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

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...