Tag Archives: Christianity

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! – Psalm 32:11

Are you simply righteous by position or are you also righteous by practice? To be righteous by position requires that you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. By doing so, you establish a relationship with Him as a child of God. But just because you have a relationship with God does not mean you have fellowship with Him. Think of the son who is miles away from his father and has not spoken to him in years. Though the father-son status remains, the son cannot claim to be in fellowship with his father. Fellowship with God is required if you want to be glad and rejoice in your relationship with Him. Without fellowship, you will have a false image of who He is, and He will seem to you to be distant. Relationship with God means He has made His home in you, but fellowship with God means that you have made your home in Him. So, God is in you but are you in Him. To be in Him means you prioritize the presence of God in your life, and you bend your life towards Him. Only when you prioritize fellowship do you get the full benefits of the relationship that you have with Him. Only in Him will you get to be glad, rejoice, and shout for joy.

I am a child of God, and so I choose to live as His child by choosing fellowship with Him

Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you – Psalm 32:9

Are you struggling to go to church? Is it hard for you to attend your fellowship group despite the fact that you don’t have unescapable commitments? It is easy to forget that we need God, especially when the circumstances and situations in our lives are positive and rosy. For some of us, it is only when we have been harnessed or taken captive by the troubles of life do we draw near to God again. Those who have understanding know that prevention is better than cure. It is better to seek God before we start experiencing marital problems. It is better to raise our children in the ways of God instead of introducing them to God when they have become rebellious! Those who have understanding don’t just go to God when they think they need Him. They know that they need Him every second of every day. We should go to Him constantly because we love Him and He loves us. Our fellowship with Him should not be born of necessity but born of loving desire. Your reward for seeking Him is not simply a beautiful relationship but a life that is more peaceful as His advice leads you out of many troubles.

I need God every minute of every day

For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not come near him – Psalm 32:6

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be forewarned before something bad happens? The only way that can happen is to go to someone who is not bound by time and can see into the future. The only way to be forewarned it to go to God! This is yet another reason why we should not ignore our prayer life. Prayer in its simplest definition is communication with God. When we speak to Him in our prayer time, He answers. What He says can come in the form of an instruction, an idea in our minds, a hunch, a thought, or a feeling that just won’t leave us alone. He is always looking to lead and guide us from trouble to a better place. When we listen to Him and heed his instructions and warning, we find that we set ourselves up to avoid future troubles. Do you find yourself going from the frying pan into the fire? Do you find yourself escaping the bear only to run into a lion? Is your life marked by turmoil and drama that you never see coming? It is time to make time and space so you can better pick up the signals and signpost that God puts in front of you. It is time to eliminate the distractions so you can become better attuned to His early warnings and so avoid the flood of great waters.

God warns me ahead and time. It is my job to listen to Him

I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin – Psalm 32:5

What is the difference between regression and iniquity? Transgressions refer to our sinful behavior or outward action while iniquity refers to the heart condition that led to the sinful behavior. It is one thing to be able to control our behavior, but it is quite another thing to work on the heart issues that motivate such behavior. The pharisees in Jesus’ time were only concerned about transgressions but Jesus was concerned about iniquity. The pharisees brought a woman who was caught in the act of adultery, but Jesus taught that if a man lusts for a woman in his heart, he has already committed the sin of adultery (Matthew 5:28). God is not just interested in us behaving right, He also wants our hearts to be right. Our behavior determines how others perceive us, but our heart condition determines how God looks at us. When we acknowledge what is really going on in our heart, God not only helps us deal with our behavior, but He also helps to change our heart. That is when we stop trying to be good, but goodness becomes our state of being. So, rather than continue to struggle to modify your behavior, why not allow the love of God to change your heart. When you do, you’ll find that your behavior changes naturally.

