peruse Facebook, or the web.
We go through seasons in life. Some are calm and pleasant, while others seem to be like violent storms, with waves crashing upon us from almost every direction. While we may feel as though we are under assault, this is not a new phenomenon. King David, Israel’s most godly king, was no stranger to difficulty. He faced the same struggles we face, and perhaps a few more. At this point in his life, he was blindsided when he learned that his own son had turned against him, organized an army, and was attempting to overthrow the kingdom. His response to this hardship is filled will practical examples for us to cling to, in the midst of our own trying times.
When establishing the government of the United States, the founding fathers saw that man was created with certain inalienable rights. They believed it is the right of every person to be able to pursue personal happiness. They were not alone in this thinking. Many philosophers spoke of happiness as the chief goal of life.
After the ship ran aground and all the passengers and crew arrived safely on shore, it would not take long for the onlookers to see who was who. Even after saving the lives of the entire crew, Paul is still treated as a criminal, and is sent to gather sticks for the fire. While reaching for a stick, Paul encounters what many people fear the most… a snake.
After appealing to Caesar, Paul was sent on the long journey to Rome. He was to stand trial for the accusations brought against him by the religious leaders of Jerusalem. Paul was released from his Caesarean prison and placed in the care of Julius, a Roman centurion. Acts 27-28 records the story of their journey to Rome. Right away, this journey faced obstacles.
Jim Gallagher 