Do it Anyway
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
-Matthew 5:8
I began a journey with a teacher/singer named Gwen Smith this summer. She challenged us to read through the Psalms in 30 days....5 psalms a day. Well, I didn't even remotely make it in 30 days....here it is October and I just finished Psalm 115. I have learned a lot by doing this though. Much about praise, about remembering our history with God, about seeking Him first. David wrote many of them as you know, and he was a lot like us. Heading in the right direction, getting distracted and veering off of the path God makes for us, returning and starting again. When I first started reading them, I was not excited about it. The Psalms always seemed somewhat redundant to me. Ah.....but they're not. I don't think we can consider praising our God redundant when He deserves it every moment. And there is so much more here than just praise. So much more.
My mom is a member of a Christian church nearby. They get a magazine called 'The Lookout" every week. Each 'Lookout' is based on a particular subject, and different authors write about that subject for the magazine. The September 15 issue is called 'The Purity Priority'. Naturally, with my thoughts about holiness lately, I jumped right on that one. The editor, Shawn McMullen, wrote a short article titled The Path of Purity on the first page. He points out another lesson from the Psalms, one on purity, penned by David.
The Psalm is 119, and I have to say Mr. McMullen has hit the nail on the head as far as I am concerned. He claims David gives a clear plan to stay on the path of purity. Here are his points:
1. Look to God's Word - Everything we ever needed to know about living a godly life is in His Word. I am often amazed by how personal the Word can be, nailing on the head the particular problem I might have at the moment. Mr. McMullen quotes verse 9: "How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word." In the next Journey, we're going to look at specific scripture about different areas of our modern lives we struggle with regarding purity. It's all there. Every last thing.
2. Ask for God's Help- (v.10) "I seek you with all my heart, do not let me stray from your commands." To me, this verse is so important when we attempt to walk with God in ANY area. Seeking Him with ALL my heart.....petitioning Him with urgency, consistency, fervor. He wants to know we are serious, desperate, willing to do whatever it takes. His help is always given when we are looking above all else...when God is convinced He's the number one concern. Casual prayer, whining, half-hearted petition is not usually answered. He wants it all, and will respond when He gets that. Nothing less.
3.Commit Scripture to Memory- (v.11) "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Every issue of purity is validated by scripture. When we commit those to memory, they can be used in urgent situations where we are tempted to step over the line. If you are memory challenged like I am now, writing them on index cards and carrying them with you is a good idea. You will at least remember they are in your purse, and when that temptation arises you can make the conscious decision to look at them, or forge ahead with the sin you desire. A Choice.
4. Cultivate a spirit of reverence - (v.12) "Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees." Mr. McMullen states that David's reverence for God led him to seek God's direction for his life, and we must do the same. If I have a reverent attitude, then I am humble in the face of God. I constantly seek what will please Him, because I respect Him so much. He is the constant companion in my day. If I am with Him all day, my temptation to participate in unholy activities will be much less.
How can I watch that television program if He is beside me and I am communicating with Him? Try it. You can't. Well maybe you will try....but it won't be enjoyable to you.
5. Review God's commands regularly - (v.13) "With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth." The more familiar with God's precepts on purity we are, the more likely we will obey them. Look at those scriptures. Go back and re-read the portions of the Bible that have to do with holiness. Listen to a sermon or study online about holiness. Read a book (Mary DeMoss's book is wonderful!). Pretend you are cramming for a big exam at school.......because in reality you are! I want to hear "Well done!", and while I may not hear that, at least I can go for, "Not bad Vee Ann!"
6. Obey joyfully - (v. 14) "I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches."
To obey joyfully, we have to fully believe that God has our best interests at heart. We have to trust Him completely. If you are not there yet, I urge you to work on this first. One way to do it is to write down a chart something like this: On one side of the paper list events in your life that were very difficult for you at the time. On the other side of the paper, examine each event in regard to what happened later. Do you see any patterns of things turning out for the best? Do you see patterns of God using events to accomplish some eternal purpose from those difficult times? Did He have your back? This activity can be a real eye-opener when looking backward at trying times. We can see more clearly and many times witness what God was really up to. Then, when we see that evidence of His working things for our good, we can more easily follow His laws because we know He wants our best outcome. Try it. It's an eye-opener.