The condition of my heart is more important to God than my behavior

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning – Psalm 30:5

If you are given a choice, would you choose to weep or would you choose joy? You may think this question to be strange as it seems quite obvious that everyone would choose joy. But consider what the bible tells us at the beginning of the creation story. It tells us that in the beginning, God spoke light into existence. He called the light day and the darkness night. A word study of light and darkness reveals that light refers to knowledge whereas darkness refers to ignorance. When this illumination is applied to the verse above, we see that weeping occurs where ignorance is present, whereas joy comes where knowledge is present. Jesus is the light of the world! Therefore, wherever Jesus is present, there is light, and wherever there is light, there is joy! That’s why we sing in the Christmas season: joy to the world, the Lord is come. To experience joy requires that you choose to no longer live in ignorance of your own thinking but to live in the light of the knowledge that comes from the Holy One. It requires surrendering your thoughts in favor of His thoughts and allowing the Spirit of God to lead and guide you. that you. The choice is yours: Weeping or joy. Choose wisely.

I can experience joy by walking with God

The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom and his tongue talks of justice – Psalm 27:30

Are you paying close attention? It is important to listen carefully to what comes out of people’s mouth. It is important not to confuse self-serving words steeped in feelings and fleshly desires for wisdom. Wisdom is steeped in godly knowledge and understanding rather than worldly opinions and cultural norms. Therefore, wisdom will always tow the line of what is morally right and just. Don’t buy into people’s words blindly just because they call themselves believers or Christians. Rather, you should pay attention to the content of their speech. Their heart is revealed out of the abundance of their words in public and private setting. So, take the time to get to know people. Listen to their words. See if their words reflect the words of Christ. Check to see if what they say in public is what they do in private. Though the tongue of the righteous may not always be eloquent, though the words may not always come out in an acceptable manner to you,  the words will reflect the heart, nature, and character of Christ. Can the same the said about your mouth and tongue?

I will pay attention to the heart behind the words

When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take care of me – Psalm 27:10

Who is your rock? For many people, it is their mother or father. Others may mention their spouse or mentor that took special interest in them. No matter who you say, your rock should be someone who points you to the Rock, that is Christ. The reason for this is that no earthly relationship is permanent! Whether through disagreements or death, we will lose the people that we love the most. Therefore, it is not a matter of if, but when our father and mother forsake us, as David points out. And though David starts with a tough pill to swallow, he shares good news right after. The good news is that God will never leave us nor forsake us. He is eternal and His love and care remain constant. Our relationship with Him can soften the blow of the loss of those around us and gives us hope for the future. If you have lost a relationship, go to God as part of the grieving process. He can care for you in ways no one else on earth can. If you think you have lost the only person who knows you best, seek Him who knows you better than you know yourself. You are not alone and will never be alone.

I am not alone because God is with me.

I have hated the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked – Psalm 26:5

Tell me about your boundaries? Do you have them or are you like a city without walls? You invite all kinds of people in your life when you choose to live without boundaries. To live without them is to invite injury into your life. So, let me ask you: with what kind of people have you surrounded yourself? Are they a source of positive influence or do they lead you in the wrong paths? Are they busy building you up or are they breaking you down? Do they leave a credit in you, or do they leave a debit in you? King David hated the assembly of evildoers and chose not to sit with the wicked because he understood the principle that the people we surround ourselves with will influence our thinking and ultimately influence our future. If you want to improve your future, then you need to improve the quality of people you have in your social circle. Choose to surround yourself with people of integrity and character. Choose God-seekers instead of gold diggers. Stay away from those who want to coerce you to do what you know is not right.

I choose to associate with people of high moral character

Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses – Psalm 25:12

Who is choosing for you? King David reminds us that God works with us individually in different ways and works with us on different things. Put another way, He may not teach me the same way He teaches you, and He may not talk to me with the same words that He uses to talk to you. God has made us uniquely different from each other and knows exactly what we will respond to and how we will respond. Therefore, God chooses to teach and deal with us in the way that He knows suits us perfectly. You should take a page from God’s playbook and not take a one-size fits approach to learning. Rather, you should find what suits you. This means you shouldn’t just blindly do what you know has worked for others when you  know you are built differently. What comes easily to many people may not come easily to you. This doesn’t make you weird but means you wired differently. If one approach is not working for you, choose to change your approach in order to get the results you desire. Do not choose to be a weightlifter when you are really a figure skater.

I choose not to be rigid in my approach