Skip to main content

Want Blessing?


Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,

who walk according to the law of the LORD. (Psalm 119:1)
 

            Can you imagine going through a day in which you did everything morally right, nothing morally wrong and lived in complete harmony with the laws of the universe? Imagine spending the day being joyful, thankful, loving, honest, truthful (not quite the same thing), disciplined, self-controlled, patient, kind, gentle, generous... even when things aren't going according to your plan.
           Recently, I heard someone talking about living according to the Ten Commandments, and how freeing it would be. He noted that the world's reaction to this idea is negative. At the very least, it would be boring, difficult, and even dangerous. We might not take the world's perspective on the "big ten" but when it comes to the petty details of eating according to the needs of our body and not with our desires, or reading, watching or listening to only those materials that support good attitudes and healthy lifestyles, or thinking about only those things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy, it's a little tougher. When it comes to giving  up or doing the things we don't want to, it's a little harder.
           That's one of the reasons why we need to pray about our attitudes. That's one of the reasons we need to keep this verse at the forefront of our minds - because when it comes down to those details, we need to remember that handling those details right is the way to being blessed: happy, free, content, hopeful....
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Birthday of
Charlotte Bronte
Friederich Froebel (Kindergarten)
John Muir

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...