One of the passages assigned today in my one year Bible is Psalm 101. It is composed of only eight verses and fills me with conviction.
1. I will sing of your love and justice, Lord. I will praise you with songs.
I sing of God’s love, but do I really sing of His justice? I love it when justice occurs in my favor, but what about when I am the one at fault? Am I not only thankful, but willing to praise God when He lovingly corrects me when I am out of line? What about when He uses His children to correctly rebuke me? Can I praise Him for that? His word tells me I should.
2. I will be careful to live a blameless life—when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home.
Am I intentional about living a life fully accountable to God? Blameless does not mean sinless. Living a blameless life occurs when we walk so close to God that we notice immediately when something enters our lives or our thoughts that should not be there and we confess that to the Lord on the spot.
I sing of God’s love, but do I really sing of His justice? I love it when justice occurs in my favor, but what about when I am the one at fault? Am I not only thankful, but willing to praise God when He lovingly corrects me when I am out of line? What about when He uses His children to correctly rebuke me? Can I praise Him for that? His word tells me I should.
2. I will be careful to live a blameless life—when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home.
Am I intentional about living a life fully accountable to God? Blameless does not mean sinless. Living a blameless life occurs when we walk so close to God that we notice immediately when something enters our lives or our thoughts that should not be there and we confess that to the Lord on the spot.
We are the most unguarded in our own homes, aren’t we? If Jesus was visibly sitting in our living room, would we act the way we do? Would we speak with each other the way we do?
3. I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them.
When the show I really like to watch presents something verbally or visually inappropriate, do I immediately turn it off? Or do I say, “Oh, my!” and hope they move on to something else right away? Ouch. I stepped on my own toes.
4. I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil.
I’m back to TV again. What about shock radio? Can we excuse listening to that stuff because it makes us laugh? There is no “unless it’s funny” clause here.
5. I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride.
Gossip and haughty speech should not be allowed in conversations. The gossip part is relatively easy to avoid with practice. I’m not sure how to tell someone who’s spending time tooting their own horn to zip it in a loving way. Changing the subject often doesn’t work because they are so completely stuck on their favorite topic (themselves) they refuse to switch. Any ideas?
6. I will search for faithful people to be my companions. Only those who are above reproach will be allowed to serve me.
Associating and ministering to the lost and hurting are of primary importance in our lives, but we need to be very careful when choosing friends. The people we fellowship with and pray with need to be faithful and above reproach. And so do we.
7. I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house, and liars will not stay in my presence.
We need to hold our companions accountable for their behavior and they should hold us accountable for ours. This must be mixed with a healthy dose of love for each other!
8. My daily task will be to ferret out the wicked and free the city of the Lord from their grip.
I need to be very aware of the sin around me and point it out to my brothers and sisters in Christ so they won't get caught in the trap of sin.
3. I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them.
When the show I really like to watch presents something verbally or visually inappropriate, do I immediately turn it off? Or do I say, “Oh, my!” and hope they move on to something else right away? Ouch. I stepped on my own toes.
4. I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil.
I’m back to TV again. What about shock radio? Can we excuse listening to that stuff because it makes us laugh? There is no “unless it’s funny” clause here.
5. I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride.
Gossip and haughty speech should not be allowed in conversations. The gossip part is relatively easy to avoid with practice. I’m not sure how to tell someone who’s spending time tooting their own horn to zip it in a loving way. Changing the subject often doesn’t work because they are so completely stuck on their favorite topic (themselves) they refuse to switch. Any ideas?
6. I will search for faithful people to be my companions. Only those who are above reproach will be allowed to serve me.
Associating and ministering to the lost and hurting are of primary importance in our lives, but we need to be very careful when choosing friends. The people we fellowship with and pray with need to be faithful and above reproach. And so do we.
7. I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house, and liars will not stay in my presence.
We need to hold our companions accountable for their behavior and they should hold us accountable for ours. This must be mixed with a healthy dose of love for each other!
8. My daily task will be to ferret out the wicked and free the city of the Lord from their grip.
I need to be very aware of the sin around me and point it out to my brothers and sisters in Christ so they won't get caught in the trap of sin.
I can see why the Lord says the most important two commandments are Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Without all of this being bathed in love, we would appear to be very judgemental of others.
These verses have given me much to think about....
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