7. Think deeply -(v.15) -"I mediate on your precepts and consider your ways." Activities like the ones listed above require time and deep thought. We have to give these things some thought. We have spent the majority of our sinful lives living in a shallow existence of busyness with no time to really think things through. This is one of the major drawbacks to our modern society. Take the time to think about what God is trying to teach you. Relationship with God is not going to fall on you like a boulder. It takes time, meditation, prayer, and study to become closer to Him. I believe this is the problem for most people today. Our society has taught us to want immediate feedback, quick responses, instant fixes. When we don't get them we become impatient and tend to give up. Don't give up. Be tenacious. It is SO worth it!
8. Live faithfully- (v.16) "I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word." Be consistent. The quickest path to ruin is "slacking" . We all do it. We do very well for a while with prayer, Bible study, church attendance. Then, all of a sudden, we realize it has been a while since we really studied scripture. We've slept in for a week and let prayer time slide. Churh attendance has become sporadic because we've just had a few other things we wanted to do. I can promise you this is one of the most important aspects of walking with Christ. Keep after it. Don't let up. Most importantly, do it when you don't want to. If you rely on your feelings, your walk with Christ will never develop beyond the basic level. You are not always going to "feel like" doing what it takes. As a matter of fact, those times will be frequent. Do it anyway.
Do it anway reminds me of the poen attributed to Mother Teresa. It is said it was adapted from another poem, and she changed it to a more spiritual nature. It says alot. Enjoy.
-Matthew 5:8
I began a journey with a teacher/singer named Gwen Smith this summer. She challenged us to read through the Psalms in 30 days....5 psalms a day. Well, I didn't even remotely make it in 30 days....here it is October and I just finished Psalm 115. I have learned a lot by doing this though. Much about praise, about remembering our history with God, about seeking Him first. David wrote many of them as you know, and he was a lot like us. Heading in the right direction, getting distracted and veering off of the path God makes for us, returning and starting again. When I first started reading them, I was not excited about it. The Psalms always seemed somewhat redundant to me. Ah.....but they're not. I don't think we can consider praising our God redundant when He deserves it every moment. And there is so much more here than just praise. So much more.
My mom is a member of a Christian church nearby. They get a magazine called 'The Lookout" every week. Each 'Lookout' is based on a particular subject, and different authors write about that subject for the magazine. The September 15 issue is called 'The Purity Priority'. Naturally, with my thoughts about holiness lately, I jumped right on that one. The editor, Shawn McMullen, wrote a short article titled The Path of Purity on the first page. He points out another lesson from the Psalms, one on purity, penned by David.
The Psalm is 119, and I have to say Mr. McMullen has hit the nail on the head as far as I am concerned. He claims David gives a clear plan to stay on the path of purity. Here are his points:
1. Look to God's Word - Everything we ever needed to know about living a godly life is in His Word. I am often amazed by how personal the Word can be, nailing on the head the particular problem I might have at the moment. Mr. McMullen quotes verse 9: "How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word." In the next Journey, we're going to look at specific scripture about different areas of our modern lives we struggle with regarding purity. It's all there. Every last thing.
2. Ask for God's Help- (v.10) "I seek you with all my heart, do not let me stray from your commands." To me, this verse is so important when we attempt to walk with God in ANY area. Seeking Him with ALL my heart.....petitioning Him with urgency, consistency, fervor. He wants to know we are serious, desperate, willing to do whatever it takes. His help is always given when we are looking above all else...when God is convinced He's the number one concern. Casual prayer, whining, half-hearted petition is not usually answered. He wants it all, and will respond when He gets that. Nothing less.
