Present yourself

“And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules,”

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

Psalms 78:72  With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.

Psalms 101:1 I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will make music.  I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;  I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.  A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.  Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure.  I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me.  No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes.  Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD.

Isaiah 11:2    And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.  And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,  but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

In Psalm 101 David says he will ponder the way that is blameless, he will not set his eyes on anything worthless, and he will hate the work of those who fall away. Why does he want to choose to live this way?  Because of the place God has in His heart, mind, and soul.  If we choose to live this way we will need to have God’s wisdom, knowledge, discernment,  and understanding. To walk with God each day and desire and purpose to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey is not something that comes easy to us.  Placing God first in all we do and think takes discipline and commitment.     Fighting the sinful nature of self purpose and choosing to replace it with God’s purpose will give meaning, hope, peace, love, joy, strength, power….. this side of eternity.

Far From Me

“He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.”

“And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.“

“But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls”

Psalms 45:7  you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

Psalms 101:3  I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.  A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.

Psalms 101:8     Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD.

Revelation 21:27    But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life

Proverbs 23:31  Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.  In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.  Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things.

Jeremiah 22:17    But you have eyes and heart only for your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence.”

Hosea 7:6  For with hearts like an oven they approach their intrigue; all night their anger smolders; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

Micah 2:2   They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.

James 1:13  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.  But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Romans 12:9    Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

Psalms 97:10   O you who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

It is our choice what we focus our eyes and heart upon.  For sure there is plenty in this world that so easily takes our focus and attention away from humbly serving, obeying, honoring and glorifying God. Why are we so easily distracted?  What can we do to lessen or remove these distractions?  Knowing and understanding God’s word and His purpose for our lives will change our focus, wants, and desires.  Staying in his word will result in changing our heart.  Day after day we are refreshed by it.  Morning by morning it is made new and revives our soul.  The warnings are clear for those who hang on to this world and what it has to offer, and as well to those who want to stand on the fence of this world and the one to come.  These people will encounter death, destruction, and will have no part in heaven.  Their lives will forever be in hell.  Choose to keep your eyes, heart, mind, and soul focused on God, through His word each day.  Commit to humbly serving, obeying, honoring, and glorifying Him.

Do Not Fall Away

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.

Do you ever wonder why people come to God and receive His forgiveness and then fall away?  Or wonder why others who have been so on fire and thankful for salvation just seem to have little depth in their conviction anymore?  We are to hold dear that which has been entrusted to us.  Which is: an understanding of who God is, our sin, His plan of salvation, the death and resurrection of His Son, our forgiveness, and promise of eternal life.  How is it that we choose to stay so close to the world and what it has to offer and lose sight of the blessings of being a humble servant of His that seeks His will for their life with all their heart, mind, and soul?   I have stated this line from an old hymn before but there is so much truth in it : “Turn you eyes upon Jesus and look full into His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace”.  Let Him be the light of everyday and seek His will for every minute of every day.  Do not be one that is spoken of in the scripture ” went after worthlessness, and became worthless”

Matthew 24:10

And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Revelation 2:4
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

Jeremiah 2:5
What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?

2 Kings 17:14
But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God. They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them. And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God