3.Commit Scripture to Memory- (v.11) "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Every issue of purity is validated by scripture. When we commit those to memory, they can be used in urgent situations where we are tempted to step over the line. If you are memory challenged like I am now, writing them on index cards and carrying them with you is a good idea. You will at least remember they are in your purse, and when that temptation arises you can make the conscious decision to look at them, or forge ahead with the sin you desire. A Choice.
4. Cultivate a spirit of reverence - (v.12) "Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees." Mr. McMullen states that David's reverence for God led him to seek God's direction for his life, and we must do the same. If I have a reverent attitude, then I am humble in the face of God. I constantly seek what will please Him, because I respect Him so much. He is the constant companion in my day. If I am with Him all day, my temptation to participate in unholy activities will be much less.
How can I watch that television program if He is beside me and I am communicating with Him? Try it. You can't. Well maybe you will try....but it won't be enjoyable to you.
5. Review God's commands regularly - (v.13) "With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth." The more familiar with God's precepts on purity we are, the more likely we will obey them. Look at those scriptures. Go back and re-read the portions of the Bible that have to do with holiness. Listen to a sermon or study online about holiness. Read a book (Mary DeMoss's book is wonderful!). Pretend you are cramming for a big exam at school.......because in reality you are! I want to hear "Well done!", and while I may not hear that, at least I can go for, "Not bad Vee Ann!"
6. Obey joyfully - (v. 14) "I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches."
To obey joyfully, we have to fully believe that God has our best interests at heart. We have to trust Him completely. If you are not there yet, I urge you to work on this first. One way to do it is to write down a chart something like this: On one side of the paper list events in your life that were very difficult for you at the time. On the other side of the paper, examine each event in regard to what happened later. Do you see any patterns of things turning out for the best? Do you see patterns of God using events to accomplish some eternal purpose from those difficult times? Did He have your back? This activity can be a real eye-opener when looking backward at trying times. We can see more clearly and many times witness what God was really up to. Then, when we see that evidence of His working things for our good, we can more easily follow His laws because we know He wants our best outcome. Try it. It's an eye-opener.
7. Think deeply -(v.15) -"I mediate on your precepts and consider your ways." Activities like the ones listed above require time and deep thought. We have to give these things some thought. We have spent the majority of our sinful lives living in a shallow existence of busyness with no time to really think things through. This is one of the major drawbacks to our modern society. Take the time to think about what God is trying to teach you. Relationship with God is not going to fall on you like a boulder. It takes time, meditation, prayer, and study to become closer to Him. I believe this is the problem for most people today. Our society has taught us to want immediate feedback, quick responses, instant fixes. When we don't get them we become impatient and tend to give up. Don't give up. Be tenacious. It is SO worth it!
8. Live faithfully- (v.16) "I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word." Be consistent. The quickest path to ruin is "slacking" . We all do it. We do very well for a while with prayer, Bible study, church attendance. Then, all of a sudden, we realize it has been a while since we really studied scripture. We've slept in for a week and let prayer time slide. Churh attendance has become sporadic because we've just had a few other things we wanted to do. I can promise you this is one of the most important aspects of walking with Christ. Keep after it. Don't let up. Most importantly, do it when you don't want to. If you rely on your feelings, your walk with Christ will never develop beyond the basic level. You are not always going to "feel like" doing what it takes. As a matter of fact, those times will be frequent. Do it anyway.
Do it anway reminds me of the poen attributed to Mother Teresa. It is said it was adapted from another poem, and she changed it to a more spiritual nature. It says alot. Enjoy.
1. The version found written on
the wall in Mother Teresa's home for children in Calcutta:
People are often
unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you
are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind
anyway.
If you are successful, you
will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and
sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What
you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create
anyway.
If you find serenity and
happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will
often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and
it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it
is between you and God. It was never between you and them
anyway.
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